India: Varanasi – Sunrise Boat Cruising on Ganges
Perhaps the most beautiful experience is the morning boat ride down and up the Ganges river along the Varanasi ghats. The city is located on the western bank of the river so the sun rises over the sandy beaches of the east and illuminates all the ghats and temples in stunning hues of gold. People are out in droves for the boat rides, but even more interesting are the hundred of people performing the morning bathing rituals in the holy river, praying with the rising sun. The Ganges waters are calm and serene and majestic (which doesn’t necessarily mean pure since an occasional corpse often floats by as well as all the ashes from the burning ghats).
