Varanasi The city of Lord Vishnu, the holy Ganges changed its course to bless its walls with its waters. The holiest city in India, Varanasi is mobbed with religious tourists intent on fulfilling their religious duty to bath in its waters. Holy dipping, as Jai refers to it, absolves the Hindu of all of his/her sins. It is also the most auspicious place to die and be cremated. Cremation followed by having the ashes disposed off in the holy river exempts the depar...

On that midnight train to Varanasi. We had spotted this on the itinerary months ago. Our previous experience of overnight train journeys in Asia had been OK but not the best nights of out lives. This time we were to be stacked three high in an open, mixed carriage for 60 with no privacy, food or water. Curtains have recently been removed from trains as a potential fire hazard. In a culture where people stare at you directly, continuously and without blinking thi...