Ok, so just had the weirdest dinner with two Americans I met this morning!

What is it with some men and their obsession with food??? How can you possibly have a whole conversation over food? I’m at a COMPLETE loss?

OK, I admit it…..when I travel…I am not particularly adventurous when it comes to food. In fact, I’ll even admit at times I can be downright plain boring…food simply serves 2 purposes for me….

a) fill me up

b) and not make me sick.

Travelling by myself means I don’t have the luxury of eating off someone else’s plate if I don’t like my meal or knowing that I will have someone to look after me if I get sick!! After a day out alone, I tend to find a local that I feel comfortable and relaxed in and simply go there! I like my food like I like my music…on repeat till I get bored of it!!

So bloody sue me!!!

I am not, and never will be, one of those people who take photographs of their food….absolutely NOTHING wrong with that mind you…but its just not me. Anyway, my 2 new “friends” seemed to think I am missing out on the whole point of travelling. Trying to explain to them that I have more interest in people than food only made things worse and the conversation went from boring to overly condescending and just plain uncomfortable. We arrived back at the hotel and one of them awkwardly said they have to go and finish watching a movie…I felt like saying

“DUDE, by all means, please, GO!!”

Ok, rant over…but you do meet some odd people while are travelling…

So mount Abu is absolutely beautiful. I pretty much spent the whole day just walking around….in the rain. I went to visit a spiritual college that runs free courses on meditation and decided to do that for the next 3 days. I desperately wanted to go to an Ashram while I am in India, something about waking up at 5 am to mediate both intrigues me and petrifies me….but now that I have found this option am thinking it seems a lot less daunting…and maybe a good first ‘baby’ step for me. The course is for 2 hours a day starting at 10 am…

Mount Abu is mainly an Indian holiday resort so I had loads of tourist coming up to me today asking if they could take my photo…At one point when I was visiting a Hindu temple there was big group of about 8 boys (well I say boys…. 18-year-olds maybe) and I had to stand and smile with each and every one of them….afterwards while I was walking back to the main road one of them came up to me and did the usual spiel, “what’s your name?” “where you from? ” ……”Can I have kiss?” Ok the last question was a first, and he got a very firm “NO!” “ Just small Kiss?” Obviously NOT firm enough! “NOOOOOOOO!!”

I have to say children are like angels for me….most of the conversations I end up having always start with the kids. I met a family in one of the museums. Grandparents, daughters and grandchildren who are all visiting from Dehli. The Grandmother is a Sufi singer and has travelled all over South Africa singing. They were really lovely and have insisted that when I go to Dehli I go stay with them, which I would absolutely love.

And now for my BIGGEST adventure of the day!!!!! On the way back to my hotel I walked passed this puppy just sitting on the road. I literally didn’t think anything of it, because in India you pretty soon get used to the hundreds of dogs everywhere. I had walked past about a hundred meters when the poor thing lets out this massive yelp, which I thought was quite odd. I turned around and tried to call him to me….but he still just sat there staring. On walking back I discovered that he had been hit by a car and neither of his back legs was working. It was the most heartbreaking thing to see. The poor little thing was covered in flees, sopping wet and just shivering. No sooner than I put my hand out did he just nuzzled into my hand and close his eyes. I sat with him for a little bit and a man passed who muttered something about ” no medical, just leave” I contemplated moving him off the road…but even I know moving a hurt dog is not the safest thing to do…especially in India (see I do have some common sense) and so I had no choice but to leave him.

It was absolutely awful. As I started walking away he tried to follow me, by dragging his back legs behind him! But he was too weak and in too much pain to get very far! I walked home absolutely miserable and went to my local for lunch where I spoke to the owner Poonam. Imagine my elation when he mentioned that they do have an animal hospital. He explained to me that it was just up the road, next to the petrol pump, a 5-minute walk, so Florence Nightin “Gayle” put her lunch on hold and decided to go puppy saving! I walked for about 5 minutes and still hadn’t found any petrol pump. Another two minutes later I stopped a cab and asked him. He pointed in the direction and offered to take me for RS50 (the going rate in this town…I declined and he then dropped to RS30 and I thought what the hell…I’m on a mission!! I got in the car. We drove down the road, up the road, around a traffic circle, up another road, down another road..and low and behold another 15 roads and 5 minutes later I saw the petrol pump. Lesson learned: When next Mount Abu resident says you can walk there…YOU can’t!

So we drove into what can only be described as a huge allotment with a dilapidated and deserted old house on it.
The door was open and there was a medical counter inside it that looked like it was from the stone age.

I called out a bit and eventually lovely taxi man, Sittarm, who I think was mildly intrigued by strange white women’s mission to save puppy came to help me…..3 more houses down we managed to locate the door that housed the ‘vet’ We knocked and waited, knocked and waited….eventually heard a muffled voice and taxi man shouted something. It was all rather eery and I half expected a traditionally dressed witch doctor to fling open the door. But alas, was simply just a normal friendly man eating his lunch. He said he would send his colleague to go with us and he would come in half an hour! So we were sent back to the main house to wait for his friend. Which we did, for about half an hour. Our angel of mercy arrived carrying an Alsatian puppy, that was the most beautiful thing ever….but when he put him down, it looked like his spine had been broken, because his one back leg was completely lame and the other one barely worked. But amazingly this little thing still managed to run around quite happily yapping at flowers and the other 2 dogs that were 3 times his size. I tried to ask what had happened to him and the man replied diarrhoea. Mmmmmmm….not to sure the effects of diarrhoea are that crippling…
And so we had our man and off we set. Sittarm and I had already ‘sort of’ discussed where I had seen the little thing on the map. We arrived at the road which was now closed for cars and ended up having to walk the rest of the way. I was desperately looking for clues that I was even on the right road, and praying to God that he was still there, and alive!!
Eventually, we rounded the corner and I saw the house that I recognized and there on the side of the road was a wet, cold and still shivering little “Satnav’ (I named him on the walk)

The vet’s assistant looked at him and gave him 2 injections, which I could only imagine were for pain or to put him to sleep. I then just sat with him for about 10 minutes until other vet guy came zooming in on his little vet scooter. More discussion, to which I was clueless…and they picked up Satnav and zoomed off!! I can only hope that they will be able to save him, but even if they just put him to sleep…anything is better than simply freezing to death by the side of the road in pain. Sittarm and I then walked back to the car both feeling mildly elated at our heroic efforts. As my mum said to me the other day, you can’t make a difference for everyone but you can make a difference to one! If this is just a glimpse of how Mother Teresa felt her whole life, then she must have been one hell of a happy woman!;-)

Am not quite ready for Sainthood yet….but feel free to address me as Saint Gayle, should you so desire!!!