I was taking photos of a beautiful sunset after a long day's ride when I chanced upon a couple of Hindu nuns who were standing outside their school / orphanage.

Varanasi

Breakfast is required.

Slept in police station last night. Roti and Aloo Gobi - Chappati and fried cauliflower and potato.

India republic day today.

The police had a little ceremony putting the flag up, then ate loads of jelebi (gooey sweets).

I cycled to Varanasi. Whilst getting there was too busy thinking about how great it would be and missed the turning cycling 13 km past it.

Many truck crashes because of the fog which took until 10:30 to clear.

Crazy traffic both human and mechanical!

Donating a bike

Last night, I was taking some photos of an amazing sky and I met two Hindu nun teacher volunteers.

It turns out that one of them walks 1 hour to work each day so I thought she would be a good candidate for a donated bicycle.

Today, we went to a bike shop and bought a Hercules ladie's bike complete with granny basket and rack.

Photos and full story to come.

1. Eat fresh local fruit and vegetables when possible.
2. Get up early (6.30 is a good start)
3. Use lateral thinking
4. Involve people
5. Be sure to record the details.
6. Be polite, respectful and listen in the face of (one or all of, what I may consider to be) hysteria, stupidity, staring, begging, crowding, bad English etc. Basically try not to be an insensitive ****. Try to end meetings with a warm feeling and positive experience having been had.
7. Camp/sleep outdoors where possible.
8. learn a language.
to be continued.

Macho, ego says: 'what if you regret not continuing East?'

My heart says: 'Go back to Georgia and then see what happens'

My realistic head says how? -

3 onward travel options:
1. Nepal, Tibet, China
2. Pakistan, Central Asia
3. Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Georgia

1. = Expensive, painful...
2. = Waiting until May to cross KHH and a whole bunch of (fairly easy to get) visas.
3. = Going back the same way seems strangely sensible (in a lateral thinking 'reversal' kind of way) - e.g. more photos, filming, different routes, following up on my post-travel-pak-iran thoughts.

I must admit I am very intrigued about Pak and Iran and I now view them with less crazed hysterical paranoia having been there once.

Amritsar, through Punjab, Bathinda, to Bikaner in Rajasthan. Then down to Nagour, Jodhpur, and Mt Abu. Onto Gujarat to Amdavad, Surat, and down to Daman and then Bombay.

From Bombay I left the bike and took the train with Fanny to Goa, then we went to Kannur in Kerala, Calicut, and Sultan Bathery near the Muthanga Wildlife Santuary. Onward to Mysore, then Hampi and Gokarna and back to Bombay.

Memory Loss

I was in an internet cafe this morning, feeling crappy and depressed. I woke up this morning with a head full of heavy thoughts about my future travel plans,  feeling worried.

I connected my hard disk to the computer and as what often happens I spent a good hour wrangling with it to try and view files. On newer computers it seems to work fine, whereas older ones insist on throwing wobblies.

Breaking Point

I was cycling through Bombay traffic about 15 minutes ago and suddenly snap- there goes my front derailleur cable frayed into a throng of discombobulated threads.

It makes me reminisce of the gradual process of wear and weakening that lead to the point of fracture.

The bike, somewhere down in my instincts begins to take a living animal existence, and when it breaks, it reminds me that we all erode and age and causes me to confront my own human frailty and mortality.

I intended to get up again at 5 this morning like I did yesterday. However, unfortunately today there was no mosquito to bite me and make me feel a bit strange and thus like getting up. Only my alarm clock which I was able to ignore twice. Eventually at 8 I naturally woke up. I jumped out of my tent which is pitched in the flat to dodge the mosquitos (and prevent me from getting up).

8 Days at an Ashram

I feel a bit like I haven't been telling the full story through the blog in terms of what's been going on. This is mainly because I've had to do everything from internet cafes and time and expense are a factor.

December involved a decision to get off the main highway and spend some time exploring the smaller villages and towns.

On reaching a city called Bharoch I went to look for somewhere to camp down a small road. After pedalling down a quiet road lined with banana plantations and small farmsteads I realised i was next to a huge river. I propped up the bike and gazed in awe at the wide Nermada river and palm forest disappearing in the hazy distance.

I just had a thought whilst uploading photos to Flickr. None of them exist in a physical form. I'm getting high on my own pictures. I think some of them are good but then I would wouldn't I.

France, Brittany – St. Pierre – A Photo Essay

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