Varanasi - Off the Beaten Track

steven_ber

Some wonderful info in this thread, I've got to make it a 'sticky', if only to make it easier for me to find when I go to Varanasi.

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yatrayatra

Kashi is certainly a fairly digital city.

You can buy a cellphone and use it to access Internet anywhere in the city with your laptop.

In three days BSNL gives you a broadband connection to your residence promising to deliver 256kbps to 2MBps. I dont know what one actually gets - however, while the speed may vary the supply is almost continuous. It can be considered always "on" for all practical purposes.

Most Internet cafe's have card readers at no extra charge ; burning Cd's is offered by almost all , burning DVD's is a little difficult.

Umm , the locals have caught onto INternet in a big way; they pay Rs 10 per hour at Lanka and have a whale of a time chatting away to glory.

The hottest tourist centre some time back for Internet was Mona Lisa in the Bengali Tola section of the old town - he has 10 machines with LCD screens, headphones with skype and google talk and they do bring coffee/tea/rolls to your table ! 20 Rs and hour only ! And this guy did not have a formal education but has he gone digital !

Some Internet centres are offering to book train tickets online and give you a print out for the ticket. Your passport is valid id. Umm , they have their service charge of, course !

In India - Wifi and WiMax are taking off. Within a year , one can probably buy a card and plug in wirelessly to high speeds of 2MPBps to 10MBps. The pilot project for Wi-Max is coming up in Bangalore, Pune, Chennai - I daresay Kashi will be up on the list soon.

Kashi does need the Wi_Max ; going digital has not changed 5000 years of knowing that pilgrims will always come to Kashi ! That 10,000 sq foot of Dashashwamedh Ghat is guaranteed playing host to 1.1b Indians and growing !

Mahadeva !

robotvoice

re: mona lisa cafe: He was still there (as of last year) and still tends to be the center of the tourist area. Pretty good chinese food too.

Darmabum

is getting a facelift . . . actually more like a new face. When I left in August of last year workers were hurrying (before the swelling Ganga reached them) to complete the new stone ghat just south of the mud ghat that is Asi. Looks like the new ghat will be well above the river level (at most times), and be able to accomodate many more people . . . maybe tryin' to give Dasashawamedh a run for it's rupees.

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Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure - Marianne Williamson

Gayamom

Palerider, Darmabum, Yatra, and Robotvoice - Be much more fun if this conversation were held while skipping stones off one of the ghats, but I suppose then we really wouldn't need to have it? With its booming pilgrim/ tourist trade and consequent cash flow, I suspected Kashi had jumped into the digital era with both feet. Good! Just hope a tide of good fortune sweeps along the folks in Bengali Tola and the adjacent tolas as well. Cheers to one and all - GM

Darmabum

. . . I hope this year to be skipping stones or at least just sitting on my perch at Tulsi Ghat (I show up an hour before sunrise, while the stars are still out)(and before the monkey's are awake) just a stone's throw from where I stay . . . there are places in the world I don't/won't return to, as the changes I hear happening seem too much for me to bear, and I want to keep that original feeling . . . Varanasi has changed, but in the almost 20 years I've known her, she may have had her face lifted several times, but the heartbeat remains the same . . . sounds like it's time for you to get back there too . . . 21 years is a long absence for someone who has the memories so indelibly recorded . . . you can see with your eyes the changes . . . close them . . . listen . . . I think you'll recognize what you hear . . .

kayte

try to stay for dev dipali, one week later, possibly two. its the best festival, the ghats are all lit up with oil lamps, beautiful, plus celebrations the traditional varanasi way - crazy!

Khak

Hi
I stayed in a place called Mughalsarai (the largest railway juntion in India)about 25 Km from Varanasi for two years. I used to visit Varansai frequently. Here are my favorite activities in Varanasi

1>attending classical music nights conducted at Sankat Mochan Mandir every year during Mar-Apr
2>walking along the ghats any time
3>sitting on the ghats and watching the river & crowd
4>taking boat ride during dip-deepavali (14 days after diwali)
5>having glass of thick lassi topped with rabri (delicious)
6>walking along the streets aimlessly
7>soaking in 3000 years of history
8>riding back to Mughalsarai at 2 am on my bike

waving monkey

gayamom
i like your style