Mad Darby Diaries

Are we meant to be married to the same person for 50 years?   My friend of 66 years has been married that long but her circumstances are somewhat unconventional.  While she lives in the family home her husband lives in a wooden cabin in the woods that surround, the house.   The reason for this is not coventional either.  They see each other every day,  they eat meals together,  they have a joint bank account and neither wants a divorce.  So why do they have this arrangement?   why don't they just have separate bedrooms?  Well the reason is my friend is incredibly untidy while her husband prefers a certain amount of order and minimilism.  Did it really take 50 years to discover this?  I don't think so.  Had it been acceptable to live together 50 years ago then no doubt they would have discovered that they were incompatible.  Or would they?

I have been living out of a suitcase since January and I have two more weeks to go until I get home.  I have slept on blow up beds, 2foot 6inch wide beds, floors, trains and planes and occasionally a luxuriously large bed in a posh hotel.  I don't mind this way of life and am wondering what exactly are the advantages of keeping your clothes in a closet and all the 'stuff' that is in my house, not that I have much as I am a bit of a minimalist.  Bad news for burglars.  I am a nomad and enjoy it.  My children at various times, have suggested I live in a narrow boat, a caravan and a wooden lodge, none of which really fit the bill.  So in May I shall go home to France and see how long I can I stay before I am packing a rucksack again.

It is so beautiful up here. Yesterday I went to 9000feet where you can see across to Afghanistan,   Pakistan and Kashmir.  I could look across to the Kyber Pass where our grandfather was killed and presumably buried there.   This is yak country but it is the monkeys that rule with temples to the monkey god.  They are very aggressive though,  like the barbary apes in Gibraltar.  There are also many tibetans and nepalese in this region. Today i take the trains back to Delhi ready for my flight tomorrow.

After 2 tiring days I have reached the cool of Shimla in the foothills of the Hymalayas.  The scenery is stunning all the way up the long slow 'toy' train. It takes a minimum 5 to 6 hours.  Monkeys abound here and opening windows is not an option as they walk right in. The weather can change instantly which is probably why a man knocked on my hotel room door and handed me an hourly weather forecast.

I am in the pink city of Jaipur, which is maharaja territory  but the Amber fort impressed me the most. The days are hot 39 degrees but not uncomfortable.  i have stayed in several hotels now and they have all had the same lighting system. In my present room there are 15 light switches. I have sussed out that there is always a master switch but it takes half an hour to work out which one it is. Even  then it doesn't help when you wake up in the middle of the night and press every switch you can find in the dark. This morning I was woken up at 5 am by drums, very loud , very repetitive.  After 10 minutes I made a cup of tea. I am now eating fruit and curry for breakfast,  skipping lunch unless I am on the train where hot curry is brought to your seat, and curry for dinner. Occasionally I find Indian red wine which can be very palatable.

Internet has been hard to find the last couple of days and Atms that work seem to be non existent.  Twice I managed to put my pin in and the amount of rupees I wanted but no money appeared so I hope the transactions haven't gone through my bank. Yesterday I travelled by train to Sawal Madhopur, near the Ranthambore national park.  I had a good laugh with 3 guys who were travelling together and staying at the same hotel.  This morning I went on a safari landrover looking for tigers.  After 3 hours of bone crunching discomfort I had seen lots of deer, 2 peacocks, several monkeys and a wild boar. I have just spoken to someone who went this afternoon and yes, she saw tigers. 

Last evening there was a huge storm, lightning,  wind and torrential rain in Agra. This morning the devastation was clear. No power, 50 dead and hundreds of trees down. On the way to the taj mahal  I could see crushed cars, flooded streets  and so many trees.   Then out of all this destruction I arrived at the taj mahal. It doesn't matter how many pictures you see  they cannot compare to seeing this exquisite building rising up above you.  I have waited so long to see it and  it  is far better than I could have imagined. 

I took the train to Agra today. Having experienced the balancing act of hole in the floor toilets on a moving train I thought I would be ok even though you can end up with wet feet but I was  not prepared for the train doing an emergency stop while in the crouching position. The result?  Elegant it was not.  So food that was destined for passengers 'lunch ended up on the carriage floor.  For those who had already been served  I imagine they suffered  most. Having dispatched the cow that had wondered onto the line we went to the next station where a street trader was dispatched to bring food. I was given a carton of steaming vegetable curry and rice.  I am in a small 'green' hotel, no air conditioning,  just ceiling fans but in a lovely setting.  I have lost count of the number of people who want a selfie with me. Apparently they like grey hair. Of course I have to make sure their hands aren't dipping into my rucksack!

Here I am in a lovely hotel in Delhi  with a lovely view. But hang on a minute  sitting by the window I also have a lovely view of the bath, shower and toilet and if I sit on the loo I have a  lovely view outside. A glass wall separates the bedroom and the bathroom.  I am  glad I am not sharing with anyone. At least in a hotel room you have a toilet roll not the 2 sheets handed out in most public toilets.

French railway workers are striking 2 days in 5 for the next few months in protest against Macron's reforms.  To launch these strikes huge protests were organised in Paris but oh dear the strikers couldn't get there because the trains weren't running due to strike action.