Ganges River Cruise

 

Sunrise over the Ganges River

January 27, 2026, Monday

We got up at 5:30 and walked over to the students; hostel. We were starting on the alley route, but the dogs were awake and growling at us. So, we decided to walk on the usually busy road. It was completely dark, but very little traffic. We met up with the students and Goutam and walked down to the Assi Ghat to find our boat.

Goutam explaining to Karl and Elisabeth what the old buildings were above the ghats.

They gave us life jackets and we sat on the side of the boat. It was brisk, 57 degrees! There are four graduate students from Banaras Hindu University who have been accompanying the students on some of our activities. Banaras is the cultural name for Varanasi. The city is also known as Kashi, the spiritual name, which means "to shine". It has gone by the three names in different periods of time. Varanasi developed because the rivers Varuna and Assi meet and the name for the city came from them. But the British called it Banaras.

Assi Ghat--the students' hostel overlooks this Ghat. It is also where we watched the Aarti, Light Ceremony.

Alimgir Mosque

This mosque was built by the  Mughal emperor Aurangzeb who built it over a Hindu temple he destroyed.

Manikarnika Ghat's crematorium

Over a thousand bodies are cremated at this site a year. It is quite expensive, because the family needs to purchase all the wood. The body is wrapped in white cloth and covered with wood. It can take many hours. The ghat's name comes from the Hindu goddess Sati, who lost her earrings at this site. 

Elisabeth's husband Nima tagged along on six different Pacrim trips she lead. He was loved by many Pacrim students over the years. Karl knew him quite well too. He was born in Tibet and fled in 1958 when the Dalai Lama left. He passed away in 2021. Elisabeth brought two small packages of his ashes. She asked Karl to spread one of them in the Ganges River.

Karl spreading the ashes. She asked each student to think about a loved one who had passed away while they scattered the ashes in the water. It was a touching experience for the students.

Our boat's motor was too loud. I wanted to capture a picture of these birds but I only got them in the distance. They are Siberian gulls who migrate to the Ganges during the cold winter months in Siberia. When we got to the furthest point, they cut the motor on the boat so Karl and Elisabeth could deposit the ashes, and then it was a struggle to get to the motor to start again! We were all starting to wonder how we would transfer to another boat if needed when it started up again.

This videos shows only a small section of the ghats.

Truly a memorable experience!

After our boat ride, we went to the students' hostel for breakfast. We had fruit, parathas and and pancakes (really crepes). We went back to our hostel, showered, packed up and moved to a hotel. Emily is particularly glad she no longer has to use the communal bathroom. The door is not completely covered, so I sat in the hall while she showered last night. We had several Indian men staying on the same floor.

We had a group lunch at yet another friend of Goutam's restaurant. It specialized in South Indian food. Today is a national holiday, Republic Day. It is the equivalent of the 4th of July, so lots of people out and about. After lunch, we visited the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple. Temples are closed from 12:00 - 3:00 "to allow the gods to rest." When we arrived, it was so crowded! There were long lines. This temple is a special temple to Goutam. He said it was the first place he saw his wife. The matchmaker arranged for them to meet, and a temple is a safe place to do that. There were no pictures allowed inside.

The temple gate to the Hanuman temple.

When we saw the long lines to get in, Goutam told us he had connections. He knows people who work here. When he was in university, he would get up every morning at 5:30 am and go pray at this temple. It is the one closest to his home. Then he would ride his bike and go to 10-12 other temples to pray. Then he would go home to eat breakfast and get ready for his day. He said he did it every day! If he couldn't go in the morning, he went at night. 

He went and talked to someone and then we were allowed to skip the line, walk in and walk to the various parts of the temple to watch them worship. As we were leaving the main shrine, I saw a temple worker return some money to him. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but it seemed to be she didn't want to take his money. I also saw him slip some money to the doorman at the restaurant we ate at. 

The red writing on this wall says RAM. Lord Ram is the 7th incarnation of the god Vishnu. 

The Tulsi Manas Temple.

The temple is built of marble. It was built by to honor a poet who wrote the Ramachritmanas here in Varanasi. The entire book is written on the walls inside the temple, but the temple is full of dolls depicting stories from the book. 

The displays are intended for the illiterate population. Elisabeth warned us it would feel a little "Disneyland".

Resting our feet after two temple visits.