Delhi: the halfway mark

HELLOOOOO!
well well well, we're on to week 5, which means we've pretty much passed the half way mark of our trip in India. We have 4 more weeks to haul a@*! around the north end and spend another week unwinding in Goa.

Since I've already outlined our itinerary in a previous entry, I'll just tell ya a few tidbits.

1. Our train ride went smoothly (we are pros now) since we had big books to read which we both finished, and lots of food to eat: apples, nutella/PB/honey and bread, pringles and chocolate bars...That's right, Leanne ain't getting any skinnier on this trip ha ha! No, but seriously kids, now that Ryan's tummy feels better we will be eating more Indian food and less badly cooked, over oiled, makeshift Western food. (But we did have a wonderful chicken burger in Chennai-the only good thing)

2. We ended up in this guest house which is expensive (50$/night as opposed to our regular 15-20$-yeah). Budget hotels are about 8$/night but they are really 'roughing it' so that's where a lot of our budget is being "overspent", on midrange hotels. So this guest house is away from the main streets, which means it is quiet!!!!!! I can't tell you how much this means to me. I am seriously deaf. And, we have internet and laundry services, which is well needed since we have been wearing the same shirts/pants/skirt for the last week (and in case you were ever curious about my body hair or Ryan's, we have also decided not to remove any of it until Goa, so we're pretty grubby looking...we even got rejected from a resto who made us eat down in this dark hole of a bar in Kerala ha ha). We really can't stand to smell ourselves anymore. That was a bit of a tangent, but all to say that this guest house has a wonderful bathroom-with an actual bath, which is impossible to get here, as well as water-saving toilets that we should have in North America-and is luxurious and beautiful with wood finishing, high ceilings and a home feel.

3.We are planning a trip to Nepal right now. I won't give too many details in case for some reason we end up not being able to get there or do the things we want to. But it is an exciting addition to our trip.

4.There are times when we really miss home. I think you all should know. This is why I have made every effort to be at a net cafe when we have nothing to do. I had heard that nothing makes you appreciate home more than leaving, but now I have my own reasons to really believe it. I want to savour every moment I have left here, but here are some of the things I can't wait to have again:

a) My friends and family to talk to in English/French since my English is crap over here
b)Dark chocolate-impossible to get here. Some may know that I have negative feelings toward cadbury chocolate, but here it's all I've got, so you'll know how desperate I am.
c)Wine, and Jack and Gingers. Drinks are weird here. Though I don't usually drink when I travel, the occasional drink I have tried in Goa or otherwise, has been pretty nasty.
d)cheese. Who knew I loved cheese so much? I certainly didn't until I came here and realized that they basically have one kind of all-purpose cheese that is flavourless and sometimes reminds me of tofu. I have nothing against tofu, but I really want good cheese!
e)hot showers, nice bathrooms, a soft bed with my 6 pillows, and taxi drivers that use a meter and that you dont have to argue with every single time.
f) last, but not least, music. Though I really like watching the Hindi music videos and dancing around in our hotel rooms, I really feel like I need a good dose of quality Canadian music...

Alright, I'll do my best to continue to update you all on our progress,
Adieu,
Leanne