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So! Here I am. Landed in Bombay in the middle of the night after quite an enjoyable flight. The in flight entertainment was excellent and the food not bad either.
Mumbai is a shithole and I only stayed there to get over jet lag and acclimatise.
From there I took a 7 and a half hour train journey to Ellora. The only ticket I could get was in the lowest class going. I nearly peeed myself with the amount of livestock and two hundred people crammed into a compartment for 70.
Hey Ho! That,s travelling!
I explored the caves, which were great and stunning and worth a world heritage tag, but I wasn't in the mood. I booked a flight to goa.
Four buses, two taxis and two aircraft later I was back on the beach.
This beach bum thing is becoming a habit!
More or less chilled since I got here. It's been great seeing old friends and eye opening the amount of locals that remember both my face and my name!
Now I've met a very beautiful Israeli girl and we're hanging out together. We can't do too much beacause we have had a cyclone going through and it's been pissing down.
Really hot though! (The weather!)
My glasses keep steaming up suddenly, and that's incidental not because of my friend!
Going for lunch now and it will be a solid one because breakfast was liquid!!!!!!!!!!

I promise!

This trip I will keep this blog up to date (ish). The trip takes in India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and back to India. You never know where else. Three of those countries I've never been to and I'm especially looking forward to the Mekong Delta. Watch this space and I'll let you know.

Hampi

After our last supper together as a gang Julia and I caught the night bus to Hampi. Arriving in the morning it was like arriving in Bedrock. I wouldn't have been surprised if Fred Flintstone came round the corner. Hampi is an old ruined city. There was a king who lived there and all the entourage. The ruins coupled with the landscape was just breathtaking. We spent the first day on foot in the local area. Next day I hired a scooter for the day for the princely sum of 100Rs (1.30) and we zoomed around looking at the further away things. This place is a World Heritage site and yet we could be in huge temples all alone. Weird. Two nights/three days was enough so we packed up and took a brand new rickshaw (the driver was so proud, he told us every five minutes that it was new!) to the station in Hospet. I've just remembered I took video of part of the journey which I haven't looked at. That night we took the sleeper train to Bangalore. I'm sitting here sweating and dying of thirst so I'll do Bangalore this afternoon. Shouldn't take long it was crap.

Palollem

Well I ended the last trip here and I started this one in the same place. You'd think that having spent seven weeks somewhere that there would be loads to write about. not really. It's a beach! You swim, eat, drink and sleep. It was great over Christmas because there were a few of us on our own and we all got on very well and had a great time. That's about it. If you really want to know more ask me when I get home!

Gokarna

I hadn't planned on coming here but both the books said it was nice and they were right!
I arrived at about 9pm after a rough bus ride only to get ripped off by the hotel I'd booked.
Next day I took a boat to the next beach down and it was beautiful. Very small with about eight beach shack/cafes all with a little 'village' of palm leaf huts behind them. I searched around and eventually got a room (more like a cell!) about fifty yards back from the beach. It was only 150/- a night. Two quid. I'll try to remember all the furnishings it had. Let's see. A bed. Yep that's about it.
It was a really chilled out place though. Very quiet. There were a heap of Italian travellers there and they were really nice. Not only that they had a CD player and played stuff like Pink Floyd all the time. There was a communal verandah with pillars so I put my hammock up right outside my door and almost took root!
The days just passed doing nothing. Get up, drink tea, go swimming, lie around, go swimming, lunch, lie around, go swimming, eat again. couple of beers and bed. What a life!
One day I was floating around in lovely blue water when out of the corner of my eye I saw a dorsal fin about two feet away. Panic? There was brown water splashing everywhere! I saw just after that that it was a dolphin and there were two more on the other side of me. They kept brushing past and giving me a bump. They were there for a while and they kept presenting different bits of themselves for a stroke. I tried to hang on to one and get pulled along but he was having none of it. Then they just disappeared.
All in all I was there for seven days and was gladf to just sit without having to travel, pack, unpack, find a room. As peaceful as it was I was getting just a little bored because there really was nothing to do. So I packed up and headed a bit further north to Goa, at last!

Got to share this

I was walking to the bank yesterday and I passed somewhere with high walls and broken glass on the top there was a sign which I will reproduce as it was written. I didn't have my camera with me but I'll try and get back there before I move on.

Tresspissers will be prose
cuted under rules.
By order of the Governmen
t.

I thought someone was taking the piss but it was there. Honest!

Mangalore

I only came here because it's a transport hub. I'm sick of big Indian cities. Boy was it hot! 39 degrees which, in old money, is 110. It was too hot to do anything so I went and had a huge lunch and a couple of beers and went back and watched telly in my room. This hotel had hot water too. I could get used to such luxury! So I washed everything I could think of and nearly gagged when I saw the colour of the water running off me! That night I went looking for a place given a good write up in the RG. Buggered if I could find it. I found an agent for the KSRTC (Karnataka buses) and got myself booked on the bus the next day to Gokarna which is as far north you can go without wandering into Goa. A lazy day really I sat in my room all evening watching films and girded my loins for the beaches to come.

Konakulam

Or to put it properly cone-ah-cool-um. no wonder the guy at the train ticket office looked at me like I was deranged! Anyway it was only a short hop. I phoned a hotel from my book from the station and they had a room. A rickshaw there was 12/-! Typical hotel for Indians but it was clean enough. The book said that the beach was five minutes away. I think they meant by jet! I found it in the end. 10km of beautiful beach and all that was on it was me and a crab. I got bored eventually and it was too hot (over a hundred degrees). I went back to my room, pottered around then went into town. After filling in a whole three minutes by walking round twice I went for a shave. Must have been bored if that was the highlight of the day! My old faithful flip flops were worn paper thin and it was starting to hurt walking over stones. So I treated myself to a super-duper pair of sandals for the price of 300/-. It's been like walking on air. Why on earth didn't I get some earlier? I was walking down the road and saw a shop up a lane that sold beer. Four cold bottles in my bag and I went and sat on my verandah to watch the sun set. Under the hotel was a restaurant. No one spoke English so I just said food and he brought some. It was delicious. I asked for more but not same, same. (My Indian has really came on!) He brought more and that was even better. I nearly had anothe plateful when my bill was only 20/- (25p).
Next morning was a quick(ish) breakfast and yet another train ride. During all that time there I never saw another white face, or even a dirty brown one like mine.

Kannur

Another overnight journey which was a close call. I set my alarm but must have rolled on it during the night. I woke up and realised that the train had stopped. Looking at my watch it was twenty minutes after we were due to arrive. I leapt up and asked someone where we were of course he gave me the Indian name which wasted more time. I made it off the train with everything as it was moving off. Bit of a rude awakening. I dumped my pack and went looking for a hotel. First one I tried across the road had a room for 180/-, bit grotty but the bathroom was spotless, and it was quiet. I'd woken up too much so I went for a walk to get a paper and chai. Guess what I found, and Indian coffee house!

I took a rickshaw to St Angelo fort, a big Portugese ruin (there was nothing else in the book!). They were filming a movie there and they'd roped in about 40 westerners to play the British army from about 300 years ago. I knew two of them so we all sat and laughed at how pathetic the acting is in these films.

Back to my favourite place for lunch. 15/- (19p) for an all you can eat thali! I was stuffed, so I went back to my hotel for a snooze.

The only other place in the book is the beach so I had to go there. It was fairly empty but a lovely stretch of 10km sand. I sat there listening to music, (my Mp3 player is working again) until sunset then I went back and slept. Get's very tiring all this sunbathing.

And just to get you all jealous...

Cochi

The capital of Kerala. It took quite a lot of phone calls to arrange a hotel before I got there, but I'm glad it did. I found a hotel in the LP (Maple) and they quoted me 380/- a night. Bit over budget but beggars can't be choosers. When I got there I thought the rickshaw driver had taken me to the wrong place It was very smart and when they showed me the room.... It was immaculate, thick mattresses and cable TV. Oh and hot water too. I'd forgotten what that was. When he said my rate would be 330/- I decided to stay for two nights.
I was staying in the Ernakulam district and the rest of the city is spread over about five islands. I took a ferry to Fort Cochin and had a wander about. It was late and not knowing my way around I didn't see too much apart from the Chinese fishing nets. Great big wooden cantilever structures that they dip in the water and raise full of fish. There is also a little fish market behind them where you can buy fresh fish and go across to a shack that will cook them for you. There were all kinds, tuna, barracuda and another big one I didn't know as well as the usual smaller fish. Well, usual for over here. After that I went back and wasted more hot water. I went for a beer at a place in the book which was on the eighth floor it had stunning views all over the waterfront but it was a bit pricey. At about 9.15 I looked down into the street that had had been the usual pandemonium when I arrived and it was deserted. Bit of a scarey walk home that night.
Next day with the staff wondering where all their hot water was going I went looking for breakfast. I found an 'Indian coffee house' nearby. My favourite chain. Rock bottom prices and excellent food, and coffee!
That afternoon I took another ferry and armed with some maps had a walk. There isn't really that much to see. I found the oldest synagogue in Asia which wasn't very much apart from the floor. It was made of 1100 hand painted tiles with the willow pattern on them and every one was different. There was also a street full of antique (and junk) shops. One shop had a doorway which he assured me was at least three hundred years old. Beautiful carved wood and about twenty feet hich and ten wide. A bargain at 4 grand. Probably cost that to send it home. Still I bet it would be cheaper than UK prices.
Not a lot more happened. I just took the chance to feel clean for the first time in ages, sort my pack out and watch telly. What a life!

Quillom and Allepey

I took another quick 40 minute train hop to Quillom so I could catch the ferry the next morning. The guide books described the place that I'd booked into but I wasn't prepared for it! It was a huge old colonial mansion that is now run as the Government guest house. The ceilings must have been at least 25 feet high. There were huge doors opening onto verandahs and cool breezes blowing through. You could easily imagine the people from the days of the Raj sitting drinking G&T's and complaining about the damn heat. My room was big enough to play football in! It was very run down but they did do their best to keep everything clean (by Indian standards). The staff were amazing they asked if I wanted dinner and told me it would be at 8pm. I asked if they had beer thinking I'd get a couple in town if not and he said give me the money I go get. Off he went on his moped and came back with it and put it in the fridge. When others saw me having a beer that night he ended up going twice more!
I went for a walk around the bazaar then down round the beach. I never get tired of looking at all the colourful fruit and veg and the huge sacks of every spice you can think of, apart from sporty, baby, posh etc.
Dinner was all you could eat basic rice, chapatti and veg curries. Very simple and delicious. Breakfast was great too. Every time I sat down in the communal space they came over and gave me the remote control regardless of who else was there. Just shows what pretending to be interested in the cricket does in this country! If you think Brits are obsessed by football you should see these guys about cricket.
Next day I got the ferry. An eight hour journey up through the backwaters. It was stunning. The scenery was great, the weather goes without saying but there was a constant breeze because we were moving. It was great to watch all the other river traffic too. the kids on the riverside would all come rushing out to wave at the foreigners on the boat even though they see two a day every day. We stopped halfway for lunch. A huge veg curry and rice that just kept coming. Later we stopped for tea after about six hours. A guy came up to me and said we've met before. It was someone I met in November in Varanasi. All that time on the same little boat and we hadn't seen each other. I had a hotel booked and he was lucky enough to get in there too. That was nice to have company for a night but we were both knackered from being in the sun all day. I'd started to have those almighty sweats again on the boat so I stayed another night. I wouldn't have because there is sod all to see in Allepey unless you want to go into the backwaters. Which, although nice, you can have too much of in a few days.
The room I got (in hotel number 25) was a huge round room (like a big bay window) which had glass all around it. Because the sun shone on the room all day it got pretty hot without the fan. Guess what? There was a power cut the next day and I was sweating enough already. I found it cooler to go out in the sun.
It took a bit of doing but i managed to get myself a room booked in the next stop and headed off for the train.
I was going to upload a couple of photos from my cruise to make you all jealous but the guy caught me and went mental thinking I was planting a virus or something.

In a new place so here it is

I've got to post this. I was walking back to the hotel in Quillom and I passed a shop selling nothing but wellies. As usual the owner was there with "You come look Sir, you buy?"
I said, laughing. "What on earth do I want wellies for?"
Quick as a flash he said. "To keep your feet dry Sir"
Can't argue with that can you?

Varkala

A quick rickshaw ride then 40 minutes on the train to beach hop here. We didn't have reservations but a hotel let us leave our packs to go look. Talk about inflated prices for New Year. Anyway we all found different hotels mine being 700/-. On getting out of the rickshaw having collected our packs a bloke asked me if i wanted a room for 300/-. we all had a quick look and I jumped at it, clean and tidy looking onto the beach. The others had already paid deposits or for a night so they would have lost money.
Varkala is basicaly a clifftop with loads of shack type restaurants and shops seling the usual tourist crap. Then if you go down steep steps you come to a very nice beach. The weather was beautiful and it was very laid back. New Years Eve was a real party, everywhere was pumping out loud music and the atmosphere was great. I got to bed about 4am and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Just as well because later on the first I started really sweating and shivering and felt like poo. I tossed and turned all night and was just as bad in the morning. The hotel staff were great. They got me a doctor who said it was like malaria but not (I have to watch out now for certain syptoms and act quick) then he gave me a list of medicines. You can buy anything over the counter here you don't need a prescription. The staff went and got my stuff and they also went to the cafe along the road and came back with soup. They did this for two days,constantly making sure I was OK. It just went all of a sudden although I keep bursting into incredible sweats. Apart from that I feel fine now.
It was a bit of a low point and talking to other travellers they have been the same when ill. Do I go home, what am i doing here etc. However I got on the road again for a short hop and it brightened me up totally just to be moving again.

Kovallam

I've said before that you keep meeting the same people. Belinda was going to the same place I was. We were lucky to have a very nice Indian bloke near us who kept us right (after introducing us to his whole family, as usual).
Indian buses are just another world but I think they are great. As the (2nd) bus got nearer the beach you could feel the difference with the air gettting fresher and more and more coconut groves. I had booked a room at 450/- but we decided to go to a place that was cheaper and not in my book. fortunately it was full but the place I had booked was just across from it. When we went and asked if he had two rooms the answer was yes at 350/-. Bargain. I think this was the nicest hotel that I've stayed in this trip. It was set back about 50 yards from the beach in a coconut grove. It was spotless, quiet and just so relaxed. There was a communal verandah outside the rooms and it was so nice to just chill. It was also nice to go to the beach and go swimming on Christmas day! The beach was beautiful and the water was quite warm. What do you expect when you're only 700 miles north of the equator?
At breakfast one day and American guy, Ben, who Belinda knew and I had met walked into the restaurant we were in. So the three of us had a really good beach orientated couple of days. We didn't really do anything more than eat, drink, swim and lie in the sun! At least we didn't waste our time.
Being at the beach has got me thinking about avoiding cities for the rest of this trip (however long that is) and travelling right up this western coast hopping from beach to beach. I'll have to investigate further!

Kanniyakumari

It didn't start very well when I was waitlisted 7 and didn't move on the list for my train. the train was two hours late anyway and as good as the station manager was he just couldn't get me a seat on the train. I got on in sleeper class and sat on my pack for two hours then at a station I moved to the class I had a ticket for (Indian trains are quite confusing until you get your head round them). After about an hour the conductor found me a bunk and I managed to get three hours sleep. Arriving at 6.30am at what is the most southerly point of India, I got a rickshaw to one of the hotels in the LP. The streets were absolutely jam packed. I'm talking the main street of a city on Christmas Eve! I didn't think this was a good sign. It took two hours of asking in hotels to eventually find a room and that was a hovel for 500/- (6.25).
I went in search of breakfast and ended up seeing everything there was and having lunch by 1230. I was pretty fed up by then. In the afternoon I got a deathtrap sorry ferry across to two islands and looked at that which was nice and I started to feel better but I was bored.
I didn't do much more I had an early night. 5.45am a l;oud knock on the door "Do you want to to see the sunrise Sir?" No I bloody didn't!
I got up though and went to see it. It was pretty spectacular and there must have been 10,000 people milling about watching it. Not bad for Christmas day morning!
Taking the opportunity I thought I would get out early. Standing at the bus station, which had nothing written in English, who should walk past me?

Trichy

Sitting in the bus station waiting for (more like wondering if there was) a bus to Trichy, I looked up and saw the beautiful face and smile of an Australian lady I'd met before. (See attached photo). Great, always nice to have company. Then we were joined by another Ozzie guy and we chatted together for the next seven hours or so until we arrived at trichy late as usual. None of us had accom booked but we got rooms on our second try. Mal and I shared a room which always keeps the costs down and it's nice to have someone to chat to.
Well for a few days I had a really good time. We went sightseeing, chatted, had a few drinks.
Very laid back. We went to one temple which didn't let non Hindus through a door into the central area. So we turned right and kept strolling and eventually came out of the door we weren't allowed in!
I know I keep going on about good food here but it was exceptional in Trichy. We got ripped off twice but it wasn't by much and we still had quite a lot to eat. It was a bit of a wrench when Belinda left at lunchtime and Mal a few hours later. I'd thoroughly enjoyed myself with those two.
Never mind we'll all bump into each other in the near future I'm sure.
But then the journey from and to hell took place.....

Pondicherry

Got here on the bus and was it raining? Yes!
The bus was tearing down the road at about 70 and he had no windscreen wipers. I couldn't see a thing so God knows how he could!
When I got here I had to search for a hotel and I just couldn't get one. Eventually Iended up at quite a pretentious place and managed to get him down from 900/- to 600/-. It wasn't really worth it. There was very little to do because of the rain. You just got soaked within seconds. I managed to see some of the town but it was always in short bursts. The next night i moved into an Indian hotel next door for 200/- which was almost the same as the other place.
Pondi has a fairly active pub scene (for India anyway) and there was always plenty of travellers to speak to. As usual you keep bumping into the same people. Which is nice really because meeting people every day gets a bit repetitive when you are asking/asked the same questions.
Anyway that was Pondi really, a bit of a washout and a couple of days talking in bars. I just wish I could have seen more of it.

Mamallapuram

I'm hiding again but not from the sun this time. There is a cyclone blowing through and it is RAINING! It started at dusk last night and it has just carried on and on. It's coming down so hard it's difficult to see across the road! I ran about 30 yards to get here and I'm soaked. At least it's only for one day. They say!
I was going to move on today but the thought of sitting on a bus with no windows in this rain kept me here. No bad thing, this is as touristy as you get and the food is great and everything is right next to my hotel. I forgot to phone ahead so just chanced it when I got here. I got a single room with bathroom for 125/- thats 1.50!
There isn't really a lot to see here. I did it in a couple of hours yesterday. It's just the beach really that is the main attraction for the people of Chennai.
I dashed to the nearest restaurant for breakfast and there was one other person there. When I heard her speak it was a fellow Scot! She's only just arrived so we're meeting later becauseshe wants to pick my brains about Rajisthan. I was talking to a very nice Ozzie couple yesterday and they had just arrived. I think we're all headed in the same direction for our next stop (Pondicherry) maybe I can get us all to share a taxi which is a hell of a lot better than playing sardines on a bus. A taxi for the 100km is 1200/- which is 15 quid! I know the bus is only 30/- but with your pack it gets a little frustrating.
Nearly forgot. I saw my first Christmas decoration yesterday. It was a cut out of Santas head under a hanging sign which said 'Potato Salad'.
There is seafood where ever you go here. Iwent into the place next door and they had a table groaning under the weight of fresh stuff. I ended up with a sail fish steak (like a tuna) it was at least an inch thick and about 8" in diameter. Cooked in a garlic butter saucewith steamed rice 2 pound 50, thank you very much.
Going to get out of these wet clothes as I'm starting to feel cold.


6.40pm
Still absolutely chucking it down. I'm on my third change of clothes and I'm getting pretty fed up. In this rain there is absolutely nothing to do. I think I will move tomorrow regardless of the weather if only for a change of scenery.
I'm going to eat now. I think I will have pasta tonight. I haven't had that for a while. I actually had beef last night. First red meat since I got to India. I had beef pepper fry. It was chunks of beef fried in a very peppery dry marinade with steamed rice. It was beautiful. I walked past a cafe today and saw a sign saying beef biryani 10/-. The place looked OK but there's a saying if something sounds too good to be true it probably is! Nothing worse than being stuck on a bus for a few hours and getting caught short!

Chennai

Well, I got confirmed on the train and here I am after a 23 hour journey. It's not as bad as you think it would be. I treated myself to Air con so you've got a proper bed sheets, blankets, pillow. There was an Indian family either side of me and they were great. Also there was what they call a pantry car. (This trains whole journey was over 50 hours). This means that they come round and take orders for hot meals for pennies. Every hour they come round with hot Indian snacks. You can hear them shouting but I don't understand half of it. BUT! You can smell it like when someone opens a bag of chips. I kept eating whatever they brought round. At one time I had two huge samosas that were burning my fingers and they were 11/- about 14p.
I won't be on a train for a while now.
I realised this morning that I've really shifted south. It got light over half an hour later today than it did yesterday. And it's hot. Not really hot but humid the type that makes it hard to breathe. I was sat outside the station this morning drinking chai waiting for the world to waken up because I hadn't booked a hotel. I got my first choice no bother and it's only 200/- with cable TV. So I'll do my usual Saturday and get a couple of bottles of beer and sit and watch a good film.
I was temted to skip this place all together. The Rough Guide and the Lonely planet both say very little about this city. Other people have said that there isn't much here and I believe them now. I've had a wander round the beach which is dirty and hot and I've been to the fort museum which was crap so I went for lunch. A huge chicken biryiani and a bottle of lemonade for under 50p.
Tmorrow I'm bussing it to the seaside town of Mamallapuram which is further south in Tamil Nadu and still on the Bay of Bengal. After that I'm going to Pondicherry which is apparently more French than anything else. Not too many miles over the next week I think I've done enough this week. I'm just going to enjoy the beaches. Probably this time next week I'll be stood on the very southern tip of India which I think I remember is called Kanniyakamara or something. (If you look on a map it's at the bottom!). Off now to force a thali down me before I get a beer and lie naked under the fan going a million miles an hour!
Now there's an image for you!!!!!!!

Puri

As the title says I'm in Puri in the state of Orissa which is on the coast on the Bay of Bengal. I woke up on the train the other morning just after six (when we were supposed to arrive but I've never been on time yet!). When I got down from my bunk and looked out of the window it looked like I'd entered a different country! This is the India that I know. Very green with banana and coconut palms everywhere. Very wet too. Ieven recognised some species of birds. I'm a lot happier now as I'm out of the urban sprawl for a while, until Madras more later. I had a hotel room booked and I'm beginning to get a feel for a place by the getting of a rickshaw on arrival. Too complicated to explain here. When I came out of the station I ignored them all and went and found a chai stand because I was choking with thirst. A rickshaw wallah stood beside me for twenty minutes not saying a word then when I'd finished he was ready. "Rickshaw sahib? Very cheap!" And he was! 20/- for miles. I got to my hotel at 7am they gave me my room right then. My door opens onto the beach. It's a bit grotty but it has a bathroom and it's very quiet there is an excellent beach restaurant attached and a room is only 200/- a night that's 2pounds 50p.

I just went for a walk on the first day. It's just pleasantly warm in the morning but by lunchtime it's seriously hot, only 90 degrees but it presses down on you. So i walked back along the beach and that was a lot cooler. I was asleep in bed by 8pm the journey and the heat just got to me.

Yesterday I went off on an experience or in other words used the local buses! I think they are great it's just complete pandemonium. There are no signs in English it's all in sanscript. People give you directions to about three buses. Eventually the conductor of one will swear to you that his bus is the only one going to your destination, so you get on. I've learned that it's quite important to get a window seat. This is because you can hang on to the rail across the hole where windows would be and you can use the bulkhead to push any third person that tries to sit on the double seat - off! Also you can just stare out of the window and be oblivious to all the shouting going on about the 'gora' (me the white foreigner) not letting locals sit down.

Anyway I eventally got to Konark which isrenowned for thesun temple. It was built about 1200AD and it was quite a building. It's more famous these days I think for the XXX erotic carvings all over it. When I say XXX I mean it! Just in case people wouldn't believ me I took some photos just to prove my point you understand.

I left there about 1ish and headed for the museum as my Rough Guide suggests. It was crap and not worth the 6p it cost me to get in. I was walking back intending to get the bus and it was boiling. The restaurants werte all touting for business. I never usually feel hungry in the day when it's warm. Then one of them said the magic words. "Ice cold beer Sir!" That did it. As happens quite a lot they didn't actually have a license for sellingbeer so they slap a kid a couple of times and send him to the bottle shop. It comes back wrapped in newspaper and that's how they serve it on the table. I don't know why it just looks like a bottle of beer wrapped in newspaper! I also ordered the Gujurat Thali. I know that Gujurat is a stae in the west and I've eaten loads of Thalis (a big plate with a bit of everything) but I didn't know what I'd be getting. When it arrived it was HUGE! It was on one of those metal segmented trays, mess trays we called them in the Navy. There was a mound of rice in the middle I could have climbed. Then there was a potato type curry thing and a veg type one. There were two types of pickle, the usual Dhal fry (lentil sauce and quite thick. Raita which is yoghurt with cucumber through it, a salad of tomatoes and cucumber two chapatis and a pappad. I thought I was going to struggle but it was delicious. Ishould have twigged that it would be because the place was packed with Indians. Of course there is no cutlery in places like this so all the kids stand and watch the foreigner making a mess! AS I was slowly beginning to see the bottom of my tray they came round with steaming pots and refilled all the little segments. I was stuffed like I never have been before. The cost of that huge lunch? 30/- or 37.5p! Back at the hotel last night one of the staff was sitting speaking to me and we were talking about British v Indian prices. He couldn't believe how much the Thali would cost out of a local take-away place at home. He was even phoning people up to tell them!

Today I hired a bike for 25p for the day and took my life in my hands. I've cycled for miles and this place is good for that because it's very flat. It was an old 'sit up and beg' boneshaker with the handle grips turned in to face you. This meant I kept hitting my knees on the handle bars and wobbling. Still, I managed to see more than if I'd walked again. But my groinal area is a bit raw!

I have run out of places to go. I've asked everyone that I've met and no-one knows of anything worth seeing between here and Chennai (Madras). I even asked the question on India Mike and a bloke from Exeter called Ham,ish answered with some suggestions. At the end he said go and see my mate Clive in the hotel that I'm next to and he can help. As I was reading this a bloke on my right spoke to his amte and said "Oi Clive" Yep it was the guy I was reading about. What a coincidence

I've booked a train for tomorrow from here (well a station 50km away) to Chennai (old Madras) then I'm going to stay one night and head back out to the beach at Mammalapurum, then Pondicherry. Trouble is the train leaves tomorrow morning at 7.30 am (bearing in mind it left Patna this afternoon at 1430! It's supposed to arrive at 0400 but that will be at least 7 - 9 before it gets in. Still I've treated myself and went 3AC which is Aircon and I get sheets and blankets etc.

At least that's the plan. I'm on a wait list at 7 so I should be OK I've been 30 before and got confirmed. going to check now. Watch this space!!!!!!

Calcutta

I eventually got here six hours late on the train yesterday. The place I'd booked into is, I'm sure, the original Black hole! I shouldn't really complain. I've got a clean bed and a fairly good en suite with cable TV for just over three quid. I was knackered yesterday so I didn't do much. I had a wander round and saw some sights. Today I'm cramming as much in as possible because I have a train tonight to Puri in Orrissa and the beach at last.
There isn't really a lot to say about here, it's just another noisy crowded Indian city. I'll be glad to get back out into the country.
The casualty list is getting bigger. My MP3 still doesn't work. My camera is on the blink. The strap broke on my day pack. I ripped a pair of trousers on a rickshaw. The lead for charging my phone isn't working. I'm getting nervous about going to the loo in case anything comes off in my hand!
There was a big train derailment last night about a hundred miles north of here. There were over 200 casualties (or as the news reported it - cashew alities!). The only other option is to go by bus but if you could see the way they drive here you'd understand why I think the train is safer.
I must admit that I'm beginning to rethink the last third of my travels. I'm sorely tempted to just make my way to Goa via Hampi and sit on a beach for a few weeks. I know myself though and I'll get bored in a week and want to move on. Trouble is, if I move on I have to backtrack over 600 miles and that means a 1200 mile round trip as I would have to go through Goa again on the way home. I don't know, maybe things will improve if stuff stops breaking as I enter Southern India properly. Everyone I talk to and myself included agree that the South is the India. We'll see.
My rough calculations (you need to do something on 12 hour train journeys!) have me past the 3000 mile stage with roughly 2500 miles to do if I stick to my original plan. Even if I go to Goa now the train journey from there to Delhi is 36 hours! This place is vast. It's only now in week 6 that I'm starting to see progress on the map. i've also been in 14 different hotels and taken one sleeper bus and 8 sleeper trains and heaps of daytime ones. I try to take overnight trains because you get to travel hundreds of miles and get a bed for a couple of quid and don't have to pay for a hotel! My train tonight is a nine hour express and it cost 257/- that's 3.10.
I have to go now and try and find a hotel in the next place.

Gaya

Well, after yesterdays doom and gloom about rail tickets I was right! I got to the station and it was pandemonium. I queued in several different queues for over three hours to find that I didn't have a confirmed ticket. So I had to book into the hotel across the road that stiffed me for 400/- for a shitty , dirty room. At least it had a TV! The porter asked me the usual 'Your name', 'Which country', 'You want hashish' then I said I really fancied a beer. He went off like a rocket and came back with four beers wrapped in newspaper. Sat in front of the telly in my underwear with a beer in my hand! I was in heaven. Funny how you miss the simple things!
today has been quite cool. I asked this morning what time check out was and he said 3pm! Great with a train at 9.50pm. i then asked how much to keep my room until 8pm and eventually got that for 200/-. So I can park my bum and watch the BBC world service and I'm only across the road from the station and the hotel has a cracking restaurant.
I sort of had an epiphany type thing. I was walking across to the station and needed to use the ATM also. Without thinking I realised that I'd queued for the ATM like an Indian and I was pushing my way forward at the ticket desk like a native. Maybe I've been here too long. I first noticed it when I realised that I was getting badgered less and less. Must be the tan or the world weary demeanour! I have just been for a shave and was quoted 10/- straight away without even going through the tourist price haggling business.
So there we are. I'm confirmed tonight on the train to Calcutta (Kolkata) and then on Monday I have a confirmation to Puri and the seaside. All I've got to do now is find myself somewhere to stay in Calcutta and Puri. Everywhere says they're full but I know from experience if you turn up they usually have a room.
Coming home has been on my mind more and more. Not that I want to come home now, just the whole better booked earlier than later thing. I just think that I'm enjoying myself so much I don't want to have a hard end date which booking a return flight will give me. Maybe I've been on my own too much. When I meet people in Calcutta this weekend things will probably change. Oh for the impetuousity of youth!

Buddha

I'm now in Bodhgaya which is in the state of Bihar in the North East of India. This is the holy town where Buddha achieved full enlightenment. I'm not sure if this means he got his electricity reconnected or what. There are a lot of monks walking around and in fact there is one sat next to me on the internet. I've been to see all the temples and they're nice but I'm starting to get a bit templed out! I think my last temple will be in Orrissa next week because it's the big one with all the mucky carvings from the Kama Sutra.
There isn't really much here to see or do. Yesterday I went to see a 80 foot Budha. That's 80 feet tall not a buddha with 80 feet... I also looked at the tree that the big man sat under and looked at a bit of ground that he walked on.
There is a large Tibetan tented village. They come here over winter. The food up there is excellent, in fact the grub here has been great everywhere I've eaten. I actually had meat yesterday, well chicken. First time in over three weeks! Not through choice it's just that the northern part of this country is predominantly veg. Tomorrow in Calcutta I'm going to a world famous tandoori restaurant and I'm having as much meat as I can stuff in my gob!
That's if I get out of here. I booked a ticket with the agent two days ago and he told me today that the computer which deals with the whole of Indias train reservations is broken. From what I can gather the country is starting to grind to a halt. The papers say that it should be fixed today. I hope so because I've kinda burned my bridges. I've checked out of my hotel and the station is 15km away and all the books say not to do the journey at night because of bandits. If I'm stuck there are 'retiring rooms' at the station but from what others have told me they can be a bit hit and miss. I'm not staying in Calcutta long (if I ever get there) Two nights then I'm heading further south to Puri which is a seaside resort. So I'll have a paddle and try and decide where to go after that. I've looked through all the books and even on line but there doesn't seem to be anything else to see/visit between there and Chennai (Madras) and that's 17 hours by train away. Hopefully I'll meet someone in Puri heading north and se where they've been.
I've been enjoying the (relative) coolness of the north. Now is when the temp starts to rise. Goa stays at a steady 33 degrees everyday and I'm going a lot further south towards the equator.
Another reason I'll be glad to get out of here is the bloody mossies. I've never been bitten like this before. The only thing that is different this trip is that I don't smoke. I've been wondering if the trail of fag ash actually kept them off me before!
I just bought a CD of chants. You here this one particular chant everywhere and it sort of grew on me. So I bought a CD for a quid and, of course, I can't play it until I get home where I'll probably find that it's Nana Mouskouris Greatest Hits.
My MP3 player isn't working and I'm not a happy chap!
I could murder a beer. Why do I always seem to visit the dry towns and states?

Moving

I can't believe I've been here 5 days already! I've done almost nothing, but that was the point. I've sorted out my pack and thrown stuff away. I gave a beggar a pair of sandals that I've carried for five weeks and never worn, everyday he has followed me wearing them, smiling and telling everyone. I've also washed my pack and cleaned off all the things that have spilled into it etc. As a result of my clear out and rearrangement it now seems to be half the size and a lot lighter. Ready for buying heaps more shite to fill it up. Apart from going for a walk in the afternoons. The ghats are just great to walk along and sit and people watch if you get too hot. All I've done is sit and read. I've had an appetite that scares me! I was offered a thali in my hotel for dinner but I had to order it before 4pm. I thought I'd give the small one a go. If that's small you could feed a family of four on the special one. A thali is a selection of dishes with smallish portions of various things. On the first night I got rice, dall fry, veg curry, a potato/cauliflower/pea sambal thing, a proper mushroom bhaji with really crispy well fried onions in it (Indian onions are STRONG), two chapati, one nan bread, papadom and rice pudding for afters. A bargain at 75p! All I had for breakfast the next day was tea and I didn't eat again until I had that nights thali. I'm sure they're trying to fatten me up. I've enjoyed here but I'm ready to move. I'm going to Gaya tonight by train then on to Bodigaya which is a Buddhist region and I may see the Dali Lama. It's the start of the long trek south (at last I'm looking forward to beaches) and I reckon it will take me about 16 days to get down the east coast.

The sky was leaking here for about ten minutes the other day. It felt really weird! It was only ten minutes though and we're back now to a million degrees.

I think I'm staying in a monastery for the next few nights (dirt cheap) so I'll post more when I get a chance which will be easy in Calcutta.

Sitting still

The morning that I made the last post I wasn't feeling 100%. A short while afterwards I felt rotten. I thought I'd maybe dehydrated a bit even though I drink about three litres plus of water and tea a day. Seven litre bottles of water later I felt a bit better. I still had no strength and couldn't be bothered. So I drank three more litres and actually had to go to the loo. I think the constant 100 degree plus just got to me. I'd met two young lads from Dundee with a London girl tagging along and they were great fun. We sat at night and played cards and had a good laugh. I felt better when they said that they (at 20) were flagging in the heat. It was bad ebnough for me to cancel my travel arrangements and spend another day in Jodhpur.

The bus to Agra was an experience. It was a 2x2. Which was new to me! It' a high single decker with reclining seats (2x2) but above the seats are platforms double bed width. I couldn't get one of those by booking late. Apparently it's just a random process of who is in which bed. You could be next to anyone. That's India! There was one bed with seven Indians in it. That's typical though. If you see Westerners in a rickshaw there will be two or three. If they're Indian there will be nine or ten.

Agra and the Taj Mahal. To be honest I wasn't all that impressed. For a start it's a rip off at 750 Rs entrance fee. Thats 9.25. It's a marble building. It's got bugger all inside it and it takes about half an hour to look at everything. Watching the guy cutting the grass with a pair of oxen pulling the mower took five minutes of that. I've been in Jainist temples with every marble surface delicately carved - that's impressive. So I was glad that I'd decided to take the hit with a huge journey and not be staying there.

I'm now in Varanassi which is the top right of India compared to the top left where I've been since arrival. This is the holiest Indian Hindu city. It's on the river Ganges (which I can spit in from my hotel room window! And I have!) It's famous for its Ghats. These are steps on the river bank that let you walk down and into the river. They use the river for everything but the most obvious thing is the death and cremation. It is thought that if you die in this city you are absolved of all sins etc etc. So they come here to die. Then, within 24 hours the body is taken to one of two burning ghats and cremated. Right there, very little fuss or bother. Woman aren't allowed (because they cry too much an old man told me!). First they wash the body in the river. It's sewn up in muslin and on a bamboo stretcher. They build a wooden pyre about two feet high. Put the body on it a bit more wood then get a flame from the sacred fire and light it. This afternoon I counted 23 on the go at once and as I left, in the 5 minutes it took me to walk up to the main street four more bodies came passed. (Being carried I hasten to add - not by themselves!) You always seem to see the feet sticking out and every so often (actually it seems quite common) the leg burns through and the lower leg falls off. A man with two sticks comes round and chucks it back in. I've also noticed that the skull burns really slowly and stays a creamy colour. I was told it takes three hours to burn everything. Toward the end the blokes keep battering something which I was later told is the chest of a man or the bum of a woman as they take the longest. It just looked like a congealed black lump. I knew that certain bodies weren't cremated, kids, pregnant woman, live ones etc. It wasn't until this afternoon I saw what happens. They take the body down and do the washing etc Then two blokes struggle down with what looked like a paving slab from the top of the ghat. They tie the body to this and plunk it on the bow of a rowing boat. Then, without any word the bloke starts rowing. The family just turned and left but I watched the boat. They got out to the middle and as the rower turned the boat an old man stood up, lifted the body's feet and let it slide in. No fuss, no bother and I don't even think he took the fag out of his gob.
The dogs are always chewing dubious black lumps but I don't even want to think about that.
Of course you don't have to see that if you don't want but everyone I've talked to agrees that there is a morbid fascination about it.
I'm feeling much better. The temp here is pleasantly in the low 80s and you don't have to hide from the sun for most of the day. I'm here for a while because the ghats are a great place to just sit and chill and my hotel is nice (and cheap). I've got an idea of my next few stops and I'm fairly sure I'll go to Darjeeling after all. I'll have to buy some warm clothes if I do. Only drawback with that is that people will think I'm wearing Vinces hand me downs!!
Going now the hotel said something about a barbeque I think!

More

I didn't realise that a whole week had passed since I last wrote! Where has it gone?
Well, Udaipur was lovely, yet another mistake with accom reservations but the lady (who was Dutch) that owned the hotel got us in another place that was great. It was situated at the top end of the lake and the rooftop restaurant had a great view of the city palace, the lake palace and all around. Did all the tourist things on day one but that night an American bloke told us of what he had done. Next day we hired a rickshaw for the day 400Rs (a fiver) and went way out into the country up a huge mountain. The scenery was stunning. We ended up at a temple on the top of the mountain that you entered into a cave to the shrine.
Udaipur was OK but there wasn't more than two days worth. My next stop was Mount Abu.
It's nice to have company but I was quite glad to be back on my own doing my own thing at my own pace.
Mt Abu is a hill station. It's over a mile up and it's the type of place the British used to go to to escape the heat. It was about twenty degrees cooler too. That put it in the low eighties which was nice. In the evening when the sun went down it was bloody freezing. I had on three shirts and two pairs of trousers with a blanket round me! Mind you i kept them on too when I went to bed I'm sure I could see that mattress moving. It was a real shithouse of a room but for 100Rs (1.25) a night what do you expect? On my first morning I joined the hotels organised (easy) trek. Easy my arse. There was a Dutch couple a Latvian bloke and me and we just sweated buckets following the guide up serious mountains. The views were stunning, but it was hard work. We were told all about the wildlife we would see. We did see some bear and cub tracks and fresh evidence of bears digging but the sum total of wildlife was three butterflies and a snake! When I got back I drank three litre bottles of water, I had two pots of tea more water and coke and in the evening I was still peeing a funny colour! Told you it was hard work.
So yesterday I set off again. I got the local bus down off the mountain. Travelling on Indian buses is just pure entertainment. 20 Rs for a one hour journey! Then I had time to kill before my train. I just went for a wander and ended up chatting to some locals and drinking tea. Then I got the train to Jodhpur. There were a good bunch of Indians around me and the five hour journey flew by. The hotel collected me from the platform and my room is spotless with a proper working hot shower. (We were chatting the other day and it turned out that most of us hadn't had a shower for about five days because they never work or they are freezing or you just don't have one!) Last night I went straight to the rooftop restaurant and was enjoying sitting still. I was invited to join a group and it turned out to be the owner and his friends. I'm his best buddy now. Might be handy.
Tomorrow I take the overnight train to Agra arriving 6am to see the Taj Mahal and then I leave that night at 9pm overnight to Varanassi where everyone tells me is THE place. I need to stop for a while as the constant movement wears you out.
Off to see the huge fort behind me. Bye!

Tigers!

Arrived in Sawai Madhopur and got taken to the hotel that was booked. It looked like a Thai prison. Beating a hasty retreat the three of us got taken to another hotel in the Rough Guide where we got completely ripped off. The next day we went on the safari but no tigers. We saw loads of different kinds of deer, wild boar, water buffalo, peacocks, monkeys and a kingfisher. It was good but disappointing. when we got back to the hotel he asked if we saw any tigers. When we said no he said well be out of your rooms in half an hour! He did arrange somewhere else for us and it was brilliant and half the price. They only had four rooms and two en-suite tents, yes tents on the roof. The staff were great and the manager managed at midnight to get seats on a morning safari. We were driving down the road and the guide said 'Tiger". Then another one popped out of a bush then another. They sauntered up the road for about three minutes with us leap frogging to keep them in sight about thirty yards ahead. Then they turned into a space at the side of the road and we drew up - they'd completely vanished. Still at least we got to see tigers and we were one of two safaris out of fifteen that did.
They day got steadily worse from then on. At the station the board said the train was late by an hour. Eventually it turned up four hours late, copuldn't find our seats on a packed train. Every train in India is packed. Couldn't find the ticket inspector to find out which seats we all had etc etc. Eventually we all got our bunks but because there are no windows on upper bunks no one wanted to sleep in case we missed our station. Got there in the end (Ajmer)at 2am five hours late. Eventually got a rickshaw for four people four rucksacks and various day bags. Hanging on to the side of it in the pitch dark wearing next to nothing going fifteen kms over a mountain is an experience I'd rather not have again.
Pushkar is great. It's very, very hot though. At ten this morning it was 36.5 degrees. It's now 1pm and everyone is hiding indoors at least the tourists are the natives are all wandering about. This is a very holy city and this is the holiest time. It's built round a lake and the lake is used for ceremonial bathing etc. It's a nice cool stroll around it and quite something to see.
When you get slightly out of town you come to the edge of the Thar desert which is where the camel fair is held. I knew it would be bust but yeterday i was stood in an area of land with over ten thousand camels around me. This is the biggest livestock market in the world. the farmers who arrive with a camel and a mat to sleep on have nothing. Over the last couple of years they have realised that the tourists now mostly carry digital cameras. So they stand there in their turbans and dhotis asking for picture. When you're done and turn your camera around to show them, there's about twenty of them trying to look then they form an orderly queue and wait therir turn. I've taken hundreds of those photos and deleted them back at the hotel! I'm going back to the camel fair later todayfor sunset when it should be a lot cooler. Talking to people yesterday we kept being told about a restaurant. It was packed, with a cheap good buffet style meal. They had 'gypsy' dancers there and it was a scream with all the tourists trying to do the same dancing. The finale was a kid of about ten doing a fire dance/eating/blowing thing.
Leaving for Udaipur tomorrow on the 6am train. Accom is booked, train is booked, taxi to the station is booked, so fingers crossed.

Jaipur

Well I went to the border ceremony (Pakistan/India) . Whoever thought up that ceremony had to be pissed and on drugs at the same time. Even the people around me were stumped. I asked how we could explain that to people back home and the reply was that we couldn't even explain it to each other and we'd all just witnessed it!
Still, it was 26 km each way and I paid 200/- so that was 2.50 for the round trip!

I took the over night train from Amritsar to here in Jaipur, Rhajistan. That was an experience! It was limited choice either unreserved 2nd class or sleeper class. For a 19 hour journey I splashed out and went sleeper. For the 800+km journey I was a little over 3 pounds. I slept fairly well but the goat at the other end of the carriage kept bleating and waking me up!
It's the way that the Indians travel and really gets you into the spirit of the country. You get used to being stared at very quickly, but the friendly spirit and the camaderie of your little temporary community is an experience to remember. everyone is so nice, including you in everything and everyone shook hands when we arrived and said goodbye.
so I arrived in Jaipur with no hotel reservation. I went to the hotel that everyone talks about and gave them my best 'I've just been on a train for twenty hours - give me a bloody room' look. And they did. This place is the nadir of budget accom in India. Spotless, cheap, friendly and with a rooftop cafe that's cool and peaceful. I could really stay here for ages ( but I'm leaving in an hour!). The past couple of nights have been quite a party. We discovered an off license around the corner and the hotel said we could bring stuff in. So we have had a good time. A fair mix of Ozzies, Kiwis, Danes, Yanks, Brits and Germans. I spent yesterday on an auto rickshaw tour of the sights with an american girl. (A lawyer, along with the other lawyer, the doctor, the shepherd and the financial analyst that were at the table last night).
We left at 10 am and got back just after five. We some pretty amazing things and were always met by the driver immediately and the whole day cost us 300/- which is 3.75!
Moving on today to Rathambore, only two and a half hours, which is where the tiger reserve is. Hope I get some photos for Kirsty! In company with the American for the next few days then I think everyone that I have met so far is going to Pushkar for the camel fair on Fri/Sat. So that should be a blast. Pushkar is dry but we're all stocking up so we should have quite a party.

A bit rushed but hey ho thats the travelling life! Will post more as the opportunity arises.

continued (again) 80 Rs = 1pound

I'd like to go one whole day here without a power cut.

Last night there was me, a German bloke, a Dutch girl. an Englishman and a Spanish couple who have all met seperately in Delhi and happened to be staying in this very hotel. So we had a very nice dinner with a lot of tips being passed around.

The train. Well the seats are like aircraft type layout. about two minutes after we left the steward came round with free papers. Then a pot of tea and tray of biscuits and sweets for everyone. Then lunch, small but hot and tasty (spicy too). Then tea. Later we had fruit juice then even later - tea! All this in an equivelant journey from London to Edinburgh a bargain at 6 quid!

When I arrived at the station I followed the advice of the rough guide and took a cycle rickshaw. I felt sorry for the poor bugger struggling to pedal my weight + rucksack through the traffic, then we had to go up a hill so steep I had to get out and walk. When we got here and I asked how much he wanted he said 10Rs.

I was up this morning at 5.30 to go to the Golden temple for sunrise. I flagged down what I thought in the dark was an autorickshaw but was actually one of the longer ones. I was, hand on heart, about the twelfth pasenger and had to sit on someones knee. After that somebody else got on. For twenty minutes he drove like a madman through the traffic and had the gall to charge me 5Rs!

The Golden temple is just breathtaking, especially with the sunrise glinting off the 150kg of gold that covers it. There is a 'langer' there which is a communal kitchen. I had a wander round and watched them cooking in pots that are bigger than hot tubs. When I was watching some of the hundreds of people making chapatis they motioned me to join in. None of them spoke English but it was all smiles and nods and they took great delight in taking the piss out of my feeble efforts to cock up one whilst they made four. I could have done that for ages but the old joints aren't used to sitting cross legged for so long.

I went in for my breakfast and sat in a long row on the floor with everyone and ate my dhall, rice, chapatti and drunk my chai. I think it was a draw as to how much went in my mouth, on my clothes, on the floor, and over the bloke next to me!

We were talking about going there tonight to see what is supposed to be the best fireworks ever, but the news last night said they were expecting 500,000 people so we'll see. After all that's a hell of a queue for free food.

I think I've overbooked here as there isn't that much to see. So I'm going to look now about getting south into Rhajistan earlier. Although I am enjoying it being cooler here (its only about 80).

Will keep you posted.

Amritsar now

This computer is playing up a bit but at least, unlike the last one, it's not ssssssssssssssssssssticking.
Where do I start? I've wandered all over Delhi and to tell the truth I'm glad to be away from it. It's just too full on. I went to see the Red Fort in the old quarter yesterday. It's HUGE and - er - red! Quite a sight when you think how long ago they built it.
After that I went to see the largest mosque in Asia which starts with a J. It can hold 25000 people prostrate praying at one time. There were only three there yesterday it must have been lunch time. So with that in mind and armed with my rough guide and a daft hat to keep the sun off my daft haircut (No 1 and a shave - 44p) I found a resteraunt I'd seen on the telly and is in the book. Because of the heat I wasn't that hungry so I ordered a half portion of both Chicken tikka and dahl with a nan bread. It was quite simply the best indian food I've ever had. That forced me to order thre shish kebabs with massala and roti. I did struggle towards the end but it was well worth it for the excellent food and the 2 pound 40 it cost!
I went for a wander after that through some of the busiest streets I've ever ben in. And you must bear in mind I've been in a few! I found the street with chickens. That was it, a whole street and every shop sold some kind of live chicken. I also found the square with the shops that all sold car parts, including reconditioned brake shoes. I asked around but no-one had a turbo charger for a Pajero. eventually I got on a bus and had to sit next to a goat! Right in the middle of town.
Early night last night because Mission Impossible 3 was on and I had to get up early for my train.
Like a good lad I was up and out of my hotel at 6 for a 7.20 train. I thought I would walk there because it would be quiet at that time of day. WRONG! It was complete bedlam.
I got on the train and it was one of the weirdest journey's I've been on. My friends want to go for dinner so I'll finish this tomorrow, because there's heaps more.

Delhi

Here I am at last in Delhi. I arrived at 0330 yesterday morning. Bang on time. unfortunately my luggage didn't arrive until 1330 today. That meant I had the same pair of underpants on for three days. I tried turning them inside out but the button was in a strategic place and rubbed a bit!
My hotel is an absolute shithole. It's dirty, overpriced and very hot, and I'm on the fifth floor with no lift.
Delhi is a mad place! You tend to forget over the years what this country is really like on a day to day basis. Absolutely mental!!
But I can honestly say with my hand on my heart I'm completely and truly happy. I love this country. I'm sweating like a pig until I acclimatise, I'm drinking about three litres of water a day, eating like there's no tomorow and avoiding wandering cows.
The drive in from the airport was an eyeopener. Pitch dark and we were doing over 70 down the wrong side of a dual carriageway. We narrowly missed a bullock pulling a cart coming towards us. That driver earned his 3 quid for that 12 mile drive. The rickshaw drivers aren't much better. You keep hearing people screaming then you realise that it was you!
Last night and yesterday I've met loads of people. There were about 15 of us shared a table and we ordered almost all of the menu and picked at bits. It was delicious. Same with the chicken I bought in the street that was like eating a nuclear warhead!
Good thing is some people are going to my next destination so it's not only company but help with taxi fares etc when we go to the Waga/ Pakistan border ceremony.
Financial report. With the length of time I've been here = 37 hours. I've bought a set of clothes, (shirt and trousers), a new bag because my zip broke, 12 miles from the airport, three other taxis around Delhi, breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner yesterday, breakfast and snack today, heaps of beer (of course), a book, toothbrush, mosquito cream, coffees, washing powder, paid for phone calls and this time on line AND about half an hour ago I broke into my second 20 quid!
That's about it I'm going to change my shoes and go out for beer and food. Don't know what to have tonight there's so much choice.
Tune in soon for more!!!

Well that's it all set up। I'll leave it for now until the journey begins। So no doubt the next post will be from Heathrow because I'll be bored out of my bum waiting for my flight। Failing that I'll be in India which apparently is in Australia just the other side of Edinburgh।

I see that the Gourdon picture doesn't enlarge so here it is.

Map

This is probably the best map to follow because I'm going by train! There is a key at the bottom so you should be able to work out where I am between at least.

Indian Railway map

I've also found this website but you need to know which state I am in/heading for before you can use it

Maps of India

First post

The planning has begun in earnest. The proposed route/itinerary is -
Delhi 3
Amritsar 3
Jaipur/Udaipur/Mt Abu/Jodhpur/Ajmer/Bharatpur/Jaisalmer 14
Mathura/Vrindravan (same place ish?) 2
Agra 2

Orccha 2

Varanasi/Sarnath 5
Calcutta 3

Puri 2
Tamil Nadu Chennai/Mammalapuram/Kanchipuram/Pondichery/Rameshwaram/ Kanyakumarai/ Varkala/Trichy/Ooty/Madurai/Valparai 21
Cochin/Kerala/Goa lots
So it should take me from the start of Nov to the end of Dec to reach Kerala or Karnataka then I'll spend as long as I want in Goa and come home when I'm fed up!!