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Published: October 4th 2006
well, i have finally rocked up in india and have had a few days to get used to it as best i can, although im still walking arond pretty dazed......am sitting in an internet room in a big block of dorms we have booked into for a couple of nights, full of hippy travellers(you have no idea how good it is to spk to westerners as there is a real language barrier here) and its so cheap only 1.50 per night! and not one cockroach in sight unlike the first hotel we stayed in, we screamed for about half an hour then killed it.....brings back memories of china all over again!!
I feel like i have seen so much already, india is a massive culture shock and there are just so many people and cars and different things to see and the smells are interesting too..... our first day was spent sleeping and recovering (its very hard flying you know...!!) and then our second day we ventured out to look around. little did we know our hotel was in the poorest part of mumbai so we were slightly shocked at what we saw to say the least!!people sleeping on streets in the monsoon, and kids playing cards under bridges and sleeping under plastic covers...we stuck out like sore thumbs which made us feel really uncomfortable and were the only white people around, but we did manage to get a good meal and get our bearings 😊 there are millions of ramshackle stalls that line the streets and rickshaws that drive everwhere, so crossing the road takes about 20mins but its amazing to see it all, i dont think my photos really do it justice but i dont think this computer has a usb point so will load them when i can so u can check out the locals here and also how im looking with a 2tonne backpack on my back!!.. the monsoons are starting to go, but we arrived at the airport and looked out in horror at the torrential rain outside!!hmmm, guess that tan will be gotten later on in the trip....thank god for waterproofs 😊
everything here is ridiculously cheap, cigarettes 27p, food no more than a pound for a big feast (albeit a slightly dodgy one...it all looks a bit suspect at the mo as am really trying to avoid delhi belly!!), and a 2 hr taxi ride today was 4 pounds!our budget of 5pounds per day is ok if nto a bit tight but money should go a long way thank god. have already bought some lovely indian clothes(totally working the whole traveller look right now)...i say lovely as the indian man convinced us we looked great in the shop, only to get bk to the hotel and realise we looked like complete muppets in our tie dyed mirrored tops....hmm, maybe i will wear it when im drunk in goa 😊 the heat has clearly gone to our heads....but we are all already looking forward to getting to goa where we can relax and get away from the cities.....after less then a wk here i am itching to get out and feel clean as the tap in the communal bathroom really isnt up to much right now!!the plan is to get a 20hr train to Jaipur the day after tomo and then stay in jaipur for a while, we are going to try to book into a yoga place where you can stay for free and after that we are heading further north to delhi where mandy has an indian friend who is going to put us up!and he said he will take us to the taj mahal as well so its good to have people helping us put over here already as we are pretty clueless about most things here, i.e how to get trains, etc but its been great getting advice on what to do and what to avoid.
have yet to get our hands on any alcohol yet which is just ridiculous but we're hoping to pick some up before the train journey on fri, apparently it is seen as not the done thing for females to buy alcohol here....i have tried to make mandy dress as a man but shes's having none of it but desperate times....!!!!!anyhoo, hope you're all ok back home, miss u all, lots of love Ax
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Ailise
non-member comment
India
Hello India!! Sunny Dawlish here!!! Wow it sounds amazing so far, reading your blog thing totally brought me back to when i went, i am so jealous. Yeah i remember the culture shock well, and the smells! Still it's all so amazing. Nothing much changed here, still working my ass off. Had my first night out in 2 weeks - to the cinema last night, but was back in bed by 11pm, might actually turn into a pumpkin if its after 12 as its been so long since i had a proper night out. Still things are on the up, got a friend up next weekend, then i'm back to Harrold weekend after. Don't think there is much news this end, this week seems to have gone by so slow. Anyway make sure you keep me updated, is this the only way to keep in touch with you?? it's not very personal - not that i have much personal stuff to write at the moment! Any ho better go, got a load of kids books to get through today...jeez the fun never ends. keep safe, miss you loads. lots of love x x x x ailise x x x