Varanasi

After another slight sleep in till about 10 we headed for breakfast where half the stuff we wanted we couldn’t get as they had no electricity. After we ate we called Sud and he said he would come up to talk to us, so we sat for a little while talking about Varanasi and the Ganges. He suggested we go to see the Buddhist ruins about 20k away, we agreed and off we headed. The 20k drive took at least an hour as traffic was horrid. The ruins were very old and in very bad condition, some just a few piles of bricks but there was a large surviving structure built on the spot where Buddha held his first sermon, we walked around the building and were surprised to see there is no entrance! We read the sign nearby explaining that archeologists had drilled a hole down from the top and all that is inside is a stone tablet which basically says it is the exact spot of Buddha’s first sermon. Many Buddhists were praying at the structure and many had stuck gold leaf onto the building. Afterwards we headed to the nearby museum which contained some very old relics, some of which dated back to 300 BC. Then we headed off for lunch to evil Mc Donalds, our first for India! The menu is obviously very different, Bec went with the trusty Mc Chicken which is the same as Aus but I got a Maharaja Mac, which is basically a Big Mac but with really nice spicy chicken. On the way in to Mc D we had to pass through metal detectors and a pat down, out of everywhere so far in India it is probably the most unsafe I’ve felt. We headed back to the hotel and got back at about 330 so we went for a rest before heading back out for the candle ceremony on the Ganges which starts at 530, we then came back and had a car dinner/drinks with Sud as alcohol is not allowed in the hotel and we found a fantastic stall out the front which sold Memo’s (steamed dim sim’s) they were great and after eating we said goodnight to Sud and headed off to bed. Tomorrow we will head out early for a boat ride down the Ganges.