Floating down the Ganges

Allahabad, as the name implies, is a largely Muslim city, mostly industrial and not particularly alluring. When we got off the overnight train in the early morning, we were taken to a hotel where our group had two rooms, boys’ and girls’, in which to freshen up, and then we all had breakfast in pleasant dining room. Then we piled into a small private bus which was to take us to our departure point along the Ganges, about 1-1/2 hours drive away. When we got there just before noon, there were four small boats rigged with fabric sun shades, each to take 4-5 of us down the river over the next two days. It was hot, perhaps 34 C. The boats were human-powered. They were rowed, poled, or sailed along,

depending on the conditions.
 
The deck on which we sprawled was covered with a bed-like mattress, and various pillows were provided for leaning against. It is hard for these old bones to sit or lie for lengthy periods, but we all managed by switching locations and leaning conditions. We all fitted onto three of the boats: the fourth was the “kitchen” and support boat.


 
We set off from the bank but almost immediately rafted the boats together and floated, allowing the kitchen boat to serve us a delicious hot meal while floating unpowered down the Ganges. It was lovely.

During the afternoon, the two boatmen rowed singly, then together, and at one point put up a sail. We all were stunned when they both leaned over the edge of the boat and scooped cupfuls of river water to drink. Yikes. We had seen weeds, dead animals, and birds in the water during the trip. Needless to say, none of us travelers wanted even to touch the water. However, it was
extremely pleasant out on the river. I think that everyone agreed that this was a favorite aspect of the trip: quiet, slow, relaxing, and no bugs.  
 
Around 5 o’clock we pulled toward a white, sandy, deserted riverbank and clambered ashore. Hastily,
the ten support crew scrambled around and within a very short time had erected 8-9 two-person tents, distributed bedding, put up a central “bug screen” tent (although there were very few bugs), arranged a tented pit privy complete with toilet paper, and started dinner preparation. We all stood around in awe of this rapid, effective activity.

Dean and I decided to use our tent without its fly cover, since the sky was completely clear with no prospect of rain, and I’m glad we did even though there was quite a heavy dewfall overnight.

There was a nearly full moon which meant that it was almost as bright as winter moonlight on snow. It was definitely not necessary to use a headlamp when visiting the bathroom at night. After dinner our guide, Suresh, sat and answered our many questions about the Hindu faith and the disposal of bodies, and then we withdrew to our tents for the night. Dean had a few hours of upset stomach but wasn’t actually sick, and seemed pretty much his usual self the next morning. I slept blissfully through it all with my earplugs firmly in place. 

Next morning, up before sunrise, a first cup of delicious chai, and then back onto the boats to float and be rowed down the river. Soon we rafter up again and were served breakfast while floating with the current. It was lovely and cool initially, but as soon as the sun rose into the sky, it became hot again. Still, being out on the water was peaceful.
We saw the oft-touted river dolphins jumping near our boat, and passed one funeral pyre with attendant mourners along the bank of the river. By early afternoon we reached our disembarkation point, got into two large jeeps with our luggage slung onto the roof, and set off for Varanasi, a several hour drive. When we arrived at the Hotel Haifa (go figure) in the late afternoon, we all were ready for a shower and rest.