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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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VARANASI (CONT.), INDIA
I must say that I wish I hadn't visited the burning ghats though. They do cremations all day long, taking about 3 hours to burn each body completely. Seeing the blanket burn away and then seeing the man's face and chest flesh burning off was not pleasant. The smell surprisingly wasn't that bad - though as the wind changed you tried not to breath in the ashes. We wanted to get away from the tourist sites again, so we arranged to visit a school about an hour away in Chiraigaon. A couple had started the integrated school (boys/girls, disabled, Hindu/Muslim) 10 years ago and it has grown from 5 students in a hut to 200 students in a building. There were about 30 disabled students integrated into each classroom.We could not believe how well behaved the students were - I mean it was like we were on another planet.
On my third day In Varanasi, we were walking behind a ghat through an alleyway when a guy grabbed my bag. I was wearing it across my chest so he couldn't get it off. I shouted and it wasnt a guy it was a motha fuckin' bad ass monkey!!!! So I wouldn't let go but the monkey still was holding on and screeeching. Jess was yelling "he's calling his friends, let him have it." I yelled "hell no! my camera is in there! he's not getting my bag!"
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Ghats The term ghats refers to a series of steps leading down to a body of water in many parts of South Asia. In Bengali-speaking regions, this set of stairs can lead down to something as small as a pond or as large as a major river. In Hindi-speaking areas, it is typically used to refer specifically to the steps leading to the River Ganges (Ganga) in the holy city of Varanasi. Many religiously significant ghats are situated on the Ganges and Narmada Rivers.
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Anyway, the water level was the highest its been in decades (oh but global warming is a conspiracy theory right?), so there wasnt as much activity on the ghats as usual. Even so, we saw fascinating things - none of which we could (or didnt feel comfortable) take pics of. There were countless families shaving their babies' heads, bathing ghats, cobra and snake charmers, funerals, cremations, birthing ceremonies, etc. We were warned not to follow 'friendly' strangers for tours in the government's electric crematorium. Many visitors have disappeared in this city. 
We took a sunrise boat ride in the Ganges watching the ghats come to life with all the morning rituals. It was fascinating - though smacked of voyerism, passing the bathing ghats! 
When we walked into each classroom with the principal, all the students stood "namaste" and waited until he told them to sit down. We visited each grade level and watched a bit of the lesson (art, social studies, math, embroidery, english, hindi). The students were so adorable! We visited a 2nd grade class that was studying English. They were sitting at their desks taking turns reading. We thought the teacher had left for a minute but actually the teacher was not there that day - and the students were STILL working on their lessons on their own!!! 2ND GRADERS!!! Wow! We were soooo impressed. If only students were that respectful and enthusiastic in America! 
Then she asked if I had my rabies shots. Hell no I didn't have my rabies shots! Crap!!! So we were at a standoff both holding onto the bag and growling at eachother. I asked Jess if she had any food on her and luckily Jess remembered that she had Mentos in her pocket so she ripped it open and threw it at the monkey. He looked at me for a moment and then let go and went for the Mentos. We ran before he popped it in his mouth and discovered it was a breath mint. The only time I was mugged in all of my travels was by a monkey!! Bad ass monkeys!! Anyway, my bag, then, had a few safety pins holding together the rip and I didn't need to get rabies shots! 
On our last day in Varanasi, we ate breakfast at a restaurant called Bread of Life. Bread of Life is a program which employes, trains, and houses orphans of riskshaw drivers (it's a horribly dangerous profession!). The breakfast was very western but was delicious just the same.The coffee was superb! So we had a great meal and supported a much-needed program. They also have a great bakery, so we went back and stocked up on baked goods for our overnight train trip to Kolkata. 
