Well, that was quite the trip. After an overnight at Delhi, it was on to Heathrow and the end of epic-ness. I popped into my old work on the way back. The lady who replaced me when I heartlessly left is going on maternity leave and they have very kindly offered me some remote contracting to cover her absence. This is quite a weight off my mind as I now don't have to immediately worry about job hunting and being interviewed! I visited/imposed on some friends on the way back north. Many thanks to them all for putting me up/putting up with me. Cathy made me this lovely cake to welcome me back ..read more

From Pokhara it was a 6 -7 hour drive to Kathamndu. There was an option to fly rather than taking the bus, but I opted for the cheaper choice. Some nice views, a tasty lunch, and what I think was marijuana or hemp growing by the side of the road! Weed by the roadside?In Kathmandu we visited the 'Monkey Temple' on our way to the hotel. It's on a small hill at the side of the valley and, surprise surprise, has monkeys! We didn't see too many of them, but there are loads, and very familiar with people. I spotted one enjoying some candy floss, and one posing by a statue :) The deli ..read more

Next day we left the homestay and headed further up into Nepal. The scenery became a bit more mountainous and much more green and lush than we had seen in India. Many well built bridges across the rivers.   We arrived in Pokhara by mid afternoon had a short walk around town. We were due to be up very early the following morning to see sunrise over the mountains, but I was a little confused as we couldn't really see much that was mountainous form the city. In the morning we were up at 4am to drive the twisty windy road to the hill above the city, and from there you could definitel ..read more

From Jaipur to Agra was a 6 hour drive. The bus journey was made fun and interesting with discussions about religion, aliens and conspiracy theories. There were some interesting sights too, including 'poo houses' (my name). These are large piles of dried cow manure (used as cooking fuel) shaped into a variety of hut shapes and variously decorated. There were also many brick kilns, many of them actively in use. The big thing in Agra is the Taj Mahal. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to commemorate his wife and trusted adviser, who died giving birth. It was bui ..read more

After our sunrise boat ride on the Ganges it was on the train heading for Nepal. Please note, the Nepalese pronounce it 'Ne-pal', not 'Ne-paul'. You learn the oddest things! It was another sleeper train, and a few of us made use of the opportunity to catch a few more zzz's. From Gorakhpur we took a bus to the border (A/C was broken, not pleasant), then walked the 5 minutes between the 'leaving India' immigration office and the 'entering Nepal' office. I find it logically odd that you can technically not be in any country while walking down a busy street, though why that's any different from te ..read more

After our mostly lazy day in Orchha, we left the hotel at 8pm to the railway station for our 16 hour overnight sleeper to Varanassi. The sleeper was OK, though not as nice as some I've been on, but for many of the group it was their first time on one. One of the joys of the sleeper is getting odd photos of people from unusual angles. Some flattering, some less so! Witch! Little boy in the bed next door.Varanassi is on the Ganges, the holiest Hindu river in India. We headed for a sunset boat ride along the Ganges to to see some of the many religious ceremonies carried out there ..read more

Last stop on the South India tour was a small town in Kerala where we could visit the famous backwaters. Water hyacinth gone mad - a real problem for the area If you look at a map of Kerala, you can see lots of freshwater lakes just inland from the sea. A lot of the area is below sea level and carefully managed by the local farmers using canals and water pumps. It's also very picturesque. We stayed in an old house that was 130 years old or so, and really quite beautiful inside. My room for the night. Discovered a leak in the roof! We had a boat and walking tour around some of the lo ..read more

Next stop was a small town called Orchha. It is becoming a bit of a tourist attraction due to the many impressive cenotaphs, palaces, and temples. On the way there we stopped off at a hand made paper factory that provides jobs for women. They recycle cotton rags and paper into high quality paper that is used for arts and crafts and posh certificates. Rags and paper are shredded, bleached, mixed with alum and soaked/beaten for a while. This slurry is then poured over a fine mesh in a tray to make a flat sheet of paper goop, this is turned out onto a cloth and squished to remove more water, t ..read more

Next up we traveled to Kumily, just outside Periyar National Park. It was a 4-5 hour drive, mostly through very flat land, but at the end it was straight up into the mountains. On the way we drove through a large herd of cows, and passed a number of brick making places who use clay gathered from the local hills. We also stopped at a small local spice farm, which felt mostly like someone's back garden. The climate up in the hills is perfect for a lot of different spices, and it was nice to see them all. I must admit I don't remember exactly which one is which, so I'll leave that a ..read more

Delhi. Meh. I wasn't in Delhi for long, but by gum was it hot. All of northern India so far has been hellishly hot and really dry with it. I've been drinking more water than ever before, I think because as soon as you sweat in the heat it immediately evaporates and then your body needs to sweat some more. Anyway, Arrived in Delhi about 10pm and was driven to the hotel by a lady from 'Women on wheels', a charitable organization giving women work as taxi drivers. We certainly got there, but there were times it didn't feel that safe, the car stalled multiple times. The following day I couldn't ..read more