Rest of adventure in India and Malaysia.

Just in an internet cafe in Kuala Lumpur as I write, listening to house music and reminiscing! Strange! First time listening to music of my preference in nearly three months! Anyways what's happened to me...

From my last post of chilling in Pondicherry cycling aimlessly around the French colonial town eating great South Indian food, quite a bit has happened... I kicked back in India big time for the last couple of weeks. Also reading my last post back to myself I sound like the biggest pot-head in India. I wasn't and thought whilst in India chill the hell out and get high, also get in with the culture seeing as it's in the religion! From Pondicherry I took a bus to Mamallapuram and couldn't leave for five days, was only supposed to be there for three days! but that's what a great place does to you. I was the only person staying in the hotel and was served homemade food and coffee by the woman running it. It was a cool place Mamallapuram, a really chilled place was nice before I threw myself into India's fourth largest city Chennai. Mamallapuram was full of stone carvings from little pots to life-size statue's. The woman who owned the hotel had a son who I got on really well with, who had worked in Essex for five years and just returned home. He was a stone carver and used to bomb us around on his ancient, heavy Royal Enfield - was wicked! He took me one day to his shop hoping I'd buy a huge statue to take home and put in my garden. I said I didn't want to buy anything and passed him back this little pot he gave me to look at. It was beautiful, delicately carved and would've been a nice item to take back home. On handing it over I dropped it and it smashed into 4 pieces on the floor. "You clumsy fucking bastard" I said to myself in my head knowing I had to buy it now. I tried to plead with him and say it was an accident, but he wouldn't accept that. Looking pissed off I gave him a hundred ruppees (about one pound seventy, so not much at all but when traveling everything matters!) and stormed out looking pissed off. That evening I saw him back at the hotel, and he was so cool as if nothing had happened. Just to forget it like that was so cool and something I need to adopt into my personality. Just forget about shit that's happened-no big deal-it's sorted, type of attitude. Great guy. Next day it rained torrentially for about ten minutes, that monsoon coming in... Later I caught a bus out to Chennai. I arrived in Chennai to searing humidity and sadness, as this was my last place in India I would visit before jetting out to Penang Island just off Peninsular Malaysia. I had two days in Chennai dealing with crazy traffic, heat and Indian culture. I really liked Chennai, but they really need to invest in an underground train system there, when on a bus you would drip with sweat and not have to hold onto anything, they were so crowded. I went to a botanical garden outside Chennai and it was weird looking out at the city that that chaos was going on inside there and I'm surrounding by a twisting Banyan tree and tranquility. Next day I jetted off to Malaysia. I am still processing my trip through India after two weeks of leaving. I reckon I still will until I can really think about it when I get home. What an amazing country. I can't put it into words. It taught me so much and I found a lot of answers in India that I had no idea I would learn before getting there. I would love to go back in ten years or so and see how much the country has developed. I am quite sure that most of the places I visited will have changed beyond recognition in ten years. And the population levels... it's scary to think about.

I arrived in Penang airport and caught a bus to the main town there called Georgetown. I was so culture-shocked on the bus I almost choked on my tongue! The first two things I noticed of Penang was the cleanliness and noise of that compared to India. It was so apparent straightaway that it was going to be so different to traveling in Malaysia, and it is. It's just easier. Everything is so easy here and much more developed and aimed at tourists. I arrived in Penang staring at bars full of travellers drinking Carlsberg. I had a few days in Penang and they were great. It's a cool little place but a bit quiet for me! After leaving Penang I thought I'm going to treat my trip's in Malaysia and Thailand as a sort of holiday. Not budget as fiercely as in India and just enjoy and do whatever! From Penang I headed to Langkawi, a duty-free island just below the Thai border, cheap beer and cigarettes, beautiful white beaches that look out onto smaller islands covered in tropical looking rain forests. That's another thing actually, it rains almost everyday here, but it's great! Actually been missing rain, and after ten minutes of a downpour it's bright sunshine again! I would like that to be the way back home instead of days of persistent grey rainy days. I met a great couple in Langkawi who'd been traveling nearly a year around South America, Australia and New Zealand. We hired mopeds and darted around the island - one of my best days so far of the trip. We hiked up hills, then cooled off in mountain waterfalls. I love waterfalls, and I am such a sucker for them, and tea plantations. From Langkawi I headed to Perhentian Islands. These were beautiful, and I guy who I met in India at these tiny tea plantations in Kerala! He was staying at the same hotel as me! He'd been there for a month unable to leave! We chilled out with a group of us on the beach through the day dipping into the crystal clear sea and at night got drunk on this sort of rum they drink on the island called 'Monkey Juice'. On the last night there was a fancy dress toga party, as always I got too drunk and ended up cutting my little toe open on a glass bottle, so I've been limping here, there and everywhere recently. So frustrating! I went snorkelling in Perhentian which was incredible, looking over amazing coral, diving down and following colorful fish, swimming above turtles, sting rays and reef-sharks. It's the first time I've ever done anything like that, there's a whole different world down there! I wanna explore more of it! From Perhentian with a raging hangover and a sliced open toe from the toga party the night before, I headed off to Cameron Highlands escaping the heat and to drink tea. I went to Cameron Highlands with this great American couple I met on the way to Perhentian and we chilled out together with another mid-aged German lady we met on the mini-bus on the way up. Over the last three days we've just been hiking in the rainforest, drinking tea, eating scones, looking out over luscious tea plantations and ending the day with a few beers and games of Californian dominoes! A great place, very British colonial, and a glimpse at home before I go back in like three weeks! Gonna be weird settling back into life! I arrived in Kuala Lumpur today to a busy China town selling copy's of clothes, watches, sunglasses, you name it, and lots of Chinese food. And this is where I am guys! My Malaysia escapade coming to an end in two days before I jet off to a slightly shaky, slightly violent Bangkok. I've loved Malaysia and had a great time here experiencing the culture, eating great food, meeting great people and getting great weather! Malaysia, I'll miss you!

Thanks for reading guys, I hope you are all well and happy.

X

Indian escapade continues...

I've just read my last post back to myself, and wow, so much has happened since then. Actually a fucking lot has happened since then (hopefully the swear word will emphasise how much has happened). I just want to say thank you so much guys for the positive feedback on the blog. It's so nice to hear I'm not perspiring all over the key board in an internet cafe for nothing. Well for nothing? I suppose I'll take the blog much more for granted when I return home. But anyway, thank you and please keep the good comments coming they make me feel special :)

So... Where to begin? I think I'll start by telling everyone where I've been, and a bit of details about each place. From my last post I mentioned I was going to Jaipur in Rajasthan, so I went there from Mumbai and stayed only for two days. It was a beautiful, different place Jaipur. The heat was really dry and intense and the town felt very old. Walking around the bazaar's (bazaar another name for a market or shop) watching people's daily lives was fascinating. I would've loved to have explored the desert and towns in Rajasthan, but other places were calling out for me. After Rajasthan I hit Agra to see the milky-white glorious structure that is the Taj Mahal. I only stayed for one day in Agra and thank God I did. When fellow traveller's tell me, "Don't go there, it's so dirty, so nasty, so... just don't go..." I usually don't listen go to these places and love them. But everyone was so right about Agra. "Arrive in the morning on the train and book a train out later on in the evening. See the Taj Mahal then get the hell out of there." this was what people told me about it. I arrived at seven in the morning and was ready to leave by noon. It's THE biggest shit-hole I've ever been to, apart from Agra Fort or the Taj of course, also there's another something just outside the town which is apparently beautiful, but apart form these 3 things a town oozing with decaying litter, sweat, blood, western holidaymakers, petrol fumes, Taj Mahal memorabilia, shit tasting chai and food, stagnant water and pestering salesmen. If you like Agra, that's fine, this is just my opinion of the place, and it's not a very high one. I walked around in the intense heat from seven til noon then went to wait out nine hours in the train station for my train to Varanasi. I just couldn't stand Agra any longer. I ended up having to wait eleven hours, but time went reasonably quickly reading the auto-biography of Don Whillans - one of the pioneers in British rock-climbing history, and chatting away to these two American traveller's I met who were studying in Bangalore but now taking a quick 3 week trip around Northern India. To Varanasi anyways. When I fist stepped off the train I was literally nearly pulled between rickshaw drivers competing for a lowest price, it was the worst place for rickshaw drivers here, nearly unbleliveable. But when I got down to the town and into this holy town, it was incredible. In Hinduism Varanasi is one of the most sacred places on the Earth. If you die here then your soul is honored in the Samsara cycle. It's one of the most intense places I've ever been to, and a really incredible experience. I loved Varanasi and met some amazing people here. I'll tell you guys about my first day actually. I was walking around mesmerized I suppose by the tiny alleyways, about the width of two people, with scooters, cows, and the odd dog roaming around. I walked down to the River Ganges or the Ganga as it is known to Indians and just was captured by this slow moving sacred place. As I was walking back to my hotel I was told to have a look at this Indian guys shop. I decided to just look and not buy. After I'd looked for a bit he said "sit down sir please" I did. Then he said "Sir are you smoking ganja?" I said "Well my friend it has been known." He smiled then said "come, come friend." His uncle took over watching his shop and he led me and his other mate to a Government Hash Shop. In Varanasi cannabis is illegal I think, but everyone smokes it there. It's smoked to Lord Shiva. I'll just give a bit of run-down on that comment as I imagine people are like 'what is he going on about?' According to Hinduism, there were three God's who created the wrold. Brahman, the sole creator, the past, Vishnu the maintainer of the world, the present and Shiva the destroyer of the world, therefore essentially our future. There are many interpretations of the story, but this is the one I was told from these guys in Varanasi. The story goes that one day Shiva was so angry he almost destroyed the world. But his wife suggested he tried smoking or eating this plant to calm him down. This plant was Marijuana, and it calms Shiva down from destroying the world. Apparently he smokes in a sort of like bong, called a 'chillum' which is packed with hash and tobacco, or he eats hash in the form of 'Bhang'. Bhang are the leaves of the plant soaked in a sort of liquid then rolled into a dark-green ball, which looks like resin but is squidgy. This is why people smoke it. It's not specifically in the religion to do it, but mostly holy men and young boys use this as their tool to get unbelievably baked everyday, in honour of Lord Shiva. And this is what these guys were on about having, bhang. I took some bhang, smoked a chillum and drank chai with these dudes, who do it everyday, after twenty minutes was feeling really 'nasha' (Hindi word for being stoned). We went to play cricket, which I had never done feeling like this, I just wanted to mong out and eat some crisps, but we played a fiercely competitive game of cricket down by the river Ganga. It was a great game apart from not really knowing what the hell was going on. I bowled alright, but I knew I wouldn't be able to bat like this. I forced them to put me right down the order, and as the wickets tumbled I thought 'shit it's gonna be up to me isn't it.' And surely it was, I need 1 off 4 deliveries, and being the last man in I was our only hope. It's not much to ask, but in this state it's like 6 off 1 delivery. I missed the first two, with everyone crowding me shouting 'come on just hit the ball!' then the next delivery just managed to get a thick outside edge on it and push the winning single. A massive sigh of relief for me and the team, and one of the most pressurising moments in cricket I have ever experienced. I decided to sit the next one out. The next few days I walked around meeting people and seeing the burning ghats, (places where they burn the bodies, then they are thrown into the ganga)river ghats and temples of Shiva. I left Varanasi with a longing to one day return meet up with those guys, get nasha and have another game of intense cricket! I could write moments like this about everywhere, but for me this day really stood out. From Varanasi I worked my way up to the foothills of the Himalayas to rest and drink tea in the beautiful town of Darjeeling. I thought Darjeeling would be more interesting but it was so touristy and so misty so I never really got chance to gaze and eat breakfast at the mighty Kangchengzonda (3rd highest peak in the world, I think?) and the surrounding Himalayan range. Also the tea was good, but not the best which I was surprised about, I thought it would be amazing. It pissed it down the second day I was there and when the rain cleared I saw the Kangchengzonda range. Only for a minute or so, but it was incredible. Just searing blades of snow covered rock rising up and up. It was a magnificent spectacle and I now would love to go to Nepal. I finished reading Don Whillans' auto-biography in Darjeeling, funny co-incidence reading his adventures in the Himalayas when they were right there in front of me, and what an amazing life he had led. I recommend the book to anyone. From Darjeeling I went to Kolkata which I more or less fell in love with. I think it is my most favorite city so far in India. It is immensely over-populated but there is still such a sense of space, with big cricket fields, and large green open spaces. The British colonial architecture has really been kept in tact, and some buildings look exactly like you find in any small town or city in the UK. That Roman inspired Victorian structure. I really liked my time in Kolkata and would like to return one day. I went to Kalighat Temple there, that was an incredible experience. I saw a goat sacrificed, people shouting and crying at pictures of Kali - the wife of Shiva. It was a big day out and lot to take in! After Kolkata I caught a train to Puri, a beach side town in the state of Orissa just below Kolkata on the coast. In Puri I wanted to do two things, work on my rapidly fading tan and smoke the legal hash that they have there. I think Orissa is the only state in India where hash is legal and it's sold at two government ganja shops in Puri alone. And I did get high, and I did get sunburnt. It was great there. One day I hired a bike and cycled the 36km to a village called Konark to see the temples there. It turned out to be a great ride there, but back I had to fix the chain 8 times! And cycling back along the same road, it loses something. From Puri I headed to Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa and a very holy place. I was there for a day only before catching the train to Chennai. I sat in a small botanical garden, surrounded by these ancient temples reading Oscar Wilde's plays. 'This is how I spend my Monday' I thought. I got the train later on to Chennai and had my first flux of traveller's diarrhoea. It had to happen on the train didn't it. And to put the cherry on the cake I couldn't get a seat so had to share a twenty hour train journey with three other Indian blokes. I recovered after a few hours of running to the train toilet and arrived in an incredibly humid Chennai. I caught a bus out of Chennai to Puducherry, a French colonial town, dripping with old rustic French beauty. It's like the nearest to France you can get whilst staying in the East. I'm headed to Mamallapuram in the next few days, then to Chennai for a couple of days before flying to Penang in Malaysia on May 5th. Exciting times ahead of me!

Thanks for reading guys, I really do appreciate it. Take care x

I am developing the patience of a saint...

I have been having an amazing time in India recently. I've visitied the ancient ruined templed town of Hampi, seriously relaxed on Paradise Beach in Gokarna and then had a few messy times on the beaches of Goa before returning back to the cosmopolitan vibe of Mumbai. I leave today to carry on exploring this fascinating country. I catch a train to Jaipur in Rajasthan later on tonight which should be fun. I love the trains here, you meet the most amazing people on them, but you need to remember to take your valium!

I feel I'm changing my outlook slightly on the Indian people. They are fantastic, friendly, helpful, confident, industrious and lovable people, but Jesus, some can really test your patience. Especially rickshaw drivers who drive alongside you after a massive train journey saying "Hello sir! Look at me sir! Sir I talk to you, where you want to go?" I class myself a very laid back person most of the time, but the other day I really nearly lost it. I shouted into the pavement "Just leave me the fuck alone! I don't want your rickshaw! I don't want you! I don't need you! Just leave me the fuck alone!" and I actually felt embarassed I'd lashed out, and was quite shocked at myself, it was like I was so tired and not thinking it just came out. He replied with; "But sir, why are you so miserable?" I took a few deep breaths and explained I'd had a 14 hour hot stuffy journey, I knew where I was going and didn't need his help, and to this he replied; "So... where you want to go?" I just trundled off muttering under my breath. I know, I really do know and realise it's his job, and I come across as a white rich man over here and he sees an oppurtunity to make some more money, so why not give it a go? It really made me think you have to put up with a lot here and that's why people hate India when they travel here. It's not easy. In fact, it's never easy. And for this reason it's why I love it. I love the fact of being hassled constantly and hawked and gawked at, it's so different to what I'm used to, and I came here to experience a totally different culture and I really am getting it! I am developing the patience of a saint.

As I go on in my travels I'm learning more and more about Hinduism, and really taking to the concept of it. Hinduism is like a culture within a culture, as is cricket over here. I actually tried to watch an IPL match the ohter day but the tickets had sold out. I was gutted, I probably won't get to see one now as the season finishes soon. Not to worry, it gives me another reason to come back!

I booked my flight back today also. I leave on the 6th June to return to the UK a new person! Well probably just a hairier face and browner body... No, I feel that already I have learnt so much more than what I would learn, and things which I experience everyday here will stay with me throughout my life. But now my flight is booked home I feel my trip has suddenly just got more organised. All my flights are booked now, when before the spontaniety was killing me.

Guy in internet gaff is hassling me to get off - again masses of patience involved. I will write again soon.

I miss you all very much, but not that much. x

To you, with love, from me in India.

Well well well. Where to begin? A lot has happened since I last updated this blog. I've had some major realisations, decided I need to play cricket again, got browner and grown some of the best facial hair I have ever had. The major realisation really has been that I have realised how lucky I am, and have been throughout my life. The amount of opportunity's I have and have had compared to these people. Also it's really hit me how important family and friends are, without them, what are you? And for this reason I am deciding to come back to the UK at the beginning/middle of June and have a great summer at music festivals, playing cricket and having barbeques with family and friends. And have some serious chill-time.

I have been all around and about Kerala really since I my last post. I started in Kovalam then headed to Varkala. A touristy beach resort lined with steep cliffes. It was beautiful, and I met an incredibly cool French traveller who was literally just going wherever the hell he liked! He really taught me to just chill the hell out a bit, stop travelling so God damn quickly, and also consciously think about the moment, I might never see these things I'm seeing again. I did listen to him, but we both decided to depart from Varkala the next day. He went off to Chennai, and I had to wait at the train station in Varkala for 5 hours, awaiting a train to Allepey, or Allapuzha as it is now known. The 5 hours went really quickly. I read some philosophy, drank some Pepsi and just watched in awe at the people going about their lives. Massively deformed beggars crawling across the ground in innovative ways come up to you and hold out their hands and tap you on the knee, policemen walk around holding themselves very high, thinking higher statuses than they are, little kids running around with squeaky shoes and jingling gold bangles around their ankles and wrists, and then there are the normal working people, always in such a rush to get anywhere and who will fall asleep absolutely anywhere, even when a train goes steaming past blowing a never-ending horn people sleeping are totally unphased. India is so different. Everyday I am inspired more and more by what happens around me. When I eventually arrived in Allapuzha I was harrassed by rickshaw drivers, "Hello Sir? Where are you going? Excuse me. Excuse me sir!" I have developed a technique now to just look at the floor and carry on walking past, I feel terrible for totally ignoring them, but if you give them just the slightest look you will get harrassed and they will follow you down a road for like 100 metres, until you finally lose it then they will speed off laughing at you! You have to quite like being harrassed and being the centre of attention here. Always someone trying to give you 'the best price' or wanting a photograph taken with you. I feel special at these times, and I am developing great respect for the Indian people. They work so hard and have such powerful ambitions, but it must be so hard for them.

Anyway, from Allapuzha I went to Cochin. I instantly liked Cochin. A busy city, off the beaten track and a major city throughout the colonisation of India. I trained in a gym thr first night there! No shoes were allowed which was different! Carrying 20kg discs around I was especially careful! It was great to experience a gym environment in India. Pictures of Mr. Universe lining the crumbling walls and people chatting and helping you out! And constantly chatting away to you! People talking to each other and laughing, in gym! This is great, and the gym should be about having a laugh and getting on with it. From Cochin I caught a bus first thing in the morning to Munnar. The bus drive up to Munnar was spectacular. Cruising along the winding roads, staring down at vast valleys of plam trees, then looking out onto acres upon acres of tea plantations. These were some of the most amzing views I have ever witnessed. Almost on a par with the Lake District! The next day I hired a moped with a cool guy I met on the bus called Ross. We cruised around together from 9 in the morning till 7 at night getting lost in the mountain roads around Munnar and the surrounding area. It was the best day so far. The next day I headed to Vypeen Island. A little island about 30km long and about 5km across. I was told by a fellow traveller whom I met in Mumbai to stay at this little beach house on Cherai Beach, so I decided to explore out and find this house. The heat was horrendous compared to the cool breeze of Munnar. Heaving my bag around in 35+ degree heat, and whatever humidity, asking where this little house was. I was about to give up when I saw this lime green coloured house he was on about. I felt a surge of joy, and let out a little scream! I firstly dropped my bag collapsed at a table and ordered fish curry with rice, a pepsi and a cup of chai. This was the best Indian food I have ever had. Unbelievably fresh, and just over a pound for all you can eat rice, a whole curried fish, unlimited poppadoms and red onion salad! I then asked about the little room, and the guy there showed me it. I took it instantly for two days and those two days were incredible. Just lazing around eating curry, drinking chai and swimming in the Indian Ocean. They were a special two days. I thanked them and then headed off back to Cochin to catch a train to Bangalore, now known as Bengaluru. I couldn't get a train as they were all fully booked (bloody population levels of India!) so I had to book onto one leaving today. This is where I am so far then, waiting to catch a train to Bengaluru then heading staright off to the old, spiritual, hindu, ruined templed town of Hampi.

I am beginning to sweat uncontrollably now from typing as it's the hottest part of the day here, and for some reason always seems to be a couple of degrees more humid in train stations!

Thanks for reading, and guys never hesitate to e-mail me! I like hearing of life back home! x

43 hour train journey to paradise...

I have just really started my proper travels in India now after arriving in southern Kerala, in a place called Kovalam. It's beautiful, and quiet also I seem to be able to breathe easier compared to that in Mumbai! But it was a long way down... The train took 43 hours, but was so interesting. Gazing for hours out of the window in distant parts of Andra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala at the people who just live off the land, cut off from the major cities around them. Just going about their business ploughing fields pulled by oxen, carrying buckets of water on their heads then heading back to there hut made of a wooden structure with a sort of matted hay for the walls for a cup of chai. It really made me think we have so much we don't really need in the UK such as the latest gadgets and this and that. However, it makes us feel comfortable. Just in my bag I had more with me than everyone in my carriage put together! But I do I need everything? I think yes, I need all these t-shirts and these vests and this many pairs of underwear and paracetamol tablets. But do I really need them? Most probably I would survive without them... To sum up, the train was a long haul but so inspiring and great food coming up and down the carriages every half hour which helped time pass along!

I did feel at one point throwing my bag of the train when it was stationary and trekking up a mountain to see where it took me, but I decided against it. Maybe would have got eaten by a tiger, or died of thirst...

I'm really looking forward to the next couple of weeks and looking forward to seeing what unfolds, what I see and what I learn.

Always keep an open-mind wherever you are!

I've just read this post back to myself and it's a trifle terrible, but really I just want to mong out on the beach from the journey here. Will do better next time! I promise :) x

Sorting yourself out in Mumbai...

Right, sorting yourself out in Mumbai. Firstly, I don't want anyone to properly take what I write as factual, it's just what has happened to me. Also don't really listen to anybody absolutely literally, as people in the 'west' especially are really paranoid about India. Just get here and you will love it! Also learn for yourself! For me that's one of the main things of travelling! But trains anyway... As I have quickly learnt, always check the time, date, platform, train number, arrival/departure, everything printed on the ticket. Especially check the outward date. I bought a ticket the other day and just looked properly at it yesterday... It stated my departure date was 23rd of March when I am amost 100% sure that I said I wanted to leave for Trivandrum in Kerala on the 11th March. But don't worry, I tried not to anyways! the best way is to go to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai CST) and just cancel your ticket. The cancellation fee will cost Rs 40, I don't quite understand why as it's their mistake but anyway, that's like 60 pence. This is for the long journey trains. Also get buses everywhere when in the city if you don't want to walk. It costs Rs4-8 per journey. Trains are great as well but busy, and if your unsure about the platform number ask anybody. Well not anybody but someone who looks approachable. They will be really happy to help. Note to keep your elbows close to your sides as the trains are ridiculously crowded, and people elbow you in the ribs when getting on and off, it reminds me of a rugby scrum. But the trains are absolutely fine and it's like Rs8 for a journey an hour out of the city centre.
There is loads to do in Mumbai. It's like the major cosmopolitan city of India. From glitzy Bollywood to high-end cocktails bars, there is a city rapidly growing, and the apparent poverty screams that you are in a very apparent developing India and not some city in Europe. Home seems a long way away! I have been here over a week now and still have bearly seen anything... Don't be too phased by the sheer numbers of people commuting in and out of the city. Get stuck right in to city life and Mumbai will be a much more enjoyable place. The food here is out of this world... Generally eat anywhere, unless it's a really dirty looking food stall, and so far I have found food stalls to be better, fresher and easier to eat at than restaurants.
That's really about it! You can easily learn for yourself. It's the most incredible city I have ever been to, no wonder there are adverts saying 'Incredible India' on black taxis in the UK, it really seems to be the word to suit this place! I love it...

Birthday, and last day off before I start shooting for the Bollywood film again!

It's my birthday! 20th birthday and the start was special. Headed down to the Gateway of India this morning to watch the sunrise, what a way to celebrate! Hmmmm... What to do today? Was seriously hawked and gawked at today trying to find a hotel to stay in. If you are looking for a hostel/ hotel in Mumbai, Colaba is where most tourists 'hang out' and Salvation Army is a good place to stay. Anyway, 20 is going to be a good year... A lot will happen... Anyways I'm heading out of Mumbai next week I've decided. It's quite expensive (incredibly cheap compared to UK) but I am on such a tight budget. Also I want to get out of this amazing, incredible, breath-taking, but unbelievably crowded city. But I will return later on in my trip I think. I'm headed down to Trivandrum in Kerala by train and gonna go for sleeper class, I think that the ticket is around 500Rs which is £7.20 (approx) for a 20+ hour train journey. How much would a 20 hour train journey cost in the UK? London from where I live, Lancaster is around £50 if you book on the train and it takes 3 hours to get there, so say that rate for a 20 hour journey in the UK would be around £300-£350! But you can't get a train for 20 hours in the UK - thank God...
Thanks for reading and I'll be blogging again in a week or so. Just started and trying to get my head around this blogspot.
Thanks again x