Screeching to a halt in Brighton

I’ve been back 5 days and India already feels months away! I had my flight back to the UK on 28 April… straight back to Brighton. As I had no sudden realisations about ‘what I’d like to do next’ over the last few months, the plan is to stay in Brighton with my family. Oliver is staying in Glasgow with his dad and I have rented a house here while I continue to let my Glasgow flat. I have noooo idea what these feet are going to do next, they haven't been confined for months!

Indian Trains

Well I did say I'd do a bit on trains!
Train journeys in India are notoriously difficult. First of all dispite the size of the population and country there are not many tracks laid so they are always booked up for weeks in advance and secondly, unlike everything else in India and probably because it was provided by the British the system is totally rules based. Fair to say the original information tree (timetable and booking system) has transformed into a twisted bramble patch.
Most tourists travel in air conditioned sleeper class ‘B’ which is a carriage containing folding beds - stacked 3 high against facing walls, during the day the beds are folded leaving 3 to a seat on the bottom bunk.
I was on sleepers a few times for night travel and didn't get a wink of sleep from the snoring and very loud farting and coughing and morning hacking up of gobs ( bet you think I‘m joking?).
Then there are the toilets, usually one Indian and one western which are a horror to visit after the first say, hour.

When visiting the train station to make a booking, you first have to find the correct queue - the pic above shows that cancer patients and freedom fighters are allocated the same queue as tourists.
When the train stops, the major train stations have porters who will carry your bags - but the same applies here as with rickshaw drivers, you have to haggle and agree the price before you start out.
Oh and Indians tend to walk over the tracks to leave the station or train if it is quicker. I haven't found there are too many beggars on the train platforms either, but generally, there is one with a lack of limbs on a skateboard chasing around after you.

India 17 - Agra, Taj Mahal

I was in Agra 3 days instead of two - reason being the journey was so horrendous - it took 15hrs instead of the badly estimated 9hrs and I was exhausted from the heat! I have stayed at the Hilton which is a nice little oasis, but another culture shock for me after the laid back ashram life. Anyway I got out to the evening Taj and took some pics from the gardens behind and from the bank.

I think I could have got some better pics but the prime spot was already occupied by a dead dog being eaten by a live dog and winged friends. Next door to the Taj is the crematorium (very busy) where the ashes are swept from the steps into the river -

the river is apparently miles better in the monsoon but at this time of year is a bit of a parched sandbank.

So I was at the Taj gates 6am, ready for the morning pics. The queue was quite small really and I have to tell you that I accidentally stepped out of women’s line into the men’s which caused me to be scolded by a shockingly half-naked European for ‘pushing in’ who then went on to tell me in a loud voice that I might be in India but didn’t have to behave like one!!! (er, given the choice…)
But oh, it is true, the Taj Mahal is absolutely stunning, if it wasn’t so hot I would have spent the entire day just sitting and looking at it. The colours of the inlay, beauty of the marble and fabulous workmanship really do have to be seen and touched to be appreciated. No photos allowed on the inside tombs by the way.

This amazing building just works for me, there just seems to be a unique fusion between subject and object that has to be experienced - it is beeeeeeautiful, really lifted me up! Apparently as the day gets white hot the Taj just about disappears in the shimmering whiteness.

I didn’t sit in the Princess Di seat - although tempted, a nice Aussie took a snap of me though.

And by the way, despite the stories of Shah Jahan building this marvel for his wife and dying of a broken heart, my guide book says in fact he died after days of indulgence in a sex and drugs orgy (with his daughter by his side of course). Hurruh, I love India!

Leaving the Ashrams

I have a flight out of India on 28 April and most of us were leaving Phool Chatti a couple of days after the course, so we had a goodbye lunch party in Laxman Jhoola which consisted of drinking frozen mint slush Limonata, eating pizza and an excellent dessert called 'hello to the queeen' which was basically ice cream, chocolate, fruit, chocolate bars and biscuit.

I'll miss the suspension bridge with the daily monkey and cow surprises!

I also bumped into a few friends from Yoga Nikitan including a lovely Japanese girl I fell in love with (and should have got a photo of!) called Chisako who is less than 5ft tall, bounces up and down squeaking whenever she sees me and dresses like a beanie baby.

I am truly sad to leave the Ashram life, our sunset temple rutuals ending in us chanting sanskrit songs to Shiva, all the great friends I've had the good fortune to spend time with, the closeness to nature and amazing life of the Ganga and have now headed back to Agra to see the Taj before returning to my friends at Orchid Retreat for the last couple of days.

Indian Outfitters

Ok - it's taken literally months but here are some of my outfits, the excuse is it's been really hard to snap them in between washes! Each of the Punjabi dresses gets matched up with baggy cotton salwar trousers.
The drainpipe trousers which I used in cold weather:

A selection from early on when it was colder:

Progressing to catalogue shots - some outfits for the hotter weather:

India 16 - Utteranchal, Rishikesh, Phool Chatti Ashram

I just completed a 7 day course at the Ashram. It's just as well there were so many lovely things to do, nature walks on the Ganga,

the daily swim,

lovely food... because wouldn't say I felt totally relaxed...

First of all, there was the case of Ricardo and his girlfriend, Sophie who had just completed the previous course. Ricardo got 'blissed out' and had mad, staring eyes for 4 days before he left. Picture me at breakfast, Ricardo telling everyone in all seriousness that his name used to be Ricardo and from now on will only be known as "OM" and his girlfriend sitting there sobbing her heart out.

Then there was Margie, who seemed to be the self appointed Spiritual Director (named Noodles Mandela by Ted - I knew there was something familiar about her) who lectured us for 3 days on the Yogic principles of a) being blissed out by meeting Sai Baba and having to got into psychiatric treatment b) how the world will end in 2012 unless we follow a different spiritual path and (case of point = Mayan Calendar) and c) that we should just refer to her as "Mother" as she only has love to give, in fact she lies in bed at night only sending loving thoughts... no thanks, body swerve.

Finally, just when I thought things would be fun with the arrival of one Richard (who looked as spoke like Lenny Henry) from Wolverhampton and his partner Sadie. However Richard had a run in with Om and Margie when he advised Om's partner to be careful of his mad state of mind, best thing he could do was take him back to Portugal for psychiatric treatment. Next thing, furious Noodles pulls Richard out of a meeting to have a go about interfering with her counselling which culminates in him calling her a silly cow who doesn't know what she is talking about and deciding to leave. Upon being questioned by the group, Noodles, now giving a good cult impression, tells everyone that at the end of the day, Richard was a bad influence and the universe got rid of him. Hrmph!!! I didn't feel the luuuuurve in that!
So actually, the course was pretty boring so I concentrated on my Yoga and daily swims, I have to say, the Ashram itself is really special.

We had a fire ceremony at the end where we chanted a prayer to Shiva 108 times and burned a note containing thoughts and behaviours we wanted to turn to ashes.

Actually, Ted ended the course for me when someone asked if Lalita the Yoga teacher (in pink standing next to Noodles below) was going to become the next Swami of the Ashram she said "yes", so Ted asked "does that mean you'll be growing a beard?"...