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We travelled by train to Allahabad where we got a boat to travel down the Ganges. At the train station abut 50 people crowded around us and stared at us all for about half an hour which I found very strange and in the end our tour leader had to tell them to get back because they were getting so close and just staring open mouthed! They were all men of course, that area does get a fair few tourists but I think its a major culture difference they don't think its rude to stare, and as a big group of 11 westerners we stood out a lot!We got on our boats and they were very basic but quite comfy although they didn't have any toilets so every time you needed to go you had to ask the boat men to get to the river bank and go behind a bush!! The river Ganges is very polluted I saw a funeral pyre on the bank side it is a sacred river to the Hindus and dead bodies are often sent into the river as a funeral ceremony as the river is holy to them. We saw a dead body in the river and also a dead dog! But on a more positive note we did see a river Dolphin which are really rare, there are less than 4000 left so we were very lucky. We camped on a huge sand bank in the middle of no where, there was a great sunset and the stars came out, it was really beautiful. When we arrived at the other end we had to climb a huge bank of pure mud, and I really don't want to know what was in the mud but lets just say waste of many forms!! I cant believe I made it to the top without falling but all the boat men helped even though they were half my size!! Sailing on the river was really peaceful and a good experience, the weather wasn't great though and Chris gave the boat men a hand rowing, which I'm sure they were pleased about because I'm sure one of them was about 70!!
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