We chose to get up very early something like 6 AM, and went on the tuk tuts to the Ganges waterfront again, having had the most spectacular evening last night, watching the daily evening Hindu rituals along the waterfront. It was early morning, and the breeze was gentle, and it was amazingly cool on the water as the sun had not yet risen. We rowed along the waterfront and viewed it with new eyes, as we had only seen it in the dark from the Ganges the night before. Very gently dawn. Then the most spectacular sunrise. The red suns are amazing, and I have the pics. We don't get these red suns in Canada. The Ganges faces East of course, and there are no buildings on the far side, or it would spoil the sunrises, as Hindu worship the sun. In yoga, we also do sun salutations to greet the sun, and use these themes in our yoga practice. We rowed all along, and watched a whole new scene. There was washing happening, and the guys were beating the huge sheets etc on the rocks. There was washing hanging everywhere. So many things to see, and such beauty over the Ganges. We docked, and went to a bakery/cafee which Abhi new about. As a tourist you would never find these hidden away gems, amidst cow poo, goats, and everything else. Actually I don't think you could cope at all without guidance. You have to look beyond the dirt. It was a great breakfast. I took a pic in the bathroom which asked that you please do not dispose of toilet paper in the toilet!!!!!!! Then Abhi went back to the hotel. We returned to the Ghats ( the huge areas that are stepped down to the Ganges ). Each Ghat is different. Yes, there are smells, and raw sights here, and beggars, but it is India. Fascinating. I have amazing pics of the holy cows eating the offerings to the various Gods. Saw monkeys etc. Shiva is the Hindu God of destruction, and of course there were cremations going on. We didn't take pics of course. It became quite hot, and most of us returned to the hotel to rest. I slept, then went on a cycle rickshaw on my own to a local mall. It is like our malls, but the locals don't go there as it is all high end, and mostly a deserted mall. We went on the tuk tuts to a silk factory in Varanasi. We were toured by a pleasant Indian guy. He took us through various alleyways, and we observed life there too...even holy cows in the alleys!! Dodge the cow poo, and we went into see all the stages of weaving.It was very noisy indeed. Some was handmade silk, some machine made. Some quality silk, other fabric lower quality silk, but very high standard of workmanship. We saw wedding cloth, and all kinds....sari's of course. I took lots of pics of the carding, weaving etc....we had a comprehensive tour which ended in the sales room of course. We were treated to chai and shown amazing silk bedspreads, hangings scarves, Pashminas etc. I showed the guy my Pashmina and discovered that although it was 100% wool, and thin, it wasn't a Pashmina. I spent way too much money buying a real Pashmina ( goat wool ) and a huge wall hanging/table decoration/bedspread!! I also bought silk scarves for the ladies in my life. From there we went straight to the Nepalese restaurant where we had had our cooking demo yesterday. It was a great meal, and very healthy vegetarian! Off to bed for another early start!!
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