Varanasi Day one

michiko and i had plans.
we needed more train tickets, a massage, a boat ride up the ganges (or is down the ganges?)oh- forgive me.
the ganga.
she wanted to take a million photographs and i wanted to do yoga.
we managed it all.
and a few other tidbits.

we arrived early from our overnight train and enjoyed a slow rickshaw journey from the station to assi ghat - 9 km if i remember correctly.
by a kindly old skinny knobby gentleman who also was rather helpful in waking up the hotel people (lots of yelling) and getting them to open the door for us.
i dont believe they were particularly happy about that.
but hello sahi river guesthouse!
we're here!!

dumped off our bags and hunted down breakfast.
i read the paper while sipping my third chai of the morning (those damned tiny ass cups) and enjoyed the view and early morning air while michiko ran off to take photos because thats all she ever wants to do.
and then.
a walk.
a walk that leads to not really knowing where the hell you are.
but a few words of english is helpful enough to get-
well somewhere else.
that you also dont really know where the hell you are.
we did somehow (finally) end up at a temple. well. two.
the aim was for durga.
but we found some other along the way.
that i forget the name of but there were three gods (3 for the price of 1?)
and the equivalent amount of marigold necklaces.
(can i say how decadent it is to be wreathed in such tight rows of flowers? i envy these gods. when i achieve holy status i expect to be worshipped in this way.
you have been notified)
we sat on the carpet and watched the other tourists look like idiots (which made us feel better and perhaps wonder what was said the moment we turned our backs) and get swatted by the hindu equivalent of altar boys.
yes swatted.
they have these sticks with floppy feathers that they use to wack people on the head and shoulders with.
boy number two (one for each god altar) seemed to be enjoying it all too much.
i wondered what they did when all the worshippers went home.
sword fighting with the holy swatting feather sticks surely.

a bit further down the same street (you dont really expect me to remember the name do you? assuming i learned it in the first place) is durga-land.
cool chick.
i even bought a sticker of her!
its all that destruction business.
but she's apparently camera shy.
no photos.
oh!
another warning.
should random men in orange or red drapery approach you and suddenly touch your forehead expect that they will want money.
from 10-100 rupees.
(apparently not all blessings are created equally)
you will end up with a powdered red third eye and possibly some sprinkle of milk (at least i think it was milk) or water on your head.
and so you must be quick to either jump away or say hell no.
because theyre all ever so eager to bless you-
and god is not free.

fantastic lunch at...
oh shit.
vimod?
nivod?
hm.
hm...

some restaurant nearby.
but i can draw you a map! we went there twice.
delicious!
so go!
and have some cheese nan for me.

but no sitting under the tree.
the birds do shit on you.
i speak from experience.

at 4 that afternoon michiko and i parted ways.
i went in search of yoga.
and met Sanpan.
young gentleman and yoga student of 6 years.
200 rupees for 1.5 hours.
i had him all to myself at an ashram on the river
or more specifically - on the still in construction roof of an ashram on the river.

now. it being winter.
mists are apparently common this time of year.
(combined with so much talk of the dead my mind thought of avalon)
and so the opposite bank of the river went missing in all that gauzy white-
and the sun was soon to set and the wind chased away the smell of old trash
and i was shoving my body into horribly uncomfortable positions in a sacred city on the opposite side of the world with the ganga laid out before me and a private tutor who was intent on killing me.
i loved it.

and strangely enough.
for the first time (ive taken a few yoga classes here and there)
i chanted "om" without feeling ridiculous.
it was possibly the mooing cows below that put me at ease.
they were joining in.
i think we sounded rather good together actually.

later that night michiko and i rushed to get to the main ghat for a ceremony where we had no clue as to what was going on but it involved some chanting (because everything involves chanting) and men in pink outfits and lots of candles going floating down the river (or stuck in some corner by a boat that doesnt ever seem to catch on fire).
and though i was admiring the prettiness of it all, i couldnt help but frown at the buildup of trash on an already overloaded river.

to wrap up the night.
we happened upon some musical madness.
little kids. bigs kids.
teenage boys (imagine n'sync in turquoise sequins).
all gyrating on stage to hindi pop with lights, cameras, and screaming parents.
their dancing was contangious and i wanted a sequined outfit of my own as i couldnt help but shimmy a little as we stood way in the back of the crowd a couple thousand strong.
i was really rather fond of that turquoise.