Category: India

I hate seeing beggars in any country because I don’t know how to deal with it. I can’t give every man a fish and I have no time when travelling to teach even one to fish. I feel it’s better to ignore them so they’ll find a way to deal with their own problem, and… Continue reading Poor

An article on the front page of the paper this morning condemned the Mumbai police force for not taking a molestation case seriously. Two couples were ac costed when leaving a show on New Year’s morning, a gang fondling the women and tearing their clothes. The police didn’t try to file charges and claim the… Continue reading Obscene Behaviour

The Roce is apparently a Catholic ceremony from the Bangalore region. In typical Indian style, it turns into a party for hundreds of wedding guests, but the focus and raison d’etre is for guests to bless the couple with sacred oils. Guests take turns holding a saucer full of the white oil and walk down… Continue reading Roce

Indian Road Poetry – posted by the Indian Border Roads Organisation, mainly on steep windy mountain roads. Enjoy the Scenery Don’t join the Scenery Don’t mix Drink with Driving Alert Avoid Accident Accidents Don’t Happen They are Caused Speed is a Knife that Cuts Life Speed Thrills But Kills Drive Don’t Fly and stuck cheekily… Continue reading Road Poetry

I’m home, but the trip has left me exhausted and angry – violently angry if it wasn’t for being exhausted. Perhaps it started with the rusty nail in my samosa, but I think I was still laughing at that stage. More likely it began with the bicycle rickshaw trip to Varanasi Station. The driver wanted… Continue reading Angry

So many memories they’re running away from me. We’ve eaten every meal at the Alka hotel where we stay as it’s too hot to go out much. Bought ticket for trip back to Siliguri from a guy in the corridor of a shopping arcade. He had his own shop (sitting outside it) but if he… Continue reading Idyllic Evening

Wrong keyboard and foggy head so will keep to bullet points. back and forth to get ticket but still waiting list 1-4. climbed balcony to escape hotel, still WL1-4 saw chief reservation superintendant to get general ticket on 11:40 train stuffy, hot, humid, reminded me of Romania train, so I started talking to locals. university… Continue reading Train Bullets

We spent most of last night in Joey’s pub having a drink, eating a Sunday roast and watching the world cup. It was great to see Australia hold out Brazil so well, even if we lost. The loss was made worse by the Indian bartender who was a really sore winner. We’d bet him backing… Continue reading Mt K

I managed to meet Brady by leaving an email for him arranging to meet at the local tourist pub for the Iran / Portugal game. He’d taken longer than me to get up here the day before, so was waiting for me a couple of hours after I actually arrived. He’d actually managed to get… Continue reading Lost Loyalties

This is my first timd in rural India. I left Phuentsholing this morning on a bus to siliguri then came to darjeeling to meet brady at the youth hostel, but it seems to be closed. Now I’m in an internet cafe hoping to find a message from him. Losing travel partners is a frexuent event… Continue reading Arrive in Darjeeling