Goodbye Nepal

After spending a week at the Namo Buddha monastery I feel like a new woman. It was such an amazing place with incredible views of the Himalayas. The monks had to continue with they're prayer ceremony for the week I was there, so I actually didn't do any work, but am pleased to say I now have a new meditation routine.

I write this on my second last day in Nepal and I am not ready to leave but feel as if this place is my new favourite part of the world. Can't wait to come back and explore it further, even though it is the second most corrupt country in South Asia.

Thanks for coming with me on my journey!

and now for the finale

The last 4 days have been such a treat... Spending time with children has been such a joy the only difficulty has been the Nepalese disciplinary measures... The teachers are allowed to hit the kids if their work is wrong or if they are playing up... I had to walk out of class yesterday because I couldn't deal with it... Luckily today I was working with a different teacher and he refuses to use these disciplinary measures so it was a much more peaceful day...

Tomorrow I'm off to the monastery for my final week and I am already feeling sad about leaving... I feel very comfortable here and the people are so lovely... Not sure if there will be internet where I'm going so I may be incommunicado until next weekend!

Just call me Anju

I've spent the last 3 days in the jungle of Nepal. Hanging out with elephants, rhinosauri, deer, peacocks nd tigers. Unfortunatley I didn't see any live tigers but managed to see a fresh paw print so they were close enough. I saw everything else though. It was a blast.

I started my project today and for this week I will be at a local state school teaching English before I move on to the monastery at the end of the week. I'm looking forward to chilling out with monks but in the meantime the Nepalese children are beautiful. Although I havent had a chance to teach the younger crowd who are apparently a handful so I'll keep you posted on that!

This week I'm living with a host family who are very nice and more than helpful! They have given me a Nepalese name to use while I'm here. Just call me Anju!!!!

Goodbye India

As I enjoy my second last day in India I can only hope I experience the same fondness for Nepal. Manali is a gorgeous town with 360 degree views of the Himalayas. Yesterday I went for a walk in the snow capped Mountains, the're huge! I aso went paragliding, so now I can say I've been flying in the Himalayas!!! It was epic!!!

Tonight I catch a 14 hour bus to Delhi and will be arriving at 6am. I will spend the day and night there before I catch my flight to Nepal... Not sure if I'll have access to the internet so this is me signing off from my Indian chapter and thank you all very muh for joining me on the ride!!! See you on the flip side or at least from Kathmandu!

Last day in Shimla...

Sadly today is my last day in Shimla. It was difficult to say goodbye to the children and teachers as they have all been so lovely. They made me dress up in a Sari and they did my make up. Mrs Raina is keeping her ear to the ground for an appropriate husband for me so they wanted to make sure I looked ok in traditional wedding gear before they organise my wedding.

It's been such an amazing month and the serenity that encapsulates the area is leaving me with a sense of peace that I have not felt in a while.

Tonight I'm heading further North to a town called Minali which is properly in the foothills of the Himalayas. It's going to be cold but I'm looking forward to the scenery. I will be there for 3 days before venturing on to Kathmandu!

The film's name is Bittoo Boss, comes out in February!

I'm officially a Bollywood star!!!

You'll never believe what happened to me this weekend. After having lunch with a friend I've made in my time here, we were approached by a scout who was looking for a foreign lady to be in the Bollywood film that is currently being filmed in Shimla. So after having a few words with my friend the next thing I know is I've been accosted by this stranger. I was taken to location and put through wardrobe, make-up and hair business before being told what I'll be doing. I play the part of a traveller who arrives at a hotel room ready to meet her meditation partner.

I was only filmed for about 10 mins but was well paid for my short stint as a Bollywood film star. The film comes out in February so I'll have to be asking one of my more tech savvy friends to download it and burn it for me. I was chuffed!!!

I went for a day trek today which was nice. Walking through the Shimla woods and finally reaching the destintation which was a Hindu temple where we were served a free lunch. We ate our lunch on the ground and it was delicious as usual. I only have one week left in Shimla and I am already feeling sad at the thought of leaving this place which has become my home.