Varanasi

Vlak, ki bi moral zvečer odpeljati iz Agre v Varanasi, je bil poln nekih delavcev, ki so stavkali in so se nekam peljali, zato vlak ni sprejemal potnikov. Tako sem se znašla na železniški postaji zvečer brez prevoza. Sicer so bili uslužbenci na postaji zelo prijazni, ponudili so nam potnikom ali povrnitev cene vozovnice, ali pa so menjali vozovnico za jutranji vlak. Jaz sem se odločila za jutranji vlak, saj nisem imela kaj početi in sem pač preživela noč na železniški postaji. Tam sem srečala dve Angležinji, ki sta prav tako ostali brez prevoza in potem smo skupaj ždele in si druga drugi čuvale prtljago, tako da smo se lahko vmes malo sprehajale ali zadremale in dočakale jutro, ko smo se uspešno vkrcale vsaka na svoj vlak. V Varanasiju me je seveda najbolj zanimala reka Ganga, zato sem se odpravila tja. Uspelo mi je priti do tja peš, saj sem še kar dobro ignorirala šoferje rikš, malo pa je pripomoglo tudi to, da so v središču Varanasija ozke uličice, v katere rikše ne morejo. Ko sem se končno spustila navzdol po pesku proti reki, sem si oddahnila, saj rikše niso peljale tja dol in se mi je zdelo, da bom končno lahko imela mir in se malo sprehodila. Pa ni trajalo dolgo, saj sem kmalu zaslišala »Boat, madam?« No, sem se res izognila rikšam, na reki pa je bilo vse polno čolnarjev, ki so ponujali prevoz. Na srečo teh ni bilo toliko in so bili manj naporni, res pa je, da sem na koncu vendarle najela čoln, da me je malo peljal gor in dol po reki. Reka Ganga izgleda natanko tako, kakor na fotografijah: umazana, v njej sežigajo mrliče, se umivajo, perejo perilo, po vodi hodijo krave in vse to. Videla sem, da otroci pobirajo kravje iztrebke, ki jih z rokami mažejo na stene, da nastanejo nekakšne potice, ki se potem posušijo in jih najverjetneje uporabljajo za kurjavo. Ko sem se sprehajala ob reki se mi je zdelo, da mi zelo veliko število otrok želi ponuditi roko za dober dan, ampak ko sem videla vse tiste potice, ki so jih otroci razmazali po stenah z rokami, sem se raje odločila, da ne bom toliko vljudna, in jim nisem ponudila roke. Morda se mi je zdelo, da je v Varanasiju še posebno veliko število krav, ki se sprehajajo naokrog, tudi po mestu in med ozkimi uličicami. Tako da sem tudi v živo doživela svete krave. Med ozkimi uličicami v mestu je ogromen bazar, kjer sem se potikala in tudi kupila nekaj svilenega blaga za domov. Res je bilo poceni, a kvaliteta je bila temu primerna.

The night train from Agra to Varanasi was full of workers who were on some kind of strike and therefore the train didn't take on any other passengers. So I was stuck at the train station in the evening with no transportation. The employees at the train station were very helpful, they offered us passengers either a refund of our tickets or an exchange for the morning train. I decided to take the morning train and spent the night at the train station. I met two English girls who were also stuck there for the night and we hung out together, watched each other's luggage and dozed off until morning when we each went on our separate trains. In Varanasi I headed to the Ganges river first. I made it there on foot, succeeding in ignoring the rickshaw drivers which isn't too difficult because there are many narrow streets in Varanasi where rickshaws can't enter. When I finally made it down to the river shore I relaxed because the rickshaw drivers also can't get down there and I assumed I would be able to walk in peace. But it didn't take long until I heard a somewhat familiar "Boat, madam?" So I managed to get away from the rickshaw drivers but the river was full of boat captains who offered rides. There weren't too many and they weren't too pushy, but in the end I did wind up hiring one to take me up and down along the river. The Ganges river looks exactly like it does on photographs: it's dirty, they burn ther dead people there, they wash themselves and their clothes, cows bathe in it and all that. I saw children pick up cow dung which they spread on walls with their hands until it dries and then they probably use them as fuel. When I walked along the river I ran into an unusually large number of children who wanted to shake my hand hello, but after seeing the cow dung on the walls I decided I wouldn't give them the courtesy of shaking my hands with them. I thought there was a really large number of cows in Varanasi that wandered around, including along the narrow streets in town. So I was face to face with the holy cows. There are countless bazaars in the streets of Varanasi and I bought some silk to take home with me. It was quite inexpensive but the poor quality also reflects the low price.