Varanasi

Northern India's Golden Triangle

Scott S. Smith | Posted 05.19.2012

Scott S. Smith

Awakened by the haunting first call to Muslim prayer at 4:30 a.m., we rode elephants up steep hills to Amber Fort, a massive citadel for Hindu rulers.

Last Minute Presents That Will Last a Lifetime

Marissa Bronfman | Posted 05.25.2011

Marissa Bronfman

What if the perfect gift was actually a world away, on the other side of the globe, in an ancient city on the banks of a holy river?

A Hind-Jew in India

Perry Garfinkel | Posted 05.25.2011

Perry Garfinkel

I arrived in Hinduism's holiest city on Judaism's holiest day. But how was I to spend Yom Kippur, a solemn day of atonement and fasting at the 5-star Nadesar Palace?

Varanasi: India's Holy City (PHOTOS)

Rajan P. Parrikar | Posted 05.25.2011

Rajan P. Parrikar

In this holy place beats the heart of an ancient civilization.

The Husband Test

Tabby Biddle | Posted 11.17.2011

Tabby Biddle

I missed writing the blog last week! This was not due to any laziness or any other lame reason, but rather due to the fact that I was laid up in bed ...

A Clean Karma Bath in the Muck of the Ganges (xvi)

Karin Badt | Posted 11.17.2011

Karin Badt

Only in India do people comment on the experience of getting there ("this was fresher," said Vivek) rather than the destination itself.

Child Photography in Varanasi: Pooja with Puja (xiv)

Karin Badt | Posted 11.17.2011

Karin Badt

I sat on a curb in the dark, the sun not yet lifted, watching dozens and dozens of people sleeping on the concrete, some beginning to rise, the breeze fresh from the Ganges.

Streetkid Shopping in Varanasi (xv)

Karin Badt | Posted 11.17.2011

Karin Badt

The most fun experience one can have in India, if you have an extra twenty dollars, is take a street child to buy her new clothes.

Varanasi: City of Rebirth (xii)

Karin Badt | Posted 11.17.2011

Karin Badt

There is nothing like waking up at dawn to take a boat ride down the Ganges, past the men standing mid-waist in water, placing their hands together in prayer and chanting.

Varanasi: The Illicit (xiii)

Karin Badt | Posted 05.25.2011

Karin Badt

The travelers who come to Ganges View Hotel are unusual: a sophisticated Danish woman who works with trauma victims in Iraq, Columbia and other war a...

Varanasi: The City of the Dead (xi)

Karin Badt | Posted 11.17.2011

Karin Badt

Varanasi, the holy city of the dead, is a blast of life. Right from the train station, the roads are dense in clanking bicycles, women in black veils...