India

We've got just one more week in India until we fly back into Blighty and reality awaits. We saw the UK on tv a couple of months ago; it looked strange and foreign and cold!

We're currently on the Andaman Islands (about 12,000km east of India into the sea). They're really quite, peaceful and relaxed. We've spent the last week baking ourselves on the beach and snorkelling. Dan saw a sea cow, it swam right past him while snorkelling. I saw a turtle and convinced myself I had a fish bonding experience when a huge one with a rhino horn on it's head let me swim with it for over 20 minutes... It then swam off, so the experience obviously meant more to me than it! I didn't see the sea cow unfortunately, just Dan, but now he's got an ear infection and hasn't been able to go back into the water since!

What a year it's been!! We've both had adventures and seen things I'd never have thought possible. We've climbed mountains, dived with sharks, treked jungles, white water rafted, eaten and drunk the most incredible (not always in a pleasant way) things... We've seen land so bizzare and barren it looks like another planet and hardly anything lives there. We've been in dense, pristine jungle, so thick with life and growth, that it's as much a challenge as the barren landscape to survive in. We've climbed to the highest point in South East Asia and been at altitudes that make breathing a challenge and your head swim. We've spent hours in the sea, snorkelling and diving. We've treked to Machu Picchu and seen hundreds of amazing buildings and temples (a few too many temples if I'm really honest), we've seen amazing wildlife, where it should be, in the wild. We've tried our hand at so many different languages, some more successfully than others, from Spanish, which we managed ok with in the end, to Pigeon, which I will never tire of hearing. This year has been so fantastic, it's flown by in what seems like only a few weeks!

We didn't have the money or the inclination to travel the world in any sort of luxury. We've travelled thousands and thousands of miles on rickety busses and rammed trains, sleeping on the floor of boats or in hammocks, sweated our way walking through towns. We've taken the local way, and been rewarded for doing so by experiencing the richness of life in each country we've been to. The few times we have 'treated' ourselves to some luxury we've felt we've missed out, sitting in a nice air-conditioned carriage where everyone whispers to each other and there's no disturbances in the night - I can do that at home, where's the lad dressed as hanuman the monkey god, closely followed by a eunuch that puts a curse on you if you don't give her money, where's the guy selling stuff who examines you to see what he thinks you'll want to buy from him and then produces a set of steak knives!

We have met some amazing people on our travels, from locals to other travellers. There've been those who've greeted us with heart rendering warmpth and hospitality, those who've entertained us, educated us, confused us, infuriated us, helped us, got us lost, exposed themselves to us, followed us... they've all been a part of it!!

I'm writing this with such fondness, when I think of what a year we've had, and to have been able to share it all with Dan by my side has been truely incredible!

So next Wednesday we arrive home and much as we would both love to carry on travelling for many months and countries, we're both really looking forward to seeing our families and friends. I want to meet my niece (who apparently was sick on a photo of me Jane showed her in preparation for our return!) and see if my dad really does look like an extra from x-men with his red and black arm bandage, and I want to see for myself that my mum does really keep her new mobile switched on! I want to drink beer that's supposed to be warm and eat cheese!

The River Ganges. I have read about this river and seen it on films and documentaries and my childhood ideas about India were based on this river. Crowds of people bathing in the morning sun while holy cows wonder in the background. As it turns out it really is like that.
The town we stayed in was Varanasi. An ancient town with very high religious significant to the Hindu world. Before you reach the river you have to navigate your way through a labyrinth of lanes and pathways. No cars can fit through them so it's mostly foot traffic. It's a wonderfully claustrophobic experience. Kite sellers, food, sweets and silks are all sold from tightly packed "hobbit hole" shops either side of the alley ways. A real sensory overload. And then you meet the mighty river.

We sat on the banks of the Ganga where all of humanity seems to pass you by. In front of us People make there way down the stone steps of the Ghats to the river, make a small prayer then get on with the normal business of getting clean. It's hard to imagine that they would be getting any cleaner than before they started because to the left of us were the billowing funeral pyres. Logs are piled high then the wrapped body of the deceased is place upon them and set alight after a quick dunk in the river. At times you can see the burning charred remains of the human form twisted in unnatural shapes as the fire gets hold of them. It was a spectacle and one that you at first feel uncomfortable watching. The shock soon wears off and the old saying "ashes to ashes" springs to mind.
It's not hidden away or closed off it's all done out in the open. Children play cricket and fly kites, boat wallahs shout for custom and holy cows and not so holy buffalo do what ever they do mere meters from the piers. The only concession, understandably, that no photos are too be taken of the dead.

Sue and I spent hours people watching and just relaxing on the busy embankments of the river. As holy as the river is we were not driven to take a dip in it. Burnt human remains, cow droppings, plastic bags, the odd sewage pipe are all dropped into the river at some point. The locals and pilgrims don't seem to mind and due to the strong tropical currents of the Ganges it has the ability to clean it's self. Cholera was found in the river but only lasted a few days unlike similar river that infected thousands!

Varanasi is one of the must see towns in India. It's a place you could lose yourself in for days or weeks. A place I’d love to go back to but for now Nepal is calling. Back to the hills and mountains.

My first Christmas away from home; my first Christmas spent on the beach in the sun; my first Christmas surrounded by Indian kids dressed as Santa with bright pink faces...

Seeing your own culture interpreted through the eyes of another is a fascinating experience and Christmas in India didn't disappoint. Our hotel even comissioned a Christmas cake and all us guests were invited to join in the cutting of the cake; it was the cutting, rather than the eating that seemed to be the celebration here.

We spent the day surfing and generally being lazy in the sun and skyped our families back home later in the day. My folks had posted out a magic grow tree and some paper chains to decorate our room with and some xmas presents which we opened over the webcam. Molly dressed as santa's little helper for the occassion at the other end. We'd treated ourselves to a bottle of wine weeks ago which we'd been lugging round with us, but it was worth it sitting on the beach watching sunset, pulling our crackers.

After Christmas, we decided to head North for New Years, to Kolkata (Calcutta) - just about the furthest point from Varkala, in Kerala where we spent Christmas. Getting to Kolkata in time involved 3 sleeper trains, totalling 47 hours of travel. The longest of these was around 22 hours, but very enjoyable as we shared our bunk space with a large Indian family, who throughout the journey brought more and more family members from around the carriage down to meet us, and an American called Chad, who kept drinking coconut oil to try to relieve his constipation - not sure I would have picked a sleeper train for this? Dan was invited to arm wrestle a cousin (I won by the way. DAN), had his dreads plaited by the son and amazed the carriage with his magic tricks. I was given several bracelets and kept being kissed by the baby. We had our photos taken, but my favouritte was the movie made of us just sitting there, thinking we were posing for a photo.

Our final sleeper train was delayed for 2 hours until 1am. When we got on there were 2 women asleep in our bunks, who we had to wake up. After listening to a lot of farting and coughing from the bunk above and deciding the safest place for my face was inside my sleeping bag, we finally settled down to sleep. This was short-lived, as for some unknown reason everyone decided to get up at 4am, even though the train wasn't due in until 9? You might think that getting up this early, people might have whispered and kept the lights out... But, this is India. People were shouting at each other, not because they were cross, but just to be heard over everyone else shouting at each other. The only relief was that the guy above me was up and so somewhere else on the train, farting!! And so we arrived in Kolkata on the morning of New Years eve.

Kolkata is a hectic, busy city. Everywhere in India you're hit by the poverty and riches side by side, but especially so in Kolkata. Coming off the train you'd see the bag carriers being loaded up with bags. 3 large suitcases balanced on the head wasn't enough for some paying for their bags to be carried and they loaded up both arms of their carrier with yet more, well, you wouldn't want to spend out on two carriers would you? It is the only place in India where they still have hand pulled rickshaws and you see thin, older men pulling the more affluent at a trot along the busy roads. It's a difficult sight to see people making their living this way, but then that's how they survive in this busy city, where so many people are struggling to find a niche to fill, to make their way.

Kolkata is full of character and it's fascinating walking around the city, dodging the traffic, rubbish, cows and guilt that the poverty inevitably brings you, seeing the creative ways people have found of making their way in amongst the chaos.

After spending 47 hours getting here, we were a bit concerned to find out that people generally go by a different calender and celebrate New Years in April... Luckily there were January celebrants too.

We spent the night on the streets with everyone else. It was really busy and made more so by hundreds of people wanting to wish us happy new year and shake our hands. Every so often we got caught in a mini scrum and had to escape the crushing crowds and wandering hands and duck under the barriers onto the road. We got interviewed live for 4 different tv channels. Dan borrowed a line he'd heard in another interview about Calcutta being known as the City of Joy and managed to get it into all 4 interviews, while I had to think of a quick response as to whether I felt fearless in Calcutta! Oh, and Dan got electrocuted from a pylon (luckily not badly). All in all a hectic, but unique New Year!

New Years day, a bit hungover, we decided to go to a cemetary. It had crows sitting watching you everywhere and was really spooky. We'd brought some paan to try, which is a mixture of betel nut, some brighty coloured sweet tasting stuff and... I have no idea what else (sometimes best not to think too much about these things), all wrapped up in a big leaf which you chew and spit. It was...ok, didn't do much for the hangover and united Dan with the toilet the next day - if you ever read this Chad - might be worth a try?


We're now on our way to Darjeeling to dig out our warm weather gear again and drink some tea. We get a famous steam train up to Darjeeling tomorrow. It's called the Toy train - hope it's not like the miniture ones back home that always have the guys who work on them riding round the tracks, as it's 71/2 hours and goes up though some quite mountainous terrain.

Happy 2009 to you all!!!

Welcome back to India. After 6 years and a lot of speculation on what it still had to offer us, the sub-continent still held a promise of mystery and adventure. The love affair was rekindled.
One of the reasons that we fell for this place was that something would always astound you every day. We thought the Philippines and Indonesia would give India a run for it's money for the sheer amount of weird stuff that would happen to you but India was in good form from the off.
You know that there are cows roaming around and sleeping in the middle of busy traffic, you know that it can take a few hours just to buy a train ticket, you even know that there are nearing one billion people living in and around and on top of each other but as you take your first auto rickshaw ride through the city it still can take your breath away. I'm told India for a tourist is a bit like taking heroin, the sensation is incredible but after a while it can turn you mad. But what a rush!
We return to familiar territory taking the same first steps though the south of India as we did all those years back. Chennai had indeed changed. It seemed quieter, less busy and cleaner. India is, after all, the worlds 4th largest economy now so progress has to happen but the madness of it all is still apparent. Our first night threw up some classic India surprises. We had book a room in a hostel because we knew we were arriving after midnight but when we arrived our reservation had been forgotten about so we had to bed down in a grotty dorm with a snoring Indian guy in his pants. We later found out that the room we reserved was occupied because a wedding that was taking place had run a day over schedule (!) so we were left with dorm with no shower or toilet. We asked for a room with a toilet and the manager said he could sort one out for us. He did this by trying to kick out 12 guys in an other dorm so that the two of us could have the room. We thought this unfair and also a very odd business decision so we moved on leaving the 12 guys wondering why we were so important that they nearly all had to leave.
Mammalaporom was the next stop. A small fishing village that gets it's fare share of tourists. Apart from the sea it's surrounded by paddyfiels and ancient carvings etched into rock. Temples dot the surrounding area and long tailed Macaches lord over them as there own. Stealing bottled water from the tourist is the way of these monkeys. They know how to unscrew the lids and down the contents with ease. if you can avoid getting mugged by them it's possible just to litarly hang out with them. Sue and I spent s few good hours just sitting around with them in the evenings.
Temples are everywhere so you can spend almost all of your time exploring them. They are almost always full of devout Hindus doing, to western eyes, bizzar and colorful things to appease some of the 36,000,000 Gods. Smashing bagfuls of coconuts, feeding the temple elephant who blesses you back by placing it's trunk on your head, shaving your head and even covering your self in yellow powder.
I won't forget the first time I saw a bright yellow woman walking about the streets and it seemed that only Sue and I thought this to be strange. Nothing in India is strange to the Indians, except a tall guy with dreadlocks and a western woman. We still draw more looks than all of the other bizzar stuff that you can find roaming the streets. It's nice to be noticed but can we really compete with a bright yellow woman? Only in India.