Hardiwar, Corbett National park and Varanasi.

Mar in our bamboo hut
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From Leh we flew back to Srinagar for one relaxing day on the houseboat before flying to Jammu. We then caught an overnight train to Hardiwar (one of the seven holy cites). We booked into a Place beside the river ganges. They were bamboo huts, very nice location. In the evening at sunset, we went down to the main ghat for the river worship ceremony. Everyone including ourselves buys a leaf basket with flower petals and a candle inside. Then everyone lights then and floats them down the river. That night we were just about to go off to sleep when we noticed we hade company in our room. He showed himself to be a rat. So we Quickly asked to be moved to a different hut.

KEVIN IN THE GARDEN
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The next morning we payed for a taxi to corbett national park. It was a six hour drive but only cot us 2000 INR (36euro). We arrived at our hotel which was the nicest hotel we've been in so far. It was right beside a river and we had our own little house separate from the main building. The staff were brilliant and the setting was beautiful, and they had a lovely black Labrador called Marcel(shep to us). The next morning at 5.30 we headed off on a 2 hour elephant ride into the national park we seen lots of monkeys spotted deer and samba deer. We then rented a jeep for the day off the hotel and went to a place called Nanital 3 hrs drive away but amazing scenery all along. We did very well driving on india's roads there seriously the rudest drivers i've ever seen like they never dim there headlights at night very frustrating. The next day we were up at 4.30 to go on our 5 hour jeep safari into the national park to hopefully spot some tigers etc. But there were none to be seen as its a bad time of the year to visit to see tigers but we had a good time despite. We spent the next day and a half relaxing before heading for varanasi.

We took a sleeper class train to Varanasi which took 24 hours (never again).

OUR LITTLE FLOWER BASKETS
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We took a sleeper class train to Varanasi which took 24 hours (never again). We eventually arrived in Varanasi and got a rickshaw to our hotel which overlooked one of the ghats on the ganges. We were wrecked when we got there so we ate our dinner one a roof top restaurant which was surrounded by monkeys which can be very cheeky when they want to be, and went straight to bed. The next morning we woke early and went for a boat trip along the Ghats. We seen all the locals bathing and we also seen one of the burning Ghats where Hindu people are cremated on burning logs of wood. We actually seen one. Varanasi is one of the less hassally cites and we got to buy some nice clothes.

LIGHTING OUR CANDLES
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Were leaving tonight on another night train but a better class so it wont be too bad.