The night train wasn't that bad but they don't come round like on the China trains to tell you when the next stop is and they're usually late so you don't really know when you will arrive, and every stop there is a panic of trying to see a station name through the clouded with dirt windows which is sometimes impossible.
We were an hour and a half late which was OK as we were due to arrive really early and we got a pre paid tuk tuk to our hostel which was on a really busy road. The room we had was on the roof of the building. With a shared squat toilet but I think we were the only ones using it so it wasn't so bad. We headed to a restaurant recommended by our rough guide that was on the way to the river and the food was amazing! Dan got a thali which is basically 2 small curries and then rice and some chapattis. They do them all over India and are a good cheap option. I got tomato and paneer curry which was amazing!
After we headed down to the ghats by the river which are places where people wash in the Ganges and it is a very holy place. It didn't seem very holy with everyone trying to hassle you for boat trips. The river was high as well so you couldn't walk along the river. We headed into the alleyways which were like the souq in Tunisia only narrower and busier as there were also temples somewhere in the maze of alleyways. We didn't buy anything, there was nothing we really wanted. There were lots of people begging in various ways and it is very hard to determine who needs help most. Luckily we saw a lot of local people giving to various people which is how it should be not just relying on tourists. We also saw a lot of people feeding the cows, it is annoying that in such poor countries their belief systems teach them to give food to things like cows or a temple or monks. When there are people here that can barely afford to eat day to day.
The next day we ate at the same restaurant as it was so good but we started the day late as the electric went off in the night and our room was sweltering without a fan even though it was cool outside. Because of the baboons though we had to leave our door firmly shut. They are scary here!! We then decided to actually go on a boat ride. The guy asked for 800 rupees but we said 400 and he accepted right away, which makes me think we probably could have got it for a lot less! We got in a horrible rickety boat and then a richer guy who apparently owned the boat said 600 otherwise we would have to wait for other people to join. We said we would wait. After 15 mins he said 500 for a private boat we agreed as the sun was boiling and we couldn't be bothered waiting so much longer for the sake of one whole pound.
We set off up river with two guys rowing us along. We passed various other ghats with people bathing and people covered head to toe in soap before diving into the water. It was nice being able to observe people's lives without disturbing them or being hassled. We turned around at one of the cremation ghats but it was done by electric fire so there wasn't any bodies. Apparently some people are burned and others are just put onto the river but I don't know the circumstances for which way your body is laid to rest. We headed down stream now so the men didn't have to row watching more people and cows bathing next to masses and masses of decaying rubbish. India feels like 1.1 billion people literally throw all their rubbish out onto the streets and then the numerous wild dogs, cows, monkeys and pigs sift through it and eat what is edible leaving just hundreds of thousands of decaying plastic everywhere coupled in with all the genuine s*** from the animals mentioned above and the lots of people. I haven't actually seen any public toilets and lots of people have no homes to go to so they must go on the street. We kept floating until we came to the second burning ghat, this one was actual bonfires and we stopped at a man strategically placed and we couldn't move as we were stuck on the boat. He started telling us about the ghat and its significance in the Hindu religion. He said that people were burnt with eternal fire that was lit by Vishnu some 3000 years ago and has been kept burning since then, this may be wrong as I wasn't listening all too well as the scenes before us were shocking.
Firstly there were around four bonfires all going and the one directly in front of us had two feet sticking out of it that used to belong to a woman. It was a horrible sight. It became even more horrible as we noticed there was no body attached to the feet that had already been burnt. Eventually a man came and shoved the feet into the bonfire. Second thing to notice was that there were around 5 or 6 body's on stretchers covered with lots of material and tinsel waiting to be cremated. First they dip the body in the Ganges to wash them before the burning. I saw one family of around 20 people gather around one of the bodies to have a final family photograph with the deceased, I couldn't decide if it was touching or disturbing. I guess both.
Thirdly one truly horrible sight was right by where the bodies were washed were people panning for gold... Yep from the bodies, and the ashes that get thrown into the water. That means peoples gold teeth, nose rings, earrings. Truly truly horrible right next to grieving families.
All the while this very well dressed clean man kept jabbering on and on and telling us how people who don't have a family wait in this tower to die and that lots of people can't afford the best type of wood to be burnt in and that we should contribute to buying some wood for people. Whilst I think its really sad that people who don't have a family just wait for death by the river I also believe that giving money for religious reasons should come from people who are part of that religion. They could go to the electric fire ghat if they cannot afford the wood and there are plenty of rich Indian people that could donate. However it doesn't even matter seeing as any money we were going to give wasn't going to any sort of wood buying. More like straight into the pockets of this man and the boat rowers. Dan gave 60 rupees because it didn't seem like we would be able to get moving until we gave a 'donation' and he did talk for a good long while even if I wasn't paying attention. He then asked us for more money saying that this donation would hardly buy any wood, we told him we would come back tomorrow and give directly to the temple which he couldn't argue with. We headed back to the ghat we started our tour at and then the rowers asked for more money saying it was very hard work. Its so annoying that we agreed 400 and then actually paid 500 not including whatever cut they just got from the talker at the burning place. And yet they STILL ask for more money. It is so annoying and gives a horrible impression of the country. These people have a job and have earnt a bit from only one hours work, whereas some people have to work 5 or 6 hours to get the same amount of money. We gave them nothing and jumped out of the boat and headed back into the alley ways. After this we chilled in an air conditioned 'mall' that we discovered. This mall had a food court with only one restaurant, one shop and a cinema but it was clean and had WiFi. We stayed here until about 5pm where we ordered a pizza to go to eat on the train and grabbed our stuff from the hostel. The hostel owner said that it would cost around 60-70 rupees for a cycle rickshaw to the station and it would take about 40 mins. We went out and someone quoted 150, which was over double the price. Then a different man said 100 and we jumped in his. These rickshaws are just bicycles with a double seat on the back like towing a wagon I guess. But the seats are really high up and so you get a nice view of all the buildings and all the chaos of the roads.
Our guy was struggling to cycle, at point he got out and pushed, it was very slow going and we felt bad. We decided to give him 200 at the end of his journey because he gave us a fair price and the station had been a really long way!! Hr seemed overjoyed which was so nice to say we had only given him £1 extra. Hopefully he uses it wisely and not feeding cows. The station was busy but eventually the train arrived and we were one of the first on. We put our bags under the bed and then a guy about our age came on with his mum and said that as he was on the bottom bunk and his seat was in the corner he wanted us to move our stuff so he could put his there. We moved our bags slightly over making sure they didn't hang out at the end and get stood on by the masses of people that move through the corridors selling things. Then he said that he wanted more space because he wanted to put his case sideways even though it only went past the bed by 2 inches and was covered by the table so there was no chance of anyone stepping on it. By this time the train was getting crowded with everyone putting their bags on. We refused to move our bags anymore otherwise they would be hanging out in the corridor so Dan moved his bag to the other row of seats and this loser put his bag horizontally just as he wanted. His mummy locked his suitcase to the bed for him and then they said goodbye and she left the train. She wasn't even getting on the train. She was just there for moral support to help her adult son board a train on his own. By this time the other 4 people got in our carriage with various items of luggage and one guys suitcase had to stick out into the corridor because there was no space. There was no question that the mummy's boy would move his suitcase so that it took up less room and this other guys suitcase wouldn't get trodden on and shoved. Everyone is selfish here. All the 4 other people in our carriage were men. So I went straight up to my top bunk to bed.