Homestay Lucknow

... in excrement. <br><br>The right hand toilet was western. Similar to the trainspotting toilet. This negated the need to strip off and was my favored dropping off point. That is until I misjudged my stance (no sitting on the thing, no way, just semi squatting at a 45 degree angle and holding on the sink tight for dear life) and shat everywhere. Had a vain attempt at a clear up operation. But it was beyond hope. I ...

... man again it turned out he was the chef too!!) ...... I have never encountered a kebab like it and never want to again ...a wilting sausage more like .... gross!!!!!<br><br>so we went off to the train station in the hope of booking an express train to DElhi ... on the way the pedal rickshaw driver decided to give us a grand tour instead .....we went miles ..we were yelling at him 'where are you going' he couldnt understand English and just kept ...

Perharsar is a small village in rural Rajhastan. There is an old haveli in the centre which I imagine is a good source of income for the village as it is now a hotel and the base for all visitors. The villagers themselves all live in make-shift houses made from bamboo, mud, corregated iron, the more ambitious of them have been made with bricks and thatched roofing. They share their space with goats, camels, cows, buffalo and monkeys. The first ...

... are. I was dismayed to see the boatload of tourists next to us clambering over each other to take snap-shots of what, after all, had once been a living, breathing person. Overall, then, I can certainly see the attraction of Varanasi, but it was not entirely my cup of tea, and by lunchtime I had decided I would change my rail tickets (not an easy thing to do with beaurocracy-loving Indian railway officials!) and spend a day in Lucknow, where I am now. Lucknow is of course very ...

... the shoes. The girls are whirling and moving all about, and all of a sudden they do a huge stamp on the concrete floor (in bare feet) that sounds like a gunshot. Or maybe a combination of stamps and slaps in time to the music. I recommend seeing it if you ever get the chance. The next morning we got up at 530 to try and get a seat in the general compartment, but all the delhi trains were delayed (surprise) so we took another ...

One of the things that I am hoping to find here in India is a good yoga class! I knew that yoga here was different than the type of yoga that's popular in the U.S., but I assumed that since yoga comes from India, I'd be able to find an instructor or course that would at least allow me to practice the postures and breathing exercises that yoga is known for. Sharon also wants to find a yoga class or instructor, so we've both been doing a bit of internet research to ...

... the end, and so I allow things time to dry). Depending on what I'm washing, I can spend between 45 minutes and 2 hours soaping, scrubbing and wringing my laundry. Towels and sheets are definitely the things I dread washing the most, since it takes forever to get the soap out and double that for these items to dry. So, for all of you back home...my advice is to be grateful for your washers and dryers, since laundry becomes its own extracurricular activity without them!

... and streamers. They had also hired a caterer to serve "Chaat" (Indian snacks or appetizers). When the woman arrived, she was showered with rice and flower petals, and led with her husband to the "seats of honor" at the end of the terrace. Apparently, the woman is a "tom-boy" and never wears makeup or a sari, so all the staff members made a big fuss when she arrived in full makeup and a beautifully-ornamented sari. Gifts were given to the newlyweds, and lots of ...

... back over to our luggage, a man from the NGO named JK was standing with her. The coolies helped us bring the luggage out to JK's van, and then we were off. JK, we later learned, is the NGO's driver, and he doesn't speak any English. However, I attempted to use pigeon-Hindi to make some chit-chat, asking him to tell us about the different parts of Lucknow we were passing on the way. While it seemed like he understood my questions, I realized that I had no ...

Our last few days in India.. last minute flights to Varanasi as we were running short of time (no honestly, we really wanted to take that 40 hour bus....) What can we say about the place???... arrived at the airport, taxis asking a small Indian fortune, Paul already been sick twice on the plane, I know lets take a tuk-tuk (m/cycle with 2 seat cabin and hairdryer engine although louder than a plane), hang on this is a ...