Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

It is a pleasant 90°F with a breeze when I arrive in Varanasi from Delhi. The streets are jammed with motorcycles and scooters, rickshaws, tuk-tuks, few cars. Cows are the only road users with right of way. Throngs of people fill the streets. I walk with jasmine around my neck as an air freshener through a maze of narrow streets and alleys down to Mother Ganga. I am rowed along the shore to the main ghat where the nightly worship of Mother Ganga takes place. A lot of lights, noise, people, cows, and dogs gather on the ghat in anticipation. The ceremony itself is a ritual, completely mesmerizing for the participants. For me it is fascinating to see, smell and hear this very important daily event. The smell of sandalwood, the incense, the fire and smoke, the singing of the people, the small candle offerings floating on the river; unforgettable.