Pradeep Varanasi

... come to burn their deceased relatives soon after death. Mulu, our guide from the hotel, explained some of the funerary process to us.
Soon after death, members of the family bring the deceased to the burning Ghat. They wash the loved on for the last time in the Mother Ganges River water. They give the deceased a last drink of the water from the river., They then wrap the deceased in a white shroud, and place their body on a large wooden ...

... hour bus journey to Delhi was standard India - long, sweaty and mysterious, random stops! Stayed in the Parahganj area (grimy backpackers central) for 7 hours, to freshen up - glad we didn't have to stay in the temporary room (Matt said it was like the Villa Bella in Only Fools and Horses).

Next it was a 17 hour overnight train to Varanasi! Met a very interesting chap mid-journey though, a Buddhist monk from Thailand, called Rungphet ...

... The city plunged in to darkness! A huge cheer rose from below us by the ganges! We couldnt help but cheer along! It was utterly amazing!! The darkness lasted for about three minutes! Ive never seen anything so overwhelming! I loved it! As you'll see when you see my dementedly excited face in the photos! Will post from better internet cafe!
Love you all!
Lucyxxx

... action, the baby was out the window, scooped up into the mother's arms and they were gone. It did make me feel anxious and vulnerable to know the little rascals could get into the room and i was afarid they were after our own Mono Loco.


Total solar eclipse movie

One night we went to a movie night at Jyoti turkish coffee cafe where a very sweet Japanese film maker named Kaoru Inoue was showing his unedited footage of the Varanasi Total Solar Eclipse as ...

... masala, paratha, naan, roti and curry all jumped off the menu at me and i was back in vegetarian Indian food paradise. Many travellers get ill here so we've decided to go with busy, straight restaurants and unfortunately we're off the street food until it's deemed safe again. Varanasi only has 8 hours of electricity a day, provided at irregular times so i am weary of most food.


The next day i watched the sun rise over the Ganges then we took another walk south ...

... just chuck people in. My boatman pointed it out to me "electric, electric". I imagine this modern day technique is much cheaper although less desirable than the wood fires.

It also was explained to me that there are certain groups that are not allowed to be cremated on the ghats. There are 4 of these that are not consumed by fire but are simple gifted to the river. They are weighed down, wrapped in sheets and in they go. So goodness knows what ...

... and bathe, to meet and celebrate life. We watched from the comfort of our boat as the sun rose and bathed the ghats in a soft, warm, orange light, maybe a holy light, at the stretch of the imagination? Our boatman, a friendly guy who spoke little English, grinned at us constantly through red stained teeth, a common sight in India, caused by the continual chewing of paan. He see us safely up and down the river, dodging the other boats and floating debris!
The burning ...

... Again that evening we returned to the ghats as thats where all the activity is at night time. 2nd May Again we rose early but we had slept better last night due to our exhaustion from the previous night. We walked up river to other Ghats in the morning till 7am then had breakfast and returned to our hotel till checkout at 12pm. we had lunch in the Brown Break Bakery which has excellent food and then we took an autorickshaw to the train ...

... not changed. Nor has the habit of the men of spitting on the street and urinating on the walls. The result is a rather odoriferous and visually offensive neighborhood. Add to the visual picture the fact that the locals are looking at us like we are intruders. We had almost become accustomed to the rather rude and ugly stares of the locals but here they were more offensive that in other areas. On the other hand, the weaving shops are interesting ...

... The rain had soaked the logs and it seemed that the chandal would having some difficulty lighting it. Although the boatman was intent on drifting as close to the body as possible and remaining there, we felt a little intrusive and asked to be rowed away from the scene.

Further down we passed other ghats, all perched with numerous ascetics and pilgrims. One such ghat, high up on the bank, seated only two people; one alive and the other dead. The living one was a cross legged ...