Before I get into my story, I wanted to say that the concept behind Steemit is very intriguing and I have a passion for crypto-currenices and blockchain tech...So, thanks for putting the platform out there.
Hey there...I wanted to share some parts of my trip to India in 2011.
I solo-backpacked for 3 weeks to Goa/Jaipur/Agra/Delhi/Mumbai/Sarnath/Varanasi in Dec.
My trip started out with a free stop-over to Seoul. I ended up at the DMZ on the day that Kim Jong IL died on 12/17/11. We were standing at the famous blue building when we were told that we had to leave in haste and planes circled over head. As a side anecdote, while in the blue building (where the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on 7/27/53)...we were told only S. Korean guards were in the building during S. Korean tours and likewise for N. Korean tours.
The reason being a few years back, a S. Korean tour was being given and a N. Korean guard was at the back door...well a scuffle ensued and the there was literally a tug-of-war and N. Korean soldier was trying to pull the tourist on the S. Korean tour into N. Korea...ever since then no N. Koreans are allowed during a S. Korean tour and vice versa.
Getting back to India - Varanasi is known as the place where the world goes to die. It is one of the oldest continuously lived-in cities in the world (along with Jerusalem, Demascus, an Sana'a). The Manikarnika Ghat is the most famous and burns the most bodies, 24/7. The Ghats are simply the steps on the river bank of the Ganges aka the Ganga (one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world).
Over 12,000 million liters of sewage pours into the Ganga each day. A fecal coliform count that exceed 50-500 per 100ml is considered unsafe for drinking & bathing...The avg. fecal count for the Ganga is 60K per 100ml and further from Varanasi or Banares reaches 1.5M per 100ml.
That being said, you have 10,000+ people per day bathing in the Ganga, washing their clothes, brushing their teeth, drinking it, shitting in it, etc...
Having your body burned and placed in the Ganga is suppose to stop the cycle of re-birth in the Hindu religion as re-incarnation is a central tenant.
Getting back to my tale...I hired a boat driver to take me up the Ganga during sunrise...we got to the Manikarnika Ghat and I was then lead by a Brahim (highest caste) to the middle where the bodies were burning. There were 6 bodies around me and I was being covered by body ash. It was a bit intense of an experience...I was then lead to the top of the structure where the Brahim committed what was the first, but not last of the 5 scams I had pulled on me while in India.....
Stay tuned for Part II.