Lalit left us at the Tundla train station at 5:30 and we said our goodbyes. The train wasn't till 8:20 so we thought we'd just sit in the waiting room and get some food. While we were waiting we got chatting to a few other travellers who'd done similar trips to us with a hired driver, they also gave us there stories of how they'd been scammed or conned along the way which made us feel better as we seem to have avoided that. Eventually the train arrived 2 hours late. Fortunately our bunks were next to other travellers which made us less apprehensive about the trip. The sleeper trains are rather basic with 3 bunks on one side, 3 on the other, a small passageway and then 2 bunks opposite. They're also quite small and once you've got your bags on too you have to sleep in the fetal position (we would have had more room if other passengers hadn't put all their stuff under our beds). Anyway we both got a bit of sleep and arrived into Varanasi 6 hours late (don't ask, something to do with fog and cows on the track). We were greeted by our new city guide Jonny who took us to our new hotel to freshen up and then took us out round Varanasi.

The first place Jonny took us was Sarnath, a town just North of Varanasi where Buddha famously came to preach his first sermon after reaching enlightenment. The monastery now lays in ruins after Muslim invaders destroyed it, however an impressive Stupa still stands in the spot where Buddha gave the sermon.

That the evening we were dropped off in the old town to walk down to the Ghats (large steps leading down to the Ganges river). Once we got down there was a ceremony going on along the rivers edge. We were going to watch but having got duped into having a massage and Heather being hassled too much we found a roof top restaurant for dinner and some beer to finish off the day...