A 7.00am start, driving through the incredibly poor rural part of Maharashtra state, then passing through the coal mining district of the state, and a particular rural hell of a small city called Wani where everything seemed to be to do with coal and everything was covered in coal dust. Eventually we hit the highway and headed south for Hyderabad. Suddenly we were passing through rice paddies and banana groves. Such is India. After speeding along the best highway we’ve ever encountered in India we hit Hyderabad, where it became clear our driver had no idea how to get the hotel. An hour and a half later we completed our extensive tour of the city at snail like speed and reached the welcoming comfort of the Falaknuma Palace. After passing through two separate security checks, your ... read more

It was a gruelling 9 hour drive from Satpura to the next game park Tadoba, with just three 5 minute comfort breaks and a brief stop for the driver to have a cup of tea. You have to be tough to travel with the Thomases! The journey was made longer by the fact that there were virtually no signs to show the way to the lodge, so our poor driver was constantly phoning them to ask for instructions, and checking with people en route. Svasara Lodge is owned by a big fat man who always scowls at everyone, but it is managed by a very nice Indian couple who speak posh English and are always very jovial. 530am alarm call, 600am coffee and biscuits, 610am departure to the nearby park gate. Bureaucratic procedures followed, extortion of ... read more

After an overnight flight from London, we spent a long boring afternoon in Mumbai airport waiting to catch our one hour hop to Aurangabad. Arriving at the Taj hotel the car was checked for bombs with the mirror on the stick and our bags were X rayed before we were let through the ram proof barrier. Always slightly disconcerting but this is the 21stcentury in a country that has known its share of terrorism. The “modern” Aurangabad was founded in 1610 by Malik Amber, an Ethiopian slave who rose to become the prime minister of the local Nizam. Aurangzeb, the sixth and last of the Great Mughal Emperors, made the city his capital in 1653 as he pursued his relentless campaigns in the Deccan till his death here in 1707. Today was relatively undemanding, a city ... read more

It's just a week before we set off for a whole 30 days in India. Passports - check. Visas - check. Malaria meds - check. 3 bags full of other medicines - check! Hotels and transport all booked and paid for, so let's hope booking direct with an Indian travel agency works out well. Excitement level growing.............. read more