Varanasi

I have met some people here are travelling in a group so have been hanging out with them since I've been here. We hired a boat to take us up and down the Ganges. It's very pleasant and we get really close to the burning ghat where I can actually see uncovered dead bodies and bodies burning, a few skulls littering the bank. I know they are just shells now and not really people, kind of like a BBQ, but I still find it disturbing. It's such a weird scene as well because you can see people bathing next to the dead bodies, cows wandering up and down, dogs knawing on skulls, etc. It really is quite medieval.

There is currently a festival going on here. I'm not sure what the purpose of this festival is as Hindu's seem to always be celebrating a festival. I think it has something to do with the full moon. Whatever it is you can definitely feel the energy in the air and the build up of people is getting more and more. You can hear bells clanging throughout the night and people seem to be attending the temples more and more. There's also a lot of chanting going on.

On the Ganges
View from the boat
Guy doing puja on the river.