The Holy Hindu city of Varanasi, or Banares as the locals call it, is one of the first places in India that locals and foreigners agree is a must visit. Set on the banks of the sacred river Ganges, this city is THE place to go for a Hindu pilgrimage. Every day of the year, thousands of Indian pilgrims come to bathe in their sacred Mata Ganga. Our curiosities were tickled, so after the wedding in Delhi we decided to accompany Aidan's Aunty Robyn and her good span...

We had heard so many horror stories about India that we were prepared for the worst. As anticipated, it was crowded, dirty and a little confronting, but all of this didn't bother us nearly as much as we'd expected. Perhaps we've been severely desensitised spending so much recent time in the developing world... Except for the constant stream of loud farts coming from the old guy sleeping across from us, our first sleeper train to Delhi was actually pretty comfort...