So i arrived in Jaipur, despite having to take a detour through Delhi which added an extra 6 hours on to my journey time, and it is a fantastic place. Known as the Pink City due to the colour of the buildings in the Old City which were daubed pink as a symbol of welcome in the 19 Century, the city is very hectic, with plenty of rickshaw wallahs attempting to get a fare, and an unbelievable number of market traders. It is a great, if blisteringly hot, place to walk around and soak in the atmosphere. There was a noticable [View Full Entry]

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After two non-eventful days and a 7 hour bus journey that should have taken 3, i arrived in Agra yesterday lunchtime, all revved up to go for my visit to the Taj Mahal. It is a sight that is ideal to be seen at any time of day (apparently), however i wanted to be there in the cool and relative calm of dawn, when it opened, ratehr than trying to sneak a peek in 40 degree heat amongst a throng of other excitable tourists. I therefore chose to wait until today, and so yesterday, after some grub and a rest, i [View Full Entry]

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So my final few days in Rishikesh were cool, but fairly uneventful...i continued with the fantastic yoga class that i have decided to continue to the best of my abilities when home, hung out with the 2 english girls and one german that i met in the yoga class, and enjoyed the vews that Rishikesh's fantstic position offered. I left the town on Tuesday lunchtime, having to walk the short one kilometre over the bridge and up a hill with my backpack in the hotter than usual afternoon sun before i could grab a taxi to the train station. Rishikesh was [View Full Entry]

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Rishikesh, town of ashrams, yogis, temples and meditation, has been a fantastic insight into Indian religion. Although, unfortunately, my knowledge of Hinduism and Buddhism has been only very slightly increased, I have been surrounded by the sound of mantras and temple bells throughout my days here, and been greeted by the vibrant colours of women's sarees and the clothing of sadhus (holy men) as i wonder the streets. The town is based around the River Ganga, much like Varanasi, except without the pollution, and the backpacker area is monitered mainly on two sides in the north of the town, in two [View Full Entry]

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Despite my original cynicism on reaching Varanasi and its apparent sparcity, i was soon enveloped by its charm and incredible beauty. Although whilst walking around one can't avoid being offered a trip to someone's silk shop, or a chance to sample the "very special shipment of finest Afghan opium" that apparently arrived that very morning, all the touts do is make their surroundings all the more special. Varanasi is one of the holiest sights in Hinduism, based right on the River Ganga (Ganges to you or i), and it exudes this holiness 24/7. On the first day i was there i [View Full Entry]

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O in my last blog-entry i was just off to Tiannamen Square in Beijing for some May-Day celebrations and to see what all the fuss was about. As i walked out of the subway i could feel the buzz of all the holiday-ing Chinese making a pilgrimage to what is essentially the political and cultural heart of modern Communist China. The fervour amongst these people was incredible, and the adrenaline that pumped through my veins as i finally caught my my first glimpse of the largest public square in the world was that which i have rarely experienced. The pride that [View Full Entry]

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When i left Chengdu I had a 24 hour train ride north to Zhengzhou (pronounced Chong-choo) in the Henan Province, which really drained me, and this, with the added "bonus" of my hostel reservation falling through when i eventually reached this city, gave me my first crisis of confidence on my trip so far. I managed to get through it however and after a nights sleep i moved to the nearby town of Luoyang, which, although much smaller, was more chilled out than the hectic and poluted Zhengzhou. There, once in my hostel, i met a Chinese guy named Tony who [View Full Entry]

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The past few days have been fantastic in and around Chengdu, and tonight i leave for Zhengzhou in central China, sad to leave the wonderful hostel i have been staying in and the great people i have met. After my experience with the pandas on monday morning i went to the traditional Sichuan Opera in the evening, which was great fun. It involved a mixture of comedy sketches, hand-silhouettes, acrobatics and the famous fire-breathing a fast-paced unnoticable mask-changing that makes the opera so unique. The performers were excellent, and the evening was great. The mask-changing was unnoticable due to the manner [View Full Entry]

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Although i have not done much since my last entry, i feel that its been a few days and thus you people deserve something. I left Shanghai last Thursday lunchtime on a 40 hour train journey south-west to Chengdu, a city in the Sichuan province of China. The journey was incredibly boring, as nobody spoke English and nobody understood my lame attempts at Mandarin!! I spent most of the time sleeping, reading and getting pissed off at the continuous garbage that the Chinese call pop-music that was blaring out of the speakers in the cabins. I eventually arrived into my destination [View Full Entry]

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China is fantstic. There, thats it, because this country is too cool for any of you until you have visited. But i guessing as this is a blog, i should fill you in on what i have been doing the past few days. On saturday we rose early for a trip out to the Great Wall, or at least one part of the 6000km long structure. The views as you climb up just get better, however it is incredibly steep, and really gives your thighs a good work out. We did joke about Genghis Khan and how he just bypassed the [View Full Entry]

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