We walked through the strets of Varanasi toward the Dasaswamedh Ghat

These photos here are all just random photos of random people. But there is just so much happening on the streets in Varanasi. It's incredible.

It's lychee season, so here they come!

Walking down toward the Ganges.

Headed down to the largest of the ghats on the Ganges river. The ghats are essentially staircases on the banks. Some have festivals, some are for swimming, some are for cremation. Some are run by clubs, others by the government. There are about 80 in total in Varanasi, although they are all in a row so it's not always obvious where the transition from one to the next is.

We go out in a rowboat with a driver. I had seen many pictures of these drivers, usually 80-year-old men with curly white beards. Not for us!

There are a mixture of tourists, pilgrims, and families visiting the ghats. This group is a family -- the shaved head is probably the son of the person who recently died.

That red boat? It does say JOSLER HYDROCARBONS INDIA PVT LTD on it. But never mind that. It's for bringing dead bodies from one side of the river across.

And the cremation ghat! This is one of two burning ghats in Varanasi. Each fire is from one body. You can see wood logs piled up everywhere: on the baots, on the stairs, on the banks.

The tall metal tower is from an electric crematorium that the government is building. So says our guide: everyone can be cremated, except A) children; B) pregnant women; C) holy people; D) lepers; E) snake-bite victims. These people are apparently already holy, so they cannot be made holy through burning, and they must be cremated electrically.

Lots of cows, and lots of fires, and the boat with the body on the far right.

At the larger of the two 'burning ghats' (cremation sites) in Varanasi, on the Ganges. Each fire has a body on it, usually from someone who passed away earlier that day. You can see wood logs piled up everywhere: on the boats, the stairs, on the banks. The tall metal tower is from an electric crematorium that the government is building. Our guide said that every Hindu who wants can be cremated, except A) children; B) pregnant women; C) holy people; D) lepers; E) snake-bite victims. These people are already holy, so they cannot be made holy through burning, and they must be cremated electrically. Meanwhile, cows are eating the marigolds that were on the body, kids are diving into the river, and the chai-wallah is borrowing a burning log to use in his tea stall. We watched for hours and hours... what an amazing experience.

They usually do about 300 cremations a day here. "But this week, it is very hot. So a lot more people die and it is probably 600."

Tourists? Perhaps, though we could not always tell.

Although there were a lot of people there, it was definitely not high season for European / American tourism. We only saw a handful (maybe 1%). Around New Years, the total number of people visiting will double (so Euro / Americans are 50%).

Lighting candles to put out on the river, with our guide DJ.

At the Gaanga aarti -- a nightly Hindu ceremony at the largest of the ghats. Most of the people who can see here are on boats lined up in the river. Many of these pilgrims have come here from across India.

Come back in a month for the monsoon, and the river will have risen perhaps 20 feet... nearly everything you see here will be underwater.

Need a balloon to add to the religious celebration? Thankfully the balloon-wallah has you covered.

Need a balloon to add to the religious celebration? Thankfully the balloon-wallah has you covered.

One of the few edibles of India that I have not taken a liking to: paan. It's betel leaves and betel nut and some syrup, and it's sightly intoxicating, and turns your teeth brown.

Mangoes!! It is the middle of mango season in India, and they are all over. I definitely had my share of mango juice (Rs 20 for a tall glass).

Need a container to hold some Ganges river water? This vendor is definitely ready for you.

Just playing some badminton next to the cremation fires. This cremation ghat here is the southern one -- mostly for southern Indian families. It does about 80 cremations a day, compared with 300-600 at the other.

Taking a rickshaw back to our hotel.

Our guide: "It is Super Sunday celebration today. It's a holy day, on a holy month, in a holy season. So everyone today is swimming in the river."

Super Sunday Swimming was on the opposite side of the river.

At the ghats, lots of swimming! Yes, there are cremation remains being dumped just up-river. And there are dead cows floating down. But it's a great place to swim.

Water Buffalos coming out of the Ganges!

He sold me some nimbu chai -- lemon tea. It was tea and lemon juice, with an extra shake of masala on top. The beverage masala in this case had sulphur-infused black salt as an active ingredient. Note the cows and the burning in the background. No close-up photos of the burning allowed (although we did see one photographer all over them, so it's possible to arrange).

Check out those piles of wood!

Walking through some of the back alleys, behind the northern cremation ghat. It seems that everyone here specializes in selling wood!

Our guide says that in the past, it was normal to use 360 kg of wood per person, because that number has some Hindu significance. But that's a lot of wood, and from an environment standpoint (both air and forest), there is effort to reduce that. Most people now go with 180 kg, although some of the cremation grills ('for the low castes') are more efficient and can use even less than that.

More wood being carted around!

We are actually walking our way up to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple ('Golden Temple'). This is Varanasi's most famous and most sacred Hindu temple -- and thus one of the most important in the world. No photos allowed -- it's very high security. It was a crowded and bustling experience, but it was really neat to see the intensity of people's emotions at the temple.

Back at our hotel, we meet up with Naseem. OK, so we are at the Nagesar Palace hotel. Up until a decade ago, it was owned by the family of the maharaja (king). Then it was sold, and is now a hotel run by Taj (i.e., Tata). But it was a palace for a good 150 years. The man here is the grandson of the man who was the king's carriage driver in the earlier era. He grew up at the palace, and knows it inside and out.

The palace ground still has 60 mango trees, a huge garden, 20 peacocks, and many trees of fragipani flowers.

Heidi and Naseem are near the tiger lair, where the king used to keep two tigers (no joke!).

The carriage itself is historic: the very same one, 200 years old, that was used by the maharaja. The maharaja does not have any official power any more, but he does have a large residence at the Ram Nagar Fort in Varanasi.

Heidi's phone must have some nice pics of us!

Wow wow! It is a new fruit for me! I was so excited.

This is the golden apple. I'd never ever heard of it before. Tough shell, with a string, sweet, and slightly bitter pulp inside.

The hotel is on 40 hectares, is huge, especially for ultra-dense Varanasi. They grow the majority of their own food. Here are some of the women working in the gardens.

Pepper plants!

Back at our hotel / palace.

Varanasi is the center of Hinduism. But it is also one of the major sites in the history of Buddhism. This stupa at Sarnathmarks the location where the Buddha first spent five years alone in the forest, and then came back to talk with his friends / disciples.

Very important instructions!

Unfortunately, the instructions are not followed very well. There is a lot of amateur gold leaf placed everywhere!

More gold leaf applied against regulation!

On our way out, we stopped past a factory that weaves silk. This particular machine uses paper punched cards to control the threads. Holy moly! I remember reading about the Jacquard loom as one of the first 'computers,' but had no idea they were still in existence.

To call it a computer is an overstatement. But it is definitely a control system. The pattern is pre-determined, and the holes control which strings move up, or down: one card for one row of weaving, and then move to the next card. It was really remarkable to see!

Check out those punched cards!

Despite not being able to read a word, I still love these airport departure displays.