Varanasi.

Today, I was up very early, before the sun, to sail along the Ganges and see devout Hindus bathing and praying beneath the rising sun.

Sailing the Ganges.

After yesterday's long journey through Varanasi, I did wonder if we would get anywhere near the Ganges this morning. I thought the sheer number of people descending on the area would prevent us from going on our sunrise boat ride on the Ganges. I was thrilled when we arrived and found that we could get very close to the river, and that a short time later, we were boarding our small boat. We were all told to put life jackets on, but I am not sure they would have been any help if we had gone into the water. They were all very old, tatty and all on the small side, but we put them on and set off from the Ghat for our trip along the Ganges.

Even from the pontoon that we used to climb on the boat, we could see people undressing to bathe in the Ganges River. I really enjoyed this trip. The sun rising above the misty clouds made it even more memorable. I was amazed by the number of people, both young and old, bathing in the river to celebrate Kumbh Mela.

River Ganges Sunrise Cruise Photos.

Photos from my sunrise boat ride up the River Ganges. Click on any image to see a larger version and a description of the photo.

After our trip along the Ganges River, we were taken through Varanasi and went to our hotel via Bharat Mata Mandir, where we made a short stop.

Bharat Mata Mandir.

Bharat Mata Mandir, meaning "Mother India Temple", is located on the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith campus in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Instead of traditional statues of gods and goddesses, this temple has a massive map of Akhand Bharat carved in marble. This temple is dedicated to Bharat Mata and was originally the only one of its kind in the world, though a few others have now been built. Philanthropist and freedom fighter Shiv Prasad Gupta created the Bharat Mata Mandir.

The temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936. Gandhi said, "In this temple, there are no statues of gods and goddesses. Here, there is only a map of India that is raised on marble. I hope that this temple will take the form of a worldwide platform for all religions, along with Harijans, and of all castes and beliefs, and it would contribute to feelings of religious unity, peace and love in this country."

We had a short stop at this fantastic map. I must admit I didn't hear what our guide was telling us about it while we were there and had to Google information about it when I got back from my holiday. I thought it was a fantastic map, and I was surprised to see what was inside the building once we had walked through the building work that was going on around it when we arrived. When we left, our guide explained that the building work was actually part of ongoing work that would be building an overhead train through Varanasi and that one of the stop points for the train would be this place.

When we left the Temple, we were taken back to our hotel. A few of the ladies were being taken to a silk shop on the road our hotel was on, and I decided to take the short walk and go with them to look for a silk shirt. The shop was great to look at, and the owners showed us the original wooden mills on which the silk was woven and told us all about the process before their son took us to look around the shop. He gave us more information about the silks he was trying to sell us, and it was fascinating. Many of the ladies bought beautiful dresses or ordered them to be made for them. I decided not to spend so much money on a shirt I would probably wear only once or twice. I still have one I bought in Beijing, China, and I have worn it only twice. I did buy two cushion cases that I will use in my apartment in Spain when I can find some suitable filler to put inside them.

After visiting the silk shop, I walked back to the hotel for a brief rest before we went out again this afternoon for our trip to Sarnath.

Sarnath.

Sarnath is a town located 8 kilometres northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh. The name Sarnath derives from the Sanskrit word Sāranganātha, which translates to "Lord of the Deer" in the English language. The name refers to an ancient Buddhist legend in which the Bodhisattva was a deer and offered his life to a king instead of the doe the king was planning to kill. The king was so moved that he created the park as a deer sanctuary.

Sarnath is also where the Buddhist sangha first came into existence, as a result of the first teaching given to the Buddha's first five disciples, Kaundinya, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa and Mahanama, known as The First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma. This teaching occurred circa 528 BC when the Buddha was approximately 35 years of age.

Thai Temple.

The Thai Temple at Sarnath is famous as the place where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, or where Buddha preached his first sermon. This is the place where the original Sangha was formed. I had a short visit to the Thai Temple and enjoyed a walk around the ornate Buddhas and the tranquil gardens.

Dhamek Stupa.

Dhamek Stupa is a massive stupa located in Deer Park at Sarnath in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. One of the eight most important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists, the Dhamek Stupa marks the location where the Buddha gave his first teaching to his first five disciples: Kaundinya, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa and Mahanama.

I liked the gardens here and would like to say how peaceful it was to walk around. Unfortunately, a local church had a truck outside the grounds with huge speakers on it and was playing very loud music to people following behind it. Our guide told us that more churches are doing this to try to attract younger people to church. It may well attract younger people, but so would a disco, and there is no need to do this, especially to allow them so close to any Buddhist monument.

Sarnath Museum.

Sarnath Museum is the oldest site museum of the Archaeological Survey of India. It houses the findings and excavations at the archaeological site of Sarnath, which the Archaeological Survey of India conducted.

We only had a brief walk around the museum, and it didn't take long to look around. There were some interesting artefacts in the museum, and I am glad we had a look around, but if you are in the area and in a hurry, miss it and look at the museum website instead.

When I left the museum, I stood outside to wait for the rest of the tour group and was approached, on my blind side, by someone who I assumed was trying to sell something. I politely said no, thank you and waved him away, but as I turned towards him, I realised his friend was standing there with a camera, and he just wanted to have a photograph taken with me. I was head and shoulders taller than most of the Indians and was something of a novelty to them. I agreed to have a photo taken with him, and then I was approached by two family groups who all wanted to pose with me and have their photo taken with me. I obliged and had photos taken with them all, and by now, the tour group was all appearing, and I rejoined them to get back onto our coach.