Description: If you want to be close to the burning ghat and a maze of streets with daily life happening around you, Sankatha Guest House is a great option. The manager is a very kind man who offered us four exhausted travelers a triple ensuite room (with hot water) for 700 Rs/night. Because of the Shiva Festival taking place the day of our arrival, we walked for two hours before we found a room. Since I didn’t know if I’d be sharing a room with my new traveling companions, I first asked if I could just sleep on the couch in the lobby, and he said ‘No problem.‘ (In the end, I was able to share the room with the three others.) There is a rooftop restaurant with an expansive menu but actually only limited options. The food takes awhile to arrive, but there is great care in preparation. They can also arrange a boat ride (4 people for a total of 500 Rs./hour), but you can easily find it for cheaper by simply walking near the ghat (50 Rs per person). The management stands out in that they really show that they care about the guests. I had to catch the 12:40 am train from Varanasi to Delhi, and the hotel staff basically said that with my disposition as a single female traveler, I’d be nuts to walk around at night after 9:30 pm. That was when all the "bad" and "dangerous" rickshaw drivers descended down. With this newfound fear, I asked the manager to arrange for a staff to carry my backpack and walk with me to the main road. From there, I intentionally chose a kindly, old bicycle rickshaw driver (50Rs). Women don’t go out at night, so the thirty minute journey to the train station put me as an anomaly, with heads turning in my direction at the novelty of a female being out after dusk. For all the crazy stories you hear about Varanasi, props to Sankatha Guest House for their care and concern.
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