For the second time this trip my Fitbit failed to recognise that I'd been asleep, albeit badly, due to the broken quality and general lack of it.

Arriving at our Varanasi hotel early this morning it was no surprise that our rooms weren't ready and breakfast hadn't yet begun. But we were given tea and coffee and told where we could wait, and also that the pool would open at 9am. So after breakfast three of us rummaged in our cases to find our swimsuits and braved the cold water, which was lovely after the first two seconds.

Later I experienced my first tuktuk ride into Varanasi's old town.... hair-raising!!!
They dropped us off and we continued on foot to the Ganges, where we boarded a boat for a river trip to see the burning ghats and the traditional daily ceremony by the water.

The photo shows the candles, two for each of us, that we set afloat on the river as we made a wish. See here. This evening was the highlight of the trip for me, very moving in so many ways.

Extra: tuktuk chaos