Day 284 : Jaipur

Up early and packed our bags so they can be moved to the new room. Had breakfast at the peacock then got a rickshaw to the Jantar Mantar and the city palace within the pink city walls. The walled city is pretty and unusually it has very wide roads (founded 1727) but it's not as attractive as say Udaipur or other places.

Jantar Mantar (1727) is a peculiar garden full of astrology (and astronomy) equipment from the 1700's. It is so the priests could calculate things like a good date to get married etc. It is home to the worlds largest sun dial (large is an understatement - 27 meters tall).

The palace is nice but we are feeling a bit sightseeinged out! Although I did get very excited about some absolutely exquisite doors (see album).

Saw more men with bright Rajasthani turbans and curly mustaches (its not only people who work in museums but regular people too).

Walked around the shops a bit then went to the Raj Mandir cinema to pick up tickets for a 3pm showing - there is only one choice - "Agent Vinod" starring Saif Ali Khan a Bollywood superstar who can be seen advertising anything from crisps to vests.

Had dinner then went into the cinema - it has a beautiful grand reception hall - it was built in 1976 but in Art Deco style and is wonderful. The film was ok and although in Hindi you get the gist of the plot.

Checked into our new room which I think is nicer than the last one. The "bathroom" (well they don't have baths here) is the poshest bathroom I've ever seen including ones in posh lifestlye magazines! It will look less posh when we hang up our clothes to dry (laundry is expensive in India I think because it is done by hand so we do it all ourselves).

Day 283 : Arrival in Jaipur

Arrived at 5am and went to the sister hotel of the one we're booked in as they have a waiting lounge there. Had breakfast in the beautiful rooftop cafe "the peacock". We've hit the serious tourist trail without even realizing but then I notice things like in a carriage there were a couple of other westerners and people aren't staring at me like I'm an alien. It's nice because people don't stare at me when I eat and it's also nice chatting to other British people. On the other hand I feel like a certain part of our India trip is now over, also I feel now that any Indians that approach us are only after our money!

Checked into Pearl Palace Heritage - it is very swanky - Will has booked a few expensive hotels for his "Birthday fortnight"! Well I say expensive - the same price as 1 person staying in an 8 bunk dorm in Oz. Our room is not available today so they put us in an even bigger suite that is about the same size as our flat.

Went to Anokhi which is a chain of fair-trade shops to buy some presents. We also ate in their cafe. It was all the weirdest experience. The shop and cafe are in an air conditioned little mall and the cafe was just like one you'd get in John Lewis or something. I had a gorgeous brie baguette. It's so weird because we haven't seen anywhere that looks this "normal" for such a long time.

Went back too our hotel then went to the peacock for dinner (no where else nearby to eat as we are in kind of housing estate, and the food's nice).

Day 282 : Another overnight train

Checked out of our room at 9 but spent all of today hanging out in the restaurant Will is making good progress on my website. It’s apparently 41 degrees today so think that’s why we didn't fancy walking around the fort. We were lucky with the weather for the trek as it wasn't too hot.

Just boarded the overnight train to Jaipur.

Day 281 : Return from the desert

Survived overnight in the desert. Didn’t get that much sleep – it was quite hot but then got really nice and cool (but too soon to dawn!), the giant beetles continued to be attracted to us but finally went to sleep, two dogs (one of them from earlier) wanted to sleep by us (made me feel guilty every time I had a drink as they looked on longingly) but they didn’t like each other so kept fighting.

A cool, white sun rose behind a haze. The camels were still there which was all good. Our guide made us boiled eggs, toast and chai over the fire. Met another dog who I was happy to see drinking the boiled egg water before the guide saw her.

Set off on a two hour ride to meet the jeep. Saw some deer (gazelles?) and a strange looking grey fox thing and some eagles.

Had lunch on the rooftop and stared at the life happening all around – the wild boar piglets are so cute! The sparrows are busy bobbing around collecting material for their nests – I love the chirp noise they make. Life (and it’s by-products) in India seems to seep into every nook and cranny no matter how inhospitable the environment may first appear to be.

Had a quick wander in the fort. Had dinner on the roof as usual – had 4 beers which quadrupled our usual bill.

Day 280 : Camel trek

Checked out at 9 and hung around the hotel on the rooftop and also in a cool window seat until we set off by jeep at 2. Met our fellow trekkers the lovely Sue and Nick from Yorkshire (who randomly have good friends in both Stroud and Cowbridge and know the places very well). 

Met our camels and Mr Singh our guide. The camels were friendly enough which is good because it means I could try and cuddle them. The camels were packed up with all our supplies before we got on. Will got the biggest camel and some reins as the guide asked who had experience riding (although I have 20 years experience he obviously didn’t ask me because I’m a women so my camel was attached to the one in front!).
We rode off into the distance (Will often being further in the distance as his camel was very keen so he got relegated to the back of the line).

We went through scrubby land towards a more deserty landscape and after 2 hours (which was plenty as there are no stirrups so not that comfy) arrived at a dune to set up camp. Mr Singh made us some chai and dinner whilst we looked at the dunes and the sunset. There a lots large black beetles (maybe dung beetles) that seem very attracted to us and won’t stop clambering onto us (anything’s better than spiders obviously and they’re quite cute but annoying).

A gorgeous dog came up to us looking thirsty and I talked to him and said I might give him a drink which he somehow understood and he lay down and put his head on my feet! I cut open a plastic bottle and let him drink he was so thirsty. He finally got shoed away by Mr Singh.

After dinner we rolled out our mattress and blanket and looked at the stars – the sky was quite hazy but it was nice to be comfy and look at the stars (only saw 1 shooting start – there seems to be more in the UK I’ve seen than anywhere else we’ve been).

Day 279 : Will’s 30th Birthday!

We were up at 4 to catch the train to Jaisalmer. Arrived at 11 and checked into our lovely havelli hotel. Had breakfast in the lovely roof top restaurant which has a great view of the fort.

The cake survived and I got the funny candle ready. The balloons I bought were typical of many things in India in that they barely worked at all. So I made a string of sorry looking funny shaped balloons and hung up a happy birthday sign. The candle was a pleasant surprise as when I lit it it expanded into a lotus flower and sang happy birthday! So I sang Happy Birthday and we ate cake yum.

And what did I get Will for his big 30th birthday? A kinder surprise!

Wandered into the beautiful fort and looked around the extensive alleyways (didn’t last that long as it’s so hot). There a lots of shops and homes (2000 people live within the walls). Bought some wedding gifts – we’re reaching the limit of carrying everything!

Had dinner in the rooftop cafe and had a couple of kingfishers to celebrate.

Day 278 : Wander around Jodhpur

Today we spent the morning wandering the streets of Jodhpur. We picked our away through the back streets and manoeuvred around the usual motorbikes and cows. Saw a couple of small processions (maybe to do with weddings?). The buildings are very picturesque. In the same way I'm collecting cow photos Will has started collecting door photos.

Saw a man trying to feed chapatis to a cow but the cow looked at him as if to say - do you think I want another chapati?? How about some cornflakes for breakfast tomorrow?

Wandered off to look for birthday related things, found a bakery and the guy iced Happy 30th Will on a cake for me. Also managed to find some balloons and candles yay!

Day 277 : Mehrangarh Fort

Today we visited the spectacular Mehrangarh fort (1459) which teeters above Jodhpur. It is a breath taking building and has magnificent views over the indigo washed houses, the clock tower and the current Maharajas palace that looks like the Taj sitting on the horizon. We wandered around the fort through a series of gateways and corridors, you can see why it has never been successfully penetrated.

We then walked down to the marble cenotaphs of the Rathor rulers (1906) before getting a tuk tuk back down the hill.

Heard lots of noise and music from our room so went downstairs to the hotel entrance and watched a huge procession of carnival type floats and fantastic marching bands. Also watched the dearest little mouse scamper up and down a tree.

Day 276 : Jodhpur

Did geeking in the morning. Went out in the late afternoon up to the clock tower market, wandered around and bought some gifts. Made a slow return back to our hotel as the traffic was awful and impossible to cross the roads although at least here they do try and stop or avoid hitting you when you’re in the middle of the road (unlike Kolkata).

Day 275 : Kumbhalgarh Fort & Ranakpur Temple

Hired a driver for the journey to Jodhpur. On the way…

We visited Kumbhalgarh fort which is very impressive and is in the middle of nowhere. The surrounding wall is the longest in the world after the great wall of China. The place is beautiful and it was very quiet – you can wander around a never ending mish-mash of corridors and stone stairs that go up and down into different courtyards. Some of the old rooms near the top have amazing views and cute marble balconies that you can sit in and enjoy the strong breeze.

We also visited Ranakpur temple (an important Jain temple). From the outside it looks similar to the Cambodian style seen in Thailand. The inside was full of the most exquisite marble carvings. Some aspect of the temple reminded me of a Cathedral but not sure what. The temple is full of Buddha like statues (not quite figured all the links out yet but I know Buddhism came from India). All the taps in the complex and in the bathrooms had muslin nets on - we assume to stop the Jains drinking and thus killing any microbes.

The scenery is changing and looks similar to Morocco. We went on a short section of quiet motorway, traffic included the usual (like car speeding down the fast lane in the wrong direction) plus a few camels towing trailers. We passed some sort of market fair that made the road very congested. A lot of the men wear fluorescent pink turbans and white baggy shirt and trousers. It also never ceases to amuse me how the cows just wander and stand in the middle of the road as if that’s the best place for a cow to be. The water buffalo are so cute and huge and the boar look so cuddly.

Arrived in Jodhpur early evening, our room is pleasant enough and is on the top floor. Outside our door is the roof top cafe (nice food and quite cheap) which has views of the fort on the hill which looks absolutely enormous.

Day 274 : Marwari horse ride

This morning we got picked up in an open top jeep and driven to Princess Trails stables to go for a 2 hour ride in the countryside. The horses are a rare breed the Marwari (Arab and native Indian horse) they have funny pointed in ears. It was a lovely way to see the countryside and villages and the horses are beautiful. It would of been nice to do some trotting or canter but the ground is maybe too hard. It would be nice to see what they can do as they felt so responsive and lovely to ride. Have a nice chai in the grounds and watched all the birds.

Made another attempt at cutting Will’s hair, my cheap scissors are very blunt now.

Day 273 : Palace and boat trip

In the morning we went around the palace museum which is a labyrinth of corridors (clearly signposted) that meander through the huge palace complex made up of many parts built over the ages.It is a beautiful building, you can really imagine what it might have been like back in the day.

Did some shopping, eating etc.

Took a late afternoon boat trip around the lake, taking in the views of the palace and also the visiting the lake palace. Octopussy (filmed here) is on every night in many restaurants but we are going to save it for a cold night in England.

Had dinner in another roof top restaurant (Aloo mutter yum) and watched the sun disappear behind a haze.

Day 272 : Udaipur

Arrived on the night train to Udaipur. Checked into a nice hotel (booked months ago to get the room with a view). The old city is full of winding, narrow streets with too many motorbikes and lots of cute cows. Had an extortionate breakfast at our hotel before we could check in (well about £3 for 2 but for not very much). The staff are lovely here.

The view from our room is spectacular – we can see the palace, the lake and lake palace and the hill fort through 180 degrees of beautifully framed windows.

Walked to Dehli gate (a chaotic and less touristy place) and had a thali. Looked at some shops, bought some fruit and got too hot!

Chilled out, watched the last of the sunset from our room.

Day 271 : Jain festival and Ghandi ashram

Up early to check out of our room at 0830. Most Indian hotels operate a 24-hour checkout policy which means that your checkout time is the same time you check-in. Nice if you check-in late because you get a full day in the hotel room at the end but not so good if you arrived early like us!

Our train tonight was not until 2300 so we left our bags at the hotel and headed off for our regular jam roll and chai breakfast at “Lucky”. We bumped into a couple of American tourists who we’d seen in the days previously and they tipped us off about a Jain festival at the city museum so we decided to start our day there.
We arrived at the festival seemingly early – there were lots of people in elaborate costumes and an amazingly decorated marquee, but not much going on. There were maybe two thousand or so people sat on the floor, divided into men and women, so we sat at the back and waited for things to start. As usual we seemed to be the only westerners and it wasn’t long before an official-looking photographer barged through and demanded to take a photo of us. We reluctantly agreed to his promise of one photo but then he dragged us to the front of the crowd and wanted us to pose in prayer positions in front of the shrine. We obliged but then escaped when we tried to get us onto the alter with handkerchiefs tied around our faces(!) and got into an argument with some of the priests about whether we were allowed. He never even told us what it was for – maybe we’ll be featuring in some tourist brochure or newspaper article!

After looking around the small city museum we headed to a local dining hall and then up the river to the Ghandi Ashram. This is where Ghandi spent 15 years when he arrived back in India form South Africa. There was a nice exhibition and you can walk around the basic houses where Ghandi and his disciples lived.
The rest of the day we spent in House of MG – a four star hotel around the corner from ours with a comfortable cafe. I guess it is expensive by Indian standards but still only a couple of pounds for drinks and a snack (highlights were the Saffron Lassi and some kind of Rose milkshake) and it was a nice place to spend a few hours.

We’re now on the overnight train to Udaipur – a bit different to other trains we’ve had in that all the beds are in private compartments (4 beds to a compartment).

Day 270 : Walking tour

Up early to go on a walking tour organised by a neighbouring hotel. Was good to meander down streets and secret passageways we would not have found. A lot of the grand buildings built in 1600s are similar to the Chinese style mansions we saw in East Asia. The intricate wooden carvings on the outside of the houses are beautifully preserved. The guide wasn't that good but we saw lots we wouldn't have done without him. We learnt that cows get to eat the first chapatti of the day.

Did some geeking in the afternoon and had some food in a restaurant near another bazaar.

Day 269 : Ahmedabad

Arrived at 8 this morning and checked into our hotel “Volga”. Went for breakfast before we could have our room. Went to the only place that seemed to be open – a canteen type place that only serves fresh rolls with lashings of butter and pineapple jam and chai – delicious!

Tried to go to the textile museum which is meant to be amazing but it is booked up (you have to go on a tour) for over a week. Tried walking to another site to see but got a bit lost and ended up somewhere random, eventually found a tuk tuk to take us to Manek Chawk bazaar.

Even when all the stalls are open this city does not have enough vibrancy to cover up the normal grime of India. The poor air quality is visible. The women aren't as brightly dressed (probably in part due to the large Muslim population). The cows don’t look as happy and are not for cuddling. Had a masala dosa then came back to hotel.

Had more bread, pineapple jam and chai in the afternoon and went for dinner in the evening had a new type of curry called Navratni Korma which is lovely and sweet.

Day 268 : Back on the train

A full day on the train. Uneventful except for getting conned into buying dinner twice – hawkers dress in the same shirts as the official train staff and after we ordered dinner one of them came up and looked to be delivering it so we paid him. Later on the official guy came around and we realised our mistake – fortunately we had only ordered one dinner to share so it wasn’t too bad that we paid twice.

The landscape north of Mumbai is different from the south. For the first time we saw uncultivated land – dry and stubby hillocks like moorland. We’re due to arrive in Ahmedabad at 7am tomorrow. The Rough Guide describes it as “appallingly polluted, renowned for its dreadful congestion and repeated outbreaks of communal violence”. Should be fun!

Day 267 : Hampi to Hubli

Up early this morning to walk up Matanga hill to watch the sunrise. The path up the hill is made of boulders and steps carved into the rock which lead to the ruins of a temple at the top. The view was stunning and one of the best we’ve watched sunrise over.

Checked out of our guesthouse and had breakfast at the usual spot – roof terrace at the Gopi restaurant. Bought some more presents and postcards.

Walked along the river to the Mango tree cafe. Sat and watched the huge water buffalo (with their feathered friends) being herded around by a small woman with a small stick.I don’t really get how all these cows, buffalo etc are so well behaved and cuddly (plus half of them are bulls!).

Got a rickshaw to Hospet station then a train to Hubli – we went in sleeper class , it’s really cool having an open window to see out of (I wouldn't want to sleep like that though). The sites from the train were the usual mix of humanity, birds, beautiful setting sun and cute animals like boar piglets.

Arrived at Hubli where our train leaves early in the morning. Decided against the retiring room due to the sheets and then struggled to find a hotel room (not sure if they were really full or didn’t like the look of us). Found a comparatively clean place to sleep.

Day 266 : Hampi by bike

Ahhh I love the cows here they are so cute. It’s great you can scratch, pat and cuddle them and they are everywhere! They hang around like dogs peering into kitchen doorways and eating from the rubbish. This morning I saw a cow licking clean plates and saucepans piled up to be washed.

We waited at the main temple for a cycle tour and watched all the monkeys creating havoc as usual, The cycle tour was really good (if a bit hot and sunburn inducing). We went around all the main ruins and view points. Hampi was a rich Kingdom and trading place with incredible temples and palaces created over a few hundred years that was then ransacked by Muslim invaders in the 1600’s. It is the largest archaeological site in India and they think only 30% of the city has been uncovered.

Went to “sunset point” to watch the sunset over an incredible view of ruins, mounds of rock formations and palm forests.

Had a yummy dinner of egg curry, cardoman tea and banoffe pie (with coconut shavings instead of cream which doesn’t exist here).

Day 265 : Beautiful Hampi

Arrived via overnight train then bus to Hampi and found a nice guesthouse that a girl I met on the bus was staying at.

Had a nice lunch in a rooftop cafe with temple views enjoyed a cold limca. This place gives me a real holiday feeling. It is quite touristy with lots of guest houses and restaurants and stalls but it is all intermingled along meandering streets with cute little houses, feels like a chilled out little village.

Walked up some steep stone steps at the end of the bazaar ruins up into a huge mound of boulders. The view in all directions is spectacular. The dry, orangey rock formations are bizarre and contrast the amazingly lush oasis's of banana and rice plantations amongst which the ruined temples are scattered. For some reason it makes me think of scenes I imagine from the Bible of rocky mounts from ancient times. 

Many people and animals (chickens, goats, cows, dogs) live in the ruins of the covered bazaar – the colours of the make shift houses are beautiful and it all combines to make a very rustic, picturesque scene. Along with the normal macaque monkeys there are also lots of very long limbed, black faced monkeys – need to find out what they are.

Bought some bananas from a stall and as I was walking home one of the cows starting following me so I gave in a gave him a banana and a cuddle.

Day 264 : Cycle tour

This morning Stephen took us on an extensive cycle tour around Mysore, visiting some contrasting community areas as well as taking us around the impressive Raj-era buildings. Cycling around town not as hairy as we thought it might be – maybe because it’s Sunday and things were a little quiet. Stephen had lots of good stories and local knowledge and it’s always interesting to talk with expats about living and doing business in India.
In the afternoon we just chilled out around the house and caught up on the blog / photos from the ashram.

We’re going out with Steve, Dave and Vicky for a meal tonight before catching an overnight train to Hubli and then on to Hampi tomorrow.

Day 263 : Mysore

Train arrived early in Mysore so our pickup hadn’t arrived. Caught a rickshaw to the B&B to be greeted by the house dog (later discovered to be named Lucy). The place is run by Stephen, an Englishman who settled out here a few years ago, and his housekeeper Manjula. Randomly bumped into Vicky and Dave (from Darjeeling and Madurai) who had been staying here last night!

We were tired from the train journey but forced ourselves out of the house since we only have 2 days here. Catching a bus into town we grabbed lunch in a “meals” canteen and strolled around the market before heading to the main tourist attraction – the Maharaja’s Palace. The palace is a very beautiful colonial building (built in the early 1900s) – lots of extravagant halls and mix of European and Indian architecture. After another walk around the markets (many amazing colours and smells) we headed back to the house for dinner with Steve, Dave, Vicky and the other guests, Jeff and Julia.

Day 262 : Temple inauguration

Our last day at the ashram. Another 200 people from a sister ashram in Kerala arrived late last night so lots of new people around (we’re full already so people camping in the dining and yoga halls). After a slightly later satsang we had breakfast in the yoga hall and then an open asana class which was pretty intense for us beginners.

The temple inauguration festivities started at 11 – there were lots of drums, a drum / acrobat / fire show, dancers, and the obligatory elephant as we were joined by many locals from the village to celebrate the placing of the deity into the new temple. Lots of noise and colour. Throwing of holy water and flowers over the crowds.

After a few hours of this we had a feast in the yoga hall and then it was time for us to head to Madurai to do some bits before we catch our train tonight. Bumped into a bunch of our fellow yoga vacationers in Madurai and had a nice final meal with them at the rooftop restaurant we’d visited a few weeks ago.
Finally we caught our overnight train to Mysore. It’s very quiet compared to the other trains we’ve caught – no hawkers or beggars. Still have the chants from the ashram in my head as I try to sleep.

Day 261 : More puja

Today was exam day for the teacher training students so once that was over they were off for the day.

Lots of villagers around to prepare for the temple inauguration tomorrow. It was Holi today as well (where people generally throw coloured powder at each other) so lots of coloured faces around.

The head of the organisation was back for an evening ceremony to transfer the spiritual energy from the deity in the existing temple (just an ordinary room in the ashram) to the deity which will be placed in the new temple tomorrow. There was a big procession to the new temple and lots of drumming and chanting.

Yoga going well but today is our last proper day. Louise finding the relaxation at the end of the session frustrating due to ant and mosquito attacks. Today a lizard jumped on her tummy.

Day 260 : Routine

Back feeling better and everything pretty routine today.

Day 259 : Back pain

Woke up to rats plucking the guitar strings in the dorm with their tails. Louise tried to skip the morning satsang (like a few people do most days) but too many people tried to have a lie-in so somebody went to get them out of bed.

After the morning yoga class by back was sore so I skipped the afternoon one.

A load of priests arrived to prepare the new temple for it's opening on Friday. They do lots of drumming throughout the day around the new temples so it's sometimes hard to relax / meditate with the noise!

In the evening we watched a documentary on vegetarianism from the 80s.

Day 258 : I can touch my toes!

I can reach down to my toes today! The only other time I’ve been able to do this was 10 years ago when I did dance class.

Satsang  - I’ve taken to curling in a ball and half snoozing during meditation.

Will said he heard a cow say OM today! (a word we chant a lot).

Lunch – liking the food. Will insisting on eating all food (including curry and rice) with hands even though there are spoons (like about 3/4 of people here) it makes me feel a bit ill seeing him do this.

Lectures – Interesting learning about different Hindu mythical stories and our teacher is a good speaker. Some of the stuff is a bit out there. A lizard fell from the mango tree into the lap of one of our class then ran off it was really funny.

We’ve taken to lying on a wall after dinner to watch the stars come out and the little bats.

Day 257 : Mountain walk and puja ceremony

Another meditation walk this morning – this time up a larger hill with great views out towards Madurai. Another spectacular sunrise accompanied by peacock cries. Loulou sat away from the crowd to listen to the birds instead of chanting.

Feeling stiff again but can feel the different in flexibility from the yoga already.
Karma yoga was fun today – I was helping to move dirt to build a temporary seating area for a puja ceremony at a new temple they’re building on site. It meant carrying baskets of dirt on my head with some of the Indian women from the village.

The water supply seems unreliable – not good after sweaty yoga sessions twice a day!

Lecture today about our 5 bodies – physical, energy, mind, intelligence and happiness.

Meal times are fun but messy. It's good to watch how other people eat with their hands - in restaurants it's sometimes difficult to know how to eat things! Usually the idea seems to be to mix the rice / idly together with the different sauces / vegetables until you get the right consistency to shove into your mouth without spillage. I struggle to walk sometimes after sitting cross legged for so long but it is getting better.

In the evening there was a puja ceremony at the new temple.

Day 256 : Monkey attack!

Have to be really careful with all belongings (toiletries / food – rats) but the monkeys will take anything especially jewellery. Yesterday had some bangles (gifts) wrapped up in plastic and newspaper when I retuned from class I found the monkeys had ripped them open and spread the bangles all over the bed.

While going up the stairs to do my sweeping I shooed a monkey off the banister and it jumped on my back. I threw a full 1 litre bottle at it and it fell down then it came back for more! Then I tried to shoe away some monkeys who were ransacking the shrine flowers in the hall (with 2 of us and 2 brooms) and we got chased by a huge monkey!

Liking the yoga, the chai, the people, the food a lot. The meditation and chanting is almost unbearable at times which is a shame as I love singing on groups of people but some of it is very out of tune and monotonous.

Day 255 : Meditation walk and more monkey business

Instead of our morning meditation session we went for a “meditation walk” up onto one of the small hills surrounding the ashram. Feeling tired and stiff. View from the valley very beautiful with the morning mist, sunrise and the sounds of peacocks in the nearby forest. We sat on the hill for half an hour or so doing the morning chants (which are always the same).

Feeling better after yoga session. We did a strange breathing exercise where you block one nostril, breath in over 4 seconds, hold the breath for 8 seconds and then breath out the other nostril over 8 seconds. It’s supposed to balance the prana (energy) between the different sides of the body.

The head of the yoga organisation is visiting today from Canada (the organisation is based near Montreal) to assign personal mantras to people tomorrow morning. A mantra is the chant you say in your head when meditating and it is considered a great honour to be given a personal one.

Day 254 : First full day 0f “beginners yoga vacation”

Liking the ashram as there is a constant supply of drinking water, nice toilets and feel happy sleeping in the open thatched dorm as there are lots of people around and don’t feel scared there will be spiders (think the rats, squirrels and monkeys eat them all).

5.30: Wake up bell

6.00: “satsung” 30 min silent meditation ideally cross legged (that did’nt last long), chanting for ages (some chants are ok, some bad as the teacher training students are forced to lead chants and not all of them can sing). Get a little snack at the end.

7.30: chai

8.00 – 9.50: First “asana” – yoga class hard work but really good I can see we will progress very quickly.

10.00: Lunch – hare krishna chanting reminds me of hare krishna free food at glasto. Food really good – non spicy veg south Indian food.

11.00: “karma yoga” – chores my job sweeping and mopping big hall.

13.30: chai

14.00: Lecture about yoga and a tour of ashram. Met lots of really nice people from all over the world and they are all normal.

16.00: second yoga class till 17.50

18.00: Dinner

20.00: An hour and half of meditation and chanting then a snack.

22.00: lights out, easy to sleep!

Not bad for a fiver a day!