• MASSIVE update (part 2)

    MASSIVE update (part 2)

    I'm currently sat in an internet cafe on the main Bazar of Paharganj in Delhi. In the morning I board a train to Jaipur. Audrey caught her flight yesterday morning so I'm on my own again. This post will summarise all my time in India so far. I had intended to produce it in bite size chunks but as my willingness to sit in internet cafe's is not what I thought it might be, I'd rather just spill the whole lot in one summary post.

    Before I go on I'd just like to say a little about Audrey. We have spent the last 2 months together and though we had many a good time it wasn't always so and it's been difficult for both of us. Audrey has suffered much illness including a 5 day stay in hospital. On top of that she has had to suffer some of my worst personality traits (and I hers). She has borne all of this on the whole with patience, grace and compassion. I'm not sure that I could not have borne a state of such unrelenting illness and not given it up and gone home. Audrey's perceptions on conditions in India have enabled me to think and understand more deeply about India and it's people than I might otherwise have done. I cannot really express properly on a public journal my gratitude toward Audrey for having given me the great honour of being my companion for a significant portion of my trip (just fumble my way through a few words such as these). All I can say is "Thank you so much sweet heart with love xxxx " { sicksicksickgagpukesorrysick}.

    Ok, the flight from Bangkok was fine and easy. I landed in Mumbai at around 10 or 11 PM and my taxi was waiting at the airport. I had a room booked and was taken straight there through the still pretty busy and noisy streets of Mumbai. I remember being struck by the Mumbai slums and the general smell of the whole city. The smell being very reminiscent of what can only be described as shit. My hotel was in the Colaba district. I spent the rest of the evening before sleep being constantly amazed at the fact that I was in India and excited at the fact that in about 24 hours I would be meeting Audrey at the airport.

    The next day I went out for a walk and managed to find a restaurant. I was too nervous to order food so initially just ordered Chai. The Chai was ok but not quite what I was hoping for. It was just sweet, milky tea with a tiny hint of extra spice (I have since realised that this is the norm and that for a spicy chai it is best to order Masala Chai). After watching others order food I plucked up the courage to order a Thali. The waiter was very helpful, I think he could see that I'd just got off the boat so to speak. The food was fantastic and I went back to that restaurant many times when in Mumbai (in fact Kamat Restaurant on Colaba Causway is still my favourite restaurant in India). Audrey's plane arrived that evening without too much delay. We spent the next 4 or 5 days in Mumbai visiting various things and just getting used to being in India.

    After Mumbai we visited Matheran for a few days, a peaceful, cool rest from the filth heat and noise of Mumbai situated in the mountains of Maharashtra. From there we visited the Ajanta caves stopping off at the towns Aurangabad and Jalgaon. The Ajanta caves were a fatastic place to visit for an afternoon, having been in South East Asia for 2 months I felt right at home among all the Buddha images.

    Things were getting quite stressful so at this point we decided we needed beach life for a few days. We set off for Goa. This took a train to Mumbai and then another to Goa. We had selected Benoulim for its reported quietness as our first port. We spent about 5 re energising days there. Benaoulim is ok, there's not much there, it reminded me of being in a coastal, tourist town in southern Europe.

    Next we set off to Hampi. Apart from severe illness for both me and Audrey I really enjoyed Hampi. We stayed there for 17 days, saw some temples, climbed a big hill to a monkey temple (Hanuman) and spent the rest of the time sitting around soaking it up. I could go on and on but I'd rather just whizz though it all if you don't mind (as I'm sure you don't).

    After Hampi it was back to Goa to meet Dave and Emma in Vagator. This Goa leg was a little different than the last one and involved a 5 day stay in Hospital in Panjim for Audrey. Vagator is a little more representative of what I might have expected of Goa than Benoulim. Lots of young hip n trendy party goers and holiday makers line the sandy beaches while the headland is lined with shops selling trance pants and the like. We spent about a week here before Audrey's hospitalisation occurred. After Audrey was discharged we bussed it to Benoulim (not far from Margao, Goa's main train hub) to await the fast train to Delhi. At this point Audrey had about 9 days till her flight and wanted to spend that in Delhi.

    The shopping opportunities in Paharganj are something else. Paharganj has something on the Khao San Road in Bangkok in that unlike the Khao San Road there are more Indians doing their thing there than there are foreign tourists. During our stay in Delhi I managed to get some new specs, Audrey (like a kid in a sweet shop full of the best sweets ever) shopped till she dropped and together we managed a quick daytrip to Agra and the Taj Mahal. At lightening pace that's it! I have omitted so much. I have many reflections on India and on myself and all that to include in this blog at some point. I will try to write more in this vein in future posts as things come up.

    At the beginning of this post I stated that I was sat in an internet cafe in Delhi. It's a bit strange but now I've got to the end I find myself sat in one in Jaipur. Well there you go. I'm on my 2nd day in Jaipur. This afternoon I visited the pink city (another very busy area of another indian town with all the stench, hassle and dirt that I'm coming to expect) and the Central Museum. Tomorrow I intent to bus it to Balaji in the hope of seeing some possessed Hindus get exorcised on a big screen outside an exorcism temple. Sometimes I think that this travelling malarkey is just sick but if they're gonna erect a big screen.... Before I leave Jaipur in 2 or 3 days I hope to see the city palace, the observatory and a fort, maybe the one in the town or Amber fort not far away. After that it's off to Pushkar and maybe more regular postings on this here blog.

    Sorry for the whirlwind approach to the content of this post, I just can't be arsed going into tonnes of detail. Hope you're all wonderful, especially you Audrey (not that you ever read my blog ;~) ).

    xx