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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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, [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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! [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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