but first: beer Neil and I have tried to have a beer at every hotel since Mumbai. We had a nice Indian beer in Mumbai in every other hotel. It’s on the menu in every other hotel. They’re out of it too much demand apparently they can’t make enough beer or they can’t order it or can the logistics I have no idea could not get a clear answer. Neil would order gin and tonic and I would order a glass of water. They didn’t seem to mind they understood they were rather beer so they did have Budweiser.

Rituals along the Ganges.

almost impossible to describe the scale and how many people are here doing different things for different reasons. The pictures will have to stand for themselves.

some 40 or 50,000 people are coming down to the water each day and having walked long distances some as long as 120 km

River has been cleaned up, and apparently there is no pollution in the water no plastic bags, none they have spent years teaching people to do this properly.

this is the city where George Harrison and the Beatles Steve Jobs came to spend a year in the washroom, etc.

The cast that does, the cremations is the lowest of the lowest of the lowest castes. however, you have to pay them so they are particularly wealthy. 

they were far far too many pictures to put in the blog so I created a link to some of the pictures I took along the ganges.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/073-_WPepmPkHHMtQZvO26CKg

Specializes in silk and silk brocade

This family five generations of cloth

Silk production in Varanasi, India, is deeply rooted in the city’s history and is best known for its Banarasi silk, which is one of the finest varieties of silk in India. The silk used in Varanasi’s famous handwoven sarees primarily comes from the following sources:

1. South India – Raw silk is often sourced from states like Karnataka (especially Bengaluru and Ramanagara), which is the largest producer of mulberry silk in India.

2. West Bengal – Another major source of raw silk, particularly Tussar silk, comes from areas like Malda and Murshidabad.

3. Bihar & Jharkhand – Known for their production of Tussar silk.

4. Assam – Supplies Muga silk and Eri silk, though these are less commonly used in Banarasi weaving.

Once the raw silk is sourced, weaving families in Varanasi—especially in areas like Madanpura, Alaipura, and Lallapura—dye, weave, and embellish the silk with intricate zari (gold or silver thread) work.

Are you looking to visit a silk workshop in Varanasi, or are you interested in purchasing authentic Banarasi silk?

we started the day at 5 AM and finished up in Delhi late in the afternoon group dinner blah blah blah

absolutely lovely Hotel one of the great ones