The original plan was to see the monsoon palace for sunset as advised by all the locals/hostels/guidebooks but given it closes at 6pm and sunset is at 630ish at the moment that was obviously not going to work. We considered going by scooter but thought that a bicycle might be easier in the traffic. Unfortunately no where seemed to hire out bicycles - our hostel had no idea, the bicycle shop only does tours and other people we asked looked at us like we were crazy. Finally finding somewhere that did them we set off in the mid day heat wondering what on Earth we were thinking. Especially since today is a strike day in Rajasthan so we had no idea whether the palace would even be open when we got there. The cycle to the ... read more

One of the reasons we picked the hostel we are staying at is because it got such good reviews, particularly about its amazing breakfast. We were, therefore, particularly disappointed to find it rather poor. Served on the lovely rooftop between 8-10am we arrived around 9ish to discover some cornflakes, toast, toasties and one omelette left. Stephen had the omelette and despite the fact lots of other people were turning up they didn’t make anymore. This is particularly frustrating as there are loads of cheap cafes serving much better looking breakfasts all around us. After eating (and getting cross that the WiFi kept bumping me off stopping me from updating the travel blog) we walked over to the palace. As soon as you get near it every shop front is selling leather, pashminas, tailor made clothes or ... read more

After checking out we had breakfast for the third day in a row at the nearby Theobroma cafe. This French style bakery is full of delicious looking breads & cakes and do a very good breakfast. Nothing in Mumbai seems to open before 9am (except, perhaps, Starbucks) which rather limits an early start unless you can source food from elsewhere. Despite the fact that the rest of Mumbai was clearly still asleep (judging by the empty roads & closed shops) the Gate of India was packed and the tauts were out in force. Successfully purchasing tickets for the boat over to Elephanta Island we picked our seats and set out for the hour long boat ride. It costs a little extra to sit on the top deck. Fortunately, being cheap, we had sat at the front ... read more

It was certainly nice to arrive back into Mumbai again after our visit to Aurangabad. Mumbai looks and feels like a proper, functioning city. There are wide avenues lined with grand, handsome buildings. There are pavements and crossing points. There are shops, cafes and green spaces. There are police who actually seem to have some authority. But best of all there is sense that the people here have something to do and somewhere to be. Mumbai is the first city in India where we can move about unmolested. We arrived into CST about 8:30 am and set off in the direction of our hostel. About halfway on our 40 min trek south we paused at Starbucks for a coffee and some breakfast. On reaching our hostel (the backpacking panda) we found a friendly and helpful receptionist, ... read more

Today was our long awaited trip to the Ajanta caves, a series of Buddhist caves carved into the rock face. Most were made in 6th & 7th centuries AD but the eldest is thought to be from 200 BC. They are of interest as the paintings are some of the earliest examples in India. The drive took over 2.5hrs as the caves are 100km out of Ajanta and the roads are in pretty poor condition. Fortunately for me I slept much of the journey and so missed the near miss with a bullock cart when the ox pulling it decided to change direction in front of our vehicle rather fast... As soon as you arrive the charges start. Car parking and ‘amenities’ fee were the first ones (we have no idea what the 10 rupees per ... read more