As I already told you my stay in Varanasi ended with a beautiful sunrise boatride on the Ganges river. At 5 am Tae wook, his friend who came to visit him and me left Pandeypur to take a rickshaw into town and soon found out that we had come far too early. The sun doesn’t rise before 6:30, even if our co-worker Karmanya (thanks, buddy…) thinks the sunrise-time is 5:30. hehe But it was actually pretty nice to sit at the Ghats, drink some chai and watch the city slowly waking up.
Finally around 6:30 we got on the boat and were cruising along the Ghats. It was really wonderful and suddenly it didn’t matter anymore that it was freezing cold and that we had been getting up at 4 am. The whole tour totally rewarded us for our effort. But just look at it yourself.
As we got back to the office after a rich breakfast I was told that I was late for my own farewell-party. The night before our boss had sent out an e-mail that all staff members should meet at 11am for a little celebration. Unfortunately I got that mail when I finally reached the office around 12 but as the VIP of the party it’s alright to be late. hehe After some short speeches, receiving a certificate, a lot of Thank yous and a snack we all lined up for a staff group picture:
The guy with the green pullover is Mr. Chaubey, who had provided me with shelter. Next to him (white shirt) is Upendra, followed by Mr. Manoj, behind me on my right side is Anup, right next to me Dr. Lenin, Shabana to my left, the girl next to Dr. Lenin is Marnie from the US, the guy with the blue shirt standing behind her is Karmanya and I guess you already know the two guys in front: Tae wook and Hemant.
The last night in Varanasi I was celebrating Thanksgiving with a bunch of Americans on a rooftop in Godaulia close to the Ghats. It was really a good last night. The next morning I had to say good bye to my family – a sad moment for all of us. Mr. Chaubey told me that I remind them a lot of their daughter who had died at the age of 26 two years ago. He declared me as an official member of the Chaubey family and said I was like a real daughter to him. That didn’t really make it easier to leave…
Here’s a picture of Mr. Chaubey, his wonderful wife and their son Deepak. Unfortunately Shailesh, their 2nd son had left already.
The journey to Pushkar was long but fun. The train ride to Ajmer took us 24 hours and we got there with 5 hours of Delay but the beds were comfortable and it was nice to watch the landscape pass by.
Another busride and about an hour later, we had finally made it….Pushkar: a peaceful oasis between mountains and deserts.
