Delayed trains meant the first night in Varanasi was a short one. On a quick orientation tour of the city we bumped into a huge celebration and parade to celebrate Shiva's birthday. Unfortunatly I didn't bring my camera, so you'll have to do without pictures - doh!

Getting up at dawn for a sunrise boat-trip along the Ganges was to be the first real taste of the city in the daytime. After the thrills of the night before, the place was fairly quiet as people slept in following their celebrations that had continued into the night. View image
The steps to the ghats filled up during the course of the hour long trip, with people coming out to bathe in the waters. The burning ghats is where they take their dead, but photos of both the burning ghats and people bathing are not allowed so there is nothing for me to show you.
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these are some of the temples and holy places along the Ganges at Varanasi that I could take pictures of.
The town is a very holy place, and many of the people there are from across India on pilgrame. Varanasi is a wonderful place to visit, but the burning ghats made me a bit uncomfortable so I stayed clear and did a bit of retail therapy to cheer myself up - ever the girl!
During the course of the afternoon, our guide recieved calls from her office to advise her that she was being reposted to another tour. We would be travelling alone to Calcutta the next night. The tour (and my time in India) were nearly over, and saying goodbye was going to be hard.