Here are some more photos that never got on to the blog. Hope you enjoy them. These are the ones from the GAP Tour of South India. [View Full Entry]

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We're home and it feels good. We've travelled half way around the world and arrived back safely. We've seen places we'll always remember and things that we can't forget. We've had great times and tough times. But all of these things are part of the travel experience. Without the bad times the good times wouldn't have been so enjoyable. Without the friends, the the places would have been less interesting. Part of travelling is walking into the unknown and coming out the other side with something that will change your perspective on the world. We want to thank everyone who made [View Full Entry]

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Well, so much for relaxing. This is more intense than India. Jetting in from the sub-continent our feet had barely touched the ground in London before we were wisked off to Liverpool by Doug and Nancy and forced to watch a football match between Everton and Chelsea. Oh well ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Seriously though it was fantastic. My first Premiership game and my first Chelsea game all in one. I LOVED it, right up until Chelsea scored. We were sitting in the Everton supporters stand and I was nearly beaten up for cheering the goal. I was [View Full Entry]

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We're back in Mumbai. This time to stay a little longer than the 2 hours we spent here 5 weeks ago. Mumbai is a bit of an enigma. It's a big Indian city but it's a lot different than others like Delhi and Chennai. It's cleaner, more modern and there are more western stye shops and hotels. In some ways this is good, you can get an espresso or a salad. In some ways it's not so good, there are McDonald's, Nike and Pizza Huts. Things that were not what I was looking for from my India experience. Still it is [View Full Entry]

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We've left Rajastan now and we've decided to head south again. The trouble with travelling in India is that you can never do anything on the spur of the moment. You have to plan everything days in advance. Not much fun if you want to change plans on a whim. Going from Udaipur we wanted to go to a resort area called Diu in the south of Gujarat. Well that would have taken over 24 hours by train so we thought let's go somewhere else. The trains all had waiting lists and the flights were too expensive so we took the [View Full Entry]

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Our trek through Rajastan is over. We did the final leg from Jhodpur to Udaipur by way of a magnificent Jain Temple. The temple has over a thousand columns, every one different. Although it would be more impressive if they had all been identical. The Jains are the ultra orthodox hindus and they don't like shorts in the temple. So I had to rent a lovely pair of pants. The best part was that they charged me a 2 dollar deposit so that I would bring them back. I brought them back. Udaipur is a beautiful city with lots of windy [View Full Entry]

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We're quite sore after the previous days events, but like the troopers we are we got back in the car and headed off to Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is a beautiful fort that is tragically sinking into the desert. It's 500 years old and the sewer system isn't capable of handling the pressure of 25% of the city's population living inside it's walls. So, the foundations of the city are being eroded away by the waste water. What a shame. The inner city is as close as we've come to actually feeling like we're back in the time of the Maharajas. Tight winding [View Full Entry]

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We were getting deeper and deeper into the desert now. I'd never seen India so barren of people. Everywhere else it was wall to wall bodies. Now we were driving 10 to 20 kms between seeing a soul. The goats outnumbered the people 100 to 1. The people were changing as well. There were turbans on the men and wildly colourful saris on the women. Even the camels were getting in on the action with ornate saddles and bright beads around their necks and legs. We're on our way to something that Lesley is thrilled about and I'm not looking forward [View Full Entry]

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We've finally made it to the desert. The terrain is changing rapidly now, far fewer crops and cows. Now it's all scrub, goats and camels. All of the houses are made of mud with straw roofs and have cute little outbuildings, made of dung. Nice. On the way to Bikaner we had a chance to see the rural life in the desert. A way of life that probably hasn't changed much in 500 years. Crops are still gathered by hand, mud huts are homes, camels are the beast of burden and irrigation is done by waiting for the monsoon. Of course [View Full Entry]

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The other fort in Jaipur is the Amber Fort. Where th Jaiger Fort is practical, the Amber is majestic. Rising like a sandcastle out of the dusty Rajastani hills. The best way to get to the fort is by elephant. Nothing can prepare you for an elephant ride. It's like being thrown from side to side and up and down at the same time. They are still the most gentle creatures imaginable. Although only females are used because the males are far too agressive drivers. The City Palace is spectacular. The opulance was quite outrageous and really showes the gap between [View Full Entry]

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