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 couldn't have been more grateful! So whilst she watched the utter garbage that is 'The Kardashians' I drifted back into an uneasy sleep.

Later, having drowned myself in electrolyte fuelled water I felt bolstered enough for another Ghat excursion. By this time the sun was fading behind the thousands of temples that Varanasi possesses and the ghats had come to life! Gone were the constant pedlars and beggars and in their wake a very serene and tranquil setting.

Along every ghat were boys flying kites of their own design; most were made from black paper and fastened to long, red fishing wire. You could see them constantly and firmly tugging on the strings of their kites making them soar higher and higher into the sky until they were all flitting over the river like a murmur of birds.

Sitting in a small roof top cafe enjoying a bottle of coke whilst an India toddler wobbled around out legs we decided to buy another small offering each for the river God. We purchased them from a boy at the base of the Shiva Ghat who helped us light them - it must be said that the children in Indias manners are impeccable and they speak to you generally in fantastic English.

Without the presence of an exploiting priest it was lovely to sit with our toes in the Ganges and come up with our own prayers and wishes for our families (I'm not religious so I wished my family good health and for a lottery win); we watched silently as our glowing flowers were swept away by the fast current.

Following this we had an absorbing half an hour sat on the Assi Ghat, which looked far better at night. Lots of university art students were there drawing pictures in different mediums, Chelsea was delighted when she saw a young boy drawing her! At night the ghat was dynamic and spirits were high as a river arati was starting, as it does every night. Priests dressed in fine looking gold and red silks trooped down to the beach where a fantastic display was performed. Using flame fuelled incense they chanted to gongs and bells before picking up bronze vessels in the likeness of cobras that were also alight. We were told that incense was for Mother Ganga whilst the cobras were for Lord Shiva, who is often depicted with a cobra around his neck - this is to show that he is the master of time and energy.

After a robust people watch and lemon tea, we headed back to our hotel to finalise arrangements for our train tomorrow. The man we spoke to at reception had a strong moustache like my Dad, so I immediately felt reassured that the job would get done and we would make our train on time.

I think it best to get a good nights sleep now as we are finally going to watch the sunrise from a boat tomorrow at 5:30 and then catch our overnight train.