Page 121 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

119

1927

Came ashore after breakfast, drove to station & then to the Carlton hotel after doing a few things in the town.
Its a big place & reminds me very much of Cairo & Alexandria, much more like Egypt than like what my
idea of India was. On the whole I dont take greatly to the looks of India. The people look muddy & dirty if
in native dress, & the ones in English clothes I dont like either. Lunched with Pack at the hotel, who then
departed en route for Bombay where he stays some time before returning to Paris. Before lunch called in
next door to see if the Gunters were there; the people on whose boat we came from Bushire to Bahrain; he is
Director of telegraphs & cables etc. Found her in, & an invitation to tea. Read papers till tea time & then
went along. A very nice house & a delightful garden in which we had tea under some big trees. A green
grass lawn & quite a lot of flowers & flowering bushes & creepers, it reminded me much of a garden in
Khartoum. She was very pleasant & asked us to stay on the way back. Afterwards we drove, in a carriage,
round about the town, quite a pleasant looking place & some nice bungalows with gardens. Caught the train
at 8 pm, seen off by the Clerk & Ghaus. Mohamed, the servant, is evidently new to travelling & looked very
lost.

We had a coupé on the train with a sort of bunk that let down making two places to sleep on, I was on top &
found it unpleasantly narrow. The dust was awful, poured in the whole time in spite of keeping windows &
shutters closed. Meals in the dining car, but no corridor so we had to get out at stations, rather an awkward
arrangement. The dust was really awful & the country flat & quite hideous, the Sind desert.

Wednesday [10 November]