We took a 17hour overnight train from Delhi to Varanasi which actually went really quickly as we managed to get loads of sleep. When we arrived we shared an auto rickshaw to Pandey Ghat with an American guy. The Rickshaw drivers in varanasi are notoriously corrupt and so there's no point in asking them to take you to where you want to stay as they will take you somewhere else that offers them commission. He dropped us off down some side street and we had to walk to the Ghat as the back streets are too narrow for rickshaws to navigate. When we made it to the Ganges we stopped and just watched as people went into the Ganges and bathed as part of their morning ritual. We knew where we wanted to stay and so with backpacks on we headed off to find it. After about 15 mions we realised that we had been walking for far too long and to make matters worse we were running out of energy as Varanasi is full of steep steps and we hadn't eaten properly since noon the day before. We had to turn back and10 mins later realised that I had looked at the map the wrong way round and we were in fact right next to the place when we started walking- oops! So much for my D of E helping my map reading skills.
So we sat at the guesthouse from 8am til noon waiting for people to check out. At 12.10 the manager kindly informed us that if we came back tomorrow he would give us a room- so tonight we will go where? After lugging our bags up and down a ridiculous amount of steps we finally found somewhere that was not over priced, was clean and right near the Ganges. Knackered, we headed out to check out some of the ghats. I'm sure you've all seen the pictures of bedsheet after bedsheet being wased and dried along the river and we can say that it is even more impressive to see in real life. Heading back late in the afternoon we came to the smallest of the two burning ghats. One body was already a light and there was another waiting to be burned. Dying in Varanasi means that you achieve immediate enlightenment and so it is not surprising that many elderly people go there to spend their last days. It was strange to see such an open cremation but it is the done thing here and most of the individuals we saw being burned had their heads covered although it was a little strange seeing their feet poking out from the bottom. A few days later we went to Manikarnika ghat which is the largest burning ghat. We were approached by one of the untouchables who burn the bodies and look after the elderly who are dying in the hospice there. He explained to us that the poor people couldn't afford to buy the wood for burning and so I gave a donation, Dean was then hounded by the man but kept his purse strings tied. The man also informed us that there are certain people who aren't cremated: pregnant women, holy men, infants and lepars. Instead, they are tied up and thrown in the Ganges. Apparently the smell of burning lepers makes everyone else ill so the river gets them instead :s . This made the fact that people are constantly bathing in the river even more disgusting but I suppose as we don't consider the Ganges to be sacred to us,it makes it harder to comprehend.

We found a little hang out for the sunsets called 'Lotus lounge', which had sunlounger cushions instead of chairs and great views of the ganges- very relaxing. One evening we took a boat ride down the river which again chilled us out, in fact to the point where we began feeling sleepy. On our last night we saw a religous ceremony where men were putting on a display with fire along a few of the ghats.

Sorry this blog is a bit lame but after writing 2 and having celebrated Holi here in Goa today I am knackered. The Goa blog will be written soon. There are some photos on the way soon too.

Em and Dean

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