■ INDIA, VARANASI: When I think of India I think of Varanasi. My expectations were thus high for my first ever visit. I knew I had to swim in the river or my visit would simply not be complete.

But other than a holy river Ganges swim my plans were open ended. A historic hotel would be the icing on the cake I thought so I opted for renting the most expensive hotel room I've ever seen in India.

After checking in I went exploring the mean streets of Varanasi to see if this ancient Indian city lived up to expectations....

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