On the 10th of December, after a stay of more than five weeks, I
left Calcutta for Benares. The journey may be performed either by
land, or else by water, on the Ganges. By land, the distance is 470
miles; by water, 800 miles during the rainy season, and 465 miles
more during the dry months, as the boats are compelled to take very
circuitous routes to pass from the Hoogly, through the Sonderbunds,
into the Ganges.
The land journey is performed in post-palanquins, carried by men,
who, like horses, are changed every four or six miles. The
traveller proceeds by night as well as day, and at each station
finds people ready to receive him, as a circular from the post-
office is always sent a day or two before, to prepare them for his
arrival. At night the train is increased by the addition of a
torch-bearer, to scare off the wild beasts by the glare of his
torch. The travelling expenses for one person are about 200 rupees
(20 pounds), independent of the luggage, which is reckoned
separately.
The journey by water can be accomplished in steamers, one of which
leaves almost every week for Allahabad (135 miles beyond Benares).
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