Early the following morning we were picked up by our driver (who amusingly gets a furrowed brow of confusion during every conversation attempt) to go to Ranakpur, which is ninety kilometres north of Udaipur. There was a new highway being carved out of the mountains, and the road itself seemed to encapsulate modern India. Cars took guesses at where to drive on the unfinished roads while the diggers were still making them. This meant that there were boulders in the road that drivers had to keep getting out of their cars to move out the way. People were sat in the [View Full Entry]

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The train from Delhi to Udaipur was another twelve hour sleeper train stint. We managed to find the station, platform, and even our seats with surprising, and indeed out of character for us on this trip, ease! The driver that we had booked also met us without a hitch, although he does remind me of a cross between an 80's gangster, and a kind of Marbella playboy. Rob thinks he looks like the man from Del Monte. Our first impressions of Udaipur and Rajasthan, were that it seemed completely different to the rest of the Indian states that we had visited [View Full Entry]

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DELHI - ROUND 2 We managed to get the train back to Delhi without too much hassle. For a while in the station in Haridwar we thought we might not make it because there was a complete lack of information anywhere at all in the station. We finally worked out the platform, after running around like headless chickens for half an hour and asking about 6 different people! Delhi, we were pleased to report, was a lot better the second time around when we knew what to expect. The people were still a little pushy, but we felt that our feelings [View Full Entry]

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RISHIKESH The train to Rishikesh from Varanasi was an extra long journey. It seemed to take forever! We were on the train for 22 hours, but despite this, it was really quite pleasant, and in our berth there were a number of young people. They were really friendly, and we had a good banter about the cricket, although whilst we were on the train England beat India at Old Trafford! From the train station in Haridwar we had the scariest Auto Rickshaw that I have ever experienced! We were quite literally afraid as the driver overtook one too many cars a [View Full Entry]

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Our first sleeper train in India was not the most pleasant experience. We felt rushed after nearly missing the train to begin with, and that set the mood for the rest of the journey really. When we finally arrived in Varanasi we were both ready for bed as I hadn't slept a wink because there were too many staring men. (And because I couldn't relax that meant that Rob couldn't either.) Once we arrived in Varanasi we realised immediately how amazing it is and why so many people are drawn here. Without a doubt it was the most spiritual place in [View Full Entry]

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The train from Agra to Jhansi was really calm and comfortable, probably more so than the trains we have in England! Our hotel in Orchha was really beautiful as well. There was a four poster bed and even a swimming pool! We did not expect to be staying in places like this, but it was certainly nothing to moan about! We had the most amazing day in Orchha, the town was a welcome relax from the hustle and bustle of both Delhi and Agra, and all of the people were really welcoming. Our guide for the day, Rajish, who approached us [View Full Entry]

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Robbie and I had been starting to feel a lot more happy and at ease with the confusing state that is India. We were picked up at 7.30 on the dot as promised from our hotel to start our onward journey out of Delhi into the unknown. Our driver, Mannu, (meaning baby in Hindi apparently) picked us up in a Columbian looking white taxi and our journey was nothing short of fantastic! Delhi at this time in the morning was still bustling like any big city but it seemed slightly calmer and more at ease with itself. We also realised how [View Full Entry]

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Oh no! Can't even get out of Manchester without a few hitches! First of all we couldn't use the machines to get ourselves checked in and then there were a few issues with our sacks having too many straps and me managing to get through security with mine and Robbie not. (I thought he was getting groped behind a blue curtain and panicked a bit because he was nowhere to be seen.) In order to rectify the situation, we were forced to cause a scene and run back through security and palm our happy sacks off to a random guy at [View Full Entry]

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