I can't beleive how long it actually is since I was in Agra! Almost half my total time away so far has passed. And there's a fair bit to report on too...

As mentioned in my last post, I travelled to Amritsar in the Punjab state of india, on a 17hr train ride - glorious! I wasn't sure how much difference it would make being closer to the himalayas but the sun was still shining, which made the sight of the Sikh golden temple there hugely impressive. It's an incredibly moddest yet amazing building, surrounded by a lake and all in gold, it still manages to seem quite unassuming despite the thousands of pilgrims from all around the world. I wasn't sure how they would react to a white guy with a camera but this must have been the most welcoming atmosphere in india. Many of the pilgrims would approach me to chat, check that I was understanding things and point out items of interest. They certainly didn't consider me the hypocrite that I felt!

In the evening I visited the border between India and Pakistan, to watch the ceremony for closing the border gates for the day. I wasn't sure how serious this would be, in light of the current political feeling, but it was just a mellodramatic pantomine really! Monty Python's ministry of funny walks should be claiming royalties! Each side of the gate the two nations chanted and cheered patriotically as uniformed guards marched around their respective parade areas in a show of strength and defiance to the opposite side, all for show obviously! It was amusing how something so funny to watch could raise such feeling in both sets of nationals.

The next morning I planned to catch the bus further into the Himalayan foothills to Dharamsala. On my way to the bus station, I read the newspaper over breakfast, only then to realise that the 2nd Test match between England and India was being played just 4hours from Amritsar in Chandigarh (or nearby Mohali, which is why I didn't realise it was so close!). So a change of plan lead to spending 4days at the test and in the meantime meeting Tim and Helen from Australia and Medhi, a french guy I met at the temple who decided to come with me as he'd never seen a cricket match - fair play as he didn't even know the rules!) It was really enjoyable to watch more than 1 day of a test for the first time ever, sat with the barmy army and joining in the chants and singing with the Indian fans in awe. The game itself ended as a draw and I missed the last day travelling back to Delhi, but I will certainly go on another England tour with the barmy army some point in the future. And 5days of tickets cost me GBP7!

The innevitable return to Delhi was not quite as painful as expected, although I would never choose to spend any time there. Thankfully I spent just 1 uneventful day there before flying to Singapore, where I've been since Christmas eve. It was very strange to be in a different country and environment for Christmas and that in itself has re-iterated to me how much of a great family event Christmas should be and is. Although, sitting on the beach on Christmas afternoon was a bit bizarre! I managed to find a restaurant serving Turkey so indulged in a little home comfort! Well deserved I thought ;)

Time since then has been quite quiet in the city, a welcome opportunity to hang my hat for a few days and recouperate before I leave for Malaysia and Thailand next week. Singapore is an incredibly clean and civilised city, the complete opposite to India! It's extremely humid which is pretty sapping but the Singaporeans are extremely friendly, again especially compared to Indians! Not total escape though, I'm staying in an area called Little India!