#1 Must Do In Varanasi: A Boat Ride Along The Ganges River.

A boat ride along the Ganges river is one of the absolute musts when visiting Varanasi. You have to negotiate the price a little bit because boats are in high demand and many tourists spoil the rates. It will cost you between 150 – 400 Rupees, depending how far you want to go.

Start upriver; this means you walk upstream as far as the University complex and negotiate a boat ride from there. Don’t mind any dead body floating by … this is nothing too special in Varanasi, since lots of Hindus come here from all over India for their last days to die along the holy Ganges river.

A boat ride along the Ganges river is essential for a real Varanasi experience.

Hindus believe that they have three mothers: the mother who has given them birth, Mother India and Mother Ganga. Therefore, a ride along this majestic river is an absolute must when visiting Varanasi.

#2 Must Do In Varanasi: The Area Around Malviya Bridge.

Now you’ve already seen the Varanasi skyline from a boat view, but to be near the action, a stroll along the Ganges downstream all the way to Malviya Bridge (originally called The Dufferin Bridge) is a great experience.

The bridge is a double decker bridge, that carries rail track on lower deck and road on the upper deck. It’s interesting to watch all the different vehicles & trains cross and see the people living underneath the bridge and its corners, where they are protected from sun and rain. Malviya Bridge is the “end” of the inner holy area of Varanasi. This means if one dies in this inner circle, he will reach eternity immediately and this is also the reason why lots of “homeless” people call this bridge their home.

Walk across it and start strolling back in the direction of the city. It’s an impressive sight to see (& fell) trains cross as you stand on the riverbank. Eventually a boatman will come along and row you back upstream.

Malviya Bridge is not only an impressive sight, but also an important lifeline, since it’s also the way to Mughal Sarai train station.

Malviya Bridge in Varanasi, which was inaugurated in 1887 (originally called The Dufferin Bridge), is a double decker bridge over the Ganges river. It carries rail track on lower deck and road on the upper deck.

#3 Must Do In Varanasi: A Stroll Along The Ghats.

Every Ghat has its own meaning and use. Some Ghats are “reserved” for washing clothes and doing laundry. For example Assi Ghat is a prominent bathing Ghat, while others are dedicated to worshipping, and some are for cremation like Manikarnika Ghat, downstream from Dasaswameth Ghat (also called Main Ghat). Bathing near Tulsi Ghat is believed to get rid of leprosy. So as you can see, there’s not only lots to see, but also lots to learn about each Ghat along the Ganges river.

Taking a stroll along the Ghats in Varanasi is a must for every visitor.

Kids jumping into the Ganges river while walking along the Ghats in Varanasi.

The skyline of Varanasi is one you will never forget.

#4 Must Do In Varanasi: Varanasi From Above.

There are many hotels with roof terraces – either with a restaurant, or a private balcony adjoining the room. We suggest to have lunch at one of these places to see Varanasi from above. Good places are: Alka Hotel, Ganpati guest house and Temple Hotel. Alka hotel and Ganpati guest house are good options for your entire stay in Varanasi.

Again, you’ll most probably see the occasional body floating by, which is about as normal as breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The water of the Ganges river is holy and many visitors bring is back home in carafes.

The view from the balcony of the Alka Hotel in Varanasi will give you several amazing photo opportunities.

#5 Must Do In Varanasi: Exploring The Winding Side Streets.

The old town is dotted with small alleys, so just leave the main road, turn left or right and you will come to see some unusual places. Don’t worry about getting lost, because sooner or later you’ll end up either in front of the river or on a main street. A compass or Google Maps is a good choice not to lose direction.

Out intention was to find the place where the bodies arrive in the city. We asked our way through some stores, until one guy finally told us that we should stroll around the area near the town hall. We sat down in a hardware store at the corner and the owner was very keen to explain all the things surrounding a body’s arrival…

The old city of Varanasi extends about two kilometres back from the river and is a maze of alleyways and streets.

There is something new and colourful to explore around every corner in Varanasi.

#6 Must Do In Varanasi: Experiencing Varanasi During A Festival.

Hundreds, or better thousands of people all dressed in orange hurdled in every little street corner during festivals in Varanasi. The police forces are relentless, worshippers have to line up and obey all the rules that are enforced on such festival occasions. Police will not hesitate to use their bamboo sticks to keep things in order. It’s a security measurement to keep such big hordes under control. Try to get somewhere on top so that you can watch the crowds from above.

Crowds of Hindus during a Krishna festival in Varanasi, India.

#7 Must Do In Varanasi: Getting A Haircut Or Beard Trim At A Local Barber.

If you’re travelling through India, you’ll notice that the hairdressers you’ll pass along the streets are barbers for men only. Lady hairdressers are mostly hidden behind closed doors or curtains. If you insist enough though, even a local barber will give you a nice wash and blow dry … and if you’re really lucky (and you’re up for it) even a haircut. Don’t worry, hair grows again… after all, no risk, no fun. Plus it’s quite relaxing when you’re out all day in a crowded city like Varanasi.

Local barbers can be found in any city or village in India, Varanasi is no exception.

A typical barber shop along the Ghats in Varanasi.

#8 Must Do In Varanasi: Eat & Drink At The Crown Bread Bakery.

So Indian food is one of our favourite foods. But when traveling though India for a couple of weeks in a row, cravings for a delicious cake or western-style food (that actually tastes like it should) arise. At the Brown Bread Bakery, all your hard effort will be rewarded. Prices are a bit higher than average, but that’s because they pay fair wages and only use organic products!

Tip: Don’t stay on the ground floor, but walk up all the way to the top for a good relaxing atmosphere without the noise or bicycle or motorcycle horns.

The rooftop terrace of the Brown Bread Bakery is not only the highlight of the bakery, but Varanasi itself.

You can truly relax and enjoy the beautiful rooftop terrace of the Brown Bread Bakery in Varanasi.

The ground floor of the Brown Bread Bakery also offers a few seating possibilities and is bet used when you don’t have much time.

The Brown Bread Bakery is a famous spot in Varanasi and pretty much everyone can guide you the way here.

Once in every lifetime an observant Hindu hopes to make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Varanasi. Some come to wash away sickness and sin in the Ganges River. Others bring their dead to be burned. Still others come to live their last days here, for to die and be cremated in Varanasi guarantees eternal release from the cycle of birth and death.

After a few hours of walking upstream to the outskirts of the city, we decided to take a boat and float downstream. A boat ride along the Ganges river is one of the absolute musts when visiting Varanasi. You have to negotiate the price a little bit because boats are in high demand and many tourists spoil the rates. One boatman offered us a very good price immediately and as it turned out, he had to bring his mother to the doctor at the other side of the town anyway. Good for him and good for us :)

He really knew every building and had a very good knowledge about all the gossip happening in Varanasi. Many owners of the huge buildings along the river live somewhere else in more fashionable areas because for them, the city too busy and too old-fashioned. They rent out their fortresses and only come occasionally to collect the money.

Many of the buildings are (sort of) retirement homes for people who come to Varanasi for their final time because a seat in heaven is guaranteed if you die here. What’s really fascinating is that even though death is part of the daily routine for all the people here, it’s still a place of hope and colours. Especially the colours of the buildings along the ghats are eye dropping.

All in all, Varanasi truly is a fantastic place with lots of amazing photo opportunities, friendly people and yummy food. It’s one of these cities every traveller should visit at least once in a lifetime.

A boat ride along the Ganges river in Varanasi is an absolute must for any visitor!

You can start your boat ride anywhere along the Ghats.

The view of the Varanasi skyline is breathtaking – especially from a boat.

Drying and washing of clothes happens all along the Ghats in Varanasi.

The view of the Varanasi skyline is breathtaking – especially from a boat.

The view of the Varanasi skyline is breathtaking – especially from a boat.

Thousands of people bathe in the Ganges holy water every day.

The view of Varanasi from a boat ride on the Ganges river.

The view of Varanasi from a boat ride on the Ganges river.

The view of Varanasi from a boat ride on the Ganges river.

The view of Varanasi from a boat ride on the Ganges river.

From June 2 to June 5, the Queen celebrated 60 years as Monarch. We’ve all heard of it, we’ve all seen the pictures. I’m sure that almost no one was able to tune out of last weekends Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the river Thames. In case – for whatever reason – you’ve been able to stay away from the celebration, here’s a cool 90 seconds-video by Ben Begley.

The Quiet Capital.

We stepped out into Vientiane and were totally amazed that the airport was almost deserted. Finally after changing some money we caught a taxi to our pre-booked hotel. The airport was not far from the city, so we were there in less than ten minutes. Our hotel was an old renovated building at the river front with huge rooms and a lovely pool – so it was a nice spot to spend New Years at. After settling in, we started exploring the city and immediately noticed that this capital was different than other capitals in Southeast Asia: not a lot of traffic, only few tuk-tuks, some motorbikes and cars which all drove very orderly & slow. Nothing compared to busy and bustling cities like Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City … The Mekong river is flowing languidly along the board walk, which is almost finished with the refurbishment (to give the city a flashier look). Some buildings along the river front are still in pretty bad shape though.

The inner part of Vientiane is a bit more lively. The area around the bus station is probably the busiest place in town. Vientiane is also not as large as other cities and therefore everything can be reached by foot, though travellers tend to rent bicycles or motorbikes, to get around faster. “PVO Motorcycle Rental” on Norkeokumman Road has good bikes to rent and allows driving anywhere in Laos as well (this is where we rented our motorbikes). You have to leave your passport but that’s no problem because no one is going to want to see it (unlike for example in India) when travelling through Laos.

As Laos was once French territory, it’s easy to find shops selling wine and champagne (which was lovely for New Years). You’ll find a lot of different restaurants serving all kind of food in down town Vientiane. We opted for local cuisine – why eat Sushi in Laos? – and found an extraordinary little restaurant called “Lao Kitchen” in Rue Hengboun close to Lao National Culture Hall. This place serves authentic Lao food and has a very very pleasant ambience – highly to recommend!

Street Markets Ahoy.

The market behind the American Embassy sell a lot of curiosities: antiques, animal parts like rhino horns or  tiger claws. We were a bit suspicious if these were fakes but who knows … if there is a demand, it could be. In that case, poor animals! At the wet market in Vientiane you’ll find different kinds of strange food like bush meat , toads, frogs and snakes. You can also buy them the “take-away version”. There’s definitely plenty to explore here.

With our rented motorbikes we drove to the Buddha Park, which is a sculpture array about 25 km Southeast of Vientiane. The statues are made of concrete and often have a religious theme … some are really bizarre with a labyrinth inside the structure which you can follow until you find your way to the highest outlook.

In the evening a night market opens along the riverbank and on the street side lots of food stalls open their kitchen, offering all sorts of yummy food. Some places even have mattresses where you can lay down and eat your meal while lying – this was not ours though …

And one more thing that should be mentioned … all through our days in Vientiane, we hardly saw any beggars or homeless people. Of course there are some but a very educated Lao man told us that unless you are very very lazy, nobody in Laos needs to starve. There is enough for everyone and if you are bright and clever you can live a very good life in Laos. So maybe that’s why almost everybody has a smile on their face :)

If you want to read more about our motorbike adventure through Laos, please check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our trip.

A must visit monument in Vientiane: Pha That Luang Temple aka “The Golden Temple”.

Communist Laos has around 5 million Buddhists, who form roughly 70% of its population.

Early in the morning you will see several monks walking along the river bank of the Mekong river.

As slow as the Mekong river runs through Vientiane, life along its banks is.

When the Mekong runs low in Vientiane, the river banks are used as walkways.

Motorbiking through Laos was one of the best adventures ever. And as you can see, we had heaps of fun.

Goldsmiths can be found at the market in Vientiane just behind the American Embassy.

Selling goods at a market in Vientiane.

Finding grilled frogs at the markets in Vientiane is nothing uncommon.

Grilled fresh fish at a food stall in Vientiane.

A Good Start To Explore Varanasi.

A good start for an unforgettable stay is if you book a room in a hotel along the holy river Ganges. This is where all the action happens 24/7. It’s best of course if you get a room that overlooks the river (Alka Hotel / Room 105 is a great bet).

There are many must-visit places in Varanasi, and a good start is a walk along the Ghats, which will be a very rewarding experience. Every minute you’ll get to see something interesting. People bathing, shampooing, shaving their hair, resting, placing flowers on to the water or the occasional corpse drifting downriver. Not everybody is cremated, that’s why this is nothing out of the ordinary: pregnant women, children, people who died from a snakebite and holy people. They are “set free” into the Ganges River and well, their bodies occasionally show up at the surface again. You will also get to see (if you’re “lucky”) dogs gnawing on bones which were not cremated properly … yes you will get to see things that you only see in India.

The cremation process itself work like this: the bodies arrive strapped to the car roofs at a certain place outside the old city and is then carried through the little alleys down to the cremation Ghats, where hectic activities are going on all day long. Some Indian guy told us that about 100 people are cremated every day. This needs a lot of firewood and a lot of people to build the fireplaces. Certain wood is used for the cremation process, to keep the smoke and the smell as little as possible.

Walking through the small alleys of Varanasi is like walking through a maze … you need a while to manage this but after a while you’ve got the knack of it. If you stroll away from the main attractions you get to see curiosities like a local gym for example. Imagine, 45 degrees outside and people working out …

There are also some rooftop restaurants, which don’t get to see many foreigners but never the less; they have great food and very attentive service. You simply have to be eager to check out things, this is most important in every city if you ask me.

After a long day walk, crossing the double-Decker bridge across the Ganges river to the East is interesting as well because on top is the local traffic and underneath pass the trains. The bridge is huge and fluctuates especially when a train crosses (somehow a bit scary). The bridge is very high above the river and about one kilometre long. After arriving on the other side, we started walking back to Varanasi along the river shore and got hold of a local fisherman who was very happy to row us upwards the river back to our hotel. He was chewing some leaves all the time and we were wondering what it was. He explained that the leaves give him some sort of “boost” to keep him rowing. I guess they worked because he was one hell of a fast rower. It was clear that he know what he was doing and even the strong current didn’t bother him.

The days in Varanasi went by really fast, too fast actually, therefore we will be exploring this very exciting city in summer again!

The city of Varanasi has grown along the arc of the Ganges, with the river as a focal point in one direction and growth of the city taking place in a semi-circular direction.

Alka Hotel offers one of the most spectacular views of Varanasi’s skyline.

A simple stroll along the Ghats in Varanasi will give you hundreds of wonderful photo opportunities.

Dogs roam the streets of Varanasi.

You’ll never get enough from walking through the side streets of Varanasi. It’s a real colour explosion.

The best way to explore the city is to get lost in the alleyways – the sounds, sight and smells are unbelievable. Walk along the ghats and up to the sights, this will give you the best impression of the city.

Varanasi is sacred to Hindus and also one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. In many ways Varanasi epitomises the very best and worst aspects of India, and it can be a little overwhelming.

There are several markets in Varanasi that are well worth a trip.

Mark Twain, who was enthralled by the legend and sanctity of Varanasi, once wrote: “Benaras (as Varanasi was once called) is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together”.

The best way to explore the city is to get lost in the alleyways – the sounds, sight and smells are unbelievable. Walk along the ghats and up to the sights, this will give you the best impression of the city.

People use the Ganges river for bathing, laundry, washing, eating, cleaning utensils, and brushing teeth.

We randomly ended up in this local gym in Varanasi.

Malviya Bridge is a double decker bridge over the Ganges river in Varanasi. It carries rail track on lower deck and road on the upper deck. It is one of the major bridges on the Ganges.

There is some resentment for tourists trespassing through the cremation ghats in Varanasi. You can take photographs from a distance, but you shouldn’t come too close out of respect.

Dead Bodies Floating In The Ganges River.

No place along its banks is more longed for at the moment of death by Hindus than Varanasi. It is the holiest place in Hinduism and often referred to as “the holy city of India“. Those who are lucky enough to die in Varanasi, are cremated on the banks of the Ganges & granted instant salvation. There are exceptions; pregnant women, children, holy people and people who died from a snake bite are not cremated but are lowered into the river. Sooner or later they will show up at the surface again … Everything might be holy in Varanasi but nobody bothers if a dead body floats by … and they float by quite often. This is something we have never seen before but it’s nothing special in India. We would say: “dawn of the dead reality show daily from your hotel terrace” … To some of you, these photos of corpses might be too much but this is the brutal reality.

Pollution Of The Ganges River.

Unfortunately this also means that there’s a lot of pollution: the Ganges river suffers from extreme pollution levels. Sewage from many cities along the river’s course, industrial waste and religious offerings wrapped in non-degradable plastics add large amounts of pollutants to the river as it flows through densely populated areas. The problem is that many poor people rely on the river on a daily basis for bathing, washing, and cooking.

The people in Varanasi don’t seem to care about the pollution of the Ganges – or at least often they don’t have a choice. As I said before, for many the Ganges river is the only opportunity to take a shower. Additionally Varanasi (already a city of millions) is visited by many thousands of pilgrims each year who want to take a holy dip in the Ganges. Only this city releases around 200 million litres of untreated human sewage into the river each day…

The swiftly moving Ganges in Varanasi, especially in its upper reaches, where a bather has to grasp an anchored chain in order to not be carried away, is considered especially purifying.

The Ghats in Varanasi are always full with people, bathing, washing or praying. What the Ganges removes, however, is not necessarily physical dirt, but symbolic dirt; it wipes away the sins of the bather, not just of the present, but of a lifetime.

A snake charmer playing with an Indian Cobra in Varanasi. Snake charming is the practice of pretending to hypnotise a snake by playing an instrument called “pungi”. Although snakes are able to sense sound, they lack the outer ear that would enable them to hear the music. They follow the pungi that the snake charmer holds with their heads. The snake considers the person and pungi a threat and responds to it as if it were a predator.

Family fun in the Ganges river. Hindus consider the waters of the Ganges to be both pure and purifying. Nothing reclaims order from disorder more than the waters of the Ganges.

Man shaving his hair on the Ghats before taking a “holy dip” in the Ganges. Shaving the head before visiting the Ganges is thought to bring spiritual purification.

A man washing his buffaloes in the Ganges in Varanasi, India.

The old city of Varanasi extends about two kilometres back from the river and is a maze of alleyways and streets. The view from a boat floating along the Ganges river is breathtaking.

A dead body floating in the Ganges river in Varanasi. No place along the banks of the Ganges river is more longed for at the moment of death by Hindus than Varanasi, the Great Cremation Ground. Those who are lucky enough to die in Varanasi, are cremated on the banks of the Ganges, and are granted instant salvation. If the death has occurred elsewhere, salvation can be achieved by immersing the ashes in the Ganges.

If the ashes have been immersed in another body of water, a relative can still gain salvation for the deceased by journeying to the Ganges, if possible during the lunar “fortnight of the ancestors” in the Hindu calendar month of Ashwin (September or October).

In Hinduism, the river Ganges is considered sacred and is personified as a goddess known as Ganga. It is worshipped by Hindus who believe that bathing in the river causes the remission of sins and liberation from the cycle of life and death. Pilgrims travel long distances to immerse the ashes of their kin in the precious water of the Ganges.