Weeksie

Some unexpected news meant that we have had to suddenly cut short our travel plans and return to London. We arrived back a few days ago. We had a great few months on the road and we hope that you have all enjoyed the blogs. We hope to catch up with everyone soon. Cheers Dee and David ... read more

We left India on 15th February, taking a night flight from Mumbai to Bangkok. Our last sight of India was the evening taxi journey from downtown Mumbai to the airport. The centre of Mumbai is a thriving international city with all the trappings of wealth and growth. As we got further from the centre the landscape changed. We drove through roads where makeshift homes had been erected on the street; sheets of tarpaulin spread across bamboo poles providing homes to whole families. Occasionally you could get a glimpse inside one of these homes, where surprisingly domestic life is maintained inches from the thundering traffic - clothes hung on makeshift clothes rails, people preparing an evening meal and, somewhat incongrously, gathered round a flickering tv screen. We were passing through one the slums of Mumbai, where people ... read more

After nearly six months in the country, we are leaving India tonight. Before we leave, we thought we would write down some of our thoughts about the country we have lived in for the past few months. India is not an easy country to visit. There is of course a market in luxury tourism which provides a five star experience comparable to anywhere else in the world. However, such an experience is unlikely to give the visitor the opportunity to engage much with everyday life in India, because they will be closeted behind an expensive hotel facade and driven around the country in a private car or coach. The great advantage of visiting India on the cheap is that it does give plenty of opportunities to engage with the country. This was important to us because ... read more

We left Munnar on 15th January and have spent the last few weeks in Goa. Our arrangements to leave Munnar had a very Indian quality about them. We usually had breakfast at a small restauarnt close to where we were staying, where you could get a good south indian fry up for two for about GBP1.50. We had befriended one of the waiters and one morning he started asking us how long we would be staying. We told him we were moving on to Goa in a few days. He then wanted to know how we would get there. We told him by train from Ernakalum. This was the crucial information for him - of course we would need a taxi to Ernakulum (a distance of about 40 km) and he had a taxi business so ... read more

Happy New Year everyone. We published our last blog as we were about to leave Jodphur. In that blog we told you about Penny and Brian who had driven to India from the UK with their three dogs. On our last night in Jodphur we met another English couple who had done the same thing, also in a Land Rover. This pair were on their way to New Zealand by car and boat, a journey they reckoned would take about 18 months. This was their third such trip; they had spent a couple of years driving around Africa and another couple of years driving around South America. Not bad for a couple in their seventies - it makes us feel as though we are not trying hard enough. Still its encouraging to see older people still ... read more

WE WISH EVERYONE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR. In the words of that great rock and roll sage:- So here it is merry christmas, everybody's having fun, look to the future now, its only just begun (N Holder C.1972) Dee and Dave ... read more

Since our last blog we have been on a tour of Rajastan. We left Pushkar on the night bus to Bikaner. There were two night buses leaving Pushkar at about the same time, one to Bikaner and one to Jaisalmer. We had been debating which of the two cities to visit next. There were lots of tourists gathered at the bus station, but when the Bikaner bus turned up we were the only ones to get on, so we knew then we had made the right decision. While in Pushkar we had befreinded a local rickshaw driver called Dilip. He came to the bus station to wait with us and see us off, which was very sweet of him. The night bus was an experience. we had booked sleeper seats, which means you get a double ... read more

Since our last blog we have been cutting a swathe through North West India. First we took an eleven hour train journey to Agra, of course to see the Taj Mahal. This was our first experience of Indian trains and we have to say we were pretty impressed. We booked two sleeper seats so we each had a bed to stretch out on and the train staff come round with a constant supply of food and drinks (much better than standard british rail fare). We spent two full days in Agra which we both felt was about three days too long. Agra is a large industrial city and a haze of smog hangs over the town. Moreover, the centre area is one big tourist trap. However, while the stay in Agra itself was not that pleasant, ... read more

We finally managed to shake off the hippie torpor that had overtaken us in Rishikesh and escape 'happy valley'. We decided to travel to Mussorrie, a hill station founded by a Captain Young in the 1840's. Mussorie is wonderful. The town is located at an altitude of 6000ft in the Himalayas. It has an alpine climate at this time of year, with warm clear sunny days and cool evenings. We have been spending our time walking in the stuning countryside and taking in the views, including the distant snowy peaks of the high himalayas in the distance. We hiked to the place where George Everest lived when he was surveyor general of India. We also visited the Surkhanda Devi temple, which is at the top of a mountain at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. To ... read more

Well we are still in Rishikesh. The place is so friendly and laid back we cant really be bothered to move on. Its cooling down a bit now and the climate is quite pleasant. We had a few days of unseasonable rain last week and at one time the Ganges was looking pretty high and fierce. However the last few days have seen the sun re-emerge and the river is now looking much more peaceful. The town is curently hosting a religous festival and there is a ceremony on the river bank at sunset every evening. Its very colourful and the whole atmosphere is very calming. Also, the Ganges looks great as the sun sets. We are staying on the opposite side of the river to the main town. Its much more peaceful here. The place ... read more