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Thomas Taylor & Laura Ramsey
Tom and Laura are from the UK and have decided to spend 10-12 months out of the London rat-race to travel to S America, Australasia, SE Asia and the Indian Sub-continent.T L
Travel Blog Posts
March 16th 2007
As we turned the corner, walked through the portcullis gate and took our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal, we were overwhelmed with the sense that we'd remember this day for a long time to come. It's such an iconic site that when we first booked our 'around the world' tickets with a homebound flight from Delhi, we could picture ourselves there, at the end of the year's adventures. We stood in the shade and thought back on the year - the exhaustion during the Inca Trail, the adrenaline rush during our skydive, the homesick feeling at Christmas time, the joy at seeing the sun rise over Ankor Wat, the serene beauty of reef diving in Thailand, the fear of poisonous animals in the jungle, contentment in New Zealand, the boredom of taking yet another train..bus..car..plane..ride, ... read more
March 14th 2007
After Jaisalmer (laden with new rugs and tourist trinkets) we arrived in Delhi. Although we had another four or so days left in India, in many ways we felt like we had come to the end of our year of travelling. Perhaps because we felt so disheveled after the long train ride, our bags were heavier and we were just so knackered (and were still suffering from, what we later found out to be, giardia). It didn't take us long to convince ourselves that we couldn't be bothered to stay in the travellers magnet of Pahar Ganj which attracts all manner of low life and shisters trying to sell tat to travellers. We opted for Connaught Place, the fairly bland centre of Delhi that has a McDonalds, a Pizza Hut, a Chinese restaurant - anything but ... read more
March 12th 2007
You arrive at the desert and what you don't expect is rain but that's exactly what we got... The rain put an end to our ambitions of a desert camel trail and stained all our photos of this "golden city" with a dull grey sky but that didn't stop us from admiring this wonderful sand coloured fortress town. It did dampen spirits a little though and on the back of some rough gastric problems in Jodhpur, we were generally at a low point as things were seemingly unravelling at the end of the trip. I think it was safe to say, we were happy that home was approaching... It's a shame we met the town at a low ebb as the place is stunning - its ramshackled, sandstone beauty is something to behold. Most visitors will ... read more
March 9th 2007
We came, we saw, we (both) ate something dodgy (so non-meat), we spent two days between bed and bathroom - not the happiest of days! I'm sure Liz Hurley (if she ate at all) didn't eat what we were unfortunate enough to consume... and as quickly as it was eaten it was soon resurfacing and I'll end there... Liz was in town for her lavish multi-day wedding to her new Indian beau, an event that had the locals all talking about the vacuous ex-model/ex-wife of Hugh Grant/atrocious actress. Of course we didn't see her or the entourage, and we didn't go to the Umaid Bhawan Palace where her wedding party had set up base but we saw the odd fireworks displays on show in the evenings suggesting the party was in full flow. Before our "Delhi ... read more
March 6th 2007
Once again the sustained heat of the plains, became overbearing and not for the first time, we followed in the footsteps of the British Raj and headed to the cool fresh air of a hill station. This time it was Mt Abu. As it was my birthday, Laura went to the special effort of booking us into the "Royal Suite" at Jaipur House, the Maharaja of Jodhpur's Summer gettaway. It was lush! We had the best view in town at the top of the palace and a four-room suite to lounge around in - it was hard to draw ourselves outside! The little un also managed to magically appear some birthday cake and candles. Getting champagne was a challenge too far in India - a nice bottle of white wine was a perfectly good substitute and ... read more
March 4th 2007
Well, we originally intended to head to Mt Abu on the 4th of March (so we wouldn't be travelling on my birthday) but that turned out to be a stupid and ill-conceived plan since it coincided with the Hindu "festival of colour", Dhulandi - the second day of Holi. On day 1 of the festival, fires are burnt showing the effigy of Holika (a demoness). The significance of this event stems from religious text in which Prahlad, the son of the King of the Demons, Hiranyakashipu is protecetd by his devotion to Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu repeatedly attempted to kill is son for his defection but all attempts failed. Finally he ordered Prahlad's sister, Holika to sit on a pyre with Prahlad on her lap. Holika was protected from the fire by a shawl but as Prahlad ... read more
March 3rd 2007
The city made famous as the backdrop of the James Bond movie, "Octopussy" was our next stop and proved to be one of our favourites in India. A mxture of palaces, lakes, ghats and a warren of streets, make this a magical place to explore. It's a city that's made a special effort to suit its well supplied tourist count with lovely little haveli-style accommodation, excellent cuisine, a variety of organised things to do and see and attempts to keep the place clean and tidy. It's also free of the usual hassles found in other major tourist traps in India; shop owners are not permitted to flog themselves on the streets, autorickshaws are not allowed to park on every corner and the streets are free of litter - it's a real breath of fresh air. Not ... read more
February 28th 2007
Bundi's a local town with local people - friendly, good-natured and genuine. It's only a small place dominated by its looming palace and not touristy at all. Most of the guesthouses are in the shadow of the palace and that part of Bundi is very quiet with only small shops and miniature painting schools. For that reason, even in a couple of days you start to get familiar with the locals. The town's people actually greet you simply for that purpose, not because thay want something. Other than the peeps, Bundi's primary attraction is its wonderfully charismatic palace. The exterior is a bit tatty and years of neglect haven't been kind but some of the murals on the walls and ceiling are well preserved and spectacular. There used to be a massive bird and bat problem ... read more
February 26th 2007
Not since being in Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu have we experienced a town as crusty as this. A town that is still very much integral to the hippie trail. A town where there are as many foreigners as locals and the major enterprise of the latter is servicing the former. Pushkar is Chilled-out with a capital "C" (can you see it?) and very spiritual - a holy place for those seeking enrichment of the soul. To do that, one must respect nature and not do anything naughty - no drinking booze, smoking ganja, eating meat or eggs and definitely no public displays of affection - big no no! Pushkar surrounds a lake, said to be the reult of Brahma (the creator) dropping a Lotus flower onto Earth. The town is therefore an important pilgrimage site for ... read more
February 24th 2007
We made our first stop in northern India in Rajasthan's state capital, Jaipur - a very cheap and cheerful flight from Mumbai. We made a fantastic and flukey choice of accommodation, "Nana-Ki-Haveli" - truly wonderful, family-run with lovely hosts and a beautiful, heritage haveli (traditional, ornately-decorated home). It was a little more expensive than we were used to paying but we felt it was time to up the budget - our bed bug run-ins had proved to be "the straw that broke the camel's back" for budget accommodation. We also received a free pick-up from the airport, so we avoided all arrival hassle and enjoyed a relaxed start to what is regarded as one of India's most chaotic and hassle-loaded cities. Our first impressions of the "pink city" were good - it's certainly busy within the ... read more
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