Varanasi

The burning Ghats are photo-free zones, so this is taken from a boat out in the Ganges. The bodies are wrapped in gold cloth and strapped to a bamboo stretcher ready for burning.

Being cremated here offers Moksha - an escape from the cycle of birth and death.

The cremations themselves are fairly simple affairs. No one cries as only the men attend, and they see their relative / friend going to a better place.

We saw a few good burnings. They typically last 30 minutes or so, during which time the flesh heats and splits, and the body stiffens a little as if to sit up. Whatever is left at the end seems to get thrown in the river. Those who can't afford the wood, dispense with the burning and throw Uncle Bloggs straight in the drink.

No one seems to mind who attends and at anyone time there were up to 10 separate cremations within the 10m cremation zone at Marnikarnika Ghat.

We found these women wailing at Lal Ghat. We returned an hour later and they were gone so we think they may have been paid mourners who were now on a lunch break.

Hindu tradition requires a minimum length of crying / mourning so it is not unheard of for professional mourners to help keep things going when the family dries up.

The living Pilgrims also comes here en-masse to offer their prayers to the Ganges.

...be they the boys in pink.

... the yogic wrestling team.

... the performers of the nightly show who seem to compete for donations...

... or Jason's brother Lee, who was going to meet us in India but appears to of snuck in anyway to make prayers to the Ganges.

The other Indian religion is played all the way along the ghats. On this occasion, Jason plays before being asked to leave as he hit two cricket balls into the Ganges. Some poor lad had to swim through the sewerage and dead bodies to retrieve them.

This is where you don't want your sheets to dry. Sitting on the cowshit patties drying in the sun.

Maybe all those sheets we've refused to sleep on in India were not dirty after all!

FYI - the cow patties are for burning on the fire and many people use these rather than wood for cooking .

Saris drying in the sun, they must get a little dusty but it is better than cowshit.

The Ganges at Varanasi have the ability to wash away all sins. We think the man on left has been a little bit naughty as he just can't wash that guilt off. The man on the right gimmaces at the cold.... or maybe he has seen a turd, or a body floating past.

Life on the Ganges just seems to happen.

... the boatmen are busy hawking for work (sleeping).

... a beggar takes a quick moment from begging to drink.

... the devoted get their hair cut.

... the keen are massaging tits.

... and the workers are scrubbing their buffalo.

... the rest are lying through their teeth to tourists.

This guy agreed a price, changed the price, and then took us halfway, before we walked off in disgust without paying. Judging from the look on his face we were the first to stick up for ourselves.

As with all religious places, Varanasi has its share of con-artist, beggars and outright thieves. We just seemed to have met all of them in our stay here.

We hope they all wash in the Ganges daily as that is a lot of lying, cheating, and stealing to get rid of.

On the way to the airport we had a puncture. It was the start of a few very stressful days. Christmas was approaching and Claire was desperate to get out of Varanasi. Our Jet Airways flight just wouldn't take off for four days due to fog!

It was the 23rd of December, all the trains were also delayed due to fog, and it looked like we would be stuck. Jason ran around and got us on a train without a proper ticket. For the first time we didn't care if we were standing the whole way (9 hours). We just had to get out of Varanasi.

Arriving at 1.30 am, in the middle of a dodgy looking town, with no map, we found our planned hotel was fully booked, we couldn't believe our luck. In the end, we found a great hotel and went to bed, glad to be safe, happy to be out of Varanasi, hoping for a better day tomorrow.