Varanasi is a city older than history it is said. It's one of the holiest cities in India. If you die here, you achieve Moksha and escape the endless cycle of reincarnations. Judging by the colour of the Ganges, and the mess of the roads, there are plenty of opportunities to do that... I'm really glad I came to see India. It's a great adventure travelling on the buses, the trains etc. But, it does get a bit tedious after a while. The noise, the hassle, the peop...

22 hours. 22 hour long train ride. 22 hours with nothing more than a crampt bunk bed, an India Guidebook to read over and over again and an obscured view of the Uttar Pradesh countryside. I shouldn't have even made the train! I literally had to jump onto the train at Haridwar station, my Vikram was slowed right down in a massive traffic jam in Haridwar and so I literally got to the station as the train was leaving. I did manage to sleep some 7 or so hours, but ...

It's been a packed day! I checked out after I woke up and went for breakfast of about 10 Paneer Paranthas in a restaurant overlooking the Ganges with a spectacular view. of the town. I prambled around for a bit, dodging cows, sadhus and streams of old ladies in saris just like yesterday. Mercifully, however, the weather was much, much cooler today even with a sprinkling of rain. I decided to make a hike to a nearby waterfall Neer Gargh.This involved a dusty ...

It's not been a great day. I've been a bit bored and sleepy again. I've swapped bad hostels with good beds for good hostels with bad beds so its probably an early night tonight! I haven't done an awful lot. To be honest I didn't really plan my time here in Rishikesh spectacularly well. All the yoga retreats etc are a bit expensive or don't really do 'drop-in' courses. It feels a bit of a shame to come to the home of yoga and not try it out. Mind you, I could do...

I'm back in the Himalays! Albeit, a lot lower down at just 370m altitude. Hence, Rishikesh is a lot hotter than Mcleod and only slightly cooler than Amritsar. I had to get up around 545 to get to Amritsar station for my train to the nearby city of Haridwar. The whole journey was a bit.. dull. It was in fact very easy using the train here in India. Nothing like the images of horrific overcrowding, this was a fancy commuter train between 2 big cities, equipped wit...