
A trip to Nalanda, Bodh Gaya and Varanasi: Part 2
If you haven’t read Part 1 of this story, please read it here before you proceed any further.
We left peaceful Bodh Gaya to head to another interesting place; a place where we would experience a sensory overload—Varanasi.

We bid adieu to peaceful Bodh Gaya, and a few hours of train journey later, found ourselves in one giant confusion known as Varanasi. If you believe Bangalore has the worst traffic jams, you must visit Varanasi. Cows, people, e-rickshaws, 2-wheelers, rickshaws, cars: all jostle for whatever little free space there is on the roads, and with horns blaring continuously. Miraculously, 8-lane traffic squeezes through a single lane without too many incidents.

Among many other things, Varanasi is paradise for foodies. Pictured here is the ‘Blue Lassy shop’- a shop famous for its delicious lassis. One crazy custom we noted here was that customers put up their passport-sized photo on the wall to mark their visit. You can also get bhang lassis (a potent cannabis-laced lassi) in some Government licensed outlets in Varanasi, but I wouldn’t recommend drinking one if you have a train or flight to catch in a few hours.

Another lovely delicacy is Malaiyo – a fluffy milk based sweet prepared only in Varanasi during winter season.

Kachori Gali is the place to go for awesome snacks in Varanasi. The lane has a number of shops selling sweets, kachoris, tikkis and other snacks.

Found this small hole-in-the-wall shop selling piping hot idly-vada-sambar. What more can a Madrasi in North India ask for? Like my roomies from yore used to say: “Brahman khush hua!”
An end to another wonderful journey – a trip where we met the most cheerful of people, ate the most wonderful of food, experienced raw life energy, got some new perspectives, and came back to loving family.
[…] our last year’s trip to Varanasi and Bodhgaya, my friend ‘Smiling Buddha’, Deepak and I were back on the road again; this […]
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