Palace on Steps Varanasi

... ni nada! Obviamente esto tiene sus consecuencias, la calle es un zoológico, hay caca de todos los animales por todos lados, basura por doquier, olor no muy agradable y muchas cosas más; pero ellos están contentos y andan descalzos.<br><br> Al principio no nos sentimos tan atrapados por el lugar, pero después de unos días a medida que caminábamos por los callejones estrechos de la ciudad, escuchando mantras que salían de todos los templos, gente meditando y haciendo yoga de todo ...

... for the long drive ahead. after a few hours we stopped for breakfast (malasa omelette and toast, basically just omelette with veges in) and then we were off again. after 11 hours we arrived, with no lunch cos our **** tour leader didnt even think about stopping, good thing we had chips etc and had a huge meal at our hotel that was waiting on the table for us when we had had a shower (such service!) then we walked in the ...

... rip offs here. Leaving the heaving traffic snarled streets with cows in the middle of the road, cycle rickshaws, auto, cars and masses of motorbikes and scooters were ducked down the narrow alleys towards the mighty river Ganges towards the Shanti guesthouse where we read it was a good place and cheap and thankfully refuses to pay some tout&#8217;s commission. The tout tried to say we wouldn&#8217;t like it. However after arriving 5 minutes later in the maze of alleys ...

... with what turned out to be all the swine flu symptoms of weakness, fatigue, fever, cough, sore throat, diarrhea, body aches and runny nose. It was a low point having to lie in the bed all day. We're not sure if it was actual swine flu but it seemed to disappear just as rapidly as it started, very fast. The fever was very high and Varanasi was out of thermometers to gauge it until some chap went somewhere on his motorboke and brought one into the pharmacy for me ...

... the soul in that moment, you are then able to face Shiva when he bends down to whisper the secret mantra of release from samsara. For centuries, people have thronged here to live here until they die. And it is not just those who have renounced the world, who come here it is also the householder who has discharged his worldly responsibilities and now wants to steep himself in piety until he dies. There are some depressing looking temples next to the burning ghats where ...

... is to bathe in the Ganges in the hopes of cleansing their sins. The second is to burn their dead on the banks and then let the river carry away the ashes. According to Hindu belief, if your body is burned this way then you are guaranteeing yourself a one way ticket straight to Nirvana. Because Hindus believe in reincarnation, Nirvana is not an easy place to get to. They think most people die and are reborn again and again in a process known as samsara. Depending on your ...

... a small ponytail, then the family carry the body down to the river and each person drinks from the river, then pours water into the mouth of the body 5 times. They then carry it back to the funeral pyre, where they have bought piles of special woods which mask the smell. The son walks around the body 5 times, then the body is burnt, using fire from the eternal flame of Shiva (goddess of destruction). This fire has been kept burning for thousands of years ...

... to control the flow of information to its followers. Fascinating! (If you haven't guessed by now I am a 'recovering Catholic' but think of myself as Buddhist/Taoist/Hindu by nature) <br><br> <br><br> Our next visit was Mulagandha Kuti Vihara, a modern temple built by the Maha Bodhi Society in 1931 and famous for its exterior murals and interior frescoes . Buddha is said to have spent a rainy season on the site of its location while in Sarnath ...

... shade of the ramparts while i lingered getting all interested while I heard a squeal: "Perry!" I turned around to see Luc on the ground completely surrounded by teenage boys all giggling and pointing and Ooohs! and Ahhs! And "What is that?" They were all wondering what Suncream was and thougtht she was an alien!<br><br>Lucy is loved everywhere we go tho. Lots of Indian tourists love having their childrens photos taken with her while I hol ...