Day 4 - Rishikesh

I leave England to go to India, and what do I get? Rain!
No, it's actually nice, monsoon is still lingering in Rishikesh and the rain falls in shorts, light bursts. A thick layer of mist permenantly hovers above the Ganges and clings to the jungle hills. The air is warm and damp and my hair constantly frizzes.

I am feeling a bit tired today, I met a funny french guy, Antoine, in the cafe last night, and we went to watch "God must be crazy" in this wacky cafe that looked like a bedouin tent. The staff were all lazing around and drinking awful scottish whiskey, and the Israili guy next to me got completely stoned and tottered off with my scarf while I was engrossed in the movie. I didn't get back till about two, so felt completely knackered this morning and to dip out of the trek to the waterfall I had arranged yesterday.

Instead I faffed around, and pottered off down the road, looking for the Madras Cafe mentioned in Lucy Edge's book. I had spotted signs the previous day, and thought it would be easy to find - no such luck! After half an hour, 5 'Madras Cafe' signs, and about a hundred rikshaws asking for a lift, I finally gave up and hopped on the next one.

I asked for the cafe, and the driver nodded and drove all the way up the hill to the top, where I had come from! He dropped me off, and tried to overcharge me! Anyway, giving up on the cafe, I walked over the amazing suspension bridge to Lacksman Jhula, found the shops, and proceeded to spend all the cash I'd brought with me (budget smudgeit, it was all so cheap!)


On a further note, after consulting LP back in my room, I discovered that I had actually managed to walk right past the Madras cafe, and was only a little distance from it I gave up - #@*#!*%$ rickshaw drivers grrr!

Day 3 - Rishikesh

I'm now suffiently chilled after all my manic travelling. I have settled in to the Bhandari Swiss Cottage, in a lovely double room with a balcony overlooking the ganges. It's a tad pricy, but I keep telling myself I deserve it :-)
I ended up catching a taxi to Haridwar - I took one look at the bus station, went "eek" and crossed the road to get a pre-paid taxi. 440R instead of a mere 15, but I was dropped right outside the door, and it was nice not to share the seat with someone else's elbows.
The area I'm in here is very self-contained, with a shop, bureau and restaurant, and there are lots of other travellers hanging out and generally relaxing. The strangest thing so far has been seeing the monkeys hanging around. I keep wondering how on earth they got there - then remembering that they are just native to the area, not escapees from a local zoo!
I am planning to take my first yoga lesson in India tonight - it's been a while, so hope I can still touch my toes!

Day 2 - Haridwar

Well, I didn't quite make it as far as Rishikesh.
I planned to take a train from Delhi to Haridwar using an eticket I bought over the internet, and then a bus from Haridwar to Rishikesh.
With the ticket clutched in my hot hand, I left the hostel at midday and headed for New Delhi station.
As I neared the station I was bombarded with touts trying to sell me tickets and taxi rides. I thought I'd got through them all, when I was detained by a smartly dressed man at the entrance gate who asked to look at my ticket. Thinkig nothing of it - I showed it to him, and he immediately shook his head and told me that it was not valid and that I would have to rebook in the International Tourist bureau. Craaap
He offered to show me to it, so I followed him out of the station to a poky office across the road. Darn - it was a ticket sales place - fooled. It took about half an hour to escape in which time they told me an unbelievable pack of lies including that the ticket was the wrong date (it wasn't), it wasn't actually a real ticket (it was) and that I should instead take one of their taxi's for a mere $70 (not likely).
I marched out of the office, past the hoards of touts (again), and straight into the station aand upstairs to the real, wonderfully air-conditioned, International Tourist bureau.
When my train came I found my compartment and seat eventually, and the 5 hour journey to Haridwar went by quickly, with excessive amounts of chai being consumed and fielding questions from the curious family surrounding me.
I got into Haridwar at 9pm. It was dark and I had to pick my way through hundreds of ripe-smelling travelling Sadhu's in their orange robes, stretched out on the station platform.



It was pitch black, and I didn't fancy catching a taxi, so I popped into the classy Ganga Azure hotel and booked a room with airconditioning. And I ate my first proper indian meal in their snazzy restaurant (most delicious it was too) !

Day 1 - seedy hostel, Delhi

Well, I made it, the epic journey is done and I am in Delhi.
The flight was painful- having never been on an overnight flight, I have not mastered art of sleeping sitting up, so ended up curling in un ungaily pile before I went to sleep, about 2, despite everyone bashing me as they passed by.
I landed in Mumbai about 10.30 and got utterly confused by the signposting - somehow I managed to catch the shuttle bus to the domestic terminal (bloody miracle - everytime I asked someone they pointed in a different direction!).
Unfortunately I had to then wait hours to check in for my internal flight to Delhi (don't ask me why I didn't just book a flight to Delhi in the first place - I'll just get angry). About midday hunger struck - there was only one decidedly dodgy looking juice stand - so I ventured outside. Just about made it to the mini cafe across the road, before I was drenched in sweat and purple (more amusement for the bystanders). It really is hot here, I knew it would be, but actually experiencing it is something different - it's so humid - a bit like a tropical greenhouse really.
Anyway - caught my connecting flight - with the bargainous Air Deccan (the plane was a tin can). And I just knew when the gineourmous, sweaty man borded the plane that he would end up sitting next to me. Yeah, and he snored really loudly. There was a tiny little Tamil woman on my right who couldn't speak a word of English, but we had a good giggle about him.
Picked up from airport but friendly, though somewhat mad, driver, and then escorted to my hostel (in dodgiest street ever) by his kid brother.
Change, bed, bliss
Rishikesh tomorrow, hope I get there ok!

One day to go...

I've done it - it all fits into my 35ltr bag (bloody miracle).

I'm flighing out tomorrow evening from heathrow, and catching a connecting flight to Delhi a few hours after arrival - here's hoping the flight to India doesn't get delayed!

I've just checked the weather in Delhi at the mo...

Very humid high: 34*c realfeel: 51*c

... oh dear me