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Cremations and celebrations: A journey through Varanasi, India’s holiest city India | Asia Travel Guide Published: February 2019 | Disclosure: I was hosted by the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Board and this post contains affiliate links The alarm rings out loudly, piercing the pitch black silence of the morning. It’s 4.30 am, and I jump up eager for the day that lies ahead. I’m in Varanasi, one of the holiest Hindu cities in the world, where countless pilgrims have ventured to bathe in the sacred waters of the Ganges, the revered rivers which flow through the country but are at their most celebrated here. A dip in the shallows is said to wash away all your sins, and for many, it is a once in a lifetime event. There’s still a chill to the air as we drive through the colourful roads, dotted with rickshaw drivers waking from their slumber and lazy cattle hunting for their morning feed. At this hour the streets seem quiet, almost serene, a far cry from the throngs of people I’ll experie...

Attending the annual color festival has been on my bucket list for a few years now, and we finally got to check it off. We attended this year’s Holi festival in Mathura, India. The festival signifies the beginning of spring and is celebrated nationwide. People take to the streets armed with bagfuls of intensely colored powder and buckets of radioactive colored water. The powder is thrown or smeared onto everyone as they walk through the city. ‘Happy Holi’ is repeated throughout the day as bursts of color come your way. [layerslider id=”6″] Generally, everyone was happy to have their picture taken and I got a few good ones. However, others saw a camera and tried to blast it with powder or dump neon-colored water on me and my camera. If you plan on going read my guide on how to protect your camera from the Holi festival. The fist full of powder stopped long enough to click a few good portraits of Holi. How To Get Indian Visa On Arrival – Step by Ste...

“INTERNET CAFE!” screamed Anne as the Tuk Tuk bumped past groups of people walking to work. “Ya must ask the young people, its them that know” she said for the tenth time whilst I tried my hardest not to laugh or cry, or both. It was the weekend and I had just met my fellow volunteers as well as Samvit, the guy running the projects. Anne was a retired Scottish teacher and was convinced that she recognized all of the many Indians boarding the shared tuk tuk. The vehicle was transporting 16 people, a goat and a sack of potatoes. I say transporting rather than containing as six of these people (myself included) were hanging onto the side of the tuk tuk rather than actually sitting inside it. We jumped off and a grubby street child instantly lurched towards us “Baksheesh (money) madam, Baksheesh sir”. “Aww isn’t that great, he recognizes me from the school”. I didn’t bother to correct Anne and led her towards the cafe so I could help her...