Final stop in India - Delhi. Spending the night in sleeper class (as we normally did because it was so cheap!) usually means you have to deal with dodgy windows which never seem to shut properly and that, doubled with the fact we had just undertaken a 20 hour train ride through the desert meant that upon arrival in the capital we were covered head to toe in dust. Ready to face the onslaught of touts and rickshaw drivers we made our way out of the station to find... no one! Not one single taxi driver, rickshaw or anyone really. It appeared that we had arrived in one of the busiest, most congested cities in the world on their National Holiday (coincidently the same day as Australia Day - you can also probably tell I’m a ... read more

Namaste from Rajasthan! As you may have guessed the last blog was rather delayed, primarily due to illness followed by being too busy having a good time to get anywhere near a computer. So, we have spent the last 12 or so days moving along the very well trodden tourist trail in Rajasthan, visiting Jaipur followed by Pushkar and then Udaipur. Unfortunately being so touristy (compared to Southern India that is), we have noticed that most of the locals treat us as if we are walking ATM machines ready to dispense money on cue. Even when we tell them we are poor students who have no jobs they just assume that our parents funded our trip and that we have an unlimited supply to dip into. Alas, this is not the case, though I very much ... read more

Mumbai surprised me in many ways. I really did not expect to like it at all, yet ended up really enjoying myself. The first thing that strikes you about Mumbai is the increase in the cost of living compared to the rest of India. We paid the equivalent of $50 AUD to stay in what can only be described as a white windowless box 2x2 meters squared. After 6 hours of sleep in there (if we actually slept thanks to the hotel staff playing music off their phones, talking or spitting) we would wake up gasping for air and the less said about the common bathroom the better. Mumbai is an interesting mix of extreme wealth and extreme poverty. Whilst Chowpatty, Colaba, the Fort area and Churchgate all seem to have rather clean well kept streets ... read more

We arrived in Mysore in the early afternoon. After a quick bite to eat we headed to Mysore’s main attraction, the Maharaja’s palace. It was amazing, completely over the top in every way possible. The attention to detail inside was incredible and the whole palace was an almost foolish display of wealth. From the kaleidoscope of colours in the stained glass windows (I stole that line from the lonely planet, it just fits so perfectly), to intricately carved doors inlaid with ivory or gold, to roof to floor paintings, to mosaic floors, it was absolutely amazing. Shame photos were prohibited inside though, as it was truly breathtaking. While in Mysore we also checked out the Devaraja Markets. The markets were a colourful display of fruit, vegetables, spices, flowers, kumkum (colours) and interesting characters. This was exactly ... read more

Touch down in India! We are having lots of fun, eating too much and drinking to much chai. After a horrible flight from Bangkok in which I had a heart attack every time I someone on the plane stood up (thanks mum for warning me about possible plane hijackings occurring at Chennai airport the day I arrived) we arrived in dirty, polluted, hot and smelly Chennai. For our first 15 days we are doing a tour with intrepid just to get a feel for India before braving it on our own. Lucky for us, our tour group is lots of fun. There isn't really much to see in Chennai, in fact the lonely planet suggests you escape it immediately and make a beeline for the coast, which is what we did. Aside from checking out a ... read more