Madurai is one of the oldest cities in South Asia. The Greeks traded here in the 6th century BC and the city was the literary and cultural centre of Tamil Nadu in the 4th century AD. Today it is a bustling and busy city of over 1 million people. The city's main attraction is the Sri Meenakshi Temple - yet another massive Hindu temple complex which dates back to the 1st Century AD, although most of the buildings are of 16/17th century construction. The temple is dominated by four massive entrance towers with one each side of the large granite rectangular boundary wall. This is our last Hindu temple visit on our trip and in a way its a grand finale. This temple like all the other active temples is full of life. There are prayers ... read more

Pondicherry is where we found a little bit of France in Southern India together with an international community of free spirits. Up until 1954 the town was a French colony and still maintains its French character with tree lined boulevards with French names and the policemen wearing kepis. Many of the buildings in the French quarter are maintained in their original colonial style. The promenade along the seafront could have been lifted from a French sea-side town. Other than the town itself the main attraction is the international community of about 550 free spirits living in the nearby 'village' of Auroville just outside Pondicherry. Set up in the Summer of Love in 1968 it is a community of dedicated souls, many from Europe, living their lives in peace and harmony with their surroundings and fellow beings. ... read more

We have a special family interest in Kolkata as Lynne was brought up with stories of the city and of the Grand Hotel here. Her father, who was in Burma in the WW2, was in the 5th Indian Division of the army. When he was given leave he came to Kolkata and on one occasion spent a month at The Grand Hotel. It made a great impression on him and the city and its people have always had a place in his affection. Imagine his surprise when we told him that we would be staying at The Grand! No doubt it has changed somewhat from the war days but it is still the great old lady of Kolkata when it comes to hotels. Our plans were to spend the two days here sightseeing and visiting the ... read more

Yesterday we left Agra by train, a very civilised train laid on for the tourists, and after two hours we arrived at Jhansi where we were met by a driver and suffered a 200 km journey along tracks that over here in India are described as roads. We arrived at Khajuraho with our skeletons just about intact and were rewarded today with a tour of the magnificent Hindu temples which were built between the 9th and 10th centuries and which are classified as a Unesco World Heritage site. We were completely blown away by the sculptures covering the temples: gods and goddesses, beasts and warriors and, if you know anything at all about Khajuraho or the Karma Sutra, you will know that there also the most wonderfully erotic carvings, the like of which one would never ... read more

Jaipur is a pink city and is known as that after the Prince of Wales decided to visit the city in the Victorian era. They painted the city pink in celebration of his visir and that is how it remains although I would descibe it as more terra cotta. The pink scene only remains in the old part of the city and this is where the magnificent old buildings are situated. We visited the City Palace, being the home to the rulers of Jaipur since the first half of the eighteenth century, and an observatory built between 1728 and 1734. The observatory in itself is a wonder and contains 16 instruments resembling a giant sculptural composition. A few miles outside Jaipur is the Amber Fort which was the home of the rulers before they decided to ... read more