Lost in Bangalore

On our second day in Pondicherry, we miandered through the pretty streets, sorted out our onward travel and generally rested up. The temperature is around 40 degrees here at the moment. Let me tell you what its like to be in 40 degrees......Each day, I wake up sweating (the fan is on full all night...) although Im sleeping with nothing covering me and naught on but my sarong. The day begins with a cold shower - although its never cold, as the heat has warmed up the pipes and tanks -so the only thing you crave (a cold cold shower) is not forthcoming. You step out of the shower and within minutes there are sweat beads running down your body again. I cannot go out of the hotel without a small face cloth to wipe my face with every now and again. By the end of the morning, your body is about to collapse - you have drunk at least 5 litres of water and you still dont need the loo. It feels like you are breathing velvet not air. By 1300hrs, you are ready to drop, so its time for a siesta under the fan (there is nothing else your body lets you do) plus another few litres of water. By 5pm its time for another shower, and OK to venture out again as the heat of the day has subsided a little bit. By the end of the day you are exhausted and dont know why. You drop into a sweaty heap for your fitfull sticky overnight sleep.

From Pondi, we were headed to Bangalore so that I could catch my train to Delhi. As Pondi is a mini state in itself, we had to do a somewhat circuitus route to Bangalore - first a 4 hour local bus to Chennai, then a 1 hour rickshaw ride across town in time to catch our overnight train to Bangalore. THANK GOD we were in an AC compartment on the train - first full nights sleep in ages.

We reached Bangalore in time to meet Nele's new love interest, who was joining us from Trivandrum. We all then went and checked into a hotel - they for the night and me just using thier shower etc. with a few essentials chucked into a bag. The rest of my kit I left at the station. The rest of the day was spent shopping and whizzing around the city in a rickshaw. ALl was well until......about 3 hours before my train departed for Delhi, we decided to return to the hotel so that I could shower etc before going to the station....we then found out that not one of us had remembered WHERE the hotel was, or WHAT it was called.... Our hearts sank when we returned to the area of the hotel - it was a huge part of town FULL of lodges along a massive grid of interlocking roads and lanes. We spent a full 2 hours looking for the hotel, until it was time for me to leave. When I left Nele and Jackson, they still were no nearer finding the hotel than we were at the beginning! At least my main baggage was in the station! PHEW.... I caught the train with time to spare and spent a pleasant 2 days tootling off to Delhi. I was stinky, but thankful I had the main part of my bags - I still dont know what has happened to them and thier bags - they were talking about checking into another hotel and searching again the following day! Ill update you on this one later....I think a valuable lesson learnt for all - TAKE A CARD FROM THE HOTEL.....

Anyway, Im now in the comfort of my second home - Vishals house in Delhi. Its Aircon and there is everything a girl could want! Brilliant! Been shopping today, and have been planning my onward trip - Jaipur again next.