I stayed at the school for 3 weeks teaching and spending time in the village, being invited to many of the children's and teacher's homes to have a meal because as Hindus they believe that to invite a guest into the house and show hospitality will bring them fortune.
I went to the Chitwan National Park with some of the teachers and we rode on an elephant through the jungle. Because the smell of the elephant masked our scent we were able to get within metres of a rare one-horned rhino and its baby (distant relatives of the unicorn I believe!), plus we also saw wild peacocks, deer and antelope.
After the ride we went to see them being bathed in the river by their mahout - a keeper that stays with the same elephant for life.
Christmas was just like any other day as it isn't a Christian country but because I was there the teachers wanted to celebrate so the school was closed and the women made a Christmas curry with sweet rice pudding. After that we went down to the riverbank and made a fire which we sat around until late in the night.
On Boxing Day I left the village and went to Kathmandu ready for my flight into Delhi. On the way to the airport I visited the biggest Hindu temple in Asia. It was next to the river and on the banks there were funeral pyres where bodies were being burnt using butter to help them catch fire. It was so interesting to watch the preparations and ceremonies but its not a smell I will ever forget!
I got to Delhi in India and met up with some friends and we spent a day exploring the city's spice markets, mosques and back streets.
It was so busy and loud with car horns and shouting. There was people everywhere always touching or barging you plus there were cows all over the place which people aren't allowed to move because they are holy animals so the traffic just had to wait.
The whole city was filthy and smelt terrible as people were going to the toilet on the side of the road and there was was litter everywhere. We were glad to leave before sunrise the next morning on the train to Agra where we went to see the Taj Mahal, a building I have always wanted to see. Its the most beautiful building I have ever seen and even more impressive than any of the pictures could make it look!
It took 20,000 people 11 years to build and is actually a tomb for the Maharajah's 5th wife Momtaj Mahal. There are all sorts of myths surrounding it. When it was finished the Maharajah cut off the hands of all 20,000 workers so that they could never create something so beautiful again. Another is that the designers had their eyes cut out to make sure they could never make another. Lets hope they're not true!
It took 20,000 people 11 years to build and is actually a tomb for the Maharajah's 5th wife Momtaj Mahal. There are all sorts of myths surrounding it. When it was finished the Maharajah cut off the hands of all 20,000 workers so that they could never create something so beautiful again. Another is that the designers had their eyes cut out to make sure they could never make another. Lets hope they're not true!
From there we went to Jaipur to see the old Amber fort with elephants carrying people up the hill and snake charmers. We also spent New Year's Eve there learning how to Bollywood dance from the locals. I now have an extensive collection of Indian moves. Just ask...
We also went to the cinema to see a Bollywood movie where the audience shouted and cheered every time it got exciting and the hero was beating the bad guys. The music and choroegraphy in it was amazing. I'm a convert and will try to watch as many as I can when I get back!
We then went to various villages where we got to see how most of the billion people in India live, with traditional skills and building materials.
We also went to Pushkar and Udaipur to which both had lakes in the middle which are used for worship by the Sikhs and Hindus and for washing clothes and bathing just after sunrise.
Mumbai (Bombay) was a shock to the system after visiting a number of small towns. We were taken on a tour of one of the biggest slums in Asia which is home to a million people in the area of 5 football pitches. 65% of Mumbai's 20 million residents live in slums which are built on any spare patch of ground throughout the city.
There were tiny factories in dark tin sheds, some melting cans to make aluminium blocks, some recycling plastics and another making leather which gets sold to Gucci to make handbags. Suprisingly all the people were so happy and friendly and lots wanted us to go into their houses. It wasn't the depressing place I thought it would be! Maybe we've got it all wrong with our luxuries!
From Mumbai we headed down to Goa for a few days on the beach in a little wooden cottage and spent time swimming in the sea and reading before heading back to the British winter.
On my last day I hired a kayak and went out in the bay where I read my book out in the ocean and then as I watched my last Asian sunset a pod of dolphins swam around me before it got dark! A perfect end to six amazing months, now to have a two week break at home before heading to Africa!
