It has been an interesting three weeks. We survived our 18 hour train journey, went to Varanasi and the Ganges, got food poisoning for two weeks, flew to Singapore and now we are in the lovely Gili islands, Indonesia.

We found out the night before that the class we had for the train was actually only one class above the lowest class so we were a little apprehensive.
We armed ourselves with 6 pastries (curry filling of course) biscuits, crisps and 2 litres of mango juice and hauled a massive backpacks along to New Delhi railway station. Here we stood in the arrivals hall for around 15 minutes looking for our train before being told departures was the other side. We managed to find our train and luckily our section of the carriage was being shared with Russian backpackers so we swapped food and had some people to laugh with about how appalling this journey would be.

The train journey was bumpy and we were joined by several extra passengers along the way including a huge Indian woman who wedged herself between us. At one point there was around 15 people in our 8 person carriage. Luckily we had the two top bunks so we didn't have to put up with strangers in our beds. All we could do to pass the time was eat and sleep which was fun. The journey went surprisingly fast and all we had to put up with was awful smells at points which seemed to last for ages! The toilets were horrible too making each toilet break a struggle to not throw up. Eventually we landed in the 'Holy' Varanasi. A summary of Varanasi - like a giant human sewer (rats probably live in more hygienic conditions)

We arrived in the early hours of the morning so grabbed a rickshaw, who first took us to the wrong hostel and then dropped us around a kilometre from our actual hostel and said '2 minutes that way'. So we walked off down the road that was cordoned off because of the amount of people pilgrimaging to the Ganges. One man pointed us to the sign for Yogi lodge, then followed us there and asked for a tip for 'good luck'. He definitely didn't get one!

Yogi lodge was our first dorm room, which we shared with an Australian, and American and an Italian (plus an Indian who appeared in Hayley's bed one night!) The lodge was a good laugh and the first night we sat up drinking beers with some Aussies and swapped stories about how crazy India was and how it had broken us all but at the same time was a great place! The streets around Varanasi are tiny alleys filled with cows, cow s*** and pilgrims. The first night it hammered down with rain which caused the streets to flow with poo. Imagine extremely muddy streets, but not mud....

Anyway we battled through it all and found ourselves at a huge bathing Ghat by the Ganges. We found a boat and went up stream and looked at all the Ghats (a ghat is steps to the river) and were in shock at all the people washing and drinking the water, when there were cows doing their business in it and body parts floating about. This wasn't as romantic as a boat trip in Venice would be!
We also visited the burning ghats. As Varanasi is supposedly so holy if you are cremated there you reach enlightenment. There are funeral processions all through the streets and the bodies are burned by the river. These ceremonies are very open and you can see a body wrapped in just a bit of cloth being burned a few feet away - very very gruesome and not for the faint hearted! We sat and watched a full cremation for three hours, it was the weirdest thing we have ever seen. The ashes and the skull are thrown in the river afterwards. There are also cows pooing in the river right next to the cremations. Despite this a few metres downstream people are washing and drinking in the river. The Ganges is absolutely filthy and we were shocked at how badly they treat a river which is so sacred to them. As well as the factory waste that is dumped in it people just throw their own rubbish in it. One man scattered some flowers across the river then went on to chuck the plastic bag in afterwards. Yet they still worship it.

Just how filthy Varanasi is was proven when on the last day we were both hit with severe food poisoning which was to last two weeks. The food poisoning was bad, we expected it in India but not to this extent. Sparing the details, we had 2 pairs of shorts and a bed sheet that knew just how bad it was! We had to get a 12 hour train feeling rough and this time there was no backpackers-only Indians, but we felt so ill we just slept. We almost missed the train too, having to sprint through a station, with huge bags, feeling like crap and smacking anyone out the way. With tempers running high, one particular indian got the 'backpack smash' as he decided to run in front of max laughing at us-rugby skills definitely payed off here and he quickly apologised. The train was moving at this point and we had just reached the platform-so we ran to the nearest door and literally dived onto the train. One local had set up a huge mat in the doorway for himself and got very angry we he saw us two diving onto it and messing up his whole sleeping area. Sorry mate. We was happy to be leaving Varanasi to spend a day in Delhi laying in bed, on the toilet, crying and cursing India. However, the fevers went and we only felt sick now and was super excited to be going to Singapore!

Singapore was a haven of clean and a world away from India. We got a taxi to our hostel and to our joy there were proper roads and people stayed in their lane and indicated and didn't beeb. There were even proper traffic lights! Unfortunately we spent three nights there but were so ill we didn't see any of it. We spent our time enjoying the unlimited toast and spreads in our hostel. We went to the doctors and got antibiotics and an array of other pills but by time we got out flight to Indonesia we were still feeling pretty rough. Time by the beach was definitely needed.

Bali is like an Australian tourist resort and it was actually a relief to be surrounded by typical tourist bars and restaurants! Cheap drinks, fast food and loads of clubs. We holed ourselves up in an air conditioned hotel room with a pool and relaxed before finding a surprise miracle cure for our food poisoning - proper spaghetti bolognese from a restaurant run by Australians! We even felt well enough to go to a disco! We went surfing which was awesome, except Hayley got in the water and couldn't make it past the break and instead got a black eye from getting battered by the waves. She didn't even get on the board! I really enjoyed it and I'm sure Hayley enjoyed sitting on the beach sun bathing. It was so nice being on a beach and being able to chill out properly. We was tucking in to some normal food again and although its not 'cultural' we didn't care that we was eating burgers, chips, fish and sandwiches. It was a food paradise after eating nothing but Indian food and having an appetite back. We particularly enjoyed the double cheeseburger from McDonalds, which does deliveries!!!!!! We spent a few days sunbathing by the pool or in Max's case burning. Soon we felt well enough to head over to the Gili islands. We were up at 6 for a mini bus and then boat and after a five hour journey we arrived on the white sandy shores of Gili Trawangan.

The Gili islands are like paradise - clear blue waters, white sand and palm trees! Although our 'beach bungalow' accommodation is more of a building site. We have spent our time here snorkelling, eating fresh fish from the BBQ and drinking bintangs in the local bars. We were both very excited to see some wild turtles when snorkelling! Hayley found it very difficult to walk with flippers on and ditched them before we even hit the water! It's been awesome here and is going to be hard to leave the islands! It's hot, about 30 degrees but with huge storms at night that last an hour or so. It gets exhausting waking up whenever, laying on a beach, eating food and drinking beers!

We will head for Borneo soon and update soon. But not too soon because we're busy doing nothing.

Stay safe, "no worry chicken curry" and we'll have a beer for you all tonight.

Big love from this tiny island.