Initially I’d wanted to take the scenic narrow gauge railway to Darjeeling (yes, I think I’m becoming an anorak), but that was before I’d been ill in Kolkata. The scenic train would take another 7 hours, assuming it didn’t come off the rails again(!), and having just about managed 10 hours on the overnight train from Kolkata without being sick I decided not to push my luck. Instead I hooked up with an Irish/Kiwi couple, a French/Belgium couple and a few locals, got a shared jeep. Two hours later saw us in Darjeeling where a hike up the steep winding streets with our rucksacks had us wondering why we’d picked the furthest hotel when every other building seemed to be one. Sat on the roof terrace a while later though it was all forgotten as I ... read more

I had just two weeks left in India and was torn between whether to stay north and see more of the forts and palaces of Rajasthan or head south - I'd met heaps of people who'd raved about the south and how different it was and I was keen to see it for myself. In the end what tipped it was probably visiting the fort at Kumbalgarh - I really didn't think anything would be able to top it. But then as it turned out I found I actually preferred the north! I started in Goa, well Panjim really - I wasn't too bothered about the beaches (half a day at Calangute was more than enough to make me want to run back north - it was a case of spot the local amongst all the ... read more

By the time we boarded the train from Jaipur to Udaipur it was long since dark and our sleeper carriage crowded with locals. I´ve met a real mix of people whilst travelling by rail here - mostly locals, some on their way home, others on business trips, some chatty, others not - but the group we shared this journey with was by far the friendliest. We later discovered that they were two families also going to Udaipur on holiday (and very excited about it they were too) but at the time, with 12 of us squeezed into seats for 9, my heart sank when the women in the group started to unpack a small feast. It seemed any chance of sleep was a long way off. But then the first person they handed food to was ... read more

It was 5.30am and the streets of Paraganj were quiet with none of the bustle of the night before when we´d run the gauntlet passed shop owners trying their best to entice us in or indeed the previous morning when we´d been overtaken by rickshaws packed full of 8year olds, immaculately turned out in their school uniforms and waving furiously. Instead we hurried along deserted streets heading for New Delhi Railway Station and the poshest train I would get in India - the Shatabdi Express. With seats as good as on any train back home, air conditioning (the real thing not the window open variety) and men in uniform serving us up flasks of tea and breakfast, it left on time and the countryside to Agra all passed in a bit of a blur. We had ... read more

Why does food poisoning always strike just before a long journey?! I was in Gwalior, it was 6.30am, most of the night had been spent running to the squat toilet and I lay pondering the answer to that question whilst trying to decide if there was any way I´d make the bus to Khajuraho. I´d been told it would take 7 hours to get there (allowing for this being India I was guessing maybe 9) along bad roads and whilst the thought of a long bumpy bus trip wasn't particularly appealing I´d seen everything I wanted to and was keen to move on. And so, stuffed with drugs and praying that 7 hours was right (in the end it was nearer 11), I finally hauled myself onto the bus, much to the entertainment of the driver, ... read more