Good Night Vietnam...

I think this is the first time I've struggled to start a post. I think because it is and isn't my final post. It's final in the sense that it will be the last post I do whilst I'm technically still away, but I still want to do one last one summing up the past four months. But for now...

The last three days of Vietnam...

After leaving Hanoi we took a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. The trip then took a bit of an unexpected sombre and emotional turn. We all know of the Vietnam war but I'll admit that I knew nothing about it. I even had to google it before I got there as I didn't even know why there was a war in the first place. We can see from our own countries wars how much it can change a country and shape the futures of the many generations that come afterwards so I was interested to find out more about it. However I really wasn't expecting to find what we did.

The War Remnants Museum documents the war mostly through photography demonstrating how the war was carried out and also the after effects including the famous 'Girl in the Picture'. When I think of war I think of the films that were shown on the news of fighting between soldiers and I thought for some reason, being that this was a fairly recent war in historical terms that this would be similar. Soldiers fighting between themselves with the tragic inevitability that civilians would have got caught up in the cross fire from time to time. However I was literally horrified to discover how much of the hostility was directed at civilians. It was some of the most graphic photography I have ever seen. There was one particular image and caption beneath it that definitely stuck with me...I started writing about it here but I didn't feel right so I decided to delete it. The whole museum was emotional but this particular image nearly brought me to tears. I can't believe it happened only twenty years before I was born.

This then developed into a discussion over dinner about what we'd seen, how uneducated we were about this particular war (I think the phrase "I knew it was bad but I didn't realise how bad" was used a lot) and how war affects us today. I know it's a cliche but it also opened my eyes to how much Vietnam is still suffering. You can see it in all the temples and palaces that are being restored from bomb damaged and all the people suffering from birth defects as a result of chemical warfare. Despite it being a bit of a heavy day it was good to have a bit of serious moment with the group (and to find out I wasn't the only soppy git who wanted to shed a tear).

The positive part of the day...the displays of all the anti war posters from so many countries. Just when you're having a 'people suck' moment, it can take something small to restore your faith in humanity again.

The next day we went a bit further south to the Mekong Delta for a nights home stay again. It was completely different to the last one in that we were sleeping outside under a bamboo cover. I got a feeling of child like excitement at the prospect of sleeping outside...until what I thought was a cockroach flew into my mosquito net. Cue me screaming...then everyone else screaming...then discovering it was a (massive) dragon fly. The woman and her small daughter came and removed it for me *shame* and mr dragon fly went on his way.

The night also wasn't complete without a few shots of some kind of vile Vietnamese spirit, the banana wine we were served wasn't quite as horrific as rice wine but the 'I'm not gagging face' was prevalent in most of our faces again. Personally I always think that one should stick to the things they are good at. For example, if you can't sing...don't try to be a singer. Equally if you a carbohydrate based accompaniment to many Asian dishes, don't try to be a spirit. It makes perfect sense to me...and anyone else who has tasted rice based spirits.

Before heading back to Ho Chi Minh we went and visit the Cu Chi tunnels, a series of tunnels that people lived in during the war and were also used to ambush the Americans. Going down into the tunnels was quite something, most of us had issues fitting our big western asses into the tiny holes and I was completely shattered after shuffling along them bend double for five minutes. It was hot, cramped, smelt damp and would have been completely pitch black at time. I can't comprehend spending years of my life down there.

We had the last supper and a few drinks back in Ho Chi Mihn to round off the trip and say goodbye. Something that tasted suspiciously like a rice based spirit masquerading as vodka cropped up again...I will forgive it this time though as it definitely did the trick!

We made a group decision to get up and have breakfast together at 7:30am the next day as the Luis' were leaving to go to Cambodia early (nope, not jealous at all). Although I begrudged getting up at the time I'm glad we did it as it was a nice but sleepy eyed way to end the trip.

Thank you Ellen, Emily, Barbara, Luis Junior, Luis Senior, Edda and Nigh for an amazing two weeks, it was the perfect end to my time away.

I'm now sitting in Doha airport (feeling like I've spent 4 months, 1 week and 3 days travelling) waiting for my flight back to the UK. So far I've been here for 9 hours so only 2 more to wait. Up until now it's just felt like I'm travelling onto somewhere else in Asia but it's now starting to hit home that I'm actually going home (pardon the pun). Dad was showing me some pictures he's printed off of me and he said he'd printed off a couple of me with the kids from India. I got a sudden pang of emotion and realisation of how much I'm going to miss it all (cue playing a bit of Bollywood music on the iPod).

Words cannot describe how fantastic this part of my life has been, it literally has been the best thing I've ever done. I'm not quite ready to try and sum it all up yet but when I do I'll give it my best shot.

For now it's goodbye to the amazing Asia and onto home sweet home! To all the people I've met...thank you, you've truly made my time away and to everyone at home, I can't wait to see you again!

See you in the UK!

Love always from

Holly

xxx

Mot, Hi, Ba, Zu...

Well here I am on the last leg of my Asian adventure. Final stop: Vietnam. I chose to end my trip here as it's a place I've wanted to come to for the last couple of years (and no not just because Top Gear came here). It's also only two hours away from Thailand so it would have been rude not to stop by.

I know I said I wanted to steer clear of the 'and then we did this...and then we ate here' style of blogging but I've decided to blog this trip day by day as an ode to the itinerary I've been following but also as I'm packing so much into these final fifteen days that I'll just be easier to document it day by day. Here goes...

Day 1: Hanoi. Normally this would have been about the time that I would be bricking it about sharing a room with a person I've never met/meeting all the people I'll be sharing Vietnam with over the next few weeks. However thanks to beds/rooms shared, meals eaten with and good times had with different people over the last few months, I rocked up to the hotel cool as a cucumber.

My room mate had already checked in. I thought her name was Elaine and I had a glance at the slightly unpacked rucksack and bits and bobs in the bathroom to see if I could deduce the type of person she was from it. However 'Elaine' turned out to be twenty one year old Ellen from Surrey and that 'Elaine' is how Ellen sounds in Vietnamese accent.

Joining us also was eighteen year old Emily from Southampton, nineteen year old Barbara from Germany, forty something year old Eda from Denmark and the two Louis', father and son from Mexico (hereafter referred to as Louis Junior and Louis Senior). Oh and our tour guide Nigh. After dinner Ellen invited us out with her and her Vietnamese American friends who she'd been staying with the past few days. Emily and I decided to partake as 15p beer was a bit to tempting to pass up on.

Day 2: Still in Hanoi. Barbara and I were a bit behind on the sightseeing so we went to see the Temple of Literature. A lot of it involved standing in the temple itself waiting for the monsoon downpour to pass but it was a very pretty and tranquil place and I'm glad I got to see one of the most famous places in Hanoi.

Before leaving for Sapa on the overnight train we went to see a performance at the water puppet theatre, something that Hanoi is particularly famous for. I wasn't really sure what to expect and it's quite difficult to explain without making it sound like Comafest 2011 but it basically details a lot of Vietnam's history through puppets...in water. Yeah I know I thought the same as you when I first started watching it but it was a unique experience and a nice introduction to the country.

Day 3-5: I definitely started my training for the British weather in Sapa. It was chilly, luckily it wasn't the right season for snow as I don't think a few pairs of cropped trousers and a couple of long sleeved tops would have quite cut it.

One of the best days and evenings of the whole trip definitely had to be in Sapa. On our second day there we started our trek through the valleys. I have seen a lot of beautiful places over the last few months but I can definitely say that the valleys of Sapa were up there with the most beautiful. Every time I looked up I was completely taken aback by the view and couldn't believe I was there. I'm not sure that even my lovely Sony NEX5 has done it the complete justice it deserved.

We arrived at our accommodation for the night which was a home stay with a lovely Vietnamese family and definitely one of my two most favourite nights of the trip. This is one of the things I'd been looking forward to the most as I loved my home stays in India so much.

We chilled out for the rest of the afternoon down by the river which was so relaxing and beautiful I could have spent a good few days there. The real fun kicked off in the evening when us girls helped out with the spring rolls for dinner, I think we can safely say that we won't be opening a Vietnamese restaurant anytime soon but it was good to learn how to do it and they tasted pretty good (looks aren't everything people).

As well as our spring rolls we had a big feast of vegetables, noodles, rice, different varieties of meat and lots of tofu for me (I know there are a lot of haters out there but I promise you tofu is good when the chef knows what they're doing) and to wash it all down...rice wine! I'm sure those of you who've been round Asia a bit have encountered rice wine somewhere along the way. It pretty much encompasses every negative aspect of every white spirit (and tastes a little like white spirit itself to) in existence. However we were informed that once we had ten shots we would be 'happy'. We laughed along thinking there was no way we'd be having ten shots...we however managed to "Moat, hi, bat, zu" (one, two, three, down) eighteen before calling it a night. I gagged my way through the last eight but they weren't wrong about the happy thing. It cued everyone singing a song from their country (the British contingent picked 'Once in Royal David City' for an unexplainable reason) and a lot of dodgy dancing. It also made sleeping on the floor of a wooden hut with no air conditioning or fan a hell of a lot easier. At least I can say the most amount of shots I've ever done in one night was in a small Vietnamese village called Ta Van.

The next day we said goodbye to the family and started our 'moderate' trek. I say 'moderate' as that's how it was described in the itinerary, I would however disagree. This may because since I booked the trip last minute whilst I was still in India I was minus the recommended walking shoes so I had to do it in my Converse. However thanks to a very nice Vietnamese village lady I managed to avoid sliding down a few hills and adding any more scars to my collection. My converse didn't fair so well, however I hope that a bit of Vanish and a spin in a good British washing machine will rescue them.

Day 6-7: There is definitely a reason why Halong Bay is in the running to be one if the new seven wonders of the world. It is absolutely gorgeous. Admittedly half the novelty was the fact that we were staying on a boat in the bay overnight but it was an incredible place to be doing it. The highlights were definitely the food, which was some of the best seafood I've ever tasted and sleeping on the deck in the hazy warm breeze under the stars (the rain put paid to that plan eventually but it was beautiful while it lasted). It was also a great photography opportunity for a photo nut like myself.

Day 8: Another thing that I was really excited about was doing a motorbike tour round the countryside of Hue and I wasn't disappointed! It was so much fun whizzing round the countryside on the back of a bike (dreams of Vespas have crept back into my head) and seeing all the sights. We went and visited a local orphanage which made me pine for Goa and all the girls at St Alex's that I've left behind. I felt a little bit sad walking round thinking about it, but when a couple of the little girls peeked out and gave us a little smile and wave before we left I couldn't help but smile too.

Hue was a pretty whirlwind tour since we only had one day and night there. I've never been so glad to see a bus as I was when we left Hue as it meant a few hours of catching up on sleep (as well as you can on a bus).

Day 9-11: We're currently in the picturesque port city of Hoi An which has been yet another different experience. One of the things I'm loving about Vietnam is that everywhere we have been has been different. Hoi An is definitely THE place to shop, especially for getting clothes tailor made very cheaply. Being surrounded by pretty dresses that could be made cheaply and to fit only us ensued a lot of girly giggles and happy shrieking (The Louis' decided to give it a miss). I always find it difficult to find an evening dress that suits my shape and fits well so I got one made in a gorgeous blue (I thought I'd go for something a little bit more grown up than my usual pink) using pictures from magazines but changing bits to suit me. In a few hours my dress had been made (and needed to be taken in for the first time ever). I just need an occasion to wear it now...

Yesterday we did a rather disastrous bike ride round Hoi An. It was supposed to be a leisurely cycle through the countryside but ended up being a battle through monsoon conditions trying to keep the bike upright in a giant plastic bag, masquerading as a raincoat. We were also supposed to be having a barbecue on the beach which turned into us all feeling sorry for ourselves on a boat. We did get to have an indoor barbecue in a really cute restaurant though so it wasn't all bad.

We leave Hanoi tomorrow and fly to Ho Chi Minh City. We spend a couple of days in the city and one night at another home stay in the Mekong Delta before coming back to the city to head home...

Which means I'll back in the UK in five days time! It seems to be an unusual feeling amongst people that have been away for a long time but I'm literally so excited to be coming home! Although I do occasionally get a grip of sadness and a little bit of fear that my amazing time in Asia is almost over. However, I'm not done yet! There's still plenty of Asia and the rest of the world to see and I'm hellbent on seeing it!

I've got a lovely eleven hour wait at Doha airport enroute back to the mother land so I'll probably post about the last part of my trip then but if not...see you in the UK!

Love always from

Holly

xxx

The asian adventure continues...

Eek it's been almost a month since I last posted (thank you to Papa Finnigan for pointing it out), much apologies. It's been a whirlwind few weeks round Asia and there hasn't been much time for blogging! I'll do my best to keep it interesting and edit out all the 'for dinner we ate' and 'and then we did this' style ramblings. I'll also try and keep the rice rants down to a minimum (there will be a few).

I last left you waxing lyrical about the Taj Mahal and my time in my adopted countries capital. I was quite keen to leave Delhi by the time it came around to it. On reflection, a week was too long to spend there and of all the places I've been to it was the place I enjoyed the least. I'm pleased that I went as I don't think it would be right to spend so much time in a country and not visit the capital, the city has a lot of beautiful architecture and I would definitely recommended a stop there to anyone who finds themselves in India. I thought I was sussed when it came to Indian culture but even after three months I found the level of staring far more intense than I had ever experienced and that people were a lot more aggressive in terms of trying to get you to buy things and far more ready to try and rip you off (luckily I was sussed with the currency otherwise it would have been one heck of an expensive week). I hope this hasn't put anyone off going, the city does have a lot to offer. My only advice, ladies...I don't mean to sound like feminism never happened but if you ever go, take a chap with you. It will make for a much more pleasant stay.

So the time came around for me to leave my home of three months and proceed onto Nepal to meet the lovely Holly K. My continuing Asian adventure got off to a flying start literally as I manage to bag myself an upgrade to first class without doing anything. I wandered through to cattle class and felt a bit of an idiot saying I couldn't find my seat. I was pointed through the first class curtain and said there had been a mistake, the flight attendant said "No you're just lucky". Lucky I was indeed, it was nice to have a little bit of luxury after three months of basic living.

Look at all that leg room...*

Holly had told me to look out at the view of the Himalayas as I landed in Nepal, but my breath was literally taken away when I walked out of the airport. The city of Kathmandu surrounded by the gorgeous mountains, it certainly was the most gorgeous view from an airport I've ever seen. I loved it instantly, despite the heavy downpour we then got soaked by.

Holly and her chap B'Sal picked me up from the airport and from there Holly and I headed into Thamel for the evening. Even though its a very touristy place and a hub for all travellers whether just passing through or for the trekking I got an instantly good feel about the place. I loved the small bustley streets filled with restaurants and shops in cute chabby chic buildings. We had a nice evening eating pizza (I needed a night off the rice) and drinking a few too many mango vodkas, so much so we found it funny that our hotel locked us out and we fell asleep to Holly ranting about how rubbish 'Maid in Manhattan' is.

We then spent two days in Siritar, the village where she did her volunteering and where her boyfriend's from. B'Sal's family were kind enough to let me stay with them. After spending time there and living in home stays in India I would still say that there's no better way to see what a countries really all about than living with a local family, even if that does mean being woken up at 4am by bells and singing (there's definitely no such thing as a lie in in Nepal).

Holly wanted a new kurta which meant a walk to the next village. A walk through pretty countryside surrounded by the Himalayas sounded fine by me, however when B'Sal said 'Good luck' when I answered 'No' to the question "Do you have walking boots" I was not so up for it. Our flip flop clad walk consisted of a slide down a very steep, long hill, balancing on wafer thin beams of grass, jumping over rivers, shimmying through boggy rice fields and gripping onto reeds for dear life. Holly and I were being very British and girly about the whole affair with a lot of screaming and turning a ten minute walk into a hour long hike. I think it was a 'you had to be there moment' but never has the phrase 'think of the memories' rung so true.

Whilst Holly and B'Sal went to Chitwan for a couple of days I hung around with Holly's friend Annie who happened to be there by herself at the same time. We spent the next couple of days bumming round Thamel, shopping and eating too much paneer. I also did an Everest flight, which was well worth the 5:30am start. Again it was a beautiful part of the day to see a beautiful part of the world, some things are worth getting up for!

The very exciting time finally arrived of making my way to Thailand to meet all of my friends. Despite the fact that I was already half way there, it still took me the same length of time as them to get there due to having to get three flights with a twelve hour stop over in Delhi airport. I know it sounds a bit strange but I was kind of nervous about seeing them all again after such a long time. But after five minutes and someone commenting on how giant my bag was, it was business as usual and like I'd never been away.

We headed to Ko Samui (on yet another flight, my fourth of the day) so we'd be close to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party. Thanks to Mike and Graham we were able to score pretty amazing accomodation with our own private beach. A very good introduction to Thailand...

Next stop, the full moon party! Having had only a couple of Barcardi Breezers over the previous few months I was pretty worried about going from that to buckets of alcohol. The tone for the evening was set with Jon nearly falling off the boat and getting the first 'Thai Tattoo" before we even stepped onto the island. The phrase "I think this is a flip flops off situation" was coined as a result of this incident. We found ourselves a pretty good spot on mushroom mountain with a view of the whole beach so pretty much perched there for most of the night/morning. Against the advice and experience of a few people (sorry mum) I decided to try a mushroom shake, but being the wimp I am I shared one with Jon (he needed convincing that it wasn't a wimpy thing to do). It tasted pretty (read very) rank and nothing happened so 500 Baht was declared a waste of money...poor Mike had a rather different experience which I shall leave him to explain...S! I think I did pretty well considering it was my first big sesh...not that I remembered anything after mushroom mountain but I managed not to accumulate anymore scars so thats a successful night for me. I'm also sorry I wasn't with it enough to witness Nat's attempt at the rope of fire..."Well, I ran at it...but then I fell over".

After another chilled out day on the beach/being hungover in bed we headed to Phuket by bus to meet Rosie. I think we can safely say that even if your hangover didn't spread into another day (mine definitely did) that no one was really up for the bus and we couldn't be more glad to get off it. We then got a taxi (read 'random man with a pick up truck') to the airport and met Rosie, who was looking a lot more stylish that we were after a days bus journey. Flight 1 Bus 0.

Phuket was, as Rosie said "an education". I'm no prude but I was pretty shocked when we headed down the famous Bangla Road. I've always known that Thailand is famous for certain things but I couldn't believe how much the sex industry was pushed in your face. Prostitutes (and people unashamedly using them) and Ping Pong shows littered everywhere. Out of curiosity we decided to go and see a ping pong show (if you don't know what they are I'm sure Google will help you out). All I will say is that it won't cease to amaze what the female body can do. Although it was a really funny night (which Mike bore the brunt of again with an appearance on stage), it does make you wonder how desperate you must be if you have to do that for a living. We all agreed that Phuket probably wouldn't be on the stop off list again.

I also couldn't leave Phuket without mentioning the fish spa experience. Not the best idea for a ticklish person if you don't want to be seen screeching in the street...it left my India battered feet feeling pretty nice though.

Annoying interlude...theres just been a bit fat powercut and I've just lost everything I've written about Phi Phi Island *not a happy bunny*.

Our next stop was the much more picturesque island of Phi Phi. We were still feeling enthusiastic about long boats at this point so we took a trip round the bays and beaches of the island including Maya Beach where 'The Beach' was filmed. You could see the potential beauty of this island including the clearest water I have ever seen, it was just a shame that there were so many tourists and speedboats there all at the same time. I'd love to go back and see it at night. I still keep laughing at the video I took of this when we're all getting soaked on the boat, especially Nat trying to hold onto her hat. I think the love of long boats was starting to decrease at this point...

Phi Phi also introduced me to my first scuba diving experience. Initially I wasn't that up for it as I didn't see what could possibly be that good and I wasn't too happy about shelling out 70 quid for something I wasn't that bothered about (not to mention the whole breathing underwater thing which didn't massively appeal). However after a bit of persuation I thought I'd probably regret it if I didn't try it. We were lucky enough to have the whole boat to ourselves, which meant that only my friends were witness to my freak out moments. There was a point where I didn't think I'd make it off the boat and once I talked myself into the sea the fun didn't stop there. At about ten metres down my mask decided to keep filling up with water causing me to have a massive panic under the sea (not ideal). If I'd been able to speak I would have been screaming my head off but instead I settled for wild arm gestures and begging to go back up to the surface. Once I'd been suitably calmed down and my mask begun to behave itself (and I grasped the whole said breathing underwater experience) seeing all the tropical fish and turtles in their natural habitat was one of the most amazing experiences and definitely a highlight of the whole trip. So if you ever find yourself on Phi Phi then give diving a go with these guys:

, http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Visa-Diving-Center-Phi-Phi-Island/143948395661054

Especially if you're a nervy spaz like me, I promise you'll want to do it again!

We ended our island hopping on what was supposed to be the beautiful Railay Beach, on the west side anyway. We definitely arrived on the east side. The boat (the love for long boats was at an all time low here) stopped quite a distance from the shore which meant that we had to wade through some sort of stinky substance with our luggage to find that the footpath hadn't been built yet. Thankfully it wasn't representative of the whole beach and the west side was in fact a lot nicer. Shame we only found the best beach of the whole trip on the last day!

Rosie and I fancied a change from the long boats so booked a days kayaking whilst the others did a day trip round James Bond Island. I was expecting a gentle cruise down the river until this conversation:

Tour Guide: "We will go for eight kilometers".

Me (having no perception of distance in kilometers): "Oo, is that far".

Rosie: "Its five miles".

Me: "Oh".

Despite the pain of rowing for five miles it was a really good day (minus the weird fish we got for lunch) and a different way to see the sights of the island. The afternoon turned out to be really good as well as we got to swim in a beautiful lagoon that we pretty much had to ourselves for most of the time as well. Cue a lot of amusing photos and videos on a rope swing and falling off ropes.

Abandoning the bus we took a flight back to Bangkok (Flight 2 Bus 0). I didn't think I'd really like Bangkok that much as I hadn't heard great things about it and I sort of expected it to be a bit like Phuket. However I ended up enjoying it, especially the trip to the Sky Bar on the tallest building in Bangkok where we saw the most amazing views of the city...all for the price of a 14 pound cocktail, it was worth it. We also managed to bag ourselves a pretty cheap few days stay in Chaing Mai, Northern Thailand and a few fake goodies from the market.

After saying goodbye to Mike and Graham who had to head home a few days early, we headed to the station to begin our journey north. Minus Jon (though he did pretend for a while) we were all looking forward to getting the sleeper train, I think its something you need to experience whilst travelling in Asia. Unfortunately the train got cancelled due to flooding so the only alternative was...THE BUS! (Flight 2 Bus 1). It wasn't the greatest thrill of the trip but I felt much more sorry for the couple in front of us who were on their honeymoon!

Despite the mode of transport used to get there, for me Chaing Mai was probably my favourtite place. We did a day of elephant trekking (cue more amusing photos) and white water rafting (another first for me, if I can breath under it I can certainly swim on it). Although a city, Chaing Mai was a lot more chilled out than Bangkok and Phuket. As we were driving through the countryside inbetween activities and when we were on the elephant trek, the scenary reminded me a lot of Goa's landscape so thats why I think I felt so happy there. The only downside, the most painful Thai massage of our lives. Never have I been twisted, clicked and jabbed in so many ways. My shoulders still keep making this horrible popping sound even now! Never again will I be lured with pretty stepping stones, relaxing music and tea.

The last day soon came around and Rosie and I spent the morning doing a Thai cookery course whilst Jon and Nat went to play with some tigers. I'm really glad I'd got to do it as it was always something I meant to do in India but in three months never quite managed to get around to it. Rosie and I cook up a mean Pad Thai...I definitely could have done without wiping chili on my face though.

In the afternoon we saw our old friend Bangkok airport (only one more meeting left for me) and checked into an airport hotel (via a Bangkok ghetto) before Jon, Rosie and Nat headed home and I headed to Hanoi. I normally wouldn't bore you by mentioning a trip to McDonalds but I feel its worthy of mentioning since we saw the most massive snake on the way. We only noticed it because Jon yelled at the snake and then I yelled because Jon yelled at the snake and didn't know what he was yelling at. Not your average trip to McDonalds.

I had a lovely 6:45am flight to Hanoi so I said goodbye to everyone at 3:30am. Thank you to Rosie, Nat, Jon, Mike and Graham for a fab two and a half weeks. Thailand rocks!

So here I am on the final leg of my Asian adventure. I've been in Hanoi for four days now and I start my tour of the rest of the country tomorrow. So far I'm absolutely loving Vietnam, Hanoi is a beautiful city and whilst there are tourists around theres a lot less focus on tourism itself. The locals are very friendly and are happy that you're here but theres no hassle when it comes to walking down the street or when you want to buy something (they are also able to fit me, my rucksack, my handluggage and themselves on one motorbike, impressive since I can't keep just myself upright on one). I'm also seeing my friend Amy from uni tonight who I haven't seen for three years as she happens to be in Hanoi at the same time. Bring on the last two weeks! 

If you have managed to make it to the end of this epic blog post then thanks for reading and I hope its not been too long winded. I really hope I'll be able to blog again over the next couple of weeks but I'm not really sure how much free time I'll have/what the internet facilities will be.

I shall be home in sixteen days time and I really cannot wait to see all my wonderful friends and family. I've missed you all so much and although I've had the best time away I'm also really looking forward to coming home as well.

Love always from

Holly

xxx

* and yes I have been wearing those trousers seriously!

Location:Bát Sứ,Hanoi,Vietnam

It needs no introduction...

But I'll give it one anyway...

THE TAJ MAHAL

I thought I would do a post today seeing as its a rather poignant day for me today, which I only really realised after speaking to a few people online earlier. Today is my last day in India. Tomorrow afternoon I will be flying onto Nepal and leaving behind the country I've called home for the last three months. 

I also thought that my trip to the Taj Mahal deserved a little space of its own being that it was such an awesome, tick off the list, once in a lifetime day...and of course it is one of the seven wonders of the world.

My trip started on Wednesday at 3:30am. I have to admit I wasn't really caring about the seven wonders of the world at this time and rather than be excited I kept nodding off in the car on the way there. Agra, where the Taj Mahal is situated, is about three hours by road. When I wasn't in the land of nod it was pretty cool to see rural India and I started to feel pretty excited going somewhere so spectacular so early.

I'd expected a dramatic drive up to the Taj and to be astounded by the view. However the guide told me that you have to walk the last 600 metres, this is due to pollution. Since the Taj is made entirely out of marble, if pollution got too close to it then it would go black. It was probably a good idea that I got the chance to walk off the last of my sleepyness too.

It was strange seeing something that I've seen so many times on television documentaries and in books in real life. My first reaction was it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, television definitely has a way of making things look bigger. I had a bit of a laugh to myself when I remembered that I felt this way when I saw the Disney Princess Castle in Florida. I also thought wrongly that it was a palace, when actually it was a tomb built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal. It took twenty two years and a hell of a lot of rupees to build so she was one lucky lady I think. Plus the fact that it really is absolutely beautiful. 

I went for a walk around it by myself and took in the fact that I was stood at 7am at one of the most beautiful sights in the world, that people come from all over the world to see. It really was an incredible experience that I'll never forget and a really nice way to round off my trip to India. If anyone has the chance to go then please make sure you do. Also, Agra is the city of love so make sure you take someone special. That is the only bit I would change about my day.

I went to see how the Taj was made and bought a little pendant charm, which I'm going to make into a bag charm to remind me of my day. I also went to see Agra Fort, which is where the emperor and his wife lived and had amazing views of the Taj Mahal.

As I said, its my last day in India. I've had such a fantastic time and have still got so much to look forward to that I'm not feeling sad at the moment. I just have happy thoughts of all my wonderful experiences I've had here that have changed and will shape the course of my life and all the fantastic people that have made this experience so unforgetable. To mention names, thank you to Jenny, Leonie, Suneethi & Celix and Pauline for providing the support of a family and for looking after me so well for the last three months. Also to Sarah, Amanda, Lauren, Rachel, Judi and Frances for being such great friends and sharing this experience with me. 

Goodbye India, it has been AMAZING!

Onto the next part of my adventure in Nepal tomorrow. Very much looking forward to seeing my fellow Holly tomorrow. 

Thinking of everyone always.

Love from

Holly

xxx

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

The title is from a Hindi film we went to see with Jenny a couple of weeks a go. It roughly translates as 'Live life each day'. I thought this was very fitting so I decided to use it as my title for this post.

Its been an absolutely amazing final two weeks with i-to-i and Goa. It doesn't seem like two weeks ago that I was sitting up till 4am with Rachel before waving her off to the airport. Once she'd gone I was completely on my own for the first time in a month. The stillness of Calangute at 4am made it seem even more lonely. However, the quietness was short lived as at 5am a brass band started...or at least I'm pretty sure it was a brass band. It was the feast of St Alex that day and so I presumed the first church service must have started then. I know St Alex is kind of a big deal around Calangute, but really? A brass band at 5am?!

I was quite looking forward to a day on my own on the Sunday, I've always appreciated time on my own and have found that its always been something I've needed (must be an only child thing). However I found, after my lazy morning and whiling away a few hours in the internet cafe I got a bit lonely. Although I started to crave company, I was a bit nervous about meeting my new room mate Frances.As I think I've mentioned before I've been so lucky that all five people I'd worked with so far had been amazing and I thought karma would have it that I'd be dealt a duff person for my final fortnight. Luck struck again and the lovely Frances arrived. I couldn't have wished for a nicer person to round of my volunteering experience with. Here is my final two weeks...

On the Tuesday we met up with Jenny, our co-ordinator and the two girls Amanda and Zoe, who are working at the Seva Trust project in Merces to go and see a film (see blog title, its a bit of a mouth full). I've probably been to the cinema more times in the last three months here than I have in a year at home. Its good to have a bit of normality from time to time though...the food is also much cheaper than you're average popcorn and coke combo too.

I really felt 100% into the swing of the projects in the last couple of weeks and started to realise how much I was going to miss them. On one of the days last week, I turned up to school to be told that Sister Antoinette was unwell and therefore I'd have to take the class on my own. I got that horrible feeling of 'what am I supposed to do' in my stomach, especially thinking back to how mental the kids went when Judi was left on her own. I managed to look like an idiot when I started the nursery rhymes and only one of them joined in with me (thank you Pooja) but somehow I managed to get some alphabet work done in their books AND get them all to say their ABCS and sing nursery rhymes altogether at the end. I strangely enjoyed being on my own and was pleased to find out that I could do it.

We introduced the concept of 'hangman' to the girls at the orphanage to help them with spelling. It was great as they thought they were getting let off their homework time early with a game, when actually it was just a fun way to do spelling. It still amazes me just how good some of their spelling is, especially Gracy and Shabana, considering English isn't their first language. Could I spell strawberry when I was eight mum? Even though it took longer for some of them to understand how it worked (and that you couldn't make up words), it still helped the ones that struggle as the fact it was a game distracted from the fact that it was their sticking point when it came to learning...we all have one.

Some of the girls do have parents, who for one reason or another can't look after them at home but occasionally do visit. No matter how they've been treated or whats happened to them, they all love their parents and want nothing more than to be with them. We're always told excitedly several times an afternoon if one of them has their parents coming to see them. They're all so happy all the time, its so awful when they actually are upset. Poor Rutika cried for her mum all afternoon one day last week after she was dropped back. To see one of them in such distress is heartbreaking and I wanted to cry along with her. Her and her little sister Shrutika are now going home to their parents to live with them permenantly so theres a lovely happy ending to that story.

Frances and I decided to rebel against the 'no personal presents' rule and buy them each a little something of their own. I had a little paper left over from posting my sari home so we wrapped them each up a set of colouring pens, a pencil sharper (both of which they're always squabbling over), some sweets and some bangles. We also gave them a postcard of Goa each with a message since they'd loved looking at the ones Frances bought the other day. Upon being presented with a present, most children would eagerly tear open the package. When we gave them each their present, they smiled and looked pleased at having something of their own...but took the best part of an hour to open them. The only reason I can think of as to why is that is, is that they don't get presents so they probably just didn't know what to do with them. When we did manage to persuade them to open them, it was lovely  to watch them unpack and repack them so carefully. I'm going to miss them all so much!

We made sure we made the most of the last couple of weekends and managed to pack quite a lot in. We had a really nice evening in Panaji (which I was sure was an impossible thing before) and for the first time in ages I actually fancied a curry, so we went for one and got a free calender starring ourselves (don't ask). By far and away the highlight of the two weekends was last weekend's trip to Ponda Spice Plantation. I thought it would be pretty good anyway and it was the one thing I hadn't done before but it was amazing. The tour was really interesting, the lunch was gorgeous AND they had elephant rides! An elephant ride was definitely up there on my 'Things to do whilst I'm in India' list but we were previously told that they didn't do them out of season. So it was a nice unexpected surprise and one of those moments that I truly appriciated where I am.

I can't believe my three months volunteering has been and gone. It was a surreal feeling leaving on Sunday knowing I'd done what I'd come here to do and it was time to move on. For some reason I felt really nervous from the night before, all the way through to the airport. I think my brain was starting to acknowledge that I now truly was on my own and didn't have the support of a host family anymore.

I've been in Delhi for two days now and its been a bit of a mixed bag. I've been going through various stages of fear and excitment for the next stages of my trip and I definitely slumped back into fear when I arrived. I had a chilled out evening on the first evening and it dawned on me that I really was by myself. I missed sharing a room and being able to have a chat and a giggle with Rachel or Frances before going to sleep. I cheered up a bit when I'd booked a couple of tours the next day and headed out to explore a bit of the city, but my mood dramatically went down by the time I'd got back to my hotel.

I'd been warned that as a female traveller on my own, I'd be targeted more and would recieve a lot more hassle than I would if I was a bloke. I've been here three months now so I'm more than familiar with how things work in this country. I hadn't anticipated quite how much hassle I would get though and couldn't walk down the street without random blokes shouting things at me (note to self: save your vest tops for Thailand). I've found that its 50/50 for people wanting to help you/rip you off in India. I trusted a man who said he would show me the tourist office so I could get a map but instead I was taken to a random place down an alley that definitely wasn't the official tourist office, definitely didn't have maps but definitely did try to sell me a load of stuff that I didn't want. The guys seemed ok at first but I gradually got a bad feeling about the whole thing so decided to make a move before I found out whether I was right or not. I went back to the hotel feeling quite deflated and annoyed at myself.

Today was a much better day though. As I previously mentioned I'd booked a tour of the city, so I had a very nice man who drove me round all the sights of Delhi. I saw a mosque (where I had to wear a hideous orange sack type garment as I wasn't appropriately covered up), The Red Fort, Rajghat Park, Indira Ghandi Museam (one of my favourite parts of the day), The Lotus Flower Temple, India Gate and the Qutab Minar, which is a ruin of a mosque ( not sure why I've become a fan of ruins all of a sudden). I'm also not sure where the monsoon season has disapeered to as its suddenly shot up to Indian summer style tempretures.

I'm majorly excited about tomorrow as I'm going to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Its a 3:30am start so I will get to see the sun rising over the Taj. Its going to be an incredible experience and I can't wait!

I think I've just had the heeby jeebies as I didn't realise how alone I would feel after being with someone 24/7 for the last three months. I'm also ready to see my friends now and I'm so excited to go to Nepal on Saturday to see Holly and Thailand in a week and a halfs time with my H-Towners. I've also booked a tour of Vietnam to round off my asian trip, I'll have to post the link to it sometime as it looks so incredible. I can't believe I'll get to do all the stuff.

For now though, its time to enjoy my last week in India my trip to the Taj tomorrow.

Lots of love to the UK as always and big excitement for seeing everyone that I'm

going to see in the next couple of weeks.

Love from

Holly

xxx

P.S For those who are interested, I will be back on British soil on the 19th September!

All gents to the dance floor...

I had two titles in mind for this post, it was this one or 'The unsexiest bra...". I decided to stick with the above as its more culturally significant but since its funny or just plain gross (I'll leave you to decide) I'll share with you the story behind the alternative title anyway. Since we have to pay to get our clothes washed, we tend to hold off to the last minute so we have a full load. So I was down to my last clean bra at the beginning of the week amd went to retrieve it from the wardrobe, only to find it had gone mouldy! It obviously has not taken kindly to hanging around in overstuffed rucksacks and humid wardrobes.

Its been a good couple of weeks since I posted and quite a lot has happpened since then both to me personally and to India, as I'm sure you've heard on the news.

We decided to kick off the busy weekend two weeks a go with a nice relaxing massage...or so we thought. We went to the local yoga centre as it was recommended in the guidebook and a both booked a back and shoulder massage. We should have run when they tried to offer us a front massage but oh no, we declined and continued. the next sign was that I had to have a man, again I should have run but no, I decided to go with it. Funnily enough I only began to realise that the whole fiaso was a big mistake when I was half naked without a towel or robe in sight, a room that looked like a morgue, with a man I didn't know who didn't speak at all let alone any English. Next door, Rachel wasn't having a much better time of it...she was helped out of her bra by the woman. After the inital horror of the experience and when we finally admitted that it was a rubbish massage, we found it pretty funny. I'm still determind to have a good massage in India, but it will not involve the Cyril Yoga Centre.

Our co-ordinator Jenny came over from Mumbai on Saturday and brought with her Kelsey from Australia, whos working on the same projects that I was in Mumbai (and also has the same opinions on it that I do, take note i-to-i). Judi also arrived on Sunday to spend the next two weeks with us working at Little Flower and St Alex's.

Myself, Rachel and Kelsey got on really well straight away. We stayed up half the night on the Saturday chatting away about the differences between England and Australia, how illogical and weird India can be and our mutual hatred for Crocs. I've always been a bit anti travelling in Australia personally. As amazing as I know it would be, I've just always felt that its one of those places that the world and his wife have been to and go the same places and drink in the same bars as the people down the road, which isn't something I'd ever want out of travelling.. But after hearing about it from a local's perspective I've softened a bit, its still not in my top 10 countries to visit (the list is growing rapidly) but its been bumped up a few places.

We spent Sunday in the traditional Goan fashion on the beach, wading through the sea of people selling bracelets and henna. Rachel got some henna done in Baga and we somehow attracted a crowd of about fifteen people either taking pictures or just watching us (I'm going to start thinking I'm something special soon if the locals don't stop inflating my ego). We also managed to attract a pretend taxi driver who offered us a lift back to Calangute when we were caught out in a monsoon downpour. It became clear that he was no taxi driver when after fifteen minutes walking there was still no car in which we could be taxied. We were, however offered a disco and his phone number, yet another offer we declined. We eventually managed to beg a taxi driver/would be drug dealer to drive us home, not before being offered 'hashish' ("I don't smoke, I only sell"...that makes it all ok then ha ha) and his phone number...the declined offers continue.

On the Monday my mum arrived and I checked into a bit of luxury for a few days. I thought it would be strange seeing her after so long but after a few minutes it was like I'd never been away. I loved showing her round the area, meeting everyone I was staying with and where I was working. I was especially glad that she got to meet Jenny as shes played a very pivotal part of my trip to India. On the Tuesday before she left she came to see the school I worked in, I think she was shocked at a) how different the schools are here and b) to see me enjoying working with kids (I know this has shocked many). We had a few chats about how my attitude towards certain things has changed since being here and I'm glad she got to see it first hand. I also loved having the luxury of hot showers, air conditioning, comfy beds, swimming pool and television. Having toasted sandwiches from room service and watching trashy American sitcoms was a much welcomed break from curry and Indian mattresses. Thank you mum for coming to see me, I miss you already xx.

This would also be ample time to explain my post title. Mum and I went on a boat trip on Monday evening down the River Mandovi in Panaji, which also included tradition Goan dancing. Of course the part of the evening came around where they wanted people to go up on the stage. Thankfully we were at the back when the man on the mic said "All ladies onto the dance floor please" but only two women reluctantly got up anyway. However when he said "All gents to the dance floor please", there was scrap between the men to be the first on the stage and they all went mental to Bollywood, Punjabi and Bangra music. Men pushing and shoving to get on the dance floor and being enthusiatic when they got there...this was not a sight our British eyes are used to seeing. A good cultural difference! 

I decided to treat myself to the ultimate India souvenir and get myself a saree. I was a bit sceptial at first as I didn't think that it would suit me and I definitely wasn't up for the crop top that you have to wear underneath. But once I tried one on in the shop I instantly fell in love with it, so I'm now the proud owner of a pink saree with a silver sequin trim. Rachel got one too and we're getting the tops tailor made locally (I've never had anything specially made for me before). I know I won't get to wear it often but when I do (I'm currently trying to think of/invent occasions) it'll make a change to the traditional ball dress and create a good talking point.

All is well on the project front. I really feel like I've made progress both in the school and at the orphanage. The nursery children are more settled now, theres more structure to the day and they're actually learning something. I've got to help teach them how to formulate their letters and learn words associated with each letter of the alphabet as well as be able to read them (we're now on E). In India, A is for apple, B is for ball and C is for Cat and they will not be told otherwise! The only downside is that some of the children obviously learn at a slower rate than others and don't get any help at home and there isn't any provision for extra help for those that are struggling. Thats whats good about the orphanage, we have small groups and you can give extra time to those that struggle more. Its taken me the best part of a month but I've got Punam to formulate letters properly and Andria picked up how to do the three times table almost instantly today after struggling with basic addition. 

It was Rachel and Judi's last day today so we've been scouring the local shops the last few nights to buy the girls at the orphanage some presents before they left. We got them some books (a request for a princess book was made), some pens, colouring books, card games, dolls (they only had one Barbie between fifty five) and DVDs (they've never seen Toy Story). We also took along some crisps (I thought I'd try and be a bit Indian and put some masala crisps in the basket, which ended up tasting like Mapusa market smells), biscuits, sweets, Coke and Sprite. After initally being a bit nervous about diving in, they literally did and all the sweets were gone in a couple of seconds. Its strange to think that you can get to eight and have never tasted fizzy drinks, no bad thing I suppose but we all need a break from banni (water).

We also got them Twister and they were very keen to learn how to play. There are a few unflattering photos of Rachel and I demonstrating how its done and some amazing ones of the girls enjoying their first Twister experience. I'm so glad we got them everything that we did and knowing that all the toys have gone to such a good and deserving home.

Judi and Rachel leave tomorrow and Sunday respectively so I just want to say thank you to them both for making the Calangute leg of my trip such a wonderful experience and for being such brilliant company. Extra good luck to Judi who has a thirty hour train trip to Delhi, after three fourteen hour ones the novelty has definitely worn off for me! So on Sunday I'll have another new person to share with, I've been lucky with everyone so far so heres to continuing my lucky streak.

I've finally started setting the plans in motion for my post India travels (which are only two weeks away, eeek). I mentioned last time that I thought there might be a problem visa wise with me going to Nepal. So I made the trip to the police headquarters in Panaji fully expecting a big fat no, but was pleasently surprised to be told that it would be fine. So I've booked my flight from Nepal to Thailand (and parted with more money than I would have liked). The good news that my flight lands ten minutes after the H-Towners, the bad news is that prior to that I have to change three times including a twelve hour wait in Delhi. I know that it'll all be worth it...but I'm still praying for wifi!

I can't sign off without first mentioning the bombings in Mumbai. As you'll all have seen on the news, three bombs explosions occured in the Opera House, Zaveri Baazar and Dadar West area of Mumbai on Wednesday 13th July killing eighteen people. When we were travelling back from Panaji on Wednesday night, we had to go through loads of police check points all along the way and at the time we didn't know why. It was only when Pauline switched on the tv during breakfast the next morning that we learnt about the bombings and that all the major cities and surrounding areas to Mumbai had been placed on high alert. Its a scary thought considering I was supposed to be there had my plans not changed and also knowing people that live there. Thankfully no one I know was affected but my thoughts are with the families of those who were and all the people of Mumbai.

Thats me all up to date, only two weeks left of this leg of my trip, then onto pastures new...bring on the next fortnight!

Missing everyone back in the UK and thinking of all those who have had important and poignant events recently.

Lots of love always from

Holly

xxx

Sometimes the drugs do work...

I probably should start by explaining my title...I managed to get my second cold in seven weeks last week. A cold in a hot country?! So with that, topped with my weird cough that comes around every now and again and feeling a bit sick and feverish after starting my anti malarials. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself by Tuesday, so much so that I just wanted to come home and snuggle on the sofa, under a duvet with something rubbish on the telly. Not sit tearfully in the bathroom (I can't seem to deal with the common cold abroad) before dragging myself to school to teach children their ABCs. This is before I discovered the wonders of Indian medicine...about twice as strong as ours and some cough medicine sorted me out and I'm back on form.

Anti malarials aren't all bad either. I hadn't needed them for Mumbai and  I'd subconsciously taken a bit of a 'laissez-faire', 'it won't happen to me...it'll be fine' attitude as it meant parting with quite a lot of money I don't currently have. I know this is totally stupid as malaria really isn't sexy (just ask Cheryl Cole) but I was starting to worry a little bit more with every mosquito bite (and there have been lots) and the booming voice of mother spoke so I bit the bullet and made my way to the chemist. I was literally speechless when I was asked to hand over a mere 467 rupees for six weeks worth of tablets, which is under a fiver. A months supply in the UK is 100 pounds, so it goes without saying that I was pretty chuffed...and will hopefully remain malaria free.

I'm now living in a little town called Calangute now and have been for the last fortnight. I'm in a home stay again living with our co-ordinator Jenny's sister in law Pauline and her husband Eddy (not the usual Indian type names I know but theirs a lot of Christians round here) and sharing a room with the lovely Rachel. I've been very lucky to have met and got on so well with everyone I've shared with in India. You don't have long to cram in as much as possible so you get to know people far quicker than you would in a normal situation. We share an annex off the back of the house and eat in the main house.

Speaking of the food, I'm pleased to report that all is still well (and always better than Mumbai) in that department. However, there's always enough food at the table to feed a family of four and Pauline will pass comment if she feels that we haven't eaten enough (which seems to be quite a lot in her opinion) so we've coined a new phrase to describe how we feel after one of Pauline's meals. We call it 'Pauline Full'. Curry, rice and chapatis does get repeatative though and cravings for 'normal' food have to obliged with the occasional Dominos pizza, much welcomed last Friday night! We were full after, but not 'Pauline Full'.

The projects are a lot more challenging than the previous ones. In the morning we work at the local 'Little Flower of Jesus' Kindergarten and Primary School. I work in the nursery, which I imagined would be like day care. But in actual fact the children are expected to spend the entire time in their seats, even during playtime which I'm still finding a little odd. I'm not big on standing up and talking in front of big crowds, so I was pretty scared when in a matter of minutes of walking into the classroom on the first day, the sister who teaches the nursery made me stand at the front of the class and simply said "Teach them something". I stood for what felt like an hour gawping at the forty little faces gawping back at me but managed to get out some words and actions for 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' and they seemed happy with that. Its definitely given me more confidence to stand up in front of a crowd as I now think nothing of standing at the front of the class dancing about to nursery rhymes or the ABC.

Its been difficult getting used to going from being 'dee-dee' (an affectionate term for a female you're not related to) at day care to 'teacher' at school. I'm not an actually teacher in the qualified sense but its a much more formal environment where you are there to make them learn rather than as a playmate. The discipline isn't as harsh as it has been before and it can be frustrating when the Sister (the class is taught by a nun) would rather appease the children by giving them what they want when they cry rather than letting them wail it out for five minutes before they realise that crying and screaming won't get them their own way. Its good that they don't beat them with a stick but there are no other discipline procedures in place so I've tried to Super Nanny it up and introduce the 'naughty step', which I feel is a step in the right direction. As usual the Sister and I don't always see eye to eye.

As usual the characters that stand out for me make themselves known pretty quickly. There was one little girl who always wants to play catch at play time and seems like the happiest, most oblivious child in the world. I nicknamed her 'Baby Spice' as she always wears her hair in high bunchies, she disappeared for a while but was back today! The other is 'Crying Boy', whos wailing can be heard from our home stay. He screams and cries all day, everyday as soon as his mum or dad leaves. I took pity on him as I was that child at nursery myself. They put him in the hallway a lot of the time and my (almost) proudest moment was when it was my turn to sit with him whilst he screamed. I managed to get him to stop crying and coaxed him into moving closer and closer to the classroom, just enough so he could see what was going on but without having to be there. I'd almost got him into the classroom when his mum walked up to the front gates and shouted something at him, so of course he started crying again and clung to the gates. I was so frustrated that my hours worth of hard work had been blown in a few seconds so much so that I lost my cool, threw my arms in the air, yelled "Whats the point" and stomped back into the classroom. On par with some of the kids, but I'm still getting used to this whole teacher thing.

The afternoon is working at a girl's orphanage, much like I did in Merces but once again we're in the more formal role of 'teacher'. The children are in primary school so have a pretty good grasp of English (their favourite phrase being "Teacher noooo" when it comes to doing spellings). The standard is mixed, there's two girls who never cease to amaze me with their maths and spelling ability and its getting more difficult to come up with activities to do whilst remembering that English isn't their first language. Then there's some who I ask to spell cat and they'll start it with a J so its a challenge managing them all. Particularly as they all want you to focus your full attention on them individually and look at their work. For all its frustrations its immensely satisfying to watch them doing the worksheets you've written and when they finally do spell 'cat'.

As its been much more physically and emotionally draining, the weekends are much welcomed...poor Rachel. On her first full day in India, she fell in the Arabian sea, a drunk man decided to get his knob out on the beach, we got asked by pretty much every man on the beach if we could have our photo taken with them and we bumped into two guys calling themselves Del Boy and Rodney Plonker. It was a memorable day to say the least.

We spent last weekend in Old Goa and Panaji (Goa's capital). I'd been before with Lauren but I was happy to go round the town and St Augustine's ruins again. I'm not normally one for ruins after visiting Carisbrooke Castle on Ashwell Primary's school journey to the Isle of Wight. My ten year old brain registered a pile of old bricks that didn't resemble anything and that's pretty much been my opinion of ruins ever since. St Augustine's are actually worth looking at though and I've always felt a sense of calm and a good moment to step back and appreciate where I am. Its also provided a really good setting to play with my SLR and get some really good shots.

We had a 'normality' evening on Saturday night and went and had mushroom and cheese pasta (my first bowl of pasta in seven weeks) with a cheeky side of chips before going to the cinema to see 'Cars'. I like that you have to stand up and singing the national anthem before the start of the film and that you get an interval half way through, makes it more of an evening out. I'm really hoping that Harry Potter is released whilst I'm still here so I have a memorable place to see the last one!

We had another British day at the beach on Sunday. British as it was raining and windy all day, if you looked straight out to sea and didn't look at the people it could easily of been Clacton beach during the great British summer. I think the UK stole all the sun that day! We were actually looking for a fort that was supposed to be at the end of the beach, but when we got there there was a big shipwreck but nothing that resembled a fort so we must have been in the wrong place (definitely not surprising when I'm involved).

This weekend is set to be a busy one. Jenny arrives tomorrow, as does a new volunteer who will be staying with us for two weeks and another volunteer from the Mumbai project whose coming for the weekend. I'm really excited for next week as my mum arrives on Monday. I haven't seen her for two months and I'm really looking forward to showing her around my Indian home and what I've been doing whilst I've been here. I'm looking forward to having a few nights in a hotel that has 'rain' showers (no jug and bucket for me), wifi and a pool!

This is now my eighth week in India and I'm rapidly approaching the end of my time here, so I've been starting to think about what I'm going to do with the thirteen days between the end of the projects and Thailand (only 43 days to go guys). I'd ideally like to visit the other half of H Squared (Holly K) in Nepal, but there might be visa issues there and I don't think I could come to India and miss out on Delhi and the Taj Mahal so I'd like to squeeze those in too...decisions decisions decisions. Vietnam is also another country I've always wanted to see so I'm trying to arrange some time there after Thailand as its only next door. Lots of organising to be done (not my strong point). 

Well thats me thus far, four weeks left! I hope you've all enjoyed my blog so far and continue to do so.

I hope the good weather continues in the UK and that we get the good British summer we deserve. But if not, as the Bulmers advert says...it's glorious, loveable, eccentric, magnificent and ours! 

I shall leave you with a picture of Baga Beach, just down the road from where I'm staying. I took it back in May so the weather isn't quite like this now, but is beautiful all the same.

Lots of love from

Holly

xxx