Varanasi

Last week, the Gspians were offered the awesome opportunity to go to Varanasi for four days to do some field research in an Ayurvedic hospital. I couldn't turn it down, despite being swamped with work. Here are some of the pictures that I took

The train we took was a sleeper car, due to the fact that from Delhi to Varanasi the ride lasts 13 hours. It was surprisingly comfortable.

Our hostel was quite nice as well. I did yoga on the terrace a couple of days.

Can't do without a bit of mosquito netting

 

The main purpose of the trip was to visit BHU (Benares Hindu University) which is the only ayurvedic hospital/university with different specializations within ayurveda. We got to see a lot of interesting things within the hospital, including the pharmacy and the botanical garden where ingredients are harvested. 

 

Our hostel was right near Assi ghat, which is a port on the river (I think) There were many places to see people bathing, watch funeral pyres being lit and witness general hustle and bustle on the shores of the Ganges river. 

 

It's hard to tell but those are dead folks being burned...

 

One of the coolest things I've ever done: an evening boat ride on the Ganges. The atmosphere was amazing and we got to witness some sort of festival put on by the Varanasi government. There were so many boats and people watching, you could actually walk to shore from where we were anchored. 

 

The market place in the old part of town was pretty much what one would expect from India: chaotic and amazing. We went out to various parts of the city and ate alllllll kinds of food. 

There were cows EVERYWHERE. In Delhi, you see the occasional cow roaming the streets. In Varanasi, the cows essentially had free reign wherever they pleased. It was a bit alarming sometimes. 

 

We also went to a silk factory/weaving place where they make saris. The cloth was beautiful and the way they showed us was very intense. Basically they kept throwing saris at us until the "showroom" area was covered in shiny material.

I'm so glad I went to Varanasi. Despite being completely behind with school, everything I did there was completely worth it. It's exactly for reasons like this that I decided to do the Global Studies Program. All in all, I had a great weekend.