We flew into Delhi, jumped on a flight to Ladakh, the northernmost state in India up in the Himalayas, then travelled, generally in a southern direction, by bus, train, rickshaw, taxi, foot and boat, until we reached the southern shores of this vast country. It has taken us more or less four months, through amazing mountain scenery to white sandy beaches, from floating villages to dusty cities, and we wouldn't leave if it wasn't for the fact that our visa is running out. India - we have loved you and hated you, you have infuriated and inspired, your passion for life is contagious and as we leave, for now, you have given us memories that will define us for years to come.
How to summarise these experiences? Maybe a book one day, but for now, here's our best and worst, up and down, top and bottom, lists, roughly in chronological order...
Best moments:
- Seeing the Taj Mahal (yes, it truly is amazing, almost ethereal!!)
- Paragliding in Manali
- The Yoga & Meditation Program at Phool Chatti Ashram
- Crossing the Thorung La on the Annapurna Trek (the light up there, and the relief)
- Sunset beers in Goa
- Losing and finding ourselves in the backwaters of Kerala
- Living in the jungle at ANET, North Wandoor and diving in the Andaman sea
- Feeling free as a bird on Beach no. 1, on Neil Island
Worst moments (guess which happened to who):
- Being soaked by a bucket of brown curry water in Delhi (thrown from a height)
- The grubby hospital admission in Leh
- Staying the night in Kasol in a damp cigarette stenched bed (with a rave going on downstairs!)
- Staring down the stained toilet at Emerald Heights Hotel, Pinjore (for 3 days!)
- Forgetting the PIN no. to Debit card
- Attacked by wild dogs in Nepal
- Peeing in public with nothing to hide behind
- Snowed in and stranded in freezing Yak Kharka
- Riding a rat infested train to Jabalpur
- Watching in disbelief as a pair of stow away knickers fall out the bottom of trousers whilst trying on dive equipment (Klas's story...)
- Meeting creepy people on Neil Island (Luigi you smarmy bastard!)
Top Journeys:
- Flying into Leh over the Himalayas
- Leh to Manali bus trip
- The Shimla toy train (and being able to hang out the doorway - thank you India for overlooking health & safety everytime! How refreshing!)
- The Annapurna Trek (obviously it's well up there!)
- Boatride down the Ganges in Varanasi
- Jeep Safaris in Kanha National Park (damn you elusive stripey cats - we'll get you next time, gadget!)
- Canoeing down the Keralan backwaters
- Rickshaw riding everywhere (although Krishna on Neil Island was our favourite)
Top travel tips:
- Bring sporks for all that yummy street food (and hand-gel)
- Don't drink bottled water, buy a filter-bottle, ours was from aquapure
- When trekking, bring a tube of Pringles (don't eat them all at once or you'll have stomach cramps), when finished, the tube makes a perfect bin for carrying your waste out!
- Don't bring a she-wee, it doesn't work
- Get side berths on trains for a degree of privacy
- If getting hassled gets too hassly - speak Swedish (you all know what the Swedish chef sounds like)
Top places to stay:
- The Manor - Delhi
- Apple View Guest House - Old Manali
- Hotel Global Inn - Pokhara, Nepal
- Hotel Himalayan - Upper Pisang, Nepal
- The Courtyard House - Kanha National Park
- Kannur Ayurvedic Hospital, Kalpetta
- Greenpalm Homes - Chennamkary, near Alleppey
- ANET research centre - North Wandoor
Top Encounters:
- Rafting down the Zanskar river with Sam, Rohith and Hari
- Meeting Smita on Leh-Manali bus
- Meeting the one-rupee man in Swarg Ashram (and buying him a pink umbrella)
- Munna at Phool Chatti Ashram who made us smile SO much
- Spending the night in Bahundanda at Dinesh's guest house
- Everyone on the Annapurna trek, Arnie gets a special mention (mainly for his Dutch oven joke)
- Hanging out with Brett and Vanessa on the train to Jabalpur (chatting non-stop for 12 hours)
- Dada at the Silk Factory in Varanasi
- Ude, our tiger spotting, and intellectually opinionated, guide in Kanha National Park
- Lazing the days away at Riverside in Goa with Dom, Bart and Rolf
- Spending the day with Marie and Antso, and David, in Wayanad
- Anne and her family in the backwaters of Kerala
- Getting to know everyone at ANET in North Wandoor
Best reads:
- Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
- The Book Thief by Mark Zusak
- The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
- Annapurna by Maurice Herzog
- Archetypal Chakras by Arnold Bittinger
- The tree of Yoga by B K S Iyengar
- India; a portrait by Patrick French
- Love and Longing in Bombay by Vikram Chandra
Best food moments:
- Tasting menu at Indian Accent in Delhi
- Fresh grilled trout in Old Manali
- Pane Puri, street stall in Shimla
- Evening Thali at Phool Chatti Ashram
- Homemade lasagne and chocolate cake at the Himalayan Lodge, Bragha, Nepal
- Street Masala Dosa in Varanasi
- Prawn Masala at Dunes in Goa
- Prawn Kati Roll at Dal Roti, Fort Cochin
- Grilled prawns from fish market, Fort Cochin (yes, we like our prawns!)
- Anne's homecooking at Greenpalm Homes
Best beverage moments:
- Indian Accent Cocktails
- Ginger, lemon, honey tea in Leh
- Lassi in Varanasi, at the Blue Lassi near Manikarnika Ghat
- Celebration beer in Muktinath after crossing the 5400m Thorung La
- Masala Chai on the trains
- Mango Juice in Goa (well the beers were pretty tasty too)
Most bizzarre moments:
- Taxi driver screaming to a halt, jumping out of the car, and getting a boy with a stick to come and scare off a hitching lizard that had appeared on the dash board
- Being offered hashish by an 80 year old man in Manali
- Seeing a legless man on skateboard hitching an auto-ride by hanging onto the back of the rickshaw
- Klas stuck on the roof of the bus tying the luggage down when bus sets off
- Girl (about 15) at Nek Chand in Chandigarh being completely star struck by Ruth and following her around for an hour saying 'I love you'
- Neti pot (nose) cleansing at yoga ashram
- Getting stuck in a teenage booze and drug fuelled party in the Nepali mountains (randomly everything ended abruptly at 8pm!)
- Having Lassi in Varanasi whilst funeral processions carrying the deceased march past
- Old lady speaking Hindi at us for the entireity of a 14 hour train journey to Mumbai (hoping that we may eventually understand her?!)
- Ayurvedic massages, the one in Kalpetta being a master-class in how to grease up a chicken. - Being scouted for a Bollywood film in Fort Cochin
- Petrified of stepping on a Pit Viper snake on the way to the toilet block at ANET
