DAY 531

Dropping down from the 3938m Rohtang Pass we headed south into a much greener and lusher Kullu valley.

DAY 530

Gaddi herdsmen walk across this whole state once the snows have retreated after the winter. They take their sheep and goats from the plains to the high altitude meadows in search of lush grass for their flocks.  

DAY 529

About a quarter of the distance and about half the time was spent on 'kutcha' roads. Rocky, gravelly, sandy they shake you about but are fun to ride. We frequently passed road gangs repairing the roads after land slips - common, especially after the monsoon and winter seasons. One road gang we came across held us back with a little red handkerchief while they dynamited some larger obstacles on the road ahead. Along the Pangi valley between Sach Pass and Rohtang Pass, the road has been blasted out of the steep cliffs.  

DAY 528

The road was frequently crossed by snow melt streams and rivers. Here we are crossing the second largest river of our journey. You can't see what's under the water so you just have to go and hope you don't hit anything large or drop into a hole ...

DAY 527

Closer now to Sach Pass. Beyond the tree line and into beautiful meadows filled with wild flowers. We got lucky with the weather and had great views all the way from the 4416m high point.

DAY 526

In a slight departure from normal proceedings, this week has been given over to Ed to write about his amazing motorbike trip up into the mountains of Himachal Pradesh.

Heading up the Chamba Valley towards the first high altidude pass of our 1000 mile trip through Himachal Pradesh: Sach Pass. The pass is the dip in the mountains in the distance and still another three hours ride from here.

DAY 525

Ed and Matt about to head off on their motorbike trip into the mountains ... more photos to come. 

DAY 524

Louie making pancakes. Still hasn't made me a cup of tea yet though.

DAY 523

Where do all these different matchboxes come from? Are there really that many different companies making them??

DAY 522

Today I gave a plenary session at the ELTAI (English Language Teachers' Association of India) annual conference in Jaipur. This statue of Saraswati was on the stage - she is the Hindu goddess of learning and knowledge.

DAY 521

I love this one. Look at her revealing blouse!!

DAY 520

Meanwhile in Delhi, the boys have their first riding lesson ... 

DAY 519

I was in Chennai for meetings this week. My colleague gave me these delicious savoury snacks (don't be fooled by the label). Salty and flavoured with caraway ... I ate most of them on the plane home. 

DAY 518

Kites like this one are regular visitors to the trees in the park opposite us. Some of them are enormous ... you can't really see the scale here but this one was about a foot and a half long from the top of his head to the bottom of his tail feathers.

DAY 517

Our second restaurant in our trip around the world of food in Delhi. This one is Yeti in Hauz Khas Village, serving Nepali and Bhutanese food. This plate is notable for the steamed bread (tingmo) at the bottom and the snack at the top which is made with dry, crushed up instant noodles - surprisingly delicious. On the left is black chick peas and on the right potatoes. All yummy.

DAY 516

Independence Day today and what better photo to post than this one of Gandhiji. Apparently he usually has wire glasses on but they weren't there on the day I took the photo. I like his pocket watch though.

DAY 515

One of Ed's photos from a recent trip to Old Delhi. I love these metal containers. If only I could think of a use/place for them, I'd buy myself my own little stack.

DAY 514

I could do with a bit more of Ganesh in my life - the remover of obstacles. Work is crazy at the moment and it looks set to continue for the near future. Which is the main reason why I'm so behind on the blog. Sigh.

DAY 513

New street art in Hauz Khas village (well new to me, anyway). I'm liking the colours but not sure I get the shapes.

DAY 512

First day back at school and the kids are happy: Oslo managed to get the teacher he wanted to have and his best friend is in his class (they jumble them up every year). Louie has a teacher who is new to the school and who he likes a lot and HIS best friend is in his French class. 

DAY 511

We've decided to try and eat our way around the world while we're in Delhi. This time it was Japan at Tamura in Green Park. Unfortunately the food was so delicious that I forgot to take a photo until most of it was gone, but at least you can see the tempura.

DAY 510

We thought the monsoon had come, but it turned out to just be one huge downpour over this weekend. The boys made the most of it.

DAY 508

... and here's another which is less exciting but still worth a mention.

DAY 507

I'm filling in some gaps with some new matchbox discoveries. This one is a favourite.

DAY 506

Today my colleague brought in sevyani for us - a dessert that's traditionally eaten for Eid. It's a bit like kheer (rice pudding) but made with vermicelli instead of rice. It was delicious. We debated for a long time how best to take a photo of it and this was the result. Notice the chura worn on the wrist of my colleague in the top right - these are bangles that are traditionally worn for up to a year after getting married. 

DAY 505

Here's our living room. I finally got round to putting the rugs back down after we'd taken them up for while we were away (in case the roof leaked again - it didn't). 

DAY 504

Here's a typical street stall selling drinks and crisps. Actually this one is particularly nice, but it's a good demonstration of the talent for nice display that exists in India. Food and drink is always displayed really carefully - in rows, in piles but always organised and tidy. Look how all the bottles have their labels turned the right way. I love it. 

DAY 503

These are bread pakoras: bread with paneer, covered in batter and deep fried. This seller has displayed them with green chillies sticking out everywhere. The snake is pushing it a bit though. I'm not quite sure what it's made of. 

DAY 502

And today I'm in ... Mumbai! A very rainy, monsoon blessed Mumbai.