Father Charles Onto Coorg finally. The Tibetan Golden Temple in Kushalnagar was my first stop. Exquisite. There, I met Pempa Tshering, a monk who almost convinced me to stay the night and participate in meditation there. He showed me some of the ways of praying in Buddhism, using wheels built into the walls that circle the back area of the temple grounds. Large spinning wheels were also in various buildings for people to spin while in meditation and a long cir...

Father William At the bus station in Bangalore, I was in two minds about my next journey. On the one hand, I was drawn to the tranquility of Coorg, an area recommended to be by Arunima and Nishant for its natural beauty. On the other, I was seduced by the promise of Dasara (Dussehra) in Mysore, a Hindu festival that was THE festival of South India. Dasara draws a huge crowd of thousands annually. I decided to let providence take charge. It led me to a bus head...

Tanvi I was worried about my first overnight train journey alone, going from Mumbai to Bangalore, but when I was introduced to Tanvi, her kind, sincere face instantly calmed by nerves. She too was unused to the lone journey and I found myself bonding with her instantly. She was innocent, open and generous. I admired her warmness to everyone. Before eating anything, she would offer her food to those around. She engages in conversation with anyone and has an unr...

Arunima I arrived back in Mumbai yesterday morning on the overnight train.The rather stressful taxi and auto journey to Arunima's threatened to ruin our morning but it eventually worked out and Tom and I spent a part of our last journey together singing hymns. It was wonderful :D. It was strange saying goodbye to him after all our time together. I hope we will meet again in London, if not before. Arunima's flat was easy to find. It felt amazing to step into a h...

Tom We arrived at the tourist office separately and left deciding to travel to Aurangabad together to see the religious caves of Ellora and Ajanta and possibly climb up the fortress of Daulatabad. Within a few hours of meeting, I felt like I'd known him forever. We shared some common interests (I was delirious upon finding out he brought a guitar on his travels and would actually like to sing hymns with me!) and we had many interesting (and heated!) discussion...