12 Nov TUES. Varanasi at Daybreak

Varanasi is said to be pure because of its contact with River Ganges. To allow easy access to the river, the city has many Ghats, which are basically a series of steps, which lead to the water.   Most of the Ghats were built during or after 17th century and are used for washing and bathing, two are used for cremations.

Today is a special festival day in Varanasi and so we knew it was going to be lively but didn't bank on the hype starting at 4.30am.    David (bless) managed to sleep through the early noisy bits but I'm a lighter sleeper than him - and bearing in mind our room directly overlooks the Ghats/Ganges River we get the full blast!

I peeked out of a bedroom window but it was too dark to see what was going on although I did notice we had a cute street dog curled up on our balcony, away from all the hustle.

An hour later I decided there was no point in trying to sleep so I got dressed and looked outside and was amazed to see how many people had already congregated on the Ghats, small boats were gathering on the river and vendors had set up stalls selling offerings to the river and food articles.

I called his lordship and suggested he should come outside and take a look (after a few expletives, he emerged and was suitably energised by the scene to get dressed and join me down on the Ghat for an early morning stroll before breakfast which doesn't start here till 8.30)

The photos are a bit muddled but they were all taken between 5.30 and 8am.    I can't risk spending too long sorting them as I need to post them whilst the internet seems to be behaving (fingers firmly crossed here)

Early morning bathers

The steps we climb from the Ghat to the lane that leads to our hotel (then we either go down steps to our room or up steps to the rooftop restaurant/bar ... so many steps (and they're very steep)

and, as always, a few 'people' photos

She looks so much like Michael Jackson, but moved just as I took the photo and the likeness isn't so pronounced ...