Hotel Lila's Porbandar

... the pilgrims pray, before finding somewhere quiet to relax, as by this point my legs felt and if they were made from molten rock. However, quiet, relax and India really do not go hand in hand and within minutes we were surrounded by maybe forty or more smiling faces all wanting to meet us. No one could believe their eyes that we were there, one man shook my hand vigorously an with the utmost sincerity in his voice, thanked me for coming to India ...

Janpal: Today I woke up and was expecting another early morning, but apparently we needed a permit to enter the park and we didn't have one yet. So the driver went out and got us the permits needed to enter the park. We usually leave at about 9 am, and today we did homework until about noon when the driver came with our permits. It took about a half an hour to get to Narara beach. On the way we saw many pink flamingoes. We got movies and pictures of them ...

... companies outside Ahmedabad. After that we saw lots of raw cotton. Our driver told us that the cotton is sent north to spin and then comes back to be woven. It was really neat to see the huge piles. We also saw lots of salt piles. Gandhi's famous salt march started in Ahmedabad and ended south in Surat. Gujarat is surrounded by water and where it touches land, borders Pakistan. So there was a good security presence everywhere we went.

... to be unperturbed by the blows I carry on photographing but yet again receive more blows. My Muay Thai skills are of no use here, if I try to retaliate in any means I'm going to have 800,000 people after me so after receiving the blows I stay passive and apologize. Gradually my presence is causing too much commotion but I am stuck in the procession. Along the route is jammed with pilgrims and there is no way to get off the path so I have to injure it. It is like I am at war, I ...

... may also be happy to hear that i've been flexing my vocal chords in the safety of a school where no one but Jilly really knows me, singing Christmas carols and a few other English hits in front of hoards has become a habit! Today we also did an assembly for the children about the environment and the effects of climate change. I hope it all sunk in as they after all are our future... Although we have had some time to explore ...

... spite of he little they have here. It is a big responsibility but a pleasure to brighten up their day with my strange skin, hair, and clothes. In this one week alone we have made our way from Delhi to Amdevad, on to Bhavnagar where we were eased into it all with some Indian cinema home-loving and hooked up with our driver for the next few days. He is an awesome bloke who has become like a brother from another mother in the short time we've known ...

... nothing aesthetically great to look at and the house feels more abandoned then trying to celebrate someone's life. However the emptiness & simplicity gives time for respect & reflection. I think anything that was in that house has been sent round the world to try and give people a slice and connection with the man himself. The family house after being given to the government has been massively extended to include a huge courtyard with a museum and photo ...

... launching Project Tiger in over a dozen national parks. Still, the tiger is considered endangered, with more work needed. At the same time, the lions, with only one park and one tenth the population, are somehow not on the front burner. Why is this? Not to say that work is not being done. A second site for Asiatic Lions in Madya Pradesh has been identified; progress is unsure. Within about 300,000 acres are over 350 ...

Back on the dodgy buses we headed to the Safari Park at Sasan Gir to hunt down the last few remaining Asiatic Lions in the world. We were unsuccesful! Was it really worth the 10 hour journey...? Probably, we had great Palak Paneer (Spinach and cheese) curry to make up for the dissapointment!

... no one ever ever tells you about. Arrived in Udaipur and found a nice little room with football on tv. Udaipur is a beautiful town based around a nice big lake, the only problem is that the hotels and small tourist shops have swamped the whole area meaning that you cant walk around without being asked to buy something. Nevertheless, i hired myself a bicycle and spent the next two days seeing the palace and various ...