namaste kathmandu!

in my previous diatribes i know that I wrote that I was to fly to nepal. but no, as it turned out there were no direct flights from varanasi to nepal until next month. so, i have just arrived in kathmandu [last night late] after an endurance 22 hour train – bus – bus journey [...]

the end of india

im into my 6th and final week here, and to tell you the truth im a bit over it – the constant hassles from the complete morons that are indian men in general, the constant beeping of traffic horns at all hours of the day and night, and people shitting in the street. but only [...]

a royal experience

ajay singh shekawat, my poorly spoken english “guide” in the shekawati region, known for its stunningly painted old mansions [havelis], was a direct descendant of the royal family. he lived in a fort. it was an ancient and slowly decaying one in a small village surrounded by fields, but was still a fort.
as part of [...]

bollywood

bloody hell i just wrote a long paragraph about bollywood film and then saved it and now its gone.
im leaving this damn internet cafe.
…
having now lost any inclination to discuss bollywood film, i just want to say that there is a famous actor in bollywood who has six [6!] fingers. i saw the 6 digits with my [...]

billion star hotel

“so where is the billion star hotel?” we asked the brown skinned man dressed in a turban, dhoti trousers and tunic, all white, typical of Jaisalmerian desert camel men.
“my friend”, he said, wobbling his head and pointing to the sky, “my hotel is the desert”.  
we finally got the joke.
….
feeling a bit tender in the arse [...]

overnight transport

SUCKS
i took an overnight train from jodhpur [the blue city]  to jaisalmer [the camel safari city] and i woke up covered in dust and sweat.
i have since showered and had some coffee so i feel halfway decent…but i am sure that I made a promise never to take overnight transport ever again after a painful bus [...]

shantaram

has anyone read this book?
if not, it is a highly recommended read for anyone who has travelled to india or is thinking of doing it.
it was given to me in two halves of the 900 or so pages [think bible size] by a friendly australian couple, whose names I do not know, and i have since [...]

chai

i am currently at this hilltop station in southern rajasthan called Mt Abu. there is a thick mist covering the town, so, even though it is almost midday I can’t do anything as I can’t see more than 2 metres in front of me. so I have been drinking chai all morning. in fact I have been drinking [...]

this is what really happened

dear adele, scott, sarah and max
quite contrary to your wildly concocted scenarios of me being:
1. the decoy for a large drug/arms smuggling syndicate our of udaipur;or
2. a white girl trophy on the back of a local dude’s bike, doing laps around the town under the guise of a ‘long trip’
here is the real story of [...]

chapati plate in melbourne?

dont laugh, but yesterday I did an indian cooking course. it was taught by sushma, whose credentials include a featre in german vogue, plus a husband who has cooked for a french president [though it couldve been a PM].
recipes and pictures to follow [palak paneer, dal, chai masala] when i have time to transcribe my [...]