The bible of backpackers (aka The Lonely Planet) says that “Varanasi takes no prisoners”. Sounds a bit dramatic, we thought – and dove right into it. But oh my, the Lonely Planet was right.

As usual, we arrived very early – around 5 A.M. – and with somewhat mushy brains caused by a total of 51 hours of train ride. Good thing our host came to fetch us where the labyrinth also known as the Old Town begins (Vehicles are not allowed or even possible in there, so you have to get out anyway). After leading us through what seemed a scene of The Maze Runner, we arrived at The Sun Rise Lodge, where we had booked a double room.

After catching another handful of pillow-time, we woke up to see the Mother of all Rivers right below our place: The Ganges. The sun was already up, and there were people bathing and praying, surrounded by cows, stray dogs and pretty much the largest amount of trash we’ve ever seen outside a waste treatment plant.

Fascinated by this huge stream of toxic waste, we did a little research, on site by walking along it for a few kilometers as well as online by reading up on the subject. Here’s what the before mentioned backpacker bible says about it:

The Ganges River is so heavily polluted at Varanasi that the water is septic – no dissolved oxygen exists. The statics get worse: Samples from the river show the water has 1.5 million faecal coliform bacteria per 100ml of water. In water that is safe for bathing, this figure should be less than 500!

Uhm – 3000 times more bacteria than considered safe? Yikes – really. Upon arriving, I was actually toying with the idea of taking a quick bath in the Ganges, just for the heck of it. Can’t be that bad, if everybody does it, right? Well, I chickened out. Although I don’t have much left, I value the hair I’ve still got (hair loss is one of the symptoms people not used to the water experienced after bathing in the Ganges). So this was as brave as I got:

I mean, the (mostly plastic) waste is one thing, albeit a pretty bad one. But there are over 30 sewage pipes that lead right into the Ganges along that stretch we walked. Oh, and don’t forget the dead people (hence the title of this entry): Since Varanasi is considered one of the holiest cities in Hinduism, it’s a privilege and somewhat of a shortcut to heaven if you die here. And as if dying here was not enough, some bodies are actually disposed of in the Ganges, in sort of a river grave, so to speak. We didn’t see any, but we did meet other backpackers who have encountered human feet looking out of the water next to their boat.

Speaking of the dead: The most popular burial method is actually not the river grave, but the Burning Ghats. While a Ghat is just a place (usually large stairs) leading down to the Ganges, a Burning Ghat is an actual riverside crematory. Yes, bodies are burnt here 24/7, right next to the water, and in midst of huge piles of wood, and of course the usual mix of cows, dogs and waste. You’re allowed to go as close as you want, but no pictures from close up.

I figured I was far away enough to not violate the no-pic rule.

That is … strange. For me it was, at least. There I’m standing 3 meters from a burning body (you can actually see and smell the burning flesh), next to a huge bull that seemed to be looking for something in the mountain of waste I was standing on. Definitely one of the strangest experiences so far.

As for the rest of Varanasi: It’s quite true, it does not take prisoners. It kind of felt like the culmination of our feelings for India so far (leaving out the beautiful landscapes, which were definitely not present): Amazing food, mostly friendly and helpful people – but all covered in dirt and ruled by absolute chaos. It was actually by far the dirtiest and most chaotic place we’ve seen in our lives.

Did it leave a lasting impression? Most definitely, yes.

Would we come back? Most likely not.