It’s been a while since I last wrote, and I feel there is plenty to say so I will try and keep it as consise as possible!

The time we spent in Bangalore was a great chance to return to the real world as it was such a dramatic contrast from every other place we had visited. Walking down the main streets you couldn’t help but notice how the roads were wider, multi-laned and that proper pavements and road crossings were provided. A pleasant change from normal road crossing in India! There were vast shopping malls and upmarket bars filled with IT workers splashing their cash. Dress was different, with a clear western influence and a high demand for genuine banded clothes and accessories.

Over the 6days we spent in Bangalore we enjoyed being able to relax, really feeling comfortable with our surroundings, sitting in air conditioned cafes, eating subway for lunch and we even visited the multi screen cinema which was incredible! Air conditioned, reclining seats and one of the best sound systems ive ever experienced! One particular bar we found was named ‘13th Floor’ which as the name suggests located on the 13th floor of a high rise block in the heart of the City. It’s beautifully modern, with the focal area being the balcony seating area where tables enjoyed the views of Bangalore by night. The first night we went there all the tables had been reserved outside so we booked for the following evening for dinner on the balcony, which turned out to be a great evening, talking to lots of wealthy guys in the IT sector and taking in the views of banging Bangalore!

Friday arrived and I decided to bite the bullet and leave mike and Hugo for ‘Friday night in Bangalore’ to board the 8hr train to Chennai. There was method in my madness- this would be my only chance to visit the Royal Enfield Factory, as its only open to the public once a week, on a Saturday morning. The train was hot and what I found strange was the fact that it didn’t seem to cool off at all as the sun set and we continued in the dark. It was then that I realised how right everyone was when they described chennai to me in conversation. It was a hot sticky and frankly unbareable climate.
I went to bed arly after a cheeky Paneer Madras (Chennai/madras made the madras we eat at home) and prepared for the early start the following morning to the factory, 17km away.

When I arrived at the gates I was like a kid in a sweet shop, but kept my mind on the task and headed straight to the reception. The cold air conditioned room welcomed me and I signed in and sat down with my complimentary royal enfield t-shirt, cup of coffee and tucked into the book beside me named ‘the history of the enfield’. After about half an hour a group of 7Indian men and me were signalled to head out of reception and through the factory doors. I was expecting a walk through talk through but what happened was much better. They allowed us free reign around the whole factory at our own pace. I explored every stage of manufacture and was even aloud to test a few bikes fresh of the production line. One part in particular which I found incredible was the hand painting of the fuel tanks. One man is responsible for the gold detailing on the tanks of an enfield which he does entirely by eye with no stensil. I watched, completely mesmorised for 5 complete tanks. It was remarkable. After around 4 hours they finally got rid of me and I really felt like I had got my fill!
After a quick lunch, I headed to the bus stand to get a 4hr bus south to Pondicherry a small french town by the sea where I would meet Hugo and Micheal who were heading there direct from Bangalore.

Pondicherry was a beatiful place if it was wasn’t for the punishing climate. Hotter and more humid than the weather in Chennai! We spent 2 days and 3nights here and got pretty much no sleep at all. The heat made for restless nights and lazy days although we did manage to enjoy the french architecture and the gridlined town layout. Oh and some great coffees in Coffee.com.

Next we embarked on what was to be the most tiring journey so far. A 4hr bus took us to Chennai where we got a tuk-tuk 14km across town to the train station for the 22.40 night train in the rough direction of Hampi. We found our section of the cabin where we would spend the night and morning. The carriage is divided into around 10 open cabins with two bench seats facing into eachother with a gap of around 4 ft for knee space. When its time to sleep, the backrests fold upwards and chains hang from an even higher third tier bed to make the middle bed. This leaves the cabin with six beds (3on each side). Naturally I scrambled for the top top bunk hugo went in the middle level and michael opted for the safe ground floor bed. It was hot, but I was just enjoying the experience as I read my book and listened to my ipod until I finally drifted off to sleep. We were rudley awoken when an indian chap who was sharing our sleeper class cabin starter hocking and coughing up copious amounts of phlem and depositing it out of the open window. It was around 7 o’clock so we started to put the beds away and pack up our kit ready to jump off at the right station at 8.30am. We then waited for a connecting train for 2hrs. Cutting a long story short, several trains and busses and rickshaws later, we arrived in Hampi at 6pm, 28 hours after leaving Pundicheery!

Hampi was an absolute treat! It was like nothing I had ever expected. Temperatures of 40degrees were reached but the climate was much more doable than Pundicheery as it was a dry place. The landscape was dusty and vast, but littered with magical boulders appearing like they had been dropped from the sky, balencing precariously ontop of one another, as if they could fall at any time. There were temples to visit and plenty of ruins to explore in the area, so Hugo and I took the chance to explore the area properly with the help of some tiny little 2stroke scooters which made light work of navigating the dusty tracks. We managed to visit everywhere we had planned by lunchtime which meant that we could spend the afternoon revisiting our favourite spots and prepare for the evenings entertainment!

That evening, the festival in hampi was to begin. It involved 60000 people congregating in the tiny main street. Two enormously tall chariots were lined up on this straight street and the temples elephant was all dressed up and painted. They processed up and down the street being heaved along using chuncky ropes and dozens of men. Drummers played music and people shouted and cheered as the ceremony comenced. People were buying bunches of bananas and Thousands of them were hurled in the direction of the god and godess chariots! We quickly grabbed some bananas and joined in the festivities. People up in the chariots were returning fire with the succesful bananas that had landed inside, which made for a skyline of flying bananas! It was an incredible evening which continued late into the night and has to be the highlight so far!

Although I enjoyed Hampi very much indeed, it was just as well that we didn’t stay for any longer as we would have very quickly turned into leather, so we set off after 3 days there on a 14hr train to south Goa, where im writing from now!
We are staying in a small beach resort called Colva, which is very relaxing with restaurants along the beach and not much to do other than chill out! High population of middle aged couples and indian familes which is slightly dissapointing!! We are Due to see Lottie and co. tomorrow which will be fun! They are meant to be staying 6KM up the coast for the next week so im sure we will have a great time!

Photos to follow!