Hotel Ideal Tower Varanasi

... on occasion reduced us to tears and we have seen some really interesting stuff which will hopefully give us a better handle on how life (&amp; death) works.<br><br>In about an hour we will find a taxi and set off for the little airport which will hopefully deliver us to Delhi. Fingers crossed there is a faster Tinterweb connection and we can pop up more photos and a video or two.<br><br>Keep pooing by.<br><br>Jim &amp; Jiff

... our train to leave ton, we had lunch on the top terrace. It was raining, and all the tables that were not under the awning were very wet. The floors out there were wet as well. The hotel help was using squeegee to "sweep" the water and mud and cow **** off the floor and over the wall to the ground below. I was talking to a nice guy named Steve from Sacramento. As we talked the help had finished sweeping the water, mud and cow **** we had all tracked up to ...

Well its been a busy few days! <br><br>We really enjoyed our last few days in Pushkar and met a lot of good people (travellers and locals). We didn't do a huge amount, a part from eat, drink chai, chat, bit of shopping and walked up the 1000m Savitri hill to see a much revered temple - very beautiful place, and views were amazing. Made friends with an Indian family on our way up...we all took 'family' photos of each other - one cheeky guy asked ...

... Give it a look- <br><br>http://asha-deep.com/default.as px <br><br>so... back to Delhi for a night tomorrow before we head to Agra (Taj Mahal, baby!!) Last night around 11pm before turning out the light looked up to see a random cat in my room! I yelped and woke up my roomie- ha! I have loved loved loved loved loved Varanasi. I'l be a lttle sad to check out tomorrow, cats, cows, stiff dingy towels, smooth operators and all...

... We also discussed travelling and his upcoming journey to the Taj Mahal in Agra. Other topics of conversation were debating the merits of Star Wars lego versus the Transforners bionicals, about the latest kid's blockbuster movies and about the logistics of a lego castle he had built at home. He also told us of life on the road in India. It was good to hear some Indian travel stories from a child's perspective. Rumi showed us his favourite lego man which he kept in his ...

So, jetzt komm´ ich endlich dazu. Aber im Zug funktioniert das Internet noch nicht so richtig ;-)<br>Aber ansonsten bin ich echt überrascht... Fast in jedem kleinen Hotel oder guesthouse - kein Problem.<br><br>Der Abend nach meiner Ankunft in Varanasi war noch etwas hektisch. Nebenan ja gleich die Feiern der Puja, und der guide der mich zum Hotel gebracht hat, hat mich solang beschwatzt bis ich gesagt hab, ok, er darf mich am Abend noch hinbringen und alles ...

... a mob of drivers and touts. We haggled and bartered, but couldn't get them low enough, and just as we were about to give in a man appeared and accepted our cheap price. We pushed our way out of the crowd and followed him, only to realise he was offering a horse and cart! Deciding we may as well give it a go, we piled our bags into the back of the tiny cart, Danny hopped in next to the young boy driving and I ...

... morning boat ride on the Ganges and the city/temple tour. I spent my time in the hotel which, unfortunately, offered the worst service I have experienced thus far. The room was ok (despite a small-roach problem - a Jain I could not be!) but the staff seemed at a loss in being able to satisfy customers (it was a struggle just to get them to do a currency exchange). Every day had seen chaos at the front desk with guests being doublebooked ...

... was by soaking my towel and placing it over me as I blasted the fan. Of course it was practically dry and hot again in about 1/2 hr. <br><br>Nevertheless Varanasi and the famous Ghats along the Ganga and cremation spots were a feast for the mind and eyes. I really loved it and made a great friend in Nandan a couchsurfing contact. I had hoped I could meet someone like him and although I ...

... the roofs of some small temples to barely poke through the surface as we floated past on the current. Now that the sun had risen, the sky had become the colour of the pilgrims' underpants and it seemed inevitable that we would end up soaked.<br><br>We drifted slowly alongside the shore as the boatman, who looked about eighteen but said he was thirty seven, sweated and struggled with the oars. One of the first ghats we passed was a burning ghat. Harishchandra Ghat is an auspicious ...