Final Reflections, and a bit of catching up.

4 months ago, almost to the day I sat in my room in Harare, with the generator on in the background powering the internet, wondering how the next four months were going to turn out.

Now I sit here in air-conditioned luxury at Louis and Frederique's house in Delhi wondering how four months goes by so fast. It's been an adventure, sometimes it seemed like the four months was never going to end, sometimes the time just slipped away. But it always kept me on my toes, wondering what was going to happen next, leaving me amazed at a view, or amused at the man belching heartily in front of me, or shocked at the lepers sitting in squalor by the side of a road while suited businessmen stroll past on their way to work. If that sounds slightly cliched, its because its India, it just does that.

I've loved it though, learnt from it, seen places and done things that even my parents (near deities in the traveling world) haven't seen or done. I'm now one of those Indiah explorers who can sit down at a bar and chat to other Indiah explorers about their adventures, (club membership card in the post).

I also apologise for the complete lack of posts in the last few weeks. I had a few lined up but unfortunately my computer has given up just before the end and for the moment I can't get any of the posts off it.

We went from Manali to Macleod Ganj, the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. Then on to Amritsar to the Waga border between Pakistan and India where the armed forces parade around zealously each day at 6pm trying to out do their counterparts across the fence. It is fairly comical, especially the soldiers who can fling their legs high enough to kick themselves in the face, but very impressive. Amritsar is also home to the magnificent Golden Temple, a Mecca for Sikhs and a kind of hummingbird feeder for people of all religions from around the world.

We stopped off in Simla to pick up our suitcases, and then, wondering how we'd managed to accumulate so much stuff, lugged them down to Delhi and left them with Louis and Fredie. It was then down to Bombay where I was re-united with Deepak and showed Rory the sights, as well as making a visit to Elephanta Island which I hadn't seen before. Goa was our next stop, five days on the beach to relax after the strenuous year I've had since exams finished. My birthday also happened to coincide with that and a day on the beach, a nice dinner and an evening watching football and sampling Calangute's nightlife amply did it justice.

Rory's sister had joined us in Goa and the three of us left the beach and grabbed the 36 hour Express train up to Agra, arriving at 3 in the morning. Intrepid explorers that we are we ditched our bags, had a shower and caught the Taj Mahal at sunrise. It was worth waiting for, I'll give it that. By far the most beautiful monument we've seen in India, a really incredible sight. The Red Fort must kind of feel like the less talented younger brother (no dig at Xandi) but is still very impressive, built on similar lines to the one in Delhi but better maintained, and without a concrete water tower in the middle.

Efficiency tourism, as we've named our brand of exploration meant us grabbing a bite to eat from a rooftop restaurant with magnificent views of the Taj and then catching the fantastically uncomfortable overnight bus to Udaipur. I ended up sleeping on the floor of the bus as it was comfier than the seats before being told that I hadn't paid for my space on the floor and to get back to my seat.

Udaipur is stunning though, four incredible palaces, two of them on islands in the middle of the lake and a third being the biggest palace in Rajasthan make it a really special place. Our hotel had a rooftop restaurant so omelettes with a view were on the menu each morning. We spent a couple of days seeing the sights before the parting of the fellowship. Rory and I had spent almost every day of the last three months in each other's company but it was now finally time to part ways. He and his sister, Liv were off to Jaipur while I caught my final train back to Delhi.

I've now spent two days here and am off to the airport in a few hours to catch my 4.15 am flight. Fun times!

I apologise for the lack of photos but as soon as my laptop is sorted I'll upload them, there are some absolute crackers.
Cheers
Max