A busy day today

I will add more photos when we get a decent internet connection.... Heres what happened today.

It was still very very dark when I got out of bed at 4.45am.

Myself, David, Liv, Kenneth, Isabelle and Lana all met up and boarded our but to drive to a local hill top and watch the sunrise. When we arrived near the hilltop the traffic was a night mare as all the tourists had got up early. So we abandoned the bus and walked the last half a mile. Well, I tabbed the last half a mile and left everyone else to do their own thing – I didn’t want to miss the sunrise!

After arriving at the top of the hill I wandered around and got a good spot with the mountains on one side and the sunrise on the other. Slowly it began to get lighter and the tops of the snow covered mountains glowed with the dawn. After 30 minutes or so, it looked like the ground was on fire in the distance as the sun got higher. Then suddenly a powerful bright glint of light shone over the distant hills and a cheer, clapping and sighs went up from the crowd. It was a really great sunrise with bright vivid reds and yellows and for a short while, as it climbed above the horizon you could actually look directly at the sun itself., It was well worth getting up early for.

I made my way back to the bus after a while and waited for the others, before we =went back to the hotel for breakfast. I only had a couple of hours to kill before it reached 10.30 and me, Lisa and Jaime met up and were driven down to the town to go paragliding. We filled out the forms and were driven back to the same hill I had seen the sunrise from this morning. We were introduced to our instructors – Mine was a Bulgarian called Roman – and after a quick briefing it was just a quick run down the hill and we were all airborne. I really enjoyed flying about and we gained height pretty quickly and had a great view over the town and the lake. Jaime was lucky and started first, but finished last getting a lot longer than myself and Lisa. Lisa also had a madder pilot who showed her all his spiralling moves. It was a good way to spend the morning and Id love to do or again one day, but after 40 minutes or so it was all over as we landed in a field beside the lake and were dropped back into town.

After a quick break we arranged to meet up and get a boat around the lake, just like I had done twice yesterday. But one of the girls was out and Lisa arranged to meet me down by the boats later as I was going sown with Lana and Kenneth for a swim.

We joined some of the local kids on a concrete platform and made them all laugh by jumping in the lake with them. It was hard work on a hot day so we sunbathed for a while until Bev, Jaime, Lisa and Mills turned up to go boating. Unfortunately the boat shop would only let 4 people in the boat at once, so I dipped out and went back to sunbathe again, while thegirls took out their boat. It was funny watching them try and paddle around and we shouted them over to take some photos. Myself and Lana jumped in and hung off either end of the boat trying to scare them by rocking it up and down. It was then back to sunbathing before heading home.

I decided to nip down the road and get a haircut of a local barber. It was really cool. The barber is a little guy with massive rusty scissors, which thankfully he knew how to use. The haircut only took 10 minutes, but as part of the cost he also gave me a head, neck and back massage! It was just what I needed after all the paddling yesterday and I left there very relaxed.

It had been a long day as I had been awake since 4am, so I arranged to meet up with Lana and Kenneth for dinner later and planned an early night.

Boating and swimming in Nepal

The next morning it was up at 7 and after packing kit, we headed off towards the other hotel for breakfast. It was pretty good with potatoes, eggs, and even little sausages and bacon!!

After saying our goodbyes to all the staff and people we had met, we got aboard the bus and headed off towards Pokhara.

It was a good journey with great views down steep valleys with a big river running down it. We stopped off at our guides home and he introduced us all to his family and fed us with fruit and prawn crackers. There is a festival on at the moment ad it is tradition for everyone to have red rice and paint on their foreheads, so we were all blessed and painted by the eldest man in the family who was 75.

After leaving their home we had a toilet stop in Gorkha town, where there is a hotel and bar for ex Gurkha soldiers. After having a look around we boarded up again and finally after another long day we arrived in Pokhara in the middle of a downpour just about 5pm.

Everyone booked into their rooms and then a massive pile of washing was handed into the reception, as we had all got so dirty in Chitwan and it was so humid, the clothes didn’t dry properly and were beginning to smell.

Then I went out for dinner with Donna, Jaime, Bev, Lisa, and Mills.We found a great little restaurant that did brilliant steak, which I haven’t had in weeks, so it was really really nice and along with the beers and the gin and tonics it was a good place to be. Afterwards we hit one of the local bars where there was a really good live band on and the premiership football on TV too! We all enjoyed a few more drinks and talked a lot of shit. It was a good night. When the place closed we all made our way home and me, Donna and Mills ended up drinking with the staff in the hotel toll nearly 3.30am. Finally I went off to bed!

Surprisingly I was up in time for breakfast just before 10am. The rest of last nights gang also made it out of their beds, but after they had eaten they all went back for another sleep. I was at a loose end and so followed Amanda, Barry, Mark, Isabelle and Vicky down to the lake, where they were going to get a boat. It turned out that I had made a good decision, as we had a really good time. Me, Mark and Isabelle managed to get our boat going quite well and reasonably straight, but in the other boat there were howls of laughter and sniggers as Amanda, Barry and Vicky didn’t seem to have much control of theirs!! We visited the little island on the lake where there is a small temple and loads of massive fish, fed by the visitors. Then we continued out across the lake and to a small café at the far side, where you just paddle up in your boat and leave it in the water while you go for lunch or a drink. We spent a while there, whilst Vicky plaited me a nice red bangle and I decided (Stupidly\) to run up a series of steps leading up the hill. I did quite well, but suddenly the lactic acid built up in my legs and I had to stop. It was worth the view over the lake though.

After I went back and we had finished lunch, we paddled back across the lake to hand the boats back, but by now I was feeling a little queasy – due to the beers from last night, the boat and the exertion of running up the steps. I decided to head back to the hotel for a rest.

After an hour or so I felt much better, then Lana and Kenneth invited me along to the lake, to paddle around in a boat......again. I though 'bollocks to it', and put on my swimming shorts before trekking back into town with them. Once again it was a good decision and we spent the next 3 hours paddling around, swimming and generally having a good time. Lana took loads of pictures, some good and others not so good, but I’m so glad we went back down. There was a point when about 30 locals were watching from the Island as the stupid Europeans swam round splashing each other.

After handing the boat back I headed into town to get myself some new flip-flops as my old ones were broken during the jungle trek in Chitwan. Then there was an organised meal at 7.30pm, provided by the hotel staff. It was traditional Nepalese food – rice and various dishes and was really nice. Everyone enjoyed it and then we split up and did our own thing. Becky, Laura, Frankie and the boys headed off to the Blues bar where they had a good night singing and meeting other travellers. Some of the group headed further into town to enjoy a night out and just a few of us stayed in the Hotel chatting and headed off to bed reasonably early as we were getting up before 5am the go and see the sunrise over the mountains.

Some more pics from Nepal

Me and Lisa on the back of the safari truck

Lisa and some rhinos

Awal on the elephant

Debbie on the elephant having a bath

Some rhinos - not Hippos

Going native in the jungle

The boat trip!

Fire dancing in Chitwan, Nepal

The swings are everywhere in Nepal

Nepal is ace#!!

The bus left Hotel Yeti at 9am headed towards Chitwan national park.
The new bus was pretty good as it had opening windows and good suspension, plus the roads here in Nepal are a lot better than India's. It was a good journey with a few drops of rain and a road headed up into the hills instead of the dead flat of India.
However the air-con broke down after a while and so we pulled over in the forest to fix it. Whilst the drivers were working on it, Awal and Matt started to throw rocks and stones at an old toilet by the road side. After a few minutes they were joined by me, Kenneth and Michele throwing stones across the road in between the traffic. Soon the toilet was pretty much destroyed and even more so when awal walked over the road and dropped a rock on it!!
As we drove through Nepal we saw loads of swings – Some small in doorways and other made up of 4 large bamboo sticks bent over and a log tied at the join. Some of these are 35 to 30 feet high and the kids get loads of height on them.
It was back onto the bus and we arrived at our new hotel just about lunchtime. It is called Maruni sanctuary lodge and is a series of cabins and rooms on the edge of the jungle. Lana, Kenneth and Michele had to go into the park lodge half a mile away due to there being no more room here, but we were all happy with our new home.
After a good lunch we headed off to look around a local traditional village where we saw 95 year old ladies still working, chased chickens, looked around a traditional house and saw how buffalo shit can be used to make gas to cook on.
After that it was off to the elephant sanctuary to meet the elephants we are going to bath with tomorrow and also feed a 3 month baby elephant, which was a lot of fun. Some of the group were upset to see the elephants tied up, but we are assured it is for their own protection and to stop them destroying the world!!!
Then another ride in the back of the safari truck we headed to the river where we were to watch the sunset – As we arrived at the river we passed more elephants, this time the males and they got a bit angry at us – one tried to get me with his trunk, but was tied down and couldn’t reach. ]
When we reached the river we sat open mouthed at 2 rhinos who were 15 feet away from us bathing in the cool river after a hot day. We sat and relaxed watching them for a while before riding back to the lodge on the back of the Jeep again. Me and Vicky were on the back and had a good laugh pushing each other, until I ended up wrapped around her by the time we finished!
It was now 6pm, so I grabbed a beer as did Mills and we sat outside in the humid heat drinking beer and chatting before a cultural evening of traditional dance by the locals. This consisted of a group of them dancing around with sticks getting faster as they went hitting the sticks together. It was quite spectacular and even more so when they started the fire dance. In the end the audience was invited up to join in and a few of us did – Becky, Lisa, Lana and the American lads all enjoyed themselves but came back sweating more than ever.
It was dinner after that followed by an evening of sitting around chatting. I spent a while chilling on one of the outdoor bed again, before joining in a group with Bev,Lisa, Lana, Kenneth and Michele who were chatting with Karen. Karen is the first new arrival on the bus and got here today. She seems nice and has fitted in really quickly with the group. Some people drifted off to their beds and Lana, Kenneth and Michele headed back to their separate accommodation, so I joined in with the lads and Becky, Laura and Frankie who were chatting and singing in a circle. The lads were teasing Frankie about Leopards living in Nepal and ended up making up a daft song about it. It was quite funny to hear and afterwards I still didn’t know if there are actually any Leopards in Nepal or not, but it was really good to spend a little time with the family again as it seems ages since I have done so. About 10pm I headed off to bed myself, but went upstairs to see if my hand-washing was dry. It wasn’t, but upstairs was Karen, Bev, Jaime, Mills, Donna and Lisa, who were all sat chatting and having a quiet drink. Not one to be unsociable I then joined in with them and had a good chat about the bus, the bus nicknames the good and bad points of the trip and whether I would make a better tour leader than Lana!! It was all good fun and made a nice way to finish the evening. So it was off to bed and up the next morning at 6.30.
We were due to leave at 7.30 after breakfast and head off on a boat trip along the river followed by a trek through the jungle and finally a swim and a bath with the elephants.

Day 2 Nepal/Chitwan

So we got up as expected and after a good breakfast we headed off to the river a few hundred yards away to take the boat trip. Suri, our local expert and guide started to wind everyone up about crocodiles in the water, but nobody believed him. Anyway after a gentle float for 15 minutes or so we were about 8 feet from one bank of the river when a fooking crocodile jumped out of the water and snapped at the boat. I kid you not! I swear by Eric Cantona, it was about 3-4 metres away at the most and we had disturbed it by getting too close. Everyone on our boat shit themselves and a 2nd boat behind us saw it all happen. We quickly moved away and caught up with the other 2 boats who thought we were taking the piss, but I can assure you – there are real crocodiles in Nepal.
After all the excitement we continued down river looking out for more wildlife and were surprised to come across 2 rhinos bathing in the river. It was just by the point where we were due to get out and start our jungle trek. So we carefully avoided them and split into smaller groups. Our group couldn’t have been better with me, Lisa, Matt, Awal, Debbie and Vicky and our two local guides. We headed into the jungle as the light rain started to get heavier.

Rhinos in the river

The grey blob in the centre is a Rhino charging us!

Nice day for a swim

Over the next 2 hours we got completely soaked through. The jungle turned into a mud-bath and I went a bit loco and started to apply mud as cam cream. Our guides stopped us along the way and showed us deer through the foliage and some Rhinos too. But when we saw one Rhino, it turned towards us, looked in our direction and started to run....The guides, quick as a flash made us move around and out of the Rhinos way, but it cant have been more than 50 yards away through the trees.
After that we spotted more wildlife and got even wetter, but nobody minded as we were having a great time. Even when we started to get eaten by leeches it just added to the adventure. Lisa had one, I had 3 or 4 but Matt was really tasty for them and must have had at least 10 of the little bugars sucking his blood.

All too soon we arrived back at the river and were surprised to see the two rhinos still bathing where we had left them a couple of hours earlier.

There was no boats to cross the river, so we waded through the 3 foot deep water, keeping an eye on the two rhinos just 20 metres away in the same river. It was an eerie experience, but just made the day even better. The rest of the Ozbussers had already gone back to the lodge to dry off before lunch but Barry had waited and Suri told us that unfortunately the Elephant bathing had been cancelled because of the heavy rain and the Rhinos who were in the water where we should have done it. We were a bit disappointed on the truck on the way back but happy that we had had a good morning. However when we arrived back there were 2 elephants leaving for the river and our perfect timing meant we could go along and join them!! There was only me and Lisa at first, but Vicky, Debbie, Matt, AwaL and Lana all joined us and took it in turns to climb onto the elephants and get soaked by them using their trunks. It was just ace fun and I have never seen anyone smile so much as Lisa!! We messed about in the river for a while throwing each other in and taking pictures, before it was time for the elephants to go. So we headed back to the lodge to clean up, have lunch and make everyone else jealous with what they had missed!

After lunch and a siesta we headed out again, this time for an elephant safari. I climbed onto the back of the truck again and we drove out towards the jungle.

There were about 30-40 elephants all carrying 4 people, so there was a big crowd hanging around, but our guide was all over it and we were mounted up and off in a few minutes. I shared with Bev, Lisa and Mills and as we headed out into the jungle we were followed closely by an elephant with Awal, Laura, Becky and Frankie aboard.

The safari was ace – we wandered into a clearing after about half an hour where there was a rhino mum and baby. It was amazing to get up so close and at one point we were no more than 8-9 metres away. After that we continued to wander through the jungle and crossed the river a number of times. All the time it was funny to watch the other elephants who all had different personalties – some just wandered slowly while other tried to eat anything that was there. There was one playful beast who just wouldn’t do what she was told and looked like she was having a great time. At one point our elephant driver/pilot got off for a piss and left us 4 on her! We hope she would wander off with us, bus she was well behaved and stayed till he came back.
All too quickly it was over and we got off and waited for transport back to the lodge. Me and Lisa ended up in the best place – stood on the outside of the truck at the back – as we sped back through the villages to home.

After another shower, we all met up for a ride down to the Hotel where Lana and the boys were staying for dinner. I managed to nab a ride on the back of some dudes motorbike as the truck was getting full!! The food at dinner actually had meat from a recently killed buffalo which was good as we haven’t had decent meat since before India. Then after dinner we sat down around a large fire and chatted – till we were disturbed by Puja.
Puja is the friendliest elephant here and lives right behind the hotel. She wandered right up to the group and put out her trunk to be stroked. We got a load of bananas and all fed her, before taking photos and just relaxing. She seemed to love the attention and stayed for quite a while, before her driver took her off to bed. It really was a great way to end to a brilliant day.
It was then a case of waiting for transport back to the lodge and then a quiet drink with Bev, Lisa, Jaime and Mills, before heading off to bed just before midnight.

Nepal in the morning!

Before I start todays installment, just to let you know I will be offline for the next 2-3 days while we are in Chitwan national park!These are a few piccies of the view from our Hotel just over the border here in Nepal. In the distance you can see the mountains!!!

Last night was another good one!

After dinner Liv and Michele took a few of us around the corner to where there was a local traditional festival on earlier. They had met the locals and wanted to go back to see them again, listen to the music and have another dance. We walked out and even noticed a little light rain, which was lovely. We were disappointed though as when we rounded the corner we saw that everyone had gone home. Most of the group decided to go to bed, but myself, liv and Mills hung around in the middle of the road chatting – After a few minutes a local Nepalese security guard/policeman appeared beside us and started asking where we were from, where we were staying and what we were doing. We thought we were in trouble for breaking some sort if curfew, but it turned out that he had seen us and just decided to come over for a chat. His English wasn’t too good, but Liv speaks a little Nepalese and between them we managed to understand each other. It was getting late and so when he said goodnight, we walked the 200 yards or so back to the hotel and stood outside chatting a while longer and just enjoying the calm and peace of Nepal.

Liv was due to leave the bus for a couple of days at 4am, so we all went to bed and I promised her that I would get up to say goodbye......

Back in my room, I told Barry of my plan to get up and he agreed it was a good idea and would join me. Our alarm went off at 3.30 and we were downstairs a few minutes later, ready to wave Liv off, but the Hotel receptionist told us that she had left a couple of minutes earlier on a rickshaw to wards the bus stop. I was a little disappointed, but understood that she wanted to get there on time. Typical eh!! Normally women are always late!! haahaa!!

After a few hours back in bed I woke up and looked out the window -You can see mountains in the distance and the roads are busy but quiet, there is the sound of Nepalese music playing somewhere close and the weather is a little cooler. After the madness of India, this morning is so completely different. My first impressions of people and places aren’t always right, but I can already tell that I’m going to like Nepal.

Today we leave at 9am and head the 3-4 hours to a national park called Chitwan, where we are staying for a few days. We have elephant rides, jungle treks and stay in a compound in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the animals. At night the power goes off early and there’s nothing to do but sit around chatting, drinking and mellowing out. There is no internet and we are expecting no mobile phone coverage either, so everyone will be out of touch with the world for the duration of our stay. Its going to be great!!!

new pics

Guess where

Thank fook we are in Nepal!

Leaving India

After the relaxing afternoon in the Hotel, most of us decided not to venture back to the River to see the cremations. The few that did returned later and told us of how touristic it was but that it was a good experience, but we agreed that not going was the right decision for us.

The hotel reception was full of us lot sitting around and waiting for people to arrive and go out for dinner. I sat down with Becky, Laura and Frankie and waited for Awal and Matt to arrive before heading off towards Mcdonalds and Pizza hut. But just as they arrived, so did Lisa and Donna who were off to the cash-point to get money for Nepal. They had heard of the one I found earlier and asked where it was – I knew it was just past the mall where the food places were, so told the family, that I would meet them there later. So me, Donna and Lisa had a nice walk, chatting about the bus gossip and generally mellowing out as we walked. When we arrived, the cash-point was closed, but the nice security guard told us it was being filled with money and would be open in 15minutes, so we stood and waited, chatting with the guard about England, us and his girlfriend! We then got the money after he helped the girls with the queue and headed back towards Mcdonalds. I had a nice bit of scoff in there as the girls had an ice cream and then we started back to the Hotel. We did spot the Becky, Laura and Frankie with the boys in Pizza hut, but didn’t manage to catch their eye as we left.

Lisa wanted to get some tomatoes and onions to make herself a salad for lunch so we took a short walk to the shops where she showed off her amazing bartering skills. 50 rupees down to 10!

It was then back to the hotel and after a chat with Bev, I went down to the bar.

There ended up to be about 10 of us sat down there, - David, Helen, Amanda, Chris, Mark, Barry etc and we all had a really nice mellow couple of hours chatting about India, the bus, each other and anything else you could think of. We had a 7am start in the morning, so after 3 beers and at about 11pm, I went upstairs to bedsville!!

This morning I had my alarm set for 6.15, but was woken at 10 past by a knock at the door - It was Lana, who had been scared by a massive cockroach in her bathroom and she asked if she could use mine and Kenneths to brush her teeth!!

After she left we got up and got ready, went downstairs and waited for the bus. The only breakfast we saw was juice and coffee, so everyone was disappointed until the hotel staff produced a load of takeaway boxes and bags containing fruit, sandwiches, veg pokoras and real chips!! It was the best breakfast we have had in days and as we took it onto the bus, we were able to eat it at our own pace as we travelled.

The day flew by as we chatted and slept. The only down point was when I was chatting to Bev and fixing her slow computer.... Suddenly she was hit on the shoulder by something dropping from the parcel shelf. Donna looked around and saw her laptop lying on the floor and when she turned it on the screen was cracked. Donna wasn’t happy!

I spent a couple of hours later in the day chatting to Donna about all sorts – The army, recruit troop and her college days and it passed the time well and I hope made her forget about her broken PC.

Then just about 6pm, we arrived at the Indian/Nepalese border.

The Indian immigration office is a scruffy small open building next to a busy dirty road – much like the rest of India. So after 20 minutes queuing we all had our departure stamps and got back on the bus for the 50yard drive to Nepal. We were sung over the border by Becky, Laura and Frankie with a rendition of 'Reach (For the sky)', by Sclub7, which was quite funny!! Then we all breathed a smile of relief as we grabbed our bags and left India!

After Nepal customs, we got onto our new bus, which is an old version of the old one, minus working air-con (Which we are promised will be working tomorrow) and drove the 3km to our Hotel for the night - Hotel Yeti!

The hotel is really nice and is in a small border town. I wandered around with Barry and eventually found an ATM to get some Nepalese rupees, then met up with everyone back in the Hotel for dinner. My dinner consisted of 3 beers, which is becoming a habit, but a habit I like!!

Just before dinner the power cut out and we sat in the dark for a while, but it was back on pretty soon. I had a good chat with a couple of mate on Facebook and then mellowed out with Bev'o – sister from another mister!!

Ganges pics

The ganges is not the sort of place to take many pictures for me. But heres a few showing what the experience was like.

This last pic is at the Buddha temple.

Ganges - nice place for a barbecue!

This mornings breakfast was at 8 and as I had had a good nights sleep I got out of bed and went down. However as normal with Indian timings, breakfast was late!! They told us that it would start at 8.30, so I went back upstairs and sat out in the sunshine for a while. 15 minutes later one of the staff came outside and informed us that it was ready. Back down in the basement restaurant, all the tables were against the wall and everyone had to sit with food on their laps instead of on a table. After breakfast I went back outside and sat in the sun again, reading the Hindu times until the bus was packed and we left just after 9. It was a pretty good day on the bus, looking through old photos from previous Ozbus journeys with Lana, then watching a Movie – Shutter Island, which took longer to watch than normal due to laptop batteries running out and food stops.

After lunch we finished the movie and then played a game of chicken Invaders – basically the daftest game ever where you shoot chickens, coming at you in space and dropping eggs at you., I was shite and got my arse kicked by Lana the leader. (Actually I let her win, cos its the gentlemanly thing to do.

The rest of the journey was spent with me and Bev, who was sitting behind me, staring disbelievingly out of the front window of the bus as the driver managed to get closer and closer to the oncoming trucks, bus's and cars. Every now and then I swear he actually drove directly at them, including a few cows, daring them to move out of the way before he did. Luckily we never hit anything and we arrived at our next destination of Varanisi, at just about 7pm.

After the usual search for the internet and then booking in, I grabbed a quick 20 minutes on the internet before a few of us sat down in the Hotel restaurant for dinner. I wasn’t that hungry so for the second night I had a liquid dinner! Chris did feel for me though and made me have a few mouthfuls of his chicken tikka which was lovely. We then went downstairs into the Hotel bar, where me and Liv had a good chat about life the universe, mirroring and picking up women!! Haahaa. It was a good chat and we all had a good fun time. I then went off to bed after having a laugh looking through the photos of everyone in their passports.

This morning we all got up at 4.45 and after a quick shower I headed outside to get onto the bus at 5.15. Today promises to be a strange one. We are visiting the Ganges and particularly the area where people come from all over the world to swim and cleanse themselves in the water. It was a surreal experience as we walked down towards the river through one of the dirtiest and smelliest places on earth. There were people everywhere, some selling trinkets, others getting on with their days, whilst a lot were making their pilgrimage to the river. There were animals everywhere, cows, bulls, lots of wild angry dogs and monkeys too. However, even with all this going on, we were left pretty much to do what we wanted and took photos and looked at the chaos around us.

We all boarded our boat and the two rowers started off up the river against the tide. It was an experience that none of us will forget in a hurry. The sunrise over the river was spectacular and that combined with the river and the people made it a great way to start another day. Watching the pilgrims, douse themselves in the river was just unbelievable – especially when we got towards the end of the boat trip and saw what else happens here..... Families bring their dead here and give them open cremation on the banks of the river. We stopped the boat and walked through ash and wood that had been used the previous evening, past one dead body all wrapped up and ready to be put atop the fire later today. At one point we had to stand right next to it while we waited for people to pass and you could see distinctly the white skin of her toes through the cloth. As well as the cremations, there were a number of 'things unknown', floating down the river, but as they were quite far from us, we could not see clearly what they were – but we all knew that they were dead bodies.

Back on shore, we walked through an even dirtier and unreal place than we had done on the way to the river. Frankie, with her leg still in a cast, unfortunately stepped in something rather nasty, so had to clean her cast when she got back to the hotel later. I have never imagined a place with small tight alleyways, dirt, shit, fires, animals, and so many people all trying to get through on motorbikes, cows eating and immaculately dressed kids on their way to school. Its one of those places that you do not want to go to but having been there once, I think I would go back sometime to confirm the things that we all saw.

After the trip we headed back on the bus for breakfast in the Hotel.

Breakfast was pretty good, but there was a rather strange atmosphere as nobody really talked much about the morning. After wandering around town for an hour to find a working cash-point I headed back to the Hotel and joined in the next trip out, which was to visit a Buddhist temple and gardens/excavations of the location where Buddha himself. It wasn’t the greatest of trips out, but the gardens were really nice to look at and we all enjoyed a relaxed couple of hours out, interspersed with ice creams and cold water. It was a nice way to break up the day and just after lunch we got back to the Hotel for a rest.

Some of the group had headed back into town to look around again, but I wanted to go to bed for a siesta and as Kenneth was off out to do a bit of shopping, I thought I would definitely catch up on a couple of hours sleep, but after lying down in the dark and trying to sleep over the noise of the air-con, I gave up and headed downstairs to the Hotel Lobby, where Vicky, Isabella, Barry and Chris were sitting around chatting and updating blogs etc. There was a queue for the 3 internet connections, so we waited around till we had a chance to get online.

Tonight we are thinking of going back down to the river to see the funeral fires, but we are as yet undecided as to whether we really want to see what goes on there or not.

We will probably make a decision later, but none of that really matters, because at 7am tomorrow we leave Varanisi (Very nasty) and head North to the border with Nepal, where we will spend the next 10 days or so. Everyone has experienced India – It is a fascinating place which sometimes amazes you, sometimes it disgusts you and sometimes leaves you breathless. We tried to think of one word that would describe it better than the adverts claiming 'Incredible India'. But when we thought about it, the word 'Incredible', I perfect.:-

Its incredibly, interesting, dirty, cheap, loud, smelly, beautiful, friendly, hot, dry, unbelievable. Its one of those places that you can never forget and sometime in the future, I may come back for a visit, but apart from 3 days travel to Calcutta to get the plane to Bangkok after our Nepal visit, that is India done and in the bag.

Updates

There are more photos online on picasa - Iwill update the blog later today if I get the chance!!
cheers!!

photos

Security in Delhi Metro
Bloke gets bag out of tree!

Me and Lana with the Barmy Army flag at the Commonwealth games

Me Bev'o' and badboy

The stadium

Waiting for hotel rooms in Agra

Some Taj or summat

Bev and a monster!!

Drunk at the taj

Agra monkey hotel and ther tardge.

I managed to get up easily and had a shower before breakfast- That was going well until the towel shelf fell off the wall as I took my towel. Ever the engineer, I then got out my leatherman multi tool and proceeded to fix it back onto the wall dressed in only my towel. It was then a quick pack of my kit and down to breakfast just before 6.30am. I ate quickly as everyone turned up and then left the seating area so there was room for everyone else to get some scoff.
As we left Delhi on the bus it was beginning to get busy on the roads – we saw some kind of liquid carrying talker that had spilled its load on the street and also just passed as one unlucky pedestrian was mowed down by a motorbike as he crossed the road. He stayed on his feet though as the bike rider fell off and then they stood in the road arguing about who was at fault. I think they will both be fine! The traffic got busier and busier, so I could understand why we saw so many tuk tuks with more and more people on them. I saw one with 7, then 8 people on – then one with 10 and another with 11. But I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw one with 6 people inside, another 3 hanging out of the back, 2 on either side stood on the footplate's and 1 more on the rear footplate – that’s 14 people in total, plus the driver all in one tuk tuk!! Just another day in India.
We travelled for a couple of hours and had a pit stop at what appeared to be a mixture of a service station and bazaar. There were all sorts of trinkets for sale, plus mentos and gummi bears, which were bloody expensive, but nice all the same. They also had multi lingual versions of the kama sutra which amused us for a few minutes! Outside there was a geezer with a snake and a dancing monkey in a dress – 2 weeks ago we would have been amazed at the sight, but now, as battle weary travellers, it was just a small distraction away from whether the toilets were any good and how bloody hot it is outside the bus!
We travelled onwards to wards Agra and I had a rest, but was woken by people chatting as we stopped again just after 11am. The magical golden arches of Mcdonalds had appeared by the roadside and we were all invited in to taste the delights. Most people opted for chicken burgers or fillet o fish, whilst others made do with the coffee. We know we are in India, but after 10 days of trying to find something decent to eat or making do with crisps it was lovely to have a proper hot lunch again. Plus their was free wifi, so we all managed to check up on emails and facebook, as this morning the internet in the last hotel wasn’t working.

We arrived in Agra at about 1pm and headed through town towards Hotel Alpine. We all spotted the Taj Mahal on the left as we drove down by the river and a whooooooooo, erupted from inside the bus! It was the first whooooooooo for any of the sights we have seen so far and reminded me of the whhoooooos and aaaahs that you hear at firework displays.
I had already checked up online about the Hotel and it didn’t look favourable – The hotels facilities include:- Car parking, First aid kit, Oven, Microwave and Adjoining rooms. We were therefore unsurprised when the strangely named Hotel turned out to be just as we had imagined. The rooms for all the lads, were not yet ready as the previous occupants had left their luggage and gone out for the day -so us lads had to wait nearly 2 hours till we could finally move into the rooms. They aren’t a bad size, but the sheets are not the cleanest ever and probably need throwing away. The beds are very solid and not too comfortable. However on a plus side the air-con works OK. There is also a lack of wifi, so everyone will be searching around for somewhere to connect to the net – There is a mcdonalds just 200m down the road, but that doesn’t have wifi either! Some people are going to be a little stressed out if they cant get their beloved connection to the net!
We have now settled in and I am writing this offline – Its half past 3 and we are due to meet up in 45 minutes for a tuk tuk ride across the river and to a location where you can view the sun as it sets over the Taj Mahal. Its just another day in the life of an Ozbusser.

To fill in a few minutes till we leave I thought I would add a few things about our India trip so far:-

It is weird how you see people living on the street and begging, yet right beside them are adverts for New Housing developments and apartments in Delhi with helicopter landing pads on the roof.

The commonwealth games facilities are not yet finished – but will be in time for the start of the games – in Glasgow in 4 years time.

Air conditioning is a must.

It is too easy to walk down a road and completely ignore small children as they beg for money or food. But unfortunately you cannot do anything else. If you do give them something then a swarm of others will appear. The best you can do is smile and wave, maybe shake their hands, but move on

White people are treated like celebrities – We have lost count of an now accept it freely, when the locals ask us to be in photographs with them.

Everything is trying to sell me something.

Indian time is slower than even Greek time.

Beer is a must.

Brushing your teeth with bottled water, beer or last nights rum and coke is just normal.

T shirts dry in under 4 hours.

Deodorant is a must (But not for locals, obviously)

Finally – the fine for spitting on a metro station in Delhi is 200 Rupees, but the fine for travelling on the roof of the train itself is only 50 rupees. (See photo from Day 33!) That rule sort of sums up India to a tee!


Today is Sunday. We were all up at 5.30 this morning and ready for 6am to go to the Taj Mahal. Breakfast had been asked to be sent to all rooms at 0530, but didnt turn up till we were leaving on the bus after 6. It was also shite.
We had raced to the other side of the river last night to see the Taj Mahal as the sun set. It is a great view from the other side of the river and after racing there in the fastest Tuk tuk ever – driven by Laalaa, we spent a while just watching and taking photos. We were all then planning on an early night because of the early start, but myself, Donna, Bev, Lisa and a few others had spent the evening sitting in the Hotel steps drinking beers that we had bought locally. The night had been a lot of fun and in-between scaring Bev with the creepy crawlies that we found and playing with the local dogs and mosquitoes, we had had a few too many!
So we weren’t in the best order to go and visit what is widely thought as the most beautiful building on earth. However, even with a slightly bad head we were all blown away by the Taj. It really is an amazing place and pictures don’t do it justice. Its impossible to take a bad photo of it.
We spent a while wandering around and taking photos – particularly on Princess Di's bench, where Bev was a little abrupt with the people who were getting in the way of her photograph.
It was then back to the bus and off to the fort just down the road. By now a few of us were suffering so Bev and Donna got off at the Hotel to get some well earned rest.
The rest of us arrived at the fort and spent 45 minutes wandering around and just mellowing out. Matt and Awal decided to push each other around in Frankie s wheelchair (Frankie still has her leg in a cast.) We all made it back to the bus eventually and after avoiding the hawkers selling taj mahal books, postcards and snow-globes, plus whips, we headed back to the hotel ourselves.
On arrival we all ended up in Mcdonalds just down the road, as we were in need of some food!
Someone remembered that the Formula 1 grand Prix was due to start soon and so we went back to the hotel to watch. Unfortunately halfway through the race the bloody channel went off and has not yet come back on!! This hotel is really grating me now. There is another trip this afternoon, out to another fort – Now I am all forted out, but the thought of hanging around in this dump of a hotel till everyone comes back is doing my head in, so I may well go along on the trip just to get out of here for a couple of hours. For now its time for shower!! After my shower and a bit of hand washing I went outside to relax and met up with Becky, Frankie, Bev and Jaime who were trying to ignore the local kids who were asking for food. Its really hard, but after ten days here we are all sick to the back teeth of everyone wanting to beg for things or sell you something – It is horrible to say but it just grates you. We sat outside for a while and chatted about India, the hotel and other stuff before the trip was due to leave
I went along for the trip and was glad I did. It was a small group of just 8 of us in the end – Me, Barry, Mark, Linda, Janet, Vicky, Kenneth and Lana plus the tour guide.
This morning the tour guide had told us all about his family and sons and daughters and he is such a lucky guy. He is so happy and settled – He even told us that at every meal him and his wife feed each other the first mouthful of food. Its such a nice way to begin a meal and he seems so settled and happy wit his life – In a lot of ways I am very very jealous of him.
Anyway, this afternoon Vicky spent a lot of time chatting with him as she is very interested in the normal day to day life of an Indian family. He is completely open and honest about the good things and the bad things about his country and the people and is a lovely fellah. He also loves his old Royal Enfield motorbike that he loves to ride – I am even more jealous now!
The trip itself was really relaxed, the fort we visited was OK and nice to look around, but the afternoon was just a nice relaxing time away from the Hotel Shithole.
On the way back we were stopped at a Railway crossing and me, Kenneth and Lana sat in with the driver of the coach and watched the chaos as the train passed by and then stayed in there for the rest of the journey home. I cannot believe how the coach driver didn’t kill anyone!! The roads here are better viewed from the back of the bus through dark glasses.
We went out for a bit of dinner when we got back to Agra and then it was time for an early night.

Its now another day. We were all expecting to get out of bed at 8am when breakfast was due to be delivered – But just like yesterday, the staff here at Hotel Fooking Useless, had a surprise for us – Yes, you have guessed it, they delivered breakfast early – over 2 hours early to some rooms -at 5.45am. Some people took the breakfast and went back to bed, whilst others like Bev, didnt exactly give them a warm welcome. Myself and Mark were reasonably luck y and were woke just before 7 with our offering. I had actually been up most of the night anyway, switching the air-con on and off as the room got too hot or too cold. This great hotel decides to set the air-con to whatever temp it likes and you then have the choice of on or off. Hotel for clowns strikes again! After the breakfast delivery it was then a case of getting up slowly, have a cold shower and get down for the bus at 9am. Today was very exciting as due to tax on the previous bus, we were due to get a new bus and different driver – So just before 9am, what appeared to be exactly the same bus turned up!! On closer inspection however it was a different one – It was a little cleaner and the armrests by the windows will fold up! Bonus!! Its the little things!
The journey today to Lucknow, was overall uneventful. I sat near to the back and chatted with Liv, Lisa and Millsy about Couch surfing, India and all sorts of stuff, until the first toilet stop. I did manage a 10 minute kip on a bed that was lying outside in the sun as we waited for everyone to take their turn in the single squat toilet. Then back onto the bus and on towards Lucknow for a one night stop. Everyone is hoping that the Hotel is an improvement on last night (If it has people working there instead of blind monkeys, then that will be an improvement!
Its just after 4pm and we have about 45km to go. We might be there by 6, but first we have a last toilet stop.
Whilst I waited I did what has become my normal time-waster – I found a pile of stones and a 'wicket' and spent a few minutes practising my bowling. Today’s practice was really good though as there were 3 pipes, just the same width as a normal wicket, for me to bowl at. When I hit them there was aloud clang and everyone looked around to see what made the noise. This included 3 Indian teenagers who were on the other side of a fence and they spent a few minutes watching me and giving the 'Out' finger every time I hit the wicket! It was nice to have a laugh with them and they gave me a wave and the thumbs up as we left on the bus

Delhi and Commonwealth games

After arriving in Delhi last night and just mellowing out after getting games tickets, most of us had a lie in this morning. Then we all set off in different directions - some of the group headed into town to see Delhi itself, others went to watch the Badminton or the tennis at the games. Frankie, Becky, David and Helen went to the Badminton and grabbed front row seats to see England take the bronze medal. Bev, Jaime and Live went to the tennis to see the Indian crowd boo all the other competitors. I spent an hour or so messing about with Lana's laptop and the Internet as it had gone tits up again - This is a nice hotel, but the blokes who run it aren't the brightest of buttons!! After lunch, me, Mark, Laura, Linda g0t the metro down to the stadium and queued to get in for the athletics. Unfortunately Kenneth had left his ticket in the hotel and so I had to wait with Laura to give him his ticket and the ticket we had got for Michele too. Outside the stadium stunk of sewage and there was also some bright Indian guy who, when not allowed to take his bag into the stadium, decided to throw it up a tree!!
After about 5 lots of security and bag checks, cigarettes were taken away and drink was not allowed, we finally made it into the stadium. It is quite impressive, even though it was quite empty, but the atmosphere grew as people arrived and was really good as the events started just after 5.3opm.
There were a lot of events including the 110m hurdles in which the English lads came 1st, 2nd and 3rd. When the medal ceremony started the English all went mad and we even got our faces onto the big screen in the stadium. It was a really good evening and was also enjoyed by Matt and Awal who got cheaper tickets at the end of the stadium.

The evening finished just about 8.30 pm and me, Laura and mark wandered back towards the metro station to go home - But the metro station was just one big queue and no one was moving, so we decided to walk up to the next station, but on the way we were asked by a strange man if we wanted to get a taxi - It was a great idea, as we arrived back at the hotel ten minutes later, having got the taxi straight to the door!!
I like Delhi - It is a big and busy city, but a little more modern than the rest of India that we have seen. Its a shame that we aren't here a little longer.
I'm now sitting back in the hotel lobby, waiting for bloomin Lana! She has gone out for food and has her door key on her - My beer is in her fridge and I am thirsty!! I hope she gets back soon, cos I need beer.
Its an early start tomorrow as we are off to Agra, where we are expecting an average hotel at best - But the Taj Mahal is just around the corner!!! Because we want to see it in the evening we have a 7am leave from here!!! Early night tonight I think!

Delhi - commonwealth games

After arriving in Delhi last night and just mellowing out after getting games tickets, most of us had a lie in this morning. Then we all set off in different directions - some of the groupo headed into town to see Delhi itself, others went to watch the Badminton or the tennis at the games. Frankie, Becky, David and Helen went to the Badminton and grabbed front row seats to see england take the bronze medal. Bev, Jaime and Live went to the tennis to see the Indian crowd boo all the other competitors. I spent an hour or so messing about with lanas laptop and the internet as it had gone tits up again - This is a nicve hotel, but the blokes who run it arent the brightest of buttons!! After lunch, me, Mark, Laura, Linda g0t the metro down to the stadium and queued to get in for the athletics. Unfortunately Kenneth had left his ticket in the hotel and so I had to wait with laura to give him his ticket and the ticket we had got for michele too. Outside the stadium stunk of sewage and there was also some bright indian guy who, when not allowed to take his bag into the stadium, decided to throw it up a tree!!
After about 5 lots of security and bag checks, cigarettes were taken away and drink was not allowed, we finally made it into the stadium. It is quite impressive, even though it was quite empty, but the atmosphere grew as people arrived and was really good as the events started just after 5.3opm.
There were a lot of events including the 110m hurdles in which the english lads came 1st, 2nd and 3rd. When the medal ceremony started the english all went mad and we even got our faces onto the big screen in the stadium. It was a really good evening and was also enjoyed by Matt and Awal who got cheaper tickets at the end of the stadium.

The evening finished just about 8.30 pm and me, laura and mark wandered back towards the metor station to go home - But the metro station was just one big queue and no one was moving, so we decided to walk up to the next station, but on the way we were asked by a strange man if we wanted to get a taxi - It was a great idea, as we arrived back at the hotel ten minutes later, having got the taxi straight to the door!!
Im now sitting back in the hotel lobby, waiting for bloomin Lana! She has gone out for food and has her door key on her - My beer is in her fridge and I am thirsty!! I hope she gets back soon, cos I need beer.
Its an early start tomorrow as we are off to Agra, where we are expecting an average hotel at best - But the Taj Mahal is just around the corner!!! Because we want to see it in the evening we have a 7am leave from here!!! Early night I think!

Blog special!!

We are sat in Lanas room watching telly and playing on the internet!!
I just spoke with Lanas mum on skype, she sounds cool!!! So heres a special hello to Lanas mum!!

Thats the end of todays blog! Night night! XX

Delhi and stuff

After the girls had had all their Henna tattoos – and Kenneth had had his tattoo(Frog in a sock in Hindi) We sat in the garden drinking illegal beers (The hotel has no licence so we bought beer from a local shop and hid them from the prying waiters!) and then went to a local rooftop Italian restaurant for Matt’s birthday meal.

Everyone had a good time, even though there were so many of us, that it took about 2 hours from the 1^st person to be served their food to the last person to get theirs, but I had a really good chat with Donna and Janet about life, the universe, jobs, the past and the future and eventually when everyone had eaten we sang happy birthday for Matt as his cake was brought out.

The evening was a great success and I think everyone had a good time – So Happy Birthday Matt!

Myself, Lana and Kenneth were the last to leave (After checking out the sexy poster in the toilets!) and wandered the 100 yards or so back to the hotel. When we got there, we saw Frankie, Becky and Vicky, plus others in the garden, with used Mcdonalds wrappers!! Frankie had hurt her ankle last night and decided before the meal to get it checked out at the local hospital. Becky and Vicky had accompanied her to help out. Frankie was now sat with a pair or crutches and her lower leg in a cast. I hope her injury is not too serious and that she is back on her feet sometime soon as I know haw painful a dodgy ankle can be. But at least she is being looked after well by Nurse Becky and Nurse Vicky, so we know she is in good hands. After a chat about the injury, I said my goodnight and went up to my bed.

Time is definitely a healer - Yesterday, I was pissed off with India and the bus – The roads were terrible, the food was a bit random, the hawkers wouldn’t leave me alone and the weather was just too hot – But its amazing what a day can do. I had a really interesting and fun morning looking around the sights of Jaipur – I had a really good afternoon shopping for Sunglasses, cake and shoes with Lana, it was a normal afternoon, like you would have at home, just messing around trying on sunglasses and comfy women’s sandals. It was really nice to be normal for a few hours! I went online and got tickets for the Commonwealth games and I had a really good night celebrating Matt’s 27^th birthday. It goes to prove that sometimes you really should just go to bed as you never know what the next day holds!! Tomorrow its a 9am start and a long journey to Delhi, where me Lisa and Awal started at the airport in India last week. I’m really looking forward to it now and I know I’m going to sleep well tonight!!!

Its now the next day again and we are in Delhi – The journey was uneventful apart from helping Lana create a spreadsheet to add up all her sums for monies in and out – amazingly it all worked out perfectly – unlike the crosswords we then did which we had to cheat a little on to get all the answers.

After arriving in Delhi and booking into the Hotel Oscar I went to the Commonwealth stadium with Becky and David to pick up tickets for tomorrow nights athletics and for them to get tickets for the Badminton. The underground train system here in Delhi is really good – Its clean and fast – the only problem is that there are so many people on it that you inevitably end up with your head in someone’s armpit! But everyone is really friendly and helped us find our way to the stadium.

When we go there we were greeted by the sound of cheers and the noise of the Australian national anthem as a medal ceremony took place inside. We really cant wait till tomorrow to be part of it all. Its a pity we aren’t in Delhi a bit longer, as the city looks really cool and we are going to end up spending most of the day at the games – but it is a once in a lifetime type of event.

Back at the hotel I gave the tickets out to the others who wanted them – and arranged to meet up with them all in the morning. Then it was a task to find some beer and mellow out for a while updating my blog and watching resident evil on telly.

Its been another good day – Delhi looks great and so far has exceeded my expectations – I’m loving the bus again!!