To Kathmandu On Saturday night I began my journey to Nepal. I boarded the night train at New Delhi station where I found myself in a carriage with a gregarious Chinese man. He was busy entertaining our fellow passengers with anecdotes and stories, most of which were pretty incomprehensible to me, but was quite diverting. Less amusing was his request that I 'teach him English' at 11 o'clock when all I wanted to do was sleep! Eventually he got the message and I se...

Bits n Bobs Thought I'd give a quick round-up of what I've been up to recently… The Chaya Spring Clean I hate to rub it in, but spring has well and truly come to Delhi. Anyway, I had noticed that Chaya (the boys home where I work) was in dire need of a spruce-up. So my Mum and I decided to use the donations from my grandpa's funeral to fund a cleaning day. I didn't think this would be an entirely popular decision with the boys, but to my astonishment wh...

Some thoughts on Slumdog Last weekend I went to see Slumdog Millionnaire. I am ashamed to say that the on-screen fiction bought tears to my eyes that the real-life poverty I encounter on a daily basis has not - the poverty that I often ignore when it comes clamouring for money to the side of my rickshaw or tugging at my sleeves as I walk down the street. Heck, I have even shoved this poverty away and shouted at it to leave me alone. But watching Slumdog Millionai...

Kitchen Sink Drama - Part Three I have finally got round to concluding the tale of my stay with an Indian family, back in December…. I had been made very welcome in Ramesh and Seema's home and enjoyed getting to know the family. However, there had been some awkward moments, culminating in Ramesh and his friend Manech announcing that they were both in "open relationships". I am still unsure whether they meant it in the way it would be understood in B...

Somewhere for the weekend Ever fancied spending the weekend in a Golden Temple? Well, in the city of Amritsar you can - no matter your religion, race, nationality or class the Golden Temple offers food and lodgings to all. Last weekend, I escaped Delhi and took the six-hour train to Amritsar in the Punjab, home to the Sikh people's holiest shrine - the golden temple. It was built to house the book written by the 4th of ten Sikh prophets or Gurus, with the instr...