Here I am in Mumbai, my last stop in India! The contrast with the mountainous and green terrain of Sikkim, sliced by blue-green torrents and dotted with small villages, could not be starker. The last week was just sheer bliss with really good company and amazing hikes in the countryside, under the towering Himalayas. Here, from the cybercafe, the grumble of the traffic and the harsh honking outside remind me that I am yet again in the midst of 'civilisation' as we call it. Yet I know noone here, a total stranger in a huge city! Its a strange feeling after spending a few days in a small village of a few hundred, where everyone knows everyone. In Pelling in West Sikim, I had been invited to drink a local brew made of millet seeds in the home of my host, in their woodshed, near a crackling fire that warmed my cold bones, whilst sharing stories. On most nights, fellow travellers would share a table for dinner. Some of the locals could hardly speak English, but they were keen to know me, just as much as I was keen to learn their stories. In comparison, last night was the first I spent having dinner alone in a yet crowded restaurant, and then coming back to my room, watching some 'news' on BBC or CNN, and falling asleep.
The mountains and wilderness have a strange capacity to reinvigorate, to recharge ones worn batteries and to bewilder, leaving us gazing at our own relative insignificance in the face of the mighty world out there. The city has an energy of its own, but its strange how such a crowded place can also feel so lonely and foreign after spending time in some of the most remote parts of India.
When one is not working, one is killing time, waiting for excitement in whatever form is portrayed to us. It's the lack of such expectations, the certitude of oneself and of one's finite nature that I loved in the Sikkimese people. One guy told me ' You tourists want to see the world. We are born here and we will die here. We have no aspiration to see anything else. Our world is here only, amidst our people'. Another, when asked how he foresaw the future, told me that we live in the KaliYug, the age of destruction and he was worried about his traditions and ways of life. I hope to go back to Sikkim and find it unchanged in ten years, yet one can already see Westernisation at its doorsteps...

Varanasi at dawn- this is a picture of the quieter northern ghats viewed from the boat.
Darjeeling on a clear day-the largest peak is Kanchenjunga, the world;s . The views from Gangtok are similar, but i don't have a good pic as it has been fairly cloudy here.

Sikkim is a weird state. It certainly in no way feels like India up here. Gangtok, its capital, where I presently am, has an air of organisation, though somewhat hotch-potch. At least it does not smell, there are no open sewers, it does not feel overcrowded, and it boasts a terrific transport system consisting of a massive fleet of jeeps, with hardly any buses to be seen. The reason is quite simple- the state, no bigger than greater Delhi, ranges in height from just over sea level to 8598m, with steep potholed roads serpenting about the whole state. Its popluation is predominantly Nepali with a sprinkle of Tibetan refugees that have become very much part fo the local cultural landscape.
There are some amazing Tibetan monastic complexes, and was at one of these (the biggest one in Sikkim) today. The colourful Tibetan architecture and the marroon-clad, clean-shaven monks were in stark contrast with the austere looking khaki-clad Indian army forces that were patroling at the entrances and also within the main complex. The reason is a complex political issue where the head of the Bhuddist sect (the BLack Hat sect) based at this monastery (Rumtek) , has not been allowed to actually set foot in the monastery because the Chinese Government threats of a political relationship meltdown. The guy is therefore stuck in Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama also lives, amidst pleas from his followers to the Indian President of 'we have waited enough!' (posters with this slogan and the picture of him adorn many places in the monastery corridoors).
I've been eating like a King again, and Tibetan food is actually very nice- the dumplings called momos, had with red chilli sauce and a chicken broth is delicious as are some of their other soups. Other local Sikkim delicacies are Yak cheese momos and nettle soup- I've yet to try these.
Tomorrow I'm off to a semi-frozen lake situated 38k from here at nearly 4000m altitude, only 10km away from the Nathula Pass, whcih was only a couple of months ago reopened- it forms one of the only 2 trade routes that are open between India and the China(Tibet) border- however they are not allowing foreigners here, so I doubt I'll be able to see it.

I was thoroughly 'Varansi'd' y the time I got to Kolkata...caught what I think was acute giardia- tinidazole worked remarkably well, and I'm amost totally recovered by now...end result was I have no clue what kolkata is like cos I did not manage much sightseeing at all, and was that close to calling my darjeeling trip off. Somehow, I'm here on the southeastern edge of the Himalayas, the sky is blue, the sun is shining out there and it feels crisp and cold (temp in the morning was 3 degs, and now about 13), and....above all my appetite is back (had not eaten virtually anything for 3 days!). Apprently, as a deserved welcome, the skies decided to clear up today, after a week of gloomy cloud-covered skies with a visibility of a few hundred metres, and my hotel owner kindly knocked at my door at 6am to announce that 'the mountain was visible'. I lazily crept out from under my duvet (there's no heating in the room and it was freezing) after my 14 hour slumber (i've never slept so much, but then I'd not felt as tired as the night before at any point of my trip in India).What he meant was that the whole snow-peaked range, of which mt kanchenjunga, the world's 3rd highest peak at 8588m (ie 250m less than Everest) is part of, was being lit up into an orange pink by the sun rising above the hills in the east- an awesome view from the hotel's top viewing platform.
I had some very English breakfast at Glenary's on the Mall, includng Darjeeilng tea of course, felt rejuvenated and went off for a hike to ghoom, 7km from here. Walking through the inhabited areas revealed a whole new life up here in the mountains, with a majority of Nepalis- one would hardly say I was in India!! I'm hoping to stay in Darjeeling at least one more day, and then off to the North to Sikkim, where the landscape and people are much the same, but much less populated with even better views of the mountains. I don;t think i've got ebough reserve for a 5-6 day trek, but I'll see how I feel. Have certainly started to gulp down again, which should help!!

Varanasi has certainly dwarfed many of my previous experiences in India in terms of sheer cultural shock and extravagance. It is one place where you see India at its most vibrant, in its full rawness, and where Hinduism and its rituals are laid out naked, though they still remain to me as incomprehensible as ever.
The city, one of the oldest on Earth, resonates with a certain energy and exudes a vitality that most here attribute to the presence of the supernatural. The city is a gateway to the gods and a place to absolve sin, and here locals, pilgrims, tourists, destitutes, cows, dogs, orphans collide to produce a most magnificent display of colours, smells and above all emotions. From the peaceful ghats that are bathed in the most amazing light at dawn, passing by the popular ones constantly crowded with sadhus, gurus, pandits, barbers and visitors, and to the ones reserved for cremation ceremonies, a walk along the Ganges is guaranteed at all times to amaze, and by far this is the main activity here in Varanasi or Benaras. A boat ride close to the ghats is a must, though at dawn the mass departure of boatfuls of camera toting and clicking tourists takes away the serenity of the morning ablutions and prayers to a small extent.
The place is also famous for its paan, its amazing lassis and sweets which I've enjoyed. Surprisingly, a large population of moslems live here and the roadside stall biryani I had last night was very good! A mosque built by the moghuls also somewhat defyingly stands over the ghats, and is a reassuring example of tolerance and co-existence, at least on the surface of it.
Anyway, time to catch my train to Kolkata...got to run!!
Am well, and hope to go to Darjeeling and Sikkim before heading to Bombay.
Hope all of you are doing fine!

Happy B'Day Ash!!

Hello from Rajasthan! Once more, traveling took over and I forgot the blog I had diligently been keeping. Also, I suppose the urge to write is somewhat subdued when traveling with someone one can share experiences with.
Anyway, 2 weeks have passed since I last wrote from Hampi and I feel like I have covered a vast tract of historical India during this time. I'll try to give a brief account of each of these to give them all the credit they deserve.
Hyderabad was buzzing at Eid time and the vats were overflowing with yummy biryani(their claim to being best in the world is true) and haleem (a kind of spicy meat and wheat stew slow cooked for almost a day). The Charminar and area around the Jami Masjid which is normally the centre of Hyderabadi world became the centre of the Universe with thousands of people and visitors. Hyderabad must also have one of the most priceless exhibits in one room in the world- the Nizam's jewels. I've never ever even imagined jewels so big, emeralds, pearls and rubies and above all diamonds used so lavishly. All of these were dwarfed by the gigantic Jacob diamond, once the largest in the world before the KohiNoor got doscovered, and used by one of the Nizams as a paperweight and forgotten by another in a...shoe. The Nizams were jewel addicts and their wives and kids were permanently weighed down by them. However, despite all this, Hyderabad was disappointing in one way- one could sense that it's golden period was long gone. The decrepid facades of its old havelis, abused by reckless commercial use, seemed to look at the 'new' world with sorry eyes. With the demise of the nizams and their uniquely fastidious lifestyle and their culture, a unique aspect of hyderabad had disappeared, leaving behind a city with only a past to claim.
Delhi- well what to say? It is difficult to make a judgement of a city so vast. It certainly is polluted! One day's stay is not enough and I'll write about it when I get back there in a few days.
From Delhi we went to Bharatpur, in East Rajasthan right at the border with Uttar Pradesh. It is another ancient regional capital, now famous for its unique bird sanctuary. unfortunately, a serious drought had caused the usually water-clogged park to be very dry and only a few birds were there, but the scenery was beautiful in the early morning. In the colonial days, bird hunting was the thing to do here and a certain Lord Viceroy holds the record of birds bagged...a whopping 4273 in one day's shoot!! The maharajah still clearly exerts a significant impact on the daily lives of people here and our hotel owner was unhesitatingly critical of him!
Of all the places in Rajasthan Udaipur exudes a certain confidence and atmosphere I have yet not found elesewhere in India. Whether due to an active maharana who seems to have made big business through his inherited properties dotted around the city (including the fantastic palace) and countryside or simply because of its fantastic skyline and lake, it's undeniably beautiful and comparable to a European city in appearance. Look closer though, and it is clearly Indian- the temple on the lake and on its shores with innumerable bathing ghats, the chanthing of pujas that used to wake us up in the morning (along with the cockerels). However, not as polluted as 'normal' indian cities and its inhabitants clearly not as desperate to sell to tourists, one can wander around unhassled and without constantly fearing one's next step will be met with the squishy softness of fresh cow dung...
Jaisalmer, whise name itself evokes an exotic dream in an Arabian night setting, was also amazing- the first desert city that I'm visiting. The fort, with a couple of thousand inhabitants in the largest inhabited in the world. The masonry of the old buildings dating from 1600 still is preserved on many facades, of incredible complexity and detail. The sand coloured city below viewed from the fort and the surrounding desert countryside was beautiful, reminiscent of a cubist masterpiece in ochre. Unfortunately, tourism has taken over the lives of the locals and one finds little else in the fort other than rooftop restaurants and souvenir shops. Very little authentic local art and lots of the usual cheap stuff to satisfy the hoards of budget tourists that visit this town tucked away at the western edge of Rajsthan, not far from the pakistani border. We did an overnight desert safari on camel back, sleeping the night on the dunes under the stars- amazing, although I would not recommend camel riding as a hobby for those who care for their backsides....it's positively uncomfortable...
Currently in Jodhpur- will tell you about this next time. Got to catch sunset over the suberb fort here....
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Hope you're all keeping well...the cold must be starting to hit back in UK.
Helen, no news from you....you still coming I hope!! All planned here.
Dolan, wassup?? Let me know if you're coming over?
Ash...send some news man!
Norm- hope you had a nice Eid and u must be back properly fattened up after the month of fasting. Did my parcel arrive?
The Oxbridge bwoys??? I've been left out of your emails....what's happening for Xmas?
CMC Vellore crew- how is everyone? Whose presenting (i.e getting slaughtered) this week?

Hi everyone from Hampi and happy Divali/Eid! The transition from CMC Vellore haematology to full time tourist was achieved without too much difficulty. Hampi is justy so cool...This is my second day here and I already wish I had more time to spend here. Hampi is the site where the Vijayanagar Empire set its capital. At one time 500 years ago, they were a mighty power and ruled the whole of south india. Until that is the Islamic rulers from the north , using a distraction tactic, managed to conquer and destroy most of it, with an army of 10,000. The site remained in a state of relative abandon, except for the continued religious activities- one of the main temples here was built in the 7th century. Tourism has since taken over life in the village, after religion of course.
The countryside in which Hampi is set is what makes this place really awesome, unless of course you are a temple ruins fan-after a couple, they start getting a little monotonous, the worn figures of Ganesh, Vishnu in his various forms, Saraswati, Hanuman from centuries back become a little tiresome. The whole area is dotted with boulder-strewn hills- some boulders the size of a house...This is a climber's heaven! And through the middle suns a river. For the Vijayanagars, these hills all around and the river consisted a mighty obstacle for invaders.
The sunrises and sunsets are also fantastic, with the silhouettes of the old temples providing an exotic feel- I have so far missed none and woke up to climb the Matanga hill at 5.30am. The views were awesome. Later, I cycled aaround and crossed over to the other side of the river-only about 50m across. For those of you wondering how this was done, imagine a very very large and shallow jute fruit basket (called coracle) set afloat on a slow moving river with a single man an oar as implement to power forward- quite a thrilling experience, though surprisingly safe. The country across is lush and green with rice paddies, banana and coconut groves with the reddish boulders on the hills providing amazing contrast. I cycled up to the base of a hill on top of which was a temple devoted to Hanuman. This was monkey territory for sure- hoards of them! The top provided a 360 degree view like none other. Inside the temple, an old sage inside read the Ramayan in Hindi. They even offered to accommodate me. I almost felt like agreeing- the views were just too good and the cool breeze refreshing after the sweaty climb. I returned as the sun was setting, the coconut trees and rice paddies glowed with the setting sun as backdrop. The coracle guy was there- I was going to be his last customer and he had already set up fire for his evening dinner. I got back to the sounds of firecrackers and other firework displays. The main bazaar (there is only one main road and the whole village is about 500m long) was bustling with locals and tourists. The temple was the main focus of activities at this time- the evening dharshan was ongoing. All in all, an amazing day in an amazing place! Tomorrow, I have another whole day here and then set off to Hyderabad, where Eid celbrations should be in full swing.