Last Day of G Adventures

Yet another early wake up call to see the ceremonies on the Ganges (Ganga). Once again we took a boat trip along the river, watching the devout washing themselves or even swimming in the not very clean looking water. "Do they ever get sick?" "Oh yes," said our guide. We were very careful as we lowered our flower candles into the river and made our wishes. We were assured that those who were performing their religious rituals didn't mind us taking pictures, and were pleased to share their customs with visitors from the West. Buddhists, it seems, also regard Varanasi as a holy place as the Buddha once lived there. Suddenly the sun began to rise on the opposite bank and the scene became more and more striking.

A quick breakfast had been organised at the hotel then it was time for our short flight back to Delhi. There was lots of security. Jacqui's bag was singled out and searched. She had picked up her mosquito spray from home, not noticing the pack also contained a lighter they used when camping. The bag had passed security all the way from Vancouver and this was the first time it had been picked up. There is strong security around bags and nothing, including cabin luggage, is allowed on or off the plane without a tag.

Back in Delhi we noticed that the traffic didn't seem so frantic compared with Varanasi. We were in the same hotel and set off to find an internet cafe to update the blog. We are only a week behind now. It was time for our last night's meal in Delhi and we returned to the restaurant we had really enjoyed on our second night there. Tony had arranged a birthday cake for Dushyant as he had his 30th birthday a few days earlier. He was quite touched by this. It was sad to leave everyone behind but we will be glad of the slower pace for the second part of our tour. Several of the group are going on a second G Adventures tour in the south of India, some are staying for a few days in Goa, others are going to Thailand, China, New Zealand and Australia. We are off to Shimla (Simla) in the hills.