India and the craziness that ensues

India. Insanity. If we were playing a word association game currently, that's how it would go. India has blown my mind, intrigued me, fascinated me, frustrated me and given me SO, so so much to think about. I love it. With a burning passion. More than Africa, which I didn't think was possible. It's just an incredible place.

I hope you get the picture. Since arriving here about a month ago, I've spent time in both the north and south of the country. Here I'll detail my adventures in the north, and get to my southern escapades soon!

I arrived in New Delhi in the afternoon of August 27th, wondering if I was completely insane and naive for attempting to travel alone in this country. As I contemplated this at the baggage claim and then at the currency exchange, I spotted another lone traveler, and decided that I just HAD to talk to him- it would definitely up my confidence if I could make a friend before even leaving the airport. So, I accosted Steve (for 'twas his name) by a rubbish bin and introduced myself, and it makes sense to introduce him to you now because he'll play a major role in the tales that follow! Steve is from the UK (Wales- woo hoo!) and is also doing a round-the-world trip. He's a structural engineer and has been living in Dubai for the past three years. I think that's sufficient! Oh, he's also an awesome dude and now a great friend! Delhi was his first stop where he was visiting a friend, but had aspirations to do some travelling around the state of Rajasthan, as did I. We chatted for a bit and exchanged contact info with a plan to get in touch once we were settled.

After our chat I was collected by a driver from my hotel in Delhi who drove me into the city. Delhi is completely crazy- millions of people and cows and cars and bikes and rickshaws and God knows what else all over the streets, tons of construction going on for the upcoming Commonwealth Games and HOT. So hot. And wet. I arrived in the area of Paharganj and walked over mud and bricks and plywood to get to the door of my hotel. I was nervous about what I would find inside, but it was actually a nice, clean comfortable place. I decided to lie down for a nap as I was exhausted from my travels...and promptly fell asleep for three hours. When I woke up around 8, I couldn't drag myself out to eat so I ordered from a local restaurant and ate in the room before passing out again.

The next morning I was feeling much refreshed, and took myself out for breakfast where I met two lovely Israeli girls who gave me the lay of the land- including a tip on where to get custom-made jeans for $8! I spent some time wandering around with them, before taking myself to Connaught Place on the subway with a plan to visit the National Museum. Connaught Place is also a mess thanks to construction, so as I was standing on the side of the road trying to figure out, ultimately, where the hell I was, a young Indian gentleman standing near me made a comment about the traffic in perfect English. I asked him where I could find the museum, and a conversation ensued about where I'm from, why I'm in India, etc. The guy's name was Sani and he was a 27-year-old student at the University of New Delhi. He then asked if he could take me to tea. Now, usually my sensible girl instincts would caution me NOT to follow a strange man to tea, but my gut told me this would be fine, plus it was the middle of the day and there were loads of people about, PLUS this guy was a goldmine of info about Rajasthan, so I said yes. He took me round the corner to an absolutely packed fast-food joint crammed with people having lunch and bought me some tea. We then had a great chat about where to go and what to do in Rajasthan, and he offered to take me to a government tourist office to book a tour. I hadn't yet heard from Steve, so I went with Sani to the tourist office where he helped me negotiate a decent price for a nine-day tour of Rajasthan with a driver. It was a bit out of my budget, but I decided that as I was new to India and a woman traveling alone, it was probably worth to spend a bit more. I was pleased with the plan and was to leave on Monday (it was Saturday) after a day of sightseeing in Delhi on Sunday.

After booking the tour I wondered around a bit more with Sani, but was again feeling quite weary so took leave of him to go back and chill at the hotel. Of course as soon as I got back I got a message from Steve wanting to chat about possible travel plans! I told him about the tour though, and he sounded interested, so we decided to chat about it further the next day. That evening I took myself out for supper, where I met another nice English guy, Hamish, with whom I chatted for a while over Kingfisher beers. Travelling alone was going well so far!

The next morning I was picked up at 8 by the driver, Sunil, who would not only show me around Delhi but also be with me for the next nine days in Rajasthan. It was another boiling hot day and we began with a visit to the Red Fort. It was quite nice to wander around in the early morning with not too many tourists about. After that I visited the largest mosque in the world and was given some polyester things to cover my head and legs with which made me sweat so much that I had to leave after five minutes- phew! Following that was a visit to the Gandhi memorial constructed on the site where he was shot, then a trip to the Lotus temple. It's very modern and looks a bit like the Sydney Opera House. It was lovely and quiet inside- very peaceful after the chaos of Delhi outside, so I sat for about 25 minutes and just watched the world go by. It was also air-conditioned. Bonus.

After a spot of lunch we stopped by the Utab tower, but I wasn't inclined to pay the entrance fee to climb it so I just snapped some pictures from the ground and then we went to the house Gandhi was living in when he died. I REALLY enjoyed this. It was brilliant to see his famous glasses and things, and there was a modern art exhibition going on at the time, with exhibits based on some of his most famous quotes. There is also the course of Gandhi's life displayed by miniature waxwork figures in little glass cases, which I adored because I LOVE mini stuff, as you know, and also because I learned a lot!

Next stop was the house of former prime minister Indira Gandhi (no relation to THE Gandhi) who was India's first and only lady prime minister in the 60s and 70s. This was also fabulous and extremely educational. I loved learning about her family life (her son Rajiv became prime minister later on) and her influence on India. She was assassinated in 1984 as she walked in her garden, and there's a glass walkway on the lawn where she took her last steps, with a frosted glass panel where she actually fell. It was quite moving and I spent ages wandering around and reading every little bit of information.

We finished with a visit to the India Gate, a massive arch a bit like l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and when the sightseeing was over, Sunil took me to the tourist office so I could finalize the details for my tour, and also chat to them about getting Steve involved. I gave him a ring and he and his friend Emily (who has been living and working in Delhi for about two years) met me there. We put on an act about how we'd known each other for years, and after some fairly intense bargaining, Steve decided he did want to join me, so he paid up while we both secretly hoped we wouldn't hate each other! I then joined Steve and Emily for tea at the incredibly posh Imperial Hotel, after which we parted ways with a plan for me and Sunil to pick Steve up at 8 the next morning from Emily's place.

Sunil was right on time the next day, though he had absolutely no idea how to find Emily's flat. After stopping to ask approximately every single person in Delhi for directions, we found Steve and set off for the fairly long drive to Jaipur. Steve and I spent the drive chatting and getting to know each other, finding we had quite a lot in common - you know, drinking, dancing, sleeping late, eating bread. This is going to be fine, I thought. I made an interesting cultural observation quite early on, that now Steve was with me, Sunil deferred every thing to him. "Mr. Steve, are you hungry?", "Mr. Steve, you are tired? You sleep well?" etc. No mind was ever paid to Miss Susie now there was a man on the scene!

We arrived in Jaipur in the mid-afternoon and checked into our hotel, spent a bit of time getting oriented on the computer and then set out into the city with a plan to go and see a Bollywood film. A tuk-tuk dropped us by the movie theatre, and we bought tickets to a late showing of a film called 'Lafangey Parindey'. Anticipating a spectacle full of crazy Bollywood singing and dancing, we decided there was only one thing to do to prepare- get drunk. Using our trusty Lonely Planet (aka, The Bible) and a not-so trusty puppet-seller boy who followed us around for about 20 minutes, we found a bar with a decent view of the city and promptly put away a (disgusting) bottle of Indian red wine. We then set off for dinner nearby, where we thought it would be a good idea to drink another one, so by the time we got into the movie theatre we were, as they say, hammered. The movie began (all in Hindi), and was luckily a basic enough storyline that we could follow what was going on despite being trollied and not understanding the language: a boxing champ, One-Shot Nandu, runs over a beautiful local roller-skater girl, Pinky, and blinds her. But, Pinky doesn't know it was Nandu that hit her. He feels SO guilty, that he lets her teach him how to rollerskate, and they end up on "India's Got Talent" and do fantastically well. They're falling in love, and eventually he feels he MUST tell her the truth. And he does and it's all fine, she forgives him. Aaah, bless. Downside to this film? NO crazy Bollywood singing and dancing! It was actually somewhat depressing at some points. Still, it was an experience, and we had a lovely chat with two Australian girls sitting behind us. Perhaps they weren't Australian. I can't say I remember.

The next morning we were up early to meet a guide to visit the Amber Fort, the first of many, many forts we would see in Rajasthan! Our guide's name was Pradeep, and as he told us the history of the fort, he began every sentence with "In olden times..", in case we thought it was RECENTLY that the maharaja's army had invaded a neighboring city, or something. He did give us some good tidbits though, like how the queen's clothes and jewelry weighed so much that she had to be rolled around the castle in a wheelbarrow. Sounds like the life if you ask me. After the fort we visited the lake and a gem-cutting shop, and then went to see the astrological observatory where we looked at sundials and signs of the Zodiac and whatnot. Then we had a wander around the city palace (again, one of many we would see), and visited an art center where a local artist drew us a gorgeous picture of an elephant and wrote a sentiment wishing all our days to be happy days! Brilliant. Not for him though, we didn't buy anything!

With that, sightseeing was over, so we grabbed some lunch and decided a nap was in order. In the evening, we went back to the Amber Fort for the sound and light show, which was rather bizarre and we didn't really catch what was going on, but the fort did look incredible all lit up at night. Sunil then dropped us back in the middle of the city and we found a restaurant recommended by the bible for dinner. It was a great spot full of other backpackers and things, and we enjoyed a few beers up on the roof where we had an excellent view of the city. As always, it was a mission to get back to the hotel- it can be a nightmare trying to explain to a tuk-tuk driver where one is trying to go, and they can't read maps because they never look at maps of their own city. Eventually we got in with a man and his son, and it was seriously the bumpiest tuk-tuk ride in the world. The little boy squealed with delight every time I squealed when we went over potholes that I think the driver was purposely going into. It felt like we'd gone several rounds at the gym when we got out!

The next morning we left early to drive to Udaipur, and on the way stopped off at another fort, Chittorgarh. We began by climbing a huge nine-storey tower with great views of the surrounding area. Thing is, there was a big religious festival going on- Krishna's birthday- so about 900 other people were also climbing the seriously windy and narrow stairs to the top! It was rather precarious, but it was worth the trip, and afterwards we did some wandering around of the temples and things. An Indian guy started talking to us, demanding to know if we were married (we began to just say yes after a while, saved us some hassle) and then told us another gentleman nearby was the king of the area. Really? Ok. We then proceeded to be in about ten photos with these folks- God knows what they tell their friends about who we are!

We arrived in Udaipur in the evening and were staying at a nice hotel right by the beautiful lake. We got changed to go out for dinner and set out in our backpacker finery, only for Steve to immediately step in a massive pile of cow shit (HOLY shit, mind you, given how the cow is revered in India) in his flip-flops. I drew more attention to this spectacle by laughing so hard I was crying, so we had to go back to the hotel for a holy foot-washing before trying again. We took another of the bible's recommendations and found a nice little restaurant where we could also smoke some hookah. We had a nice time practicing our smoke rings (both are terrible at it) and went back to the hotel around midnight, only to find it all locked up. Apparently the doors close at 11 (thanks for telling us), so we had to hammer on the door and shout until a sleepy shirtless guy came and let us in. Oops!

The next day was a brilliant day. Probably the best of our whole jaunt. Not having to meet a guide or anything, we were able to sleep in and after breakfast set out for the city palace. Udaipur is a very easy little city to walk around it, and much quieter than many other Indian cities. It feels vaguely European- lots of little windy streets and things. On the way we passed a big temple where the celebration of Krishna's birthday continued, so we went in. It was fantastic! Packed with people singing and dancing and clapping and just generally reveling. We were immediately pulled into the fray, and were even encouraged to dance in the middle of the floor in front of about 400 Indians, but we managed not to! We payed our respects to Krishna, and just had an excellent time taking it all in and feeling so lucky to be part of something like it. Eventually we tore ourselves away for a walk around the city palace museum, and then went for lunch and to get organized before meeting Sunil for some more sightseeing. He took us to a really pretty park where we wandered around and looked at exotic flowers and things AND..best part..dressed up like a maharaja (Steve) and a maharani (me) for a photo op! We were charged extortionately for this, but the result was hilarious. They need to be scanned in somewhere (Steve, you are on this I trust!), and hopefully I'll be able to share them soon.

Then Sunil took us to the other end of the city palace where we could catch a boat to Jagmandir Island. The island is basically a hotel in the middle of the lake (there are two- James Bond's Octopussy was filmed at the other. More on that later) with lovely views back to Udaipur. We had a bottle of wine there and just enjoyed the atmosphere, before taking a boat back to meet Sunil. The plan was to go to see the sunset at the Monsoon Palace, but we had taken too long with our wine, so instead Sunil took us to the other side of the lake where we could find a nice restaurant. Before that though, we stopped at one of the many bars that plays Octopussy every night. It was good fun to watch it and recognize some of the places in the city. The proprietor of the bar told us he's been playing the film every night for ELEVEN years! I don't know he could stand it- those films are terribly cheesy! Afterwards we had some dinner, and called it a night.

The next day we set off around 10am for Jodhpur. On the way we stopped at ANOTHER fort, Kumbalgarh, and walked around for an hour or so to get a break from the long drive and have some lunch. Many Indian tourists were interested in us and wanted to take photos, as usual, and this time we took some photos of them. I was in a picture with about 14 cheerful Indian men, who were VERY pleased to get so close to Steve's "wife"! We made another stop before we reached Jodhpur, at Ranakpur, where there are a couple of famous temples. There were some beautiful carvings and things to look at, so we moseyed around there for about an hour or so, watching baboons raid someone's motorcycle for food at one point and trying to have a conversation with an old man in Hindi, before finishing the trip to Jodhpur. We arrived quite late, and managed to get ourselves out for dinner before calling it a night after our busy day.

Oh man, it was HOT in Jodhpur. Hotter than it had been anywhere else, and after breakfast we WALKED, dodging cows, motorbikes and tuk-tuks as per usual (I can't over exaggerate the number of cows roaming the streets in India) UPhill to the fort. Phew. We were DRENCHED by the time we reached the top. We did the audio tour (which was very good, almost as good as Alcatraz...), took more photos with Indian families and investigated a ziplining course around the fort (more on that to come). We then walked back down to the market square for a refreshing lassi (one of the greatest things about India, after the chai!) and back to the hotel for lunch and to meet Sunil to visit the palace of the current maharaja of Jodhpur. Eh, I'd seen better palaces by now!

In the evening we did a quick Internet catch up and went for dinner at a great restaurant on top of the walls of the fort. It started to monsoon on us a bit, but we still managed to finish our meal outside and look at the great views of the city at night, while listening to a sitar player play Christmas carols, we think. The REAL fun in the rain would happen the next day, however...

We were to drive to Pushkar the next day, but first decided that we would go ziplining around the fort, so we set off there for the THIRD time and suited up to do a six-line course. It started to rain just as we got going, but we thought, ah well, a little rain never killed anyone. No, a LITTLE rain never killed anyone, but a MONSOON almost killed us and ruined a perfectly good camera (Steve's). It was pretty incredible and very exhilarating to go ziplining around an ancient Indian fort in the pouring (and when I say pouring, I mean POURING. POUR-ING.) rain, I must say. What wasn't so fun was getting back in the car in our totally soaked clothes afterwards! Oh and it was to get worse. We set off for Pushkar in this terrible weather, driving through puddles (more like ponds) in the middle of the street. At one point Sunil went too fast through a massive puddle and the car broke down. Yikes. Much honking and shouting ensued, and Sunil had to pay a few (adorable) street kids to help him push the car to the side of the road. Steve had to get out and help too eventually (not I, though. Miss Susie was not required to exert herself in such a way!). We're going to be for hours, I thought, DAYS even, but miraculously, after about 20 minutes or so, Sunil got the car going again. Incredible! It ran great after that and got us to Pushkar fine! I realized that THIS is what I was paying for- someone who could get us safely and on time to our destinations, despite some fairly treacherous driving conditions at times! (Oh, and the "pushing the car to Pushkar" thing was not lost on me and much giggling ensued when I came up with that one. I crack myself up.)

After all that, we got to Pushkar in the very late afternoon, and didn't do much except hit up an "Italian" restaurant for dinner. It wasn't too bad actually- sometimes one needs a break from Indian food, so a pizza was just the ticket!

The next day we were headed straight to Agra, so we were up early to go and see Pushkar's famous Brahma temple. On the way we stopped to look at the holy lake, and were immediately accosted by two men claiming to be priests. Before we knew what was happening, we were separated and were each standing by the lake with a priest, coconut in hand, repeating the words to some prayer about good health and life to our families. I really liked the sentiment- of course I wish those things for my family- but all I could think was how much this guy was going to want me to pay him. Downside of India- EVERYONE'S after your money, and it can take away from an experience like that that should have been quite meaningful. Sure enough, after sending out blessings to my family and whatnot, the priest said I could pay what I want, but preferably one or two hundred rupees. Now this is two or four dollars, not outside my budget, but it's the principal of the thing! And they won't let you escape either! I threw 100 rupees at the "priest" and high-tailed it back to the road, just put off in general. We got to the temple and learned that we couldn't go in together because I had a bag with me and wasn't allowed to take it in, so we'd have to split up so one of us could stay with the bag. Eh, we thought, there were around a million billion people around and if we lost each other we'd never be able to meet up again, so we scrapped the Brahma temple and cow-dodged our back to Sunil and the relative safety of his little car!

We set off for Agra, and on the way stopped off at, guess what, another fort! It's an abandoned castle called Fakhpur Sikri which is also right next door to a huge mosque where the end of Ramadan was being celebrated. We had a wander around (barefoot- ugh. Have I mentioned you have to do a lot barefoot in India? Have I mentioned India, though incredible and beautiful, is not the cleanest place in the world?) and then went to look at the fort where we were accosted by a guide who INSISTED on showing us around. Sigh, ok. He actually had some good info though, and gave us a clue about what we were looking at.

In the early evening we arrived in Agra, and after freshening up decided to treat ourselves to a drink at the bar of the Oberoi Amarvilas hotel, supposedly the best hotel in India. It was FANTASTIC- all marble and gold and shiny. A night there costs hundreds and hundreds (of dollars, NOT rupees!). While drinking VERY expensive drinks (well, for India), we looked longingly at the rich Westerners in the hotel restaurant and wished we could eat there! Instead, we took a tuk-tuk to a budget option recommended by the bible and went up to the roof where we could see the outline of the Taj Mahal in the darkness. Oooh, exciting! We had a plan to visit it at sunrise- I could barely contain myself. After dinner we scarpered back to the hotel for bed, as we got up at 4:30am the next day to visit the Taj!

We met our guide at about 5:30 in the morning, and he bought us our tickets and took us to the entrance gate. At 6am we were able to go in...and it was incredible. You can't over-hype the Taj Mahal. It's just beautiful, and the story of why it was built- for the king's wife after she died giving birth because he loved her so much- is just heartbreaking. I was still a bit sleepy and felt like I was in a bit of a dream world. I was, actually. It was a dream come true just to be seeing it. Our guide was lovely (AND the most handsome Indian man I've seen! Steve kept catching me staring at his bottom. The guide's, not Steve's!) and wanted to tell us the whole love story, as he believed we were a couple ourselves and could relate! Sure, whatever. Anyway, after showing us around and detailing the incredible marble inlay work the Taj is famous for, he let us wander around on our own for a bit, so we sat and watched the place fill up with tourists from all over the world.

We felt a bit peckish after that, so Sunil dropped us back off at the hotel for breakfast and to check out before meeting to guide again to visit..dun dun dun..the Agra fort! It was standard fort action, fort connoisseurs that we now are, and then it was back in the car for the drive back to Delhi, our Rajasthani adventure almost over. Steve, I'm sorry to say, was NOT well (a bit of Delhi Belly, which I have lucky enough not to catch thus far) so he had a rough ride back but we made it with a quick stop at the tourist office so I could get my train tickets for the next bit of my trip.

Steve spent the evening sleeping off his illness while I packed up and got sorted to head to Rishikesh in the morning for some yoga. We parted ways at about 6am the next day, sad to say goodbye! We took a massive gamble travelling together for so long having known each other for, well, we didn't know each other, but I now have a great new friend and travel buddy. Mr. Steve, I've said it before and I'll say it again- thanks for making our little journey such fun and for being my friend. It was a real treat to get to know you, and I really hope we'll meet again somewhere in the world, some day! Namaste.

So, dear readers, bored yet? Good, because there's more whether you like it or not.

After leaving Steve I got on a 7am train bound for Haridwar, from whence I would take the bus to Rishikesh for five days of yoga action. Long story short, I spent a night in Haridwar (little to report here, not much to see and I just did some Internet catching-up) and the next day took the bus to Rishikesh with a plan to seek out an ashram. There are millions there, but as it happened I ended up at a little guest house that offered yoga classes twice a day, which ended up being a great solution.

Once in Rishikesh, I spent the afternoon getting organized and in the evening had dinner in the guest house restaurant, where I met two lovely English girls- Alicia and Zoe- who would be my yoga and hang-out buddies for the next few days. The following day after an early yoga class, we went on a walk to find the famed ruins of the ashram where the Beatles hung out in 1968. A crazy sudhu (priest guy) showed us around (or, followed us around, however you define it) and pointed out fairly obvious things. Still it was fun to see and in its hey-day it must have been a gorgeous place. It's too bad it's fallen into disrepair- someone could make a mint off running it again! Hmm...

Afterwards we went to sit at a chill cafe by the Ganges river, where we lounged on floor pillows, ate lunch, read "the bible" and took naps. Then it was back to the guest house for yoga. Nearby to our guest house there was another one called Mama's Mountain Cottage, or something, run by the sweetest, most lovely old Indian lady, known only as Mama! If you let her know early in the day, she'll cook up a thali for dinner for only 50 rupees (about a buck), so after yoga we went to see her for dinner. It was starting to rain (the monsoon was very much on in Rishikesh), so she invited us into her living room and five of us (me and the girls, an Austrian guy and a Danish girl) sat with her family and had an incredible dinner. Mama was very keen to make sure we'd eaten enough (we had, I almost exploded), and it was brilliant to have a warm home-cooked dinner in a cozy house while the rain came down outside!

The following day was much of the same- yoga, lounging at the riverside cafe, chatting to fellow travelers. Zoe and I met a guy from the San Francisco area (yippee!) called Hutch (yes, really) who was shooting a film in India and had all sorts of funny stories to tell. The jury's still out on whether he was totally high or not (probably), but he kept me and Zoe entertained for much of the afternoon until it was time for yoga again.

The next day was, big surprise, more yoga, and after breakfast Zoe and Alicia left for the next leg of their journey (thanks for letting me spend time with you girls- top chicks!). I had plans to venture to a famed waterfall, but it was absolutely tipping down with rain, so I ended up sitting in the guest house restaurant reading Lonely P and chatting to a Dutch guy called Rob. The evening was more yoga, taking myself out to dinner, navigating my room with a tiny flashlight after ANOTHER power cut. You know, the usual.

After yoga the next morning I met another lovely English girl, another Zoe, and we chatted for a while before I tried to do the waterfall again. Things were going well, until I realized I'd gone totally the wrong way AND it was raining again. Sigh. After purchasing a sexy plastic poncho, it was back to the riverside cafe where I whiled away the afternoon drinking chai, reading books and chatting to an English guy called George about where I should go in southeast Asia. All in all a decent day, finished off with more yoga and a pizza for supper.

The following up I woke up not feeling very good- sore throat, a bit feverish, a cough. No matter, I thought, I can power through this. I went to yoga, where I was totally sluggish, then had some breakfast and a little nap before taking the bus back to Haridwar where I planned to do some Internet time before my train in the evening. I was feeling a bit down in the dumps, and was feeling sicker by the minute, but figured if I drank plenty of water and whatnot I'd be fine. The minute I arrived back in Haridwar, though, all my plans were foiled!

First of all, there was a city-wide power cut, so all the Internet cafes were shut. I went into the lobby of an air-conditioned hotel, and asked to sit there for a bit. I'm a bit hazy on what happened, but somehow I ended up in a screaming match with the old Indian proprietor about where I could sit, with him telling me he was my elder and stuff. I don't know. Anyway, I was able to sit and I fell asleep for a few hours and felt better when I woke up. I went into the hotel restaurant and had something to eat before my 6:43pm train back to Delhi. Whilst there I met a nice girl from Sacramento who's going to Bangkok the same day I am- result. At about 6:20pm I set off for my train. Please note I had been sitting five feet from the train station ALL day, and what should happen, but I MISSED THE TRAIN. That's right folks, it was at 6:13pm, NOT 6:43. Oh lord, I thought, what will I do now? I wanted to cry, but didn't (for once), so instead I went to the station master's office and enlisted the help of someone to cancel my existing ticket and buy a new one. Soon enough I was on an 8pm sleeper train that was to arrive at the Old Delhi train station at 1:40am. I didn't really like the idea of getting in so late, but figured I'd get a taxi to the hotel I had booked and be fine. I was sitting with three nice Indian gentlemen who took my mind off my sickness by sharing their food and chatting to me about America, my family, my job, whether or not I'm married (I'm used to the shock that follows when I say I'm 26 and NOT MARRIED!!!). They did point out that I was rather ill, though. Yes, I was thinking, I really am not well. And it was getting worse. I had a high fever (I could tell), my nose was stuffy and running at the same time, I was coughing up a lung. The guys were saying it was the weather...

At about 11pm things were looking dire, and having put it off for several hours I decided to call in the big guns. Judge me or don't (I AM a hardened traveler, I promise!) but I called my dad. That's right, I put a call in to Daddy and asked him to get me into a decent hotel in Delhi, because I was becoming very worried about my health. And my dad was BRILLIANT (so was Elena, his secretary). Between them they got me booked into the Hyatt near the airport (I was supposed to fly the next day) with a plan for the driver to meet me at Old Delhi train station at 1:40am. I was so grateful to my generous dad, and things were looking up.

Well, foiled again, my dear friends. I got my bags ready at about 1:20am, and went and sat by the train doors. The train didn't stop. It hadn't stopped by 2am, or by 2:30am...FINALLY, at 3am, the train stopped, somewhere, and I was thrown off by the conductor. And guess what? I wasn't at the Old Delhi train station. Or the New Delhi train station. I was at a THIRD random station in Delhi I'd never even HEARD of. But I didn't know this right away. So I'm wandering around as a million Indian people sleeping on the platform are waking each other up to look at me, looking for this driver. Thankfully, I was able to find a ticket booth open, manned by a young guy who spoke English and took me into the office to help me get in touch with the driver. As he spoke to the hotel, about 40 Indian men stood shoved up at the window of the ticket booth looking at me through the glass. Sigh. At 3:30am the driver turned up, and I sunk into the back of an air-conditioned Toyota, longing for the day (that had now been going on for 20 hours) to be over. It was about an hour's drive to the hotel, and as I sat in the back moping about my sickness and my difficult life, I was suddenly snapped back to reality as I looked out of the window at people sleeping on the side of the highway. Shut up Susie, I said to myself, you're on your way to the Hyatt, you have people all over the world who love you and will help you. Poor you and your little cold. Your life is great. And it is. India has made me realize how lucky I am.

Anyway, we arrived at the Hyatt at 4:30am, and by this point I had seriously had enough of all the tomfoolery of the day and really, REALLY wanted to go to bed! It was about 5:30am by the time I checked in, changed, let my dad know I was safe and lay my head down. I already knew I wouldn't be getting up at 9 for my 1pm flight down south, so I sent an email to the tour organizer to cancel it.

The next day I was feeling much, MUCH worse and was getting myself in a tizzy that I had malaria or something, so decided I should see a doctor. A lovely English-speaking doc came to the room and told me I had a rather bad throat infection and yes, a high fever and that I shouldn't do anything for a few days and prescribed me loads of meds. So, long story short I was holed up in the Hyatt until the end of the week, which I felt terrible about but as both my parents pointed out, it would have been MUCH more expensive for one of them to fly out at short notice and find me in an Indian hospital if I'd let it become pneumonia or something! True.

Long story short, I was recovered by that Friday, September 17th, when I flew down to Cochin to begin my adventures in the south of India. But that my friends, is for another time...

Madagascar and Mauritius with Mummy

Mums, eh? They are legends- and those of you who've had the pleasure of meeting my dear mama will know that she is particularly legendary, so I was super-duper excited to see her!

After leaving little brother in Cape Town, I arrived early to Johannesburg where I was to meet Mummy for our onward journey to Madagascar. Mother had been stressing somewhat about us successfully meeting at the gate, as for some reason airports send her into a real tizzy (sorry, mum, but it's true. The idea of missing a flight for you is worse than the apocalypse). She needn't have worried though, as at the appointed time there I was, waiting by the gate at the bottom of an impossibly long escalator that made our meeting almost Hollywood-esque! I saw her there at the top and she saw me, and we both hopped from one foot to another for the three days that it took for her to get down. It was brilliant when we finally got to give each other a big hug!

Soon afterwards we jumped on our flight to Antananarivo, Madagascar where we had to wait three hours in a scrubby little airport for a connecting flight to the island of Nosy Be, which is more of a holiday place. While waiting, it dawned on us that we didn't know how we were going to get to the hotel from the airport so we gave them a ring. Finally, Mummy was able to see that the dollars on a French degree HAD been well spent! Whoever answered the phone at the hotel didn't speak English, so I pulled out my French to arrange a taxi to be waiting for us with our name on a sign and, guess what? He was there when we arrived! Phew! After quite a long drive through windy island roads, we arrived at the Loharano hotel, which was absolutely beautiful! Lots of small villas set around a picturesque pool- tres glamorous!

There's not a whole lot to say about our time in Madagascar, unfortunately, as our plans to go and see the lemurs and things (the whole reason I wanted to go there) were foiled when I came down with a nasty bug that involved headaches and a bad tummy. Luckily, there wasn't much else for us to do, so I was able to sleep it off while Mummy lay by the pool and figured out with the hotel staff how she was to pay the bill when they didn't take credit cards! Another tizzy ensued over this, but through a complicated series of emails and phone calls, we were able to pay by bank transfer.

After four days we moved on to Mauritius- a beautiful island in the middle of the Indian Ocean where things picked up considerably! We stayed at a little place called Les Lanteniers Bleus run by owner Josette, in an area called Riviere Noire. It was originally her house, so it has an incredibly cosy feel and is situated right on its own private beach. The first evening we were there we met a few of the other guests from Italy, and had dinner with them and Josette and her husband Olivier. It really was like we'd been invited to stay!

In the morning we had breakfast on the porch, where we were immediately attacked by loads of birds after our toast (which would happen every day), and then spent the day resting on the beach and taking a trip to the supermarket and things - all really exciting stuff! We did arrange to go out the next day with a driver to sightsee what there is of Mauritius, so the next morning Gilbert picked us up bright and early for a day out.

The first stop was the geological formation the Seven Colors of the Earth, which is basically different colored rock and soil that's due to metal oxide deposits. In the same place was an enclosure with a few giant tortoises which we were very excited about, but little did we know we would have many more giant tortoise-related adventures that day! Next we visited a beautiful waterfall, a huge gorge with lovely views to the sea, a Hindu temple and giant statue of the goddess Shiva (my first taste of something I have come to know well in India!) and then..best part..the crocodile park!

The crocodile park is basically a small zoo with lots of crocs, some bats, warthogs, monkeys and other various creatures. It also has giant tortoises - HUNDREDS of them - and here people are allowed to feed them, pet them, and RIDE them! You better believe I was all over that like a giddy five-year-old! Mother was a bit scared (they do bite) but I managed to straddle one of these beasts for a very giggly photo op. We also had to laugh because last September, when Mummy and I were in San Diego for a family friend's wedding, she took me to Legoland where I ALSO reverted to about five! So, that's what we do- my mom and her little 26-year-old girl go to theme parks together. I can't wait for Sea World...

The next day we got up and inquired about renting a car to drive around the island. We picked it up in the afternoon, and though Mummy was a bit nervous about driving stick shift on the other side of the road, she did GREAT! It's of course how she learned to drive, and did drive, in England, but apparently it takes a bit of time to get back into it. We took a little drive to an area of the island called Le Morne where we had a coffee on the beach, tootled back to Riviere Noire and after some relaxing drove to another part of the island, Flic en Flac, for dinner. The dinner was AWFUL - we were getting tired to driving around so we just chose somewhere- but Mummy did get to do a bit more driving practice and we saw some more of Mauritius!

The next day we decided to drive up to the north of the island to try out a different beach. Mauritius is small, and looking at a map we thought the drive couldn't take more than an hour. Wrong. We got stuck in horrible traffic in the capital, Port Louis, and were essentially completely lost. Mummy started freaking out (to be fair she was still getting used to the car and stuff), though she was doing great, I kept telling her! After about two hours we FINALLY got to the north where we stopped for a quick lunch and sit on the beach, but we were so nervous about getting stuck in traffic on the way back that we got back in the car quite quickly for the journey back! There were a few mishaps, wrong turns, and raised voices on the way back, but we did eventually make it- totally exhausted!! Our plan to lie out on a beach hadn't amounted to much, but we'd seen still more of the island and Mummy now has much more confidence in her driving skills!

That evening we went for dinner at a restaurant nearby and while sitting at the bar met two South African guys with whom we ended up doing shots with later - don't ask (like I said, my mum's a legend)! A good way to end a somewhat hectic day, though!

The next day was our last, and we had planned an all-day boat trip to see dolphins, go snorkelling, etc. It was quite an early start and we set off on a catamaran with about eight other people (all couples) from all over the world. We were taken to see the wild dolphins, and then to a coral reef to go snorkelling which was brilliant. I haven't done it in years and it was like Finding Nemo down there- excellent! Afterwards we got a great barbecue lunch that our tour guide did right off the back of the boat. Unfortunately the weather wasn't good so we mostly had to sit inside, but we chatted to a lovely couple from South Africa, Grant and Liana, who had just gotten engaged and there were plenty of free drinks to go around!

Once back on shore, we went back to the hotel for a rest and to get ready for dinner at the highly recommended Big Willy's! While we were getting dressed, Josette came to our door to tell me that a reporter with local paper Le Mauricien was in the lobby. She was interested in interviewing the young American lady travelling around the world. Luckily, I was all dressed up and looking smart for the last dinner out with my mom, so I went out to meet her and tell my story and have my photograph taken! She was interested to know why I'm doing this, how long I've wanted to do it, how much it cost, where I've been and where I'm going. It was great fun and the story appeared in print the next day and I have a couple of copies. I'm huge in Mauritius folks!

After a super-yummy last dinner, my mom left early the next day to go back to South Africa to visit a friend. We had such a brilliant time together and I really can't thank her enough for everything she did for me- allowing me to take some time off from 'travelling' and sort myself out. Like I said, mothers are totally brilliant and mine is extra super awesomely excellent for coming all that way to see me and I miss you loads, Mummy.

Anyway, I spent the day tootling about doing errands - my first official day of travelling alone! At about 8pm Gilbert picked me up to take me to the airport for my 11pm flight to Dubai where I would connect to New Delhi. Remember how I said I'm huge in Mauritius? Well it must be true because when I got to the gate to board my Emirates flight, I found I had been upgraded to business class! Heaven! Champagne, a proper meal, wine, Bulgari travel thingies, a massive TV, a flat-bed seat. Brilliant. I was ready to begin my adventure in India, which has been just that and more...

Travel by the numbers and other musings

I can hardly believe it, but three months ago today I arrived at my first destination- Vienna, Austria. I therefore feel it's time for an update on the trip overall that's less about what I'm getting up to day-to-day but how this whole thing is panning out!

Here we go. Let me know if any other numbers might be of interest, and I'll continue to share any further musings that arise...

Plane rides: 16
Train rides: 11
Boat/ferry rides: 11
Airlines flown: 10
Books read (not including travel guides!): 12
Mosquito bites (cumulative): 40 plus, easily!
Longest time without a shower: 3 days
Family members travelled with: 2
Times I have said I'm Canadian: Several
UNESCO sites visited: 14 (I thought I was doing great here...until I found out there are 897 more to see)
Dollars spent: About $4,500
Biggest local currency exchange rate to the dollar: $1 = 2080 Madagascar Ariary

-Carrying my entire life on my back has made me realize how little the average person needs to get by. However, even though I only ever have a maximum of three outfits to choose from, I still manage to agonize for far too long about what to wear. How did I make it to work every day with my entire wardrobe available to me each morning?

-There's something about traveling that makes travelers feel compelled to have seriously deep conversations with one another and spill their deepest and darkest within moments of meeting. I suppose it's a 'ships that pass in the night,' sort of thing, or strangers on a train. Then we remember about Facebook...

-I am not yet liberated enough to let go of my eyeliner, and I miss my high heels and my Marc Jacobs bag. There, I said it.

-If you don't know how to drive a stick shift car (which I don't), learn. It's often all that's available overseas and is much cheaper than hiring an automatic anyway.

-Toilet paper, baby wipes and plastic bags are sacred.

-Patience, patience, patience. I don't know why it takes four people half an hour to examine my passport, or why taxi drivers just pull over to have a chat with their mates when I'm paying them to get somewhere, but these things are the gateways to all the things I want to do and see, so I must just chill out, max out, relax all cool...and wait.

-I appreciate even more how lucky I am to be both British and American and the opportunities that affords me.

-Sometimes, out of nowhere (like, when I'm buying soap or something), I miss home (both my homes, East and West) and all the people that I love and I get all teary. Then I remember I wouldn't be here without them and feel so lucky. Then I get panicked about having to go home at all- what am I going to do with my life?! Then I remember that I MUST live in the moment. Then, after this rollercoaster of emotions, I pick out the soap and move on.

-Sometimes time flies and sometimes the minutes seem to go on forever, but it goes just the same and it's all I can do to just BE!

South Africa: Coffee Bay to Cape Town

An early start in Durban and a nine-hour Baz Bus trip or something got us to Coffee Bay on August 4. I'll say again that I love the Baz Bus, but it only stops at gas stations along the way, all of which feature a branch of the South African fast food restaurant Steers. For some reason, every time it stops, most people feel compelled to grab something from Steers and then visit the shop, you know, just in case. For me this meant FAR too many French fries and if, South Africa, you are in the hellish throes of a Kit-Kat shortage currently, I must own up and say that it was I who consumed every last one of those delectable treats.

In Coffee Bay we were booked in at the Coffee Shack, which is the place to be in the area. Coffee Bay is on South Africa's Wild Coast (or the Transkei), and is so named because in 18 hundred and something a ship carrying coffee beans ran aground there, spilling, um, all the beans! After some welcome drinks and before dinner, we watched a few of the local girls perform a traditional dance for us, which was a great introduction to the local culture that I actually came to know rather well by the end of our three days!

After dinner it was a fairly standard evening of getting to know folks and making new friends, enhanced by a lively game of "killah" pool. Everyone plays, and the only rule is to pot a ball, any ball, and save yourself a life. If you win the whole thing, you get a free day out or a free cocktail. Knowing how incredibly coordinated I am NOT, you can imagine that I didn't even come close to winning, but I did improve my pool skills overall in South Africa- they seriously love that game!

The next morning after breakfast we set off on a hike to the Mapuzi cliffs and caves. After a long walk we were promised a dip in the natural Jacuzzi. Brill, I thought, my back has been killing me! Well, be warned! This little rock pool cave thing might be Jacuzzi shaped, but it is NOT Jacuzzi temperature! False advertising! I couldn't even get to my waist. Still, we kept on hiking through caves and things, and on our walk back stopped at a local village coming-of-age ceremony for two local boys. They had just returned from two months away, after being circumcised and then sent out into the forest to live off the land. Their return thus confirmed that they are now men and able to get married and so on. The people in the area are the Xhosa people - Nelson Mandela is from there- and our guide Silas grew up there and knows everyone around. He said it was no problem for us to join the party, so we sat down with a few of the mamas (or, the ganja grannies, as all of them were totally high) and the children swarmed us! They were totally adorable, wanting photos of themselves and things. About four little girls were absolutely entranced by my hair and for twenty minutes they stroked it, pulled it, put it up in ponytails. The mamas also passed around the local home brew- an odd tasting beer made out of maize. I thought it was rancid and could barely take a sip but bro (surprise surprise) loved it as did a few other folks, and they promptly drank that dirty old bucket dry!

After leaving the ceremony, we set off back for lunch- toasted sandwiches made over a bonfire on the beach. Then it was time for cliff jumping- eek! The original plan was to do the jumps into the sea, but it was far too rough (phew), so we did them into the river instead. Talk about Jelly Knees!! It took me FOUR tries to actually do the jump (which was pretty high- some large number of metres), but I was one of the few girls to do it and it was a blast!

In the evening, as if we could hike anymore, we climbed a massive hill overlooking the bay to watch the sun go down. It was absolutely beautiful, and a few local mamas were up there selling beads which we bought as it's a great way to support the community. The night continued with another epic game of killer pool, which I expertly botched for the second time, and a few more games of pool with some hammered South African guys called Gus and Adrian. Total loons. I was hanging out with my new friend Klaus from Germany- lovely guy- when Gus comes over to introduce himself and ask where we're from and whatnot. "Ah, Germany," he says to Klaus upon learning his nationality, "Hitler!" Um, what? Klaus and I seriously just stared at him for about a minute. It makes me glad to be continuing to expand my world view, undoubtedly protecting me from walking up to someone in Cambodia and saying, "So, how about that Pol Pot?"

Anywho, the next morning we were up and at 'em for another hike (is there any stopping me??) to the Hole in the Wall, a free standing natural rock formation where the battering waves have created a huge archway. It's really beautiful, and after being dropped off there, we hiked about three hours back to Coffee Shack. Now, you're likely familiar with the African big five- elephant, rhino, lion and so on. Bro and I managed six weeks or so in Africa without seeing one of these, but the villages of the Transkei have their OWN big five, and we couldn't hike more than three minutes without seeing one of these wild and wonderful creatures: pigs, sheep, chickens, horses and goats! At one point during our hike we even walked past Silas' own sheep! However, he told us, if he is to find a wife (and he's 25 so he'd quite like one- he's done his circumcision forest ritual etc.), he needs to have ten cows, for this is what you pay the father of your bride. Until then, it's the bachelor life for him!

For dinner that evening we had a seriously amazing treat. We (those of us staying at Coffee Shack) were invited to dinner in the home of the chief of Silas' village. We walked up there to find the local mamas preparing us traditional food known as 'pap' which, like most things in the area, is made from maize. They were cooking it in huge cauldrons outside their mud huts, but before supper we all piled into the little circular hut (lit only by candles- there's no electricity in the village) for a performance of traditional dancing by the mamas. They had their beads on, faces painted and sticks in hand, and before we knew it we were all up and joining in, traditional headdresses and all! There was a lot of clapping and jumping up and down and just general merriment and celebration just about being alive, I suppose! In those moments I was truly, genuinely, fiercely happy, and the love I was already feeling for the continent of Africa and its people increased hugely. I have but scratched the surface of it and as I've said before, I WILL be back!

After the dancing, we settled down to eat our pap (delish, actually!) and drink more maize beer (still yucky), dance some more and then have a Q&A with the mamas about our lives. They only speak Xhosa (impossible to make sense of, lots of clicking sounds and things), so Silas had to translate, but they wanted to know where we were all from (the UK to the US, Ireland to Israel) and if the young ladies were married (none of us were), and we wanted to know about daily village life and what they hope for the future. It was an incredible exchange, and I felt so privileged to hear the information first hand and be given a glimpse into a life that I really had no concept of before.

After dinner it was back to the hostel for more killer pool (nope, no luck again!) and lots of chatting and travel tale-swapping around the bonfire before bedtime, as in the morning it was back on ye olde Baz Bus!

We set off the next day at the very civilized hour of 11am, headed for Port Elizabeth which is a mandatory stop on the route. We arrived at 10pm and left at 6 the next morning, so I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about PE, but I'm sure it's lovely.

Our next stop was Knysna (silent 'K') where we had two nights planned. It's a beautiful area where there's loads of outdoors-y things to do, but just our luck it absolutely POURED with rain the whole time we were there. Luckily we met another lovely brother/sister team from the UK and we went to the supermarket and the video shop with them and rented a whole bunch of movies! It was actually a nice relaxing time. It was also 'Woman's Day' in South Africa, on which everyone gets a day off work (I KNOW!), so there wasn't much open and happening anyway.

On our last morning in Knysna I managed to fit in a quick hike before the Baz Bus came with a new friend Claire and our guide, Orin. The rain had stopped, and Orin took us on a gorgeous walk through a rainforest and down to a fantastic beach where we scared off a family of baboons (considered a pest in the country- there are loads about, nicking everyone's lunch and whatnot). I was glad to at least see a little bit of the area, especially before another long road trip.

The rest of the day was spent Baz Bus-ing our way to Cape Town, which took about eight hours or so. We were dropped off at a hostel on Long Street, which is THE place to be (it's like Marshall Street or Polk Street or whatever, for those to whom those mean something). After a long day, it was basically dinner and bed, and we were up the next day for a walk around the city- the V&A waterfront, the planetarium, the South African museum. Cape Town is truly beautiful, nestled at the foot of Table Mountain. After a supermarket supper of beans on toast in the evening, it was time for a big night out with more new friends, which culminated in some serious dancefloor action at a bar called Zula. It's possible that the ten of us from the hostel were the only patrons, but with classic 90s tunes like 'California Love' and 'Mo' Money, Mo' Problems' burning up the speakers, what else could we do but jam?!

The next morning we were up (too) early for the hike up Table Mountain. Though I was feeling a bit worse for wear, I powered through the two-and-a-half hour hike up and it was INCREDIBLE! We actually did stop loads to sit and chat (about six of us were walking up) and I probably would have been a bit quicker if my new friend Adam and I weren't lagging so far behind having an intense chat about our favorite books. Anyway, the views were absolutely amazing and after getting up there at about 2pm, we ended up staying the entire rest of the day climbing rocks, eating snacks and all enjoying a drink as we watched the sun start to set before we caught the last cable car down the mountain. That evening I was absolutely exhausted and after a couple of drinks I didn't join the rest of the crew going out for the night, which turned out to be a good decision because the next morning I had the beginnings of a nasty cough and sore throat, but luckily that didn't affect our trip to Robben Island the next morning.

As you probably know, Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela was a prisoner from 1963-1990. It's about a 30-minute ferry ride from Cape Town, and once off the boat we were greeted by another former prisoner who was to be our guide. Itumeleng Makwela was a prisoner from 1983-1990, captured because he was in charge of the miliary wing of the African National Congress (ANC) and knew the location of illegal weapons. 'Itu,' as he's known, first showed us the group cells where 'regular' political prisoners like himself were kept, then the kitchens and then took us to Section B where the leaders were imprisoned, including Mandela. We saw his cell and the place in the wall where he hid the original manuscript for A Long Walk To Freedom. Later on a bus tour of the island we saw the limestone quarry where the prisoners were forced to work each day, but which also became the place for them to discuss and exchange ideas for the future of the country- much of how South Africa is today originated in that quarry. People still live on the island- former prisoners, the staff that keep up the prison as a museum, etc.- so our tour also included a look at the little local school, shops and post office, as well as a stop to look at the great views back to Cape Town.

After our ferry ride back I was coming down with my sickness fast, so after lunch at the waterfront we headed back to the backpackers for a rest. I again wasn't up for a night out, but felt much better the next morning for the LAST DAY WITH THE BROSEPH!!!

We spent our last day together souvenir and gift shopping at the Pan African market, backing up photos on CDs and generally looking for ways to get rid of our Rand! In the evening we treated ourselves to a real slap-up meal- the last supper- and reminisced about all the fabulous things we've seen and done since our journey began in May. I am really missing him, and truly appreciate the time we spent together and am glad he was with me for so much of the fun! Siblings are fab- treasure yours if you have them.

The next morning we were up for a 4am taxi to the airport- I was headed to Jo'burg to meet up with my dear mama for an onward journey to Madagascar, and the bro was New York-bound via Abu Dhabi.*

So, so long mon frère, so long Africa- it won't be long until I see either of you again...

*Happy to report he made it back to Connecticut in one piece after 36 hours in transit!

South Africa Part Dos: Howzit, Bru?!*

Oh my goodness how I love me that Afrikaaner twang! Similar to how other girls swoon over the English thing or the Australian thing, throw me a "Howzit?" (or, "What's up?"), and I'm yours! Sigh.

Ahem. Now, back to business- the Baz Bus. The Baz Bus is a fantastic system of buses (surprise!) designed for backpackers to travel across South Africa in any direction they please in as much or as little time as they like. It's also a fantastic way to meet people. As you might have guessed, we started in Johannesburg with a plan to end in Cape Town by the second week of August. Our first stop from Jo'burg was Amphitheatre in the Northern Drakensberg mountains. It was about a five and a half hour drive, although the bus does stop quite frequently for loo and food breaks and whatnot (more on that later- the Baz Bus is not conducive to eating well!). There's only one hostel in Amphitheatre, and it's really good- gorgeous scenery, a pool (though it's winter in SA, so far too cold for that!), a hot tub, an indoor climbing wall, a massive telly room, a bar that sells beer in wine bottle-size bottles and, perhaps most importantly, super comfy beds! Wow, a huge treat for the hostel-dweller! The only downside is that if you're not out on a day-long tour, there's really NOTHING to do- one can't just take a stroll to the local shops, for example. Luckily we met some great fellow travelers- Phil from London and Jim from somewhere in England by way of Malawi- and started drinking early, entertained until late in the evening by about 15 French teenagers jumping in and out of the hot tub and screaming. Zut alors.

The next morning was an early start for a 12K hike (no, your eyes do not deceive you, yours truly participated) up to the top of the mountains (the Amphitheatre) and the second highest waterfall in the world. It really was a hike too- at one point we had to climb up a gulley, employing any and all hands, knees, etc. we had available with loose rocks cascading down into our faces. What the WHAT, I thought to myself as I panted my way up, We're paying THEM for this?! But soon enough, we reached the top and the views were FANTASTIC. We were above the clouds- I'm pretty sure I've never experienced that before, outside of an aeroplane. From there we walked to the waterfall, merely a trickle during the winter months, but still affording us incredible views, and it was fun to hike through snow in July!

But, if you can believe it, the real fun STILL hadn't started! Now that we were up the mountain, we had to get down, and there's only one way...rusty old iron ladders shackled to the sheer rockface! Straight down! Broseph raced down and was the first to the bottom, of course, but some of the folks on the hike were actually quite nervous about it- it was seriously steep. I was actually quite scared myself and had a serious case of Jelly Knees, but I made it down, saying "One foot, two foot" over and over as each landed on the next rung down. Oh and I DIDN'T look down!

We then had a long hike back to the van, and during our walk back the weather turned from fairly warm and sunny to cold, misty and VERY foggy (and I know fog), so much so that I couldn't see more than two feet-ish in front of me. The group got separated into several chunks and those of us that made it back to the van first were a bit nervous for the welfare of our fellow hikers, but eventually everyone got back and piled in- a shivering bunch of exhausted people! The steak, chips and beer we had for supper that night might have been the yummiest I've ever had.

The next day we got up and packed for our next Baz Bus trip to Durban, about a four-hour drive. Once settled into our hostel, we went out for some dinner and then set about mingling with other guests. We met another brother/sister team- the second in two and a half months!- and a few other interesting folks from the UK and, which has been unusual, the US. One batch of folks went out for a big night, including mon petit frere, but I was exhausted so just stayed in chatting with a few of the locals who hang out at the hostel. I find this funny because I wouldn't consider rolling up to a hostel in San Francisco or New York just to hang out, but maybe I should because hostels are where it's at people!

The particular weekend we were in Durban, the Durban July was taking place, the biggest horse race in the country- even President Zuma was in attendance. We decided we certainly ought to check this out, so in the afternoon we decked ourselves out in our backpacker finery and along with a couple of other travelers walked down to the race track. I've never been to the races, and it was brilliant! Talk about people watching! The theme this year was flowers and most people were fully decked out in giant ball gowns, hats, gloves, the whole bit, all with floral undertones (and in a lot of cases, massive overtones!). We bought a few drinks and whatnot and found a place in the stands with a decent view of the track when the horses thundered past. I didn't place a bet, but I might not have done too badly- the horses I picked just for fun with my new friend Louise actually did all right! In the end we didn't stay for too long as it was a bit of a pain to have nowhere to sit, so we went back to the hostel where my grand plans for a big night out dissolved into an evening of watching E! with Louise. C'est la vie, I guess I needed a rest!

The next day we took a trip to Victoria Market- full of all sorts of knick-knacks and African bits and pieces- which was primarily successful because Bro and I scored a travel adapter for South Africa, which has about nine different types of plugs or something. After that we took a cab with Louise to the beach, which was excellent. People have built some huge sandcastles shaped like animals and people and things- Louise and I took a photo in a sand car! It's also a surfer's paradise, or so I understand- massive waves for miles. We took a leisurely stroll along the waterfront which eventually took us past Durban's World Cup stadium and back to the hostel, where everyone was gearing up for a 'braai' (pronounced 'bry,' essentially a barbeque though a South African will tell you it's very different!). The Baz Bus had also turned up again, and as is its way, we were reunited with people we'd met on earlier legs, such as Sebastiano (this would keep happening for the whole three weeks, with Seb and others). After hot dogs and salad, I finally got my act together to join the gang out for a drink. It was Sunday so things were quiet, but as is the way of the persistent Afrikaaner, a local guy called Matt got a bar to basically reopen for us where we all had a number of beers as a way of thanking the staff for going to the trouble!

The next morning we relocated to another hostel in Durban as I had wanted to be closer to the beach, but this turned out to be pointless as it was really close to where we were originally! We also had a really sketchy guy in our room called Vonda (or something) who I'm sure was on drugs and who definitely nicked my sunny Gs- I had to buy my third pair of the trip! Still, we also met some lovely new people like Sigrid from Venezuela and the two Emmas from England- more folks who would make our time in South Africa even more excellent- so I do think things happen for a reason!

On our last day in Durban we bought a day pass to Ushaka Marine World and a group of us from the hostel had an excellent day out at the aquarium, watching penguins get fed and seals and dolphins perform. I revert to the mindset of someone aged approximately five in these situations, and I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed myself. I almost put my hand up when they asked for volunteers, but would have felt bad robbing an actual five-year-old of that experience!

The next morning it was back on the Baz Bus to Coffee Bay, a highlight of our WHOLE trip so far, so stay tuned...

*In South Africa, it's not 'bro' or 'brah' or 'mate' or 'dude,' it's 'bru' (pronounced 'brew'). As you've likely deduced, "What up bro?" in South Africa is "Howzit bru?"

Waka Waka: I Love South Africa

Don't worry, South Africa, eventually you'll get over the World Cup, like one gets over a short-lived but intense holiday love affair. We walked off the plane in Johannesburg into a giant airport full of FIFA signage, billboards screaming "WELCOME FANS!", the national flags of every participating team...and no people, the World Cup having ended about two weeks before. There was something a bit sad about it, like someone waiting for party guests or a date that doesn't turn up. I almost expected a tumbleweed to blow across the immigration hall.

Once it was confirmed that we hadn't picked up yellow fever in Tanzania (ah, so all those vaccinations WERE worth my life savings!), we found Bob from Bob's Bunkhouse waiting to drive us to the hostel we had booked. Bob's is a great place to stay in Jo'burg- cheap, safe and cozy, as it's basically of extension of Bob and his wife Joan's house. We got settled, met Sebastiano from Milan (who would become a staple of our three weeks in South Africa) and passed out for a nap following our early start in Dar. We spent the afternoon doing supermarket-y, Internet-y sort of errands and in the evening I hit up the pub with Dan and Joe from Israel, in town for business. Lovely guys and we had a great chat, but one topic of conversation stands out in particular: Dan rode a horse across Mongolia. By himself. For two months. Did you catch that? A HORSE. Mongolia. Now, on this journey I have heard some amazing travel stories that are worthy of the 'Ooohs' and 'Aaaahs' and 'Wows!' they elicit from listeners, but this one left me speechless. The trains and planes and buses I've been on suddenly seemed so ordinary, so 21st century! Oh yikes, I thought, should I be on a horse?!

Probably not, I thought the next morning as I got ready for a day trip to the Apartheid museum and the township of Soweto. For starters, my equestrian experience doesn't extend much further than Michael Jackson in Egypt, so probably best we put that idea to bed. So back to Jo'burg... Bob had booked us a day tour with a great guide by the name of Jabu- an extremely jovial local guy who was keen to give us lots of history on the city and surrounding area. He drove us to the Apartheid museum first which was, in a word, intense. It's SUCH recent history, it's difficult to grasp. I would later meet a South African girl, aged 23 or so, who clearly remembers the day her school was integrated to allow black students. Unreal.

After the museum, Jabu took us to the township of Soweto (short for 'Southwestern Township') where we saw the Mandela family house, Winnie Mandela's house and the Hector Pieterson museum, built in remembrance of the events of June 16, 1976. Without writing a whole history lesson, the basics are that on that day, a peaceful student protest against the use of Afrikaans as the official teaching language went horribly wrong, resulting in the death of innocent 13-year-old Hector. It was again very intense and extremely interesting- I felt very educated by the end of the day!

Before heading back to the hostel, Jabu took us to the slum/shanty town area of Soweto where a local guide took us into the home of a resident- literally a corrugated metal structure with no electricity or water, housing 20 family members or something. It was a good eye-opener, especially given how recently apartheid existed in the country, as I mentioned.

The evening was uneventful as we ate supermarket supper, watched telly and packed up for our first trip on the Baz Bus, which is where the fun REALLY begins...

Tanzania: Jambo!

Swahili is definitely the most fun language in the world! Is there a better way to greet someone than to say "Jambo!", or to relax with a "Hakuna matata"? Definitely not.

We arrived in Dar Es Salaam from Addis Ababa after a three-hour delay in Nairobi (during which Kenya Airlines served us a delicious restaurant lunch, so fair play). We were headed to a beach lodge - Mikadi Beach (www.mikadibeach.com - GO THERE!) - just across the water, so after a quick cab ride we literally paid 4 cents to ride the ferry over to Kigamboni. It was getting dark, but we started walking to Mikadi anyway. Lucky for us, a friendly local stopped us and told us we were crazy - we were BOUND to get mugged on the road (more on that later), and so he waved down a tuk-tuk (awesome little three-wheeled cars) which took us safely to Mikadi.

Ah, heaven! We had booked a "banda" (a little thatch wooden hut) right on the beach, and it was absolutely idyllic. We could hear the waves lapping, and were just a few steps from hammocks, beach chairs, the bar. We were REALLY looking forward to just relaxing for a bit as we'd been rushing around cities and things for quite some time, plus bro was still getting over his Ethiopian sickness.

There's not much to say about our first few days at Mikadi, because we LITERALLY didn't move from the beach. It was fantastic, we really needed the rest. We had a great time lounging with more new friends - Nic from the UK, Toby from down the beach, Daani from South Africa, Foster, Haden and Lucas from Zambia/London. We were lucky to have another excellent group of people, especially as it wasn't really safe to leave the beach lodge, which is heavily guarded by Maasai warriors. Back to the mugging thing, an English couple we met who ignored this advice and went for a walk down the beach were mugged at knife point in the middle of the day, losing a camera and some cash. The mugger was nice enough to stop as he ran off and hand back a passport and a credit card, so it wasn't all bad, I suppose!

Things picked up a bit about three days into our six-night stay. We had made friends with Graham, a Zimbabwean who's now one of the part owners of Mikadi Beach. He's an amazing guy and very helpful and hospitable - he'll take excellent care of you while you're at Mikadi. Anyway, one evening he invited a group of us out and drove us down the road to Lulu's, a local haunt. Oh. My. Goodness. WHAT a trip! Lulu's is a bar, run by the most cheerful and friendly Mama Lulu, where locals perform (dancing, tricks, etc.) for tips. There were about 150 people in the audience, seven of them being white (our group), and we were treated to a bizarre show of dancing to traditional African tunes, a Michael Jackson impersonation and some serious shaking and grinding by the female dancers to attract, um, customers! Graham told us that when there are white folks in the audience, the performers put on an extra good show, just in case one of us was a talent scout for some major phenomenon like American Idol or The X Factor. Not this time, I'm afraid, but Lulu's will produce a star yet! We were encouraged to go up to the stage to give the performers a tip, but while doing so the tipper is supposed to do a little performance of his or her own...which I did! I pulled out a classic dance move that many of my contemporaries will be familiar with - the-hand-behind-head-grab-opposite-ankle-with-other-hand-and-bring-knee-and-elbow-together. (Enlighten me, dear readers, if there's a name for this. I think one Mr. D. White might know...) Anyway, I got a MASSIVE round of applause. Trust me folks, I'm HUGE in Tanzania!

A couple of days later we set off from Mikadi Beach for the island of Zanzibar, where we were to meet my dear San Francisco friends Christine and Victor. It was an easy four-hour or so ferry ride across (it can be done in two, but we bought the cheap tickets) and Christine and Victor arrived in Stone Town from their safari trip later in the afternoon. It was AMAZING to see them - I feel so lucky to have friends who would make the effort to come all the way to see me!

Anyway, once we were all settled we went out for dinner at Mercury's. Freddy Mercury was born on Zanzibar, and about ten places claim to be the house where he was born, though no one seems to know for certain! Afterwards we had an early night as we got up early the next day for a spice tour of the island - something Zanzibar is famous for. The tour featured a bus trip with about 20 other people into a forest that we walked through seeing vanilla, cloves, cinnamon, etc. and tasting fresh fruit right off the trees - lychees, starfruit and oranges - delicious. We then had a lunch of rice and vegetable coconut curry - again extremely yummy. (The food has been another amazing element to our journey overall - let's just say I'm in not in QUITE as good physical shape as I was when I left...). After lunch we were taken to see a giant cave where slaves were held after slavery became illegal, but some naughty folks were still up to no good. The caves were right by a beautiful beach, and we were given some time to relax and take in the gorgeous scenery. Zanzibar is absolutely stunning - bright white sand and electric blue water. Another place to travel to NOT with your immediate family - it's far too romantic for that!

After the tour we were dropped off in Stone Town where we went for a stroll and had a drink at the Africa House hotel bar, famous for its incredible sunset views. One drink became several and soon enough we were very peckish so we walked to the nearby seafood market (right up my alley, I know - there was some meat and veg fare, however!) and bargained for some delicious local food on sticks and things. Lovely for the tastebuds, again not so good for, ah, fitting into my clothes!

The next morning we were up early again to take a bus to Kendwa in the northwest of the island, where we had three more days of beach lounging planned. We stayed at a gorgeous place called Kendwa Breezes, where bro and I were lucky to share a giant canopy bed sprinkled with flowers. Like I said, DON'T go to Zanzibar with your brother! Sigh. Regardless, we were right on the beach and Christine and Victor had carted loads of celebrity trash mags over from the States (my guilty pleasure, I admit), so I was in Kardashian/Hilton/Speidi heaven. We spent all of the next three days on the beach, interspersed with some lovely dinners and drinks out, and one particularly memorable evening when Joseph and I stayed out late tearing up the dancefloor with the local Maasai warriors. Very amusing to see these guys in their robes and beads, massive spiked spear thing in one hand, a beer in the other.

After five days with Christine and Victor, I was absolutely distraught to see them leave and sobbed my little eyes out when we saw them off at the airport. It was such a treat to get a little taste of home! After saying goodbye, bro and I spent the rest of the day in Stone Town, shopping for souvenirs and things, before getting back on a ferry to Dar Es Salaam. This time we were on the fast ferry - good thing, as we had heard it could be choppy and I got HORRIBLY sea sick. What a nightmare - I haven't felt that rubbish in a while. Luckily we had booked a decent place to stay (Safari Inn, very good value) in Dar for our last night before heading to South Africa, so I was able to sleep it off.

So, all in all, though I didn't see THAT much of Tanzania overall, what I did get to experience was absolutely fantastic and I'll be back for Kili time* sooner rather than later, no doubt.

As Rafiki most famously said in The Lion King, "Asante sana, squash banana!"


*Kilimanjaro is one of the most popular local Tanzanian beers. It's slogan is "It's Kili time! Make the most of it!" It was "Kili time" regularly during our stay in the country, and we DEFINITELY made the most of it!