After sleeping surprising well on the train, I disembark and am greeted by 4 children wanting food and money. My guide for Varanasi, Mr Dipate, is also waiting for me with my ride to the hotel. He has his mouth full of this orange stuff called beetle-nut which supposedly gives a subtle high. I wonder if its worth all the spitting and extremely bad teeth that results from chewing it. And man, this guy can talk!
I have been advised to use a guide in Varanasi because of the crime in the city, gang culture, and their tendency to pick on unsuspecting tourists. Mr Dipate repeatedly tells me that it is not safe to walk around by myself and assures me I have made a good decision by selecting him as my guide.
The ride is highly entertaining because of the traffic along the way. Twice we stop, once for two grossly overloaded tractors carrying some precariously balanced bales of hay, and the other for an autorickshaw which hits us and scratches the car up the side. The driver and his mate jam on the brakes, leap from the vehicle, chase down the culprits and demand money from them for the damages and repairs. After a huge amount of loud "discussion" between our driver and the autorickshaw driver, we eventually get going again.
We arrive at the hotel at which I am stoked to finally find a place that is reasonably fancy and inviting. I get an official Indian welcome including flowers and religious blessing, a cup of hot tea, and staff eager to accommodate me. My room has a powerful, hot shower, a European toilet, and a fantastically soft bed. This hotel has come at just the right time as my stomach is not good at all.
After a short but refreshing nap, Mr Dipate takes me to a carpet emporium where I am treated to traditional Indian belly dancing and lemon tea, and then shown some expensive and beautiful, hand made, carpets and rugs. The dancing is just amazing. I sit around the edge of a wooden dance floor on a pillow with a host of other would-be carpet buyers and am just enthralled with the intensity, culture, and passion that is put into the display by these ladies; a once in a life time experience. I am sure there is an element of disappointment from the emporium owners because I don't by a carpet and I leave feeling slightly guilty about it because of how welcoming they have been and for what they have shared with me.
I get to bed fairly early after dinner to prepare for an early start to my Ganges River experience.
