Another night on a train

From one extreme to another. I have left behind the beautiful heritage hotel, with tiled floors and dark antique furniture for a night on a crowed train.   Spending my last afternoon in Varanasi taking a boat trip along the ghats allowed a different view from just walking through.  Here you could see the people bathing, praying, swimming and clothes washing.  Behind them were the splendid but crumpling palaces of a time gone by, when every maharaja had a palace here overlooking the Ganges.  Now they are guest houses, silk shops, factories and schools and they live on in an unkempt manner.  Luckily again  when I joined the waiting crowds on platform 8,  I stood next to a lovely couple who were catching the same train.  Chatting to them whiled away the two hour delay and then I joined the tourist filled air conditioned 3 tier sleeper carriage.

A Wonderful sunny Christmas day

Yesterday I visited nearby temples and was blessed and given a red dot on my forehead.  I counted that as the religious side of these festive days.  Today I slowly walked along the ghats in the lovely sunshine and did a lot of people watching, as this place is so fascinating.  I got a brilliant little printer for Christmas (thanks Mum) and last night printed off a few photos and distributed them to the local shop keeper, the guy  from the marker where I got my beads and lastly to the local auto rickshaw driver who took me to meet his family.  I love this, as here photos are a real luxury and now printing is accessible!!!  So Merry Christmas and I'm signing out now so I can tuck onto my Christmas meal of a vegetable Thai.