Day 24 - 24th Feb

After a lazy morning and confirmation that we could change the flight we went for lunch at a place called Ayyah Cafe, which had the look of a greasy spoon but with it's own Indian characteristics. Matt discovered that he does quite like masala dosa after all which made him happier.

We spent most of the afternoon just wandering around the maze of markets in the backstreets. Everywhere seemed to be gearing up for Holi and almost every stall was filled with mounds of colourful paint powder, sparkly banners, hats and general party goods and a huge array of dangerous looking water guns.

We wound our way to the ganges and decided to take a boat ride so we could see the evening ceremony without the hassle of being by the riverside. Amost immediately, the boatman took us to another boat where they tried to sell us a plate of flowers and candles to put in the river. We refused it but we impressed by how well we unintentionally knocked down the asking price from 200rupees to 20!

We watched the evening ceremony for a while and wondered how they muster the energy to perform with the necesarry enthusiasm and fanfare when they have to do it every day, then rowed to one of the burning ghats and watched the cremation proceedings. We stayed here for ages as it was really fascinating and not as gruesome as I expected. It was actually really calming and the rituals involved are very respectful. It felt much better watching it from the boat too as women do not normally attend the ceremonies. This is mainly because they used to throw themselves on the fire of their husbands but aso because any tears can effect how the soul ascends.

Back at hostel we chatted to some English/Irish girls and giggled at some of the shaps they'd had. They had had even more people wanting to take their photos (for obvious reasons!)and it had got so ridiculous that the police had to instruct them not to agree to any more when they were at the Taj Mahal. Interestingly to us, they had also got trapped in the Delhi 'Government Tourist Office' but had agreed to take a trip. It all went a bit wrong when a communication breakdown nearly meant that they were made to fly to Kashmir!

There was a Bengali wedding going on around the corner so we all went and got ourselves invited to that. It was really interesting (if not awkward of course) to meet the bride and witness some of the rituals (like the groom not being allowed to let his feet touch the ground as he was meant to be in 'heaven') but they weren't as forthcoming with the food and dancing so we didn't stay as long.