Finally, if you have time, take a hire car or train from Varanasi to the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, which is where the Buddha became enlightened around 2,600 years ago. The Bodhi tree by the temple is a descendant of the original and this is why thousands of pilgrims (including the Dalai Lama every December) meditate under it.
Like the Dalai Lama, it is best to visit northern India during the winter season (late October to early April), avoiding the Indian summer heat and monsoons. To avoid backtracking and to make the most of your time, consider taking an airplane at some point in your journey, as domestic flights are frequent and inexpensive.
Though people are generally friendly and hospitable in India, tourists do disappear and get injured. There were troubles between Muslims and Hindus in Varanasi when we visited in early April, and there were tales of bombs going off at the main ghat. Private militias patrolled the hotel environs.
That said, as befits a religious or spiritual haven, everyone should make the pilgrimage to India if they can at some point in their life. It has so much to offer, teach and delight. As for the changes which development will bring, yes Delhi will be different when cows no longer command the streets, but this is a quaint detail and I suspect India will always be the spiritual guardian of a material world.
RSS