Varanasi takes no prisoners. It's probably the most unrelentingly chaotic and unapologetically indiscreet places on earth. Here the most intimate rituals of life and death take place in public and the sights, sounds and smells in and around the ghats can be a little overwhelming.

The population is booming as its litterally the beating heart of the Hindu universe: being a particularly auspicious place to die, since expiring here liberates you from the cycle of birth and death. So, no more worrying about coming back as a cockroach... Or worse, a cow with no other option than to live off rubbish from the streets of Varanasi!

Adding to the throng, pilgrims come to the ghats lining the Rivern Ganges here to wash away a lifetime of sins in the sacred waters and cremate their loved ones... One look at said sacred water and I decided I could live with my sins.

I'd definitely recommend an early-morning boat ride* on the river, passed the ritual bathers and several 'burning ghats' (where the piles of wood are seemingly endless!), to take it all in. The open river, with the slight breeze coming off the water, was also a welcome relief from the more claustrophobic labyrinth of narrow alley ways, called galis, that extend back from the Ganges. Getting around was a little disorienting at times -- but however lost you get, you always end up at a ghat so you can get your bearings.

Varanasi's liveliest and most colourful ghat is Dashashwamedh Ghat. Despite the oppressive boat owners, flower sellers and touts, it's a great place to linger and people watch -- especially at the nightly elaborate ganga aarti ceremony (river worship ceremony). The 'fire dancers' may seem to just be going through the paces but the crowd is ever enthusiastic and eager to get involved: from small children dancing along to the music, to old men squabbling over who gets to ring the ceremonial bells. Just be prepared to breath in a lot of smoke and incense. My poor lungs!

*be prepared for some hard haggling if you just show up at the river as the sun is about to rise. We asked Brown Bread Backery (the original) to arrange ours hassle-free and cheaper than anywhere else: Rs.150 for two people for one houri decided I could live with my sinsii