While we’ve joked about ‘sunrises’ in India and how they aren’t really worth trekking to the top of mountains for, in Varanasi we threw all our baggage aside and joined the throngs to partake in watching the day break from the waters of the Ganges.
Gliding along on a little boat, its a pretty amazing way to not only start your own day but to view Varanasi as it wakes up too.
Sun firmly in place in the sky, hidden behind layers of who knows what, it was off to the stuff that religious studies dreams are made of – Sarnath, the legendary deer park where Buddha gave his first teachings on Dharma. Pretty epic stuff, really! 
The parks is a veritable playground of stupas, ruins and even a bodhi tree or two and has been developed as a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from everywhere and other nosey/interested parties. Many predominantly Buddhist countries have established temples and monasteries in Sarnath and it was a particularly cool thing to be able to see the differently clad groups of monks all hanging at the park, doing their respective monk-y stuff. The different countries have established temples and monasteries in Sarnath in the style that is typical for their respective region which means visitors to the park also have the opportunity to experience an overview of Buddhist architecture from various cultures. Its an amazing and spectacularly interesting place, so if you’re in the area, break away from the Ganges, get thee to a tuk-tuk and explore!
What better thing to do when you’re feeling all serene and Buddha-ised, than to throw yourself back in to the teeming streets of India?! The day was still a babe thanks to the early morning boat ride jackknifing us out of our slumber.
Blue Lassi is one of those places on the well beaten track in Varanasi that is worth a visit. The due who runs it has has been making the sweetened yoghurt drinks since he was a child in this third generation business near Manikarnika burning ghat. 
Seasonal fruit is added, and the whole shebang is served in the traditional clay pot – which you smash when you’re finished! 
With the day drawing in quickly, it was time to have a final stroll along the ghats back towards a sunset boat ride. It seemed like the perfect way to finish up the day and also our time in Varanasi.
This time round, we launched our thoughts/prayers into the water with beautiful candles, which floated serenely down the Ganges.
The serenity was, however, fairly short lived as we our boat jostled for position with hundreds of others to witness the nightly puja rituals on the ghats. Vendors stepped from boat to boat plying their wares. It was crazy, awesome and the perfect ending for our time in this city that is unlike any other on Earth!
Sunrise to Sunset in Varanasi
3
Of course, like most of the rest of the north of India, cows are everywhere. ”Beef, beef everywhere and not a bite to eat.”
It may have been Dan’s birthday but judging by the look on Chirag’s face, it could well have been his lucky day too!
After getting ripped to shreds by a thorn bush, broken bikes, suffering severe chafing (though not as bad as the camel induced type of earlier in our travels) and shorts displaying a hole that was increasingly bigger every time Dan moved it, was time to say goodbye to bird watching. Oh wait, maybe bad things come in fours! And that’s how NOT to bird watch.
Post-breakfast, it was off to explore the Monkey Temple. Actually, its not called that at all but we got distracted and paid more attention to the tribe of monkeys than the spiritual stuff. On a hill overlooking Jaipur, it was a pretty amazing setting with loads to capture our interest.
