Blogs from Maharashtra, India, Asia - page 130

Hey everyone! I hope you are great! So I think I'm finally getting used to this place, monsoons and all. Unfortunately the job-situation has gotten really bad. I won't go in to what's happening though, to depressing :) So, some good news, I'm moving to a new appartement next weekend! No more bed bugs, no more slums and three people in two bed rooms as opposed to six! The area is a lot safer and fairly close to shopping and some bars so I'm really happy. Ellen, my norwegian room mate left the 14th so right now its just me and the boys. Not too bad though but i do sometimes get aslight allergic reactions to all the testosterone flying around :) Anyways, Elllen was taking a nightflicght the day before my birthday, and after having ... read more

Our introduction to Mumbai (Bombay) was probably quite suitable and apt, though at the time it felt more like a stereotypical nightmare. Arriving into 41 degree heat at 7.30am, jet-lagged and hungry, our taxi driver seemed no more acquainted with the city than we did. At 25mph, he drove around in ever expanding loops, once threatening to drop us at the wrong hotel, several times refusing our gently proffered maps and directions, finally (after a three hour sweat-drenched jaw-clenched tip) on our eventual arrival, demanding double fare as his misunderstanding of directions had been "our loss". The views from the taxi windows added confusion to our ire, as this vast city of contradictions unfurled around us. Leaving the airport, we passed tall glitzy Hilton and Marriott hotels, before plunging immediately into mile after mile of slums. ... read more

The train ride from varanassi was a real long haul. we left at 11:30, arrived at our hotel... a lot later the next day. The train wasn't as packed as before, and we ended up sitting with a really nice Indian family, who lent us money for popsickles, offered us food, etc. etc. The only creepers this time were the people accross from us... the staring you get here is quite intense, and sometimes even waving people off doesn't deterr them! But we met some other cool indians who came to chat with us during the trip, showing pics of their fams, offering us stays at their places. Unfortuanley, we told them, Pune just wasn't in our travel plans for our short one-month thing here... maybe next time!!! The scenery on the ride was interesting... A ... read more

Hi, welcome to my Indin adventure, i'm in Goa now, i wrote this in Mumbai, but thought i'd wait and stick a few photos in... This is just a quick first entry, i only have a few minutes, then we have to go bock to the hotel to pick up some train tickets for the train to Goa tonight. The first few days in India have been quite intense, Mumbai is an incredible city, there is so much going on here, so many people and so many amazing things to see, not really in terms of sights, because we've only really been to one or two, but in terms of people and the unbelievable diversity which is everywhere you look. We got the taxi to our hotel from the airport, the airport is a good hour ... read more

Bas! Finished! The twelve weeks of my placement draw to a close tomorrow! I've made a lot of very good friends here, whom I'm unlikely to see again for a long time, and I'm really going to miss them all. But I'm definitely ready to move on from here and am really looking forward the next month's travels. I don't know what I'll do without Baby though, cooking me three delicious meals a day and brewing her special blend of chai for me! After a final cup of it tomorrow morning, I'll say my final goodbyes and then catch a local bus over the mountains and board the overnight train to Agra. If there are no delays, I'll reach there just before 5am on Saturday, find a hostel to dump my pack, and then head back ... read more