India, India, India!What am I doing here? It’s busy, and I'm not talking rush hour busy. I'm talking last Saturday before Christmas, middle of the shopping center busy. Plus every type car, rickshaw, motor bike; Horse cart, Cow cart, Hand cart; Cripples of every sort and age imaginable, touts and hawkers, beggars, muggers and a whole heap of cows thrown in for good measure. Add the smell of a sewage treatment plant the noise of a war zone and enough colors to kick start epilepsy, and you’re getting close. Why come here? Why would I do that to myself?In fact, after Thailand, this is a pleasant change, a different assault to the senses. Instead of hookers, I’ve got beggars, No alcohol, but the daily excursions into the street are so tiring that at the end of the day I still fall on my bed in a crumpled heap, barley able to take my shoes off. The only difference being that it’s at ten at night, instead of ten in the morning.Most of the towns so far have been dry, so the family can have a collective sigh of relief in the knowledge that I'm no longer pickling my innards with cheap Thai rum. The closest thing to intoxication here is the Tea; they put enough sugar in that stuff to cause the early onset of type two diabetes in an elephant.Arriving late into Delhi, I faced the usual rip off taxi fares, "oh that hotel has burnt down and the area is full of thieves/dangerous animals" bulls*** from the driver. But checked into a decent enough place, slept and had a graceful meeting with my mother the next morning. It’s Wonderful to see her here, plus gives me some purpose to my day as porter, bodyguard, and tour operator. It’s nice to give a little back after the years she spent looking after me.The food is fantastic, although I am craving a roast with all the trimmings. Guess that will have to wait a while. As well as no booze up here, there's virtually no meat, either.I'm in Rishikesh just now, full of Ashrams, yoga classes and yogi satsangs. It’s where the Beatles came in the 70's to hang out with Maharishi and smoke pot. There are still lots of hippies hanging out, but I think the smoking would be a bad idea just now; I need all my wits about me just to cross the street.A guy outside is cooking up some Dosa on the street. There’s always something nice to snack on. Best get involved.Namaste for now.