Sri Lanka to Kovalam: Returning to India took some mental preparation... we found ourselves once again going to the beach. In Kovalam we were meeting Sim and Emi again who were there learning some of the Keralan martial art and massage. Emi practised her massage on Mendo (in a little cotton g-string) with me, Sim and the master watching on. The traditional massage utilised her feet and hands - it looked brilliant and from what Mendo said, Emi has some magic coming out of her fingertips. We stayed in a rooftop room which was almost level with the coconut palms - a different and relaxed perspective.

Kovalam to Fort Cochin: After a long train ride to Cochin, we ran to only just catch the packed ferry to Fort Cochin. As we made our way to the front of the ferry we saw a surprisinly familiar sight: Assaf and Keren from Goa! It's amazing the way the world works - we had no idea they were in the area and vice versa. They were having a short stay before venturing off to the Andaman Islands. So we spent the next day doing a Kerala backwaters tour with them - a relaxed and extremely 'touristy' affair. Mendo and I struggled to stay awake because the room we were staying in with Penny and Brian (and the dogs) had the fan broken down (it was like an oven) and no electricity to plug in our mosquito killer, hence only sleeping a couple of hours. But it was really great to spend time with Assaf and Keren - we had the 'Yaniv' card championships before they left, of which yours-truly was triumphant. After collecting our beloved Shepa we were off again with the mission of getting to Nepal for early March.

Cochin to Salem: Crossing the country from West to East is a very interesting drive. Passing through many towns which rarely see tourists, we stayed a few days in Salem. We didn't see another foreigner for 5 days and everyone was so happy to see us. No people hastling us on the streets, no one trying to sell us things or trying to trick us, just genuine Indian experiences and prices. We learnt a few Tamil words which had the locals in hysterics.

Salem to Chennai (Madras): After being in the 'real India' for a week we found Pondicherry too touristy. It had some lovely french architecture and a colourful walk along the beach, but we decided to only stay 1 night. We were going to pop into Auroville on our way north, but the Lonely Planet suggests it's not a place for 'tourists', unless you stay some time and contribute. We are interested in their society but didn't have enough time, so decided to respect their customs and not go for 'sight-seeing'. On to Mamalapuram where we ventured to an amazing temple right on the beach. Here we met an Indian family living in Dubai who invited us to Dubai - unfortunately not going to happen. The father was a funny fellow who in the space of 10 minutes told us 3 strange jokes, 1 involving priests (they were Muslim). He told us he had been to Australia but didn't like it because everything closed down at 5... but the drivers are very safe! We suggested if he wanted night-life to go to Barcelona. Then on to Chennai (Madras) where we were disappointed that we couldn't get a tour of the Royal Enfield factory. Chennai is just another city really, but it has quite a few Royal Enfield mechanics and shops, making Mendo a very happy boy indeed.

Chennai to Varanasi: This journey saw us do many long days riding and many KM's. Ouch to our bums. We passed through Vijayawada then Vishakhapatnam where we celebrated 10,000km's on Shepa! After days on the National Highway (straight and boring) we decided to try our luck inland, through the hills (Eastern Ghats) for a while. This saw us get lost thanks to some misdirection from a police officer, pass through a Tibetan settlement and unfortunately witness an accident involving a bus, a motorbike and a big red splat on the road... frightening. We made it to Gopalpur-on-sea after 14 hrs of driving. Up to Puri we took another wrong turn and toured a back-road which passed through endless fields of green - the green seemed to go on forever. Along this road we confronted a group of men who stopped us and wouldn't let us pass by standing in front of and around us and holding the clutch. They were saying 'ten rupees', pointing to the heavens and being very distracting. Mendo wanted to pay so we could go but I wouldn't... for some reason during this I turned around and noticed a suspicious fellow on a bike, then I felt for our bag on the back and noticed it was open! Then I noticed our camera being put on the road behind us by the guy on the bike - I was FURIOUS! I got off Shepa, walked up to this man, got our camera back and yelled at them about using their gods to steal things... I was so angry I felt myself wanting to get abusive but Mendo reminded me that we were surrounded by men, so I was barely content with yelling at them. They were stunned. We escaped. Puri and Konark are lovely places next to the sea. We explored the Konark Sun Temple and marveled at the architecture and dedication to their gods. Next stop Midnapore, just off the National Highway. The chain broke on the way but as life seems to do, we were looked after. The next town after it broke we came across a man on a Royal Enfield. His bike wouldn't start but he took us to the Bullet workshop - I joked on the way that perhaps he should see the mechanic since his bike wouldn't start and funnily enough he turned out to actually be the mechanic. The owner and his wife invited us into their home whilst the mechanic fixed the chain. I am constantly shocked by India. The owner seemed to be very well established with a few businesses, but upon going into his home, the poverty hits you smack in the face. His wife told me to lie down on the bed and relax whilst she fixed some chai on a camping stove nearby. It seems they spent a lot of their money sending their only son to live in America. They were excited because soon he would have an arranged marriage to an Indian girl living in Canada. This was the first time we had been hugged in India - she gave us such a big bear hug that we felt truly excited and loved. What a sweet-heart (and very strange for an Indian woman to touch you). Midnapore saw us staying in an old lodge where we were the first foreigners to do so. The owner has rung us a few times since we've left to make sure we are doing well... After Midnapore we went to Bohd Gaya for Mendo's birthday. This is the town where the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree and gained enlightenment. After studying religions in High School I was very happy to be having this experience. We stayed in the Bhutanese Monastery for the night and visited the temple and the descendant of the same Bodhi tree. Such a beautiful sight to see the worshippers in safron orange under the green Bodhi tree behind the temple decorated with gold Buddhas. We had a simple dinner in an Indian diner and substituted a birthday cake with Indian 'milky' sweets. The staff lent us a candle for Mendo to make his wish.

Varanasi: Here we are then, finally up-to-date! This morning we got our first glimpse of the mighty Ganga. A couple more days here and then we'll head up to Nepal followed by a weeks trek. We'll then meet Mendo's parents, then venture into a remote village for some Voluntary work. After we'll meet my mumsy before driving over to Bhutan to do a weeks tour with her before returning via Darjeeling to Nepal. Another packed couple of months which we are very excited about. If anyone has any tips or suggestions please let us know. Thankyou everyone for your messages so far, they truly mean a lot to us.

Love to all,

Nic and Mendo.