Hotel Durga Palace Katra

I woke up quite early to speak to Rita on Skype but as soon as we finished I went back to bed. The guys came to get me at around 12.30. We had a drink at the hotel and then went for a swim at the hotel swimming-pool. It was nice to spend the afternoon chilling.<br><br>The girls and I decided to go for some food while the guys stayed in the swimming pool. During that time, Momo got to talking to a French guy who was there and he was from Billé and had played for Bill ...

... mention of the Mother Goddess is in the epic Mahabharat. When the armies of Pandavs and Kaurvas were arrayed in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjun, the chief warrior of Pandavs upon advice of Sri Krishna; meditated upon the Mother Goddess and sought Her blessings for victory. This is when Arjun addresses the Mother Goddess as 'Jambookatak Chityaishu Nityam Sannihitalaye', which means 'you who always dwell in the temple on the slope of the mountain in Jamboo ...

... at a nice hotel in Allahabad that our group went to for lunch. Alisha's mother, Susan, who is a nurse, also stayed with her. I spent Thursday in bed drinking water with electrolyte powder and trying to keep down some white rice. All I did was sleep and watch TV. The Indian soap operas and movies are pretty funny and over the top. Reminds me of the Spanish telenovelas. After some good sleep and fluids I felt much better and decided to spend the next morning visiting a few places in ...

... the mountain 'here's the top, no not really trick' (that the standard indian storekeeper has his own variation of with prices to tourists). Plenty of chai and biscuits were ingested at the top accompanied as ever by efforts to pull, tweak, squeeze, prod, bend, spin, buzz, whir, rip or click everything and anything on our vehicles from outer space. Oh and my back wheel came a little bit off. Must remember to not let that happen. Ho-hum. (Won't do it again Mum). Tim

... or Prayag, the fervor of pilgrims became apparent. At each stop, more pilgrims entered the train cabins. All train staff mysteriously vanished and anarchy prevailed. Soon, I had many guests on my upper berth bed, along with their luggage. I watched as tempers flared below me, spittle moving from mouth to mouth in anger--immortality was at stake. No one is getting in my way, I will be the first to bathe, I could hear everyone saying to themselves as they pushed and ...

... from India. He did a good job. Picked out something all by himself. Imagine that. Adam shopping. I also bought something cool for Chaelah and Alannah. Not sure if they will like what I got them, but I am really hoping so! I also got 4 pairs of pants tailored and Adam got one pair. They are all made out of combed cotton and are very nice. ANyways, Adam is complaining that he has to go to the bathroom for the fourth million time today so we had better run!!! Love, Brittni and Adam

... the river and walked the streets window shopping and dodging cows all over the streets. Bought a small handmade foam bunny rabbit this guy was selling on the street. Very surreal looking but quite ingenious use of common materials! Heading to Varinasi tomorrow for the last few days of my tour. Hopefully I'll locate a faster internet connection soon...I know you all are on the edge of your seats for the Kama Sutra pictures! Cheers : )

Allahabad was where India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was born. We toured his family's house, now a museum, and it was very inspirational to see the rooms where Gandhi stayed and the balcony on which he worked when he was ...

... and bathing in the holy water of this magnificent river - but everyone seems to accept this now. Hundreds of tourists. This afternoon we will visit the "Chowk" or market area but it will not be very comfortable for us. We are just walking dollars in this type of area.

... originally built between 3BC to 11AD, and then destroyed by the Muslims in 16AD. For me as a Japanese, temples and Buddha sculptures seemed familiar and made me feel safe. To my surprise, there were hundreds of pilgrims from many countries, such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and Japan. They might search for inner peace through meditation. I was entertained by annoying sellers and sweet chai here also.