nicktuck

I'm now in Kolkata, It's a bit scary to say the least, especially as I'm now on my own!!. This is probably the most hectic place I've yet been. It doesn't look too far on the map but took us 24 hours of exhausting non-stop travel along horrendously pot-holed roads via two buses or rather shoe boxes on wheels. My Canadian mate Mike flew off to Bangkok to meet his family yesterday evening and so we had a slap up farewell meal in one of Kolkata's better places. I had Lobster Thermidor!! However, it was still only the price of a Big Mac Meal back home so I don't feel too guilty. The city is a real mixture of middle class Indian society, old Raj buildings and sheer squalor. It's also the intellectual capital of India ... read more

I'm back in the Himalayas - in Shimla. The weather here has changed dramatically since I was last in the mountains in Nepal. It's absolutely freezing! Daytime is no higher than 10 degrees and at night it's sub-zero, not too good when you've spent the last four months at no less than 30 degrees. Also, there is no heating in any of the buildings here at all so it's like being back in the dark ages and you can never seem to get warm. Altitude is 2,200 metres and after the spectacular six hour narrow gauge train journey to get here, I went straight to the market to stock up on warm clothes. The whole town here is like middle England in an alpine like setting. Before independence, this used to be the summer retreat for ... read more

Well, I'm still here in Pushkar after nearly two weeks. It's nice to have seen all the changes take place as when I first arrived there wasn't a single camel to be seen. Now, towards the end of the fair here, the 50,000 or so camels that had been gathered from across Rajastan have almost all been sold and are being taken back into the depths of the desert. I'm here for the annual Pushkar Fair or Mela and so in addition to all the camel trading there are also events and competitions as varied as longest moustache, loudest laugh, quickest turban tying etc as well as dancing and singing. There's also a fairground with the most unsafe rides you could possibly imagine - Ferris wheels, waltzers, pirate ships and the like but made of not ... read more

Hi, Have just completed the most exhausting journey from Kathmandu to Delhi by Bus, Minibus, Auto-rickshaw, Cycle Rickshaw, Train and Taxi and Walking. It's taken two days but was worth it in the end. Worst bit: when the bus was stopped on the 80km journey from the Indian border to the train station at Gorakpur. A political demonstration meant that we had to leave our already massively overcrowded bus, walk through the demonstration road block for a while and then get into rickshaws for the remaining journey - No joke, we had 17 people in, on and hanging from ours, just horrendous, but funny now. Best bit was the sleeper carriage (one up from wooden bench class but 3 down from 1st)15 hour journey from Gorakpur near the Nepal border to Delhi last night. We managed ... read more

Well, that's it - it's all over. We've arrived in Kathmandu on schedule and have official now left the trip. However, after dropping Susie off in the Himalayas (she's doing an all female 3 week trek) Jean, Mike Pru (our driver from Delhi) and myself are all planning to stay in Kathmandu for at least a week. Then there's talk of bungee jumping, white water rafting, trekking, flights over Everest etc. When I'm finished with Nepal it's back to India. Mike also seems to have gotten the India bug so we are planning to head back to Rajasthan for the Pushka camel fair before tracking north to Punjab for the Golden temple and Pakistan border crossing display. I think Mike will then head on to Thailand to meet up with his parents whilst I will head ... read more