Hotel Divya Varanasi

... It was all very peaceful.<br><br>The only problem we have with this wonderful place is - many of the Ghats are used as lavatories by the men and smell of pee.<br><br>Only a small problem though as the place is wonderful.<br><br>Tomorrow we hope to explore more and will report back...<br><br>We will pop more photos once we have found a quicker connection.. Plus the special correspondent with the dodgy eyes... more to come soon.

... sacred places with idols of Nagas and at anthills. In some places, people fast from sunrise to sunset. Unmarried women believe that praying to the Nagas will help them in getting good husbands. Milk, betel leaf, betel nut, tender coconuts, turmeric powder, puffed paddy, jaggery, flower bunches and tender leaves of palm and areca trees are offered to please the snakes. <br><br>On this day many sadhus and snake charmers brought snakes including cobras into the ...

... was meant to be. They went from being street kids to princesses in an instant and posed for photos in our scarves and sunglasses, joy and smiles all round. we're not sure if it was the right thing to do but why can't the littel girls have a little bit of joy. Hand-outs to beggars is a case by case situation and this was the case this time. So be it.<br><br>I bought some anklets with little bells attached to them that jingle as i walk, pixie sounds all round and we bought ...

... bowls and using them to look for any valuables that might have survived the flames. A sort of morbid panning for gold. I interrupted the man speaking to me and asked him about the men in the water. He said, 'Yes, they make a lot of money from this. Many people are burned with jewelry still on their bodies.' The pyre nearest to us that was just starting to burn must have contained a tall person because I could see what looked like feet covered by a cloth sticking out from ...

... then went back to Delhi to see some of the sights that we missed when we were there before - the lotus temple, the biggest Mosque in India and then we went back to Paharganj for a spot of shopping - but not eating might I add!! We nearly didn't make it as we had to practically drive the rickshaw ourselves because the flamin driver kept stopping ...

... are almost impossible to navigate, I&#8217;d get lost about once a day however the Indian people were as ever very helpful and you&#8217;d soon be back on track. I also took the liberty of trying the local bhang lassie&#8217;s, one evening I had two and after four hours nothing happened so I went to bed and promptly slept for 16 hours, I guess they took effect once I was asleep.