Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a good one:)

Well, where to start? Since my last post I've visited a few mad places. Mad, even by Indian standards. After Lucknow, I travelled down to Varanasi, the most important town in the Hindu faith. The town is on the west bank of the Ganga, the main attraction being a series of Ghats (steps that lead down to the waters edge) that run for about a mile. On the Ghats, Hindus perform their rituals, praying, lighting candles, bathing in the Ganga (which this far down the river is more raw sewage than water. Probably healthier having a bath in your own poo. But they seemed to enjoy it)+ the odd game of street cricket.
Varanasi is also a very auspicious place to die, since dying here breaks the cycle of re incarnation. Which means Varanasi has a couple of 'burning' Ghats, where the dead are publicly cremated on an open funeral pyre. Not something you see everyday, not in Leamington Spa anyway. Seeing a pair of feet or a head poking out off a fire is not as shocking as you think. In the context of where its happening, and all the relatives look on it as a celebration, it seems perfectly alright. Bet it tastes like chicken.

Seeing as though its considered 'bad form' to take photos of bodies, here's a picture. Carn't upload any pictures on this computer anyhow.

Well, Varanasi was a bit intense, so after 3 days I made my way to BodhGaya. Its a town famous for being the birthplace of Buddism. In the 6th century BC the Buddha sat under a Bodi Tree and became enlightened. For the past couple of days I've been sitting under the same tree and nothings happened! Although it is entertaining watching Monks 'fight'(in a Buddist way) over the fallen leaves from the revered tree:) BodhGaya is a very peaceful place to spend time. Its the most un-Indian town I've been to so far. The population is mainly made up of monks from around the world- mainly Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Burma and Thailand. Every Buddist country has its own Temple or monastery built in the native style.

Off to Darjeeling tomorrow for some serious tea drinking.

Best wishes for the New Year everyone:)