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Well, here I am. Finally landed in Chennai on Saturday at Midnight. Unfortunately while I was in India, my rucksack was in Germany. Thankfully I had everything I needed in my day pack that I had walked on the plane with. We met with our guide the next day who was kind enough to go to the airport the next day and helop me sort out the bag mess.
Apart from that the trip so far has been great - the group is a mixture of singles and couples from all over the world. And we all seem to get on great. Most of them know each other before the trip started as they'd done the North India Unplugged before this one.
Even the extreme sunburn I got a few days ago and the delhi belly hasn't dampened my spirits here. (thanks to Ian for the Imodiom, it comes in handy for the 10 hour train journeys).
If there was anywhere in the world that is completely different from home, it's definately India!!! It's hot all the time which at first was unbearable but I'm starting to get used to it. In the city's there isn't a second of silence as the hundreds of Rickshaw's, motorbikes and pedestrians all honk, toot, and yell there way through the streets, filling any available space to get ahead of the guy in front. Any aspiring racedrivers should consider India as just one large racing circuit.
Everybody in India is interested in what you have to say - questions like 'where are you from?', 'where are you going?', and strangely 'what does your father do?' are all commonly asked. It turns out that although India outlawed it's class system years ago, asking what your father does denotes what class your in. Saying he's in a high powered job can get you what you want quicker in India.
Moving down the coast we stopped in a nicetown called Valkala, on the southern tip of India. With a coastline strun with palm trees, white sands and great sunshine, we stopped here for 3 days. Lying on the beach on a tuesday at noon and of coarse not being at work makes you realise that travelling was a good idea. While in Valkala we went for an elephant ride, being on the back of one of those things is actually quite scary when it starts moving, James, one of the guys in the group was behind me on the same elephant and he didn't enjoy it in the least.
So far the trip has entailed temples and Rickshaws, elephants and a whole load of curry. Due to a western influence it can be quite easy to get a chicken burger or fish and chips here in India, but I just refuse to eat anything western. I can get that when I'm back at home, besides, the curry's here are great!!! Weather it's hot, mild, runny or dry, I simply can't get enough of the stuff right now.
We are now in the city of Mysore, a bussling city not unlike Chennai. Only just got here so I'm off exploring.
See you soon
Chris
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