Leaving Assi Ghat - note the mud  still left after the monsoon	At Tulsi Ghat ...
... a local strongman flexes his muscles	Panchakot Ghat

Chet Singh's Palace	Our boatman, approaching Ranamahal Ghat
Darbhanga Ghat	Dashashvamedh Ghat where you have access to the center of the town and to the bazaars

Nepali Temple seen from the river	Nepali Ghat
Lions guard the Nepali Temple	Wood relief of the birth of Ganga from the mouth of a crocodile

Just off Nepali Ghat, the narrow streets team with life.	Temples everywhere
A line of worshippers waiting for admittance to  the street of the Golden Temple	A narrow, lively street of old Varanasi, the chowk

It was only about a 5-minute walk, although we took more like 10 minutes. The streets were fascinating. And when we got to the check point, we weren't even sure we were there. There was what looked like a shop entrance, but with a long line of people waiting to get in and several policemen with an airport-style, walk-through metal detector. We couldn't take in anything but ourselves, so we went separately, with the one outside holding our cameras, backpacks and so on. Before entering, John was frisked very thoroughly twice by two different policemen. John: Afterwards, there was a narrow street lined with sellers of religious items. There were entrances to several temples and I couldn't help regretting not having a camera. First, we (I and a young man who had attached himself to us in spite of our protestations) passed a mosque, then the Golden Temple. Though non-Hindus were not allowed to enter, through a doorway you could look at the peak of Vishwanath Temple with its spire covered with the gold that gives it its title in english. Truly impressive. We could go into other temples in the same street, which were quite interesting. 

So sorry folks, no photos of the Golden Temple. Here's one from Wikipedia which they claim to be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, but it's also on a Varanasi web site, so... Also, we don't know what the white mosque is next door, but that could be the top of the mosque we saw.

Vishwanath Temple (Golden Temple)

Siv: I was also impressed by the very red temple at the end of the street bordered by bazaars and various small temples. It was beautiful and it was surrounded by tourists and beggars. I wished I'd had a camera. The strange thing was that people were selling things (probably to donate in the temples) all the way along the narrow street, but since you weren't allowed to have anything with you except yourself and your clothes I was wondering who would buy the things. I guess you could have sneaked some money into your pockets.

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