Am now back in the lovely surroundings of the E and O Hotel in Penang after 8 nights in India! For those who thought l was having too good a time, this was my comeuppence. It was a fascinating experience, both great and not so great at times. Should have realised when we got off the plane at Guwahati (pronounced Goo-hart-tee) accompanied only by Buddhist monks and all the other Westerners stayed on to fly to Bangkok, that we were in for a challenging time!!! To compound things, we were stranded there for 3 nights as there was a cock-up on our Indian Rail tickets. We both found it busy, dirty, chaotic and charmless. We were the only white people we saw for 2 days and they seemed to stare constantly at the blond white woman. Most people only spoke Bengali although some young people spoke to us mostly about cricket and were helpful trying to get the tuk-tuk drivers to understand where we wanted to go. The only things of colour were sarees, a few stalls selling temple decorations and l found some mosaic panels being put up. The tourist sites were pitiful. We took a boat out to an island temple, Umananda Mandir. A 'holy' man pounced on us, put a splodge of red on our foreheads, marigolds behind our ears and demanded money. He spat at our meagre donation. Welcome to Hinduism. a bit of a contrast to the peaceful Buddhists in Bhutan. We tried to go boating on a lake but when we saw the state of the boats and the lake. we went for a beer instead. We treated ourselves to good meals at the best hotel, the Dynasty and the local Paradise restaurant. Leaving Guwahati, we had to contend with Indian Rail. Kevin had booked us seats through an agent in Wembley and we were anxious to see if the booking was valid. We Brits gave bureaucracy to India and boy, it is impossible to understand the booking system when in India. Miraculously, all was in order and the 7 hour journey was fine once people, cows, goats and dogs were cleared off the line at each station. We could have bought wooden toys,bed sheets, blow up pillows, locks and chains!!!!!, baskets, hot food, snacks and drinks while travelling. We declined. Beggars were also on board which was surprising. Spent the night in Siliguri and then the following morning, hired a jeep taxi for the 2 hour ride up to Kurseong, past all the tea plantations. Everything changed for the better as the scenery became more spectacular. We took the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway - an old colonial diesel train which climbs up to Darjeeling in 3 hours. It was rundown as so much is in India but so interesting as you pass within a couple of feet of people's houses and shops. They all seem to wave happily at the passengers and the young lads of the villages try to cadge a joyride but get a stern telling off, if caught. We arrived after dark and even our rundown hotel didn't dampen our spirits. All the rooms had padlocks on them!!!! What is it with this country??? We spent a lovely day wandering around this lovely hill station and saw all the old colonial sights (Observatory Hill, St Andrew's Church, the Oxford Bookstore....). They even have a Gymkhana Club. We enjoyed several cups of Darjeeling tea and our only regret was that it wasn't clear enough to go to Tiger Hill to see Mt Everest. A jeep ride and flight later, we were in Kolkata. Would we love or hate it??? I actually liked the city as it's vibrant and a real mix of old and new. You arrive into a new airport terminal which is fairly deserted. The taxis are all old yellow Morris Oxfords. There is a new subway although we weren't brave enough to venture below ground. Traffic is a nightmare. Everywhere there are cars, buses, taxis, motorbikes, scooters, tuk-tuks and trishaws all sounding their horns. There are lights to allow pedestrians to cross but you can't trust them so l soon learnt to tuck myself into a group of locals and cross en masse. Kolkata is more about the experience than individual sights although the Victoria Memorial and grounds are lovely. We learnt about Calcutta's significant colonial history and felt its wish to be a modern, thriving city. Everyone wants to make money so there is constant trading (and scams). We were surprised at the number of green spaces (a positive British legacy) and the pleasant riverside area. Three days previously, it had been under 3 feet of water and l was shocked to spot a dead body floating down stream! Everyone talks cricket especially Sachin Tendulkar's 199th test match this week in the city. The Bengali food is delicious, lots of fruit and veg in delicate curries. In central Kolkata, the numbers of homeless is reasonably small, but we found them in large numbers when we ventured to the north to the Mullik Ghat flower market. I hated seeing newborn babies lying in their mothers' arms on the filthy streets. Everyone was bathing in the Hooghly, a tributary of the Ganges. This was in sharp contrast to the wonderful colours of the flowers being sold for Diwali. Would have liked to take lots more photos but felt it was intrusive and also many people wanted money. Again a long blog but India makes you reflect on life and yourself. Such a country of contrasts and one l shall look forward to seeing more off next spring. After a week of R and R, we will leave for Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia on 9/11 so will keep you posted....