74/ 100 Wavy Blanket Dogs

Unlike the two dogs in the photograph above we had decided to rise early around 5:30 am in the morning to go on a ‘sunrise’ boat trip in Varanasi. Our earlier-than-usual phone alarm woke us from a deep sleep (it’s a different ringtone to our usual daily 7:00 am one and gives us a kind of ‘it’s far too early to get up’ feeling of dread whenever we hear it) and we toddled down the staircase, as quietly as we could, to meet our glum-looking host Sonu.

Although Sonu often had the expression of someone who carried more than his fair share of life’s burdens upon his shoulders he seemed particularly grumpy this morning. The reason? Apparently he thought that the boat tour would be a bit rubbish because there was very thick fog outside and it showed no sign of lifting any time soon. We tried to explain that, as a photographer and artist, Fiona and I were actually still excited to head out and explore some of the early-morning misty wonders Varanasi had to offer.

Here is a short photo-essay of some of the very many things happening, even early in the day, by the ghats of Varanasi. The dark and misty conditions made photography a challenge but my favourite travel camera, the Fujifilm X100VI, worked brilliantly as usual!