Hot New Route

The locals have noticed the heat. I’ve noticed the heat. In a matter of days the temperature has risen to 32-33 degrees and I’ve started to burn. Its still the winter, so Lord only knows how hot its likely to get come June. I’ve reorganised my route so that I’m high in the hills and mountains of Himanchal Pradesh by May/June when things really start to cook.

For now, my time in Navsari Gujarat draws to a close. It’s been educational and a lot of fun, however I’m ready to part ways with familiarity and a common tongue for the brash cities of Mumbai and Kolkata. My route now starts in the East and meanders its way back to Mumbai via Varanasi, Jhansi and Bhopal, at which point I take a sharp right turn, northward to the hill stations and yoga retreats via Delhi. In totality the journey will take me 2-3 months and I’m eager to go it alone, as family is become a little tiresome.

Along the way there is the small matter of finding travel partners, gaining entry to local businesses and meeting artists for work. (Continue to check Boticca.com for my first piece on the Surat diamond industry). Thankfully eating, traveling and sleeping is cheap here, so money can be saved for more expensive parts of my trip later in the year. [Note to self: begin researching trekking tours in Nepal].

In other news, I’ve had my first bout of Delhi Belly and uploading pictures to the web has been troublesome. I apologise to readers; once I have a more secure and speedier internet connection, I’ll post some good stuff from Surat, Dandi and Vapi. I head to Mumbai on Wednesday night to connect with Mr. P at the Black Horse arts festival and interview several of Mumbai’s fashionista.

Bas! Danyavaad.