Varanasi and the might Ganges

Day 1 - Waking as the train rolled into Varanasi, we were greeted at the station platform by the sound of drums. Exiting the station, the five of us clambered into two rickshaws and made our way to yet another Hotel Shanti. Getting out of the vehicle, we followed the driver on foot through a maze of alleyways until we reached the hotel. Once checked in we headed to the roof for breakfast and many hours of relaxation given that we had spent the last two nights traveling and sleeping on trains. Atop the roof we enjoyed amazing views of the holiest of holy rivers - the mighty Ganges. Come 6:30pm ourselves, Andy and Gill set out towards the ghats to watch the evening ceremony and set candle-lit flowers out onto the Ganges. After the ceremony we wandered around the market before attempting to find our way back to the hotel. This proved to be much more difficult than one could imagine given that Varanasi is one huge mass of identical-looking alleyways! With lots of help and pointing from the locals, we finally made it back to base. Back on the roof we spent the night playing cards and eating before retiring to bed.

Day 2 - Waking early we realised that John had left for Kolkata leaving just the four of us. Still in major need of some respite we decided to spend the day chilling on the rooftop once again watching the world go by as well as monkeys teasing the street dogs (hence the phrase 'monkeying around'). Later that day we decided to head out to the market in search of bed quilts and sewing materials. Exhausted from our days shopping we made our way back to the hotel, deciding to make a stop at the local Bhang shop along the way (medium strength for all!). Back on the hotel rooftop the Bhang lassi began to take a very heavy toll, leaving us in fits of laughter, incapable of conversation and game-playing, not to mention a serious case of the munchies and dry-mouth for all (ahh such a hard life). Eventually we decided it was time for bed so off we went.

Day 3 - Waking on our final day in Varanasi, we headed over to the famous burning ghats - this being the most sacred place where Hindus can be cremated before their ashes be

spread into the Ganges. For obvious reasons photography is forbidden around these ghats! After viewing the ghats and being informed of the traditional ceremony by a local man, we headed back to the hotel to collect our bags before heading to the train station to board our train to Kolkata.
There are more photos at the bottom of this page

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