Happy "Chritmas" to you all
We got up this morning at 4.30 in order to go to the Assi Ghat on the river for some sort of ceremony. With no idea what to expect, we arrived at a fairly dark and deserted riverside at 5.00. Looking around I decided we were far too early for whatever "it" was, and so we gingerly perched on a bench to wait. Gradually more and more people gathered, and by 5.30 there was quite a crowd.
Soon afterwards, some young men placed themselves onto individual platforms, and then the singing began. To the women's singing, and bell ringing, these men waved various items around, including a Christmas-tree shaped candelabra, bells, incense, a sort of teapo shaped torch and what may have possibly been a fan (it was hard to tell!). It was all in time and quite a spectacle!
I think this happens every day before sunset, so although I was grumbling about the early get up after such a late night, I guess it would have been much earlier in the summer months...
After the ceremony I was very keen for breakfast, having not really had any lunch or dinner yesterday. However, given the not so clean nature of the city (and that's putting it nicely) I was prepared to be picky about where I ate. We hence sought out a recommendation from our guidebook called the Brown Bread Bakery. This proved tricky (we tried two different supposed locations and failed, then happened upon it by accident) but worth the wild goose chase as I had some tasty muesli (with hot milk, as ever here) followed by a huge pancake. They also had some nice-looking pastries which we avoided but a cow outside looked very interested-in!
Having finally eaten, I headed back to the hotel for a very welcome (albeit tepid - fairly standard) shower. The clean feeling lasted all of two minutes once I was checked-out and outside again, but hey ho! Now the sun had risen fully, it was really quite warm. We opted for a leisurely boat ride along to the centre of the old city, and it was brilliantly peaceful on the water, observing the mela of daily life from afar.
As soon as we disembarked we were engulfed by the crowd, wandering along to the second burning ghat, where bodies from many castes were being burned. Our boat man had told us that although most people are burned, some are considered already purified and get the honour of being dumped straight in the River Ganges. Oddly, these included those with chicken pox, snake bites and the under fives. He also said that the very poorest struggled to afford enough wood or electricity for the required fire duration, so not all corpses were reduced to ashes. I was careful to not look too closely at things floating by in the river after these comments!
We ventured into the old city itself, it's small streets and alleys presenting us with numerous colourful stalls and bizaars as well as many motorbikes, fighting their way through the crowds. Needing a break, we headed off to Dolphin Restaurant (pretty random name compared to most institutions here) where we had a lovely Christmas lunch involving paneer hyderbadi curry, dahl makhani, rice and nan. I can honestly say this is the least festive Christmas I've ever experienced, but the meal was delicious.
Feeling a bit lazy (the harassing we get is hard work) we haggled for another boat, this time going further along to a not-so-impressive looking mosque. I was just enjoying being out on the water though, and even got a go at rowing (fixed seat, bit awkward as he wouldn't relinquish both oars so it was like trying to use a single sculling oar). Obviously there was a tip required for this but it was fun anyway. This boat man again dropped us somewhere short of our destination, something of a theme here.
We walked back along the increasingly busy riverside to near the hotel, where a final drink was had before grabbing our bags and getting a tuktuk to drop us (nearly) to the station. On arrival we found out our train was delayed by two hours. This made me a bit disgruntled, but we were then shown to the "foreigner's waiting room" which was a surprisingly plush area. Tiled floors and gold-papered walls surrounded a large number of faux-leather sofas (I'm better condition than mine at home!), glass coffee tables and charging points. Certainly the most luxorious train station waiting area I've ever been to.
We got up this morning at 4.30 in order to go to the Assi Ghat on the river for some sort of ceremony. With no idea what to expect, we arrived at a fairly dark and deserted riverside at 5.00. Looking around I decided we were far too early for whatever "it" was, and so we gingerly perched on a bench to wait. Gradually more and more people gathered, and by 5.30 there was quite a crowd.
Soon afterwards, some young men placed themselves onto individual platforms, and then the singing began. To the women's singing, and bell ringing, these men waved various items around, including a Christmas-tree shaped candelabra, bells, incense, a sort of teapo shaped torch and what may have possibly been a fan (it was hard to tell!). It was all in time and quite a spectacle!
I think this happens every day before sunset, so although I was grumbling about the early get up after such a late night, I guess it would have been much earlier in the summer months...
After the ceremony I was very keen for breakfast, having not really had any lunch or dinner yesterday. However, given the not so clean nature of the city (and that's putting it nicely) I was prepared to be picky about where I ate. We hence sought out a recommendation from our guidebook called the Brown Bread Bakery. This proved tricky (we tried two different supposed locations and failed, then happened upon it by accident) but worth the wild goose chase as I had some tasty muesli (with hot milk, as ever here) followed by a huge pancake. They also had some nice-looking pastries which we avoided but a cow outside looked very interested-in!
Having finally eaten, I headed back to the hotel for a very welcome (albeit tepid - fairly standard) shower. The clean feeling lasted all of two minutes once I was checked-out and outside again, but hey ho! Now the sun had risen fully, it was really quite warm. We opted for a leisurely boat ride along to the centre of the old city, and it was brilliantly peaceful on the water, observing the mela of daily life from afar.
As soon as we disembarked we were engulfed by the crowd, wandering along to the second burning ghat, where bodies from many castes were being burned. Our boat man had told us that although most people are burned, some are considered already purified and get the honour of being dumped straight in the River Ganges. Oddly, these included those with chicken pox, snake bites and the under fives. He also said that the very poorest struggled to afford enough wood or electricity for the required fire duration, so not all corpses were reduced to ashes. I was careful to not look too closely at things floating by in the river after these comments!
We ventured into the old city itself, it's small streets and alleys presenting us with numerous colourful stalls and bizaars as well as many motorbikes, fighting their way through the crowds. Needing a break, we headed off to Dolphin Restaurant (pretty random name compared to most institutions here) where we had a lovely Christmas lunch involving paneer hyderbadi curry, dahl makhani, rice and nan. I can honestly say this is the least festive Christmas I've ever experienced, but the meal was delicious.
Feeling a bit lazy (the harassing we get is hard work) we haggled for another boat, this time going further along to a not-so-impressive looking mosque. I was just enjoying being out on the water though, and even got a go at rowing (fixed seat, bit awkward as he wouldn't relinquish both oars so it was like trying to use a single sculling oar). Obviously there was a tip required for this but it was fun anyway. This boat man again dropped us somewhere short of our destination, something of a theme here.
We walked back along the increasingly busy riverside to near the hotel, where a final drink was had before grabbing our bags and getting a tuktuk to drop us (nearly) to the station. On arrival we found out our train was delayed by two hours. This made me a bit disgruntled, but we were then shown to the "foreigner's waiting room" which was a surprisingly plush area. Tiled floors and gold-papered walls surrounded a large number of faux-leather sofas (I'm better condition than mine at home!), glass coffee tables and charging points. Certainly the most luxorious train station waiting area I've ever been to.
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