A sea of saffron coloured robes

Bodh Gaya is amazing!!! As one of the four most spiritual sites for Buddhists in the world, Thai, Japanese, Bhutanese, Tibetan temples are scattered around the city. The real gem is the main temple in the centre of town, marking where Lord Buddha attainted enlightenment. Thousands of people flock here everyday, especially in this season when Tibetans escape their harsh winter.  Also the Dalai Lamas' second in command is in town, I saw his heavily guarded car sweep through the main street this afternoon.  The Dalai Lama will be visiting at the end of the month and hundreds of thousands will head here for the chance to see him.  I caught up with the guy who guided my auto rickshaw driver to the hotel when I arrived late at night.  He also leant me the money to pay him, as i didn't have any change.  The price was to listen to his tale of setting up a charity for the homeless. LP alerts you of this scam, but my prize was a trip round town on his motorbike, stopping at the various temples.  It's so hard that you have to keep your guard up just in case.  My fellow train traveller offered me the wise advice of trust no-one, harsh but true.  However it is great to chat with people along the way, just as I did with a family in the restaurant when I first arrived.  The woman was amazed that I was travelling alone, as she said that she couldn't even go to the market by herself.  That really puts things into perspective.... 

Patience is a virtue

Eventually the train started 7 hours later than scheduled. Luckily after a late dinner on board I slept and slept and slept. You couldn't even see the landscape past by, as it was covered in fog, resulting in the train just creeping along. No one knew quite how long our delays were and we just sat and dozed and drank tea from our flasks.  I was so glad that I had reserved the bottom bunk, as I could stretch out and relax.   Eventually after midday  disappeared then by three we knew we were so far behind.  I eventually got to Gaya junction at 8pm, stretching an 11 hour overnight trip to     a numbing 21 hour marathon.   Arriving at Gaya brought the usual chaos, a surge of auto rickshaw drivers wanting my custom. I took the one offering the quoted price by my hotel and sat for 40 mins for the cold and windy journey to Bodh Gaya. Upon Arrival  I felt that I deserved a medal! 

You are too bold

What I love about travelling is that the people that you meet take on equal significance to the things that you see.  Heading to the train station after 10pm was an experience, with so many trains delayed the platforms were jam packed, but I quickly found some fellow passengers to while away the time with. An older gentleman was quizzing me on my trip and after hearing my plans he turned to me and said that I was too bold!!!! Given that our lives as western women are so different, full of choice, opportunity and freedom, in his view I am too bold and given that on all of the hundreds of people at New Delhi Railway station I was the only westerner perhaps at that point he was right. 

India time consists of a lot of waiting

As I'd slept too much in the day and eaten some amazing tandoori chicken late yesterday evening, I eventually drifted off to sleep at 4 am.  Given that my room didn't really have the luxury of daylight streaming through a window, luckily I was woken at 11.30 am by a call from reception checking my check out time.  Thank goodness for the call.  After a leisurely breakfast I wandered down the road to the station just to check the  train departure time,  as when I rang to confirm my room booking at Bodhgaya I was told that the train is often delayed.  Great advice, as it had moved from 4.30 pm back to 9.10 and I had a whole afternoon in Delhi - not the best bonus in this crazy chaotic city!  However i took the opportunity to head out to jamil masjid, the largest mosque in India and enjoyed the unexpected quietness and tranquility of the mosque and chuckled when a family insisted that I was to take centre stage in their photo.   Then off to one of the fifteen world heritage sites in India, Humayun's Tomb. An  Amazing 16th century tomb built in marble and red sandstone, so the day was not completely wasted.  Now have to wait even more as the train is now departing at 10.50.  India time is always full of a lot  of waiting....,

It's great to be back

How civilised, I was met al the airport by a driver with my name displayed on a board. My how my travelling has changed, as I used to revel in the chaos of local buses and trains to get to my first destination.  So, back in Delhi and its brilliant!!! Checked in and slept for seven hours before heading out to old Delhi. There's never a dull moment on the streets; cows, kids, rusty old ambassador cars honking their horns and just hundreds upon hundreds of people everywhere you look.  It feels that everything is bursting at the seams.   An old man came up to me and welcomed me to India .... What a great way to start the trip. Within minutes another guy stopped me to ask if I wanted to take his picture and drink some whiskey ..... It's great to be back!!!!

Greetings from Helsinki !!!!!

Just completed the first leg of my journey and am settled in a cafe in the airport. I've already been in every shop, seen every Moomin souvenir and brushed my hand across the reindeer fur rugs for sale.... Ummm still three hours to go until I head off again, so there's plenty of time for more walking, as my poor back is still sore and there's no chance of an upgrade. I think I will just savour the calm here, as it's all going to change in India. 

Just a couple of weeks to go....

Still to pack, get visa, confirm accommodation and print off itinerary

But counting down the days till my next amazing adventure in India