The Streets & Alleyways of Varanasi India

Lindsay and I just got done watching The Amazing Race on T.V and this week they visited the holy city of Varanasi, India. This reminded me of when Lindsay and I visited this truly unique city during our 2009 trek to India and Nepal. I have already written about our guesthouse and the boat rides on the Ganges and today I wanted to write about the crazy streets and alleyways of the city. Lindsay and I had been to Mumbai, Delhi and Kathmandu before coming to Varanasi but the chaos on the streets of Varanasi tops them all. First off you have every type of vehicle you could possibly imagine. There are regular cars, motorcycles, bicycle rickshaws, motor rickshaws, bikes, carts being pulled by a human, carts being pulled by animals, etc, etc. Then you mix in the thousands of people coming and going and top it off with the hundreds of cows wandering freely along the streets. Not only is the sight of all this incredible but the sound is almost deafening! Cars honking, people talking, cows mooing, etc, etc. Needless to say that walking for 5 minutes on the streets will make you feel like you have just ran a marathon. What also makes this city unique is its color. Because it is considered a “holy city” there are “holy men” all over the place dressed in their traditional colorful cloths. This mixed with the already colorful wardrobe of Indian women makes for a kaleidoscope of colors on every street. Numerous times Lindsay and I simply wandered around with no particular place to go just to experience the streets. We stopped in a few shops (buying some beads for a friend back home) but would mostly just wander and people watch. The only problem with wandering around Varanasi (and most of India) is that you are constantly asked by the touts if you want a ride, want to buy something, etc. Needless to say it can get quite exhausting. During one of our explorations we stumbled on a very crowded and lively market that apparently was in the “Muslim district” as all of the sudden everybody we saw was Muslim. Lindsay found a cute little street vendor that was selling the traditional Indian bracelets and she stocked up. Not only are the streets of Varanasi extremely chaotic but as you get closer to the river the streets turn to very narrow alleyways. You would think that without the cars the alleyways are much calmer but you would be wrong. :) There are still bikes, people and tons of animals (cows, etc) These alleyways are easy to get lost in and it is a fantastic place to wander. The sights, sounds and smells are a complete assault on the senses. The number of very large cows wandering these alleyways was particularly amusing to Lindsay and I. When we first walked out of our guesthouse to explorer we were confronted by a HUGE bull laying in the alleyway almost blocking our way. We both just closed our eyes and ran past him hoping he wouldn't throw his head and hit us. :) On another occasion I was walking past a cow and he turned and head butted me very hard…it was hilarious. The city of Varanasi is like no place on earth, or even in India for that matter, and exploring its chaotic streets and alleyways is a once in a lifetime experience.