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!