VARANASI: PHOTO BONUS: PART DEUX

If you couldn't tell, we really liked Varanasi. Here are a few more of our favorites.

Because where else can you have a monkey with a gun, a tranced out
sadhu, and a bunch of kids all in the same photo?

A view of the main ghat from a nearby hotel balcony.

Yes. Another sadhu. These guys are awesome.

Our hilarious boatman who conned us into riding with him for two days.

Although the below video doesn't even begin to show the goings-on in an Indian street at 8 AM on a Tuesday, it might give a brief idea.  This auto rickshaw driver was incredibly proud of his new sound system, and cranked it up to get us excited for the journey to the train station.

For more poorly filmed and extremely low quality, boring Varanasi videos (are you excited yet?), check out the YouTube links here, here, and here.

VARANASI: A PHOTO BONUS

Considering it's one of the oldest cities on the planet, Varanasi is pretty photogenic. Here are a few shots from our two visits...

We know, another sadhu photo. 

This kind-faced boatman offered us a ride.

It's not all pretty. Cows, dogs, and a man in a blue t-shirt dig through a pile of garbage in the street.

Just one of the many amazing murals that cover the concrete walls along the Ganges.

A pilgrim sits on the side of his boat. No doubt he is "healthy breathing."

The fire and music show that takes place on the Main Ghat each evening at dusk.

An artist captures the "washing of the buffalo" on canvas.

PHOTO FRIDAY: SADHU IN VARANASI

The city of Varanasi, formerly known as Benares, is the spiritual capital of India and one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for Hindus. Built along the banks of the sacred Ganges River, the ancient settlement is a place people have traveled to for centuries. They come for miles around to bathe, to pray, and most importantly, to burn their dead on massive ghats that line the shore. The ashes of the departed are then washed into the holy Ganga in hopes of attaining salvation.

The religious significance of the city and river attract countless Sadhus, or holy men, such as the one above we saw strolling along the shores. It's one of the country's most impressive scenes, one that Mark Twain famously called "older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together."