Don't fall in the Ganges!

Sick Count:
Jackie 1
Dara 0

After so nicely reminding Dara not to take her malaria pill on an empty stomach, we woke yesterday morning in Delhi and promptly took our malaria pills BEFORE heading down for breakfast in the hotel. Needless to say, I didn't keep my breakfast down and the poor other patrons in the restaurant got to hear the lovely results. Not even a case of "Delhi belly" yet, just the stupidity of antibiotics on an empty stomach :)

So after recoving from that (barely), we navigate the Delhi traffic one last time to the airport for our Spice Jet - yes, spice jet airline - flight to Varanasi. Quick flight and we land in what must be 100 degree weather. We get a taxi for what we thought would be a quick ride to our hostel and an hour later - after driving through even more insane traffic than we experienced in Delhi - we arrived at old town Varnasi and our taxi driver tells us it is about "10 minutes walking". At least 30 min later, trekking(with our enormous backpacks) through the TINY alleys, and having children try and show us the way, we eventually find our guest house (inside of which it might be 130 degrees). We drop our bags and start to wander the ghats by the river. It is hard to describe Varansi, but there are basically 80 ghats (sections of steps down to the river) where people gather, religious ceremonies are performed, and people bathe and swim. (STL - swim, tan, laundry anyone? ha)

We did a lot of exploring, which is awesome if you can avoid stepping in the ever present piles of sh*t from the various animals (cows, buffalo, goats, dogs, monkeys) that also wander the streets. We also saw the insane markets where people sell everything from wedding saris to bangles and somosas and other fried goodies on the street. It was a little overwhelming, and massively hot, but very cool.

We ended the day with a "fire" cermony by one of the main ghats, where religious leaders performed ritual smoke and candle ceremonies by the water, while two men played insturments and sang what we presume were prayers. Very smokey and very magical...and Dara was dozing next to me (it had been a long day and the music was rather rhythmic :) One highlight was when the crowds parted for a big, jolly, long-haired man in a red, sparkley outfit who everyone treated like a celebrity - including his entourage - and was bowing to his adoring crowds. I'm sure he was some important reglious leader, but he just reminded us of Jack Black playing a part in a movie! ha

We found dinner on a rooftop restaurant - our best yet as it was less spicy so we could actually enjoy what we were eating - and called it a night early. We faced the ultimate tropical challenge last night - to stay cool or to cover ourselves with sheets to avoid mosquitos (and lizards)...it will be an ongoing battle.

We woke up at 5am to take a sunrise boat ride on the river...amazingly peaceful and beautiful! We got to see and hear the morning prayers and bathing rituals, and just generally enjoy a great 2 hour ride before it got really hot again.

More travel ahead today as we make our way to Agra. Stay tuned for love from the Taj Mahal!