Coming home

After a positive start in Varanasi with Rich and the cool Dutch guys, I hit my India travel wall. Spent the afternoon cruising the Ganges in a boat, very chilled, looking forward to all the things I had planned for Delhi and Punjab, but it was not to be.

Went out to dinner that night, had a bite of stone cold paneer, and instantly did not feel well. At 2am when I was vomiting water in our hotel room I was pretty certain I had been hit with food poisoning, after 7 weeks of lovely health. Amazingly Rich didn't wake up as I was running to-and-fro all night to the loo cursing quite heavily each time. He was so good in the day though, got me water and medication, packed my bag, and pretty much carried me to the train that night when I decided I couldn't bare to stay in Varanasi on my own when sick. Still a bit ill in Delhi the next day but thought I was getting better. Managed to go back to SBT and see some of the kids again which was so so so wonderful just to high5 them again and have them take the piss out of my Hindi. Lovely lovely.

Terribly sick at 6am so went to the doctors at 11am (when he finally arrived..) to get some antibiotics and after seeing that I couldn't get another train up to Punjab to meet Dave's friends (I had missed mine at 8am because couldn't really get up properly) either today or tomorrow I decided that going home is what I needed to do. 3 more days in Delhi and then flying to Mumbai for 2 days there just filled me with dread.. not what I came to India for!!

Absolutely gutted I can't complete my trip, but I am just not well enough and don't want to arrive home even worse with the stress of booking another overnight train and staying alone in this city. Had such an amazing first month with the other volunteers and the kids and I know when I look back that is what I will remember. That plus everything in Amritsar and kite flying in Jaipur. Definite highlights. And the boat trip in Varanasi. And the cooking class in Udaipur - that woman's kitchen was immaculate!! Watching a million cricket games as we slowly went past on a heavily delayed trains, being cornered on my 2nd day in the bathroom by so many women wanting to talk to me, monkeys on the way to Udaipur on a bus that was constantly on the edge of the mountain road, being blocked by men selling shawls in Jaipur and laughing about it with the ever bickering Kiwis, my first sunset in the desert where the sky turned deep red and purple then lit up completely as every single star came out, riding a motorbike with my backpack and only almost falling off twice, feeling more sad than I ever thought I could at saying goodbye to a few people I had known for such a small period of time, and already planning my next trip back, even as I squat at 4am getting cramps in my feet with a door that doesn't shut properly and a light that only works occasionally..

I am really glad to be coming home to the warmer weather, working showers and people who don't want to talk to me all the time.. but India has just been the perfect way to spend my short break between uni and work and even with all the crap (yes, literally), it has just been a wonderful wonderful experience and I really don't feel that my words can even come close to expressing how I feel about this country and its people.

But that's it for me now.. see you soon I guess? xxxxxxxxxxx