18 Hours Later...

That's it! I'm home and on very cold, grey and English soil. It's all over.

I got back home last night to quickly dash to the Bathroom and expel an awful lot of sick - I don't know why but I am so ill...it's not homesickness it's some disgusting form of my body deciding to make me feel unbelievably ill so that all I'd planned to do when I got home is now no longer possible - at least for a few days or until some medicine kicks in!

I have to say and I know it's clichéd but my travels to India were unbelievable and a fantastic experience. I met some great people, saw great things and feel much different for doing so - however nothing beats being home and I think I'll stay here for a while now at least.

Thanks for reading everyone...maybe this blog will come alive again in the future...India is on the list for a revisit but I think I'm going to do Europe later this year (I saw Europe - I really mean France, Italy and some places inbetween!).

Namaste!

Guess where I am...

I'm back in Bangalore at good old Katary Villa and it's amazing! I've missed Bangalore so much and even arriving back this morning to hoards of auto drivers quoting me high high prices to get back to the Villa didn't anger me too much because I knew what was at the end of the journey...a very smiley Mrs Katary, Mary, Manjua and Bimbo the dog plus my old bed :)

I treated myself after my 15 hour train journey from Vasco de Gama in Goa (which I haste to add I got a free upgrade on to 3AC for no charge!) and took lunch at my No.1 place to chill in Bangalore - Mocha and woa it was worth it! All that food whilst I have been travelling with the exception of 1 place was put to shame by Mocha's Panini & Mocha Latte (plus I can buy one of their MASSIVE mugs for 400rs - for sure!).

The last few days in Anjuna were amazing, I met some really nice guys there and have some amazing memories, yesterday I spent the day with Francesca (a veterinary assistant from Switzerland); we went to the animal shelter she works at in Goa and played with Puppies, Kittens, Calves and walked loads of dogs too - it was amazing to see all these animals and give them some play time outside of their little tiled cages....I wish I could have brought them all home but that may have been tricky!

Anyhow, I'm in Bangalore now until Monday.....then after some cheeky planning I get a nice flight back to the UK....that's right I'll be home on the 15th! See you then!

Paradise Lost

The last few days have been exciting....I went to the Flea Market which was chaos, everyone selling things and asking you 'How much?', 'Do a little business?' and all that...I picked up a few nice things and saw a few other things which I now know I've been ripped off buying in Bangalore - either way it all adds to the Indian experience!

I met Francesca on Wednesday, a really nice Swiss girl who's working here as a vet's assistant, we went on her scooter to the market (that woke me up) before she introduced me to Sugar Cane which is pure sugar in a glass with ginger and lemon (that really woke me up!) - the afternoon was spent lazing around on the beach as usual and I watched the sunset over the sea...and saw dolphins...it was a postcard moment!

Unfortunately...the calmness and paradise was pretty much destroyed that evening when I met Adrian & Amy...two really nice people from London (we've spent the last few days together before they went this morning to Vagator) - I decided it may be a good idea to introduce them to Kaju Fenni. For those that don't know; and we really didn't, this drink could actually kill you....we took 2 shots and yesterday had the worst hangovers you could imagine....stayed in bed all day and stuck to Lassi and Milkshakes - but it was all good fun whilst it lasted - well before the achey heads set in!

I'm still in Anjuna for a few days until I know what's going on at home (I think I am coming home early - no problems, just ready to come home now) so I'll keep you all posted on my return!

Off to the beach again.....got a good healthy glow going on :)

Anjuna...

Wow....I'm in Anjuna and it's amazing - it's like Paradise as one of the other travelers called it. I arrived yesterday and won't leave until Monday (back to Bangalore) but my time here is going to be so much fun....even though I won't be doing too much.

I'm staying in this little guest house called Coutino's which is beautiful and surrounded by jungle and birds and noisy insects and the beach is a 5 minute walk away through a bazaar of little shops selling sarongs, beads and what not....I've bought some coconut and sandalwood beads - very hippy and I smell lovely; they also match the bright red face I have as a result of forgetting to apply sun screen yesterday.

Today I woke up and mooched over to Martha's Breakfast House for Banana Pancakes and a cup of English Tea - very nice :) and this afternoon I'm going to have a look around the Flea Market here which is meant to be an experience before spending the afternoon lazing around on the beach with my flip flops for some paddling; plus I've applied sufficient amounts of sun screen so I should be alright!

I think I'll do a final post before I leave Anjuna next week to tell you how the tan is going!

P.S This place is amazing, I'm sat in the boiling sun with a fan on me, a nice cold mango juice on a super fast broadband connection - I wish my work place in England was this swish!

Panaji? or is it Portugal?

I arrived in Panaji (the capital city of Goa) a few days ago and immediately loved the place. It used to be under Portuguese rule so all the buildings, roads and alleys look like they've been picked up from a small Portuguese village and placed the hillside greenery of Goa. It's so nice here.

The first day I thought I'd take advantage of the Mediterranean feel and had lunch on a balcony overlooking a street with a nice cold drink and a Greek Salad - which was the best salad I've had in India - they're not really into cold salads here. I spent the afternoon wandering around the city and many churches it has taking photos and enjoying myself really - such a contrast to Bangalore or any of the other places I have visited.

The next day I visited Old Goa, which is where the Portuguese had their capital city, it has some enormous churches and cathedrals and the tomb of St Francis Xavier - which was a glass coffin (you could see him and everything eugh!). I spent a good few hours mooching around before I headed back to the guest house I was staying in.

The guest house is amazing...it's ran by a retired teacher and is so cosy and decorated like an old Lisbon town house plus it had REAL hot water...that was amazing!

Today my last day in the city before I hit the beaches of Anjuna I visited a Spice Plantation (or more so a smaller demonstration plantation next to a larger plantation) which was really good fun, you got a tour of the plantation seeing all the plants and spices and saw elephants and what not before lunch and a small shot of Kaju Feni - this is the strongest drink I have ever had...I'm trying to track down a few bottles to bring home - but lets just say it made me wretch so much that I choked; I then met a family from Cheshire and we talked for a while before I bought a few spices and plodded back to Panaji for a nice siesta (I've been taking alot of these!)

Next post from Anjuna!

Goa.....Go where?

Welcome to another edition of neighbours - just for you Jess :)
Today I am leaving Pune or Poona - depends what kind of a mood you're in I suppose! The train ride here was so much fun, I got to eat curd rice and chapati courtesy of all the Indians in the cabin I was in and I only saw 3 cockroaches and had to smell the toilets 10 or 11 times - that's sleeper class for you! I got here last night at about 11:30pm and mooched up to this place called the Grand Hotel which is ran by some anal old man that thinks he's big time - he asked me loads of questions about my Visa, couldn't understand why I was in Banglore for so long and then charged me Rs 800 for a shabby room that had the BIGGEST gecko you've ever seen resident on it's roof - it was horrible! I checked out this morning.

I should have been getting the Deccan Queen train to Mumbai tomorrow morning, however after a traumatic night of being watched by Mr Lizard and the Gecko (oh and some super cute puppies - they were fun!) I found out that I couldn't get from Mumbai to Goa in the end so instead I am going on a sleeper bus tonight to Panjim in Goa for 1 week. I've booked myself in at the Hotel (hot water, big beds, old house - nice) and then after 2 days I am going to Anjuna in Goa as per a reccomendation by Lorraine - apparently its so peaceful and the beach is amazing so that's my next 5 days lazing around on the sand eating coconut and reading my new book - Freakonomics (which I hasten to add is very difficult to describe in Charades even to English people let alone a poor Finn - Ella!).

So the next update will be from some sun dashed beach in Goa, miles away from General Anal of the Grand Hotel and the horribly boring streets of Poone <<< I merged the two!

Ciao for now.

Bijapur & Badami

Don't worry I am now over the terrible emotional breakdown I had....I spoke with Aneesa (one of the nicest people you could ever meet) and she had a good rant at me about how we all miss people and just to give it a few days....I gave it a few days and now I feel fine as I know I will see them again and I think it was just down to the fact that the first place I visited alone was so remote that I was literally isolated and without anyone around - now I am super happy and the wallet I lost in Hampi.....has now been found in Hampi - I'll get it back soon!

I spent yesterday in Badami (that horrible isolated place) looking at caves carved into mountains and being harrased by monkeys and little kids wanting to show me what a Nandi was in return for a gift - aka Rs 20 :P

Today I arrived in Bijapur, which is a little more city like (I think I prefer Indian cities to the smaller towns and villages...I cannot cope with not being able to talk to anyone, or read anything if it's all in some odd looking script!) - Roll on Mumbai!

Bijapur is beautiful, I visited the Gol Gombuz today which is the biggest domed building outside of St Pauls in Rome and its amazing, when you climb to the top (110 steps - I learnt this for Rs 12 - another gift!) then you can whisper and the whole place hears what you said....needless to say the kids there thought that if they screamed the whole of India would hear.....I certainly did!

I spent the afternoon doing Suduko in the gardens there before finding this amazing internet connection......so fast wow! I'm off to Pune tomorrow on the train, which is a sleeper train for 10 hours - nice:)

Hopefully everything is back to normal now....sorry for not being in touch everyone :)

Dampy in Hampi...

Just finished 3 of the funniest, scariest and most amazing days of my travels in India and am about to leave for Badami (a little town with some caves and shit!).

Hampi was amazing, it was like a monsoon where everything was hilariously funny coupled with the Monday being the hottest I have ever been in my life and loosing my wallet as well as getting the reddest burnt face I have ever had...

The weekend started with us all getting off the Hampi Express overnight train from Bangalore...which was amazing actually and super comfy. The Saturday was Holi (Festival of Colours) so we all donned our scruffiest clothes and got covered in dye and other such staining things ending up with us all taking a quick swim in the river to attempt to clean ourselves - lets just say after a few days I still had a pink forehead and a yellow neck....nice! It was so much fun, everyone was dancing, singing and throwing dye around - give me a pot of paint and some music anytime and I'll now know how to have hours of fun!

The Sunday was a little less exciting, we took an auto tour of all the sites, it was amazing to see all of the temples, old forts and cities but without the sunny weather and literally buckets of rain it all was a little damper than anticipated - still it was great fun with the other guys and we all messed around! I also befriended a few more animals...and some goats whilst the others all got lost....literally lost!

Monday....everyone had left and I started my emotional breakdown....I hired a bike, got terrorised by monkeys, indirectly agreed to Adams promise of not shaving and got burnt before catching a bus to Badami.

All in a weekend hey!

Leaving Bangalore...

Tomorrow I leave Bangalore for a while, I am going with the other guys to Hampi (one of the greatest temple areas in the whole of India, it is the setting for a Hindu story in which Hanuman a monkey god threw boulders onto the landscape and they still sit there all obvious and enormous today!) Anyhow, we're all getting the train 3rd class tomorrow, which means we leave Bangalore at 10:30pm and arrive in Hampi at 7:30am the following day - it's just the way it's done here, and I've still got to pack everything, buy snacks and make sure my hotels are booked for all the other interesting places I have got planned.

So it's officially my last night in Bangalore tonight, I think we're going somewhere - maybe a Salsa club or some Bollywood dance club; either way it'll be good fun but sad to leave (even if it is just for 3 weeks!)

We're going to sample the Indian Coffee Rooms at lunch today; it says the waiters are in turbans and buckled belts and that there is an aged look to the place - just hope the coffee is good and not aged! Yesterday I had a bit of a Western splurge and went to this place called Brio for a nice 3 couse lunch....the most Indian meal I've had....

Pita & Hummus + Pasta + Tiramisu with a cold Coffee (mmmmmm!) - The western splurge cost me Rs 450 though (about 5 pounds!)

Tomorrow day in between all my packing, and arranging we're going to a Tiger reserve which offers an hour safari too, it should be great fun and a nice way to finish my time in the city - by getting out of it.

Finally, I posted a box home today with all the things I have aquired in the 4 weeks I have been here, it was one of the top reasons why I hate the Indian way of doing things....here's how to post a box home to England....

1. Find a box, no where sells boxes here! I sent stuff home in a Milk Box :S
2. Fill the box, everything has to be in a plastic bag!
3. Wrap the box, the box must be wrapped in cloth and sewn closed - tailors did this for me!
4. Write on box, post office won't provide the pen, had to buy a marker and go back!
5. Customs Forms, fill in 2 customs forms (no carbon copy) and they're in French!?!
6. Post the damn thing, pay the man Rs 1500 and it takes 15 days?!

I think that's it!

Another update from Hospet (my next destination!) I think I will be sun burnt by then!

Bye!

Not long now...

Just a few days left before I leave Bangalore on my travels around India. The last few days have been really good fun, a few new volunteers arrived from England. Lorraine, Joanna & Ella are all good fun (Ella is from Finland so the English comment is a lie!).

We have just spent the last few days going out and having a really good time, lots of meals in restaurants and lots of bars. Last night we went to a place called NASA - the bar was literally a spaceship, everything had neon lights, the staff were dressed as captains and what not and nothing at all was Indian - it was all good fun though. I had a 'Moon Walker' some kind of Vodka, Cream & Fruit Juice mix - twas ok.

Today I finally confirmed all of my travel arrangements - I've decided to do my travel in two parts with a stop in Bangalore in the middle to arrange the second half of my travels. You can see what I have planned on the right hand side >>> box 'Travel Plans' so you have a rough idea of where I am.

We've really had a wild past few days, Aneesa & Adam got to drive rickshaws around the city, we watched Fayne catch Gecko's with her hands. I met this super cute puppy that followed me around called 'Moo' - yes I named it; and finally we had the fastest waiters ever at this restaurant where as soon as you motioned to get some rice or pick up something they were there and doing it for you.

More updates soon - probably from my next destination!

Byeeeeee!

Schools Out...

I finished my teaching placement at the school yesterday, it was all very sad and the students had made me cards saying thanks and what not - they'd used some pretty interesting materials that they could find and many of the cards are decorated with Pistachio shells and flowers...I've taken a few photos so when the flowers die...you get the idea.

I spent the day playing tennis with the kids and talking about when I'll come back and basically doing no teaching at all - minus the fact they have an exam in a few days...it was such a nice way to end my placement there and I am surely going to visit again.

In the afternoon, I went shopping Indian style with my teacher to her 'Big Bazaar' it was bizarre to say the least, every few minutes a bell would ring and grapes would be 70% off or Puja trays would be buy 4 get 2 free or something equally as hectic! Saying that it cannot be worse than what followed...

...we got in an auto at about 6:30 just as the rains started, within 10 minutes we were in a foot of water, sewage, chicken feet (eugh!) and other such nasties whilst our rickshaw decided that it would break down in the deepest water around....the poor driver pushed us 1km home for Rs100 (about 1.20 pounds!). I officially hate the rain and the cold - so to come here and be rained on is not nice.....at all.

Today, we've got 2 new girls starting and it's my last week in Bangalore. We're organising a trip this weekend to Hampi (a little town with lots of temples and things) and that will be where my traveling really starts.

I'll keep you all updated on my journey, bye for now - I'm off to make the most of the sun whilst it lasts!

Bangalore nearly no more...

Its true - I've fallen in love so much with where I am staying that I'm going to be in Bangalore another week at least now. The new guys here are great and the place I am at is really chilled and we're having an amazing time - so I've got enough time to take another week and it'll give me ample time to purchase tickets and what not for my next destinations!

This week at school has been a bit all over the place, everything is just a little odd. All the kids are revising for their exams and in between this they're doing the odd bit of drawing or P.E. I played chess against one of my students and sort of lost (I think I lost but he took my king - not really a move!) Also there was a big panic in the playground when a praying mantis thing fell on this little kids head.....sheer pandemonium ensued!

I've got next week off school as I finish there on Saturday, but it has been amazing all the time I've been there, the lessons I have taught and the kids I've met. I am going to write a bit more about the school next week for the gap company so I'll share it on here.

Tonight we're going to The Beach with the other volunteers again - it's such a good place and Tequila shots are about 1 pounds!

Ciao for now.

Dance!

As I mentioned it's illegal to dance in Bangalore but yesterday everyone seemed to be breaking the law...

It was the students annual day yesterday where they all practice for weeks before elaborate dances, making costumes, songs and drama and then present this to their parents and teachers on a Saturday morning like they've been doing for 40 years now.

The whole event was amazing and some of my students were involved in a Cheerleading Dance and a reenactment of the 10 incarnations of Vishnu - all very exciting. It made me want to dance...

...so we decided to! We found this bar a few days ago called H20 which I mentioned about the fish tanks etc well anyhow the guy that owns it has another bar called The Beach which has sand everywhere and water and your sit on logs and stuff...there was an amazing DJ and from outside you couldn't hear the music....so we got very drunk and danced alot....the photos will show this (even though we kept being told that we cannot take photos of people dancing in the bar as it's illegal and they'll get closed down!).

Anyhow today I have got loads of web work to get done, next week is my final week in Bangalore so I've got lots to do before I leave for Hampi.

Horsey Rides...

Woa...I've done so much these last few days!

Yesterday I went to an amazing Riding School about one hour out of the city for a hack with Emma, the horses were all ex racehorses and were really well look after...plus the Hack was in 250 acres of grounds and the weather was amazing....it was so nice to get away from the pollution and just have a relaxed morning.

We got back into town and decided to head and meet the other guys at a Persian place for some lunch, and a cold coffee before our final cooking class.

Anita, the lady that shows us how to cook made the best food last night....Paneer Massala, Channa Massala and then a not so good Sweet Carrot dish whereby you boil carrots and milk eugh! So now I am officially able to cook some pretty swish Indian food.

It's early evening here so I'm just getting all this internet stuff out of the way before we head into the city to try this h20 bar out where apparently and I quote 'every table is surrounded by a wall of water and each table is your own private aquarium' - we'll see :P

Oh a final thing....I had the best fruit I've ever eaten....Pomegranate :)

New Faces

A new batch of volunteers arrived today with us all...so we got the day off work and another luxury lunch at some swanky Hotel courtesy of i-to-i....it was much better than our welcoming lunch!

Adam, one of the new guys is a real nice guy, everyone here seems to be into design though and they're all working at this magasine called Rave - which is like the Indian equivalent to NEM or something. Anyhow he's also pretty obsessed with Coffee too so we've got our own little Coffee Club going on with regular trips to Mocha (the amazing chocolate cake place), Cafe Coffee Day and anywhere else that sells it! I'm currently loving the Rs 5 Coffee from a little canteen next to the school I'm at...it's about 4p a cup!

We took th new guys around Commercial Street and the other areas of the city centre, and I found some amazing shoes which I'm going to get a Kurta (like a long top) made to match :)

Anyhow another update to follow....

The only white guy...

Last night I formally was the only white guy! Indians love to stare and we went to a Model & Air Crew party at a 5* Hotel courtesy of a friend here...I was the only white guy and that was a novelty for all the Indians! The place was amazing though and it was poolside so we lounged around until midnight on pool side beds listening to techno music....very conservative India!

Today, Emma and I visited a Cave Temple....not the usual boring Temple...this was amazing! The tunnels were about 3 feet high so I was stooped down crawling past ancient idols and things in a fit of Giggles because Emma said I looked like the people in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory where they go through that tiny door in the long corridor....it makes sense to me! Anyhow it was slightly rude to laugh in the temple but it was too funny!

We also found this amazing park and fell asleep whilst watching a crow drink water droplets from a sprinkler - what an amazing time I am having! Then it was off to Mocha...the best Coffee place in town for a Black Forest Gateaux Milkshake and a Massive Slice of Chocolate Cake mmmm!

Bye for now!

Mysore...

Yesterday we visited Mysore (a city about 140km north of Bangalore) on a tour bus that was bright pink and attracted too much attention.

Anyhow, we left the guest house at 6am which was bad enough and it was freezing...we stopped for breakfast (in my case just coffee as there were about 25 flies per person in this restau....no shit hole!).

On the way we popped into this little town where there was a 1000 year old Temple which I didn't go in...they're all the same and there was a sign where Tipu Sultan (someone the English killed) was found dead. Exciting stuff.

Our first stop in Mysore was the Maharajah's Palace which is amazing, it's so luxurious and perfect inside but it was built by a English architect. You're not allowed footwear in any of these places so we had to walk across the boiling hot paving to the palace....so much so that all of our feet got burnt and Emma even lost some skin eugh!

After this we went for Lunch again at a well decorated and great upstanding establishement....I wish!

In the afternoon we visited an amazing Church, Chamundy Hill (which has another Temple on - I didn't go in, but instead fed monkeys and cows bananas) and then in the evening visited some gardens with fountains and ate some amazing popcorn which was spiced.

We got back at 1am and then I was up at 7am to go to school...yey!

I'm off to some swish Mocha place for Dinner but before that we've planned a trip to a Temple....I think I'll go in this one...maybe..... :)

City Update...

Bangalore is officially the worst city I have ever visited for traffic add to this the extreme charges from rickshaw drivers and their inability to drive you to the destination you want and it's all about right!

We had a driver today who thought it was a great idea to add a few KM's to the journey by weaving us through the side streets - when we complained he pulled over and demanded an extra 20rs (about 10p!) we argued and he got angry so we paid and ran away!

The pollution is just as bad too and I have had to duck for cover from clouds of dust as well as wipe my forehead to get rid of a horrible orange dust that settles on me each day.

A few other nit picks...are street children who don't understand the word "No" and one child who thought he could just hang of my knee....wtf :)

Finally the fruits, flowers and everything else about the city are amazing....I'm having a great time :)

School Time...

Second day of school today and I'm really getting the grasp of the sign language they use here - even if it is that literal that flapping your hands means bird, butterfly and any other flying thing and making a circle means Dosa (a bread pancake thing mmm), drawing and circle!

The kids are all great and I'm teaching a 10 year old class, there are only 10 of them and Harasha one of the little boys is very clever - he has also taught me lots of sign language so now they can keep telling me they're hungry and that I can go home etc.

I've made some great friends with other volunteers here - Emma who is from Cambridge (and also sat next to me now) and Niysha from Sydney who came shopping with us both today on Commercial Street to buy Pashminas and stuff for my headache :)

Tonight we had Pizza for tea, very Indian indeed and Chocolate Cake to follow. We had Cookies at lunch and it's so nice once in a while to have some western food or a taste that you recognise - otherwise it's just tiny small Indian Bananas and lot's of Dhal.

Another blog post soon, but I'm nearly 6 hours ahead here so we need to go and buy fruit before the sellers go home (it's 20:15 here!).

Comments welcome and finally I got on Facebook :)

I'm here...

Hello from Bangalore...

I just arrived and today I met the other volunteers and the two people who are going to look after us all - Asha & Meera; they're both amazing people and Asha has a lovely house where she serves good coffee...unlike the coffee you'll hear about at a later date!

We had lunch at AJ International Hotel which was a nice introduction to the food I'll be eating for the next few months but it all tasted great and much like Singapore...they sure love to feed you.

Anyhow, the weather here is too hot (Yes I know I am always cold!) but the pollution in Bangalore city stops you from burning so I am slowly fading to a more tanned colour.

More updates soon!

150 Hours...

Not long now, just '150 hours' until I board the plane to Dubai, then Bangalore.

I've started packing finally...well I say I've started I've actually grouped a few items like shampoo (again courtesy of Mum!), picked a few tee's out and started to group a few pairs of socks etc - so nothing too much really.

Aside from me, Emma left for her travels this morning (3am) and she popped round last night to see me, that was a little weird - as I know now that in 6 days I'll too be leaving just like she did but it'll be amazing I'm sure and I bet she's loving it already...no doubt she'll keep us updated on her blog here.

Right, I think they'll be 1 more update before Saturday and then they'll be posted all the way from India, bye!

Rucksack Attack!

My brand new rucksack arrived today courtesy of Mum :) - It's a 65 liter Regatta Survivor so it's built for the job and has loads of pockets/space etc which will be useful I agree...but how on earth I am meant to cram my 10 weeks worth of stuff into a space not much bigger than 2 pillows I am not sure!

Anyhow, packing hasn't really been started just yet and I've not really thought about all the smaller items either - saying that I know I've got a few essentials to pick up soon and I'm sure it'll all come together in a flurry of panic a few hours before I need to leave.

Another update soon!

Post Departure - 14 Days...

14 Days to go...that's just two weeks!

I've got so much on at the moment that it feels a little weird that I'm going to be gone for so long in such a short period of time. I've got my Visa, Teaching Placement and all my Vaccinations sorted so it's just packing it all up into my rucksack and that's it!

This is going to be the place I'll keep you all posted on, so bookmark me and hopefully you'll all be able to keep a good eye on this blog to see where I am and what I've been doing.

Bye!