Aurangabad- Delhi

After Hydrabad I went to a city close to the Ajanta and Ellora caves called Aurangabad. Aurangabad was not so interesting itself. It is a fairly big town surrounded by lots of fields. The hostel I stayed in was great, but the manager was a cranky old guy, who wanted things done only the way he wanted, even if it made no sense to anyone else. He got upset if I did not take breakfast in the hostel. Though he was actually quite a sweet man underneath it all.

The girl in my dorm was off to the caves, so I joined her. The cave carvings were wonderful. A mix of Jain, Hindu and Buddhist carvings and sculptures. The caves were full of bats too, which scared me at times. Suddenly they would all just fly around. It was exhausting in the heat looking at the caves. We had to climb so many stairs and I think they would have been better after the monsoon as the river was totally dry.

The carvings were spectacular. I do not know how they have remand to be in such a great condition with the heavy rains that happen in India. The detail and precision of the craftsmanship was amazing.

I needed to make my way to Mumbai to meet some friends. Thought I would break up the long journey and stop in a town called Nasik. The guide book recommended it as it is one of the holy sights in India. When I got there, I would not agree with this. The landscape was interesting, but the town itself seemed to be like anywhere else. My expectations were too high. I went to have a walk by the river, and it was full with activity. People were bathing, doing laundry, buffalo's were taking a soak and more besides. A huge market and a few temples surrounded this part of the river too. The temples were unusual as they were made from black stone.

Then I made my onward journey to meet up with Greg and his teacher friends, and soon I was off to Kochin. It felt like a long journey to get to Kochin. We stayed in two bungalows on the beach. The two guys had one and the three girls had the other. For me it was great to have magazines, and make up and a hair dryer and hair straighteners. I loved looking through all the gossip magazines that the girls had brought over.

The two weeks in Kochin just flew by. We drunk beer on the beach. Everyone, except me enjoyed watching the lightning, which was amazing. One morning we went to the elephant sanctuary and had a cuddle with some elephants. We also took a boat out on the back waters. We played a lot in the sea and cycled around town. It was very relaxing and so beautiful. Lots of palm trees. Warm sea water. Great food and a little bit to drink. I had not drunk beer for quite a while and felt very drunk after just one bottle. It was great to be around friends and relax.

We headed back to Mumbai and spent a few days there in a lovely hotel. Went to have a look at the Taj Mahal Hotel and shopped a bit around Mumbai. We attempted to dance Indian style in one of the bars. I really enjoyed Mumbai and preferred it to Delhi.

I found it sad saying goodbye to everyone and realised I was really missing home. I really wanted to be around people I know and places that know. The heat was getting too much for me, so I decided to catch my train to Delhi instead of where I had planned and moved my flight to come home a few weeks early. So I am now back in the UK.