monkey see, monkey do

varansi is really a city like any other.

with a few exceptions. like the fact that 5 m away from the kids playing cricket, people are burning their dead. there's even a little bench where you can sit and watch the burnings, like some sort of promenade by the riverside. and if the wind is (blowing) on your side, you might even get a little bit of mr. gupta or mrs. choudhury on you.

then you have the swarms of beggars, lined up on the stairs of the main ghat, each with their own special "power",

great trips offered beyond the river and boat rides, offered in small lassi shops on the street, trips that last for hours and cost you around 20 rs.,

and last, but not least, the monkey temple. a place all for our neighbors on the evolution scale, roaming freely and jumping on anything they please; (heads, included).

varanasi is a lot like this man (except i don't know his name). it really takes you for a ride.

or you can just draw your own analogies. and you can see the rest of the pictures here, if this one didn't spark it.

my time there was intense, and i mean intense, lots of blood rushing to my head which i was very thankful for, in a way, given the amount of dead people around.

so if you're ever in india you have to go there. it's a place of wonder or worship and i'm sure one can easily fall in either of te categories.

but just remember, if wind is blowing your way, breathe through your nose.