Hotel Sarin Inn Varanasi

... un mese sperso sulle montagne mi sembra di essere ritornato in India dopo un piccolo viaggio in un altro universo. Qui di nuovo clackson, di nuovo casino, di nuovo gente che ti vuole portare dove vuole lei, insomma la buona caotica india.
Non fa nemmeno troppo caldo. Meno male. Scappo prima che diventi proprio buissimo.
A presto.

... some food and then I had to go back to the hotel to have a little nap. Momo and Noumet then joined me at the hotel so we could have a few drinks. We had a really good time and it was a bit surreal to meet with these guys in the middle of India!!

We tried to watch the World Cup play-off game Ireland-France on the internet but we could not unfortunately. We did not push the limits and called it a day at around 2am.

So we all successfully survived the night train and other than clearly being the spectacle of the century for some indians all went pretty well! I fitted on the bed, was warm enough and had no hidious experience with the dreaded toilets!! Rock on!!

Currently in the most sacred town of Varinasi where every good Hindu would like to die!!

Its a place crammed with tiny streets and rabbit warren roads which can fit a scooter/cow/two people ...

... Varanasi and the bodies are brought down to the water and cremated on log piles next to the water edge, the ashes are then scattered in the water. This was quite disconcerting to watch as the funeral processtion is very public and their are people everywhere just watching such private moments - photography is banned which we stuck to but plenty of tourists were snapping away. We were approached by a couple of people asking for 'donations' for the wood used but we had been prewarned ...

... get themselves to India's eastern border then I could get myself onto a flight from Delhi.

And so I left Varanasi with something only life experience brings...perspective. Perhaps the full force of the Ganges' current would not have pushed me this way had my own circumstance been different but I am pleased that it has because, in a funny way, it has allowed me to build on my own faith and appreciation for what's important.

... It's Holy right, can't be bad!.)

As we prepared to leave the city, I looked downstream, beyond the burning Ghats. There in the river, I saw a boat and a small object the size of a human head, floating off to its left side.

We have seen the city and we ready to move on. I think this has been a very interesting, moving, but disturbing, and hygienically difficult portion of the trip. We take a train next to Jhasi then get a driver to Khajuraho, Orchha, and Gwalior.

... for "just one kiss mam"! Matt said, "no, she's mine"! I've never been so blinking popular!!!! Although, Matt's had some attention - his male fan that worked in our guesthouse continued the massage requests...only one morning we woke up and he had disappeared from the guesthouse...done a runner in the middle of the night - very suspicious circumstances (and no one knows why)! Maybe he couldn't stand being rejected by Matt!!!! Ha!

The ...

... more enlightened educational approach for her 200 underprivileged students, and her tenacity in reaching out to a community of parents and children who at first viewed her as an outsider left an indelible impression on me today. I've been looking for an outstanding organization to write home about and this is it. If anyone out there is interested in supporting a school, the Asha Deep Vidyashram is a worthy cause in my humble ...

... banana muffins. Everybody was left a little dazed.

A good day was had by all and the event had given us a high, it was one of the most fascinating events of my life.

According to NASA , it was the longest eclipse of this century and will not be surpassed until June 13, 2132.

There's a trance party planned to co-incide with the 2010 total solar eclipse on Easter Island but i'm not sure my cash will stretch that far.

... We also discussed travelling and his upcoming journey to the Taj Mahal in Agra. Other topics of conversation were debating the merits of Star Wars lego versus the Transforners bionicals, about the latest kid's blockbuster movies and about the logistics of a lego castle he had built at home. He also told us of life on the road in India. It was good to hear some Indian travel stories from a child's perspective. Rumi showed us his favourite lego man which he kept in his ...