Annelisa

Agra - 15th January 2011 Day 22 - Delhi to Agra We had a 6am start to catch an early express train to Agra, which was fine as Peta and I are traveliing machines and manage to get fully packed and ready to go in 20 minutes - machines!!  Luckily the train is on time today so no alternatives have to be looked at - apparently it has been running up to 6 hours late in event days due to the fog. So here we are, watching the countryside go by on our first day train of tour 2. There is just so much poverty, rubbish and general crap around it blows our mind - plus when I say crap I LITERALLY mean crap - we have been on the train for about an hour and I ... read more

Day 15 Hampi to Goa Early start 4am to get buses to train station - arrive 5.30am for day train which is supposed to arrive 6.30am, although this is 'India time' which means it can arrive in the next 24 hours or not at all. This is painful - who though up this shit!!!! Plus the 'two way zoo' has become single way and we have a number of young men blatantly staring at us - I am about to start throwing punches!! We also have the unique experience of people joining our little group randomly, just listening and watching us, but generally they stand so close it is uncomfortable. So on the train platform (and I'm going to blame boredom as the train was an hour late) I started doing it back  - and ... read more

Mysore - 4th-5th January 2011 Day 11 - overnight train then Mysore Arrived at Bangalore to change trains around 10am - quick spot of breakfast (I succumbed and had some vegemite on bread - really felt like it!) before train 2 to Mysore. Everyone has their own thing on the travel times - some read, sleep, watch movies, write travel blogs..,, we all have our own entertainment. I think we are lucky how good our group is - we are all quite different (except for Holly and I who seem to have been separated at birth) but we all get along very well and have had no issues - very lucky!!!  Mysore - very pretty city with quite wide streets, less rubbish and pollution - quite lovely in fact. We have a short time to freshen ... read more

Day 6 - Varkala - 30th December We awake to find ourselves in Varkala and after a short auto rickshaw ride are at our hotel. It is again basic but has all the amenities, including a very short pathway to the beach and all of the local area. Where we are is acutally quite touristy and caters for all types - we seem to encounter a lot of Germans but the general vibe is very much like Bali, but on a much smaller scale. The area is renowned for its cliffside beaches and strong currents, but of course being a true Aussie I can swim in anything, so its not long before I was in the water! Bring on the Arabian Sea!!! Another day spent doing the usual - seeing a temple (again just amazing) on ... read more

Mamallapuram aka Mamabalipuram Day 3 - Monday - Chennai to Mamabailpuram After a leisurely breakfast we jumped into what was really quite a luxurious bus (no air con but windows do the trick!) for a 1.5 hour drive to Mamabalipuram, one of the popular regions south of Chennai. It has quite a different feel and there are a lot more western tourists here - a beachside town with a lot of history, what with it's dead temples (only because of of one part of the temple being damaged it loses it's religious significance and is no longer worthy. Also means you don't have to take shoes off!) After a short walk we hired some bicycles and went touring. Riding was fun although we has to first check our bells worked as this is he main way you ... read more