Waking up to the sound of an overly enthusiastic alarm clock is never ideal, but when a sunrise boat trip is on the cards you can avoid hitting the snooze button with ease. It was very surreal getting to our ghat at 5:45 in the morning; everything was quite as a tomb, a stark contrast to the hubbub of usual Indian life. With sunrise quickly approaching we lengthened our stride to ensure that we got to our skipper in time - a youthful fellow that had an affinity...

Well, last night the inevitable happened; the curse, the scurge, the plague of tourists in India - I got the trots. Having camped on the toilet since four in the morning I awoke at 7:30 a dehydrated and shivering mess. As every ounce of fluid and dignity that my body possessed (all that separated me from Chelsea was a very flimsy plywood door) was swirling around in an Indian sewage system; Chelsea charitably agreed to a chill out day in our hotel room - I coul...

As being woefully misinformed seems to be traditional in India, when we were told that to get to Assi Ghat on the banks of the Ganges was a five/ten minute walk, we weren't altogether surprised to arrive there forty minutes later, covered in perspiration. If you were wondering, a ghat is a series of steps leading down to a waters' edge and Varanasi has hundreds of them all of which offer their own quirks and idiosyncrasies. Assi Ghat is the first of a long succ...

As it turns out, our weighty but graceful friend in the top bunk wasn't a snorer, he went soundly to sleep and I hoped to quickly follow suit. Every other Indian on the train had other ideas however - they all talked loudly, rustled their carrier bags and were more than happy to tap you awake to ask you a question or in one instance to just nod and smile at me. The pillows supplied by the train are more like flannels than pillows and I made the calamitous error o...

After a swift egg and vegetable pancake with chai tea we were all set for the dreaded return to Delhi. Following a quick hug from our hotel's other guests, we heaved our bags into the spacious boot and were off. Despite our driver purchasing us a bubble gum as we started our six hour drive back to India's capital, I couldn't help but get the usual pangs of uneasiness as I realise that we are completely at his mercy in this chaotic place. Every time he unexpecte...