Flo

This is how I'd imagined monsoon in Palolem! We are blessed with sunshine which stretches on for days, before the humidity builds and releases torrential downpours which reflect and revive. We get a fantastic deal on a penthouse apartment on the Palolem - Patnem road, just 5 mins walk through coconut groves to the beach. We are living in sparkling clean luxury complete satellite TV, internet connection, our own kitchen and huge, completely private sunbathing terrace. I take advantage of the seclusion with some serious tan line free sun worship! We go to market in Chaudi every few days for fresh fruit, veg and fish. It's a real novelty to cook for ourselves after over 11 months on the road. Coming back after our jaunt in Karnataka, we find we have become 'local'. Villagers greet us ... read more

A pigeon poos on my head whilst we wait for our bus to Mumbai...I feel very lucky, especially as for the next two and a half days we will spend over 30 hours on ‘sleeper’ buses. It’s a long way from Udaipur to Goa, but we are stopping in Mumbai, the half way point, to break the marathon journey. We catch a bus to Ritch’s Auntie Faye’s apartment where we’re staying. We had thought we’d spend a few days in the city but the just arrived monsoon is torrential so there seems little point. We’re rained in for most of the day, just popping out to buy overnight bus tickets to Goa for the following evening. But there’s still time for a night out with Ritch’s cousin Stephanie at her local club, where we meet a ... read more

From the Golden City to the Blue City...six hours on a bus takes us back east, to Jodhpur. It is much bigger than Jaisalmer; the urban sprawl housing around one million people. Jodhpur is the Blue City because many of the buildings are painted with whitewash tinted with indigo. Originally used to mark out the houses of high caste Brahmins, the colour wash caught on and has spread throughout the walled old city. We check into the Sing-vi Haveli, a beautiful old merchants house in the neighbourhood of Navchokiya, right in the shadows of the imposing Meherangarh Fort, which looms 400ft above the city. Narrow streets wind uphill to the fort, bustling with shoppers and traders...sweet shops, tinkers and tailors, spice shops and puppet makers do business in these medieval lanes, and it's easy to imagine ... read more

There's another English girl on our bus to Pushkar who I get talking to. I ask how she's finding traveling on her own here, and how she's been coping with unwanted male attention. She has more than a couple of tales of harassment; her trip sounding more like a test of endurance than anything else. As if to illustrate our point, a group of men get on the bus and take the rows behind us, eyes on stalks as they nudge each other. The one sat behind Ritch leans right forward, holding onto Ritch's headrest and gawping at me. We ask him what it is that he wants, but he doesn't reply...just carries on staring, provoking Ritch into a bizarre stare out session that lasts most of the journey. I can't believe how long it takes ... read more

No one ever has anything nice to say about Agra, the town that surrounds the Taj Mahal. Everyone has stories of hassle from agressive touts and scammers, so my expectations aren't that high. On the other hand, everyone has loads of good things to say about the Taj Mahal, and so, as we're finding is the way here, we're ready to take the rough with the smooth. Our delayed train finally pulls into Agra at midnight, there are no touts around and the pre-paid rickshaw stand is still open, so we have an easy escape from the station. We end up at the Shanti Lodge, not far from the Taj's eastern gate, although it's not until breakfast that we realise how close we are. The view from the rooftop cafe is fantastic: the Taj Mahal gleams ... read more