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Published: October 25th 2006
yet again it feels like ages since i wrote in this and there is so much to write about!!life back in the uk all feels like a distant memory now and im loving being an unemployed traveller(big hi to everyone at B'card!!)!!so...since i last wrote you will be pleased to know i am still alive and kicking after being savaged by that monkey!!we spent a few more days in Pushkar which was awesome, the people were so friendly and we felt as if we made some good mates there....the owners- filter and jon more commonly known as smiler- were lovely to us, and couldnt do enough for us, we spent most nights chatting with other travellers at the hotel, a few scousers, a geordie etc and smiler provided the entertainment for us as he was so funny. but after 10 days of little electricty and water at times it got a bit much and was time to move onto delhi to running showers and lights!!the simple things in life are now much appreciated, never in my life have i been so glad to get into a real shower!!there is nothing like being really dirty and trying to shower with a tap in the pitch black.... the days in pushkar were lazy and relaxed, with the most energy being spent on a camel safari into the desert for the night!excellent!my camel called raju was ok, stank a bit and was more than a little dubious when the camel guy hopped off the back and let me ride him on my own. he just stopped and wouldnt move as the others carried on! but we arrived at our camp- a duvet and a fire- and had dinner cooked over a fire and the entertainment provided by gypsies who danced traditonal rajastani dances and ate fire...really cool ad good to see it, we passed so many shacks in the desert and it was hard to believe people actually live like that. BUT being in the desert it gets pitch black..obviously...and the bugs were massive!!needless to say i did not sleep a wink, and the bat that flew into mandys head only made it worse as we screamed like true girls!!i am getting tougher though, i even squashed some big bugs the other night as i couldnt sleep with them crawling over me, so out came the magic flip flop!!but the shooting stars were amazing, there were so many of them. i was relieved to make it back to the hotel in one piece, albeit stinking of raju the camel!!we left pushkar last friday by bus, 12 hr overnight to delhi. excited to leave and see more of india, but the bus was an experience. the indians seem to have no real concept of time here...its all very casual, a few one hour stops here and there but we made it in the end!i have the bruises to show it as well, bumpiest roads ever,i laughed myself sick as it was like a floating air chamber for most of the journey...we stayed awake for most of the night, it was impossible not to really plus our window was broken in our sleeper cabin so we froze!!arriving in delhi was a sight to see thats for sure. i mean for a start we could barely walk after the bus but it was good to get there in one piece!the inner city was full of slums, people sleeping in shacks, picking through rubbish dumps, washing in the street and all sorts of sights. similar to the chinese the indians love to have a good old spit in the street to which is charming, especially if you wake up to the sound of it outside!! so we got on a tiny rickshaw and the poor guy had to cycle with us and rucksacks as we sat wide eyed in the back taking it all in. i love the rickshaw rides as you see so much without actually having to do much. so we met up with mandys friend whose parents live in delhi and he took us back to their house. Arpit is lovely, a really genuine person and the family welcomed us into the house, we were over the moon to find out they have servants and chauffuers, as well as running water, and air con!!in fact i nearly passed out with excitement when i saw my clean bed and had a cup of real tea!!so it has been a little life of luxury for afew days, we all had a massage today as the massuese came over which was great! arpit took us to see the taj mahal the other day, it was about a 4hr drive to agra which itself is nothing special at all, but the taj lived up to my expectations, really a aweaome sight to see as it is so big and imposing. we got there at dusk and i nearly had a fit as i couldnt get my camera to work!but it did and i got some good pics which i will upload at some point. so we stayed till after dark and saw it under the stars....really pleased i got to see it as it was right up there on my list of things to do here!the day after we arrived in delhi was diwali, the indina version of xmas day. we were fed till we nearly burst at the house only to be told we had to do it all over again at the uncles house, but it was great! the family are so friendly and there were so many of them!we sat aorubd while they talked and then we lit fireworks on the roof for what seemed like a few hours!but it was good to see how indian families operate and to be welcomed like that. yesterday caroline and i went on a city bus our of delhi, we had an early start and met our guide who was a funny little indian man who im not sure really knew what he was talking about other than a few random measurements of buildings!but it was good as we saw all the monuments of course with the obligatory stop at a carpet shop for the hard sell, luckily i resisted buying a fine quality kashmiri rug!!the indians love to take you to random shops and give long speeches about what a good discount you can get but we are wise to it now....although have been totally ripped off in jaipur having bought scarves etc!!delhi is a nice city, but this is probably because we are staying in the nicest part right now and only glimpsed the slums....it seems really modern and arpit took us to a mexican restaurant the other night, again we nearly passed out at the thought of not eating curry, dont get me wrong it is nice but breakfast will never quite be the same again in this country at least!so we got drunk as skunks on cocktails and ate nachos till we could burst, i think the waiters found us highly entertaining as we got progressively louder as the cocktails flowed!!tomorrow morning we have an early start as we head to the himlayas!our bus is at 8am and will take us 7hrs to get to dehra dun at the foot of the himalayas where we get another bus to the hlll stataion at mussoorie....totally chuffed about this as it will be wicked to see ythe himalayas but we need to buy some warm clothes tomo as we're told it is snowing there and flip flops wont cut it!!we will be there for 5days or so, so we can go white water rafting and do a short trek...hmmm...maybe a few too many curries to be able to be fit enough to actually walk that much of a distnace but we will try nonetheless!!then back to delhi to get a 2day train to hyderarbad where we are doing a 12 day meditation course in an ashram (a big yoga centre where people go for a donation to see a guru and basically get enlightened or something!!here's hoping it does the trick for me eh!), it sounds pretty hardcore....no talking...eek...no food after 12pm..but fear not i have a stash of pringles for when i get the munchies and we have to get up at 4:30 am and bed at 9pm eavch day. christ i feel insane even writing this let alone actually doing it but this (as i keep telling myself)is another experience of the trip, hoping it will be good and i wont come out looking even more of an emaciated traveller than i already am!!plusits after my birthday that i actually get out so we will ehad straight to arpits flat in hyderabad where we will party and drink stupid amnts of vodka, to celebrate my bday and of course the fact that we will all by then be sprirtually enlightened or maybe just plain mad after that long not talking!!then the fun begins as we head to kerala and ghoa for the party season!!yay!!anyhoo gone on for far too long and its time for me to drink more freshly prepared tea!life is hard, it really is!hope ur all ok back home, think of u all often.....especially when im sat in the boiling sun eating yet another curry!will keep you posted as to whether or not my guru helps me find the light!! lots of love Axxxx
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Ailise
non-member comment
Hi
ok i was nearly late for work reading your email, they are so funny and long - but that makes them all the more better. Am still waiting for my personal email, but am cracking up reading other peoples comments, thought i was your only funny friend! Will email later babe, as gotta loadsa work to do. keep safe. love you x x x