The holy river & Varanasi, India.

The distance from Agra to Varanasi is about 600klm. The train ride should take about 14 hours overnight but there were three delays and it ended taking over 20 hours.

Although the trains are the cheapest option to travel long distances, it's the most frustrating and takes the longest.

I'm not going to miss the Indian trains!

They are far from comfortable and they're rickety, loud, overcrowded, slow and the toilet is pretty much just a hole in the floor. The plank that's supposed to be a fold down bed is far too small especially when other people are sitting on it, and me.

Assi ghat was the first ghat (water front area, water pavilion) I came across. It's a peaceful and entertaining spot. All the ghats are. A great place for people watching.

I sat and walked around here for ages and witnessed organised protests, traditional Hindu ceremonies, religious bathing and typical Ganges way of life.

I drank heaps of chai and simply sat back and relaxed. Nobody disturbed me for a change. Well almost nobody.

The city of Varanasi is one of the busiest and loudest and chaotic I've visited. By the river, it's calm, peaceful, tranquil and quiet. No body talks.

Further down the river I came across one of the many areas designated for cremations.

I have no words to describe the feelings and emotions I experienced as I stood for ages and watched numerous ceremonies.

Unintentionally, myself and other tourists were standing too close to an area set aside specifically for family and we were asked politely to shift a few metres.

This presented me with an opportunity to chat with the owner of the land that's used for the cremations. His mane was Moony.

I asked if I could ask him some questions and he was happy to answer.

So this is why I learned.

There are, on this small parcel of land, 40 to 60 cremations per day and run 24/7.

6 to 7 hours after death the bodies are delivered to Moony.

Before delivery, the body is washed and massaged in butter. Cows milk butter because it's holy.

White tissue is wrapped around the men and red for the women.

A bamboo frame is made and the body is placed upon it and covered in flowers then carried to the river with the traditional chant.

The body is then washed in the Ganges and some water is placed in the mouth of the deceased as a last drink.

The family then goes to market and buys around 360kg of wood.

The site is prepared by stacking the wood and adding grass for ignition along with other spices and shavings.

It's traditional for the oldest boy in the family to be shaved down and dressed in white. The boy goes to temple and collects a holy fire. When he returns he walks around the body five times. This signifies the five different elements, earth, fire, water, wind and spirit.

Then the site is lit and the family stay for three hours.

The body is burned and any remains are placed in to the Ganges.

The family collects water in a pot from the Ganges and extinguishes the fire. Some water that remains from the pot is thrown over the eldest son.

When the mother dies the fire or 'light' is given to husband and upon the fathers death the light is given to the eldest son.

Children under ten are not cremated. Holy men are not cremated. People bitten by a cobra are not either. Nor are those who had leprosy or pregnant women.

These bodies are placed on a stone and wrapped in cloth and taken out by boat to the middle of the river.

The social status and class of people determine where they are cremated. High class in the cherum parduca, a centre piece made of concrete, the middle class are cremated by the water and lower class on the steps.

There is a huge respect for he Ganges.

Even if I was totally ignorant and had no idea about the religious significance of the river I would need to be completely void of all emotion to not feel it.

It has an ambience that's hard to describe. Everything and everyone seems to move in slow motion.

Every day, young girls from a local temple practice a religious tradition that is performed on the banks of the Ganges. They will walk with great ceremony, to the river and be blessed with words and water. They collect the water from the holy river and return to the temple.

I was lucky enough to witness that also.

Sarnath is about a 40 minute tuk tuk ride from the city of Varanasi.

This is where Buddha gave his first ever sermon after enlightenment.

The area consists of one large and one small simple temple, a massive stupa, a gigantic Buddha statue (about 60m high), a deer park/zoo and a few nice grassy areas.

To be honest I was a bit disappointed. It was hawker central and it all felt a bit tacky.

I laid on the grass and relaxed. I was actual feeling a bit sick at the time (the only time in India) so it was nice to rest under a tree.

The temples were quite and a nice place to get some relief from the sun.

I didn't really stay long. I planned to be there for about 3-4 hours but left after about 2.

Anything goes in India. I love how a polystyrene box can be used as a toy and a training aid.

This is my last blog post for India.

It was an experience to say the least. It was easily the most challenging place I've ever visited. It tested all my travel skills to the limit and I couldn't have picked a worse time to visit.

The big issue was the cash crisis. I wasted far too much time waiting in line at ATMs and walking around trying to find ATMs that had cash.

When I finally managed to get cash, the amount I could withdraw would be so small it would only last a day.

I agree with the objective and in time the cash issue will reside and the economy will be better off. It's the implementation I have issue with.

In my opinion, the Indian government should have produced more of the new currency prior to denominisation and the Australian government should have provided better advice. The cash crisis was in effect for at least seven days prior to my arrival and yet Smartraveller notifications and news reports only mentioned that the two major denominations were cancelled. There was no information regarding the massive issues when trying to obtain cash.

Had I known the frustration and stress I would experience prior to arriving, I wouldn't have gone.

Having said that though, it's a crazy and wonderful place to visit.

The people are interested and very interesting at the same time. The Hindu culture is beautiful and embraces all others.

There's so much I didn't see and heaps more to experience.

I had mixed emotions when my left.

On one hand I was kind of relieved to get out and also disappointed that I didn't see India at its best.

On the other, I learned new things about myself and reconfirmed some others.

I met some great people....