Pondicherry, India

Arriving into the usual India chaos I headed east, across the open sewer, where I knew "French town" was. I had no guest house booked but had notes on a few places from the internet and guide books. After getting the "full" response from 7 places a realised it was Friday, and Pondicherry is a favourite seaside resort of Chennai. Balls! Still getting "FULL FULL FULL" it was now getting late. Every "full" would lead me to a slightly more upmarket place.

Eventually I found Hotel De L'Orient. I later read about it in the Lonely planet, this is what they said;
 "This is as grand as it gets in Puducherry: a restored colonial mansion with rooms that appeal to your inner pith-helmeted aristocrat. Should you need a sense of columned regal importance, the hush of breezy verandas and the scurrying service of men in clean white uniforms, this is the place to book"
Arriving so late I was able to bargain their last "suite" down to a mere £40. 10 times more than I had been paying but i need these little luxurious punctuations in my travels (I told myself). They mentioned wearing a suit to dinner and I explained that I only had a sweaty t-shirt and shorts (i'd put my shirt and trousers in laundry) and all was fine. Dinner was lovely: garlic prawns to start, masala fish main and a cheeseboard for dessert! Man oh man, i miss good cheese. What i'd give for some thick cut cheese on toast right now. Dinner finished, i sat there on my own, watching the rich French couples dine and listening to crooning guitar man playing "lady in red" with a thick Indian accent. I decided to head back to the room and play about with long exposures.

The room, sorry, appartment was enormous. Basically four rooms. The bed area for sleeping, a desk area for writing things, a washroom for cleaning and a entrance hall with TV for accepting guests, should I have had any. All the furniture was intricate original or restored period furniture. To say it was overkill would be an understatement. Monsta had his own bed! I sat there thinking about why people would want this, i mean, sure it was lovely but at the end of the day surely you just need a bed and a bathroom? No?

Stole all the soap and wash items, had a delicious breakfast and checked out. Back on the streets where I literally bumped into a Canadian chap searching for a room, so we searched together. What we found is a world away from the hotel De l'Orient. Twin room for £2 a night. Ridiculous. Popped our bags in and decided on beer. Just checking out of the room next to us was a Kiwi girl and an American girl who we spent the afternoon drinking with. The drinking hole we chose, women didn't usually frequent so Sara and Kate, were celebrities. Everyone had their photo taken with us including a geeky Indian man in a t-shirt with "I like big jugs" emblazened across the front. Class.

French town Pondicherry is nice, but done in a day. The new town is the same as anywhere else in India. Next day me and Liam hired a moped and headed up the coast for a swim. Found a beautiful but scorching beach, no shade anywhere. Could only stay the morning for a swim then back and hid from the sunshine, only venturing out for some street food past dark.

Next day hoppped on a bus to the dreaded Chennai. Grabbed a dirt cheap room there next to the station and hopped on a train first thing in the morning. Next stop Sri Lanka!

Thiruvananthapuram to Madurai

I arrived at the impressive colonial station For my first long haul train trip. I was a little early so did some local watching and drunk some chai. Various kids observed me, laughing to each other. Some came over to practice their English "how are you?" and would run off when asked in return. A grinning man came out of nowhere, shook my hand and said "welcome to India sir!" then walked off. The tracks are covered in litter and have a whiff of urine about them due to the train toilets emptying direct onto the tracks!

I'd booked into an AC 2 tier. These are air conditioned sleeper cabins, two bunks high. Four in one window (coming out from the window) then the other two running alongside the other window, with a passage in-between. In the daytime the bottom beds can converted to a seat, but it's yours to do what you want with. The top bunks have no window and would be an issue if disabled or clausterophobic! The aircon vents blow directly onto the top bunks but there are blankets, pillows and a sick bag provided! All bunks in the AC classes have curtains and are very comfortable. Even the regular sleeper 3 tier class is comfortable, if a little sticky and noisy. Only the bottom bunks have power sockets, although my UK adaptor kept falling out of it as the train was moving. Three Indian men, bemused by my tiny laptop, engineered a fine solution with a combination of gaffa tape and wedging the wire. If you have four things definite on your packing list make it gaffa tape and three Indian men.

The train left promptly at 16:20 and passed through many cute little villages, children waving at the train, litter fires burning at the side of the track. At Nagercoil Junction the train halted for an age. I later realised that the engine had moved around to the other end and we were pulling out of the station reverse. As the train set off I wished i'd grabbed a chai from a chaiwalla. Now heading east the scenery changes from steamy palms to lumpy hills and lakes. A town called Aralvaymoli looks fantastic as the sun sets.

It's now dark, the Indian men are loudly discussing chappathi's with the chappathi seller. I close the curtain and lie down in my cosy little area, smirking at how many times the word "chappathi" has been said in the last 20 minutes.

Thiruvananthapuram

There are no hostels in Thiruvananthapuram. I go by the lonely planet recomendation and head to the YMCA. It's very central and quite cheap. There's a special wing for international "guests" aside from the huge dorm's for local underprivileged youths. It's a single room, very clean, YMCA branded bedsheets and soap, TV, en-suite. All lovely, but not a dorm. this is going to be another me, myself and I.

I head out into the city, excited to be in real India again. Triv. is prettier than other Indian cities i've been to. it feels cleaner and I can't see or smell open sewers. It's quite easy to find all tourist attractions, there's the stunning sripadmanbha swami temple in the south with the Palayam Juma Masjid mosque, christchurch, the stunning library, two stadiums and the zoological gardens in the north: all on the MG road. The zoological gardens also have an art gallery. The gardens themselves are lovely. Such an shady oasis under the trees away from the tooting traffic and baking sunshine. A quiet place to sit on the grass is an extremely rare thing. I miss those lush green parks of summer England!

There's a fantastic array or food everywhere, but most of the places that serve it are quite daunting. Full of locals ripping and scooping food with their right hands. Eveyone stares at you when you walk in. The waiters seem shy about coming over but bring you some tap water (which you'll never drink) and a menu. The menu's are very familiar to any English person worth their tumeric. Madras, naan, chappathi, dosa, biryani etc. But what to have for breakfast? I ask what someone else was eating and end up with a tasty veg. masala and chappathi with some tea.

Communist Russia is alive here! The hammer and sickle is everywhere on flags, walls and buildings. There is a very close relationship between Russia and India, there's even a "communist party of India". There are huge numbers of Russian tourists that come here every week and filter out to places like Kerala and Goa. There's also various music and art schools from Russia here, all fully occupied. Quite bizarre on first sight.

Varkala to Thiruvananthapuram

After Sherin Cottage and Shiva garden trying to entrepreneur rupees from me over the 10% deposit i'd paid i say goodbye and good riddance to the Americans, Germans and English of Varkala and get a tuk-tuk to the station. The grunting metal monster of a train rolls in as soon as i arrive and i board. There's no-where to sit, and only a few spaces to stand: next to the non-existent door! You really feel like you're travelling when crammed into a train, half-pushed out while it noisily clacks along. Love it. No more tourists or people trying to sell you trinkets, just genuine locals who stare, but smile if you smile at them. This is only a 50 minute journey along the stunning palm-lined steamy backwaters of Kerala. As the train pulls into the station i'm squeezed off before the train even comes to a halt. Imagine this happening on the 7:30pm London to Bristol!?

Follow my progress on this map

Goa

Me and a Spanish lady (Iris) arrive in Goa after 14 hours on a semi-sleeper coach with a lunatic (normal) Indian driver weaving around, driving on the wrong side of the road, tailgating, even running people off the road (then being stopped by the police). If you're a nervous passenger, or like your sleep i recommend you don't get a coach in India. Book a train, but make sure you book everything at least a week in advance. The seats go quick. Recommended sites are cleartrip.com for trains/flights, and redbus.in for coaches. If you book via a secondary travel agency, a shop or dude on the street you can end up paying twice as much as booking direct.

We arrive into Panaji. The capital of Goa. Its Portuguese history is everywhere. Noticeably Christian after being in Mumbai. We head for the first place we can find, the Bhakra lodge. Bhakra (as i learnt not an hour ago) is Hindi for India. Not an amazing lodge (no wi-fi!) but somewhere to sleep. So after a trip to old Goa (stunning) and a beer i hit the sack. Travelling overnight sounds great on paper, you save on accommodation costs, and get to where you're going for the morning, but if you can't sleep on the journey it can be a long night.

Next day we head North via Baga beach. This beach is row after row of sizzling tourists, mostly Russian. Everyone is asking taxi, sun bed, umbrella, tuk-tuk! NO NO NO NO! You can't escape. I highly recommend you avoid. We leave the beach as quick as we'd entered it, and head further north by local bus to Anjuna. They contain no westerners, cost 10 rupees and have bags of character. I've read good things about Anjuna, and the Silver Moon hostel. The beach is mostly rocky, there are just locals, hippies, backpackers and dogs here. The café's and bars play "classic" Goa trance non-stop it seems, assuming that's what people want to listen to. The hostel is basic but clean. What can you expect for £5 a night! With that, and moped hire for £3 a day, dinner and beer for £4 a day it's seriously cheap, so i book in for 3 days.

8am. Crisp, smoky morning air on the moped ride to meet a boat. Once there we realise it's me, Iris, two extremely well-travelled Ukrainians and 3 Russians. We board the boat for a 6 hour excursion including snorkelling, fishing, dolphin spotting and a BBQ on the beach. After a 1 hour ride we fail on the fishing and snorkelling (underwater visibility was 1 metre!) but we did see some dolphins catching their breakfast. We get to the BBQ beach, which is full or Russians, and tuck into some spicy Goan fish, chicken and rice. YUM. Never have the Spanish and English been so close, defending against the onslaught of mighty Russia. To say we were a minority is a dramatic understatement.

Back off the boat and in Baga i say goodbye to Iris. She heads down to Mysore on an overnight bus. I head back to the hostel and meet Krishna Gandhi (i kid you not). A Canadian born Hindu out here to meet family. He's also catching a bus later, so we grab a quick beer and exchange email addresses then part company. I head to a beach bar for sunset, munch a Jalfrezi, sink and beer and enjoy the wi-fi.

Namaste

The high-rises, slums and rivers of tuk-tuk unfold 30 meters below me as the plane comes into land. It seems like the runway is never going to appear. More houses... cars... ah, there it is. I get off the plane and straight through security then out into searing (compared to -10 in the UK) heat. Immediately greeted by a smiling driver from the Anjali hostel i'm bundled into a car and we head off into the madness. This is culture shock at its greatest. Did i make the right choice coming to India first? Maybe i should've warmed up in South East Asia.

I cannot sleep sitting up, so had no sleep whatsoever on the flight over. I get to the hostel and start chatting to a tall, long-haired chap from Cornwall. He suggests going out, checking out a Hari Krishna temple. Why not! Seems pointless to sleep now. The hostel is 200m back from the main road. A dusty side street, a few kiosks, some dogs and laughing children. We exit the side street onto mayhem. A trillion tuk-tuk's, cars, people, animals, revving, talking, barking, beeping. BEEPING! The pollution is intoxicating and headache inducing but the whole scene is utterly fascinating. I often found myself staring:  "how on earth is this possible??" We get a tuk-tuk to the temple, the driver gleeful that he'd found some westerners to rip-off. Not in a bad way, he felt opportunity knock. Constantly haggling your price before, during and after becomes tiresome after a while but if you have a general idea of journey length a good estimate can be made, and stuck to. After the temple and a beach walk with the locals and their actual pet dogs we haggle back through the carnage to the hostel.

I woke up 13 hours later, head on kindle.

Goodbye England

The remnants of my Dalston room packed and shipped to Birmingham courtesy of Bishshat. This weeks packing was punctuated with trips to the theatre, cinema, galleries and some singing at White Hart lane. I now have no home, no car and no job. How liberating!

I now sit at Birmingham airport waiting for seat 44 on Emirates flight EK083 to arrive at gate 44 (it's 25 minutes late). My life for the next year rests next to me, squeezed into a 38 litre osprey rucksack. Birmingham airport is an incredibly civilised experience when compared to any London terminal although there is an alarming cardboard cut out projection lady welcoming you. A quick bag check by a friendly Brummie  about the liquids i have on me (i didn't check anything in) and i'm through. Despite the full English last supper mom cooked me two hours ago i get some "guess the flavour" crisps from WHSmith and paw greasy fingerprints over this laptop. I couldn't guess the flavour. Next stop Mumbai.

T minus one week

It's been a long time coming but this time next week i'll be heading out! My flight leaves Birmingham international at 8pm next Friday. I think i've done everything. My mom and sister have absorbed all material possessions. I currently live in a posh squat, sleeping on the floor now the bed has gone. I'll send out squat party invites later today.

Tibet has closed its doors to foreigners from mid-February to the end of March as it's the anniversary of the 2008 riots. The Chinese government have decided outside eyes not welcome. I've had to delay my Tibet visit. Instead heading to South East Asia from New Delhi , then flying back to Kathmandu to pick up the tour into Lhasa. Not ideal geographically but certainly better meteorologically.

I'm having a nightmare with camera insurance. Who wants to insure someone to take an expensive camera around the world for a year?
Edit: Seems that Glover & Howe are willing!

About this blog. I've added a "follow by email" link to the right there. Now your inbox can get spammed with my daily mumblings should you so wish. I've fixed the fishtank. I think there was a crack in in and the fish escaped. I've never had much luck with fish.

Plimsolls

My bedroom is in a state of disarray. I like to think it's organised chaos. Pulling all my wardrobe out, throwing clothes about, moving wires around but not actually putting them in anything. Finding things i've not seen for years and getting completely sidetracked. I have the attention span of a puppy. Couple that with high sentimentality and you can probably see why this isn't going well.

I bought far too much bubble wrap. FAR TOO MUCH. I have no idea what was going through my head when i went into the 99p shop on the Kingsland road. It's very easy to think "wow, everything 99p. I'm going to buy everything". Hmm. Guess i could wrap the TV again.

Back to sentimentality. I'm throwing out my £6 pair of Matalan pumps. I would call them plimsolls but i've been informed from a good source that plimsolls have to have a plimsoll line on the side, as in a plimsoll line on the side of ships. I've had these pumps for a year, and they're probably the comfiest and best £6 i've ever spent. Goodbye friends of my feet!

Vaccination

Had the next part of my vaccinations this morning. Rabies, Hep-B and a lovely cholera drink. I've had to push the departure date back to the start of Feb now, as i need another 2 rabies jabs. Bit annoyed that i didn't get these done sooner but it's only a few days change, and luckily i've not yet booked the first flight to Mumbai yet.

Still undecided on which Malaria tablets to take. The cheaper weekly Mefloquine with some not very nice looking side-effects: headaches, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, loss of balance, sleep disorders and abnormal dreams - those are just the common ones. The other option is the more expensive daily Doxycycline with no common side effects - choices choices!

Got India visa today, but more importantly my passport back with it. This makes me very happy. Snowboarding tomorrow is ON!

Happy new year!

Welcome to my travel diary! This is mainly for me to look back on in my golden years but also for family and friends to keep track of me over the next year+. I'm not particularly good at writing, and have never had a blog before so i hope it doesn't read too bad - let me know in the comments if i'm giving you a headache!

I was going to build this diary on my website but found out that blogger now links nicely into Google+, Google photo's, Google maps etc. and seeing as i store my whole life in Google services it made sense.  I'll use my website as my photography portfolio and general hub for my web presence.

So. January 1st 2012. This is where the adventure starts. For those that don't know, at the end of January i'm heading off for at least a year, backpacking through India, Nepal, Tibet, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia etc. and down to New Zealand, around this time next year. Apart from a DSLR, laptop and kindle i'm packing light, very light. I'll go into this more in a later post but for now i wish you a Happy new year! Make it a good one :)