Day 200 Finally out of Nepal and back in my favourite country of all time, India. Dirty roads, traffic, noise, packed streets, no pavements, dead animals and roads so full of litter it looks like someone has emptied a skip every 10 yards - it feels like home! We had a lovely flight on fab Jet Airways - all seat back TV's and Tiger beer. Apart from the hour of unnecessary form filling (father's occupation, grandmother's bra size) at customs - those Indians sur...

Day 63-66 It is difficult to marvel at India when it is closed. Spiritual enlightenment today, not possible. And then the next day.....Hurrah! The strike is temporarily over and we're not sure whether they caught the bloke or not, but who cares. I try raising the subject with some locals but they are not prepared to discuss it - it only makes us think something fishy is still going on. We go straight out after breakfast and send the girls on more pony rides...

Day 60 - 63 Spent a fab day at Darjeeling Zoo which had an incredible array of animals kept in reasonable conditions. Red pandas, Tibetan wolves and Himalyan black bears were particularly interesting and seem comfortable in their habitats. We walked to and from the zoo, a round trip of 6km. The distance wasn't so bad but the hills were. It was one of these walks that was mysteriously uphill all the way there and all the way back. Stopped for a coffee at the...

Day 59 - 60 I am now 2km in the sky and haven't been this high since the Supper Club, Amsterdam in 2006. 2200m up the side of a mountain. The climate is cold and wet and very Scottish. In fact with the weather and the scenery, it is a bit like Scotland. We are all very grateful to be out of hot and dusty Rajasthan and it is nice to see a different side to India. The journey was a stress - again! Up at 8am and were told that the toy train was 'not working'. ...

Day 56-58 The girls write in their journals about the joys and horrors of the Ganges and then we are ready to leave the holy city of Varanasi - the oldest city on Earth (said Mark Twain). Clover's journal is more a badly put together menu than a literary masterpiece - what she had for lunch is the main theme. She struggles a little with the acquisition of language and most of her written words are a bit consonant heavy. She's not so interested in vowels. She ...