BLOG TIME!!!

hello all!

wowie, first (proper) blog post. i know that keeping a blog makes me a big internet nerd, but at least you all can be equally informed about whats going down in india, even if you dont care, you must know!

to recap on whats happened thus far..

arrived at delhi, DEATHLY HOT, tried to cool down in toby's flat to no avail, hang out on his roof and watch the parrotquites, then the crows and then bats fly around the sky, sleep in death hot flat with fans, powercuts so just death hotness, wake up and drive around delhi in AC car, alternate between death and comfort, see some sights, head back and fight over shower, wake up at 4.00 am to catch bus to haridwar, arrive in gross bus station and catch hilarious old indian bus with funny fans and indian people who STARE at us, arrive in sweaty haze to lovely haridwar with oliver and his mum drives us to the group of arshrams she lives in, we shower and rest, are told that our clothes are pretty much blasphemous, ad are given huge, swamping indian clothes to wear,blah blah blah.... see HUGE ganga ceremony in crazy monsoon rain at dusk, have mental ride home, pushing land rover to its limits by driving through practical swimming pools of rain, having had our course blocked by fallen trees, all in the driving rain, we finally wake up on our beds made of wood (mm such comfort in ashrams), and oly and his mum generously give us an excellent lift to rishikesh. Now alone travel finally begins, no more supervision, sadly, feels a little bit like being left alone at university.. you feel as though you're an adult, and it will be fine, but you would quite rather run back to more familiar places.

(ive missed out loads.. but you get the idea)

Right at this very moment I'm sitting with sophie in an internet cafe in Rishikesh, one of the hindu pilgrimage places. People come here to stand by the river at sunset, clapping to some funny music, release leaf boats filled with gorgeous little pink and orange flowers lit by candles into the river in order to worship the female power. And then everyone tries to put their hands into these arabian-nights style candles, possibly burning their hands off in the process.

Rishikesh is amazing beautiful compared to the gross-ness of delhi, its divided in two by the huge fast flowing river, and is surrounded by the start of the himilayas, which are covered in lush green forests well fed by the monsoon. I think it looks like a rain forest, an apparently there are tigers and elephants up here. Elephants here i come...


okay, too much catching up and now more exciting things than sitting in an internet cafe must happpen! Will write more soon ya'll. Are you hanging onto my every word?