Banaras (Varanasi) - City on banks of Ganges

I have always been fascinated with the prospect of visiting Banaras. I had heard so much about its beautiful monuments and it being the knowledge hub. I had read lot of material on internet about Banaras being an incredible place for both tourists and pilgrims to visit. While I planned to go to Banaras, I did my usual research and inquiry with family and friends. This takes time to decide as people were giving varied information for Solo traveler. I still decided to go Solo with just my back pack. I did the flight booking and booked a hostel which had bunk beds and usually used by travelers. Thus giving me opportunity to meet people whom I did not know.  

I was going to visit for two days as this was only available time for me before the summer started. I was visiting Banaras at the end of March, as it was last week before the summers started which will be intolerable. I wanted to do the trip during the Holi but its difficult with the place being crowded during the festive time, hence last week of March suited me.

Day 1 Mumbai to Banaras:

The Spice Jet flight costed me approx. Rs 6600 included return from MakemyTrip. I had done lot of research for my stay arrangements. I decided to make my stay arrangements via Booking.com. I had selected goStops Hostel which costed me Rs 499 for one night stay. One reason I selected goStops was the proximity to the Ghats and reviews. I departed from Mumbai at 7:25 am and reached at 9:30 am on Saturday morning. When I landed, I wasn't sure what is my transport to Hostel going to be. Moment I stepped out I could see stalls of prepaid taxis who were calling tourists to come to them to book the taxis. I overheard someone mentioning Ola cabs, so I checked my Ola app and found the cab availability. I was happy as it saves time to negotiate the prices and is easier to book. The Ola ride costed me Rs 489 and took me right next to Hostel. The travel took me through the Varanasi city among-st the traffic and people. I reached the Hostel around 11:30 am. The Hostel is 27 kms away from the Airport. I got down from the taxi and took 2 mins walk to the hostel as it is tucked inside the lane. Looking at my lost face, people directed me to the goStops hostel. This had wonderful first impression, as it shows the helpful nature of the people. 

 

 

 

 

I checked into the hostel, as I had booked the dormitory which had 14 bunk bed, they give me a bunk bed which had people from all around world. Very few hostels in India are maintained and friendly. goStops was one of them. They are three storeyed building with 14, 8 & 6 bunk bed (with storage space, must have a lock to keep valuables tucked away while outside) suite rooms and tents. 14 bunk bed room is fun as there will be people from all over the world. There are common toilets on terrace and as well on ground floor. As I had already experienced the tents in my other travels, I wanted to experience the Bunk bed. Each bunk bed has two sleeping compartment one above other. I got one which had storage space one each for bunk beds. All travelers get a storage space which you can either lock it or leave it open. I usually travel light and with non expensive items in my luggage. I left my luggage in the storage and carried my purse. Receptionist at the hostel told about the Kerala cafe restaurant so I went to have my breakfast. 

Restaurant has lot of things on menu, I had Dosa and Coffee. I gave 6/10 for the taste. One tip to travelers is, as they say "In Rome be a Roman", always eat local food available and not to try what does not belong to the place. I walked back to Hostel to rest till the sun went down. I am not great fan of walking in hot sun, so decided to stay in Hostel until my next meal. I saw the room mates had returned from morning stroll. I could see teenagers who wanted to experience the travel with friends. I could see men who came with friends to experience this side of life. I could see people who were solo travelers like me. I struck to conversation with one of the travelers from Europe who was asking about India. Usually Delhi is the place they start their India journey and finish at either Himachal or South or Rajastan. I took a small nap before going for lunch. I decided to take a stroll outside to check out the light snack at 3 pm. I had heard a lot of stories of the food being awesome. Even though I am not a foodie I decided to step out. I was clueless where to go so decide to just walk around and check out. I found a roadside vendor selling chat, it was better than what I had in morning. I went little more further, saw smiling faces, local men and women in groups talking and having good time. I wanted to try the matka lassi malai marke, so walked up to a local diary. 

I could see dahi/yogurt in big flat vessel. He took some out in a spoon and made lassi and gave it in a earthen pot/matka. The topping of malai is added in the end. The lassi was sweet and cooling. This ended my stroll and I decided to return to hostel. I inquired with Hostel about the tours arranged by them. They usually give Ghats tour, morning Boat ride, market tour and food tour. I decided to take the Ghats tour and booked it for evening. I went and rested in the room. I took the 4:30 pm tour. When I stepped out of the room found group of people from different parts of the world. We introduced each other and waited till the tour guide told us to follow us. Staff especially Sonu was very good guide, funny as well very good with his hospitality skills. Staff is always helpful and smiling. We were around 15 people in group. As we took 15 mins walk towards Ghat, I could see shops selling variety of food, silk fabrics, perfumes, and sculpture. When we reached the Ghat, our guide took us to a boat which was specially booked for us. 

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We all got into the boat, we sat around each other facing each other. Sonu narrated fascinating stories and kept us entertained as we enjoyed the boat ride. The boat was driven by equally entertaining man, it looked like there was a competition between them to keep us entertained. Sonu explained the legends and origin of the ghats and why it was the most sacred places for Hindus. Some stories that Sonu narrated was out of RamanadSagar's Ramayan or some other mythological story on TV. I did correct him in few places. 

We had time before the Aarti, hence we stopped by the banks of the Ganges and enjoyed the stroll on the banks of the river. As I began clicking pictures and observing people, rest of the group walked up to the Aghori hut. As they peeped inside to look for Aghori baba's Sonu explained it was not occupied at present by them. They walked excited towards me and explained what they found inside the tent. 

When it was around 5:30 pm we started our ride towards the Dashashwamedh Ghat. On the way we stopped to see a crematory ceremony. 

We all had mixed feeling, few felt we were invading their privacy, others felt it was good to know and learn the ritual. We left to Dashashwamedh Ghat which was most sought out ghat for watching Aarti. You can either watch it from boat or from steps leading to the ghat. As last of the lights disappeared into the night, the start of the Ganga Aarti ceremony began with Priest performing by chatting Aarti songs. The Aarti is performed with small offerings to the Goddess Ganga. 

As Aarti came to an end, my boat mates started lighting the diyas / candles and placed it on the river water. I could see emotions of hope and wishes of people around me floating down the river and reaching the Goddess Ganga. This ritual happens every single day and is so intense and magical that every single person present in the Ghat was feeling it.

Irrespective of where they were from the prayer was a feeling which had no language or religion. I could see each of us closing eyes and praying. If wishes came true, mine did, to witness this with all of them. It’s an intense experience with the drums beating to a set tune, mantras being chanted, singing, prayers, the Aarti performed by all the priests and smell of the incense sticks. All this mixed with huge crowd who have traveled from all over India and world to witness the holy ceremony. As the night met with the river rim I could see the diyas were floating and forming small light of hope in the dark. This is a wonderful experience to witness.

As we docked near the ghat, few of us decided to have the famous chats on Varanasi. From the group of 15, 10 of us decided to follow our new lead Micheal. He was in Varanasi from almost a month and knew Varanasi. We walked towards the Kashi Chat Bhandar. 

Its a small chat joint and can have around 50 people at one time. Looking at the crowd I could see it was quite famous. As we waited outside, we booked for two tables for the group. As anticipation starting building up it added up with the hunger. We at last got the seats and we decided to order 4-5 chats. 

We ordered their signature dish tomato chat, Aloo Tikki, Dahi Bhalla, Chuda matar and Kesar Kulfi Faluda. Tamatar chat was made from tomatoes and potatoes served with chutneys and garnished with a crunch of onions. It is spicy and tangy. Dahi Bhalla and Aloo Tikki is like normal chaat. It is served with yogurt along with tamarind and coriander chutney and garnished with coriander leaves. Chuda matar tasted good and was different from normal chats that I had in other cities. We were full till brim and decided to dutch and leave for our next destination. While we decided to explore more, the group further broke to two and we were 5 of us including Micheal. 

We all wanted to try the Local Thandai. As we walked towards the famous Baba Thandai, I saw the place was brimming with small thandai shop every step of the way. We reached Baba Thandai, we took 2 thandai and shared it between 4 of us. 

We now returned to the hostel. The walk was awesome as the crowd had reduced and this gave us lot of place to walk in the narrow roads. We spoke about religion, mythology and lot of things. One thing was certain, India's diverse culture has a profound impact on people around the world. I understood why people got attracted to our culture. While we run out of India to find happiness, others come to India to find peace and happiness. The age old knowledge be it on vedas or yoga we attract people who want to find themselves in them. Sometimes they are misinformed about the culture. I felt happy to correct about few things with whatever knowledge I had and change their perspective about things. We reached Hostel and decided to continue our discussion in the terrace. When we reached the terrace we already had other the hostel mates deep in conversation. The conversation continued even after my decision to go to sleep. I bid good bye as tomorrow will be morning boat ride and visit to Buddha temple. 

Day 2 Banaras: 

I woke up in the Morning 5 am and came to meeting point near the reception to meet the group whom I would join for morning boat ride. Our boat driver came to take us from Hostel. We walked towards one of the Ghat to start our boat ride. 

He took us in the boat and docked in the Aasi Ghat. The morning prayer was awesome to listen to. As others went to watch it, I needed my morning tea. I followed the boat driver to a small tea stall. 

I sat on the steps and watched as the first sun rays hit the sky. The rays played colorful painting on the water making it a scene worth capturing on my camera. As I sipped the ginger tea, I felt wave of peace enter my mind and body. I closed my eyes to take the fresh smell of morning air. 

We returned back to the boat and started the boat ride crossing all Ghats. I could see all kinds of boat, crowded and as well single boats with just two occupants. I saw a boat which even had a musician playing a morning raga on flute. As music floated with the air it mixed with the morning sun rays. All this had a ever lasting impact on me. 

We docked back on ghat and walked back to Hostel. 

I freshened up and went for the breakfast. Breakfast was part of the stay and had white bread, butter, jam, omelette, pancake with banana & chocolate syrup, veg & non veg sandwich, cornflakes and milk, banana, tea and coffee from 8-10 am. It was quite filling. I decided to take tuk tuk to Sarnath. 

Its is located around 10 kms away from Varanasi. You will find guides who will tell you about the place. Its better to hire the guide to know the history of the place. The guide gave the details of the place and took me to near by silk weaving shop. They were selling hand woven silk sarees and materials. I purchased 3 sarees and left to Hostel. The same tuk tuk got me back to Hostel. I went to Hostel and rested for a while before I decided to go to Kashi Vishwanath temple. When I reached the place I saw big queue which is a total no-no for me. I decided to skip it and walk to near by market where I had heard they sell the namkeens. I found it to be closed as it was Sunday. I walked back to Hostel and had my lunch in nearby chat corner. I had now time until my evening flight. 

I decided to stay back in hostel to edit pictures on my camera. They serve tea at 3:30 pm along with few biscuits at hostel. They provide homely feeling which makes it easier to mingle with different people. Very safe and awesome stay.

As my stay ended, I felt trip was worth it and gave me my first awesome experience as a Solo Back packer. I took my evening flight to Mumbai at 7 pm and reached Mumbai at 10 pm.