Shimla has always been on my wish list now I'm not so sure! All makes for a brilliant read, brave girl I would have had socks and tucked in my trousers in them. jantie

Although the monkey in pic 51 isn't to happy with you, he's givin you the finger

... yes jantie i did put my big manali bed socks on I have to admit

so you saw it as well then.................

Although the monkey in pic 51 isn't to happy with you, he's givin you the finger

Well I just had to go and have another look, my goodness you had to be looking very close to see that one!!

Chilly have we got to the end?

ahh sorry miccie!!! no not yet just been caught up... will be doing the next installment
chilly

oh good, something to look forward to

Good Chilly, hurry up cos we are all waiting

Great I can't wait!

There's more to come Fantastic, I can't wait for your next installment as it's been a brilliant adventure so far.
As others have said, I am not sure if we could do it but it has been great reading about your journey and experiencing it "second hand" so to speak Fizzy

so here goes!!!
Yoga, Meditation and Ashrams.... thats swargashram Rishikesh, India

i think I last wrote as we were about to leave Shimla for Rishikesh, we didnt get to bed till very late and had only a couple of hours as we had to be up at 3am to catch the 5am bus, this meant walking the 45 minute walk downhill to the bus station, downhill includes a thousand steps or so it seemed!! we paid a little Kashmiri man to carry both the big backpacks for us, i felt really sorry for him!! but we wouldnt have managed and Mick had been pretty unwell when he got up, throwing up etc I felt so sorry for him too but we had no choice but to get this bus as we didnt want to stay here longer and there are no tourist buses from here to Haridwar.

when we arrived there (bus station) it was absolutely buzzing and loads of people hanging about, sleeping everywhere on the floor under blankets, on cardboard .... kids included it was all a bit daunting... especially as still dark, this was just a local bus and ours was , for some reason the only luggage that got put on the roof, so Mick had to stand outside and keep an eye on it while i grabbed the seats..once again everyone was straring at me quite intimidating when mostly very poor men and in the dark and early hours!!!... but when i realised what seats we had (right up front BESIDE the driver!!! deadly!!) i did what those people had done to me on the last bus and just sat in somebody elses!! i then just pretended to be asleep as people were getting on and prayed!! as it happened most just seemed to be poor working types who couldnt care less where they sat and i didnt get shifted..........but we had told the man when we booked what seats we wanted and as ever he just agreed and did something completely different! .happens constantly...

The drive was the most uncomfortable yet we had tiny seats were totally squaushed and i had to hold onto the seat across the aisle all the time as i was getting thrown everywhere, Mike was in the window seat as he was feeling rough,and it was much the same for him except he got pushed against me!!! it was an awful journey and went on for ever.... it actually got us there after about 11/12 hours i think and we then had to grab the next bus from Haridwar to Rishikesh which we were so lucky with, as we had no hanging about and after another hour we were there.....just about!!! we were dead on our feet!!

We had to get from where the bus dropped us to Swargashram that meant a tuk tuk part of the way, then on foot, crossing the suspension bridge, which means literally pushing your way through hoards of people and bikes,the actual town of Swarg ashram is traffic free (apart from bikes but not hundreds of them as is usual) but believe me the people are en masse... hoards of them and their baggage..going in every direction... so once across the long bridge, on foot, hot and very very tired we started heading for our first choice of hotel... it seemed like miles, and of course having to push all the time and again everyone pointing and staring.....we were surprised we didnt see many Europeans and expected to see more here..but those we did see seemed mostly to have become 'space cadets'!!!......and were walking round looking more indian than the Indians!!! its a great place to people watch!!

I was strutting along next to this ol' guy pushing a metal cart whom i asked the way, he didnt speak much English but got the gist, and he kept telling me .. keep going keep going, straight straight....... and eventually i cottoned on that his (empty) cart is for carrying peoples baggage (and fat Indians who cant manage the walk and so get on with the bags!!see picture!!) LOL so i asked him in Hindi...how much? he told me 20 rupees and i just dumped the backpack in the cart!! but then i had to get him to understand i wanted to wait for Mike who had lagged behind...so i realised the price would of course go up!! ..... but didnt care!! I was just dreading the usual traipse round dozens of places looking for half decent rooms!!

yes!! its clean!!
We had decided after the horrors of Shimla, to get somewhere a little better if possible this time, even if it meant paying a bit, splashing out even!! haha .... as we needed somewhere we could really relax and unwind after the terrible and upsetting news about my friend that I was still trying to come to terms with, so at the first hotel I was told no room but directed to one nearby... i asked prices and asked to see the most expensive, well i looked at all actually, but knew which i was going to take.............I just could not believe our luck this time... the God's were with us for sure ....... it was so funny when we were checking in, as the porter took our luggage up to the room and came down and i was going to go up as i guessed he had left the door of the room open, and i said as much to the manager.... 'Dont worry mam, your bags are safe' he said in dead earnest 'there are all foreigners here, no Indians' !!!!!!! we couldnt stop laughing this seems to happen all the time, despite them being indians themselves...so odd!! same another time when i had said to a member of staff about how noisy a child was and what bad parental control and he just loked at me and said 'Indians mam' !!! he was again Indian! Durrr????

love it!!
.......The room was fantastic, so so clean and all properly laid out!! as in it had a wardrobe and mirrors in the right places and drawers and side lights TV, everything...all working!! and all maintained pretty much!!!! infact I would class it more mid /upper range than Budget!! especially for India where whatever star you take it rarely meets expectations unless its Delhi or somewhere and equal to UK prices!!

This was fab!! just what we needed...........buckets of hot water.....that for once flowed in force from a decent shower and didnt come from a bucket!! and a clean tiled bathroom ...AND ROOM SERVICE!! at the same prices as outside!! so we had hot showers and ordered some food ....got out the ipod, put on some music, ordered 2 ginger, honey lemon drinks,.. and didnt move...we just needed to eat and sleep.... just relaxed..I did some yoga and meditation and it was so nice to feel clean and warm again!! the views from the window are magnificent and we also have a neem tree we can see from window which is very auspicious (and healing) I believe.................and a fresh and clean bed.......bliss!!!!!!!!!! and all for 600 rupees a night, (seven pounds 50 stirling ) we had been prepared to pay a lot more and were pleasantly pleased!!..........and yes, we still have monkeys everywhere outside to watch, infact one big chap came right up to our windiw today and put his hands to his brow to shade the sun and looked in at us!!!

I knew as soon as I arrived in this place that i was just going to LOVE it ..........Wonderful Rishikesh........its not everybody's cup of tea but it does it for me........... This is very much the 'real India' and lies at the foothills of the Himalayas along the banks of the sacred ganges, it is known as gateway to the Himalayna shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri ........... ..........everything in Hindi not English and this is a very holy and spiirtual place, where the ganges starts, and it is the Capitol of Yoga and meditation in India..... popular with pilgrims and holy men alike.........everywhere you look are Sadu's and beggars and sellers..... loads of crazy looking people... the place oozes atmosphere and charm... I feel totally in love with it and that was before i even left the hotel!!

The yoga movement really took off here in the 1960's when the Beatles came here to find their Guru the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, it has an underlying air of total calm and well being, a spritual feel and an aura about it...of course the usual things to irritate..!!!~ flies, smells!!! this internet which wont allow me to download photos!!etc etc BUT hey, thats India!!!~
just a short blog for now....more to come soon on Rishikesh....

I've been waiting for the next chapter, it's like a book that you just can't put down.

glad you got a nice hotel, and all mod cons, must have seemed like heaven under that shower.

Sorry to hear mike wasn't well, must have been a nightmare on the bus.

looking forward to more pictures and the next chapter.

cheers chris xxx

thanks Chris glad its not boring you neber know with these things when you write them !!great to know peole are enjoying it as much as we did
chilly

who could not enjoy it Chilly?

So glad I bumped up brilliant chapter, the room looked postively luxurious compared to the previous!
Keep it coming Chilly, it certainly is bringing Goa evey closer, roll on Christmas!!

nearing the end guys!!!! heres the next installment!
Rishikesh, Peace, detox & our Spiritual Journey ..
Rishikesh, India

So where have the days gone since we came here?? its been ages, I just don't know......... this trip has gone from just a journey to a bit of a 'spiritual' journey now too...........its quite amazing........ are we all looking for something else in this life?? probably..............and maybe i have found some spiritual enlightenment being in this crazy and holy place, where civilisation and normality seem so far away.

I think it all started when we got here and i started doing yoga and meditation again and found i was really managing to lift myself somewhere very much nicer than here .... not as in Rishikesh, .... but as in what goes on in our lives and heads at times!! I was trying to send positive energy to my friend and must have been very determined because found myself going easily into a 'spiritual sleep' (as Mr Gupta, our yoga guru from last year, told me its called) with little effort, he would be proud of me its been quite an experience..NO I am not going crazy!!!!! really!!!!!

So on our first trip out and about we decided to just walk around and explore and how nice having no traffic for once......plenty of cows .... Im not scared!! but no cars!!....we have been stunned at not only the size of the Ashrams here but how beautiful and peaceful they are inside...... ......they are adorned with temples and huge statues of Hindu deities, there is chanting, yoga, singing and music everywhere you go its just wonderful to stop watch and listen....and they appear clean!!...although i did say to Mike in some ways walking round the the larger Ashrams, which are mostly full of Indian families/pilgrims etc reminds me of giant holiday camps (in the layout) from the 50's/ 60's in the UK and you half expect to hear Hi-de hi!!!.... lol.........

I am drawing even greater attention here again for some reason re my 'Fan club'!!! (Victoria Beckham eat your heart out!!)
the women run and grab their husbands and their friends once they spot me and all come and point and stare, BLATANTLY!!!!!
I can see it happening now, got wise!! I might be sat in a restaurant or in a shop and see someone walking past and back again about half a dozen times just to have a good nose at me then the person and their friends stand outside and stare for a bit or all come in and i know its because they want to make contact!!!! ( I was thinking of asking the restaurant/shop managers for commission!!)

or i catch the eye of someone spotting me as we walk and say to Mike 'here we go, prepare yourself' then sure enough a crowd starts to gather and eventually one of them (knowing a little English) becomes daring enough to speak to me (whats your country? what is the purpose of your visit?) and after that its mayhem!! the flood gates are open and they all have a go, I just cant escape, then one asks 'just one photo please' to which i can hardly say no, they are so pleasant about it and harmless but once one takes one it just doesn't stop and becomes a road blocking photo shoot, all jostling to be the one standing beside me in the pic.... I should feel flattered but somehow I think i am more a novelty come oddity rather than a celebrity haha fancy that!!
......often i have noticed the men get so excited as I am pointed out to them that they exude these grunting noises......... most strange, like they just cant help it!!! ..... they all form a big crowd........ touching & poking me and pinching my cheeks (like old aunties used to do when you were a kid!!) most irritating!!!! they tell me i am 'Cute' and I have also become every girl under 16's 'chilly auntie'!!!!!!!!!!! as once they know my name it is...'bye chilly auntie' ...... or 'hi chilly auntie'!!! every time they come across me which they seem to do repeatedly,..(again!!and again!!) .the term 'auntie' and 'uncle' are used commonly in India by young people to their elders as a sign of respect........ they also (the kids/teenagers) try to surreptitiously catch up and walk beside me and glance back at their friends very smugly....... tittering and chuffed for some obscure reason.........I have tried to analise what it is exactly that they find so interesting, it cant be my clothes as i dress very 'Indian' rather than western as it is more practical and comfortable..... and it could be the blonde hair??!! nah!!! I think it has to do with my crazy jewelry,(most of which is Indian or Tibetan!!) i know here they particularly find my cobra necklace and cobra amulet fascinating and this could be to do with the fact that Shiva the God is associated with the snake/cobra ..........however, it can become a bit tiresome and i try not to be rude as they mean no harm and often declare it has made their day to meet me (haha) but I want to scream at times (see stressy photo 'enough is enough!!) I do flip at Mike occassionally when it all gets too much, and my smile in the photo shoots gets a bit plastic after a while!!!! I have decided i am rather glad i never decided to become a super star as its very irritating being observed constantly!! you certainly cant slip off in the bushes if u need an unexpected pee or something with all eyes on you!! LOL Mick has now taken to taking pics of them taking pics of me!!!!just for a change!!

I was speaking to the hotel manager about it and he says most of these people visiting here just come from remote villages and simply have never seen a 'white' person (face on in the flesh!!) .......add to that the fact i am a little unusual!!(read 'odd' 'eccentric') and i suppose you have the answer... but they mean well and are friendly and harmless so 'what to do'!!

We walked up to where the Beatles Ashram was/is, it was quite amazing and nostalgic.... we got to the gates and as we had been told quite correctly if you wait there a few minutes a guy turns up on the inside and tells you you cant come in as it is now closed to the public and belongs to the forestry commission..... so you look a little disappointed and he tells you 'well maybe if you pay a few rupees'!!! surprise surprise eh!! so then the bartering starts...he wanted a few 100 rps but we ended up paying a lot lot less!!!!
once we were inside he locks the padlock again and disappears till you want to get back out....
i have to say it was very eerie but very fascinating, the whole place is totally deserted as the Maharishi mahesh yogi went to live in Europe and got into Feng sui and apparently then discovered his ashram here was on the wrong side of the Ganges in an inauspicious place, he then no longer wanted it and handed it over to the Forestry Commission, there are houses everywhere very strange little concrete and pebble type tipi's that look like a bee hive and have a fire and chimney (hole in the ceiling/roof)
presumably where people stayed and meditated?? there are shrines and alters and the massive accommadation places like blocks of flats for people to stay in (once upon a time)

We couldn't help wondering which house or houses the Beatles had stayed in all those years ago, it felt great being there, like being a part of the history of it all quite surreal, the maharishi's place (or what we took to be it) was huge and quite magnificent, the scenery was stunning and through lying empty it has become a huge nature reserve...... all the ashram buildings are deserted and empty and the place is quiet and peaceful and like a ghost town, we walked for ages and in some ways it was not dissimilar to walking in Somerset, very green and beautiful, until we came across a big wild elephant Pooh !!! ..massive..... and i then got cold feet and decided i was too scared to continue further, much to Mikes annoyance, i just kept looking all around me nervously expecting a tiger, elephant or suchlike to appear, after all, when we were on safari in Nepal it was much the same surroundings and all looked normal and countrified until suddenly a rhino or elephant appeared!! but then we had a jeep and a guide!! this was my reasoning anyway and despite Mick pleading with me that these animals wouldn't appear in daytime or would rather hide from us i was adamant!!!! utterly terrified and no way was i going on although in truth i would have loved to have seem more. I also think this feeling had been aggravated by the hotel manager on our first night here telling us not to venture right (as in not to turn right) out of the hotel at night towards the hills and open country as there are tigers and elephants about and there have been incidents .... eeek I was shocked but he was deadly serious and we didn't need telling twice!! so we cut our visit short for which i admit to being a total coward and party pooper!!....

Rishikesh being a holy place means that MEAT< FISH< EGGS and BOOZE are prohibited and unavailable ....... so we are having a good ol detox!!! we have eaten in Chotiwala a few times, well loads of times actually!! this is like a giant Indian version of McDonald's, and has funny little fat men all painted and dressed up, sat on high thrones outside as a bit of a gimmick ....to encourage patrons i think, (see pic)
they serve fast food consisting of Thali's and Masala Dosa's etc...wonderful, Dosa's are made by special Dosa chefs and are a very large thin crisp pancake type things in differing sizes, that are rolled and inside is a mix of spices, potato etc with dips, very enjoyable (you can get them in Goa too) and a thali for those of you that don't know is a very large plate with small dishes all round the outside, the numbers of which vary according to which price or type of thali you order, I have been having the Chotiwala special and it's huge!! and cost the grand sum of 120 rps (£1.44) you get rice, dal, veg curry, pickle, popadoms, chapati a sweet dish for dessert and loads of other little dishes containing i am not sure what!! some of which are great the others a yellow or brown blob!! ..... they also come round with a big ladle and metal bucket and top u up every now and then, (see pic McDonalds!! aka Chotiwala) although i refused this second helping due to the fact i am so full .... but the many Indians seem to really put it away and have repeated helpings!! they also do our very best favourite 'ras malai' a 'sweet' sweet which we ate loads of in Kashmir.... scrummy ..... we do get some funny looks when we leave anything, which is often because its sooo filling, as if the food was not good and they ask us..'no good, no good??' we enthuse about it, but i don't think they believe us!!! our average meal including desserts costs approx 230 rps (£2.77) Just like the UK eh!!! and we just love this place ....

We have however also lived on fresh juices and shakes!! we found a wonderful juice bar in the 'market' called 'Ashirwad' it is run by 5 brothers and is kept really clean, especially considering it is just 'open fronted', as in a mere lean too affair and backing onto the river Ganges.... they do every juice /shake/lassi imaginable, our favourites being Chico shake for me, mango shake for Mike and lots of pineapple and mixed fruit juices and lassi's for both of us .. we order 3 at a time!!! ..... and at 15 and 20 rupees (17 -20 pence!!!) a throw what can i say but what a bargain!!!! LUSH!!!!!!!!!! we spend hours here devouring copious amounts.

There is loads of Italian food here, pastas, pizza's etc which is ok and all freshly cooked but we have found that many of the restaurants including our hotel appear to have identical menus...and i mean identical like even tthe picture and name on the front!!, which can get a bit tedious, there is also a funny musty smell in some of the restaurants that i find very nauseating and i often have no appetite at all lately and you have to make yourself eat, although the veg crepes have been good and the roast potatoes with melted yak cheese are yummy!! but i have to admit (hide my head in shame!!) I have been eating a lot of good ol' baked beans on toast!! goes down easily, haha .... to be honest i have lost quite a lot of weight since travelling, most travelers we meet are the same, all skin and bone!!! its difficult at times due to being on buses and long journeys etc to eat and in some places the menus are same same, dal and rice etc and after 7 mths curry can get a little boring and unappetising, so I have been trying to fatten up a bit whilst here and have been eating huge bowls of rice pudding...mmm... my favourite and all covered in nuts and spices.. delicious... and the paneer (cheese) tikka masala is also good... whilst Mick has been having banana honey pancakes for breakfast everyday!!!

We have done some great walks and trips whilst here, one being to lakshman Jhula at the other side of the Ganges and also to see many temples....they have cars here unlike Swarg Ashram and strange looking taxi's ....talk about overload, understatement!! they cram masses of Indian tourists inside, when we asked how many were in one of them we were watching with amusement (for ages) we were told 18!!! i really could not believe my eyes nor could Mike as this seems utterly impossible but my goodness to watch them getting in you would think it was the size of the Albert Hall inside!!!

If you follow the Ganges along past lots of small ashrams, you come to small beaches and the water is really quite clean unlike the Ganges in Varanasi. We love the daily puja here each afternoon evening, (see pics) an emotive and colourful affair when everyone gathers on the main ghat (the ghats are like steps leading down to the Ganges, there are many of them along the river) and music and singing takes place and a service/ceremony, to the backdrop of a huge statue of Shiva, its really amazing to watch, i think the photos give a better insight although they cannot capture the engaging and spiritual atmosphere and smells of incencse ...

the other thing they cannot capture is the horrendous number of flies in this place, truly i have never seen anything like it, its dreadful, Infact Mike was taking a picture of me the other day and i kept brushing them off me, but obviously not too successfully, as there was a fly on the end of my nose in one pic ...can you believe it!!? ......GROSS!!!

There are Sadus and deformed and crippled beggars everywhere, they are also sitting in lines in their orange robes as you walk down the hill from the ATM!! .. not by coincidence or chance i don't suppose!!! holding their hand out or their little tin cans!! mostly we only give money to those who have disabilities or those who are trying to earn it by entertaining you, although one day we did have fun giving everyone in the line some rupees, I know of course many of them are taking the mick maybe, but hey i give them a knowing smile and they know I know!!!! but one poor old couple .... (I say old although a small child is often with them, maybe they just look old, often the case here sadly) .... tugged at my heart strings as i passed them each day, she plays drum to earn a crust, they just looked so sad and downhearted (and so would i be frankly with their life) he is blind and plays an instrument whilst she plays a Bongo in the blazing sun all day, they dont beg as such ie they don't call after you or stick their hands out but when i gave her some rupees her smile brought tears to my eyes and gladdened my heart it was so warm and genuine and thankful.... every day after that she would smile at me gently as i passed.... what a terrible life, they may quite simply have fallen on hard times through circumstance who knows.....

I also liked and admired the young girls and women who cooked the popadoms to sell over an old can with a small fire in it ...fanning the fire with the poppadom as it cooked..hour after hour.. so resourceful ..... and the young girls cooking sweetcorn over a fire which they fanned by turning a small handle constantly, always ready with a smile and a hello whether or not you gave them any business.... a tough life compared to ours,
then unlike Goa where the sugar cane sellers press the juice by machine, here they had to squeeze it by hand by turning the press handle manually, hard work with small rewards but at least they have some self respect. How fortunate it made us feel and how humbled at times. Then the small kids working for a living, often unbelievably young, helping in cafes and 'restaurants' collecting empty cups, plates or wiping tables or cleaning floors, or walking the streets collecting rubbish and many times we witnessed kids going through stinking rubbish bins looking for food. I don't suppose our kids in the west would survive here for more than a day...if that!!!
Once again we have bumped into various travelers whom we have met previously in other places a couple of Israeli guys from daramasala, (Hi Avishai!!! said i would mention you!!) and the American guy and many others..pld and new.. its great catching up and hearing their tales.....

I have bought loads more books here as they are so cheap and sent them back to the UK (so cheap also to send 80 rps a kilo ... £1) and also done a great deal of reading, mostly books written by spiritual teachers on Yoga and meditation and suchlike.

One book in particular I kept hearing people ask for in Mcleoud Ganj, when i was browsing the bookshops, and it aroused my interest, as due to its apparent popularity it had sold out there, i noted the details and managed to get it here and i have found it very interesting and inspiring.... 'The Power of Now' by Eckhort Tolle ... this guy was a manic depressive (had been for years) and was contemplating suicide when he discovered this theory that has completely altered his life......remarkable stuff...... a fascinating read .... but i sent it back home before finishing it so shall look forward to that when i get back to the UK. didnt risk sending them to Goa as thought they might not arrive!!

We have stayed here so long we have (after a lot of bartering!!) managed to reduce our hotel rent to 550 rps a night!!! £6.64 ... what a buzz!!! I just loove getting a 'deal'..but this place has been really relaxing and calming and the additional time has i think been well spent by both of us. I have never slept so much and so well in years!!!! and we have both really relaxed and chilled down.

Its also been good to be away from all those things that clog our systems... meat, booze etc not that we are great meat eaters (or drinkers) at the best of times.... especially so when travelling as we do tend to avoid meat and stick mostly to veggie dishes incase of illness, but we have had the odd chicken dishes here and there en route.... and lots of eggs so maybe this will have done us some good!!?? who knows!

So after longer than expected we have now booked our bus ticket to Delhi ....the tourist bus again... aha this should be interesting judging by past experience!! 250 rps each (£3) it will take about 8 hours i think, it should be 6 hrs but we have been told to allow 8 to 10!! terrific...!! we have been unable to get a train ticket and could chance hanging around in Delhi but have decided to fly from there to Goa instead to save all the hassle, although i think we will have about 8/9 hours to kill at the airport.... have booked a flight with Kingfisher for about £50 each.... ahh luxury!!

We have had a few very very scary incidents whilst here...(aside from the elephant pooh!!) the first a 'mad cow' !!! we were walking to a temple and passed some cows on the road and suddenly one of them started to go absolutely crazy!! he was leaping in the air, kicking his legs like a bucking bronco, seriously it was awful then he was charging and running and we were petrified he would attack us as we had to get past him, i have never seen anything like this before and the villagers seemed nervous too... but the worst incident has to be the day we were leaving, we went back to our hotel to collect our luggage before catching the night bus and noticed hundreds of monkeys hanging about threateningly outside the hotel, we managed to get in but were then trapped and could not leave, apparently one of the baby monkeys touched both wires overhead and was electrocuted , the hotel porter had been sitting outside on a chair nearby and the big monkeys took it into their head that he had killed the baby... this resulted in them all gathering and hissing and swiping and baring their teeth and they were actually coming up to the glass hotel doors and trying to get us.... there was us and three hotel staff in the foyer , the porter had a large stick and was raising it to them but they weren't scared and obviously wanted blood, so he would have to dash back in for cover, every time someone came along, innocently walking past, the manager had to shout a warning to them and they had to backtrack for fear of being attacked....It was absolutely terrifying and we were panicking because we thought we would miss our bus but no way could we venture out!! eventually after some time things calmed down, i think some brave local retrieved the dead baby and moved it away.

So for now.... thats all Folks!!
this has actually been the very worst place for internet access and they wont let you download /upload anything, .... photos etc not a USB port in sight at any of the internet cafe's as they say it has in the past increased their internet bills?? the keyboards are a nightmare as the keys have missing letters and all stick causing spelling errors and keep hanging every two mins and the places stink of B.O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! seriously, LOL ....so apologies that this blog is a little uninteresting and rushed in places but its a case of type as fast as poss or lose it all!!!..and get the hell out!! I will therefore update and load all my pics in Delhi or Goa...................
lots a love chilly xx

Chilly
I can feel your deep respect and admiration, but must of all your love of India, and it's people. Your journey has made me realise what a great privilege it is, to be welcomed into another culture, and spend time in it, especially one so rich, diverse, and illuminating.
Its been a pleasure to read, you are a born storyteller, and I'm sure it's not just your " wacky " way of dressing that draws the people to you, but your natural warmth.

Best Wishes lassi x

ps - Amazing photos especially of the people

well hello 'posh' chilly

would love to have seen you trying to get around, with your crowds of admirers, if they were amazaed at your chubby chops lol, what would they have made of posh and her shoes.

So you've had a bit of a detox before you head home in comfort for a honey bee.

Wonderful as usual,

do you pay local rate or do they charge you tourist rate, in Chotiwala,

can't wait for the next, instalment.

...yes quite a scream!! local rate in chotiwala ... and such a bargain i just loved their food ...come on Chris now would i ever pay tourist rate ANYWHERE!! squeek squeek!!....well not knowingly anyway!!
chilly