One month in.....

So having been away for over a month now, i've had some time in Thailand to think about my trip in India. It's still one of those raw countries where you can have a proper backpacking adventure, but definitely not for the feint hearted.Looking back at it all, now that i've recovered from the Delhi Belly, this is my top tip. Book your train tickets in England before you travel. There are only 3 or 4 places that can do it for you (the India train booking system is a nightmare and requires you to have an Indian SIM card/number to book!), but i found India Rail who are based in Wembley to be really helpful. It's basically just a guy in a office that knows every train timetable in India off by heart. His dad use to be a train driver in India, then moved to England when he retired and set up this business. He's known as the 'Train Brain' and has won a few awards too. Needless to say, he's a bit of a geek, but, if you're after some advice on a decent route and need some pre-booked train tickets for India or Nepal, this is your guy!

10 Things i didn't know about India

1. Expect to get woken up at sunrise by the call to morning prayers from the local Mosque. Even though the majority of India's population is Hindi, there is a large amount of Muslims living in the country too.
2. They spell the word 'Quality' as 'Kwality'....amusing
3. Some marketing genius at Cadbury has come up with the plan to brand dairy milk as dairy milk silk in India. Due to the heat all over the country and the lack of refrigeration, 99% of chocolate you'll find has already melted. Cadburys have simply sold their melted chocolate as 'silky chocolate' and the Indians love it! Genius!
4. There are often power cuts or no power at all. This is very annoying!!! Thanks for the head torch Caz!
5. Almost every Indian who can speak a little English wants to talk with you. If they can't talk English  they just stare and smile....and stare some more.....then try and take a sneaky picture of you.
6. They all ask if they can see your money....this means, do i have a coin or note from England (or dollars!). They'll often accept £/$/EUR instead of rupees, as to them, it's has not only a higher monetary value, but novelty value too. Best keep a few pennies in a spare pocket and not the pocket that has your wad of cash and passport in it!
7. The first class sleeper cabins on the trains (AC1) are the equivalent of 2 bunk beds in a caravan. Cross your fingers you don't get a snorer. 
8. Almost all regions of India have their own separate language. Then comes English, followed by Hindi. Most Indians from different parts of the country will converse in English and there's a big push to use the language more and more, in place of Hindi.
9. Pepsi is their cola of choice and Dominos Pizza can be found quite easily, even in small towns. 
10. The airports won't let you enter the building until 4 hours before your flight (bring paperwork, they hate e-tickets), so for those of you wanting to bag drop having checked in on-line early, so that you can relax departure side and have a fresh shower in one of the lounges, forget about it. They don't even let you departure side until 2 hours before your flight. So by the time you go through the slow immigration and then security, you've only got time to grab a quick bite to eat, then your plane is called for boarding! If the Mumbai departure lounge is turning a profit, i'll eat my hat.

So, would i visit India again? Probably, yes, but i'd be more likely to visit the south west (Kerala) and just work my way up and down the coast from Mumbai. It's a mad country, but there is loads to see and do if you're up for a challenge!

Speaking of challenges, i'm now in Thailand and have started week 3 of my Muay Thai boxing and Krav Maga training. I'm mostly at the camp in Pattaya, or at the pool.....or beach. Or in bar :) So, with 2 weeks left to go, i need to knuckle down and skip the late nights (i was corrupted by Jason the Auzzie!) and make the most of my time here. We train in the morning from 8:30 till 10. This involves a warm up of stretching, skipping, optional weights, but compulsory jumping on a big tyre! You then have a one to one session with one of the trainers in the ring for as long as you can last. Normally it's 3 'rounds' over 10 > 15 minutes. It's a repetition of jabs, punches, knees, blocks and kicks. As i've been here for 2 weeks now, the trainers are starting to spar back by trying to trip me when i kick the pads for example. This teaches you to get you feet in the correct position very quickly, trust me! In the evening, we start around 17:30 and go through till about 20:00. It's the same drill as the morning, plus a technique class where we learn to put all the moves together and circuit training with the punch bags. The camp has about 15 people here at the minute with a constant stream of new arrivals every few days. There are French, Polish, Russians, Auzzies and Italians. The Italian guy that owns the place is the current (2012) Muay Thai world champion! He also dabbles in some MMA too ..... that's Mixed Martial Arts for those of you wondering. All of his trainers that teach us are either ex or current fighters. There was a fight night at the local stadium last week, so we got the chance to see both Christian and Simone in action.

Both fights were won by KO by the guys from Kombat Group (the place i'm training at) against the Thai locals, so it's reassuring to know i'm training and learning from the best! I'll post the results of my 4 weeks hard work when all the bruising goes down a little!

Week 2: Historic India

So, lets pick up where i left off last time, Mysore. The second largest city in the state of Karnataka, Mysore is also the former capital of the Kingdom of Mysore. Basically, it's a very historic city, near a big hill, with lots of old places in and around it......and it has a massive Cathedral too!

Basking in 34 degrees heat, i lashed on the factor 30 (i already have the X Factor) grabbed my camera and hit the streets of Mysore for the day. I was heading towards the main palace and about to go in when a local guy recommended i hold off my visit till later that evening, as it would be much cheaper to get in and they were having a party too! He insisted that i head to the Spice Market instead, flagged down a tuc tuc, shouted at the guy to not rip me off and told me that he'd take me there for 20 rupees (24p!) and look after me. I ran the situation though my 'scam' analyser, but it all seemed fairly genuine, so off i went to the spice market. The tuc tuc driver took me around the market explaining everything that happens there to me (they sell spices!). I got the chance to take loads of pictures as everyone was very welcoming and are always interested to see a white person!

The Ginger and Chilli Lady, this is all she sells!

Next door to the Spice Market is the meat market.....i say market....it's more like a farm!

After the market tour, we headed back to the tuc tuc and on the way, i saw a beautiful old car, called an Ambassador, based on the British Morris Oxford Series III from 1957. The owner was a very nice Muslim guy and was ecstatic that i'd given his car the thumbs up! His mum bought it in 1957 direct from the dealership and when she died, it passed to him.

So, off we headed to the incense factory. They extract oils from loads of different plants and flowers and make loads of joss sticks too. One lady working for 10 hours can produce around 8000 joss sticks a day, that's over 13 a minute people! They cut bamboo into thin strips, then make a putty with resin, mixing in the desired scent. The old lady, then takes this putty and rolls it with the bamboo stick. After they dry a bit, they then get coloured as per the scent, so red for rose etc. 

After the factory tour (having been offered loads of things to buy, so the tuc tuc driver could claim his backhander), we headed up Chamundi Hill on the edge of the city. The views are fantastic and you can see for miles. Mysore is quite a well off town. They breed race horses and have a track in the area too. They even have a supermarket which was awesome to find!!! So, up the hill are 3 sacred temples.

Once you've see one, i think they're all pretty similar and non Indian tourists are charged a fortune (£3) to get in, so i just had a look around the outside where i came across this cow.

The previous night, there was a festival that they celebrate in the north of the country call Holi (the festival of colours), but some people celebrate it in the south too. They grab a hand full of turmeric and sandalwood powder or other syntheticly mixed colour powder and throw it at each other. I think this poor cow hadn't seen what was coming!

So, after a few pictures of me in the tuc tuc, it was back to base for food and a siesta, before heading off to the palace for sunset.

The party turned out to be a light party, where you sit in the grounds and watch as they tell a story (in Hindi) just after sunset, and light up the part of the palace it's related to. The light show was done very well, but dragged on a bit!

It was here i bumped into Juan Pablo and Isobella from Chile. They offered me a lift on their pre-booked horse and cart to a bar recommended in the Lonely Planet guide.....how could i refuse! A few beers later, and with some good tips for Chile under my belt, we decided to take a break from Indian cuisine as JP and myself had both spotted the US Pizza place on the way to the bar! 

The next day, i was off in the afternoon, back to Bangalore  so just had a wonder around the local area in Mysore before i left. Back in Bangalore station, i got my next connection which was the Hampi Express to Hospet. Everyone i'd spoken too was raving about Hampi, so i was looking forward to getting there and having a look around. It was a night train, so off i went to sleep. I say sleep, it was more like a sweaty doze, as it turns out, i'd caught something.....the dreaded Delhi Belly!!

In Hospet, i got a rickshaw straight to Hampi and found somewhere to stay for 2 nights. The first day was spent in bed, which is fairly similar to my second day too. I did bump into a nice Irish coulpe Rich and Kat when popping out to buy water who were also staying in the same guest house as me. Rich asked if i wanted to watch the Liverpool Game, so i jumped at the chance to have some company as the telly in their room was on the blink.

Still not 100%, on my 3rd and final day in Hampi, i got a rickshaw to whizz me round the top sights to see in 2 hours i had before my next train.

I can see why people like Hampi and am gutted that i didn't have more time to go exploring around it on a bike. Alas, i had to head for my next train to start my massive 20 hour trip back to Mumbai. India has been a real eye opener for me. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming. It has some great places to visit and see, but it's a poor country in many ways too. Litter and rubbish is a big issue, as is basic needs like electricity. An experience none the less!

I'm now in Thailand and have arrived at my Muay Thai boxing training camp where i'll spend the next 4 weeks improving my fitness and getting some Krav Maga self defence training too! Watch this space :)