Varanasi..the infamous ganges and the rain!

Transport

We took the night train from Agra to Varansi. It is an incredibly busy train and we were very lucky to get confirmed seats at the last minute. However, it was actually comfortable and we slept well.

Day 1

We spent the morning chilling in the hotel following the long train journey before being forced to stay in by the torrential rain that began and continued until the evening, only being able to leave for dinner once it was dark so we couldn't really see much of Varanasi! For dinner we had a veg Thali that was actually the best we'd had in a long while and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

Day 2

Unfortunately during the night I became rather sick and I continued to feel really sick most of the day so I had to stick to the room, drinking water and eating a few bananas and some boiled rice. Thankfully the weather continued to be terrible with continual torrential rain all day until around 6pm so I didn't feel to sad about being stuck in the room.

The boys went for a very wet walk to the Ganges which I don't think was particularly enjoyable as the infrastructure in India is really not made for rain so the sewers overspill, the roads become muddy and quite honestly 'shitty' making it very difficult to walk around. 

For diner we found a cafe (Aashish cafe on Assih Ghat) where I had a vegetable Soup and some lovely brown bread while the boys enjoyed Pizza.

Day 3

Today, all feeling better we got up for breakfast before going on a tuk tuk tour of the city's temples. We headed to some fairly new temples first; The Shiva Temple inside of the Banaras university, followed by the Rama temple (Both only 15-20yrs old). We then went to the monkey temple, the Durga temple (350yrs) and then the old Shiva temple, which is actually around 2000 yrs old.

After this we were taken to the Mughal area, this is where the majority of the cities muslim people live and there is a very active silk industry here. We were able to see how silk is made with the different looms and how patterns are made using cards with dots on! We were then taken to the place where they then export all of the finished products and fell in love with some gorgeous bed covers/throws. We really could have blown our entire budget in that one shop!!!

For dinner we headed to Pizzeria Vaatika Cafe as we felt it necessary to stay on the western food to keep my stomach happy. I was so happy to have pizza and then I even followed it with apple pie - and good apple pie it was! 

Day 4

We started the day with a walking tour organised by our guesthouse. It was great walking along the ghat hearing about the history and culture that makes it such a sacred place. We then sat next to a temple at the burning ghat and were able to witness some burning ceremonies.  Its important to note here that you are NOT under any circumstances able to take pictures. It is incredibly disrespectful and it is likely that if caught, on top of the verbal abuse you are likely to receive. It is also common that people will try and bribe you. It was very moving watching the ceremony  that is steeped in such long standing traditions. 

Following on from this we walked through the windy cobbled old town, taking in the sights and smells as well as visiting a couple of temples.

After the walking tour myself and gary did a little souvenir shopping before heading back to the guest house for a simple dinner.

At 5.30 (its pictch black by this point) we took  a boat (100rs each) onto the ganges to get the best view of the Aarti  ceremony. It happens every evening (weather permitting) at around 6pm and was really lovely to watch. Aarti is a Hindu fire ceremony performed by Brahmin disciples to honor the holy river, Gods and deities. 

We then had to get our stuff together ready to catch the infamous varanssi to kathmandu bus!!!

The Hanuman Temple

The Ganges River

The Aarti Ceremony

Abi driving the Tuk Tuk 

A flying visit to Agra

Transport
We got the train from Sawai Madhopur to Agra, leaving at 11am and arriving at about 3pm. As we departed the train station we literally were bombarded with Rickshaw and Taxi drivers!

Accommodation
We stayed at Zostel in Agra. This is a chain of hostels accross india and are actually pretty neat! Although unlike moustache in jaipur and Dehli, there is no breakfast included and there is also no kitchen area, but plenty of communal seating and a really good vibe. It was nice to have somewhere chilled to spend time while at Agra as I think it would be easy to be overwhelmed otherwise!

What we did
The Taj Mahal!
We only stayed the one night and were leaving the next day so there was not really time to do too much more. I mean we could've fit in more, like the fort. But we had seen lots of forts by this point so weren't really bothered!

The night we arrived we went to a rooftop bar with a view of the Taj and had drinks and dinner. We got there at the tail end of sunset, but it was still pretty nice! We woke up before sunrise the next day in the hope of catching a view from the river. We had heard there were boats you could take in order to get a good view and even that the other side of the river had a picturesque garden you could view it from. We didn't want to pay the 750rs to get in more than once so presumed these other options would be fairly obvious from approaching the Taj.
However....we were wrong and annoyingly could not find any necessary information regarding them. So we saw the Taj from the riverside, but were far too close to get a view of anything. So annoyed and tired we headed back yo tge hostel for breakfast and a nap before heading out again.

When we finally got the the Taj Mahal in the late afternoon (to avoid the earlier crowds as well as possibly view sunset) we took an audio guide and strolled around learning about this iconic building! 

It really is breathtakingly beautiful! 

Then we had a very yummy dinner before heading to the train station for our night train to Varanasi!

The shy tigers of Ranthambore

Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park is one of the most renowned National parks in India. The park is located in the Sawai Madhopur district of the southeastern Rajasthan and is the famous and former hunting grounds of the Maharajas of Jaipur.

Transport

The nearest station to Ranthambore is Sawai Madhopur. We took the train from Jaipur which took around 4-5 hours and was fairly pain free! Although we did have to stop for around 45 mins due to the tremors felt from the earthquake in Afghanistan.

We took an autorickshaw from the train station which cost 100rs.

Accommodation

We stayed in green hotel.... it was a budget hotel where we had booked a package that included breakfast and dinner. We had heard there wasn't a great deal to do in the local area and were glad that we picked the deal, as it included everything on the menu for breakfast and dinner. The staff were helpful and kind, although they didn't speak English very well. But most importantly the TV in the room had Sony Six, so we could watch the Rugby World Cup.

Safari

Ranthambore park is 10,000 square kilometres and only 1 tenth is open to the public. This park is then split into 10 different zones. It is said on a few websites that zones 1-5 are the ones worth seeing. You can book online, but you must do it early, we didn't book online as we didn't know what dates, we would be there so the hotel was able to sort for us. When you book on the safari you don't know which zone you will be going to until just before as they are randomly allocated an hour or so before.

There are 2 choices of vehicles. The gypsy which is a 6 person jeep which we were offered for 2000rs. Or a Canter which is a 20 seat vehicle at 1,500rs. 

We were told that the canter had less chance of spotting the tigers due to the noise of the vehicles so we booked the gypsy for our first safari. However we were told that due to late booking it was impossible to book a gypsy for zone 1-5 as they get booked months in advance. So we thankfully were able to get zone 6.

The 2 other safaris we did were on the canters on zones 1 and 2.

As after our first safari we had spoken to some other lucky people who had seen tigers in the canter the previous afternoon. So our hopes were increased on seeing them in a canter, that afternoon and the following morning. The tigers evaded us for every safari, they were even spotted in the same zones but we missed them. 

Plenty of people in the canter and the jeep saw tigers in Ranthambore park, on the same days we were there, but there is a real element of luck, unless you are willing to tip heavily. Apparently if you find the right people and pay the right price, you will end up in the zones tigers had been spotted, but we didn't entertain this option. 

Whilst in Ranthambore, we spotted samba deer and spotted deer, an owl in a hole in the tree, and a baby crocodile, but no tigers or leopards. 

Good Luck to anybody going in the search for tigers, they are definitely there to be seen, but the luck was not with us.

A croc on a rock

The not so pink City...Jaipur

Transport

We took the night bus from Dehli to Jaipur, it only took around 5-6 hours and we arrived around 6am. The guys from the hostel in Dehli had told us that the Jaipur hostel was opposite the train station so we set off on a long walk there only to realise we had walked past the hostel to get there! We followed the dubious directions from the booking email instead which ended up in us walking in circles. Thankfully exhausted we finally found it at around 8am using google maps! We were lucky to get there and be able to have breakfast on the roof and relax while we waited to check in.

Accommodation

So we stayed at Delhi's sister hostel in Jaipur so it was also called Moustache hostel. It is newer than the Delhi hostel and it offers great facilities.  Its about 200rs a night cheaper for a bed in a mixed dorm and we actually got 25% off the first night for having previously stayed in their Delhi place. (the normal price is 400 INR a night)

Day 1

Feeling pretty tired from our long journey we decided to head out for a wander, have a look at the numerous gates in the city and work our way to the old town.

Enroute we searched for Lassiwala a famous lassie shop thats been around for over 6 years and offers traditional lassies served in terracotta cups.

Once we reached the gates we realised that the city is certainly not pink..more of an amber/burnt orange colour. But apparently when the city got its name, pink seemed the closest colour when they translated it from Hindi to English.

While wandering the old town we were amazed at the hustle and bustle. Everybody in a hurry to get somewhere and the horn beeping seemed even more extreme than Delhi! We then visited the city palace, and looked at some of the buildings inside, it was 400 INR to get in and this included our entry into Jargarh fort the following day. the palace was a little underwhelming, as we had seen a few palaces by now, which were easier to find, cheaper to get in, and had similar if not better artefacts/exhibitions on show. 

That evening, we fancied a hearty meal, and went for a Thali at 'Thali house', which was around a 10 minute walk from the hostel. It was delicious, and unlimited, and we used it to good effect, nobody was hungry. 

Day 2

The hostel was offering yoga classes in the park at 8am so we thought we would give it a go. It wasn't great, the class moved very slowly, and the class should've finished at 9, but was actually closer to 10 am. lucky it was cheap at 150 INR each. Then was a trip to Jargarh fort, to use the other half of our ticket from the city palace. We had to get dropped at amber fort and hike up the steep road to the fort at the top of the hill. This fort was very defensively minded, and was not designed to be as beautiful as the amber fort halfway up the hill. It was designed as security for the amber fort. it did however house the largest cannon on wheels, as well as having stunning views on the fort below. after the long hike down we took our tuk tuk back to the hostel it cost 450 INR for there and back including a stop at the lake palace, which is not open for visitors, but you can stop and view it from the side of the lake. 

We were back in time for a trip to the Dushara festival in Jaipur, that had been arranged  by our hostel. they arranged a member of staff from the hostel to come witht he group (around 20 ppl) and transport to and from the festival site. They charged 80 INR per person for transport and entry to the festival was free, we had a lot of street food from the festival and it was very tasty, after some fireworks and a large fire, to burn the pair of evil god brothers (50ft tall towers made of paper and balsa wood) we were ushered out the festival with everybody else, lots of pushing and shoving (Indians struggle with orderly queueing) and Abi even said she felt like her bum had been groped a few times and wasn't the only female to notice this! we were out and in the autorickshaws on the way back to the hostel. 

Day 3

We woke up a little late and had breakfast and chatted with a man from Las Vegas we met in the Delhi hostel but who was now in Jaipur. He had been travelling a long time and had lots of information and interesting stories to tell us. We finished breakfast and were on our way to visit the Jaipur Jantar Mantar. This is an area dedicated to Astronomy and Astrology, and housed the largest sundial clock in the world. It was interesting and we paid for a guide to explain this as some of it was a little above our heads at first, but we got there in the end. We had another Lassi from Lassi Wala, then walked halfway across Jaipur to a restaurant we had heard about. It was south Indian food, so we had Idly (fermented rice in a round cake served with a vegetable curry sauce) and a giant masala dosa (a flat rice flour pancake, with potato curry inside). 

By the time we were back at the hostel we had walked a really long way, so there was not a lot left to do but crash out and rest before our train the following day. 

Dushara Festival (these are the bad guys)

The bad guys up in flames

Jantar Mantar astrological calculator

the worlds largest sundial

Lassi's from Lassi Wala, in single use terracotta pots

The dreaded Delhi..

Okay,  this post is called the dreaded Delhi as most people we have met haven't had many positives to say about Delhi, So we weren't really looking forward to our time there.

Our taxi From Neemrana fort took 4 hours to get to Delhi when it should have only taken 2 hours due to getting stuck in rush hour, which was insane.  10 people in an autorickshaw,  4 on a motorbike and cars and smog all around.  So we arrived at 8pm and after checking in, we walked around the block hungry, before settling for a cheap Indian side of the street restaurant. Following this we went back to the hostel, chatted with other backpackers and got an early night.

Accomodation

We stayed at Moustache hostel in south Delhi,  it was a nice area and the staff were really helpful.  We were able to walk around the shops and restaurants in the surrounding area hassle free and it was quite a clean area.  This was not what we had heard about Delhi at all.

On our first full day we woke up and had a day of chatting with people, doing the blog, relaxing in the hostel and just generally enjoying other people's company. (This was the first hostel we stayed at, and the first place we were in Dorms,  so it was a pleasant change to have other people to chat with) after a few hours of chatting Jenga and card games we decided to brave the city outside which was perfectly pleasant.  We went to the M block Market over the road and had a walk around with an American guy from the hostel. After finding a "German Bar" we thought this was our best shot at getting real ale. We checked the menu at the front and it had 8 types of beer. When we went in the bar they had only 2 (and one of those was budweiser, which isn't close to an Ale St all) So we had an overpriced hoegarden (German beer) and left.

Later that evening the hostel manager came in and rustled up a few of us tourists and took us to a bar for a party (our first party in india after failing to find one in the Goan off season). He the proceeded to take us to the same German Bar with only two beers. At least this time ladies drank for free, and the hostel manager managed to get a few free drinks for the men as well. We stayed till around11pm before heading back to the hostel to see our friend who had just arrived from Sydney.

Day 2

On the Sunday we took a trip to Old Delhi which was what had been described by other tourists, busier, dustier, more litter, constant auto drivers trying to get you in their auto. We took a walk from Chandi Chowk station (maybe the busiest Street in old Delhi) to the red fort which was..... Red. The queue was very long so we passed on this and went to the largest Mosque in India.  The Friday Mosque. It was a beautiful building, but it was the first religious place with a fee.  They don't call it a fee,  but tourists weren't allowed to enter without paying for a camera ticket at 300 inr.  They then wrapped all the females in a fetching long sleeved garment and we looked around for about an hour. 

After this it was late afternoon and we were a big group of hungry tourists who many hadn't eaten meat for weeks.  So the best non veg restaurant in Delhi was over the road and down a side street. Karims restaurant. We had a bit of a platter between us. Chicken and Sheesh Kebabs and huge fluffy Roti's from the tandoori oven.

After the feast it was back to the hostel to get together sports bar over the road to watch the Rugby World Cup. We found a bar in M block Market which was willing to tuck us in a corner and put the game on the telly for us.

Day 3

The following day we were on a charity visit to see the homeless kids of the city and how the Salaam Balak trust help street kids in Delhi. During the tour we saw their office at the new Delhi railway station where there were 3 kids who had run away from home and had been found arriving off the trains that morning. They sat talking with a charity worker and looked petrified realising the reality of being in a big city alone. We were then taken to one of the charities shelter homes for young boys. It was full, around 30 boys aged from 6-16 the younger ones running around like crazy,  trying to teach us Indian games and we played thumb wars with them. After 15 minutes with the kids we were taken to the head office of the charity to see some of their success stories,  including professional actors,choreographers and photographers.

After finishing the tour near Connaught place we went for a coffee and a subway (yes we know it's western food, but it's a nice change from spicy curry) we strolled down to India gate,  a huge archway not too dissimilar to the Marble Arch,  or the Arc de Triomphe, it was a large memorial to the servicemen who lost their lives in WW1.

Day 4

The Tuesday was a busy day trying to cram in as many sights as possible,  we were up early and got our bags packed before getting an autorickshaw to the Qutab Minar, and back to the hostel to meet a friend before all heading out to the Lotus Temple a huge beautiful structure, which houses a multifaith place of worship for everybody to worship their own God of choice - Part of the Baha'i movement. Silence was enforced in the building meaning it was a brief moment of peace in the chaos of Delhi.

Time was pushing on and we jumped on the super efficient, super clean, super air conditioned  metro and got off close to Humayan's Tomb. A huge tomb built in the Mughal period by a man's wife after his death. It now contains over 100 Mughal including his favourite barber.  The tomb has a part to play in the history of Delhi as it was where the last Mughal Emperor was found fleeing by the British before they removed his power from him.

For our final visit of the day we stopped a a famous mosque for the singing sulfi's. A group of Muslim men singing religous songs, the singing was very interesting to see before our last trip on the super clean metro back to our hostel, before grabbing a bite to eat at the street cafe over the road.  Then it was a trip to the bus stop for our night bus to Jaipur!

**Photos to follow**

A honeymoon treat at Neemrana fort Palace Hotel

A last minute change of course...for the better!!

Soooo.... we were on our night train to Dehli from Jaisalmer, realising it was still a few days before our friend was arriving from Australia and we would have lots of time to kill in Dehli before he arrived and not wanting to see too many sights without him we decided we wanted to go somewhere else. We had heard so many bad things about Dehli that we really wanted to put off the innevitable of having to go there!

So an hour or so on google later I had searched 'nice places for weekend breaks near dehli' and was not suprised tha most of which that had come up were over 5 hours away (this is considered a perfectly acceptable distance to travel on a friday and return on a monday!).
I wanted something closer so was very happy when I stumbles on the Neemrana fort Palace hotel website. The fort is the closest to Dehli out of all of the forts in Rajisthan and has been converted into a luxury hotel.

We decided it was about time we spent some time 'honeymooning' so booked one night in one of their 'basic rooms' (we payed £70inc breakfast) and planned to eat lots of yummy food, drink good wine and chill out by the pool. We felt it would be welcomed respite before Dehli... So we hopped of the train a few stops early to a little village 15kms away and took a tuk tuk to the hotel.

Any way the place is beautiful and they do lots of activities on sight (some even included in the stay). These were 2 pools on site (one adult only) a Zip wire run by the same company we did it with in Jodhpur (payable), lovely hills/mountains to walk/trek up, Yoga in the mornings, a Spa, High Tea in the afternoons, a long 4 hour happy hour at the bar, live Rajisthani music for an hour every evening with cocktails, vintage car tours of the local village and much more.

We were lucky enough while there to end up getting a free upgrade from our basic room (but still very beautiful) to the most expensive room in the hotel! We felt incredibly lucky and it was so nice to spend a night in such luxurious surroundings! We would recommend anyone wanting to have a luxury night to stay here as its great actually being inside an old fort and being treated so well. But in order to travel for as long as possible, we certainly wont be making a habit of such luxury...back to the real travelling with a bump....off to Dehli.

Sunsets and Sand Dunes - Our Desert Camel Trek

Okay, so we were in Jaisalmer, and many people who go to Jaisalmer go for the same reason, to spend a day on a camel and a night under the stars in the desert. We thought about this and made a decision with a few others from our guesthouse that we would stay for 2 nights in the desert. We booked our trip through our guesthouse which was Nomads guest house in Jaisalmer. The guesthouse owner named Aladdin arranged it and his prices were what we were expecting to pay (and lower than others who we met on our travels had paid) We paid 1200 INR per night in the desert, including all food, water, chai, blankets and bedding. There is some slightly cheaper treks, but we had heard good things about the trek arranged by Aladdin and we were not disappointed. 

Day 1:

At 9 am the following day we had breakfast packed our stuff and were ready to go! We left our large luggage at the guesthouse and carried a small backpack with us, in it contained spare clothing, underwear, a few snacks, and our camera. Aladdin drove us in the jeep ( included in the price) for around 40 minutes, and showed us Kuldhara village on the way. In 1825 all the people in Kuldhara and nearby villages vanished in the night, leaving it abandoned and desolate. It was a large village of Brahmins (upper class people) that left due to fear of being killed by the king as they didn't want to let him marry the village chief's daughter. It seems such a shame as there are so many beautifully well designed buildings that have gone to waste.

After this we drove for another 20 mins to a remote village where we looked to the left and saw the camel drivers (Yes....they are called camel drivers not riders) running towards the jeep, there were 7 camels in our train, (camel train, hence drivers) they jogged towards us and sat the camels down, introduced themselves. We met our guide leader who's name was Hussain, and he introduced his team, Babu - the chef, and Mangalu, who was a friend who helps him sort the camels whilst he looks after the guests. 

We were given our camels for the next few days, the supplies were strapped to the camel, including a large coca-cola coolbox. (it looked rather humorous, having an ancient mode of middle eastern transport with the largest western brand in the world strapped to his back). Then we were off, for around an hour to get us used to riding the camels. By now it was around 12.30 and the camels were getting hungry, we knew that because as we were walking along the camels were grabbing whatever they could from the bushes. So we stopped and Babu cooked up some lunch, a veg curry with chappatis cooked over the open fire. We shared some with a few stray dogs that were sat on the dunes with us. This lunch break lasted around 3 hours, as it would not make any sense to be on the camels in the heat of the day. We all ate our food, and had a nap, read a book and had another nap. 

Then Hussain went and rounded up the camels and saddled and loaded them up (They unload them as much as possible for the comfort of the camel, and the fact that a lot of the equipment they carry is for cooking the food and the drinking water). Once saddled up we were back on the trail for another 2 hours before it the sun was starting to set, and we made it to our first sand dune. A lot of the desert area in the desert near Jaisalmer is more like arid scrubland, and after a heavy monsoon season there was a lot of greenery and scrub. but the sand dunes were like the desert not a bush or tree in sight. we sat on the softest sand since Goa, and watched as the sun went down, whilst drinking a cool beer (the reason for the coolbox.) It was quite amazing to be in a place with no man made sounds, and no light pollution, the stars were as bright as you would expect. We stayed up until around 9pm before getting into our sleeping bag liners, and under our blankets (the blankets sit on the camel during the day so they have a rather interesting odour to sleep in) it was getting cold, so we were fully dressed. in our liners, and it was strange going to sleep under the stars, and it was not the best nights sleep. We were woken by fighting dogs, and the cold fog rolling in over us, saturating our blankets. We woke around 8.30am and had our breakfast of toast, jam and boiled eggs.

Day 2:

By 9 am we were back on our camels, for another few hours, before our lunch break, by this point our groins were aching, so we were a little pleased to get off the camels and stretch our achey limbs. Babu rustled up a delicious aubergine curry over the open fire, with more fresh chapattis. Another long lunch break when we were woken by a herd of cows and goats walking past with the bells around their necks. One of our camel guides stood up, and chatted to the farmer, before the guide with the least English stood up abruptly and with bundles of enthusiasm shouted "MILK CHAI". He proceeded to sneak up on a goat and milk it into a pan. This was really a nice milk chai, we all agreed we'd never had fresher milk! After this we were back on the camels to make it to the next dune for sleeping on. I haven't mentioned that by this point a dog we had fed on our first night, had followed us all this way, we had named her Marilyn, and she was very tame to us, and followed us from the moment we met her until the moment we left. She even chased off another stray dog which was trying to steal our food supplies,So another night under the stars very relaxed and a better nights sleep because it didn't get quite so cold! 

Day 3:

The next morning we were up, our muscles feeling marginly better from the nights rest. We had the same breakfast, before getting back in the saddle. We rode to a desert village to have a look around and meet some locals before then having to work our way back to the meeting point. We arrived 10 minutes before Aladdin and had time to say goodbye to our camels, and Marilyn the dog, before we were back in the jeep for the ride back to Jaisalmer with our very tired, smelly, and aching bodies. This experience was great and will last in our memories, a great mix of pleasure and pain. We would highly recommend doing a non touristy tour and booking your camel trek at Nomads guest house.

The beautiful sunset

Our trek leader Hussain

Our new friend Marilyn

Fresh goats milk for "MILK CHAI"

Sore muscles, but happy faces!!

The Golden City of Jaisalmer..all the things other than the desert!!

Travel
We took the night train from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer and arrived at around 6am. The journey was pretty easy going and our first experience of the sleeper class (the most basic without A/C or bedding).

Accommodation
We stayed at a fab hostel called Nomads Guesthouse. We were recommended to stay here by other travellers that we had met and we can really understand why! Their hospitality is endless, they really do take care of you. The rooms are basic as most are in India but they are clean and the beds are comfy! The rooftop restaurant is a great place to chill  with a great view of the fort and the food is good. The location is perfect for exploring the city.

What did we do??
We didn't actually do a lot other than the desert trek (please see other post for info) - unfortunately I was ill which meant we were confined to the guest house for 1 and a half days! However, below are some of the places we visited.

The Fort
Unlike other forts we had seen this one is actually lived in and is home to plenty of restaurants, shops and cafes! It has beautiful little windy streets with loads of character. We enjoyed just spending time wandering around and bargaining over a few clothing items / head scarves which we bought for desert trip!

Other things to see in Jaisalmer:

• Jain Temple -  This temple is inside the fort, its really beautiful, although expensive for its size (200rs inc. audio guide - although be warned they want your passport to secure the guides!). 
• Raj Mahal - The  7 storied royal palace inside the fort with lovely architecture.
• Bara Bagh - Around 6km from the town, this is a special burial place for the royal family of Jaisalmer, the buildings are beautiful.
• The Haveli's -  We didn't actually go into any as we ran out of time, but admired some from outside. They are beautiful Private mansions often built with spectacular architecture by rich Indian families! (Good ones to see are - Diwan Nath Mahal ki Haveli,  Salim Singh ki Haveli and Patwon ki Haveli) 
• Gadsisar Lake - (Once a water reservoir to the whole of Rajasthan!) Now a relaxed and beautifully calm place to spend some time. It is surrounded by little temples and lots of birds so a nice place away from the crowds!

Jaisalmer Fort perimeter wall

Daal Bhati Churma

Dogs escaping the lunchtime heat

The narrow inner fort alleys

Bara Bagh

A fleeting visit to the Blue City of Jodhpur

Travel
We got the bus from Udaipur to Jodphur during the day. It left at 8am and got us here about 15.00. The bus was non-A/C (definately a mistake) We had the windows open with the hot air blowing in...it literally felt like a hair dryer on our faces...needless to say by the time we arrived our eyeballs were very dry!!

Our Accommodation

We stayed for one night at the Geeta Mahal - which is a fairly new guesthouse (only open around 45 days!) and so the facilities are excellent. Very reliable wifi and hot water along with fluffy white towels and pristine bedsheets-which if you've travelled india you will know are a rarity! There aren't many rooms but all are decorated to an excellent standard. Our room is called the Maharja's suite and looked like a room in a castle! But beware...the doorways are extremely low..poor Gary had a very sore head by the time we left!

We ate dinner in the rooftop cafe of the guesthouse which was actually very good. We had tomato masala and cashew and mushroom curry with rice and naan and it was extremely tasty!

A busy day of sightseeing...

We woke up early to go on our city bike tour. Its wasn't expensive (350rs) and lasts just over 2 hours. Although the tour guides are happy to take longer if your able! We saw lots of the sights in the city and it was great riding around so early and seeing the city wake up. We learnt lots about the culture and in particular the Brahmins, which are a caste in the Hindu system and their homes are distinguished by electric and azure blue coloured walls, due to which Jodhpur is called the "Blue City" of India. My favourite part was seeing the other side of the fort and climbing the steps and walking the wall.

They also do a walking tour in Jodhpur which is supposed to be good, but we didn't find out any specific details.

After the bike tour we returned to the guesthouse for lassie and to get ready to spend some time sightseeing. 

We returned on foot to a few of the places we had seen on the bikes and also meandered round the market. 

For lunch we were able to stop at 'shahi samosa' -A place with a constant crowd of people outside and great tripadvisor reviews- we bought three bits to share a kachuri, samosa and chilly bombs! All were great and surprisingly I loved the chilli bomb so we had 2! 

It was really hot walking around so Gary and Sam (a guy we've met out here) decided to go for a swim with the local boys in the beautiful old 'step well' (water collection tank) where the water is really clear (it still is filtered off and used for drinkibg water) and there's lots of places to jump in! The indian boys are all really competitive and are trying to get the highest/most eccentric jumps off the steps, so obviously gary had to join in!

Fort 

Once the boys had sufficiently dried off and the weather had cooled (ever so slightly) we walked to the Mehrangarh fort. Its very imposing from the outside, and inside doesnt let you down. We wandered round the grounds but didn't go into the museum as we felt a little Museum'd out! But we had something else exciting to do....the Flying fox. 

You will see this advertised in lots of places and it really is worth the hype. Its not cheap..(1650 for Gary and then 1450 for me! Student rate- I was able to pass as under 24 and a student unlike gary!) But you zipline over the fort and the lakes surrounding the grounds. You do 6 ziplines , each very different and they become progressively longer. It was great fun...although a little scary at times!

In the evening we just chilled at the guesthouse. They were great, letting us shower and store our bags there. We had dinner and waited until it was time to catch the rickshaw to the train station to move onto our next coloured city Jaisalmer.

Abi on the Zipwire

The Blue City

Jodhpur Fort

Early Morning cycle tour

Chilled time in the white city, Udaipur

Transport

So we had booked a night train from mumbai to udaipur but unfortunately we hit a spot of bother and due to our tickets not being confirmed we decided to not take the risk of boarding the train on a general ticket,

so we end up going on another night bus costing 2500 for both of us. Thankfully it ended up being he nicest night bus we have used since being away! It was clean and comfortable and thankfully the roads were forgiving, so it enabled us a fairly good nights sleep!

Accomodation

While in Udaipur we stayed in Udai Haveli Guesthouse which was a great location right near Lake Pichola, budget friendly and the staff are really friendly (especially Vicky). He was great at helping us with planning our days, helping us with being able to know when people were conning us, offering suggestions on places to eat, helping us buy 'secret beer' and he even helped us rush to the tuk tuk carrying our bags for us on the last day!

Morning yoga 

Abi was lucky enough to be able to do yoga in the mornings and tried 2 different places; Nukkad Guesthouse & Prakash Yoga. Both are at 8am for 1 hour and run on a donation basis. The classes are both very different in style with Nukkad being more relaxed and Prakash more traditional.  Abi said It felt great to get up early and do these classes and she would really recommend anyone wanting to keep up their yoga practice to attend.

Wandering the windy streets

Our favourite part of Udaipur was certainly the beautiful windy streets filled with gorgeous art, clothing and homeware shops alongside many cafe's and restaurants. On our first day we took a walk around the town, accross the lake, to either side. the town is one of the cleanest we have visited, and its not too busy, less intrusive honking than Mumbai. On our walk we stopped in at Edelweiss cafe where we had the best chocolate brownie we had had in India for only 60 INR, it was firm and dense unlike some of the others which are closer to a chocolate cake, than a chocolate brownie.

We continued walking and came across Ashok arts, where Abi stopped for some henna on her hand it was commented on that it was a good one, we were advised that to make henna last longer you should apply sugar water whilst it is drying. This took about 15 minutes to d o and we continued to walk around the art shops, before deciding to go to the Queen Cafe, the other side of the river, crossing the pedestriian footbridge, it is only 200 yards after the bridge, and the food was exceptional. Meenu came and spoke with us. The restaurant is in Meenu's parents home, and it is tiny, but the food is good value and delicious, Abi had the pumpkin curry, Gary had the tomato curry and we had the kasmiri pullao, everything was amazing and great value, you cannot fault Meenu's cooking skills, she also runs a tour from the restaurant and cookery classes around the corner. She is definitely a busy lady, but is down to earth and easy to talk to. Her English is exceptional, and she is excellent with tourists. We had already booked on a cookery course, with Noble Cookery class.

The next morning we were up early to visit the white palace in Udaipur, which has many artefacts, and lots of unique features, we hired a guide for 300 INR (it was cheaper than getting two audio guides) he gave us lots of information on the history of Udaipur and its rulers, and talked us through stories of battles that have commenced in Udaipur. The palace was nice and grounds were good, but the museum was not quite so awe inspiring as the Mysore Palace, which leaves you awestruck. This palace tour took approx 2 and a half hours.

Once we had finished we walked out to Noble Cookery class which is just off a side street by the crossroads near the palace. Only a few minutes walk. When we arrived, we were greeted by Rajni who had a smile beaming from ear to ear. She was a lovely lady and a great cook. The food she taught us to cook was amazing, very tasty. and it was plentiful, we left so full we didn't want to eat for the rest of the evening. we started the cookery course around 2pm and finished around 7pm. In which time we had learnt a variety of dishes, and eaten them all!! After the cookery course we took a leisurely stroll back to the hostel, trying to walk off some of the food!!

The next day, Abi's alarm went off to go to yoga, but we had been burning the candle at both ends for a few days, so we switched it off, and had an extra hour in bed, we got up and did a bit of blogging, before walking to the end of the street to a newly opened Green Grass Cafe for a Lassi. The owner was a very nice man who couldn't do enough for us. he talked us through everything in Udaipur, and made sure we had sample'd its many delights, even offering to cook us a special dish and bring it in the next day. Unfortunately we were booked up the next day, so had to refuse his offer, but his understanding of food and nutrition was second to none. he is right next to Prakash Yoga, and is open in the mornings for fruit juices, healthy porridge etc, so after your yoga class you can stop in for healthy food and a morning shot of righteousness.

We meandered the streets till around 5pm where we found the info on the government boat for a sunset cruise of lake picchola, it was nice, takes around 45 mins, but doesn't stop at the posh hotel in the lake like the private lake tours. Nevertheless there is quite a price difference, the government boat being 300-400 INR and the private boats being 700 INR(after 2pm, however you can stay at the island hotel as long as you like and can jump on any boat back to the mainland) I would recommend the sunset tour, the views are beautiful of the mountain range, and the hotels look stunning when they put their lights on. We finished our boat cruise at 6.40 and quickly rushed around the corner to watch the cultural show at Bagore Ki Haveli. This was really interesting, with fire dancers, and ladies dancing with huge pots on their heads, whilst dancing on glass. After this we visited the Queen Cafe again, although the food wasn't so good the second time, we met a very interesting Australian couple who we kept chatting to until late.

On our last full day in Udaipur we went to Green Grass cafe for breakfast, and then later went to the cable car, we took a rickshaw to the site which is about 3 km from the main tourist area, it was cheap and we got to the cable car with a couple who we had become friends with. we hired a personal car, whcih was 480 INR for the four of us(the standard price for a lone traveller is 85 inr) , the private car meant we did not have to wait. the views from the top were beautiful and we spent around 30 minutes at the top admiring them and being entertained by a pair of large playful monkeys. the rickshaw had waited and gave us a lift down the hill. ont he way back Abi stopped for some shopping and got a leather handbag and matching purse for 600 INR. Then we stopped in a travel agent and booked our bus to Jodhpur, and onward travel to Jaisalmer! we used a company called Tips and Travels, who only charged 30 INR for each ticket we had booked on top of the ticket price.

The stand out point of Udaipur is the SHOPPING!!!!! they have lots of little boutique shops selling souvenirs with beautiful tailors that can make made to measure shirts/suits and dresses as well as leather shops, furniture shops and in particular art galleries. Udaipur is famous for its minature art. It really is amazing looking at the paintings that are great but then when you take the time to look closer with a magnifying glass you really can appreciate the level of detail that has gone into painting them! Abi even had one of the artists paint an incredibly detailed elephant on her thumb nail!!!

Overall we felt Udaipur was incredibly charming and you can see why they say it is the 'Venice of India'. Its romantic and was a lovely place for us to spend some time together.

Us in front of the palace:

The view of Lake Pichola from a rooftop bar:

The Sunset Boat Tour - Seeing the Palace from the other side

Cable Car up to the highest point with views of Udaipur lakes and then the city

Caves, Caves & more Caves...Aurangabad

Transport

We planned to take the 2pm Janshatabdi Express train from Dadar stn in Mumbai to Aurrangabad...however, we ended up missing our train...annoyingly by 2 minutes..which resulted in us needing to book a last minute bus. In the hope of not wasting too much time we frantically searched for one leaving as soon as possible so we could avoid getting there too late and still have a full day the next day. We managed to find one and after some trouble booking and getting onto it we were able to settle down for the long journey. Typically being a private bus company they stopped alot to fill the empty seats resulting in us arriving in Aurangabad 2 hrs later than scheduled!! 

Accomodation

We found a budget hotel rated highly on tripadvisor and it was literally next to the train station so perfect location for getting to and from Mumbai. Its called 'Hotel Preetam' and the staff are very helpful, the rooms are clean, Wifi is good (a rarity in india) and there are some good restaurants on the same road too. This made it an ideal base for our 2 days of visiting the infamous Ajanta and Ellora Caves.

Day 1 - Ajanta Caves

So we dragged ourselves out of bed relatively early..despite our 3am arrival and spoke with the hotel staff, who informed us that really we needed to get up earlier if we wanted to take the bus to Ajanta as it would take 3 hours, so we wouldn't arrive until after 1pm. He suggested a taxi would be the most time effective and offered to book one for us. I knew full well that the price he stated (1800) would not be the cheapest as he would have to make his cut, but exhausted from the night before and wanting our day to go well I went ahead and took it anyway. 

Our driver was called Azim and he spoke very good English and the 2 hr journey flew by while we chatted with him.

On arrival to the caves you have to pay a 10rs pp 'Amenity charge' we weren't really sure what for but the driver explained it was for the upkeep of the 'tourist centre' (shopping centre with pestering staff!) you have to walk through in order to get the bus upto the caves.

The government bus costs 15-20rs each-way depending if u want a/c or not and they're the only way to get upto the caves.

Entry as in all places was a much higher price for us tourists (250pp) than locals.

We avoided the cost of a guide and instead bought a book that covered both sets of caves as well as other local sites which was great as we were able to understand what we were looking at!

The caves are beautiful and just amazing that they were created so long ago without today's technology and remain a sought after attraction today. We had a great time meandering between caves taking photos and learning about their history.

The one thing we didn't enjoy was the fact that we seemed to be a tourist attraction ourselves! Being asked to have our photo taken with every single person that walked past certainly becomes tiring after a while. This happens a lot in India but we found it to be almost unbearable here as we could barely walk 10mtr without being asked. It can be young or old people that ask and usually its just because they have never seen a white person before and are intrigued, but what actually started to upset me was that some of the younger groups of guys would try and sneak photos of us anyway even when we have said no. Gary had to get firm with one group who kept reappearing and sneakily taking photos. Having spoken with Indian people about this we have been told to be firm and say no. So we'll see how it goes!

Shopping mall 

Aurrangabad has a large shopping mall called the Prozone mall. It'll cost around 250rs rtn with the rickshaw driver waiting between. We had to go for an emergency backpack shop and much to Gary's delight there was a large decathlon there. There were lots of shops and it was clean..much like a western mall. It was a great place to pick up a few bits that perhaps you may struggle to find elsewhere.

Day2 - Ellora Caves..followed by Khuldabad, Daulatabad Fort and the mini Taj Mahal!

Having met the taxi driver yesterday, he offered to take us to Ellora and also the other sights of Aurangabad for 1000rs. We looked at the bus and it costs 300rs each and wont take you to the other sights, so we decided we would take the taxi again just because it was easier. 

We left Aurangabad at around 8.30am and headed straight for the caves, the journey is significantly shorter so we were able to get there by 9ish. 

The caves are very different to Ajanta with them being carved opposed to painted...we were amazed at how intricate alot of the carving is and really cave 16 is special. 

After the caves we had a lunch break eating a delicious thali just down the road. We then made our way back to Aurangabad where we first visited khulabad (a Muslim burial place with several tombs - specifically of interest are Aurangzeb's Tomb & The Tombs of Azam Shah and his wife) that clearly is a very special place, but we did'nt really understand very much about it until we read about it afterwards. We then headed to Daulatabad fort, it was a lovely walk around the fort with great views and the fort itself had really nice architecture....almost British (minus the elephant spikes in the door) finally to end the day, we drove to the mini taj mahal (Bibi Ka Maqbara), it was really very similar in looks although i'm sure far less grand!! But nonetheless it was nice to walk around and quite peaceful, so a good way to end the day. Overall it was a very jam packed day but we very much enjoyed it and were glad to have had the opportunity to see so many things in only 2 days.

Thankfully we made our early morning 6am train back to Mumbai. It was great to travel during the day for a change and see all of the beautiful scenery! 

 Ajanta Caves - famous for the paintings

Ellora Caves - famous for its carvings

The fort

Mini Taj Mahal!