There was a man who wanted me to look at his factory. Like all the other men wanting to sell me things, I said 'No thank you. I'm busy.' Then he said 'I can give you free Chai'. This is when I realised that I'm a sucker for their free delicious tea and am thus a very cheap date in India. So into his factory I go and it turns out that he didn't actually want to sell me anything. I think he just appreciated being acknowledged by a foreigner and simply wanted a chat. I was in no rush and so Read more [...]

It’s my first night staying in Jodhpur and since having arrived at 4am, I was able to see plenty during the day. By the time it hit 9pm, I was completely drained. All I wanted was to rest in my double bed, read my book and sleep till the birds awake me with their singing. Unfortunately, this wasn’t as simple of a plan as I originally thought. It hit 10pm and I was reading my book in bed (unclothed obviously, as sleep was my next intention). I then hear knocking on the door of my room. Assuming Read more [...]

Interesting fact of the day.

I have been informed that there was a baby boy which has only just been born within walking distances of my current location.

The reason that I know this is because whenever a boy has been brought into this world, it is Indian culture to make a consistent banging sound on an instrument leaving half a second between each bang. Of course there is no sound when a girl is born. Though that was to be expected.

It has been a shock horror moment when I realised that after having been in India for just over 2 weeks I had yet to try their popular drink, Lassi. I had a special one with saffron and cinnamon. Delicious doesn't even begin to describe it. I looked around to all the others who had gone t the same corner café for the same reasons as me. They seemed so shocked to see me and were all eagerly staring (more than I was used to). I couldn't work out if it was just because I was a white girl in their Read more [...]

I officially have a masters degree in saffron.. Apparently. It’s just a bit of paper from a guy who taught me all about herbs, spices and the delicious teas of India.
I should now be able to detect proper saffron by looking at it, testing it and also tasting it. I just feel sorry for those of my age who are actually having to PAY for their degrees. Plus I genuinely found it very interesting. I might end up returning tomorrow…

Surprisingly I did manage to sleep quite a bit on the bus. The cute little cubbyhole wasn't as uncomfortable as I had expected it to be. Though I was informed of some horror stories and didn't help myself by YouTube-ing videos of other peoples 'interesting' experiences. I even got the cheapest possible ticket so I must have just been lucky. Looks like that whole praying malarkey wasn't such a bad idea after all, eh? I'm now in a lovely little guest house. It's not much to look at from the outside Read more [...]

I'm not afraid or even ashamed to admit that yesterday there was a moment where I felt quite sad for an hour or so. It was the time it took to send a very passionate yet sad email to a dear loved one. A loved one who I miss more than I could have imagined. Those who know me well know that when I feel down I tend to want to go out to a random location (normally alone) and have a drink with random people who I happen to introduce myself to. This has always been my way with coping with sadness in the Read more [...]