Book excerpt: In 2007 the author embarked on his ninth and final journey of the And There I Was series-Incredible India. Beginning in legendary Kolkata, maneuver your way through one of the world's largest train stations, home to tens of thousands of homeless boys living in tunnels and sewage pipes beneath its floors. Travel by rail to the world's Buddhist pilgrimage center at Bodhgaya where Sidhartha struggled for and attained enlightenment. Pass through Patna on the Mother Ganga, home to two of history's greatest figures-Chandragupta and Ashoka. Enter the lofty realm of the Himalayas at Mirik and hold audience with a high-ranking Tibetan monk in a monastery high above an emerald lake. Battle for your life in the miserable climes of Darjeeling, recover in the Kingdom of Sikkim and recuperate in the warmth of an idyllic tea region and the town of Kalimpong. Attend the solemn memorial service for a fallen soldier and learn the futility of war then push on to India's remote NE states and the mighty Brahmaputra. In the state of Meghalaya, the "Abode of the Clouds," visit the rainiest spot on earth and a city that lives for music alone. Before leaving India, spend time with a low caste family in a village outside Kolkata and learn the meaning of compassion. Finally, witness first-hand the dichotomies in life by first visiting Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying then braving the outstretched arms of the world's most exotic and alluring prostitutes.