Piccadilly Hotel Lucknow

... and silent staring. Praying patiently for the journey to end. I just wanted to jump in a tuk-tuk and high speed it to a hotel and I'll be in heaven.<br><br>Although with hindsight. Being sick on a travel day, although highly inconvenient is very time efficient. No thats bollocks. It was like going to work with a hangover x10 with no option of a little phone call and a cough to get you out of dodge city.<br><br>

... i think it was 1200 rps (£16) ...... so, nevermind the bus .. ... and back to India we go......... again.....<br><br>As soon as you hit it you just know!!! suddenly everything just becomes really dirty and smelly again..... Oh the smells...so pungent .... some so sweet, incensce, food...others foul....urine and rotting filth .... I say all this fondly however ... its India, and I love it.........for better or for worse..... nothing can equal it ...

... the village helps each other out. We saw as they all bathed in a local well and washed each other, little girls washing the hair of their sisters and taking turns to bathe the babies. They all just seemed so so happy, regardless of whether we were there or not. And they live in the most beautiful place in amongst the hills, in wonderful forests with such magical scenery. I felt, as I stood there, that perhaps I was the one that might be missing out.

... palace, and demonstrating the techniques used to create the fine Buddhist and Hindu metalwork sculptures. After my visit to the capital, I returned one last time to Pokhara, and had a wonderful farewell meal with J.P. Cross, Buddhiman and family. They were all so kind and hospitable to me, and I miss them all already. In particular I have learned so much from the colonel himself and have been quite inspired by him. The following day was Holi, the Hindu festival of colours ...

... one or two people. And just in case someone forgot to say happy birthday, one of my colleagues made it his job to remind each new person that joined the meeting. I had a pretty busy day at work, as I'm helping my boss coordinate a civil society meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health who will be visiting India at the end of the month to report on maternal mortality in the country. So, my work kept me busy until lunch time, when I brought out the ...

... but since Priyanshu didn't have a ticket, he had to hide from the conductor for a while, then finally had to bribe him to stay on. Good system hey. We made it to Lucknow the next morning at 9 am, only 2 hours delayed. We went to Priyanshu's family's house for some food and to rest for a bit. I met Priyanshu's mother, brother, sister, and father. His father is a very devout Brahmin, he spends several hours a day worshipping and ...

... yet because the wallas roll by my house pretty fast and I can't understand what any of them are saying, but I think that after a couple more weeks of watching what each of them brings and listening to their calls, I'll begin to understand who is selling what. There are 2 small stray dogs that live under the driveway of my house. My landlady told me that they're a brother and sister, and that their mom died when they were little puppies, so she started ...

... as I made scrambled eggs and toast for dinner, but it was filling enough. While my fellowship agreement does not require me to work on Saturdays (all Indians work Mon.-Sat.), Jashodhara told us about 2 important meetings that were happening this Saturday, and since it was our first week and we wanted to learn as much as possible about our organization's work, we decided to go into work for the meetings. Because I was fasting for Yom Kippur, I was actually grateful ...

... I tried again and again to bargain them down with the little Hindi I remembered. They came down in price a little and because it seemed like we had no alternative, we accepted their offer. I don't think I've written about coolies before, but they are mostly all short, skinny men who look like they could never lift anything over 10 lbs. They use rags that they tie in a circle on their head to balance the bags on top. I still don't understand how they don't tip ...

... taken up until now had been Shatabdi trains - posher trains that just have seats in them. It was surprisingly very clean and we pulled out of Jhansi just 10 minutes late. This class is mostly made up of middle class Indian's who are well dressed and middle management businessmen in nice shirts and trousers, although all Indian males dress sense needs a lot to be desired! After about 10 minutes of leaving Jhansi, an attendant came along and dished out a sheet, pillow and blanket ...