So we are in this amazing city called varanasi, oh yeah! lots of bonding and good laughs flowing.
To start this blog off, “bridey” has officially changed her name to willa rose, which is awesome. There have been to recent hair stylings, thanks to our own willa rose, that have left the girls a bit short on the head (hillary and graham). As you may well know our beloved friend julia has left our group and decided to continue her journey at home, which we all respect as a mature decision for her situation. But we all do miss her dearly, and are working hard to somehow fill her void, but “everything is alright”(sing song for that).
We are all starting to delve into the cities personal aspect, i.e. getting close (but not too close) with the locals, which we are stoked about as in delhi it was hard to get away from the tourist to beggar relationship. The GODS ARE ALIVE here, and we got to experience a sunrise cruising along the ganges in a boat, very sturdy and well made, that took us to a temple at the far north end, bout hour and a half walk, edge of town. There we got some good snaps and got too see probably the largest wasps nests hanging from the arches, HUGE!
Our expert guide, Vinay Ji (don’t hold me to the spelling), is full of little chuckles and has no problem keeping us entertained with his witty knowledge and seemingly infinite wisdom. Speaking of wisdom, we had a quite eye opening lecture by a local guru/philosopher, age 72 and can’t remember his name, sorry, who provided some clarity and insight to indian culture, provoking thought and centering in the group.
Every day, pretty much the best part in a way, we indulge in around 3 to 4 cups of the most amazing chai tea EVER, no joke, sometimes in tiny clay cups or little glass ones you return…very classy. Probably the best part is when we are able to splurge on gifts or huge meals, then at the end of the day we recap the amount to about a total of 5 to 10 dollars in all, soooo awesome. Almost everyone you pass is very friendly, welcoming our presence with smiles and offering to buy you a cup of chai…we love it here.
Well, signing off for now, but good talking to you, all this chai is getting us thirsty for more. Peace, love and infinite happiness…Namaste to you all…Ben and Willa Rose~
