Tuesday

Varanasi, India

We arrived in Varanasi on the day of a Hindu festival, which meant there were lots of people who had come to celebrate. Varanasi is regarded as the holiest place in the world in Hinduism (and center of earth in Hindu Cosmology). It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and probably the oldest of India. The ghats which border the ganges river are the highlight of the city as it’s the place where people come to wash (in the sewage infested waters), pray and socialise. It’s a fascinating place to people watch!




There are almost 100 Ghats (steps leading down to the water) in Varanasi



Gandhi Art


A pea seller doing his stock count.



The festival of lights - people put hundreds of thousands of candles along the ghats at night.





A chameleon turning red.


A typical cow blocking the narrow back streets. In Varanasi people like to give them food and pat their heads and tails.


Relaxing massage anyone?


This man is busy making silk cloth.


On a long walk one day, I crossed the river where there is nothing but desert on the other side. Worryingly I came across a human skull lying in the sand.




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