We headed over to the ruins of Hampi - 14th century capital of one of the greatest empires of the world - are some of the most magnificent in all India; a world-heritage site strewn across a 26 mi. radius hidden amongst gigantic free-standing boulders. The main Hampi Bazaar or market has been re-inhabited by locals in the last few decades in pace with the growing tourism. We decided to stay away from the bustling market-side and across the Tungabhadra river, reachable only by a motorboat crossing which closes at 6pm everyday. Our first hotel was airy and lush, with manicured grounds overlooking large green rice plantations beneath the rock cliffs. We rented a motorbike for the stellar price of $2.50 a day and made our way back across the river to explore the ruins. We ... read more

After 2+ weeks kickin' it with le hippies in Arambol, we finally decided it time to mosey on South. . . We figured Anjuna must be worth a look, since it is the infamous party-spot of infamous party-Goa. But, as we'd been warned, it really was a stain compared to our first experience - sprawling concrete "beach huts" and restaurants lined the beach, which was actually mostly rock anyway. The crowd we saw in our day there was mainly Russian, and generally not much to look at. We were sick at the time, so didn't feel like floundering around for a good party and decided to leave asap. Further south, we headed for Colva, a massive, endless beach with fine but crunchy sand and perfect waves. Although our first night was unfortunately spent being mosquito-eaten and ... read more

Back to Bombayyyy, we headed, after a terribly short stay in beautiful Matheran. But such is the travellers burden, as we'd planned to meet up with Lex's good friend Alex. Sadly, it fell through; we'd both been looking forward to his arrival. In anycase, a few more days in flashy Mumbai! We ended up crashing in Colaba, a prime central location in the vast metropolis and the cheapest place to stay amongst other backpackers... Lex and I arrived, exhausted as usual, to find that the cheap & clean Red Cross hostel was full~ so we continued looking along Arthur Bundur Rd. for anything we could find... an exhaustive 5 hotels later, we settled on the Gulf Hotel, a Muslim-run hole squeezed between two buildings. They gave us a tiny, basic, windowless room with no ventilation, and ... read more

After a long chill out in Varanasi, we trained on ahead to the glorious caves of Ajanta and Ellora. My second time here, sure, but definately worth a second round- and not to be missed by any artist in India, especially Alexis~ We arrived on an overnight/overcrowded sleeper train in the morning in Jalgaon where we then jumped aboard a local bus for the rickety ride to the hidden horseshoe shaped cliffs of Ajanta. In the blaring heat of the winter sun, and with Lex barely able to walk from exhaustion, we stumbled in, paid the admission (the usual 250 Rupees to the Indian visitor's 10~) and began the trecherous trek through the 8 billion other Indian tourists, surrounding us like we were animals in a petting zoo - we were seemingly of as much or ... read more

As one not so often has the chance to explore india, and as one would generally do everything in one's power to get the hell out of delhi and never be there again, we decided it important that Lex get to see the mighty Taj Mahal. The same driver who'd picked us up from the airport, Shambu, ended up being our escort for this day. We got up fairly early and so when we finally arrived in Agra some 5 hours after we'd left, we were famished and in need of sustainance. Yet our driver was absolutely determined to show us every monument, temple and historical site he'd ever heard of, and was quite distraught when we told him we simply wanted food, and to see the Taj. Amazingly, the place he took us to eat ... read more