Once we'd finished in Amritsar we were off to Varanasi, a city on the holy river Ganges. To get there though we had a 24 hour train journey so we decided that we'd need to go up one rung in train class – to AC3 (essentially 3rd class). Previously we'd always gone sleeper class, the 4th class. The difference was incredible though; comfier beds, pillows, blankets and even people coming round to take food orders for you! We were impressed. Although our carriage did have a mouse running around in it but hey that’s India for you. Even with improved comfort it was still a hard journey and sleep was difficult due to persistent snoring and small children in our vicinity. Once we arrived we had to go and find somewhere to eat. This was made much more difficult by a power cut meaning that all the street lights were off! Plus the added danger of some very aggressive feral dogs hanging about in our neighbourhood. It was more that they gave you a shock when they jumped out of the shadows barking. When you've got 3 or 4 dogs around you doing that it can be quite intimidating. 
 
So after a long sleep we decided food was in order so we decided to go to a place called The Brown Bread Bakery. Now this was described in the Lonely Planet as having “more than 20 varieties of cheese and more than 30 types of bread, cookies and cakes” and after a month and a half of Indian food this sounded like heaven. We had no trouble finding it and the menu looked amazing! They did indeed have 20 varieties of cheese and also ham, bacon and sausage! We were very excited. That was of course until we ordered and found out that they only had 3 cheeses, no meat and some very disappointing bread rolls on offer. Saddened by our breakfast, we started talking to a German guy called Chris, who introduced us to an American/French couple called Dave and Marie. All were equally disappointed with the food. That was until another of Chris's friends turned up (Will from Australia) who was puzzled to find us in the FAKE Brown Bread Bakery! Literally across the road was the real one which did indeed have cheese, sausage and even cider on offer! And not only had they stolen their name but they'd also photocopied their menu's so for the uninitiated it looked exactly as advertised in the Lonely Planet! This is not the first time we've come across this either, as soon as a successful business pops up, there are copy cats all around it. This was however the worst case we've found. As it turns out the real Brown Bread Bakery was excellent!

We chatted for some time in the comfort of the real bakery and then all decided to go down to the Ghats. For those of you who don't know, Ghats are openings out onto the holy water in the Ganges and each Ghat is usually given a specific purpose, i.e. cleaning clothes, bathing, praying and cremating bodies. To die along the river and be cremated here means being released from the cycle of rebirth. So as curious tourists we went down to the riverside to one of the “Burning Ghats”. There happened to be a power cut at the time so we were wondering around in the dark in the evening being drawn by the fires we could see up ahead. It was very busy at the ghat but also quite quiet as well. Sombre. We felt as though we shouldn't really be there and were concerned about seeming to be disrespectful though there were other tourists milling around. We decided to go up to a higher point to watch all the goings on from above. There were around 15 different fires burning with lots of people keeping watch who worked at the ghat. Apparently around 200 cremations a day can take place here with all ashes being scattered into the river. It was a very hot evening as well, compounded by the heat from the fires below which were also providing our only source of light. The smoke was thick in the air, the smell not something we've experienced before and yet we all stayed for about 20 minutes just watching in silence. Some bodies were very visible amongst the wood piles. It was a strange experience and we had mixed emotions. It was almost mesmerising, a morbid fascination at something as Westerners you just don't see as well as feelings of uneasiness and repulsion and yet this was an extremely important, intimate part of Indian life. Once was definitely enough and we left, all lost in thought.


The following day we were up before dawn as we were taking a boat trip on the river with the guys we'd met previously. It was a beautiful sunrise over the river. Until of course you look to the shore and see a dead dog floating by and what we assumed was a dead cow. Not long after spotting these our boatman told us that certain people cannot be cremated due to various circumstances so instead their burial involves dropping them into the Ganges with weights attached! This made us a little uneasy to say the least given that we were on the water. On the shoreline people were merrily bathing, washing clothes and of course brushing their teeth with the same water. Literally a few metres away from where we saw the dead cow. Just shocking. Not to mention that most sewage all goes into the river too. We knew the river was dirty but we weren't expecting it to be quite this dirty. There is something to be said for Holy rivers.

Varanasi was definitely a shocking place. Extremely busy maze of alleyways and streets, impossible to find your way around and get your bearings at times. The ghats along the river were fascinating as well as very very dirty and smelly. Hindus' dedication to their religion is undeniable but it left us feeling like we were on another planet at times. Something to be seen and experienced for sure.