My husband and i took a 2 days trip to the holy city of Banaras. It was an unplanned trip, so the tickets and hotel was booked a day before.
We did not had a well planned itinerary, hence it became more of a food trip. We ate at places which usually wouldn't be our first choice.
So we landed in Banaras, it has the most strongest positive vibes being the holy town of Lord Shiva, though its really dirty (the whole UP is, UP wallas don't get offended because you know it is. Modiji Swatch Bharat Abhiyaan will be extremely successful if he manages to clean UP).
As this being our impromptu budget travel we thought of staying in a hostel hotel, affordable, clean and user friendly - Zostel (it has its presence in many tourist places. They have dorm and private rooms). We being a couple chose a private room which was comfortable, clean and air conditioned.
After reaching hotel we were given the keys and a map of Banaras with detailed description of holy places, temples, food joints, and other such places to visit. Zostel even provides city tours which is due for the next trip.
Finally we began our city tour on foot, mind it Banaras being an old city has very small gaaliya so you will have to explore it on foot so you need to have a good pair of walking shoes, also we went during "Savaan ka Mahina" so all the roads to the ghats and mandir were blocked and no vehicles were allowed. The cheapest modes of transport are cycle rickshaws or e - rickshaws/autos which will charge you a minimum of Rs. 10 per person.
Coming back to our food journey, we went to a thela which served POORI, AALO KI SABZI and JALEBI (OMG) which was lip smacking delicious and this was our lunch which was Rs. 70 only.
Then we moved ahead to offer our prayers to Gangaji at Dashashwamedh ghat (one of the biggest ghats of Banaras) which was flowing in her enormous form.
Dashashwamedh ghat is one of the buzzing ghat, here you can see the famous banaras evening aarti.
After this we set our path to Manikarnika Ghat, it is said to be the gateway to attain MOKSHA. We had to walk through narrow lanes to reach here. The atmosphere here is the complete opposite of Dashmedh ghat, as Manikarnika being the last earthly place for many beings it is quieter. It has a platform where bodies are cremated 24*7.
After this we took a break and then again started on our food exploration. This time we went to a Chaat Shop, we all know UP is famous for its Chaat. Deena Chat Center is located on Luxa Road, is open from 3.30 pm to 10.30 pm. We tried panipuri, dahi samosa and tamatar chaat (i am drooling). We moved ahead in search of BLUE LASSI, but we couldn't go there because of blocked roads and traffic. Tiresome we headed back to our hotel where we had a simple meal at their roof top cafe.
Next day was more or less the same of exploring the city on foot. Then lunch time it was and we moved towards KASHI CHAAT CENTER, the chaats were very much similar to what we had a day before but you gotta try the tennis ball sized Gulab jamun (sinfully good). Phir pet toh bhar gaya but maan nahi bhara. We searched for Ayyar Cafe which started their business back in 1926.A small shabby place difficult to find but serves authentic south indian food and the best lemon tea you can
find. After this we explored New Banaras and the next day we left the city wanting for more.
Still many places to visit, new dishes to try.