Hi everyone!

Today was another great day, mostly because we began with our first lie-in, to the late hour of 10am! We all then filled ourselves with another big breakfast and then headed off to pack our suitcases, which somehow have got smaller because our things just did not want to fit! We then had a special opportunity of sitting together and discussing what we have seen so far, mostly the shocking poverty and how surreal the experience has been so far. This was great – just like therapy! Afterwards we headed to McDonalds – a great treat but very different from home. On the way we saw the India Gate, which was beautiful, along with the impressive colonial buildings. Then the madness began… We travelled to the train station, which was boiling hot and densely packed with people. It was even harder to navigate with all our wheelie suitcases. The stairs to the platform were a particular struggle with the humidity and weight of all those hairdryers and chocolate bars which had seemed so essential at home!

The train set off at 3.30pm and we began the relaxing six hour train journey. Although the journey was pleasant, with lots of music, chatting and games, it did begin with a blind beggar entering our carriage, which was quite upsetting. At 9.30pm we arrived at the much less humid Dehradun. The station was so much smaller than Delhi but still as hectic! We then drove to our hotel, where we settled in and had a much-needed dinner of pizzas, which lasted about three seconds! Now we just can’t wait to get into bed and sleep to be ready to meet the children at SNEHA tomorrow.

Lots of love!

Loren and Jenny C

Day two meant two things; the breathtaking Taj Mahal and a new defination of an early start (4:50 after a full day of travel).

It was a fantastic day in which we saw the incomparable Taj Mahal, and witnessed our first Elephant sighting. In the words of Claire; “It was Brill!” Our knowledge of Indian history was increased by our wise guide “Res”. The day brought challenges, both for the team and individually. Firstly, the extreme heat and humidity was a test for our previously un-worked sweat glands, as much as anything else. A British summer seems much more attractive now! Another shock was arriving at Agra station and negotiating our way through the dense crowds at the platform to get to the train. All this seemed trivial compared to our first encounter of true poverty, which tugged at all our heartstrings, as children begged at the platform station. In spite of this, we feel privalged to have the opportunity to experience this vibrant culture and learn from it.

We hope everything is OK at home and everyone sends their love.

Connell, Conn and Claire

Hi everyone – you will be glad to know that we have arrived safely in India, have had a successful first day and are all now shattered and ready for a good nights sleep! We’ve been fortunate to have had all our flights depart on time, easy transfer across terminals in Heathrow and good travel within Delhi by bus and taxi. Of course as soon as we exited the airport we were hit by the incredibly intense humid heat of India – I think it reached 37 degrees in the city. Prepared with our water bottles we braved the weather to hit the shops and two hours later we surfaced, armed with the trendiest and most culturally appropriate apparel for the trip.

Tonight we met up with the first Saphara team, enjoyed a meal together and heard them share many stories of their most memorable stories of the past few weeks. It’s now 8.10pm and apart from myself, everyone has gone to bed! Early as it may seem, our schedule begins tomorrow at 5.30pm when we make the once in a lifetime trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, one of the worlds greatest buildings. Anyway, going to say goodnight now. We will update the blog tomorrow.

Bye for now

Alan