Sita Guest House Varanasi

... they can kiss may ****.

I was by this point starting to feel that these magnificent buildings around us, these strange, barbaric but wonderful ceremonial traditions, the great holy river rolling on by, the alien people doing alien acts considered part of their lifestyle were of no consequence. They were a normal part of the world, and I was starting not to care. Since Delhi, I have entered a deeply contemplative state, starting to feel that the joy has gone out of this trip, and ...

... around candles and sing. This morning we took a boat ride from a kid, Piki, that Dad had met last year when he came. He took us up along the ghats and we got to observe all of the people perform in their daily rituals, whether is praying, bathing or washing clothes. Kids fly their kites along the river, trying to cut the strings of others. There's just so much activity, it's impossible to be bored in this city. It is however ...

... We spent a couple of days in Mamallpuram but it was so heavy with the rains we couldnt do much and the beach was pretty bad, full of cow and dog poo so not the best.

We moved on to Pondicherry about 1.5hrs south and although the rains happened there too it wasnt as heavy or frequent so we stayed for 3 days. Its a bizarre place, its an old French Colonial town so when your wandering the streets you could think your in France and then you see an Elephant and some ...

... The breeze came off the river and mercifully blew fresh air our way and not the smoke from the burning Ghats.

The next morning, around 5 AM, we got up and took a row boat out on the river. We moved along the waterfront close to the morning bathers. I was able to get a few shots in the hazy poor light of this misty morning. Bathers and worshipers were out in large numbers.

At one point, just down stream from the burning Ghat, I was taking in ...

... principle, and actually generally good fun, comes into play!

Varanasi takes you by surprise. It is madder, more chaotic, frenetic, and not the spiritual tranquil place I had as a preconceived idea. The roads are small and loaded with everything you can think of. Even more so than in the other cities you see the road pecking order; the low life is the pedestrian and nobody cares about them. Next are cycle rickshaws which can be very vulnerable to the auto ...

... and the people all, without exception have a screw loose. An evening stroll by the Gangees will see thousands of Indians bathing and drinking water that has 1.5milion particles of faeces per 100ml,* herds of cattle marching their way past fanatical devotees for a watery dip and all kinds of odd bods and weirdos; from the sages that paint their faces outrageous colours and pierce obsequious parts of their anatomy to the crowd of relatives who watch with morbid fasination ...

This morning we witnessed one of the most spectacular celestial phenomenons of the 21st century, a total solar eclipse which we viewed from a rooftop overlooking the sacred Ganges river in Varanasi. It was a surreal experience to see the sun rise for the morning then disappear completely, leaving us in a shadow as we watched the precious golden star at the centre of our solar system be swallowed up by the moon.

This total solar eclipse occurred due to the hiding ...

... day we were on the ghats at 6am just after sunrise and were ready to get amongst Shiva fever it at the main ghat of Dasawamedth which is the liveliest one and full of life compared to Manikarnika Ghat further north which is the main burning ghat and well, full of death. Varanasi is said to be the beating heart of the Hindu universe, a crossing place between the spiritual and physical worlds and we could definitely feel the atmosphere of this in the morning when many ...