Apologies for the long delay in posting from India/Nepal, but I have just returned from a Singapore/Malaysia/Miami Trip with my remaining vacation time from the year. So lets get cracking as we have a lot of ground left to cover

When last we left our intrepid adventurers, we had just completed an evening fire aarti in the city of Benares aka Varanasi, on the banks of the holy ganges river. The following morning, we returned to the same river, setting off at sunrise to view one of the more interesting morning commutes

Alongside every part of the riverbank are stone ghats, or docks leading down to the rivers edge for people to conduct their daily ablutions and/or business

Apparently a submarine washed up near this crematorium...when they say six feet under, they arent kidding!

Indiana Josh and the sunken temple?

Quite the busy day, no? And yet, on the other side of the river, the land remains relatively untouched

Of course, once the sun is up, people have things to do, like bathe

Or catch up on the latest gossip

or even do laundry!

After that, our guide informed us that ALL the water in Varanasi comes from the ganges river. The water we drink, bathe in, etc is all (hopefully!) purified from the river in which people are taking their morning dunks, cleaning their clothes, and disposing of their dead bodies. We are all holier and slightly smellier for the experience

Following our morning boat ride, Dr Han decided we should set off through the streets of the city to explore them by day

good thinking, Doc!

Of course, Short Round remained on the lookout for any more dangerous monkeys

At such an early Hour the streets were still mostly deserted, but things picked up as the day progressed, and we visited Indias largest university!

Hahaha, boo-b .com, institute of higher learning!

We also learned about the fine art of weaving, both by hand loom as seen on the right, and machine looms. Sadly due to the time intensive requirements of this job, very few people have the skill or inclination to learn how to make cloths and tapestries from silver thread such as those seen on the right anymore

Next and final stop in India was the Mother India Temple, a 3 dimensional topographical map of the subcontinent

and yet, no you are here locator

Despite That, here we are!

Along with a potential replacement for my longstanding Zoidberg Avatar, Dr Geeko!

With that, we bid adieu to both India and Dr Han, as he had patients to return to, and we had one more country to tackle before returning home.

Next Stop, Nepal, home to Everest, more temples, and Parahawking

When last we left our heroes, they were just setting off on a midnight train to anywhere   Georgia Varanasi, city of KNowledge. We arrived safely and met our guide for the area, who was the Indian Version of Bernie Mac. He was also chock full of information about the city

The name Varanasi has its origin from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganges bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Assi. It is A city renowned in India for its learning, philosophy and music.

Also its hordes of zombies begging children  and rampant poverty.

Our first stop was actually a side trip to Sarnath. Sarnath, from Saranganath, means "Lord of the Deer" and relates to an old Buddhist story in which the Bodhisattva is a deer and offers his life to a king instead of the doe the latter is planning to kill. The king is so moved that he creates the park as a sanctuary for deer. The park is still there today.

It is also the site where Buddha gave his first sermon after becoming enlightened. As if that was not impressive enough to mark this as a place of historical and religious significance, Buddha remained here through the rainy season and founded an entire college

This and more are the remains of living quarters, classrooms, and meditative temples where for hundreds of years Buddhist monks came to learnt he dharma and train under the guidance of either Buddha himself or one of his 5 disciples

The Dhamek Stupa, pictured above is built over the exact site where Buddha was said to have given his first sermon, the eightfold path of nirvana. Stupas are built to commerate important places or events, and many are claimed to have relics (bones or other bits of human remains from holy figures) buried under them, although the sheer number of stupas you will see in this vacation alone would indicate that it is probably more a matter of faith than fact

The Temple first pictured was built much later to commemorate the site and remains an important pilgrimage location for Buddhists of all countries. The inside is filled with murals depicting the entire life and death of Budda, such as above where he came across four figures who would lead him to enlightment an old man, a poor man, a dying man, and a sick man

Lord Buddha in all his glory.

A Brief jaunt across the street to the Sarnath Archaelogical museum revealed the Ashokan Pillar, sandstone polished to the quality of marble, a national emblem of India, and found on all its money

Leaving behind Sarnath, we returned to Varanasi for some light reading, ice cream, and drinks

including some Shirley's Tample

Rajbhog ice cream

and humorous ly named authors.

Finishing just in time to observe the evening Fire Aarti of Varnasi with hundreds, if not thousands of other tourists and pilgrims. But more on that to come...

While my last post was all about Agra, I neglected to mention or post anything about what makes it most famous.

The Tah Mahal, one of the New 7 wonders of the world (along with chichen itza in mexico, christ the redeemer in brazil, the colosseum in rome, the great wall of china in freaking all of china, machu picchu in peru and petra in jordan-as of this date, i have been to 4 of them)

Entrance gate to the taj mahal, the small domes on top representing each year it took to build 1632-1653, and the entire border underneath filled with passages from the koran written in ascending perspective so letters at the top and bottom look the same size

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory 

-Shah Jahan, describing the Taj Mahal

The base structure is essentially a large, multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners, forming an unequal octagon. On each of these sides, a huge pishtaq, or vaulted archway, frames the iwan with two similarly shaped, arched balconies stacked on either side. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building.

Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing the chamfered corners. The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; the actual graves are at a lower level. The minarets were constructed slightly outside of the plinth so that, in the event of collapse, (a typical occurrence with many tall constructions of the period) the material from the towers would tend to fall away from the tomb.

But enough education. Just take a few moments to appreciate this truly marvelous spectacle

Okay, moment's over. Back to fun!

For all you Cal Fans like short round

Pinch!

Short Round is gargantuan

Tourist Bureau requires at least one yoga photo be taken by a tourist every day in India

Uplifting feeling

A rose by any other name smells stoned

Massive ceilings

Final Thoughts?

Hipster Album Cover #3 (and by far the best!)

Parting shot...

Onward to Orcha and Varanasi!