Weighing Wood for Cremation

Varanasi and the First and Last Footsteps of the Buddha

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January 11th 2010
Varanasi was a city I thought possibly best avoided. The city has a reputation based on the chaos of river boat touts, beggars galore, public cremations and fairly recent bombings. Actually the most recent attack was when I visited India in 2007, a bomb detonated in a courthouse killing 20 and injuring more than 100. But there was no tension upon arrival and in fact it seemed rather calm after the ... read more

Asia » India » Uttar Pradesh » Varanasi

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The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab in... ... read more