India (Day 23 to Day 25)

Day 23 (Wednesday 11th) - Varanasi

Our train from Agra didn't arrive in Varanasi until midday, and just after checking into our hotel a torrential downpour started which didn't ease off until late in the afternoon. We had a late lunch on the hotel's (covered) rooftop restaurant, which had a bit of a view over the Ganges, and then relaxed for a few hours with our books. When the rain eased off, Callum and I took a short stroll to the nearby Shivala and Hanuman ghats, steps descending from the twisting streets of the mediaeval city to the water. The west bank of the Ganges in Varanasi is lined by set after set of these ghats, which are primarily used for pilgrims to bathe in the holy water, as well as for washing clothes. Two of the ghats, Harishchandra ghat and Manikaranika ghat, are so-called 'burning ghats', where many Hindus bring their dead to be cremated since it is believed that cremation by the Ganges will allow escape from the cycle of death and rebirth. With the sun starting to set, we didn't explore much more, except to have dinner in a restaurant by the riverside at Assi ghat.

Day 24 (Thursday 12th) - Varanasi

After a lie in and breakfast, me, Issy and Callum took a rickshaw the 45 minute journey out of the city to the peaceful village of Sarnath, an important destination on the Buddhist pilgrimage circuit. It was to Sarnath that Gautama Buddha came to preach his first sermon after achieving enlightenment in Bodhgaya. Today, the village is largely a collection of archeological ruins, with various stallholders lining the main street flogging tacky clay Buddha figurines. We first looked around the fascinating archeological museum, which contained many stone statues of figures of the Buddha, as well as some giant carved umbrellas, and perhaps most interestingly a giant stone capital of four lions, which is now the national emblem of India. We then went into a park containing the ruins of the old Buddhist temples and monasteries, which we wandered around in the sweltering sunshine. The park also contained a giant stone pillar, with some interesting carved patterns, supposedly marking the site of the Buddha's first sermon. After a light lunch, we also visited a couple of contemporary Buddhist temples in Sarnath, one of which had a Bodhi tree planted from the sapling of another Bodhi tree in Sri Lanka, which in turn was thought to have been planted from a sapling of the tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment. These temples were rather grander than the tackier examples in McLeod Ganj, and notably contained far fewer bizarre offerings of buscuits and washing powder! It was quite an exciting experience to come to what was essentially the birthplace of an entire religious order. After returning in the rickshaw to town, Callum, Hannah and myself walked along some more of the ghats, pausing to chat to an elderly undertaker who explained the cremation proceedure to us, before arriving eventually at Dasashvamedh ghat. Here, we watched the daily evening river ceremony, where seven monks standing on plinths in the water performed a careful ritual first involving the blowing of a loud bugle-like fanfare through sea shells, followed by extensive bell ringing, scattering of lotus flower leaves, and the wielding of firey lanterns around their heads. By the time the ceremony had concluded it was dark, so we retired to a nearby restaurant for supper (accompanied by some classical Indian music), before getting an early night...

Day 25 (Friday 13th) - Varanasi

We arose at 5am in order to take a dawn rowing boat ride from Shivala ghat along the river. Lights glistened along the Ganges as we set off, and as we passed the ghats with the dawn breaking, it was a magical experience to see the pilgrims bathing in the holy water. We also passed the two burning ghats, and saw the dying embers of a number of cremation fires surrounded by the families (only men are allowed to watch the cremation, since crying is not allowed at Hindu funerals). Our rowers had to work hard against the strong current of the monsoon-filled Ganges on the way back! After showers and breakfast, we were taken by an elderly man from the hotel on a tour of three grand Hindu temples, one of which had the entire text of one of the Hindu holy books, the Ramayana, written around the walls. After this, we explored some of the ghats and the winding alleyways of the old city by daylight, which gave us a chance to take some pictures. We also visited a small Nepali temple, adorned with erotic carvings of positions from the Karma Sutra!

Tonight, we're getting our final overnight train back to Delhi, where we're spending our final three nights! I'm hoping to check in again from Delhi before I leave, so stay tuned!