The journey home yesterday was just as long and tiring as I expected it to be. In all, John worked out, we were on the go  for over forty hours. We got back to Charlton at  about twelve last night absolutely knackered, but both extremely proud of ourselves for having made  it. India was a trip of a lifetime; it was absolutely incredible. My head is now buzzing with ideas and questions. It is a place of so many contradictions. For one, I was struck by  how in places like Delhi and Jaipur, there  are modern, up-to-date buildings of the kind you find in any western city – the cinema we went to, for example – while all around them are vast swathes  of derelict, dilapidated shanties desperate  for repair. It struck me as a kind of perverse juxtaposition, as if the city was  trying to appear modern while not giving any attention to the areas which need it most. I now want to research it to find out why India is the way it is.

Most of all, though, I want to start working out where we’re going  next.