Palace on Ganges Varanasi

... admiración hacia los Hindúes es la capacidad que tienen para poder convivir con los animales en un mismo lugar. Acá las vacas, los toros, los cabritos, los monos, los perros tienen casi los mismos derechos de estar en la calle que cualquier persona. Nos paso que mientras transitábamos una calle angosta, nos encontramos con un toro que estaba un poco de mal humor, y la gente al ver esto prefirió no molestarlo y riéndose cambio su rumbo; no hubo ningún llamado a la policía, ni ...

... back to Australia. Nice one. They even printed my Aaaargh!!! pirate t-shirts and the woman of the shop makes us chai and thali lunches, they're all shining gems. I did a bit of other business with jewellery and also have a trusty Baba supplying me with clay chillums that are all the rage in smoker's corners. <br><br>Possible Swine Flu Attack<br><br>I was terribly ill in Varanasi for a few days and Nadia had to look after me as i lay in the very hot hotel room (up around ...

... and mourning the passings from a distance, a sound difficult to forget. At Varanasi the Ganges is Gangamaiyya, the mother who nourishes the very soul of the city, nurturing its life, sanctifying its rituals and gathering up its dead. The rites and rituals of dharma get magnified here. It is also the most blessed of the the seven holy cities that grant moksha or eternal escape from the cycle of life and death. Apparently if you die or are cremated here you are cleansed ...

Hinduism is the predominant religion in India, and approximately 80% of its billion plus population are Hindus. The city of Varanasi along the Ganges River is possibly the most sacred location in the entire country for Hindus. It's also one of the dirtiest places I've ever been to in my life.<br><br>Varanasi's uber-holiness can be attributed to the Ganges River which Hindus refer to as 'The Great Mother'. Hindus on pilgrimages primarily come here for two main reasons. The ...

... away cremating the bodies of Hindus from all over India, some 200-300 bodies a day. Some families travelled for days with the body of their family member, so that they may be cremated in this holy place. Danny and I watched from nearby as we saw all of the stages of a traditional funeral. A local guide approached us and explained the process to us. The body is wrapped in cloth, the face covered in a special cloth. The son of the deceased shaves his head apart ...

... while I was lazing in bed being holy and we have met some great little shop keepers and some nice people here too. She always picks up one or two followers with her wherever she goes and tries to give them the "death stare" (Luc's words) which we all know really means, "I'm friendly come follow me down a dark alleyway". I give them the fingers.<br><br>Actually I forgot! In Jaipur next to the biggest cannon in the world Luc was getting grumpy in ...