Varanasi is very cool so we decided to spend a few days here. It is also very holy so G decided he had better smarten up a bit, but a trip to the barbers has its quirks - he had his hair cut, beard trimmed and full body massage! G was now looking and feeling better so he went off to worship his own god and watched St Mirren v Rangers on the internet. Now while Varanasi is one of the holiest places in India it doesn't perform miracles so St Mirren lost 3-0.
We did the usual touristy things and took the sunrise and sunset boat trips -v nice. We went past the "burning" ghat where bodies are cremated. It was very peaceful, no-one crying, as they don't want to affect the releasing of the soul. A pot is then filled by the family with water from the Ganges and smashed to signify the breaking of the relationship with the deceased, and the hip and the chest bones don't burn so they are just thrown in afterwards. There's no such thing as privacy in India so this is all done in public with everyone taking their morning dip in the Ganges.
We then left Varanasi for Nepal - but like our first journey in India our last (at least for a few weeks) was a bit of a nightmare! Our deluxe tourist bus was "broke" so they took us round to the local bus station and put us on the local bus for 12 hours. Oh my god - uncomfy seats (bit like the camel ride), bus packed with Indians everywhere, roasting hot, no toilet stops and no food!! But a chance to see the real India - didn't see another white face all day (except for the other strained tourists on the bus) - interesting to watch everyone getting on with their business. Although, felt a bit sorry for the lady sitting next to me, as she was in full burkha outfit and couldn't even see as her face was totally covered. The children were also very well behaved - on the bus for hours and didn't make a sound while being bounced about and the horn going every 2 minutes.
Eventually we made it to the Nepal border where we were greeted by an army of "bed bugs" at our stopover - great, perfect end to the day and loads of scratching for the 8 hour bus journey tomorrow!
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