The Golden Buddha Varanasi

... on Caste..The wealthy at the top, poor towards the bottom and closer to the river. No women are permitted to take part in the ceremony as crying can stop the spirit from reaching Moksha (Nirvana). Generaly the eldest living relative (Male) lights the funeral pyre. We were shown to the side of one of the cremations on a high level which was something to see. The family did not seem to be concerned about our presence at ...

... Ganges then instant enlightenment is achieved for the deceased. The prospect of eternal bliss is an attractive one for the poverty rich people that populate India and so a constant stream of Indians can be seen in and around the river's banks. <br><br>The bank itself is lined by successive stairs which are known as 'ghats'. The ghats are of varying shapes and sizes but are often filled by men offering boats trips along the ...

... is a popular event and boats line up with people on the riverside and on the steps of the ghat teems of people come to watch and enjoy the elaborate ceremonies. Wayne arrived and we watched the puja for the hour and then tried to navigate our way back to the Shanti guesthouse getting lost a few times dodging cows, people, ***** and water/fluids of unknown sources. Being so near the burning ghat we pass many funerals- families carrying the colourfully clad bodies of the ...

... and one of the more obscure ones happening whilst we were there was called Nag Panchami. The day is dedicated to the worship of Nagas or Snakes. Yay! Snake day! Snakes are worshipped in Hinduism and Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are closely associated with serpents. Lord Vishnu has the seven-hooded Snake Shesha as his bed and Lord Shiva wears a snake around his neck. On Nag Panchami people draw snakes on their doorways to welcome them and prayers are offered at Naga ...

... little pieces from her shop as a group of five little scruffy girls carrying cardboard collection sacks stopped to watch us trying the jewellery on. It's probably a usual game for them to get tourists to buy them jewellery but they seemed very interested in the earrings. Nadia and i couldn't resist buying the girls a pair of 10rupees glass earrings each which they immediately put in their ears and modelled. The pair each girl selected seemed to suit them each perfectly ...

... it was ***********centrate on his words as there were three pyres in different stages of immolation blazing behind him. Each pyre had the same shape &#8211; basically a square of neatly stacked wood with a corpse stuffed near the center. The one nearest the river and the furthest gone already had men sweeping the ashes towards the water. Interestingly, there were several men wading in the water just off the bank where the river received the ashes. They were carrying ...

... and astronomical phenomenons. Next we travelled to Agra, where we visited the enourmous fort and then the next day we got up extremely early to visit the Taj Mahal - which was as amazing as it is cracked up to be. You can imagine our photos - about 100 pics of the same thing - it is so photogenic and beautiful. We will include just a few ...

... river and how it made him strong. The Ganges in Varanasi contains 10,000 times the level of bacteria and germs than is allowed in drinking water in the UK, if a westerner was to drink the water they&#8217;d be in hospital very quickly, even getting the water on broken skin can cause all sorts of nastiness. Venture away from the Ghats and Varanasi is a maze of narrow streets ...

... India? - Most of them looked as if they had been there for quite some time, and we saw no movement whatsoever whilst we were crossing into India. <br><br>Most peculiar border, which the unwary could cross without being aware they had done so, as it just felt like a ...

... of which without doubt the boatman was. Without hesitation he replied "No, this is not sinful, this is business".<br><br>That evening we were introduced to a small and peaceful-looking man in his forties with orange hennaed hair. His name was Akay and he was a yoga teacher and healer. He led us up onto the roof and sat us down on blankets as the sun was setting behind us and dozens of dainty kites jittered on rising thermals above the city. Pretty soon, after a brief lecture about ...