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 spanish friend, Marina, to this mysterious and much-hyped city. Our trains' sleeper carriage (the second lowest class) to Varanasi wasn't as bad as Neeraj's family made out and our compartment was full of friendly, smiling company. The main difference between this and the more expensive carriages is that sleepers are much more accessible for the general public, including those without tickets.. It seemed that a bit of a tip for the ticket collector was all it took to reserve a piece of floor, or even squeeze a couple of extra mates onto one of the narrow bunks! Luckily, when we decided to sleep it didn't take long before our watchful Indian neighbours booted off the freelance passengers from the end of our beds. And if we had any further doubts about our safety, these were quashed by the over-protective security guard on our carriage. After insisting that we never accept offered food and chain up all of our bags, he sat opposite us all night with a rifle on the ready! We felt secure, but the situation didn't make for the most comfortable of sleeps..

When we arrived the next morning in a sleep deprived state, our first task was to ensure the rickshaw driver take us to our chosen hotel. This wasn't easy, and we spent over an hour of detouring to their friends hotels, all the time being warned about how dirty and poorly managed our chosen hotel was. With continuous insistence we finally got to where we wanted, which, surprise surprise, was actually quite nice.

The city of Varanasi - a place for pilgrims to reflect, cleanse and pass into the afterlife - sounds beautiful and even romantic. Our first introduction to this powerful place was the film 'Water'. Set along the Ganges, the story follows the tragic life of an untouchable child widow. One thing that the film doesn't cover though is the health of the river itself, which is one of the most polluted on earth!

Varanasi is a very densely populated place, and as much as the sacred river represents divinity, it also serves as the cities waste dump. We noticed at least two dead pigs floating down the river in the short time we were there. Apparently studies have shown there are over 1.5 million faecal coliforms per 100ml of water. The safe level for swimming is under 500! We cringed when we saw hundreds of people not only bathing in these waters but also drinking it, all in the name of religion!

The river bank is lined with ghats, or concrete steps, for easy bathing access. We stayed close to Dasawamedh Ghat, the place where most pilgrims take their baths. Every night, they host a big 'ganga aarti' fire ceremony to pay homage to these holy waters. Thousands of people come to sing, chant and praise the river. One night we hired a boat to watch this symbolic ritual. Squished in amongst hundreds of other spectators, we couldn't help but feel the special magic that this place projected!

One of the most significant, eye-opening, visually impregnating and memorable experiences we had was seeing the Manikarnika 'Burning' Ghat. Here, hundreds of people are cremated in public every day. Apparently, to die and be cremated on the banks of the holy Ganges cleanses the spirit and frees it from the cycle of re-birth. It made us wonder whether perhaps these people feel ashamed of their current life, and travel to Varanasi to die and escape the fate of being re-born into a less fortunate situation.

We realised we were getting close to this solemn place when we noticed the piles of firewood and billows of smoke. As we approached, we were greeted by an overly friendly 'caretaker' who persistently guided us around. We gave in and decided to use the chance to find out more about the ritual. We learnt that an average of 200 bodies are cremated here daily (even more in the rainy season due to death by cold). Pregnant women, young children and those who have died of various causes such as snake bites, are not burnt. Instead, their corpses are weighed down with stones and sunk in the middle of the Ganges. Perhaps another deterrent for swimmers...

Overlooking the Ghats are two looming hospices for those without family to wait out their last days on earth. For a better view, we allowed ourselves to be taken to one of the hospice balconies. We were forewarned about this experience, so not at all surprised to find two elderly women waiting at the entrance of the viewpoint demanding donations for 'firewood'. The most favourable wood used for cremations is not cheap, so we gave a little to keep them happy (though this didn't stop them asking for more when we were leaving!). We can only hope that our money was used for that intention and doesn't end up in some criminals pocket.

It was a powerful and confronting experience, watching bodies slowly burn below us. We weren't sure how or what we should be feeling, but it somehow felt quite natural. Raw and sensory, but natural. Eventually, however, the heat, smoke and smell became too much and we left the families and old women in peace..

In search of a more authentic local Varanasi, we took a few hours one afternoon to walk away from all the souvenirs, tourists and cunning shop owners. We didn't have to go far to see a much more relaxed and spiritual everyday side of the city. There weren't even any Indian tourists!

Although polluted, dirty and smelly, Varanasi still managed to hold a subtle romantic vibe. By the time we left we were just starting to feel it, whether it was through watching boys playing cricket amongst the crowded ghats, boats full of Thai monks snapping happily away with their IPads, birds chasing away the sun, monkeys being mischievous or ecstatic pilgrims soaking in the holy rivers waters.

Despite all of us sharing our turn in a bout of the runs, we couldn't help but be inspired to join in with all the entertainment and life that the city had to offer. We indulged in a sunrise and sunset cruise of the Ganges, strolled along the waterfront and braved the market scene. One night we sat mesmerised, listening to talented classical Indian musicians playing off each other with the tabla, sitar and vina (the latter is like a cross between a sitar and a lap guitar). Aidan was so inspired by the beautiful, unique sound of the Indian drums that he even took a few tabla lessons! All of this was understandably a bit of a sensory overload, so before we left we took the time to soak it all in with some quality roof top Yoga (with a hilariously eccentric Yogi).

With Robin and Marina on a tight schedule, and ourselves keen to immerse ourselves in some serious yoga and meditation, we are now on another sleeper train heading back to Delhi. It was a bit out of the way for only a few days, but we're glad we took the time to visit this amazing and unique city, and it proved to be a great introduction to traditional Indian culture.