After the arduous journey I was so pleased to arrive at Wanderers Hostel in Morjim. A clean, modern building with all the hostels essentials one needs; beer and a pool table. It was after midnight when Ben the owner greeted me and showed me to my dorm room. Only one other guy was currently staying there with it being out of season, so I said a quick hello and bedded down for the rest of the night. The next day was spent familiarising myself with the immediate su...

I said goodbye to Pawan, I decided for all the meals and hospitality I would put 1000 rupees in a card with a small note to treat himself and his wife. Turned out to be a good decision, at the time I didn't know but it was his 40th birthday and his wife was nagging him to go out for a meal or an overnight stay. So I was very glad I left the gift. I felt bad booking two tickets on the jeep to Siliguri but it was needed. I was considerably more comfortable than th...

Well, I spent about an hour writing a blog before realising all I had achieved was a complaints letter to IndiaRail. So to make this a little more palatable here's the gist of my problems! A train that was 15 hours late, a journey 4 hours over the estimated time, a virtually unused yet paid for hotel reservation (one of the most expensive so far), arrival at the wrong hotel due to both both having exactly the same name, and very little sleep! That just about summ...

My memory of the last few days is questionable, 8% lager and whiskey had a lot to do with it. I wrenched myself out of bed for the 5:30am boat ride, quite an achievement for somebody who savours every last second in bed. We passed a school of Brahmin children out for early morning mediation, bald heads sat regimental across the ghat wearing bright orange robes, their master instigating the rituals. A wonderfully interesting spectacle, one difficult to photograph...

Wow! What a couple of days Iv had in Varanasi. Yesterday I had a lazy day. Lounging around the hostel, chatting to different people, concocting a plan for the evening and generally taking a bit of time to soak in the surroundings. The evening however was amazing. Myself and Callum sought the Lotus Restaurant, as we approached a few voices from darkened alleyways murmured "no Lotus - closed". We wrongfully ignored them and were met by a building site and a few d...