Another 'TOURIST CITY' high on 'TOUT ALERT' to contend with... just what we need eh!! Well... our determination not to be fooled was as strong as ever as we marched into Varanasi on the offensive. We hopped on a rickshaw which was way too small for us and our evergrowing baggage and clinged to it all the way through town to the restaurant (not hotel) we told our driver to take us too (to avoid being followed into our hotel and having a hefty commission added to our bill). 20 mins into the bumpy ride and still no sign of the [View Full Entry]

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As the title suggests we seem to have landed in India in the off-season. There is a distinct lake of white faces, oversized backpacks and slowly softly spoken language. For us this means feeling like rock-stars everytime we leave our hotel, I mean the amount of attention we generate could run a small town for weeks... Disappointingly for me I have to admit that Lisa takes the lions share in this department, I am lucky to get a 'hello sir, what country' if I duck out for a samosa on my own. When you step onto the street as a foreigner [View Full Entry]

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McLeod Ganj - Where we ditched our plans and spent a week escaping the hordes and breathing the fresh air of the Himalayas. We spent most of the time going for walks or hanging out in the 'Peace Cafe' chowing on peanut butter toast and washing it down with Chai. This is an important town for Tibetans, it hosts their exiled government and is home to the Dalai Lama - so there was plenty to keep us occupied. We got a great hotel room with 180 degree views over the nearby mountains and valley below. We spent hours watching mountain life [View Full Entry]

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Well...we took our first overnight train ride in India to get to Amritsar, pretty exciting, we'd bagged a 3A/c (six bed compartment) complete with sheets, rugs and pillows. We were sharing with an American couple and two Indian guys, after a bit if chat, it was beds down, lights out, sleeping all the way to our destination. I had a good sleep, pretty comfy, although it's a bit of a shock when your woken at your destination and have to haul yourself and luggage of the train...bleary eyed and confused...before it departs for the next station!! Aaron felt ill as soon [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Delhi around mid-day and headed straight for the Paharganj area, frequented by backpackers, kinda like Kho San Rd in Bangkok, with many tourist eatteries and internet cafes, maybe missing the nightlife, but conveniently situated beside New Delhi Train station. Checked into Vivek Hotel, rooms were a little dark and damp...but hey...i guess you only get what you pay for and it did have 'Sam's Cafe' on the rooftop, great place to eat and escape the heat, noise, smells and commotion of the streets below. We ate there alot the first few days, trying to adjust to the Indian [View Full Entry]

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After stemming the wee few tears at George Best International we sent Jim and Jennifer back to Markethill and pressed on to Stansted, Cologne and Eventually Cairo. We breezed through customs, changed money and got our visas, and were out on the mean streets of Egypts Capital. We had negotiated a fair price for our taxi ride to Dahab Hotel and its ‘Rooftop Paradise’ and were rocketing along the M1towards it. It was like being an extra in the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ computer game. The Peugot 504 Taxi with Saeed in the cockpit weaved through the early morning traffic playin [View Full Entry]

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Hello..?? is there a taxi in the house? Obviously not, or not enough anyhow. The quick CTM bus trip from Fes left us at a building site in downtown Chaouen. The local chaffeurs hadn't been briefed on the location of the new Gare Routiere and it took us the best part of an hour to hail one to get us up to the Hotel Tabouta. A bad start got better though as we discovered why this small Rif valley town has become a bit of a haven for backpackers in recent years. I would liken it too Pai in Thailand for [View Full Entry]

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Meknes 'Friendliest city in Morrocco' according to the guide book - my arse! Next train to Fes please... I'd been in Fes 5 years ago and was keen to go back. It didn't disappoint. We arrived in Fes at FEStival time, the city was buzzing, People, Donkeys (1 dead) and taxis filled the streets and music (mostly pretty ordinary) filled the air. We spent our days wandering and getting lost in the largest medi-evil arabic medina in the world and our nights were spent sourcing weird and wonderful street food to fill our bellies. Fes has some unbelievable street food, the [View Full Entry]

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Well....we embarked on what we knew would be the longest bus trip of our travels in Morocco, the 8.5hr ride from Essaouira to Rabat, and instead of going for the timely efficient CTM Government run service the adventurous side of us opted for a cheaper private bus company...hey...the bus looked good in the picture he showed us...isn't that always the way!! So we waited and waited while they scavenged around trying to gather enough passengers to fill the seats, the ailses, the roof and when all options were exhausted at the bus station, we headed out onto the streets of Essaouira [View Full Entry]

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Essaouira... The Wind City. Home to Kite Boarding, Blue and White houses and fishy smells. We camped up here for a few days, just to chillax after the chaos of Marrakech. On our arrival at the bus station we were set upon by hustlers of all shapes and sizes, with little energy to resist we were dragged from Hostel to hotel to Riad with little success. Eventually we came to Riad El Mess, it was a heaven and after some of the flea-pits we had seen - before you could say 'hello, yes please, come see my shop, just for looking' [View Full Entry]

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