And it begins....

So a week before I was leaving me and the family had a nice meal in town together because obviously I wouldn't be seeing them for a while.And the day after that me and my friends had abit of a get together at our local Indian restaurant then onto a bar called B52s as a leaving do,many people came,and I was rather taken back at the friends I had made over the years,some recent and some old.All in all both nights made me realise what great friends and family I have.

So the last week went rather first,and it was hitting home that I wasn't going to see people for quite some time,pretty scary stuff to have to deal with especially as I was going to be alone.I was also rushing around like a tit trying to see everyone that I couldn't see on that night out.My b

My bags were packed,jabs were done and the day I left the UK was 28th of July,my Mam came to the airport to wave me goodbye,this was it I was entering the big bad world on my lonesome.

I arrived in Mumbai on the Sunday morning at 4.30am,I had pre booked a hostel and they picked me up from the airport.I shared the car from the airport with an American guy called Jesse,who later became my travelling buddy for a week.We arrived at the hostel and I went straight to bed,as I hadn't slept on the plane over because I was sat next to a big Indian guy who wouldn't stop snoring.I got up sometime in the evening along with Jesse and we had some Indian food from a local,which was hot but packed with flavour.The guy at the hostel then gave me his mobile and on the other end was some guy asking me if I wanted to be in a Bollywood film as an extra and he would pay me 500 rupees for a days work.Pretty surreal for the first day don't you think.Anyway me and Jesse,and another guy called Callum who was from Windsor decided to give it a shot.

We arrived at the studio and was ushered into a couple of dressing rooms where we were told to change into these god awful 80's style clothes,which looked like they had seen better days.We changed and were told to sit down on the floor.Watching all the other extras come in and out,it was a rub your eyes moment,as in am I actually fucking doing this on my second day in India?!

About an hour or two passed and we were all moved onto the film set,it was looked like a cheesey Arabian nightclub with flashing lights on the floor.There was about 15 western dancer girls and about 100 extras,and this one Indian dancer who looked really famous.So the filming began,we were told to dance around these girls,take after take and the directors and choreographers shouting silence and shhh all the time.Anyway about 4 hours in and we went for a break and had lunch.None of us knew how long this would last,and us three were getting tired and tedious of all the stops and starts.So we asked one of the guys how long it was for,and they said till 10pm,meaning it was for 12 hours,fuck that.So we left and didn't receive our 500 rupees.But later on we had manage to find out it was for a major Indian Bollywood film called 'Race 2'.

So the next day we did a few more things other then dance around to some shit beat for hours.We went to the biggest slums in India and took a tour of it,learnt so many things what they do like recycling,sanitation (there is none) and how hard it is to live there.In Mumbai alone there is 29 million people,and 8 million of them are unregistered,and 1 million of those live in this slum.It was pretty tough for me to see,especially on my 3rd day in India.But we felt we had to do it.The money the guides received went on programs and education for people in the slums.We then visited a place called Borivali National park,which had a Hindu temple that was over 2,500 years old in cased into the rocks.It was such a lovely and tranquil place,until the monkeys arrived and we were ushered out for our own safety,they looked fierce and mischievous.

We took the famous Mumbai trains too,which was an experience.We got on the train and just thought we would stand anywhere.Until we were literally squished to kingdom come with all the people getting on,then a mans voice shouted over get to the sides,which to me was impossible but he kept shouting at me.I proceeded to squeeze over only to be crushed against the railings,getting my body in positions I didn't think were possible.I looked infront of me to see one single eye staring at me beneath all the people,whoever that man was I felt sorry for him.On Mumbai trains the women and men are in separate carts, and it showed,the mens carriage was overcrowded,smelly and had no organisation,while the womens was spacious,rather clean and had a system where the people wanting to get off sooner go to the front. After a few days in Mumbai I felt very claustrophobic on the streets,there were no rules to the roads,just every man for himself,and however many people you can fit into a car or on a motorbike,I have never seen traffic like it.You began to breath in the stench of putrid smoke,and as someone who used to have asthma it was really getting to me.
I gained two travelling buddies while in Mumbai,Jesse who was from San Diego,America and Callum who was from Windsor,UK.

So next stop Udaipur.We arrived on a bus and got a rickshaw to a guest house we had heard about called Lal Ghat.It had a rooftop that overlooked Pichola lake.After being in Mumbai it seemed ideal.We took a stroll round the city to get a feel what its like and what there was to do.In the space of a couple of hours we were getting harassed everywhere from market stalls asking us where we were from,and to go into there shop,and then from rickshaw drivers asking us if we wanted to be taken anywhere or if we wanted joints.After a while it became really annoying,so we began to play games with them,just as the guidebooks say.Like if they asked where we came from I'd say Jamaica,my name was Bob Marley and I recorded a song once called 'One Love'.It didn't really work but it put smiles on our faces nevertheless.

Udaipur had two palaces,Monsoon palace which was abit run down but had the most amazing view of the city,and another called City Palace,which was incredibly large and took 2 hours to walk around.
For food we went to a few restaurants and met a chinese girl who we invited to dinner.After a while in this city we realised the food wasn't very nice and tasted rather bland even if we asked for it spicy.We then stumbled across a rooftop restaurant which when we asked for spicy they meant it,and the flavours were the best yet.
We decided we wanted abit of the desert so we went to Jaisalmer which is about 40km from the Pakistan border.We arranged for 3 day and 2 nights trek on a camel safari.We met our guide who was called Saleem on the side of the road,and he put a bright orange turban on our head,I thought it was a bit gimmicky but it did help prevent sunburn on my neck.Our first day was fun,we rode the camels ourselves and we camped on some sand dunes under some stars with a fire burning and food cooking away.Saleem told stories that he had been involved in over the years,one for instance was that the company we booked our camel safari used to be drug smugglers over the Pakistan border,that was until India and Pakistan put a huge electric fence up and guarded it with security,there goes that line of business,so they were now involved in things more legit.We slept on nothing more then a blanket and completely open to the wilderness.
Day two was rather eventful to say the least.We packed up everything and began our trek on the camels,but my camel decided to go down a steep slope (I had no control) and because it had over 200kg of weight on its back,not including me,it fell and all the weight was on its neck.It was running around the desert with me clinging on its back until Saleem stopped it,I managed to fall off it into a thorn bush.My camel was rather pissed off at me and I was very dubious at getting back on.I nervously got back on and we were on our way.Day two and the heavens opened,it was such a relief in the searing heat to have something cold wash over you.Our last night on the sand dunes and for some reason this one was covered in dung beetles and grasshoppers.And I had my two beers that were thrown into the deal that we had gotten.The first taste of beer was bliss,and to drink it in the most surreal spot I have ever been was an experience none of us will forget.
Our last day on the camels was a long one,and I had such bad sores on my ass and thighs from the camel that in the end I decided to walk it,just to give my legs  a break.Walking was nice,but I was running out of water fast.I decided to jump back on as the heat was getting to me,a couple of hours later we arrived and I was practically hanging off the camel at exhaustion,they made us food and gave us water.After that 3 day trek I can honestly say before that I took water for granted and you never realise how valuable it is,that is a lesson I learned,especially as back home water is available freely from a tap.

Next stop was New Delhi,we took a 19 hour train ride from Jaisalmer on a really crowded train,we felt like sardines.The Hostel we stayed at was called 'Youth Hostel' which it was far from.The whole place was like a huge office building.The receptionist was like she had been there for years,and every day was a bore.The canteen area looked like it was taken from a school in the 1990s.If you know me,you know I ask too many questions,and I worry about things.So I was asking the receptionist all kinds of questions,which any normal traveller would do,like where is the nearest ATM,or how much for an rickshaw into the centre etc.But she looked at me like 'Oh for fuck sake him again'.She never smiled at me once or made me feel welcome.And to be ironic above her were welcoming messages,which were a gimmick.The one above her head read 'Just keep smiling'.HA! This hostel seemed like a place for conferences and meetings,it had no atmosphere and didn't seem like it wanted to help anyone.
We did the whole touristy thing,visited all the Forts and Mahatma Gandhis Museum which was just incredible to walk around.It showed his life in photos and his messages,and had actual objects that he owned,like the walking stick he used in the Salt March,and the very blood stained clothes he wore when he was shot in.I had knew who Gandhi but never really understood what he did,until I read his Biography by Lewis Fischer.Gandhi was a man of the people,no matter where you were from,he was more god like then anyone of this time,if only he was around today.
We also visited the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's(no relation) memorial and home.I didn't really know who she was but apparently she was a tyrant and ordered the mass killings of many Sikhs at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984,which is why a Sikh man on our bus refused to go in.We stood in the very spot that she was shot,which was rather morbid but powerful to see.
My next stop was to be on my own now as the other lads went there separate ways.I travelled by plane to the north to a place called Srinagar,which is in Kashmir.I arrived on the 12th of August,I was greeted by a tall,old man who looked like he was some sort of religious scholar.He took me too my guesthouse,which was a boat on Dal Lake.It just looked amazing,and I had to rub my eyes to believe what I was seeing.A lake filled with house boats,lillys and mini taxi boats like the ones in Venice.I had my first meal which was made by the family,it was a kind of Indian curry that had goats cheese and potato,which was incredibly flavoursome and tasty.My first day was to just chill out and read my Gandhi book,and watch a bit of tv,after a days travel it was just bliss.That night I met two Irish girls called Mags and Caitriona who had been there for a day already,they seemed very nice and welcoming,and very chatty.The old man from before who had taken me to the boat,came in and we got talking about Kashmir as the two Irish girls earlier on tried to go into the town on there own,but for some reason the guys who worked there all refused,because apparently it was dangerous to go on your own.Supposedly a few years back a Chinese girl had done the same and wandered off,and got lost,she ended up face down in the lake.The old man talked for about an hour and a half about how Kashmir were striving for Independance and how nobody was going to celebrate Indias own Indepence on the 15th of August.He said Kashmir is wanted by China,Pakistan and India,all chomping at the bit to own it.It was really interesting to hear the history and why they wanted independance.
We had our evening at the little table at the front of the boat.Everything was going nicely till Caitriona jumped up and ran to her room,Mags says to her 'your friend is back',I was oblivious to what had happend.Then a mouse ran across the room,then another.It seems we had guests.They didn't bother me at all apart from a couple of times running under my feet.The next day we took a jeep up to a garden,which was just the most amazing place just below the mountains.A place I would be happy to get lost in a book with a few beers.The next day I was on my own again,and the young lad took me about 75 miles on a trek up the mountains,I didn't quite realise how hard it was to breathe up there,I was puffing away like a chimney.All over Kashmir I began to smell weed,literally everywhere and I was puzzled why.
Those 4 days we had been taken to a few carpet shops,jewellers and other random shops,and I realised they all knew each other and would get commision from each sale.So I wanted to leave as I felt it was dishonest.After telling the old man I wanted to leave he began to pressure me to buy things or go places,and he didn't seem nice about it.So I decided just say no and get out asap,I took an expensive jeep to Jammu where I was now on my own but safe to do things on my own.
I arrived at the first hostel,which was out of my budget,so I went to the next one and it was more my price range....but it was probably the worst looking hostel I have ever stayed at.There were monkeys in the courtyard,and it looked extremely run down,my bathroom light didn't work and there was a huge hole above the toilet,which I thought a monkey might come down and explore the new smells late at night in my room,so I made sure the door was locked at night.The plugs were hanging out the walls and the young boy downstairs needed to take my passport a few streets away for it to be copied,I stayed downstairs while this happend,bricking it that it would become 'lost'.My passport came back safe and sound and the young man was nice enough to go round the corner to get me some food,I ate it behind the desk at the reception with the  deputy manager.He told me stories about the guests he had over the years,and we talked about what I did in the UK.About 20 minutes later he got a phone call asking what I was doing behind the reception,nothing harmless of course,to which a grumpy looking man approached him and took him outside,it seems he didn't like me being friendly to him and told me to go to my room.I stayed in my room until the morning and left 7am to get a bus to Dharamshala,or so I thought.
I arrived at the bus station and after an hour of asking there was no bus to Dharamshala,or if there was nobody was telling me.I turned to a travel agent where he said there wasn't any bus.So I decided to get the 10.45am bus to Amritsar.The time came for me to get on the bus and it wasn't moving at all,so I got off to which I was told it won't leave till 2.30pm as not enough people had bought tickets,great! So I went back to the travel agent and slept in his backroom for a couple of hours.I got on the bus and sat next to a young Sikh man,his name was Harry.For about 6 hours we talked about everything,life,what we were doing,music,football.He was a Chelsea fan even though on his phone he had a photo of him in a Manchester United shirt.Harry was really nice to talk to,and advised me on where to go in Amritsar.On the bus journey I began to smell weed again,and it was alot stronger then before.The bus stopped and I looked to my left,I saw what looked like any normal bush,well it turned out to be weed,grown completely naturally everywhere.For about 400 miles bush after bush was just weed,I took a few photos as I was stunned to see it.It seemed a drug that is illegal most places around the world is grown naturally here,and nobody bats an eyelid.
I got off the coach in Amritsar to be greeted by swarms of rickshaw drivers asking me what hostel to go to,where to go etc.In the end I shouted for them go away from me,it's not nice being greeted like that,especially after just waking up.I arrived at the first hostel that looked nice,done deal.The hostel manager looked really grumpy,and seems like he's been doing it for years,and takes no shit.The next day I went to explore abit,I went to Jallianwala Bagh which was the place in 1919 where the British massacred and wounded thousands of innocent men,women and children.General Dyer took Nepalese troops into a small alleyway where there were thousands of Indians holding a meeting in a field with a well,meetings were banned at that time for some reason.General Dyer then ordered the troops to fire at will at the defenceless people without any warning.And hundreds of those people jumped in the deep well to escape the gunfire,those people didn't survive either.After the massacre General Dyer was asked by the British court if he was able to take tanks into the narrow alleyway would he have dispersed them,his reply was'Probably yes I would of'.Sometimes I'am ashamed of what the British had done.As you enter Jallianwala Bagh you are greeted by a small triangular stone that says 'This is the point where the troops were ordered to fire',it was spine tingling for me.Walking around everyone was silent and very respectful.At the back there was a sign that said 'Bullet holes'.There was numerous bullet holes still in the wall,which was just heartbreaking to see.

Onwards to the Golden Temple.I was given a orange clothe that had to be worn over my head,everyone had to wear one when entering the temple,and remove your shoes and walk through a shallow cold bath that I think was meant to cleanse you.Walking around the temple it felt an incredibly holy place,there was a huge man made lake in the centre where the males and children would strip off to there undies and bath in the water.In the centre was a giant palace that at the top was made of solid gold,a tiny weeny bit of me was sceptical in a way that India has such a huge poverty gap,but yet they have a palace made entirely of gold...but I suppose it brought it alot of tourism and wealth aswell.

I got back to the hostel to be greeted by many people in the dining room,but for about an 2 hours I was sat on my own and nobody talked to me,the hostel felt lifeless.Then a young lady sat across to me and she seemed on her own too.So I plucked up the courage to ask her if there was anywhere to eat around Amritsar,she said she knew of a place around the corner that had AC,so I asked if she would like to join,she said yes.Finally someone friendly!
Britt and I spent the evening at some restaurant that felt like a freezer inside.It turned out she was really nice girl from Chicago that had done some studying in Mumbai,as she was a social worker India seemed the ideal place for her.So the next day we spent just exploring abit more of Amritsar,taking lots of photos of locals,and random strangers just coming up to us saying hello and shaking hands.So I asked Britt if she would like someone to travel with for a while,as I had no schedule and no real plan apart from go with the flow and just say yes to things.She accepted and we were on our way to Bikaner.