Why do we do this?

As I near the middle of my year travelling, I sometimes wonder why am I here. Why am I living in these conditions? Why am I not back in my nice Victorian flat in London? Surely things are hard these days back in the UK, but sitting on a bus for 16 hours is not my idea of fun either.

These thoughts particularly came to mind the other day.

We were in Varanasi trying to reach Kolkata to fly back to Bangkok.

I needed to go to the bathroom so, after paying to use the public toilets, I braced myself for the experience.

The toilet was gross, and that is the biggest understatement ever. There was a jobby on the side, someone had missed the hole and didn't push it in. There were red stains everywhere, on the floor and walls. To most people it would have looked like blood but at least I knew they were spits, the result of chewing paan. Only one word comes to mind, yuk!!!!

So there I was squatting, trying to keep some dignity during a completely undignified moment, when the door fell on top of me - it had come of the hinges.

I somehow managed to keep my balance by holding on to the toilet roll that was on the floor with one hand, while I used my other hand to hold the flimsy door.

At that precise moment, while the locals amused themselves with the image of the tourist with pants down around his ankles and the door on top of him, I wondered why?

The thought only lasted one second, if that. I just had to think about all the things that have happened to me, all the great things I have seen, and the amazing people I have met.

I have decided that I would rather be here, shit included, than back there, though I do miss my friends and sometimes I miss things that I used to take for granted, like a hot shower.

She was also queuing for the yoga classes....



I felt really sorry for this kid, he was not any older than 5 but his face showed that he had had a hard life