• Quick update

    Quick update

    Am in Delhi again waiting for a couple of things to be sorted before I can move along. Varanasi was OK. I was a bit worried about going to Varanasi for some reason so I had booked my ticket out of there before I'd even arrived. Also I'd elected to stay away from the ghats as these ares have a reputation for being dangerous, particularly at night. As it turns out 2 days was not really enough and having not spent that much time around the ghats at night I ended up finding this bit of the town to be the most peaceful and tranquil. Well next time, if there is a next time, I'll spend more time in Varanasi. The highlight was getting up at 4 one morning to catch the rising sun over the Ganges on a rowing boat. So beautiful it was.

    As you may have noticed my plans have changed somewhat. After realising that I had a week less than I had originally thought my options seemed severely narrowed. I was in Rajasthan and wanted to see Varanasi, Nepal and the Indian part of the Himalaya. I decided to drop the Nepal bit for this reason:

    The political parties and Maoists have agreed on a program of street agitation in Kathmandu from 6 - 9 April 2006, which is likely to include large rallies, demonstrations and a shut-down (on 8 April 2006) of the capital (see Local Travel). You should be careful if traveling in Nepal during this period, expect disruption to your journey, and avoid demonstrations and large gatherings of people.

    Quoted from FCO website Click here (FCO article)

    Maybe that was a little over cautious of me but at the time I was looking for ways to cut down my itinerary and this provided an excuse to cut Nepal out. I had also spoken to many Indians about Nepal, many of which said it is safe and many of which said it is not.

    Next stop is Amritsar, should be leaving tomorrow night. I have just less than 3 weeks of traveling left before I need to be back in Delhi to prepare for my trip back to the UK.