So the dreaded Delhi Belly has got me. It was not pleasant. In fact it was rotten, but I've survived to tell the tale - although i will spare you the details! I felt awful after dinner and went to my room and then i was sick and unwell all night. My German friends, Sabina and Christina, came to check on me after yoga in the morning and saw that i wasn't in good shape. But they had to leave to go back to Delhi at 1pm that day so before they went they told Johnathan, A French-Canadian guy who is staying at the cottage, and Victor, a Guatemalan guy who I met at one of the coffee shops in town and who gave me a lift home on his motorbike, and they both looked after me so well all day! John told me he would stay around the cottage that day and make sure i was ok and call the Doc if nec. They came to see I was ok every few hours, and they brought me water! It was so nice to have people to look after me - I was so miserable.
I guess it is easy to make friends travelling, and when something goes wrong everyone helps each other.
After 2 days in bed i felt much better - not 100% but a vast improvement! The boys decided they wanted to go on a bike trip up into the mountains. So John and Nati, an Israeli guy, hired a motorbike for the day and I got a lift with Victor and off we went up to Kunjapuri Temple at the top of one of the mountains.
It's over 1000m above Rishikesh and at the top of the highest mountain around. We drove for about an hour along pretty good roads, through thick dark green forests getting higher all the time and making sure not to run over the people who have decided to go for a nap in the middle of the road... It was amazing! It was a hot sunny day but when we got into the shade on the other side of the mountain it was freezing. We had to leave the bikes just below the temple and walk up the 308 steps to the temple. And the views were great. We arrived at about 3pm so the smog and mist had started to settle in but we could still see for miles, we were on top of the world! Or at least the tallest thing we could see! And if you looked to the north and squinted a bit you could just about make out the snow-capped mountain tops of the Himalayas! Amazing!
We came down slowly on the bikes, stopping for masala chai at a small town along the way. I always thought people who ride motorbikes were crazy but I can see why they love it, it feels very free and exciting being on a bike.
It was a fab day - hopefully many more like it to come...
Pics on Facebook
Saturday, 27 September 2008
Sunday, 21 September 2008
India
So I've been thinking about what India is like, and really it cannot be described. However much of a shock you think it will be it is a different shock to what you expected.
It is smelly and unbelievably dirty - every few paces and you are hit by a new smell (which sometimes makes you think you might choke!) curry, spices, cow shit, urine, and smells of i don't know what. You can't walk along the street without looking at where you are putting your feet - or you can if you want to step in cow dung or break your ankle falling into the biggest pothole ever.
Streets are for pedestrians, motorbikes, cars, tuk tuks, monkeys, trucks, bikes, cows and any other moving object! All cars blast the horn as they go by, just in case you hadn't noticed they were coming and nobody moves out of the way and no vehicle slows down, they just somehow glide past each other... The roads don't have lanes but a general of biggest one wins seems to apply. It's mad, but all the Indians seem to understand how it works and get on with it.
When it rains the roads are covered with mud but it clears the humidity and brings a lovely cool evening. It has rained nearly everyday since i arrived and my new rain jacket is turning out to be a fab investment, but today it was sunny! Yippee!
People all talk about how spiritual it is here but i think you have to look for that!
But in Rishikesh it's much nicer than where Sal and i went in March to Rajestan. It's green and lush, we're in a valley with the Ganges flowing down the middle with beautiful green tree covered hills on either side. It is lovely. It's perfect for travellers and they all seem to come trough here, for a day or two - to try some yoga or ganga but some seem to stay for months. There are ashrams where you can go and stay and they provide your food, bed and you attend two yoga/meditation classes a day. Some call themselves Ashrams but they are really just guest houses where as others are the real thing and you can go there to meditate and "find yourself".
What people call Rishikesh is really about 4 little villages that merge into one. There are two lovely suspension bridges that go over the Ganges and have to be walked over - or if you want to ride over on your motorbike and beep everyone out the way that's OK too. There is a cafe called devraj's which is overlooking one of the bridges and is a fab place to while away a few hours and chat to other travellers.
I'm going to a fab yoga class, it's on morning and evening but most days i only make it to one class. It's proper Hatha yoga and the teacher is really good.
You can't even imagine how cheap it is here - I am struggling to spend more than a tenner each day, and that includes my accommodation, food and yoga classes. The bus from Delhi took 7 hours and cost less than 2pounds!
There is lots to do from here, trekking, rafting, yoga, Hindi classes, dance classes, music classes, massages... I'm gonna go rafting later in the week! There has been so much rain that the river is running really high and fast just now but if it stays dry then is should get a bit slower.
Went for a walk with some German girls who are staying at my guest house, to some waterfalls today which were lovely.
I've finally worked out a plan for my travels! Think I'm gonna stay a few more days then hit the road to mussourie, then up to a village i can't remember the name of, but from there i can get the toy train to Shimla! From Shimla I will take a terrifying bus journey to Manali, terrifying because the roads are narrow and along steep cliffs with sheer drops and apparently there is hardly room for buses going the other way to pass... Argh, many others seem to have made the trip successfully though so hopefully i can too! From there I want to go to Macleod Ganj and Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama lives, it's supposed to be lovely and very different to the rest of India due to all the Tibetans living there. I met a girl called Leila, from London, and i hope we can meet up in Amritsar and maybe head to Nepal together! Wasn't sure whether i would make it to Nepal or not but since I'm so close I might try and go if I have time...
So that's the plans, and it's looking quite exciting!
It is smelly and unbelievably dirty - every few paces and you are hit by a new smell (which sometimes makes you think you might choke!) curry, spices, cow shit, urine, and smells of i don't know what. You can't walk along the street without looking at where you are putting your feet - or you can if you want to step in cow dung or break your ankle falling into the biggest pothole ever.
Streets are for pedestrians, motorbikes, cars, tuk tuks, monkeys, trucks, bikes, cows and any other moving object! All cars blast the horn as they go by, just in case you hadn't noticed they were coming and nobody moves out of the way and no vehicle slows down, they just somehow glide past each other... The roads don't have lanes but a general of biggest one wins seems to apply. It's mad, but all the Indians seem to understand how it works and get on with it.
When it rains the roads are covered with mud but it clears the humidity and brings a lovely cool evening. It has rained nearly everyday since i arrived and my new rain jacket is turning out to be a fab investment, but today it was sunny! Yippee!
People all talk about how spiritual it is here but i think you have to look for that!
But in Rishikesh it's much nicer than where Sal and i went in March to Rajestan. It's green and lush, we're in a valley with the Ganges flowing down the middle with beautiful green tree covered hills on either side. It is lovely. It's perfect for travellers and they all seem to come trough here, for a day or two - to try some yoga or ganga but some seem to stay for months. There are ashrams where you can go and stay and they provide your food, bed and you attend two yoga/meditation classes a day. Some call themselves Ashrams but they are really just guest houses where as others are the real thing and you can go there to meditate and "find yourself".
What people call Rishikesh is really about 4 little villages that merge into one. There are two lovely suspension bridges that go over the Ganges and have to be walked over - or if you want to ride over on your motorbike and beep everyone out the way that's OK too. There is a cafe called devraj's which is overlooking one of the bridges and is a fab place to while away a few hours and chat to other travellers.
I'm going to a fab yoga class, it's on morning and evening but most days i only make it to one class. It's proper Hatha yoga and the teacher is really good.
You can't even imagine how cheap it is here - I am struggling to spend more than a tenner each day, and that includes my accommodation, food and yoga classes. The bus from Delhi took 7 hours and cost less than 2pounds!
There is lots to do from here, trekking, rafting, yoga, Hindi classes, dance classes, music classes, massages... I'm gonna go rafting later in the week! There has been so much rain that the river is running really high and fast just now but if it stays dry then is should get a bit slower.
Went for a walk with some German girls who are staying at my guest house, to some waterfalls today which were lovely.
I've finally worked out a plan for my travels! Think I'm gonna stay a few more days then hit the road to mussourie, then up to a village i can't remember the name of, but from there i can get the toy train to Shimla! From Shimla I will take a terrifying bus journey to Manali, terrifying because the roads are narrow and along steep cliffs with sheer drops and apparently there is hardly room for buses going the other way to pass... Argh, many others seem to have made the trip successfully though so hopefully i can too! From there I want to go to Macleod Ganj and Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama lives, it's supposed to be lovely and very different to the rest of India due to all the Tibetans living there. I met a girl called Leila, from London, and i hope we can meet up in Amritsar and maybe head to Nepal together! Wasn't sure whether i would make it to Nepal or not but since I'm so close I might try and go if I have time...
So that's the plans, and it's looking quite exciting!
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Rishikesh
So I survived the bus journey to Rishikesh, 7hours on the bus, which was like a 1940's bus which I'm sure was meant only to be used for towns, not long distances... I was the only non-Indian person on the bus but a nice guy sitting next to me worked at one of the guest houses in R and helped me find a room when we got here.
I am staying at Swiss cottage which is lovely! I have the most beautiful view from my room across the town and the Ganges, i will post a photo next time. Went to a yoga class once i arrived, it is upstairs in this old cottage further up the hill from my guest house, the doors and windows are all open and it is very peaceful, a perfect place to do yoga! I went again today and the rain was so loud on the roof i could hardly hear the teacher! The mozzies got in this time and attacked me so tomorrow i will be covered in repellent before i go!
We've had thunder storms and rain both evenings which is actually really refreshing as the days are so hot and sticky.
Met a Londoner called Leila who I'm going for a walk with tomorrow morning to a temple 10km away. We're cheating and getting the bus half way there so that we can arrive by 7am because after that it gets cloudy and the views aren't so good.
So I had better go and get my beauty sleep...
I am staying at Swiss cottage which is lovely! I have the most beautiful view from my room across the town and the Ganges, i will post a photo next time. Went to a yoga class once i arrived, it is upstairs in this old cottage further up the hill from my guest house, the doors and windows are all open and it is very peaceful, a perfect place to do yoga! I went again today and the rain was so loud on the roof i could hardly hear the teacher! The mozzies got in this time and attacked me so tomorrow i will be covered in repellent before i go!
We've had thunder storms and rain both evenings which is actually really refreshing as the days are so hot and sticky.
Met a Londoner called Leila who I'm going for a walk with tomorrow morning to a temple 10km away. We're cheating and getting the bus half way there so that we can arrive by 7am because after that it gets cloudy and the views aren't so good.
So I had better go and get my beauty sleep...
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Delhi
So I have made it to Delhi! It is sticky and hot, about 35C. I was tired and miserable when i arrived and my hotel room just made that worse! It is horrible - it is a very small room with a hard single bed and a chair and a mirror. The bathroom has a western toilet (Hooray) and a shower but it's so small the shower covers the whole bathroom in water. At least I only have one more night there.
Delhi is just as i remember, busy, hot, smelly. Everyone wants to take me to a tourist office and put me on a tour round kashmir!!! Gee, that does sound like fun.
Everyone is talking about the bombs that have gone off in Delhi over the past few days. I've been so busy that I haven't heard any news over the past week so I had no idea when i arrived that this had happened. They've been set of in busy public places but nobody here seems worried, they just think it's just one of those things.
Anyhoo, tomorrow I'm off to face the busiest of places - the bus station - to get a bus out of crazy Delhi to Rishikesh in the hills...
xxx
Delhi is just as i remember, busy, hot, smelly. Everyone wants to take me to a tourist office and put me on a tour round kashmir!!! Gee, that does sound like fun.
Everyone is talking about the bombs that have gone off in Delhi over the past few days. I've been so busy that I haven't heard any news over the past week so I had no idea when i arrived that this had happened. They've been set of in busy public places but nobody here seems worried, they just think it's just one of those things.
Anyhoo, tomorrow I'm off to face the busiest of places - the bus station - to get a bus out of crazy Delhi to Rishikesh in the hills...
xxx
Monday, 8 September 2008
One week to go...
Packing is not fun. So much so, that I am writing this to avoid having to finish packing the rest of my stuff. I do seem to have a lot of stuff!
xx
xx
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