Farewell to Bangalore

in a few hours we leave bangalore for mumbai. im not too sure what to expect of india's biggest city (18 million) but no doubt it will be a case of extremes. Extreme wealth vs extreme poverty. And no doubt it will make bangalore look relatively pristine - an odd concept. There is a recurring smell in bangalore that wafts into your path every now and then when walking the streets - a mixture of the awfullest smelling feet imaginable and rotting fruit. It is quite putrid and hits the back of your throat in a burning fashion. Even five days later it makes me retch. But I suspect the pollution in Mumbai will be far worse, as Bangalore is considered on of the cleanest cities in India. Another thing that worries me is the beggars and homeless people. No doubt it will be far worse in Mumbai and from what I have seen here in bangalore... terrible. Its quite haunting. I'm still trying to shake the image of a little five-year-old girl who approached me, holding her mangled arm up for me to see which was covered with a a sea of red and black and an evil-yellow puss, shrilly yelling for money. I cant bring myself to venture near the corner where I saw her, I cant quite shake the image.

But its not all doom and gloom, much of my stay has been pleasant and fascinating. My 'tailor' (who produced some 'fitted clothes' for me which can only be described as potatoe sacks.. though the materials and the ideas are nice so im hoping to get another tailor to fix as i dont have the heart to insult him) was generous and kind and taught me alot about the culture (and that at 24, i was getting on and really should get married!!) and we have made plans to meet when he comes to England (as is his dream). I truely hope he makes it there to see his beloved Liverpool play.

Last night I met a Tibetan monk (Tenzin) who is staying at the same hotel as us, a kind and generous man who offered me a blessing from the Dhalai Lama for myself and my family - because i was australian and therefore a friend of the Dhalai Lama. I received some blessed silk sheet things to hang in the house to remove obstacles from my homelife and some special tea bead type things (which was a VERY special thing to receive apparently) to clear the obstacles in my personal life and create inner peace (I drink them with hot water in the morning, then shower and eat no breakfast ). He then got me to bring Dave to his room and Dave recieved a different type of blessing for his business and his family also which involved a bell, singing, and wind blowing. It was an interesting ceremony, quite beautiful and at certain points i found myself very eager and toyed with the idea of embracing a bit more spirituality in my life. Certaily the Dhalai Lama a wise and gifted leader and his story is truely amazing. Buddhism seems to be such a positive and peaceful way of life which encapsulates the idea of Karma - a philosophy I completely agree with. Perhaps more inner peace is something my firey temprement needs. But then- in a manner -he asked for some money which sort of cheapened the whole thing - but I cant fault him as how will he be funded to spread the word otherwise? It definately fuelled dave's and mine dinner conversation (where i tried to explain to dave what happened in the Dhalai Lama's life but was a bit patchy as it is years since i saw and was moved by scorsace's 'Kundun') I had seen a few monks around bangalore these past few days and Tenzin explained that there is going to be a big meeting with one of the holiest leaders today in bangalore and monks from across the globe were gathering. It was quite a beautiful, and definately unexpected way tospend an hour in India.

The thing about Indians that cracks me up every time is the head bobble. When the are agreeing or saying yes to something the comical the side to side head bobble is performed. Its positively hysterical when the chinese people who yrun the hotel we are in also employ it I cant quite pinpoint why I find it so amusing, lets just call me a crude westerner.

The plan is to stay at a rather nice hotel which has a pool - a rarity here. im looking forward to being able to have the odd swim as i feel like ive been constantly tacky for a week. whether its the sunscreen, the mosquito repellant or the pure humidity- a glistining film of sweat has encased me constantly.

must go and pack. try to fit all the crap i have bought into my already full suitcases.

love, Heather

ps i hope nobody expects postcards because i literally cant find any!