So here I am in India. My senses are overwhelmed; the sights, sounds, smells and colours amaze me. There are so many people everywhere.
The poverty, too, is rife. I see malnutrition, skin diseases, deformities and missing limbs all around me. Each day I have to wrestle with my conscience. Should I give money? To whom should I give it? Eventually, you do become desensitised: you have to, in order to be able to cope with the enormity of the problem.
The place is totally chaotic, yet somehow everything works. The driving is unbelievable - I thought my dad was bad. Everybody swerves all over the road to avoid the cows, carts, donkeys, chickens, dogs, monkeys - and each other. There are no such things as lanes, and no one wears seat belts or helmets. I expect each journey I take to be my last.
Apart from all this I am well, and really enjoying my experiences. Travelling, as I expected, is not easy, but the challenges make the process more interesting.
Let me tell you a little bit about what I've been doing. I arrived in Bangalore with Angela (my travelling partner for a few weeks), where we were met by Angela's artist friend Surekha and her husband, Anil. They've let us use their house as a base to do trips around south India, which is very kind.
Travelling is transformed by knowing local people. They take you to places you would never normally think of visiting, and introduce you to people you would never otherwise meet. Surekha and Anil took us to a Hindu wedding, and we went to see a Bollywood film last night. Angela and I were in stitches. You have to see one.
We spent Purim (a Jewish festival) in Kochin, which has a tiny Jewish population of three families. We went to the synagogue, which is about 500 years old, and met some of the community. It was a really magical experience. Some of them can trace their ancestors back to the destruction of the second temple, meaning Judaism in India is nearly 2000 years old! In all that time, they claim they have never experienced any anti-semitism.
I had no idea how lush and green India would be. There is certainly no shortage of water here, only purification problems. There are animals and birds everywhere and, as a huge wildlife nut, I'm in my element. I wish I'd brought my binoculars.
The food is fabulous. It is all vegetarian, so I being one myself, I eat better here than I do at home. Tummy has been fine, surprisingly.
The politics here are fascinating. There's a lot of corruption in the government, and people protest all the time. We have seen at least five demonstrations, mainly by the Communist party (they are popular in the south).
Angela has left me now to go to an Ashram. I am staying with Surekha and Anil for a couple more days to organise myself before I head off north. It is all a bit daunting, being alone, but I am sure I will be fine. The hardest thing to deal with is being constantly stared at in the street. It is so invasive. Now I just stare back - something I wouldn't dream of doing normally - and that usually does the trick.
Bye for now,
Donna xxx
