Living it up

And so we come to the final chapter of the Indian adventure..... (sob). As it was such an epic journey it had to end with a big finish. Leaving the ashram was like a breath of fresh air as I felt so refreshed and happy. I understand the way the ashram experience has this powerful effect on you . It goes like this...... if you can learn to be at ease with the simplest thing, in this case it was listening to the sound of my own breathing for an hour straight (twice per day) for A WEEK and chanting 'aummm' over and over again, everything else in the world becomes so much more interesting and appealing! Once you can be content with something that is so unstimulating, you become so much more enthusiastic about anything that is better than that (which is everything).

Apparently I sound like a real hippie because I'm so happy and laid back about everything as I appreciate everything more now which is why it was a great experience. But the night before I left the ashram, I became a rebel! It was my final Satsang(chanting and meditating session) that I was supposed to attend, but I realised that about 8 girls in my dorm had stopped going. I'd been to every one before that so decided that it wouldn't be that bad to miss the last one.

I felt like a naughty school kid, but it was actually so much fun, way more than Satsang! I did enjoy seeing Satsang and attempting to join in at the start of the week but the more I went, the more of an endurance challenge it became. So I bunked and spent the evening giggling away, taking the piss out of the chants we'd learnt and joking about how much we were 'missing out'. Even better I made some contacts in the outside world. I got quite friendly with an American girl (Diane) and an English girl (Suzanna) that were travelling together and we talked alot to two Indian women who hadn't done a great deal of yoga by the sounds of it, but were very friendly and invited us to stay with them.When we left we we stayed with Shalini, who lives in Trivandrum ,which is near the ashram with her family. She was very kind and took us out for a much needed meal in a restaurant. We were so incredibly happy to be able to pick what food we wanted to eat for ourselves. We made sure we ate lots of different types of cake to make up for the food we had been missing out on and it was heaven to be able to eat something with flavour in it! Plus we got an authentic home cooked Indian breakfast in the morning which tasted amazing.After that I headed alone to Varkala, a really nice beach at the bottom of a huge cliff face that is lined with bars and restaurants. I decided that as I probably won't be able to swim in the sea for a long time that I should make the most of it. I spent 3 days chilling out, being quite happy to be by myself (I had gotten so used to it so quickly which suprised me). I just wanted to lie on the beach, swim (or more like jump as the waves are so strong) and eat nice food. I went to a few roof top yoga classes but got put off by a pervy Indian yoga instructor who seemed to a very 'hands on' teacher and was happy to help 'adjust' my positioning. I started to get the idea that he was getting off on this and getting paid for the pleasure of doing it so I quickly stopped going.I then whizzed up the coast to go back to Fort Kochin, where I had already been to meet back up with Diane and Suzanna as we got along so well. We headed there as we'd been invited to stay and go out to an Indian club by Tessa (the other Indian woman that we met at the ashram). Ironically staying in an ashram for a week and being in yoga boot camp, where I was deprived of my creature comforts, inadvertently opened up a world of partying and excess. India is indeed the land of polar opposites, so it seems fit that I endure a week of austerity, hardship and personal growth followed by a few days of excess and letting go with some new Indian acquaintances.

During the day Tessa took us to a huge sari department store that was packed full of people and colours so that we could experience true Indian shopping. I was convinced that I wasn't going to buy one but then shopping fever swept over me when I saw how much beautiful material you could buy for so little money. I realised that I could use a sari as a huge wall hanging and ended up by two for about £16. Bargain! She also took us to a really busy gold store where wealthy Indian families were shopping for wedding jewelery. Suzanna got her nose pierced by an Indian who rammed the stud through with his bare hands without prior warning!
That evening we visited Tessa's flat which is a modern, suave, top floor apartment where she lives with her husband. It had amazing views, really nice furniture and was very trendy. It was like being back in the modern world again, living like we do at home, if not even more luxurious. She was so kind and let us raid her wardrobe to find clothes that we could wear out as ours were so scruffy. She took us out to a bar/club, that could easily have been in England, apart from the crowd of Indian faces. It was so strange as in this little bubble of Indian society it was okay for women to have bare shoulders and for everyone to be drinking which is frowned upon by so much of the country. We had a little dance, got introduced to lots of Indians and we didn't pay for a single drink as Tessa is friends with the bar owner. We just got handed shots and cocktails from no where, we found it hilarious :-)
The next day we were in for more treats as we were taken to a lunchtime event where we were given lots of free food. There was a white theme, so once again Tessa lent us all clothes, that didn't stay too white, and we were taken to a spot along the back waters of Kerala that was very pretty. Amusingly Tessa's brother in law (nice, bit of a show off!) asked us whether we would like to go on a speed boat. We were like 'yeah!!!!!!'. It was so much fun, we felt like high flyers on out boat mingling with the creme de la creme of Indian. Everyone I talked to seemed to own something of importance, a wildlife sanctuary, a hotel chain, an art gallery. It was crazy, what a different world to end up in.So those were a crazy few days but so much fun. I feel so lucky to have seen so many sides of India in such different ways. The last couple of days I was alone in the city of Bangalore ,which was pretty boring by myself. But it was good as it made me sober up to the reality of going home so that I could mentally prepare myself for adjusting to real life. Now that I am back I am still very happy and just want to do it all over again. So going on another big trip is my aim and funnily enough now I would even be brave enough to go away alone as I have overcome my fear of being with myself. I'm not so bad afterall ........!

Life at the Ashram

After the high of hiring a houseboat, things calmed down a little. We stayed in Fort Kochin, on the coast of Kerala, for a few days as the group slowly departed ways. It felt like the end of an era, even though it was only for ten days that we were together. I needed to decide on my next move, which came in the form of an asana (thats a name for a yoga pose), infact several asanas.On and off throughout my travels I have been going to yoga classes which are easy to find everywhere in India to help travellers with their 'spiritual journey', or for those held in the beach areas, to give you a good 'bikini body'! So I decided that as time was running out it would be good to do some sort of intensive yoga course to give myself a challenge and to get better at yoga so that I continue when I get home. For me, the ashram that I went to did this and more, it certainly made me appreciate everything that I have.

I went to the Sivinanda Ashram in Nayyer Dam Valley which is near the capital of Kerala, Trivandrum. The ashram run yoga 'vactions' that last for 2 weeks, but they also have an intensive teacher training course (TTC) that lasts for a month. Now I thought my 'vacation' was intensive so you can imagine how hard the TTC must be, they hardly get a chance to breathe, no wrong metaphor, they practise breathing ALOT. They hardly get any breaks. I knew that the ashram would be challenging, but I really should have looked at the programme more carefully before I went, it's not my fault that the PDF that they sent in their email wouldn't open in the internet cafe that I was in. Had I seen it, I may have thought twice.
In my head I had images of doing yoga for a couple of hours a day in a small group, overlooking a beautiful view and then relaxing, reading and chilling for the rest of the day. It wasn't quite like that. Yes, there were beautiful surroundings that did help, but small classes no. There were at least 60 people in my dorm and about 35 people in each yoga class. And wait till you hear the schedule, it is as follows:

5.30am: Wake up

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6.00am - 8.00am: Satsang - Every morning about 200 people gather in a large hall to sit cross legged facing the front. For half an hour we would concentrate and meditate with our eyes shut (trying to stay awake) as the sun rises. We are told to repeat a mantra in our heads, if you don't know one simple think 'aummmm' and breathe. Eventually we finish meditating and move onto the opening chant which, I joke not, lasts for 20 minutes. I have heard this song so many times that it will never leave my mind EVER. You would find yourself chanting it throughout the day. This was proceeded by further chanting of different songs which were listed in a chant book. Trying to follow the words was difficult, try saying shabavanavaba quickly when its the 1st time you have seen the word. I think most people that enjoyed the yoga found this a bit of a drag. It was interesting to see the 1st few times but quickly becomes a drag when you just want to do yoga but we respected the ashram rules and would attend.

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8.00am - 10.00am: Yoga - This was definetely the best bit. At 1st I attended the beginners classes but quickly grew bored of doing eye exercises so I stepped up my game and went to intermediate. By the time that I left these were pretty damn intensive and I impressed even myself. I can bend in new ways I never thought possible. Lessons were 2 hours and you literally felt great afterwards. The first half hour of the lessons was just breathing, building the muscles (leg raises etc) and doing the sun salutation (warm up exercise) several times. But this build up was necessary to do the asanas that followed. They did many different ones and then more variations of these. It's great fun, once you start to get good to see what you can achieve.

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10.00am - 10.30am - Breakfast - We ate two meals per day so you can imagine how hungry you would be by this time having awoken at 5.30am and done intensive yoga and chanting. The food was hit and miss. It was always very simple, rice, chapati or papadums with a few different veg sauces - sometimes this was great and sometimes you knew that you were just eating leftovers. What was great was that you got as many helpings as you like. I tried to eat so much, as I am still trying to put weight on after hospital to strengthen myself, but this is really hard when you can only eat 2 meals per day. I ended up being a peanut addicts as this was one of the few snacks you could buy. Oh and mealtimes were supposed to be in silence.

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11.00am - 12.00pm - Karma Yoga - Said in as nice a way as possible this means doing chores around the ashram as this is good for your karma. We were divided into different groups and designated different areas to be in charge of such as general maintainance, serving dinner, collecting rubbish and dorm cleaning (my area of specialism). This basically meant getting to clean the toilets everyday and sometimes doing mopping and sweeping. It wasn't so bad, but it was harder work than the yoga sometimes and it was pretty gross. I'd rather have been doing leaf sweeping but I guess it's good for the soul or something! Once you clean toilets for an hour per day it makes you appreciate not cleaning toilets everyday when you don't have to any more. So I guess thats part of how the ashram works. I did like the feeling of being part of a community and everyone contributing, there was a nice feel of togetherness.

12.00pm - 12.30pm - Coaching Yoga Session - We did not have to attend this, so whenever I did not go I would venture down to the lake that is a 2min walk away and is gorgeous. Swimming in it was bliss and a much welcomed break from the rigid schedule. Howver I began to attend coaching as a teacher comes and gives you help with mastering any particular asana that takes your fancy. For the most people they come to master the highly admired headstand. I joined this brigade and became determined to learn how to do it before I left. I am happy to say that I can now do it and it really isn't as hard as it seems. Apparently this asana is all about overcoming fear, nothing more. I made sure I practised next to a wall to begin with and gradually I could move further and further away from it. Imagine what I will be able to do next!

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1.30pm - 2.00pm - Tea break - Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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2.00pm - 3.00pm - Lecture- In these sessions each day a teacher would explain to us the philosphy behind yoga and what it is all about ( the ultimate goal is about becoming one with the divine). We had long discussions about what that meant and how it should be interpreted. There are many ways to reach this goal and she explained to us things like what each asana does for your bosy and mind and in what other ways yoga is important aside from the physical asanas. I found these so interesting as it was like being back in class, taking notes, even if I perhaps didn't agree with everything that was said. A lot of the ashram's teachings were religiously intertwined with Hinduism and their different gods. But even if you don't belive in this there is still alot you can take from the meaning behind each one and the way they choose to live their life.

3.00pm - 5.00pm - Yoga- In the second yoga session of the day you would be tired and you would really have to muster all your energy to get the motivation to go, however once you did it you felt great, physically as you notice your improvement and relaxation so much and mentally for being dedicated enough to commit your body to another painful lesson. But the great thing about this style of yoga is that you get your heart rate up by having to hold many different asanas, but in between each asana or every few asanas you have to rest in between by lying on the floor on your back like a corpse (in a position called shavasana). This means your body recovers before you put more strain on it and it works really well as you shouldn't push yourself too much as this can do harm. At the end relaxation you would occasionally get people falling asleep which almost happened to me a few times after such an exhausting day.

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6.00pm - 6.30pm - Dinner- I was so incredibly hungry by this time. The food was very healthy so it was a good detox, no meat, no spice - everything was very plain as this was needed to calm your mind. You can't have anything that stimulates the senses too much as this will distract you.

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8.00pm - 10.00pm - Satsang- At the end of the day, the last thing you wanted to do was go and chant for 2hrs. I love singing and like this as a way of bringing people together, however chanting words of which you don't really know what they mean and you don't believe in was strange. I quickly clocked onto the fact that in the hall there were always a few instruments sporadically laying about on the floor for people to play, like drums and tambourine. From then on I made sure that I had one of these every session as it made the time go faster! Then it was lights out and we did the same thing all over agan for 8 days ( 1 free day)

I think I have probably written a far too detailed description of this place, so I will give a brief sum up. The best thing about the place was definetely the yoga, but also the amazing people that I met there. Everyone came from completely different backgrounds and it was so interesting listening to how people came from these different walks of life. I even made a few good friends which made the stay far more tolerable. The timetable was a bit much for me, but a bit of austerity made me appreciate the rest of the trip a great deal more and was good to show to me that I can achieve anything I put my mind to, including living in this way. Although I didn't agree with the religious side of the ashram I respected it and enjoyed seeing a different way in which people interpret the world, I have learnt a great deal from it, it was great. But boy by the end was I relieved to leave!!!

Backpackers have it hard these days

After the group left Hampi, we had another brief stay at the beach before heading down the Western coast of India to a town named Alleppey which is in the chilled out state ofKerala . We took a trusty night train to get there and then upgraded our mode of transport to a houseboat. Alleppey is famous for its houseboats that sail over Kerala's pretty, palm lined backwaters. As you glide over the water you see fishermen in their boats, goats grazing on the fields and kids playing alongside the river. When I said that travellers have it hard these days I was telling a huge great lie! We hired a house boat between the six of us for 22 hours and for that period of time we lived the life of true luxury. Hiring a houseboat is in Lonely Planets top 10 things to do before you die, now I can see why. Gone are the days when travellers trod new, undiscovered territories and suffered in dark dingy rooms, covered in unknown species of scary looking insects. These days you can travel like a king for a sum of money that would buy one person a single nights stay in a budget/midrange hotel in London. The boat had 3 bedrooms with huge comfy beds, private bathroom with toilet and shower, fresh towels and sheets and best of all, the windows at the side of the boat were a high as the ceiling so you can literally watch the world go by as you lay in your luxury bed.

The boat had a large living space where you could lounge about in comfy armchairs whilst sipping your choice of beverage, whether that be tea, coffee, a beer. There was also a beautiful dining table where we sat and ate the meals that the onboard cook(!) had made for us which were truely delicious. Oh and there was an on board speaker system and TV (not that we watched it). We were like we had really 'made it' as we watched a smaller, inferior boat glide by with a group of people twice our ages. Their boat was still great but we had a bit of 'my boat is bigger than your boat' syndrome! It was truely bliss, so chilled and such pretty views, we were seriously in complete awe.

The next day we woke up early to watch the rising sun and make the most of the last few hours on the boat which passed in a flash. We got the best morning suprise. In Hampi we had discovered that a Hindu festival called Holi would be taking place soon. Holi is well known amongst Westerners as the festival where people celebrate by throwing brightly coloured paint and talcom powder at each other on the streets. Everything and everyone gets covered in the stuff. We wanted to get in on some of the action so in Hampi we each got a white outfit made - trousers and top, which we could subsequently get covered with paint. We were having a bit of a competition to see who would end up with the most creative pattern on their clothes.

But in our stupid ignorance we failed to realise that Holi is only really celebrated in Northern India where there are more Hindus than in the South (Kerala is predominantly Christian). So when we arrived in Alleppey we were informed by a local that there would be no celebrations taking place. We were obviously disappointed and felt a bit stupid for having had these outfits made. We did all go out wearing them one day so that our 200R hadn't been spent for nothing but we must have looked like some weird cult or yoga group. Anyway when we woke up on the house boat we heard lots of strange commotion going on at the side of the river. We went and looked and saw a group of 20 well built Indian guys jumping on top of one another and covering eachother in brightly coloured powder! We jumped off and joined in getting so messy. They found us highly amusing and vice versa. It turns out that they were a rowing team from Northern India who were practising for a race. So of all the people to meet in Kerala we found some of the only ones celebrating Holi away from home. Unfortunately we weren't wearing our special clothes so we managed to get colour everywhere but it was definetely worth it! So if you want to lap up some luxury as a backpacker get a houseboat. :-)

Fun Times

I finally met some people to travel with after almost a week alone in Anjuna, Goa. It's funny as I'd just accepted the idea of being myself as meeting people was just not happening. I was about to got to an internet cafe to look at where to go to next when I saw the hippy, long beared thong guy running down the beach past me. I'd been waiting for a good opportunity for so long to get a cheeky picture so I grabbed my chance. It was at that moment that I saw 2 guys amused by thong man too but more so at me taking a picture of thong man. So that's how we got talking and I discovered that the 2 guys (from England) were going to another beach that day with another guy (Norweigan) and 2 girls (American). Within about half an hour of talking to them I decided I was coming as they instantly seemed like my kind of people.

It was great as we had a good guy, girl balance and for the next ten days we travelled together, which is a long time for a group of people that were all travelling seperately originally (apart from the 2 girls). It was so nice because it was just like being on holiday with my friends at home, enjoying the beach, eating nice food, having a few drinks and especially as I'd been socially deprived I was super motor mouth I imagine. The girls let me share a double bed with them the whole time which was a bit of a squeeze but it was so nice as they could have just got a room to themselves so it was amazing to have company and safety! For a few days it was sun, sand and sea in a place called Palolem. We stayed in the cutest little huts in a really chilled guesthouse. We played volleyball a few times, which to start with scared the hell out of me as I have a fear of balls that fly towards my head, but I really got into it after a while and could see why it was so fun as you basically fall over into the sand trying to jump for the ball. I finally got to be free on a motorbike as we hired some to visit a beach near to Palolem, I didn't drive but being on the back was so much fun and the views in Goa are so green which is my favourite colour. Sounds a bit like a dream, it felt like it, I just kept thinking wow! There was one really creepy thing that happened. When I was lying on the beach, fully clothed with one of the guys, a group of India guys asked to take a photo of us. This happens alot so it was not a huge suprise, although generally not on the beach, more at major tourist attractions. We could'nt be bothered with any hassle so we agreed to a photo just so that they would leave us alone. But what I discovered, as they walked away, was that two others had walked around the back of us and were actually taking a picture down my top! I felt violated! No, but I was quite angry, I'll probably be on some guys facebook and not know it. I guess that they find it weird when we take photos of them doing their laundry in the river and selling stuff in their shops and they find it weird to see us on a beach. The thing that got me though was that I was fully clothed. The hazards of being a western female. Sadly I have stopped talking to Indian men that say hello, as respectable men in India don't just shout out to random girls on the street. But its sad as I want to smile at people but you just can't sometimes. Or they say they like me 'character'! We then got my first sleeper bus, yes a bus with beds in it, to a town called Hampi which is a place that has over 3000 temple ruins. As we had the whole back row for the five of us we would all roll to one side of the bus everytime it turned a corner and it was a very bumpy ride, you'd occassionally fly up into the air! The landscape is so peculiar, unlike anything I have ever seen before which made it really interesting. It is consists of loads of massive boulders precariously balanced on top of one another, a river and lots of green fields and banana planations. It is so strange, you feel like a dinosaur is going to emerge from behing one of the huge rocks. We spent a couple of days wondering around the ruins and making silly photos! They are truely amazing, many of them are underwater for the whole of the monsoon season so we were lucky to see them. We got a little boat up the river which was a great way to explore and we had nice refreshments like fresh coconut juice. Yum... plus there was a water reserve that we went swimming in one day as it was so incredibly hot inland and we met many other travellers who were also chilling there. It was great fun trying to squeeze 5 people into the rickshaws rather than paying up for two. I also began to get braver with eating Indian food, I admit it, hands up that I ate a mix of Western(ish!) food and Indian but I felt that my stomach was finally ready to give Indian food another chance. Am I glad I did? YES! The food is so delicious but completely different to English Indian food. The concept of a curry like we have it does not exist. They will only ever have a small portion of curry and rice which is accompanied by lots of small vegetable side dishes and yummy snacks like samosas. In fact my favourite food is the Indian breakfasts which suprised me as I was not good with spice before. The general rule is that the worse the decor of the restaurant, the more authentic and cheaper the food is. The grimier looking the place the better the food is as the tourists don't go there, its purely for Indians.

Alone in Paradise

What is strange is that I would never have gone to India by myself - it would have just been too daunting, scary and lonely. Yet as it dawned on me that I might have to actually do it , it seemed truly freeing in a way that I have never experienced, if not a little scary. In the build up to being alone I had expected to get stressed out and start panicking at the prospect of being a female, 21 year old, traveling alone in one of the craziest places that I have ever been.But it never really happened. I didn't freak out. I am so proud of myself. Some things are just meant to go a certain way, and although its truely sad that Kaz went home, I have her to thank for so much now as being alone is the biggest adventure and learning curve that I have ever had. And I have learnt to take a step back and accept every situation for what it is. But enough of the philosophy for now as I could go on for way too long.I got a flight down to Goa, as it seemed, in my head, the perfect place to meet other travellers chilling out on the beach, who might want to travel in a similar direction. From the view in the plane I was amazed at how green everything was. It was truly lush the clusters of palm trees, the bright green paddy fields and the shimmering, blue ocean. As I got a taxi to the guesthouse that I had booked in Anjuna, I looked in awe at what is a tropical paradise. It really is beautiful and you feel re-engergised just being there so I couldn't help but be excited.

Anjuna was a really interesting place to visit for me because we had discussed it as a case study in a Tourism module that I took at uni, so it was great to see what it is actually like. I think it was a good first place to go as a lone traveller in the way that everything was easy compared to the rest of India. I could get food from almost any country that was tasty and everything I needed on holiday was easy to find and buy. For me the strangest thing was being able to uncover my shoulders and wear a strappy top as this had been absoloutely unacceptable everywhere else that I had been. Yet suddenly there we girls on mopeds in bikini tops and hippy men with big beards running down the beach in their way too revealing g-strings. It felt so wrong in one way, yet it is so accepted by the locals in the area as that is what they get most of their income from and generally they seem to get on well with the tourists. As for pollution, it was cleaner than most parts of India as they clean it up for the tourists.I think that overall it is a great place to go for beautiful beaches, nice food and sun - its nice to relax there and I know it is also possible to party if you find the right people. Also it could be very romantic. Sitting alone in restaurants overlooking the sea and watching the sunset felt strange as it made me want Paul to be there so much! In any case, you definetely know that where you are is NOT India and if someone has visited only Goa they would be completely ignorant of what the country is actually like.One day I wanted to branch out so I went to a market that is not for tourists but where Indians go to do their shopping in Mapusa, 25 min away from Anjuna. It was great getting the local bus for 7R. It was so interesting to stare out of the window and so nice to feel the breeze and be surrounded by Indians again. The market was great, I got some bargains but managed to get the wrong bus back! That was my 1st bad experience of a sleazy Indian man trying to get me to go with him by telling me that the bus didn't stop at the bus stop I was at and offering to give me a lift ' to the right place'. I flatly refused and my bus turned up 20 minutes later - what a liar, who knows what he would have tried.

I quickly adjusted to being alone, making the most of the hammock outside my room to read, enjoying swimming in the sea which was the perfect temperature . I was suprised how much fun I could have by myself building sand castles on the beach, doing yoga stretches in the sea and eating gorgeous food. However being alone I wasn't able to stay out too late at night once it got dark. I would be in restaurants/bars at the beach but would have to get a motorbike taxi back to my guesthouse which was a 20min walk away. It was fine as I would just get up super early to make the most of the day and I hired a bicyle to get around.
It made me laugh a great deal as I would get so sweaty and everyone else would zoom past me on their scooters and motorbikes. The locals always said they like my bike. I really wanted a moped as it would have given me so much freedom. But being alone and never having driven any motorised bike I didn't get one! I was soooo close but I've saved my mum from a great deal of panic and I just thought that I couldn't risk it. I was enjoying myself but after four days I began to find myself starting to get lonely.

I hadn't really met anyone hang out with. I'd sat in every place along the coastline yet there were only people a lot older than me on their beach holidays, or hippies aged 70 who lived in Goa 6 months per year. I hadn't met ANYONE even vaguely representing a traveller. I found it so strange and began to question what was going on, was it me? I was alone in paradise talking only to the guesthouse owners and people working in bars and restaurants.
However I came to terms with it quickly and loved sitting on the beach in the mornings to watch the dogs lounging about before the people hit the beach. It would then amuse me to watch the cows that strolled freely along the shore. The odd one would mooch up to an unsuspecting holiday maker's sunbed frightening them or I once saw a cow being chased by a group of dog.s I have never seen a cow run so fast, in fact, I have never seen a cow run full stop. So Goa was my place of relaxation. Yet I began to feel that I needed to move on to see more of the real India and to meet some people. Luckily for me good things come to those who wait!

The tourist trail and Delhi belly

For me, this part of my trip was the least enjoyable, I got the least out of it, as all that was gained was anger and illness! But like any experience I wouldn't take it back. We headed on a quick stop off to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal before Kaz departed from India as 'you can't go to India and not see the Taj', is what everyone tells me and seems to think. I was not so concerned about it as I could guess the hassle attached to seeing a major tourist attraction. The Taj is of course a beautiful building, but it was incredibly busy, and even at sunrise, you are still queing to get in for an hour. I was personally more suprised by Agra's fort, as I had not been bombarded by images of it and so had no idea what it looked like.The most amusing part of Agra had to be the India people coming up to you in constant drabs, asking to have a photo taken with you. You begin to feel a bit like a movie star after a while. It is very strange, but it can also be a good opportunity to talk to some Indians. and test out a bit of Hindi. We must have had more then 20 different groups of people take photos of us. Eventually I decided that if they were going to have a photo with us, I needed a few of them. Hence the amusing photo below. Check out how funny the guy next to me looks.We tried to do Agra in a day and it was ridiculously tiring and the polloution was disgusting. We had the most annoying rickshaw driver that tried to take us to shops that we didn't want to see and took us to a 'cheap' restaurant in which we had our most expensive meal yet, which ironically probably also made us ill. Every person was trying to sell you something or scam you in Agra. Especially as they are used to some people paying $150 a night for a hotel, they try to get as much out of you as possible. I hate the stuff that too much tourism brings as it's just not the true India anymore. We then went to Delhi and spent 3 days in Parah Ganj, the backpacker area however we literally only left our guesthouse for food and internet because we got DELHI BELLY! Yes, I got ill, again, not quite so bad but I had to get back on the antibiotics and Kaz and I were both forced to stay in bed and watch films on TV for the final days of Kazes trip. as we went through waves of nausea, diahorrea and dizziness. So we didn't really see any of Delhi at all! But I liked the street we were on (below), a good place to get a bargin, so I did do some cool shopping and got more random stuff that I probably don't need and will fall apart after one wash! I love the clothes that you can buy here, lots of colour and pretty patterns, amazing pashminas.
It was a shame for Kaz that her last few days were spent in bed, but alas, that is India for you - true India! So on Wednesday 25th February we departed ways and now I am well and truely travelling alone, although however 'alone' you are, it is pretty hard to be truly alone in a country with over a billion people. This is where the real adventure starts............... total freedom! Stay tuned.

Finding Enlightenment

I got to my next destination by train from Kolkata which was great fun as it was a fascinating journey in which I spent the entire time staring out of the window watching people going about their daily business in their small towns and villages. I was heading to a town called Bodhgaya, best known as a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from around the world. Why? Because in Bodhgaya stands the tree under which Siddartha Gautama, otherwise know as Buddha, reached enlightenment in 6th century BC, hence it is known for its spirituality.Spiritual my arse.......! I had dream like images of a centre of tranquility and calm to relax after the hustle and bustle of the city. That was my first mistake, if there is one thing I have learnt in India is that you absoloutely cannot expect anything, as everything turns out slightly or hugely different to what you had in your head. So its best not to think about it too much, or care, as then you won't be disappointed.

Anyway, my point is that you have to be a pretty good Buddhist to come out of Bodhgaya with a sense of calm. As we arrived in our rickshaw there was the noise of beeping horns all around, the road gave out clouds of dust and as we stepped out of the auto rickshaw our driver tried to get more money out of us than we'd agreed. Our room was dingy and miserable and the shit food took about an hour to arrive. We were tired and fed up after the long journey. But luckily the next day we found a gem of a guesthouse, tucked outside the craziness along the side of some farmer's fields where goats roamed in the fields and kids played. (pic above was the view from the balcony - calm!). I got to hold a baby goat and now I realy want one as a pet. The guesthouse was clean, amazingly cheap and had a gorgeous breeze to cool you down.
We visited the Mahabodhi temple and Bodhi tree where the monks gather to meditate and do their monk thing! One morning I got up at 5am to go see the sunrise at the temple and sit for some quiet reflection by myself. It was really interesting to sit and watch the monks, as for the sunrise, I couldnt tell from what direction it was coming over the walls, so I more watched it get light, which was still very atmospheric and it was lovely to sit there and write my diary.We also (attempted) to buy postcards, which we had not yet been able to find, so if you get a werid temple picture coming through your door, that will be from me. Aside from the cool, intricate temple and gardens, there isn't alot to see in Bodhgaya, but I did discover an amazing yoga teacher who gave lessons on the roof of a building in one of the small surrounding villages. So it was really fun to do yoga over the amazing views. He was dutch and very friendly, he would always ask the class what they wanted to do so we got to do some weird and wonderfull positions (like headstand!). I also met a girl that was by herself from Austria and looked my age (which is actually really rare, hence I know how lucky I am to be here). She was travelling by herself and loved it. I saw this a sign that everything would work out okay by myself and it was nice to know that I was not the only 21 year old female that has travelled around India by herself, altough I still think that I must be one of the few. So that was that, Kaz booked her flight home for a weeks time.
In the end I did manage to chill out for a few days which was really nice, and as always befriended a local restaurant owner that served great 'Hari Om' specials - Fried potatoes, eggs, cheese, tomato, garlic and onion! Good for fattening me up post gastroenteritis. But did I find enlightenment ? The short answer... no it didn't happen! However I have found a strange sense of inner calm that has been with me throughout the holiday which could have a lot to do with the reading I did about Buddhism whilst teaching. All of the principles of Buddhism are thoughts that I had already formed in my head, therefore I do actually believe in it's principles and have taken alot from it and will use it as a point of reflection if it all gets to much! My inner calm may also be a reaction to all the craziness that I have been through, there was no choice in the matter. If I hadn't been calm and had allowed things to stress me out, I would have had to fly home by now..... and Im still here!