At 6AM on Sunday morning we started our long drive to Varanasi. Once we joined the main road we saw our first accident, not just a bump. A lorry had smashed in to the back of another, the cab was crushed like a coke can and the windscreen lay on the road in front. We were on this road for about ten hours and we saw at least five different crashes. Inder said these would of all been in the night but no one seems to clear the vehicles away. They all looked rather serious, some lorries were on their sides.

We continued the long drive on the "good road." At every bridge there was a huge bump and Inder seemed to forget about most of these and hit many at full speed sending us flying in the air. The car had enough of this after a while and one of the back tyres burst. Luckily Inder had a spare. He put this on and we continued after Pete push started the car. It was then shaking from side to side, the spare was nackered. Luckily at the side of the main roads there are lots of small sheds where they change and fix tyres; mainly for the lorries. We pulled over and they removed the tyre. To Pete's shock there was an inner tube inside like a bicycle tyre. They searched for the correct inner tube for an hour and came up with nothing. Pete had the idea of taking the inner tube from the spare and putting it in on the good wheel with the old tyre. They did this and we were back on our way.

We arrived in Varanasi at 6PM and we were both very tired. Varanasi is the most polluted city we have been in. Other cities such as Delhi and Mysore are pretty polluted but Varanasi is something else. At times you can't see the other side of the road for fumes from vehicles and rubbish that the locals burn at the side of the roads. It can be difficult to breathe sometimes. Anyway we searched for a working ATM for a while and tipped our driver. We gave what we thought to be a very generous tip but he still turned and said "very cheap." Pete explained it was not cheap but he still looked disappointed. We were both angry at this but we have heard that they say this however big the tip. Anyway, we sent him on his way and got some food. Up the road from our hotel was a shopping mall with a Dominoes Pizza, we gave in and headed there then back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

On Monday we got a tuk tuk into the centre of Varanasi. This characteristic, small, incredible city, which we fell in love with, sits on the bank of the Ganges river. We walked down to the river which is divided up by Ghats. Ghats are steps that lead down to the water each has a different name; there are a huge amount here so having names for them is useful when your trying to find your way around. As we walked down the first ghat we saw our first shocking site. A cow laid at the top of the steps in the middle of the pathway struggling to stay alive. Pete couldn't understand why they didn't put it out of its misery but we guess they wouldn't kill the holy cow.

We continued down the steps to the river and started walking along. The bank was lined with tiny boats, each offering a trip. Before we came to Varanasi we learnt that it is the holiest place in India, especially for Hindus. As we moved down the river there were people swimming, washing themselves, doing their laundry and cleaning their teeth, all in the most polluted river in the world. But they say bathing in the river will wash away any sins. In our book it tells you about a charity trying to clean up the Ganges with little luck. It tells you that the number of faecal bacteria in a litre of this water is 1.5million. Safe bathing water would have less than 500 in it. This made us both feel a bit sick whilst watching people spitting the water from their mouths, especially when you can see the urine from the gutters flowing in only feet from where they are. But, the Hindus believe the Ganga is mother and she is divine.

So, we put on our swimming shorts and bikinis and jumped in - did we hell, there was no way we were going to touch the water.

We did hear a story about the Ganges though. Apparently two overweight western girls started to drink water from the Ganges to try and lose weight, they both then got ill and died. This wouldn't surprise us but we are pretty sure it's a myth.

Varanasi is popular and a special place to be cremated. We saw this as we carried on walking down the river. We saw bodies wrapped in shiny orange material, although we did see that some had their faces showing. They then lift the wrapped corpse on to the top of a large pile of wood and place more wood on top, they light it and it burns for three hours. This is all done on the bank of the river, its a very indiscrete ceremony. Once the fire is finished the ashes are scattered into the Ganges. They have two main "burning ghats" as they call them in Varanasi. The first one we walked past was small although it did have three fires burning at the time, and you could see the heads and feet poking out of the fires. The other, about a kilometre down the river is much bigger. Behind the larger one there are some big old buildings. People without money or family come here to die, they are then cremated on the river bank. Around 300 people a day are cremated in Varanasi. It is only young children, priests and people with lepracy who aren't cremated. They are instead, weighed down with rocks, taken to the middle of the river and sunk.

This all sounds very morbid but it is a way of life over here and a Hindu tradition. We found it a little insensitive to stand and watch so we carried on walking but many people, especially westerners, do sit and watch the bodies burn. Some people even try and move you over so you get a better view and then ask you for money.

The next site along the river was rather different. A heard of cows and bulls bathed whilst others stood on the bank. We then noticed the two men mating the cows, leading one to another to do the deed.

After our eventful morning we went for some lunch at a roof top cafe which had a lovely view over the river and some great pancakes. We then wandered back through the maze of small paths which were lined with shops, it was so much fun to walk down, although every now an then you would have to battle with a bull to get through the narrow alley.

We went down to the main ghat to watch the Ganga Aarti or river worship ceremony in the evening. We got there early as this was recommended to us. So we took a seat on the steps, one by one, Indians would come and sit next to us and ask us lots of questions about where we where from, where we were going and buying us chai. As soon as one left within 30 seconds someone else would come and sit down and start asking us questions or giving us tips on where we can get trains from. We also took part in more family photos. We didn't mind as we didn't have to move, they just plonked themselves around us and snapped away, and it past the time until the ceremony started. The steps got busier an busier and then it started. We didn't know what to expect. There were six podiums along the front, a man stood on each an then waved incense, candles, bigger bowls of incense around whilst music played and bells rang. Many people lit lotus candles and let them float down the river, it looked so pretty. They were handmade tea lights which sat in the middle of a banana leaf that had been shaped into a bowl, the candle was then surround by flowers. People were setting these off from the steps of the river and from boats.

Once the ceremony finished we went to find a restaurant we had heard about. We walked up through the alley ways and got totally lost. We spent an hour looking for it and then got in a rickshaw and asked him to take us. This wasn't a motorised rickshaw, it was a cycle one. An old man sat on the front and pedalled. We felt rather sorry for him as he could hardly get it to move when we came to an incline. We found the restaurant and had a nice meal, it was definitely worth the wait.

Varanasi is a lovely place to wander around, and relax in the rooftop cafes over looking the river, so we spent some time doing this. From the rooftop cafes you can see hundreds of kites flying round in the sky. The children love flying their kites here and run up and down the river with them, every now and then you would see someone get tangled up in the string. They fly the kite so unbelievably high that they just look like dots in the sky.

Our second day in Varanasi was Diwali, the festival of light. Every home and shop had fairy lights flashing outside and in the evening there were candles flickering everywhere. As the night went on you could hear more and more fireworks going off. Children ran round the streets letting off bangers which made Pete jump a lot to Kate's amusement. We've never heard fireworks like it, they were so load and there were so many.

The cow that we saw on deaths door the day before was still going, however he had now been covered in cardboard boxes.

The next day we got up at 5AM to get a boat ride on the river to see the sunrise. It is amazing how many people are up at this time over here. On our way to the river we saw processions going down the street on the way to the temples. Once we got on our boat we could see all the locals in the river washing themselves and dunking there heads under numerous times. In the morning they perform Puja which literally means respect to the rising sun. Our boat trip took us up the river where we could see the old run down buildings which were once the homes of the Maharajas and then back down to the large burning ghat. We then went back to the hotel for breakfast before heading out to see the temples in Varanasi.

In the afternoon we went for lunch, Pete was desperate to have a proper coffee so we found a cafe that's recommended in our book. Pete had his coffee, and we indulged in yummy cakes! We then went for a walk through the narrow markets, it's so fun. There were so many ways to turn, the market went on forever, it's very easy to get carried away and get lost.

We came across the cow again from our first two days and sad to say, it was still alive (well just about), but this time it was covered in a blanket and people were trying to feed it. You couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor cow.

We were very sad to leave Varanasi, we fell in love with the city despite its indiscreetness, horrific smell of urine wherever you went, and people throwing there missing limbed bodies in your direction to beg for money. This being said, there is something magical about Varanasi, and it has become our new favourite place.