Ganges River

I would like to start off with saying that I am in no way a morning person. I usually dont even function until after nine on most mornings so this morning was quite difficult in the fact that we had to be getting onto a boat at 5am...yes, functioning, moving, and semi alive to get onto the Ganges River. Luckily, the river is right outside of our hotel so it did not include a whole lot of activity. Besides the fact that most of us were complaining about the ungodly hour that it was, there were many people up and running around in the wee hours. Varanasi is a holy city that sits along the Ganges river. People come here to die, because it is believed that if you die in Varanasi you recieve enlightenment or moksha. As we all boarded the wooden boat, there were two guys that were rowing all 17 of us up and down the river. The river seems to be the main focal point and the center to many different things, even at 5am. I would look over to my right and there were people preforming cremation ceremonies, and a woman selling candles that you could place in the water that would float. These candles were meant to be honoring those that have passed. It was beautiful to see the little lights floating on the dark water. Then there were the swim lessons going on. All of the little kids were lined up, sitting on the stairs, kicking there little butts off in the Ganges River. An even more interesting spectacal were the people doing laundry. They had piles and piles of clothes all sitting on the rocks. Then you would see them slinging the garment around their heads and beating it with sticks. I have no idea if this method works, but I guess I will find out soon enough because I sent my clothes off to the "laundry service" aka the Ganges Wash, the other day. Despite the fact that it was 5am, this was by far one of my favorite activities that we have done. I felt like we were all getting a peek inside this extremely diverse culture by being able to see some of their holy rituals involving cremations, and also by seeing their everyday rituals, such as laundry. All I have to say now is that I hope I get my clothes back and perhaps they will be a little holy...and not have HOLES in them.

Megan