The only practical way to reach Nepal is through India. Access from Tibet requires passage through high mountain passes that are closed in the winter months.

The main port of entry into India for British Ocean Liners is the city of Bombay.

Considered the 'jewel in the crown' of the British Empire, India is a bewildering mix of sights sounds and smells. Its prevalent religion is Hinduism, though there are large Moslem, Christian, Sikh and Buddhist minorities. The caste system is still firmly entrenched, with Hindu society split into Brahmins (priests and intellectuals), Kshatriyas (warriors and nobility), Waishyas (skilled men), Shudras (workers) and at the bottom of the social pile the Parjanya or untouchables.

Indian large Muslim society has its own, parallel caste system.

Another major cultural feature of India is the ubiquity of arranged marriages, and the number of women of both Hindu and Moslem religion who live in purdah, which means they stay in the family home and never venture out with their faces uncovered.

India is well-served by one of the world's great railway networks, and British influence is strong in the major cities, with English being widely spoken by those in high places and cricket being a national obsession.

In recent years the followers of Mohandes Gandhi have been agitating against British rule, the caste system and the practice of purdah, but at present India remains a loyal part of the Empire.