Back to India: Kerala & Varanasi

My friends and family wouldn’t believe it if I told them I would return to India.

In 2017, I visited several cities in the north of the country, including Delhi, Agra, and Varanasi. At that time, I could not hold back from expressing my polarising experience with India in social media, because I remembered the wise words a friend said: “you either hate India or love it, there is no middle ground”.

I believe that India has so much culture to offer. The mesmerizing colours, the smells of flowers and spices, the fascinating Hindu beliefs and rituals, the mouthwatering Indian dishes… India is a country with a lot to offer, even if it can sometimes be a little intimidating.

After my exhausting 2017 trip, I vowed to myself that:

I would visit the south and give India another chance. It is famous for its palm trees, beaches, and yoga retreats.

As 2018 drew to a close, I  returned to India. On New Year’s Eve, we decided to visit Kerala.

We decided to head to Kerala because my friend loves Sri Lanka. Kerala is not that different from Sri Lanka. Our journey through India would be more interesting and diverse if we added some contrast so we added Varanasi to our India itinerary as well.

Varanasi

In Varanasi I visited many of the same places and areas that I did in 2017. The Ganpati Guesthouse was the guesthouse I stayed in on my first visit. We booked two nights there. The room was perfect (by Indian standards!)

The first day, we walked around the areas surrounding the guesthouse. Nearby was the “burning ghat”. The scenes of flames dancing on top of dead bodies covered in piles of wood were surreal as the darkness set in. I knew we were not allowed to take photos during the cremation.

Sometimes, tourists are allowed small exceptions if they’re respectful and curious.

After we had stood at the bottom of the stairs for a while, watching the flames decompose the corpse, a group of people began asking us where we were. One of the Indians asked to take a photo with us, as many do. As a return favor, we agreed, and I asked to take some photos of the cremation. I took my camera out and snapped a few photos. I was happy to have managed to capture a decent photo of this holy place.

We headed out early the next morning to “assi ghat”, around 05.45 am to see the sunrise, surrounded by chanting and pranayama (breathing exercises) sessions, as well as watching the locals perform their morning rituals. We also booked bus tickets through UPSRTC to explore more regions around Varanasi.

I was completely blown away in 2017 by the beauty and diversity of morning sounds (chanting of praise, loud breathing during pranayama or the fire ceremony), as well as the music that accompanied it. Bon Iver on my iPod. The blend of sounds, rituals, and music made it feel like a spiritual symphony. It felt like I had been thrown back in time.

Things had changed in 2018. Assi Ghat looked less crowded. The river was now visible from a new pier. This time, it was the masala chai served near the main square that made me swoon. The chai was amazing. Even though I was still very careful about what I ate and drank while travelling through India, I couldn’t help myself and bought three chai on that particular day. The gentleman showed us his way of making the “best” chai. Varanasi is the only reason I know how to make “the best” masala tea.

Travelling with low expectations will make your trip more enjoyable. I was expecting to be annoyed by local salesmen and boatmen. The locals were more tolerant of tourists than I remembered from my previous visit. Varanasi was even more amazing on my second trip, even though I loved it so much my first time.

As I read in newspapers.  TripAdvisor, the “Vishnu’s Tea Emporium” would provide a unique experience of tea. I was picturing the typical Western tea shops with their neat Western stores, all kinds of teas, and pleasant smells. We almost missed the “Emporium”, as it looked like an untidy, small living room. It did not look like a traditional tea shop. We went there on the recommendation of a good friend. Vishnu was there within minutes. We learnt how to make a proper Masala Tea. We started with a plain sample of tea and added each ingredient (ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, etc.). We were initially shocked by the cleanliness standards. But we soon realized how much Vishnu cared about his tea ceremony. To thank him for the time and service, we bought two teabags and a masala spice mix.

Varanasi has a very special atmosphere. The holy spirits are felt in the city. Varanasi radiates a deep spiritual energy that’s hard to put into words.

We had a brief conversation with a British woman during a tea break. She told us she would be staying in Varanasi, India, for two weeks. When I asked if she had any hidden gems in the city to recommend, we only got the response I expected. She said that she was going to spend the majority of her day on the ghats, next to the Ganges River. This was my second visit to the city, and we spent all our time walking along the river. Varanasi is a magical city, where you can be happy with little and enjoy the scenery while sipping masala chai.

Kerala

Goa is the first thing that comes to mind when you mention south India, its beaches, and its yoga-beach bums. 

We visited South India mainly for the weather (which was summer-like), the food, and to get a glimpse of Indian culture. Goa or Kerala were the two options. Kerala seemed to be less touristy than Goa. We could change scenery in a matter of hours.

Kovalam and Varkala have beaches. 150km north, you can visit Alleppey’s backwaters. From Alleppey, head north-east to reach Munnar, a greenish hilly region. All of this seemed very convenient for a 10-day trip through India.

I decided to create a separate blog post about each of the stops we made on our trip through Kerala. It took me longer than I thought to write down my experiences in Varanasi.

In Kerala, local people were friendly, generous, and welcoming. The taxi drivers were especially friendly. Traffic in India can be very frustrating. Some drivers drove us for 5 hours straight to get us to our destination. Cab drivers had to be attentive for 5 hours, as the drives were chaotic. The maximum amount we paid was 4500 rupees (50 euros/dollars) for a 4 to 5-hour ride. We chose to use taxis for all our travels within the state of Kerala. Taxis would be faster than a scooter rental for shorter trips, and we wouldn’t waste time in our 8-day stay.

Bus and train rides were cost effective, but they would also have given a more backpacker feel. We used redBus for bus booking. However, some trains leave only once a morning (early) and can take up to nine hours. Taxis with a driver were the best option as we wanted to see 4-5 different places in 8 days.

Before our departure, I had convinced myself that we would rent a vehicle and take a road trip on our own through Kerala. I knew traffic in Delhi and Mumbai could be very bad. This was not what I expected in Kerala. Although the roads in Kerala weren’t as crowded as they were in the north, some of the streets were very narrow. We had to swerve the buses that were driving in our lane while driving our scooter. We shared the road with people and animals. Driving in India can be very dangerous and adventurous.

We were in an accident as we neared the middle of our journey. At that moment, I was worried that we were going to get into serious trouble because it was our fault that someone was injured. The police officers who arrived at the scene did not even ask us for our passports. Locals around the accident site almost ignored us. We paid the damages we caused in cash without hesitation, and the driver dropped us off at Alleppey.

We met Vinoy and his family in Trivandrum. We were picked up at the airport and dropped off there. They invited us over to their home where we had a delicious Kerala style fish curry. The entire family was welcoming. Even after we left their home, they gave us gifts.

The hospitality in Kerala made us feel deeply cared for and truly welcome. The local hospitality was amazing.