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.