We had a wild 15-mile ride from the airport through dark and smoky streets with a jumble of bikes, motorbikes, dogs, busses, trucks and people. The driver stopped in a makeshift parking lot and told us to leave the luggage, he would return for it. We followed the driver into the maze of alleys with tiny shops carved into the walls with all sorts of goods on display. It was scary and fascinating at the same time. Finally we came around a corner and there we were, on a small landing with stairs leading up to our hotel and more stairs going down to the Ganges River. Next to us was a small temple crowded with chattering monkeys. Magical, Indian style!

Before dawn, we were startled awake by the screeches of fighting monkeys. Soon after came the rythmic chanting of worshippers making their way down the steps to the Ganges. We joined them at the river. We watched people take their morning baths and perform their pujas. We also made our offerings to the Ganges and received tikka marks on our foreheads from the officiating priests.

The Sadhus (holy men) are a real show here, saffron-clad, some with their skin covered in ashes, elaborate tikka marks on their foreheads and wild long hair...some don't like to have their pictures taken, others are more than happy to pose for some baksheesh.

As we wandered along the ghats we ran into people from all walks of life, from beggars, street urchins and lepers hoping to get their fair share of baksheesh, to respectable family groups. All were fair game for our cameras.

We went to one of the main burning ghats one evening. Photography was not allowed. People scurried up and down the terraced slope leading to the Ganges, passing by huge piles of logs and kindling, fuel for the astounding number of bodies being cremated. Other corpses wrapped in white were being taken down to the river to be washed, and piles of logs were being set up for the next cremation. Some fires were in full burn, other smoldering. We were given a tour by a volunteer who explained the rituals and showed us the more exclusive cremation areas as well as the eternal Shiva fire from which each pyre is lit. It was impressive and sobering.

At times it seemed that there were more tourists than worshippers at the ghats, especially for the Ganga aarti, the Ganges worship ceremony which takes place each day at dawn and dusk. Priests, to the chant of mantras and the clang and bang of bells and drums, worship the river. At the end of the ritual, the blazing aarti lamps are raised high and circled over the water.