travel lightly and carry a big stick

An ending and a begining

left varanasi for agra on an overnight train which i should have missed due to traffic but luckily in the age old british tradition the train was running comfortably late so had just enough time to get it. Arrived in Agra early the next morning and devoted the next few days to some serious monument spotting, taking in Agra fort, an ancient city some 40 km out of town and of course the Taj. Well its big and its white. Actually it is pretty impressive, worth the 10 quid to get in (this doesn't sound like much, but could easily last me 4 days). Delhi followed and more monuments.Right now i'm out in the desert in Jaisalmer, an old golden sandstone town, with a fort with a whole village inside. Its nearly all beautifully carved, like the whole town has been fashioned from one big block. The thing to do here is a camel safari and although i had already done one in china i signed up for four days - having been assured by the salesman that i would be with 2 other english and 2 canadians so have lots of company. Of course what the kind salesmen meant to say was i'd be with 6 french, 2 of which are technically canadian, leaving me with just a stinky camel for company - some people just have no shame.... seriously wasn't too bad, it turns out that me and the camel shared a passion for shakespeare. Lots of sand, stars and campfires was the order of the day. Thankfully not too many hours a day on the camel as sitting would now be (more) impossible. Now for the title... for those who haven't heard this may be a bit of a suprise, but it maybe sometime before im back in england, have decided to stay in asia and get a job. Of course i miss everyone at home and its been a big decision but just can't help myself. will be leaving india in the next week or so and that will be the end of this part of the story but i'll keep up this site and try to give you all some idea of what i'm getting up to. OK bye all, hope you enjoyed crossing a zillion countries, a few mountain ranges, close encounters with wierd beasties and those horrendous unforgettable bus trips with me. And remember, if you want to do the same, stop making excuses and in the immortal words of nike corporation.....just do it....

posted by justplainnigel @ 1:55 PM