Varanasi, where to start?

On one hand it seems like the streets are an assault on the senses. The streets smell strongly of urine and cow poo with an intermittent smell of curdled milk - not the spicy, delicious curry smells we were hoping. The streets are also absolutely jam packed with vehicles all continuously honking. On top of the horns there is the constant touts yelling to get your attention. This goes for the banks of the Ganges too, only everyone is trying to sell you a boat ride instead of a rickshaw ride. And then there is the dust and filth so that you feel unclean as soon as you step outside. The streets are covered in rubbish and cow dung, sometimes this was swept into piles that the cows and mangy dogs sort through for food scraps. Well that leaves taste - the only sense that actually enjoyed itself.

On the other hand Varanasi is an amazing place and an absolute must for the bucket list. There is something happening everywhere you look from the ritualistic burning of the dead on the banks of the Ganges to people bathing in it only a few meters away. The old town area is a tangle of tiny, thin, windy streets filled with busy locals bustling about their daily activities or transporting loads that are as wide as the lanes themselves.

The river bank is lined with steps "ghats" that lead down to the water and each have their own religious significance. The most intense of which are the ghats that are used for their form of funeral ceremonies. We stood a few meters away from one body burning in a fire while another body was ritualistically prepared and then also placed in a fire. We were amongst the grieving families, cows, fighting dogs and some scammers trying to convince us to give up our money for one reason or another. We also saw groups of people singing and dancing while taking bodies to the water and submerging them before removing the bodies and carrying them away again, still singing and dancing.

Varanasi is one of those places that you won't regret visiting, just don't expect to be enjoying yourself 100% of the time, it's more about the experience.