After the frenetic pace of Kolkata, it was a pleasant contrast to board RV Ganges Voyager for a ten night cruise up the Ganges. I had been travelling by myself for my first two weeks in India so it was marvellous to catch up with my husband for the cruise. Our river odyssey was to take us over 800 kilometres from Kolkata to Patna on one of the world’s most mystic rivers.
The mighty Ganges turned out to be a real eye opener and gave me another perspective on India’s people, history and culture. Throughout the cruise we discovered amazing sights including former outposts of the French and British colonies, visited temples and mosques that have withstood centuries of conquests and mingled in communities typical of rural India. Most of the places we visited are untouched by tourism making the trip an adventure to remember.
There are few rivers in the world so revered as the sacred Ganges – and perhaps few as charming as the Hooghly. The upstream trip explores both rivers journeying from Kolkata through beautiful scenery and encountering wonderful ‘off the beaten track’ destinations.
After leaving Kolkata the huge river was surprisingly clean and life along the river is bountiful. The soil is very fertile and farmers are able to harvest two crops each year. The area is known as the food bowl of India and there were never ending fields of vegetables, rice, wheat, maize and orchards lining the river and stretching almost to the horizon.
The locals were always there to greet us when we arrived at their village. The cute children smiled for the camera and giggled at their image on the screen. The shy women in their colourful saris looked on from a safe distance while the men just chatted amongst themselves drinking chai whilst watching the passing parade of westerners.
We especially loved the tours of the small villages and farms along the river. It was wonderful to walk among the local people and see how they lived their daily lives. And they were as fascinated with us as we were with them! Children lined the banks of the river to wave as we sailed by.
