Raw India

There was no need for Plan C. We just managed to take off on Tuesday - cloud cover in Leh normally means no flights as, quote from an Air Deccan worker '' behind the clouds there are mountain peaks'' - this comment did not go down very well with Itxaso (co-traveller) , who hates flying and had witnessed a plane literally 'skim past' the 6000+ peaks earlier on that morning. Itxaso's prayers included, we made it to Delhi to be greeted by the usual multitude of people, smell, noises and INCREDIBLE HEAT - some 35 degrees hotter than Leh! From there on, down to Agra and the Taj Mahal - what a work of art, or should I say work of love - it was built by a Mughal emperor as a token of his love for his deceased wife - 20,000 builder over a period of 20 years. Impressive monument and impressive high number of tourists too.

We're now over in Varanasi/Benares , 600 km south-east of Delhi - this is India with no make-up, India in the raw. It's one of India's holiest cities (on the banks of the Ganges) where pilgrims flock to bathe, worship,meditate - bodies are cremated on the 'burning ghats' and ashes scattered in the Ganges. I get the feeling there is no 'in between' feeling for Varanasi - you either really like the place, or you're counting the minutes to leave. I , personally' really liked it, if a bit uncomfortable at times.

What's left of this trip? Unfortunately, very little - we're taking a night train tomorrow to Kolkatta for 24 hours and then onto Heathrow - it's been one unforgettable trip....