In India I.....

Slept in a four poster bed

Saw the sun rise over the Himalayas

Drank opium water

Made chapatis in a Sikh temple

Travelled in a pink 'women only' metro carriage

Had a 'Shalwar kameez' made especially for me

Danced to Indian folk music in the middle of the Ranakpur mountains

Had a miniature camel painted onto my fingernail

Learnt how to make masala chai

Rubbed my poorly back on a healing shrine in a temple

Sat in a waterfall

Learnt (a tiny bit of...) Hindi, Ladakhi and Danish

Turned 30

Carried rocks on my head to help the locals build a road

Was cleansed of my sins through water from Pushkar Lake

Experienced altitude sickness for the first time

Rode a camel in the desert

Discovered Harry Potter

Was a puppeteer in a traditional Rajasthan puppet show

Have been on a 24 hour train journey

Have seen snakes, camels, monkeys and elephants (oh my)

Saw the Taj Mahal at a deserted 5.30am

Made a wish by tying string to the tomb at Fatephur Sikri (and will have to return to untie it if it comes true...)

Watched the sun rise over the Ganges River

Partied at the most exclusive nightclub in Delhi

Became a haggling pro

Acquired a new tooth

Sat on the floor with hundreds of other pilgrims to eat my meal at the Golden Temple

Came face to face with an Amritsar road BUT got to keep 3 x rays of me!

Flew into the world's highest airport

Was blessed by a Hindu priest

Was made to sprint down the beach in order to 'let go'....

Gave out supplies to children in Indian government schools

Spent a whole day sat in the sea

Went to a meditation class run by a Buddhist monk

.....and had an unforgettable 5 months.....

Despite suggestions, I won't be carrying on writing now I'm home, somehow I don't think my day to day life at home will be as interesting (Tesco v Taj Mahal?!).  Thanks for keeping up with my adventures, that's all folks! xx 

last post from india...

Well, it's nearly over.  I'm sat in Delhi killing time today before my flight home tomorrow morning.  As much as I've had an amazing time, I don't think I've ever been so ready to come home and collapse with a cup of tea in my life!  I've been in Leh for the last few days which is in Ladakh, right up in the midst of the Himalayas.  It's been my favourite place by far, I loved it as soon as I stepped out of the plane.  It's jut so unlike the rest of India, it's peaceful and hassle free and a lot more comforatble temperature wise, as well as being breathtakingly stunning.  I didn't suffer from the lurgy that is altitude sickness too badly, I was just a bit headachey and had a cold the whole time I was there, which is apparently normal.  You also get out of breath really quickly up there which is strange at first.  Some people who were staying in my hotel were really ill from it though and couldn't really leave their room so I was lucky.  Ladakh is home to a lot of Tibetan people as well as Ladakhi's and the main religion is Buddhism so there are monasteries everywhere, a few of which I went to see.  I also went to a meditation class run by a Buddhist monk while I was there, when in Rome and all that.  It was much harder than I anticipated though, getting your mind to go blank is surprisingly difficult!  I also went to a huge gathering where a VIP monk (I think?!) was addressing the crowds, it was nice to be able to just people watch, as for once the people weren't watching me!
So today, I'm having a really lazy day and wishing the time away until tomorrow (very bad thing according to Buddhists, I've failed already at this meditating peaceful state...).  I've already seen a lot of Delhi and to be honest, I'm a bit 'India-ed out' now so my day is revolving around internet and endless episodes of Friends, it's just like a lazy Sunday at home!  I thought I'd upload a few pictures of Leh even though I'll be home tomorrow, it sort of makes my blog complete, even though I'm going to bore you all to tears with all of the photos when I get back anyway...

The view from the plane window landing at Leh.

Blissful breakfast view at hotel

Hemis Gompa monastery

The Buddha gets chocolate as offerings, that's my kind of Buddha.

Shay monastery

Gathering for the VIP monk, just like Leeds festival, but umbrellas are for sun!

The ladies who give out tea having a break.

Officially the worst 'toilet' I encountered.

My poor angel that Jo gave me before I left- I only noticed a couple of days after my hair raising 'incident' in Amritsar that her head broke off in the process.  I like to think she protected me until the end....

Cold feet (literally) for the first time in 5 months!!!

I arrived in Leh this morning and it was... wait for it..... 19 degrees, my feet felt cold and it was bliss!  I love this place already, as we flew in we flew over the Himalayas as the sun was rising which was stunning, and it has been just as stunning since I arrived.  I can see the snow capped mountains from my hotel room and it's just so peaceful and quiet compared to the madness of Delhi (I have no mobile signal by the way, just to let you know).  I'm crossing my fingers that I don't get altitude sickness (I've never been high up enough before to know whether I get it or not!).  There was a big warning at the airport about taking it easy for the first 24 hours at least and I've heard stories already of people being really ill as it's so high (Leh is the highest airport in the world apparently).  So I'm just having a wander around today and will start doing things tomorrow hopefully.  I forgot to bring my gadget to the internet cafe so I can upload pictures but will do so next time I come here.  It's only 5 days until I'm home! x

A mixed bag...

Ok so it's been a bit of a topsy turvy few days so here goes.... I had a great time in Amritsar, the golden temple, although crowded in the daytime, was beautiful, especially in the evening.  Every day they make thousands of meals there which they serve free to whoever turns up in this huge dining hall where everyone sits crossed legged in big rows.  Of course I had to join in while I was there and it was delicious!  The temple also has accommodation which is free not only to Sikh pilgrims but whoever wants to stay there.  I do like the practicality of the Sikh religion- they don't only preach about doing good deeds, they actually do them. I stayed one evening to watch the ceremony where the holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, is taken from it's day time place in the golden temple to it's night time bed.  I'm not joking, it actually gets tucked up for the night in a real bed and from the looks of it, gets a lot more care and attention than many Indian people get!

Amritsar is only about 20 minutes drive from the Pakistan border and so I went there one evening to see the 'closing of the gate ceremony'.... I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it in my life.  There were huge crowds on both sides of the gate, sitting in specially made stands, singing, dancing, lots of running up and down with the Indian flag, a competition to see whose soldeirs could shout for the longest and a whole heap of excellent moustaches and very silly walks that wouldn't have looked out of place on 'Monty Python'.  I was quite exhausted just watching it!

Unfortunately, I did have a slight hiccup in Amritsar but I'M FINE!!! I was on a cycle rickshaw coming back from the evening ceremony at the golden temple and a motorbike drew up alongside us and a guy tried to snatch my bag.  BUT as it was across my body and zipped up, he only succeeded in hauling me down onto the road before driving off.  I was obviously a bit shaken up but the people at the hotel were amazing, they took me to the hospital to get checked out the next morning.  They did x rays and I've not broken anything, just damaged the muscle in my hip/ top of my leg, banged my head and just got cuts and grazes.  So, as I couldn't really walk properly for a couple of days and was a bit concussed I had to change my plans- I've had to miss out going to Dharmshala and instead I have come back to Delhi today (to the same hotel which I started the group tour at, even the same room which is a bit bizarre!).  I'm going to stay here until Wednesday morning and then fly up to Leh as originally planned.  The whole thing has dented my confidence a bit but I'm not going to let one incident ruin my trip.  I have been a bit jittery when I've been out but I'm sure that will pass, and I only have a week now until I'm home anyway.  I wasn't going to write about it on here but then I thought it's not a true representation of my time if I only write about the good things.  But please don't worry I'm absolutely fine and I'm not going on any more cycle rickshaws or out in the evening on my own for the rest of my time here I promise! 

 The genius and very efficient washing up system!

 The border ceremony, India side...

 and Pakistan side.

 lots and lots of satisfied eaters...

the Guru Granth Sahib is carried to bed.

Varanasi...

...is a stressful place!  I got here, eventually after a 15 hour train ride, on Sunday evening.  The hotel is good as it's full of other travellers which is a good sign.  I got up super early (for the 3rd morning in a row...) yesterday to watch the sunrise over the Ganges from one of the ghats.  It was a really clear morning so it was beautiful, and great for people watching.  The water of the Ganges is considered super super holy so people come on pilgrimages here to bathe in it, which is said to cleanse you of your sins.  I took one look at it and decided I was going nowhere near the water...At the moment, it is 'Kanwar Yatra' which is a Hindu pilgramage in which people (known as kawarias) walk from their villages for hundreds of kilometres (often in bare feet) to collect holy water from the Ganges.  They all dress in orange and carry decorated sticks on their shoulders with containers at each end for collecting the water.  They sing and chant as they go along and there are camps set up for them along the way to provide food and rest.  Many of them don't carry anything with them so rely on these camps and the generosity of people along the way for food, drink and a place to rest.  I went to see two temples in Varanasi yesterday and then went back to the Ganges to watch a ceremony that was taking place on one of the Ghats, although I couldn't really see it properly to get an idea of what it was about! 

As it's so hot here (I read in the paper today that Varanasi is pleased to have some respite from the humidity as it has gone down to 92%....) it's really tiring to do anything and I've been getting loads of hassle from street vendors and beggars.  So I decided to have a relaxing day today.  Well it was supposed to be relaxing before I tried to do the simple task of topping up my phone... 2 hours, 1 Airtel shop visited, 4 phone calls, 1 try on the internet and about 10 different Airtel employees spoken to and I've finally managed it..... through a guy who happened to be standing in the internet cafe as I was breaking down through sheer frustration and who just did it on his phone!  I tend to go through several changes a day of 'I love India, I hate India, I love India, I hate India' and today has been particularly like that!  So, I'm looking forward to heading up to Amritsar tomorrow as it's supposed to be a bit calmer and less hassly than here I think, although I have got a 24 hour train ride to get there, it's a good job they have men who walk through selling chai every half hour, the man on the train on Sunday actually started stopping to ask if I wanted another one....

 mind the gap......

end of trip :(

Yes, the comfort blanket of travelling in a big group has ended and it's almost time to go it alone for the next 2 weeks.... the trip has ben incredible, it has exceeded all my expectations by far.  Our tour leader was great, not only at keeping 16 people all in tow and not losing any but also good at doing impromptu things to make our trip really memorable.  I think the highlights have been Udaipur in general which was just too beautiful for words, seeing the Rajasthani cultural show with all different types of traditional dances, Jojowar which is a tiny little town not used to tourists so we were able to get a proper idea of a traditional Indian town, stopping the bus on a derserted highway to help Indian women dressed in beautiful clothes build a road by carrying rocks on our head, and of course seeing the Taj Mahal which we did this morning before sunrise which was even more spectacular than I imagined. 

Lowlights have been getting even more ill than I was in Pushkar- it got worse and in Jaipur the tour leader made me see a doctor, a lovely man called 'Dr Panicker' who came to the hotel and gave me 8 DIFFERENT DRUGS!!! And finding out about the bombings in Mumbai when we were in the middle of nowhere, when these things happen it always feels wrong that everything just carries on as normal and yet I know that it has to.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Varanasi on a 6.30am train for some more exploring so will update when I get chance.  Here's a few of my favourite photos of the trip.....

 Eating paranthas in a tiny cafe in old delhi

 Sleeper train

 Jodphur

 The blue city of Jodphur

 Having a minature painting on my nail in Udaipur

 Rajasthan cultural show in Udaipur

 Jaipur

 Painting class graduates of 15th July, Udaipur

 Jojawar

 The group

 The ladies who build India's roads, M6 workmen take note...

 Monkey temple, Jaipur

 Making a wish by tying string to the temple at Fatephur Sikri

 Taj Mahal, the romance of it is enough to make your heart melt...