Northern India

I ve been now in India for 5 days, and that was not really forcasted. I was going to go down Africa (from Egypt to Madagascar) but i ve found out a litle late that drawing lines on a map is not necressarely a good things to do (depending on your goals).

To make a long story short, i haven t been able to get on a boat on the Suez Canal but i ve found a very cheap air connection to Delhi. So from here i will fly again round trip to Madagascar. Then, even if my bank account is about to screem, i will reach my goals and remain in one piece.

Africa sounded after getting further information like very expensive, very much unsafe (Nairobi) and very tiring. I have to focus a bit more if i don t want to end up stocked for real in a swamp or in the middle of a civil war...

My focus is India and here i am, fresh and really happy to be here. I ve already done a lot. I landed in Delhi, unsure following my previous difficult experience in Bombay 2 years ago and totally paranoid after reading every single possible scam the lonely planet was listing. I flew Cairo to Koweit, which seemes like a very pretty town form the air, to Delhi. I spotted 2 travellers about to get on a cab at the airport and jumped on them to share the cab. No prob. I knew the fare so this taxi driver was not going to fool me, no way! 150 ruppees for 3. No problem, get in the cab. Sounded too easy.

Endeed on the way he stopped to visit his cousin that was running a travel agency. The 2 scandinavian guys got into some deal with him. We reconfirmed the taxi fare and found out that the cab driver wanted 150 each. I got nervous, as i most of the time do (you wouldn t believe i ve survived so many travels if you would see me sometimes!), and when he pushed me, i told him not to. Things heated up and i had to leave the cab. I ve found myself on the side road in the middle of i don t know where, not too proud. I just took another cab and it was fine but i got the lesson (as i ve found out later that 150 each is the regular fare...), i shall allow a middle line sometimes.

Anyway, the guest house was very cheap and very enjoyable. The dorm with 14 beds easily make it possible to talk to people. In fact 24 hours later, everybody knew everybody. People arriving and some living. I heard the first stories of trips and got really excited to go for it myself. But before i will go to Madagascar, which sounds different but as good to my ears. I shopped around for air fares and found out they were very expensive, way up what i was thinking. No competition on Delhi-Mauritius-Delhi. I spent another day with a girl from Yougoslavia which had a very strange story. She lives by selling painting in Athenes that she sells doors to doors. I went with her in the suburb of Delhi to the factory and she did her shopping. The guy is managing in two floors 60 "artists" ranging from 10yo to 25yo maybe. He seems like doing good business with connections pretty much worldwide. He was a fervent boudhist activist and gave Tamara a couple of books and to me a couple of addresses whereto do some Vipassana, the technic of meditation of Budha, retreats.

Back to Delhi, i ve decided to take my chance for a cheaper flight from Bombay. 22hours on the train later, here i am, staying at the same odd guesthouse, "The Salvation Army" that every low budget traveller going to bombay knows. There i met Laxman, a real cool Indian guy now living in Paris with his french wife. This guy is the happiest man on earth and seems madly in love. He used to be a tourist guide in Bombay. As we got along, he showed me around with proper comments. We laughed all day and he is now waiting for me to go for dinner. Air fares are the same price from here so ill have to make up my mind, tommorrow morning probably. I will fly to Mada on the 21st of November and will be back in Bombay on the 4th of January. Tomorrow i will head to the temple that the Artist' factory' guy gave me. It is not even listed in the lonely planet and i heard good words about it so far. It is free for a 10 days course in English. The site is in the jungle, 3 hours from Bombay. I shall be out of the net till the 20th then.

Bombay looks better than the first time. The heat, the smells remind me so much of Bangkok with more beggers on the streets. The remains of the british colonisation are everywhere downtown which gives a lot of character to the city. I kind of like it. I've started learning the useful words in Hindi with Laxman today. I really got to go for my dinner on the seashore, showpatty.

Kiss you all, don't stay so silent. It really warms up to have news.

Antoine