I left New Delhi by train, with a 2hr delay, for Varanasi. If there is ever a train station you don’t want to be delayed at, it’s New Delhi.  The station is a mad house and the longer you’re there the more mad you will be.

I arrived with someone picking me up at the train station from the hostel I emailed.  I sent them an email to say I was coming as everything I read on the Internet said that finding a certain hostel in Varanasi is like looking for a needle in a haystack.  There are no signs on the streets and it’s mostly made up of tight little alleyways.  After my rickshaw driver drove as far as he could, we got out and walked the last part through the alleyways, taking a left, then a right, then another right, back left.  After 10 left and rights I was totally confused and lost, happy that someone knew where they were going.  To add ice to the keg, so to speak, 50m away from getting to the hostel I stepped in huge pile of cow shit.  First time in four months, India finally got me!

I was super excited about coming to Varanasi, as I had seen so many photos of the place, heard how magical (and dirty) it was and knew it was the mecca for most Indians to go as a pilgrim or to be cremated.  After staying in this city for a week I have to admit I was disappointed some.

The Ganges River is the holiest river in India and I won’t lie, I kind of wanted to see something floating down it.  Yes, I’m messed in the head I know but to be honest the river wasn’t any dirtier then the rest I had seen in India.  There wasn’t much to see beyond the Ghats and although there were plenty of holy men there, or Baba’s, I didn’t get a single photo of one.  This of course was my bad and a good photographer would have gotten great shots but I failed in every way.  I just didn’t want to haggle with the Baba’s over money for a shot or offend anyone by offering.  People didn’t seem that open to photographs much either, as say Old Delhi where people were always asking me to photograph them.

I want to return again and give it a better shot but this time around I just flat out didn’t try very hard and because so I missed out on one of the best places in India for photos.  Maybe I’m getting a little burned out on India, as I’m kind of sick of curry and rice by now, tired of trying to book a train ticket all the time not knowing if I will be confirmed or waitlisted.  These things add up over time and I think it’s affecting my photography.  I just hope I snap out of it when I get to Nepal, otherwise what’s the point of going?

On a positive note; boat rides for one hour cost only 100Rs ($2.25 USD) on the Holy Ganges River and I got some free accommodation for giving a few photographs and business advise to the hostel owner where I was staying.  Felt good and he was super happy with the suggestions I gave him to make a better place for backpackers.  The day I left he had a carpenter, electrician and a plumber there doing work because of ideas I gave him.  You can check out the hostel here, called Suraj Guest House, and would recommend it as it had a good vibe and fast WiFi!

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