We were ten more or less random people led by a specialist of Asian culture. Strating from Mumbai, we drove east across India packed tight into a jeep, sweating and breathing in dust. There were places like Elephanta, Ajanta, Ellora, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Sambalpur, Daulatabad, Raipur, Bhubaneshwar, Puri and Konark. Then south to Hyderabad and Chennai through Gopalpur, Vijayawada, Amravati and Nagarjuna Sagar. And from Chennai to Colombo in Sri Lanka to visit Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Dambulla and Kandy. From Kandy the rest continued back to the dust of India while three of us stayed to linger on the southern beaches in Hikkaduwa and Tangalle and visit Singaraja rain forest and Bundala national park.
In addition to a mild culture shock I learned two things. First, I can't read! This is the reason why I have tried to learn at least a little bit of the local language before each trip after that. Second, it is too much trouble to write individual emails, instead I'll write it once so everyone who's interested can have a look.
