So after the 'events' of the previous evening and the subsequent delay in the train we finally arrived at New Jalpaiguri station just in time to see a mental woman kicking a dog before an uncomfortably packed jeep share took us the remaining 4 hour journey up the mountain to Darjeeling itself. With all the delays on the train it was around 10.30pm before we arrived and with the entire town tucked up in bed, finding somewhere to rest our weary heads took some time...

Getting to Amritsar was a pretty traumatic experience in itself. I was still abit iffy after my tummy bug through the week but the train was only six hours and we would arrive around 9pm allowing us plenty of time to arrange accomodation and get settled so that we could get up to see the temple at sunrise. Easy. After the taxi driver first got lost on the way to the Delhi metro station and then tried to rip us off we were already somewhat perturbed but alas we g...

A phrase readily utilised by travelers to India is 'prepare for every sense to be completely overwhelmed' but after an already delayed 24 hour journey and feeling slightly nauseous the last thing you hope to be greeted by at the platform edge is a rotting human corpse....Welcome to Varanasi. Varanasi sits along the banks of the sacred Ganga (Ganges) river and consists of a series of Ghats that are essentially small jetties that lead down to the river from which ...

This was meant to be the 'Indian experience'. Seeing first hand how this vastly overpopulated and underfunded healthcare system copes with endless cases of infectious diseases and the ever increasing strain caused by the prominence of 'western' conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Based on the information I had submitted I was told that my experience in the UK would be incredibly useful and that I would not only be providing advice and assistance but al...

Never having being much of a fan of the 'must see sights' I was never particularly bothered about visiting the Taj Mahal but all the other volunteers seemed pretty keen and it wasn't too much trouble to get there so after a few team beers on the Friday night we got up early on Saturday and headed for the six hour bus to Agra. After arriving in the afteroon we grabbed some food before Tom and I walked down to see the magnificence of a wonder of the world. I think...