I have made countless observations in my two months in India so far that have ranged from the interesting to the unusual, and from the shocking to the downright incomprehensible. Definitely in the latter category is the apparent national obsession with photographs and in particular, selfies. It seems that when Indians decide to get into something, they tend to do so with a manic fervour unmatched anywhere else in the world, whether it be cricket, Bollywood or...selfies. I witnessed this phenomenon once again along with Immy and the typically tall Dutchman Jasper in the town of Hospet, as we had dinner while we waited for our overnight buses down to Bangalore. Even more than the females, Indian males appear to be the vainest I have ever seen, constantly taking pictures of themselves. What is this fuelled ... read more

It was six months ago, at the start of my European trip, that I first heard about Gokarna and Om Beach. It was in Bilbao, Spain, where I met a Czech girl called Eliska who just couldn't stop going on about the place, with its great beach and chilled out vibe. It was her enthusiasm about the place that convinced me that this was a stop I that I just had to make. But you have to get there first and along with Maura, another girl that I had met in Europe, I stood on the platform at Canacona station just outside of Palolem, Goa, waiting for our unfailingly late, Indian train to Gokarna. The train finally arrived about three hours later than scheduled, which was the longest delay I've had on the Indian railways so ... read more

My night bus to Mumbai was much nicer than the one I took to Jalgaon. This one had sheets, a blanket and a pillow! I just wish I felt as clean as my sleeper having for the second time in a row, caught a night bus straight after a journey from somewhere else during the day, meaning I had no chance to take a much needed shower. About halfway through the trip however, I realised that my wallet had fallen out of my pocket - or even worse, had been pick-pocketed from me during my sleep. Asking the crew riding with the driver in the 'cockpit', there was a bit of a language barrier as I tried to explain what had happened. I was even beginning to think it might have been one of the crew. ... read more

I couldn't pay by card at the hostel. This normally wouldn't be a problem but India's cash crisis made sure it was this time. I was banking on it; Hostelworld had said that this hostel accepted credit cards but I'd been sold down the creek. Having to manage cash like gold dust in India just added another layer of travel stress I could do without. The joys of travelling huh? Well, there are downsides too. It was early start for Andrii - my Ukrainian dorm mate - and I, as we caught our train to Jaipur. Before leaving we indulged ourselves in some pethi - a soft, wet, coconut-like, rose-flavoured dessert famous for being sold at Agra's train station. At 7am I have to say that it was delicious but sickeningly sweet. We now have to ... read more

There were three countries that I was looking forward to most on this trip around the world, before I had even set off; Cuba, Japan and India. Europewas starting to get a but samey, a bit boring to be honest - so I was looking forward to something completely different. Well, you don't get much more different than India! Back in London, I had a rather annoying flight time which would see me leave Heathrow very early in the morning and arrive in New Delhi very late at night. When news got through that my flight had been delayed by an hour, I knew then that I'd miss the last metro service in Delhi and that I'd have to get a taxi to the hostel from the airport. Damn. Two buses and three trains got me ... read more