Yesterday an 'Air Asia' flight took us from Kuala Lumpur airport straight into Krabi Airport. Once again I am totally impressed with the standards of the airlines and airports here - krabi airport was clean, easy to get around and very efficient. the flight also (which we booked online separately) cost only about 30 GBPs for the two of us - and it was well worth avoiding the long treck of the train to take us there. The heat hits you as soon as you get off the plain. Malaysia had been a little cooler - now we realised we had [View Full Entry]

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Kuala Lumpur, I am sure I'm not the only one to point out, is much like Singapore - except with one staggering difference - the Twin Towers. These are amazing - both from a distance and up close, during the day and at night. Our first day was spent much like our first day in Singapore, just getting over our travelling (and with me still recovering from my bug this suited me fine). Day 2 was a little more adventurous. We headed over to a beautiful place called Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens - it is just a few kilometres from the [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Singapore very early and were greeted by a beautifully pristine airport - such a contrast to India! In fact, we later found out this applied to pretty much the whole of Singapore when we explored it further - it is a fantastically clean city. Our hotel was lovely - bit of a change from all the youth hostels. Day 1 was a bit of a blur though as I was poorly with a stomach bug (no doubt from something I ate in India). We used the Metro to take us to our hotel from the airport - again [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) early, and went straight to our hotel by taxi - crossing the Howrah Bridge - the busiest bridge in the world. It is crammed full of cars, cycles etc constantly - our taxi driver also told us that it is the only bridge of its size to only have two pillars holding it up - wish he hadn't told us this when we are already half way across it! The hotel was not spectacular but we were so tired from the overnight trained that we crashed out straight away. Our first impression of Calcutta was that [View Full Entry]

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So Varanasi has a completely different feel to the other places we have visited in India so far. It is very religious, spiritual and more tranquil place than the hustle and bustle of Rajastan. It is still very busy but we haven't been hassled even quarter as much as in the other more 'touristy' places in Northern India. Varanasi is a pilgramage town for Hindus - they travel from all around india to see the Ganges - and it is most Hindis dying wish to be cremated here at the Burning Ghat on the banks of the Varanasi. We walked through [View Full Entry]

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The Sleeper train - okay nowhere near as bad as we were imagining. A bit cramped, quite cold (we didn't really have adequate bedding) but on the whole for the money we payed it was a smooth journey, got no hassle on the train, felt safe and -appart from the 10 minute intervals of squarking tea men walking up and down the carriages chanting and hoping to sell tea coffee - fairly quiet. In fact we had quite a laugh in the end as we met a nice Australian/English couple who were sleeping on the bunks above us - who are [View Full Entry]

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Well not much to say about the last day in Agra - just spent waiting for the night to come and the dreaded 'sleeper train' to Varanasi. "dreaded" because we really have no idea how bad (or good) it is going to be and also because there were no spaces left in First Class AC carriages so we have had to buy 2nd class! Just one thing to mention about the last day in Agra - short on Indian Rupees and out of travellers cheques we went to an ATM opposite the TaJ Mahal gate to withdraw some money. All seemed [View Full Entry]

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Day 2 in Agra began with a lazy wake up and then a trip to Agra Fort on a Rickshaw. Until now, all our experiences of travelling in the Citys have been by AutoRickshaws which are small but moterised - today we had a ride on a proper one - with a guy cycling us the whole way. This was a little more scary to say the least as on the roads in India it is first come first served - and you don't pick up much speed on a cycle rickshaw! Anyway, plenty of photos from the Agra Fort - [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Agra at about 4pm after a 6 hour bus journey which was suprisingly okay. The bus was just like a UK bus only older and a bit grubbier. All the curtiains were closed which was probably for the best as watching the Indian traffic is a bit scary. Again, hassled as we got off the bus - but kept our composure and managed to flag down a decent rickshaw to take us to our Hotel. Our hotel is right next to the East Gate of the Taj Mahal- we can only just see one or two turrets at the [View Full Entry]

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Well we have had a really lovely day in Jaipur today. We got up leisurely and had some breakfast, took a Rickshaw to the bus station to buy our ticket to Agra for the following day and then rode up into the mountains on a rickshaw to see the Amber Fort and Palace. We have so many photos- it was stunning, the views were breathtaking. On the way there we saw elephants with their faces and trunks painted in many colours carrying people , also camels pulling carts - their backs and heads decorated in brightly coloured fabrics. Tonight we are [View Full Entry]

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