India Final Chapter

We arrived back into Chennai airport with a grilling from an immigration officer. He look us into a private interview room and asked a million questions. India Visas have become far more complicated recently and because we had left India and gone into to Sri Lanka and wanted to re enter it was too confusing for the system! Eventually the grilling stopped and they let us through.
We headed through the thick traffic of Chennai in a pre paid taxi from the airport. Surprisingly we found a nice hotel in a good area. Considering that we weren't looking forward to our 2 days in Chennai (as the reputation is that its a huge busy dirty city) we actually had a great time.
The very kind and helpful man at our hotel reception told us that a brand new 'Mall' had just opened. I imagined a new 'supermarket' because here in India that's a really new concept too. Anyway we thought we check it out after we wondered around our area for a bit.
When we arrived to the Shopping Mall we couldn't believe our eyes. A huge brand new Shopping Mall! I have never seen anything look so out of place as this did. Placed in the centre of old dusty tired streets was Chennai's 'Westfields'! On our walk there we passed lots of families sleeping rough- with at least 5 kids and a few babies each. We just couldn't understand who would use it.
We walked up the marble stairs and into air conditioned palace. The first shop on my left was 'Hamleys'! I could not believe my eyes... however it was empty of course. There were hundreds of brand new Western shops, The Body Shop, Marks and Sparks, Accessorize and so many more.
All of them were dead- only the shop assistants were inside. We wondered around and strangely enjoyed the beautiful open space and air conditioned building. As we approached the 4th floor we began to hear and see other people! Then it was full out people- just this one level. As we got closer we could see a cinema! The cinema was packed with people. Opposite to the cinema was a 'fun world' area. All the kids in Chennai were there- well the rich ones anyway!
We entered the cinema and it was stunning. I have never seen such a posh and elegant cinema in all my life. I got very excited and wanted to see something. All the Bollywood movies were sold out which was a shame- and so was Titanic 3D lucky for Berwyn! We found a film called 'The Vow' which still had seats available so we booked it. It cost 1 pound each. Inside was stunning, velvet coated the walls and chandeliers hung from the ceiling. We felt a little guilty that we weren't out exploring Chennai's culture but it was Easter Sunday after all and at the end of the day, whichever way you see, positive or not this is what India is now becoming.
After the movie we walked back to the hotel via the beach. The beach isn't a beach as we know it. As it was a Sunday it was chaos. All the familes had gathered on the beach for a fun and relaxing time. You couldn't see the sand. The  water is do dirty and polluted that not even the dogs go for a dip. It was such an impressive sight- so many familes having such a great ime and hundreds of stalls selling the local treats, from ice creas so home made sugar kane drinks.

From a couple of hours we had experienced how completely different families spend their sundays. And walking back to the hotel we were reminded again that the families hunched togeteher in the roads, don't experience either type of sunday.


We flew from Chennai to Goa. We were heading to Goa to meet Berwyns family as they were coming out for a holiday.
We were staying in Camdolin. I visited this place 10 years ago with my family. It had changed so much, tons of big hotels and millions of shops and restautants. It was the end of the season so it wasn't too packed out with tourists.
It was the first time Berwyns family were visiting India so we met them the morning they arrived and helped them slowing get acclimatised to India!

A few nights after the had arrived we went our for a lovely meal to Fishermans Cove, where they ha d funny guy singing hisheart out! After a great evening Berwyn and I walked slowly back to out apartment- trying to walk off all the curry we had eaten. As we approached the small road leading up to the apartment a fast motor bike came towards me. I didnt think anything of it as by now I was pretty used to the Indian drivers- as its very common for them to drive and at any speed/direction down a road. They blinded me with their head light- and I felt a tugging on the bag. At first I thought they can accidentally caught my bag on their handle bar- but once the tugging didn't stop and I felt myself falling to the floor from the force, I realised they were trying to rob me. It all happened so fast- as soon as I was aware what was happening I had already been dragged down the street until they cut the leather strap of my bag. The feeling was sickening. When the strap of my bag left my body I knew that I had lost my most precious thing. My camera... irreplaceable. Along with my iPod, phone and silver bracelet. It took my 10 minutes to realsie what was in my bag.
Berwyn and I were chasing them down the road trying to make as much noise as possible, but they got away. I was crying with anger and frustration and shock. Why did they choose me? Why in Goa? Why wasn't I aware and why was I so stupid to let them get away? A few moments later I realised how badly I was injured. My legs and arms were bleeding and full of gravel and dirt. At this moment lots of families were coming out of their homes- one lady had bought me a glass of water and a blanket.
We were in complete shock. Everyone was telling us to go the police, but I didn't care. I knew I would never get my things back. I just wanted to go and wash my cuts to stop them getting infected. After I painfully cleaned myself it was about midnight. I decided I had to go to the Police station and make a report.
The police station was in Calungate, and full of lots of men not really doing much. When I entered the room and they saw my injuries they were actually quite nice to me wanted to know what had happened. I went into an interview room and explained everything again for the 10th ten. The police inspector told me that I would have to go to court if I wanted to make a statement that I was attacked and robbed. He said I would have to go to court in 6 months time or even up to a year. I told him that was not possible as I will be in England. So instead he wrote me a letter titled 'Missing Items' and that I lost it whilst travelling on my bike! I was so angry. I told him that this was lie, and I wasn't happy that he was forcing me to lie, they he just leaned in closer to me and said 'only me and you know- so no problem'.
I was so frustrated Not only were they so corrupt, but no incidents like mine are reported ever. This makes Goa extremely unsafe. If someone was to check Goa's history with attacks and robbery's etc it would appear that there are none. However I was the 5th female to have gone through this in one week!
The next few days were not very nice. My wounds were really hurting me, and I couldn't go swimming or be in the sun, so it was very boring. i revisited the Police Station and few days later and said I was unhappy with everything- they said there was nothing they could do. I told them how angry I was that there was no police at the airport warning female travelers that this was happening or why aren't they posters around the beach town? They couldn't give me an answer for anything. They really make you feel like you're wasting you time.
Once the pain had go from cuts, I tried my best to be positive. I was lucky that it happened at the end of my trip and not at the beginning- otherwise I would have definitely gone straight back home. It could have been a lot worse.
I reminded myself that this sort of thing happens everywhere. So it wasn't going to make me hate India..if anything I realised how shocked, embarrassed and sorry the local people were when they saw me and heard my story. They try so hard to make Goa a wonderful and happy place for tourists and 2 vile men are ruining it.


When we moved down to South Goa Palolem I was finally able to move on. Up until that point I would enjoy the days but as they night approached I would become quite scared would dread the journey back to the apartment, even though we had moved to a new apartment if a busy and safer area.

Palolem was perfect. I had also visited here 10 years ago, but this place hadn't changed. It was still beautiful, and I even remembered some faces!
Our first night we stayed in a fun beach hut, but there were so many mozzies so we moved to a guest house just off the beach.

We spent the days on the beach and enjoying the huge waves, it was great! The local people were so kind and we met some lovely travelers too.

One of the books I read in Goa was 'The Secret letters From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari'. I loved this book. It was the right place and the right time for me to have read it. I don't normally like 'self help' type books but I didn't see it in that way. It was a good story and I feel that you can take what you want from it

One idea that has stuck with me is 'Live with Kindness'.

'No action, no matter how small, is insignificant - how we treat someone defines, how we treat everyone, including ourselves. If we can't appreciate those around us, we can't appreciate ourselves. With every person we engage, in everything we do, we must be kinder than expected, more generous than anticipated, more positive than we thought possible. Every moment in front of another human being is a chance to express our highest value and to influence someone with our humanity. We can make the world better, one person at a time.'

Our final day has been spent in Delhi. Exactly where we started in India. We have seen Delhi through the seasons. We arrived in the freezing, visited with mum and dad in the spring when days were warm and nights were cool, and now its boiling! Last night was too hot to sleep. Today we wondered the wonderful crazy streets taking in our final moments in India. The air was so dry and hot it was hurting our nostrils! 

We did our last minute bartering in Connaught Place, and shared our last jokes with locals. When we had enough of the haggling we went on the Metro to the posh part of Delhi and treated ourselves to a spa! It was a lovely hour to reflect on our incredible journey. Remembering all the amazing things we have seen and all the special people we have met. I will take so much home with me from this part of the world They get some things wrong but so much right. They live with whats needed and what makes them happy. They seem calmer and more fulfilled. I really hope I remember all the lovely conversations from the very wise people I have listened to. 

Thank you India. 

Sri Lanka

We arrived into Colombo at midnight with one piece of luggage missing. So we headed to Negombo, a little beach town near the airport. We waited a few days until the bag arrived safe and sound. Waiting was quite frustrating as we wanted to go and explore the Island but couldn't until the bag was found.
As soon as it arrived we headed straight down south! We took 2 buses for about 7 hours. It wasn't supposed to take so long but the second bus conked out on the motorway!
Finally we arrived into Galle. A beautiful Dutch style town. From there we got into a Sri Lankan Rickshaw (which are quite a bit posher than Indian ones!) and headed to Unawatuna. Unawatuna was a small sleepy fishing village. Now its a very popular beach town for tourists. It surrounds a beautiful bay, so the swimming is perfect and in the middle of the village is a small road full of lovely restaurants and shops.
We found a lovely basic room for about 6 pounds and stayed for over a week. We also found a perfect little dive shop, full of local dive masters that knew the waters like the back of their hands. We dived 4 times with them. The conditions weren't perfect as there was a strong current but it was still brilliant!

When we weren't diving and swimming we explored the local area. There was so much to see. One afternoon we visited a Spice Garden, it was great, a lovely man gave us the grand tour. It was fascinating to see all the different spices and plants. Although we have been to many of these in Asia, we were still seeing new things that only grow in Sri Lanka!

Just off the beach was a small turtle farm. We spent some time having a tour around the small hut. There were so many turtles. They even kept the eggs. They take them from the beach so the fisherman can't take them and sell them on for lots of money. And when their big enough they set them free.

 They also keep big turtles that are too ill or weak to survive in the sea. Once they are strong and fit they release them.

On the way home in a Tuk Tuk we saw the local fishermen fishing in true Sri Lankan style! Perched on tiny poles waiting to catch a fish or 2!

After spending lots of time by the beach we decided we had to move on and explore otherwise we would run out of time.
So we headed up to Ella, on another very long hot and sweaty bus journey. Ella is a very sweet little town up in the hills of Sri Lanka. The temperature was so refreshing. The days were still quite warm but the nights were freezing!!
The next day we got up early and headed up the hills to Mini Adams Peak. This had been recommended to us by everyone in the town. It was a beautiful walk up the hills. Surrounded by tea and coffee plantations we slowly climbed to the very top. The views were breath taking.

We left Ella the next as they wasn't much more for us to see. But it was so worth it..even for the day. From Ella we got a very popular train Journey to Kandy. The train looked like an old fashioned toy train. Similar to the train we took in Ooty. The journey was perfect. We meandered through the Sri Lankan countryside...seeing some of the best views of the travels.

7 hours later we arrived into Kandy. The train was worth the 7 hours, however if we had taken the bus it would have only taken 3!
Kandy is the second largest city in Sri Lanka. The traffic was heavy and loud, a big contrast to peaceful Ella. We stayed one night. We made sure we visited the famous Temple of the Tooth (Buddha's) which was fairly impressive; although many criticise that it is in fact a buffalo's tooth and not Buddha's! Who's ever it is, it was a very impressive Temple which since had been reconstructed since it was blown up in a terrorist attack a few years ago.

From Kandy we bartered for a cheap Rickshaw to drive us to Sigiriya. This rather small town is very quiet and empty except of one huge rock! Many travel far and wide to see the fascinating Sirigya Rock.
However our main reason the travel so far North was to visit my grandparents who were doing a cultural tour of Sri Lanka. We surprised them by meeting them at their hotel 20 minutes after they had arrived. It was so lovely to see them after so long. We spent lots of time with them and around their beautiful posh hotel. In the days they went off to explore temples and we made the most of their pool!

From their we headed off to Pinnewala. I have been wanting to visit here for at least 10 years! Only because of one thing....the Elephant Orphanage!! We pre booked a hotel online to ensure we could definitely stay over looking the river, as that's where the Elephants have their 'free time'! We arrived to Elephant Bay Hotel and we so happy! It was perfect. The restaurant and bedroom were overlooking the elephants. We sat for hours watching and taking beautiful photographs.

After lunch we headed to the Orphanage. It was perfect! At the top field over 20 Elephants were roaming free, and just below was a Elephant friendly hut where you could go and feed them fruit. So of course I was there in a flash!

Berwyn was ready with the camera to film the amazing moment. I put the bottle to the baby elephants mouth and literally 2 seconds later it was empty!! All that fuss and it was over! One gulp and empty! But it was worth every one of those 2 seconds!!

It was such a special day for me. I loved it. Seeing so many of my favourite animals being treated so well it was lovely. Many elephants get badly treated by the farmer in Sri Lanka because they ruin the crops. So when they get injured the Orphanage takes them in and looks after them until they are fit again. They have one Elephant called Raga who is blind and other one who only has three legs and she stood on a land mind. So sad, but at least the orphanage exists to help the lovable giants!

We spent our last week in Sri Lanka at the Tangerine Beach Resort! It was wonderful. Our room was the nicest we'd had in Asia. My Nan and Grandad treated us to it, which was so kind. The pool was lovely and the hotel was right on the beach front.

Sri Lanka was one of my favourite countries in Asia. The people are very friendly and relaxed. It still has all the wonderful colours and culture of India but without the chaos! 

R A J A S T H A N

Rajasthan

We headed out of Delhi after an awful day as Dad had been mugged on the  
metro. A gang of horrid men got onto the metro in rush hour and  
push and shoved whilst stealing his phone and wallet. We spent the  
rest of the evening running around Delhi's police stations trying to  
report the incident and get a crime number. Every police station was  
the wrong one!
Eventually we made it to the train  station, just in time to get onto  
our overnight train to Ranthambore.
We decided to leave all the bad feelings in Delhi and start to begin to  
enjoy India again!
Ranthambore was brilliant. We stayed in a lovely Safari hotel called  
The Raj Palace and spent the early mornings and evenings searching for  
the famous Indian tiger.
Our first safari was exciting, we saw lots of deer, beautiful  
peacocks, crocodiles and monkeys but no tiger!! Although many people were  
disappointed I still had a lovely day as the tiger reserve was so  
amazing- it was stunning with so much wildlife to see and hear!

The next day we set off for another safari hoping this time we would  
spot a tiger. Berwyn bought a safari hat and we nick named it the  
"lucky hat" hoping it would help our luck out!
A few minutes into the park I spotted something on the hill about 20  
metres away from us, I looked again and saw it was a leopard!! I  
couldn't believe my eyes, I quietly had to tell the driver and  
everyone couldn't believe it! The guide said they never see leopards  
as the were so shy. Better still the Leopard was having dinner! He had  
blood dripping around his mouth whilst chewing on a huge deer! I was  
happy to have spotted it!

A few moments after, we spotted a jeep who told us they'd seem a tiger!  
So we quietly rushed off to find it. And we did. Such a beautiful  
India Tiger lying amoungst the luscious long grass also eating her  
kill- another deer!

We waited for ages just staring at the beauty. It was so exciting. She  
was so lazy- and didnt move from behind the grass for a very long  
time. But when she did it was worth the wait, and we all got our  
special photograph!
Ever since that day we will always called Berwyns hat the lucky hat!  
We tried telling the other local guides that we had seen a leopard  
too, but they wouldn't believe us!

The next morning we got up very early and headed into the park to try  
and see the tigers on their morning trip to the lake. We all thought  
we'd never beat yesterdays experience. Until we heard the loud cry of  
the deer which apparently means 'danger' and a few moments later the  
most beautiful tiger came strolling down the path! Metres away from  
the vehicle. We were completely stunned.

We had spoken to many people staying around the park and they hadn't  
seen a tiger- so we felt so so lucky- coming all the way was so worth  
it. A highlight of the entire trip.

Next stop Udiapur- this place was one of my favourite Indian towns. It  
even reminded me of somewhere in Europe. Its full of tiny little  
streets with towering pretty buildings. Lots of lovely cafes,  
restaurants and shops.
We stayed in a very unusual Heritage Hotel which was stunning. Full of  
amazing furniture and incredible art work.
Mum and I had some art lessons- such a lovely way to spend our time.  
The teacher was fantastic! I did 2 silk paintings, an elephant and a  
peacock. I'm even impressed with them- which shows how good the  
teacher was because I'm the most unarty person!

Jodhpur
The Blue City.

Here Mum and I got very ill. We caught a horrid sickness bug which  
many others also had.
So unfortunately we missed out on quite a lot here.
On our last day we mannaged to visit the incredible Fort and complete  
the audio tour. However we were still very weak and I begun to get an  
ear infection!
So Jodhpur for me wasn't a pleasant place to be. There was lots more  
to explore that I missed out but I felt the overall city was very  
dirty and stinky and I was glad to be leaving!

We reached Jaiselmer after 7 hours on a local bus.
Jaiselmer was incredible. We arrived to the fort as we were staying  
inside. They call it the golden city. The fort it beautiful and looks  
like something out of an Indian fairy tale!
Jaiselmer is so close to Pakistan and surrounded by desert hence the  
golden city!
The fort is full of great tiny shops selling leather everything!
At this point mum and I were slowly starting to feel better even  
though I was still deaf! So we decided to arrange a Camel Safari- we  
drove for hours in the back of a jeep with our turbans on to protect  
us from the sand and to look the part of course!
Just before we met our Camels a sand storm begun- very exciting, sand  
was everywhere!

We got onto our Camels and went on our Safari through the Rajasthany  
Desert. It was wonderful!

 I loved it.

 It was so relaxing and a lot  more comfortable than it originally looked 

and the guides were great.
When we reached our base we drank sandy chi and waited for our camp  
fired cooked dinner. Considering what they had to cook with they  
did pretty well!

Jaipur The Pink City
We arrived into Jaipur at 4:30am after another overnight journey.  
However this one was a lot more stressful. We booked our tickets  
online but were on the waiting list. We were told that its fine and  
that we would get tickets on the day. However only Berwyn was allocated  
a bed and the three of us were ticket-less. Kind of stupidly we all  
boarded the train hoping that the TT (ticket master) would find us  
something. He did up until midnight. Then we were official bed/ 
homeless. It wasnt the best experience as the train was jam packed  
with nowhere for us to even sit. Luckily a man who was high up in  
the Indian Army was in Berwyns carriage he took pity on us and demanded to  
the guard that we were all allowed to pile in the tiny carriage!  
Berwyn gave mum and I his bed and he and Dad tried to sleep on the floor!
So our first day was rather weary- we still made the effort to see yet  
another fort!
The evening was perfect. Mum took us to Rambar Palace where she once  
stayed during a grand tour of India with my Aunty.

The palace was stunning. We arrived just on time as there were 6  
beautiful elephants all decorated on their faces with pretty chalk  
colours. There was also lots of horses and Camels but I don't notice  
them when Elephants are around!!
That really made Jaipur brilliant as we were leaving for a train at 3  
and at 4 our huge elephant festival begun- we were so gutted to be  
missing it. So thanks to mum taking us to the palace we still saw some  
Elephants in Jaipur!

We boarded the train to Agra and said goodbye to Rajasthan! It was  
definately worth going to, the people are very friendly and each place  
was so different from the last.

We woke up very early in Agra to begin our walk towards the Taj Mahal.  
The 8th March is a very special day in Northern India as its the Hindu  
festival of Holi. They celebrate by throwing coloured powder/paint all  
over eachother. It was amazing to see- bright colourful powder  
everywhere... On the people, dogs, tuk tuks and even some on us!  
Berwyn was got by a child using his water pistol!

The Taj Mahal was incredible just how I imagined it. It was not a let  
down at all. The only irrating thing was our bossy tour guide who kept  
making us pose for cringing photos- mum and I were in no mood for a  
photo shoot at 7am !

After leaving the wonder of the world we headed back to Delhi in a  
taxi and our driver was a ray of lovely colours!!

The journey back to Delhi saw the Holi festival in a different light.  
We lost count of the car crashes we witnessed and we even saw a woman  
beating her husband to death on the side of the road. For the festival 

and for some even everyday they make home brewed alcohol which in fact poisons  
them and even kills them. Many men were lying on the road side truly  
out of it. And the time was about 11am!
So arriving into Delhi safely was a huge relief as I would say 80% of  
the drivers were drunk!

We spent the last few days in Delhi getting ready to all go our  
separate ways. Dad worked all weekend in the hospital doing training,  
while we tried to get mums train journey to the Himalayas all booked.  
On the sunday mum got her train from new Delhi to Rikikesh where she  
was going to the Ashram! She was meant to by going with my Aunty, but  
unfortunately my great uncle is very unwell and she looking after him.  
Mum was unsure whether to just go home and visit the ashram another  
time. However we all encouraged her to go- knowing she would regret  
not going once she was back home. So she did it! We were all so proud  
of her- travelling alone in India is hard enough let alone visiting an  
Ahran for the first time and staying for 2 weeks. She was up everyday  
at 5am for prayers and Yoga!

On Monday Dad flew back to England, whilst Berwyn and I were meant to be  
flying to Sri Lanka. Kingfisher airline had cancelled our flights  
numerous times. We eventually were reschelduled, however we went via  
every Indian city possible! 15 hours later we arrived into Colombo -1  
one bag!!



Sent from my iPod

I N D I A part two.

Cochin
We reached Cochin by a local hot and sweaty bus. The bus station was 

big and run down.As we were looking for an STD (phone box not  
sexually transmitted desease) I spotted a man I thought I new. He  
stared at me and then shouted 'Lauren'! It was a friend of my parents.  
Sivan- I had met him on my other trips to India. It was so strange to  
bump into him, Cochin is such a huge busy city. Sivan is a great man,  
from an extremely poor village. He met my parents and aunty 15 years  
ago on a train. Since then Sivan has done so well and started his own  
website company! He really is the original white tiger! He proudly  
showed us around his new office and we had a great laugh as he blared  
out ABBA from his new laptop!
Later that day we checked into Hotel Princess in Fort Cochin. The room  
was tiny and pretty dull, it was definately over priced. The next day  
we woke up feeling like the place was haunted. We both had experienced  
very strange dreams and had seen things in the room...
Whilst packing up our stuff as we had decided to look for a better  
room, cock roaches had appeared from underneath the bed, so we were  
happy to be going!
After checking into a cheaper and far better place, we went for a long  
walk around Cochin fort area.
We went and observed the old traditional Chinese fishing nets. Which  
are great to see but unfortunately won't be around for much longer as  
their not economically efficent, as it take four man to lift one out  
of the water!
We wondered along the water front and saw the Jewish Synogue and Dutch  
Palace.
Cochin had changed such a lot since I was last there 20 years ago. The  
fort area was far more up market with lots of swanky restaurants and  
art galleries. It great to see such a lovely place being appreciated  
by so many travels, and its a great way to for the lives of the locals  
to improve.
 From researching a little about the state of Kerala, it tells us that  
Kerala is the most educated state in the whole of India. The lives of  
its people also have a better quality of life and live upto 10 years  
longer than the average Indian. However a few years back there weren't  
enough jobs available for the educated people. This led to depression,  
alcoholism and Kerala being the state with the most suicides. However,  
thanks to Tourism hundreds of new jobs have been created and all the  
entrepreners have their chance to make great business.

After spending a few days in Cochin we took the ferry across (2.5  
rupees/3p) the estury to Ernkalum Junction train station.
There we got on the train foe Calicut. We had pre booked our seats on  
Cleartrip so we didnt have to worry about about having to lean against  
the toilet this time!
The jouney was great- I was getting very excited as we were making our  
way to Calicut as my mother was flying from England the following day.
We took advantage of all the sellers on the train selling delious  
snacks. We had plenty of Chai and coffee to drink, and we were  
adventurous enough to risk all the tasty food- however we had no clue  
what we were eating!
The next day we woke up early. I could hardly wait to meet my mother.  
I hadn't seem her for six months. We have such a close relationship so  
being so far away from her for such a long time was quite challenging.
We made it to the airport on a local bus, that way we saved about 350  
rupees. We checked that her flight had landed and we headed to the  
arrivals gate. I love observing all the families waiting for their  
relative to arrive. I was wonder how long they have waited to see one  
another and try snd figure out their story. The arrivals gate is  
always a happy place to be. I only ever go when I'm meeting someone  
close to me.
We waited quite a while, lots of kind Indians came over and chatted to  
us. They all wanted to know who we were waiting for and where we were  
going next. Its so nice when the locals just want a friendly chat and  
aren't trying to you something!
Soon after, mum arrived, it was so lovely seeing her, I gave her the  
biggest hug.
We got a pre paid taxi to drive us to Wayanad. The journey was hectic,  
up the wining mountain roads, mum hadn't adjusted to the Indian roads  
yet so was gasping everytime our driver over took on a hair pin bend!
Eventually we arrived in Kalpata, a tiny town in the district of  
Wayanad.
We stayed in a hotel called 'Palm Royal'. It was a really nice hotel  
for Berwyn and I as the standard was a lot higher than our usual  
budget accommodation.
The next day we figured out the local bus routes and finally reached  
Wayanad Wildlife Sanctury. We had a great adventure trip through the  
jingle in a jeep! We saw lots of wild elephants, so it was really  
exciting!

The next day we arrived a taxi to take is to our next destination. We  
wanted to go by bus and save lots of money but because some roads were  
through the jungle and passed through 3 India states, Kerala, Karnatka  
and Tamil Nadu, so there wasn't a bus route.
The jouney was stunning- well worth the money. It was like a tour of  
India's finest countryside. We pottered through the Nilgiri Hills  
amongst the tea and coffee plantations.
  We even came across some elephants!


I had visited Mudamalai 10 years ago with my family and had one of the  
best times of my life- so I was so excited to return.
Mudumalai is 322 square kilometres of jungle which has one of the  
largest populations of elephants in India.
We stayed in a lovely jungle resort called Safar Land. It was perfect.  
We did a morning trek to the mountain point. Unfortunately the morning  
mist was heavy and we didnt spot anything but we did burn a few  
calories!
The afternoon we spent sitting my the beautiful river and mum and I  
wrote a poem!
Sitting on an Indian rock,
Forgetting about the English clock,
Watching the river water rush,
This really is what I call lush.
Listening to the chirping birds,
Dreaming of seeing the elephant herds.
Crouching under the the Nilgiri Hills,
For just that moment time stood still.

Later that day we went on a Safari in some sort of bus... It wasn't  
that great and we didnt see hardly anything. However afterwards we  
headed down the river where the local mahouts had kept their elephants  
for the night. So we took lots of lovely pictures and watched the  
local kids wash and play fright in the river while their parents did  
the daily washing.

The next day we arrived in Ooty. Ooty was found on the early  
nineteenth century by the British. It was a lovely place. High up on  
the Nilgiri Hills. Perfect temperature, hot in the daytime and nice  
and cool on the evenings- no wonder the British wouldnt leave! It was  
a delightful town- growing potatoes, tea, coffee and fruit.
We visited the Ooty Tea Museum and Factury. It smelt delious! And at  
the end we were even more happier to discover they were selling  
Homemade Chocolate.... Although it tasted rubbish!! Just like fake  
advent calandar chocolate!!
The following morning we boarded The Nilgiri Blue Mountain Railway. It  
looked like a tiny toy train.
Although there was no room for anyones luggage and it was possibly the  
most uncomfortable train we had ever been on it was still very fun!  
And of course the views were pretty spectactular!
We stopped off at the stunning hill stations along the way and stocked  
up on our delicious Chi.

A few hours later we arrived in Coinbatore. A very busy industrial  
city. We visit this city every time we come to the motherland, because  
our family friends live here. Aunty Preetha, Uncle Pradip and Pranaya.
Unfortunately Pradip was away working but we were still met by Preetha  
and Pranaya.
We had a lovely day with them. They look us to a really posh and  
delicous restaurant for Lunch. After lunch we drove for a while into  
Coinbators suprisingly beautiful countryside. Finally we arrived to  
Isha Ashram and Yiga Centre. It was a very special place. We went into  
the Temple and got blessed with fire and flowers. We dipped our feet  
in the blessed enery pool, it was magical in there. Then we went and  
meditated in the golden done. Which is made out of balancing bricks  
and no cement. It is meant to survive a earth quake. We
Aunty Preetha  bought me a strength band. She tied it around my left  
wrist. I hope it lasts forever.
That night we got our first Indian night bus with my Mother! I was do  
impressed she was fine with it. It was a luxury bus though!
We arrived in Pondicherry at 4am. Luckily our hotel let us sleep in  
the lobby ss it was far to early to check in.
Pondicherry is a town on the east coast of Indian- it is very popular  
with tourists as parts of the town are French. So has lots of little  
bakeries and some posh European restaurants. The promonard is nice and  
clean and becomes really busy with the locals in the evening. Behind  
the expensive sea front area, are many back roads full of homeless  
Indians. The most we have seen after being on India for over a month.  
There wasn't much begging but you couldn't help but notice the  
families including children and babies sleeping near the awful  
stinking canals.
My Dad met us in Pondicherry. It was a  great reunion after such a  
long time.
The next day we visited a Leprocy project that my patents had been  
working with. My dad went to do some training and mum Berwyn and I  
just had a tour of the project and saw all the fantastic work FECT had  
been doing.  In India Leporasy is something that local people don't  
fully understand due to the lack of education- so they are freightened  
of the people who suffer with the disease. They don't want them in the  
village and they can't even enter the buses.
An extremely kind couple who began FECT went around the villages and  
started collecting all the people that had been abandoned. They  
brought them back to their own home. It started with a shed type  
building in the garden and now with the funding they had recieved they  
have made the 50 lepers a beautiful home/hospital. It was so great to  
see what they had achieved. Their next step is to use the roof of the  
building for childrens after school clubs- and there was even talk of  
an orphanage.
The next day we headed to Prangapetiti for the day. This was a village  
where I had done some volenteering work with my friend carl a few  
years ago. It was so great to visit the people who I lived and worked  
with again.

I N D I A

India..Chapter One

We arrived into a freezing cold Delhi at 9am 17th January.
Although I was returning to the motherland for my 4th time I had never been to North India and had heard the stories!
Every time I come back to India I still get completely overwhelmed and culture shocked. The noise, smell, and sights are something hard to get used to!
However, stepping out into the freezing air of Delhi in flip flops was acyually not too crazy..I think the cold temperatures even had the taxi drivers pretty quiet!
We seachered down hundreds of taxi drivers looking for our names as we had pre booked with our hostel..but we couldn't find it. Meanwhile a guy has been following us for about 15 minutes trying usto get a taxi with him. In the end he offered us his phone to call th hostel. He says he'll do it for us. When his is on the phone is passes it to me..and some guy is telling m that our driver has had a nasty accident and we shuld arrange another taxi! I had a quick flash back to 30 odd pages in the lonely planet about scams and waked away.
Just as I thought within 2 minutes our small happy chappy taxi driver arrives.
Welcome to Delhi Scam Central!

Our hotel was not that great- the window in our room wouldn't shut, there was no hot water, the floor was ice cold marble with rat poo on.....

So we headed out to the streets of Delhi wearing all the clothes we own. The first shop we went to was to buy extra blankets and huge woolen shawls.

We felt ill, as we had been in such a hot climate for the past five months and we certainly were not prepared for this!

 48 hours later we got a plane right down the South of India. It took 5 hours (longer than our flight to India from Thailand!!)

Finally we arrived in sunshine....38 degrees...that's better!

A friend of my parents Vinith, who studied in Worcester kindly met us at Trivandrum airport. He was so kind to us and showed us all the best places to eat great Keralan food!

We stayed in Varkala- 40 minutes out of Trivandrum. Varkala is a beautiful beach town in the Kerala. The beach was stunning, golden sand and huge fun waves. The backdrop was perfect- hundreds of sweeping palm trees and a huge cliff top at the back of the beach. The cliff was full of lovely restaurants selling delicious seafood! We had a fish BBQ most nights!

We spent the days lazing around on the fairly empty beach and watching tons of beautiful birds of pray flying over us basking in the Indian sunshine. I have never seen so many eagles in life.

One day Vinith took to us up the mountains, it was so peaceful and only one hour away from Trivandrum. The mountains were so green and breathing in fresh air in India is a rarity! It looked very similar the area where I live at home, the Malvern Hills.

After Varkala we headed down the coast to Kovalam. I had been here a few years ago with my very close friend Carl. It was so lovely to go back and reminisce about the great times we had there.

We also stayed in the same hotel as before "Wilson Hotel" which was pretty much luxury for us as it had a swimming pool!

In Kovalam we did a week of body mind and soul cleansing with aruvsydic treatment, massage and two hours of yoga each morning. It was hard work but brilliant! Even on day one they had is doing headstands; obviously Berwyn was far better than I was!

The treatments were interesting- they included sinus cleaning by pouring oil down our noses until we flemmed up all the toxins from our body- disgusting!

The massages were extremely oily, and we had to completely naked, so most of the time I was holding on for dear life so I didn’t slip off the wooden table!

Overall it was a very pleasant experience. Learning the foundations for Yoga was something we will never forget and hopefully keep it up when we get back to England.

From Kovalam we headed to Trivandrum to say goodbye and thank you to Vinith. We went to our favourite little cafe which did the best byriani for 27 rupees (35p) !!

I also went and bought a beautiful sari and had the blouse made for me within the hour.

At 5pm we headed to the train station to get the train to Alleppey. We got a rickshaw and Vinith went on his motorbike- however our driver took us to a different entrance, so we lost Vinith and it got a little stressful finding our platform as it’s not as simple at TFL!

Berwyn had bought the cheapest tickets possible 44 rupees for a three hour journey (57p) !

Obviously you get what you pay for... We couldn't find a seat anywhere the carriages were like cattle lorries at home, so we tried to get comfy leaning against the toilets!

We arrived in Alleppey late in the evening, but it all worked out well finding our room. The room was the best yet in India. It was stunning located right on the front of Kerala’s backwaters. The room resembled a beautiful old fashioned boat. Alleppey is a rather small fishing town- but still busy with all the traffic!

Our first day we headed down to the central canal and bargained for a tiny boat to take us around the backwaters.

It was such a relaxing journey through the small water ways, passing through the villages and watching the locals going about their everyday lives.

The following day we decided we wanted to splash out and get a "house boat" for the day and evening. It coasts 100 pounds which is very expensive for India and especially as we were backpacking.

Finally we made a deal. 

Our boat was called 'Tuna' and was lovely. At first I washy that impressed as I though it would be a palace on water for the price we paid, but after settling in it became beautiful. Unlike most of the others it had an upper deck section which was amazing! We had a view for miles! Looking beyond the waters to the beautiful rice paddies. And as we spent the day judging all the others we knew we had a bloody lovely boat!!

The experience was incredible. We were treated like kings... Delicious food, a feast for lunch followed by afternoon tea with banana fritters and onion bargies!

Thailand Travels...

Thailand

We arrived in Bangkok and waited to board our first over night train in South East Asia...

The train was taking us to Chomporn which was the closest train station to Koh Tao Island.

The train was really nice, a lot better than I thought. At 9pm the cabin boy came around and made up everyone's bed. It was very cozy and comfortable.

At 4:30am we were all woken up at our station and thrown onto the transfer bus which was taking us to the pier.

The bamboo pier was beautiful. It was so lovely to see Thailand's stunning coast. So far all we knew of Thailand was crazy Bangkok...

The boat journey to Koh Tao was the worst..I experienced Sea Sickness for the first time in my life. It was awful. At first I thought it was food poisoning, but when I looked around and most people were throwing up over the side of the boat I knew I wasn't alone.

However it was worth it. Koh Tao was lovely.
Koh Tao is famous for it's diving. In fact it certifies 10% of the worlds divers..and its a tiny tiny island so its pretty impressive.
As it was Christmas time we decided to do our Advanced Open Water Course with our lovely friend Lindsey. We met Lindsey in Vietnam but bumped into her at the train station in Bangkok and we all stuck together for Christmas on Koh Tao.

The Advanced course isn't so 'test' like as the first instead you chose 5 areas of diving that you would like further training in. It enables you to dive more dive sites that need more skill and experience.
I chose Night Dive, Navigation, Buoyancy Control, Wreck Dive, Deep Dive.
We finished our course of Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve was brilliant we went to a beach party and waited fanatstic fire dancers perform, and then a brilliant firework display!

Christmas day was so strange...not having the usual Christmas day routine. Although I really missed home and being with my family we definitely made the most of where we were and enjoyed ourselves. We stole one of the tropical trees from outside our room and put lovely tinsel around the branches..our very own Thai Christmas Tree!

In the afternoon we met up with Lindsey and went for our Christmas Meal Buffet! It was really fun and tacky! They were blaring out Christmas songs and lots of chrissy music. The meal was interesting..they had the works but it was all cold! No way as good as my Mum and Dads (!) but it was better than having another Thai Green Curry!!

A few days after Christmas we headed up to Northern Thailand to Chiang Mai. Here we met up with our friend Jess who we traveled with in Malaysia. It was great to meet up again and chat about our experiences in all the different countries. We all stayed in a lovely guest house called 'Green Tulip'.

We loved Chiang Mai from day 1. It had a really great atmosphere and soo many wonderful things to explore.
We chose 'Mahout Elephant Training Day'. I had been waiting for this day from the moment I begun saving for my travels!
It was fantastic... by far the best day of my travels so far.
We arrived in a beautiful farm about 1 hour out of Chiang Mai. We were given special 'Mahout' clothing (Mahout is the Elephant rider)
After our briefing about the Elephants and their daily routine we headed over to feed them. Th elephants eat 10% of their body weight..so as you can imagine feeding them the bananas took a very long time!
Once the elephants were full our guide taught us the basic commands for getting on and off the elephants and also how to direct them whilst trekking.
It was amazing...such a wonderful experience riding on the elephant bare back amd with bare feet was such a special feeling. Although getting on and off was quite an ordeal..and I wasn't very elegant to say the least. Berwyn made it look very easy!

After a delicious feast of curries, rice and pineapple we met up with our own individual elephant. Mine was 55 years old....a lazy old bird!!!
Altogether we went on a trek. It was beautiful. Through the jungle on our own elephants.We went up and down steep hills and keeping your balance was very exciting!

Finally we made it to the end of the trek safe and sound. We ended up walking through a stunning river. We played water fights with the elephants and other mahouts. Then we were given a bucket and a big scrubbing brush to make our elephants sparkling clean!
It was such a special day I will never ever forget.

New Years Eve was a fantastic day. At 2 pm we headed out to take part in a Thai Cooking Course. It was great fun as this was more like a cooking school. The others we had taken part in were basically private lessons. So it was great to be sharing the experience with a group of fun people.

We made the original Pad Thai recipe, red Thai curry, coconut soup, tom yam soup and sticky rice with mango.
After we finished- we enjoyed a delicious feast we had made for ourselves!

That evening we met up with Jess and Tom and headed into Chiang Mai's centre to enjoy New Years Eve. First we headed to a Temple. When we arrived I was completely amazed. It was stunning. Hundreds of candles were twinkling on the ground surrounded by over 50 monks in orange robes sitting crossed legs. It was a very special image. It the background was the voice of a monk explaining about how they live their lives and how we should try and take a few ideas from them to live in complete happiness.

I was so happy that we went there and experience such a lovely and different thing for NYE.
After we headed to the main square where they had a huge stage set up for the count down into 2012. There were thousands of people and even more Chinese lanterns in the square...so beautiful.
We struggles to get through the crowds. It was so busy because all the locals from the big cities head up to Chiang Mai for the New Year Celebrations. So we made sure we had a beer and Chinese lantern in hand and waiting for 2012! The firework display was fantastic and the amount of Chinese lanterns going up was incredible...a very special NYE.

A few days later Berwyn and I hired bikes to explore the golden triangle. I was very scared to have my own bike as I had never really ridden one before.
However I put my fear behind me, as I thought you have to take risks on the travels, otherwise you'll miss out too much!
I'm so glad I did. It was beautiful driving around Northern Thailand. On the first day we drove 300km to Chiang Rai. It was a sweet little pplace but in the evenings was like a little ghost town.
The next day we headed to Chiang Dao which isn't even in our guide book, but was half way on the map! The journey to this town was through the mountain. It was only Berwyn and I on the wining roads for hours. It was so peaceful and for once in Thailand we were away from all the tourists!
The next day we headed for the hardest ride of all..up to Pai in the mega mountains. Many had said how difficult the ride was. 724 hair pins!!
We took it slow and it was amazing, I felt so proud of myself that I did it! I had a few near misses with cows and dogs but apart from that it was easy!

Pai was one of my favourite places in Thailand. It was very chilled out and hippy. It was a tiny mountain town- with great restaurants and a brilliant market.
We spent the days lying in hammocks looking over the stunning views. One day we headed up to a very high view point, my bike didn't make it......! So I walked and left the bike at the bottom.

From the very top of Thailand we headed on a 48 hour back down to the Islands.
Firstly we went to Koh Phi Phi, which is where they filmed 'The Beach'. It was beautiful but way too touristy, and the prices were extremely high. We planned to stay for a week but left after 2 nights!
We headed to Koh Lanta which was cheaper and more chilled out. We stayed in a lovely apartment in the jungle and the owner gave us a free motor bike to get around the island which was great!
In Lanta we took a day snorkeling trip around the islands and even went to a place called the emerald cave. We had to swim about 200m in through the caves in the pitch black...it was so worth it, we came out the other side to paradise...it was lush little beach which had been discovered by pirates!

After Koh Lanta we headed to Railay and Tonsai Beach which is located just next to the mainland Krabi.
We were so glad we came here if only for one night as we had run out of time. It was truly beautiful. And by far our favourite place in southern Thailand. The beach was surrounded by incredible cliffs and walls. Hundreds travel to this area for rock climbing. We didn't have time to try it out ourselves, but when we arrived the tide was in and we couldn't walk along the beach to our accommodation- so instead we had to climb over the hill and down the cliff with our rucksacks! It was so hard and we were sweating pints! But it was a achievement and at least we experienced a rock climb!