We arrived in Varanasi about 9.30am and spent an easy morning at the hotel just a 5 minute coach drive away. In the afternoonwe went to Sarnath, the Buddhist pilgrimage site where the Buddha preached his first ever sermon. We went first to the archaological museum, which contained lots of Buddhist statues, and a 2000 year old Ashoka's lion, a statue of four lions on top of an upturned lotus flower and the Buddhist wheel of law. It is a recognized symbol of peace and power and appears on all rupee notes in India. As well as the remains of many Buddhist temples which we were delighted to see were being visited by lots of red-robed Tibetan monks, in the main grounds stands the elaborately carved Dhamekh stupa, marking the spot where the Buddha's first sermon was delivered. It was covered in gold leaf, and people were throwing coins into the alcoves for luck! It was beautiful day with gorgeous sunshine so it was nice to just sit in the grounds and watch the children play cricket! We then walked to a beautiful Buddhist temple next door, which stood next to a third generation tree from the sapling of one from Sri Lanka, planted by a Sri Lankan who spent years spreading the words of the Buddha. Inside was a beautiful gold Buddha, and painted scenes of stories he told. We spent a fun evening watching films on HBO!