In your face Varanasi

On arrival at the train station in Varanasi we were once again mobbed by rickshaw drivers. Eventually we managed to scrape a deal with one driver who was intent on piling as many locals as possible into the front of the rickshaw (5 people including the driver) while we refused to have anyone else sitting in the back with us (we probably did pay for their fare also)! It turned out that he wasn't licensed to take us into the centre of the city (apparently) so we then had to swap rickshaws, only to be dropped miles from our hostel, to walk through a maze of backstreets in the blazing heat, avoiding the usual obstacles. On the way in the rickshaw Sophie came within a foot of a dead body wrapped in a sheet waiting to be cremated (the first of many to come).

On arrival at the Monu Family Guesthouse, which was highly rated on Tripadvisor, we were greeted by Monu's father chewing on red tobacco and rubbing his exposed nipples through a greasy old vest he was wearing…. After settling into our brightly coloured room we ventured out to the main Dasaswanedh Ghat on the River Ganges which was packed with thousands of people, to catch the nightly ganga aarti ceremony with puja, fire and dance.

The next day we took a morning rowing boat trip along the Ganges, the most holy river to India's Hindus, to view the many Ghats and most importantly the Manikarnika 'burning' Ghat which works 24 hours a day cremating over 300 bodies daily, all in public view of anyone who wants to watch. While we went passed there were several cremations taking place as well as a body being bathed in the Ganges in preparation. Along the rest of the Ghats we witnessed many people washing clothes, bathing, praying and generally submerging themselves in the highly polluted water. We went as far as dipping our hands into the river, followed by thoroughly sanitising them.

Later that day we visited the famous Blue Lassi shop which has been in business for 70 years, and is said to make the best Lassis in India. We enjoyed apple and banana & chocolate lassis served in traditional clay pots, which actually were the best we've had yet. It was an experience made slightly surreal as bodies heading for cremation regularly passed in front of the shop carried by groups of chanting men and beating drums at a terrifying pace. In morbid fascination we followed the route down to the Ghat dodging advancing processions. Halfway there we were approached by a local who explained in more detail about the cremations and took us to a close up viewing area, close enough that Trevor's eyes were streaming from the smoke. The man went on to explain how different coloured cloths wrapping the bodies signified gender, age and marital status. The location of the cremation was dependant on caste, while each ceremony was led by the eldest son of the family who shaved his head and/or moustache depending on which relative had died. Women weren't allowed down by the Ghat for the cremation as apparently they are far too emotional, and any crying would disturb the souls' journey to heaven…The untouchables, the lowest caste were responsible for preparing the bodies and clearing up the ash left over. The cremations are a profitable business and it can cost up to 6000RPS (60GBP) a log for the most expensive sandalwood and it can take up to 3 hours to cremate a body (most of it…). It was explained that only deaths by natural cause could be cremated on the Ghat, while children and accidental deaths took place elsewhere due to the belief system based around Karma. Before leaving we were also asked to purchase wood to aid in the cost of cremation for the poor; we politely declined. The whole experience made us both feel very voyeuristic and slightly unsettled; Varanasi is unrelentingly indiscreet when it comes to public displays of day to day life and most certainly death.

In the evening we ate street food in an attempt to sample some of the local cuisine and save money; this consisted of vegetable chowmein, momo's (dumplings), idli (fermented rice cake) and some deep fried vegetable bread things for which we have no name… We also tried some popular sweet style desserts, which whilst looking quite appealing to the eye all turned out to taste the same; like sweetened sour milk… To finish the evening we bought some Chai tea and sat on the Chausatti Ghat watching the bizarre spectacle that we can only describe as the Hare Krishna 'party' boat. The boat was lit up with hundreds of lights packed full of people singing the same 3 words for hours on end at the top of their voices (Hare, Krishna and Brahma). We also made friends with a young boy called Aman who was selling tea along the Ghat with his father, while his friend was intent on showing us how well he could swing back and forth from a nearby rope swing.

That evening we decided to book our train tickets to Gorakhpur in sleeper class, the cheapest and most basic way to start our journey to the Nepal border (just over 1GBP each). The next morning over a breakfast of banana pancakes we got talking to an Australian couple in their 50's, who said that we reminded them of themselves 30 years ago when they went on a similar round the world trip, which reassured us on what a great and life changing decision we had made. After breakfast we left the overrated guesthouse and Monu's father who it appeared was still wearing the same vest, nipples on display, and headed for the train station early, knowing how unpredictable the transport system in India can be!