Well, the overnight train from Pushkar wasn't half as bad as I was expecting. It was warm, comfortable and quite clean! I was relieved the first experience went so well, as I have a few more to go in the next half of my trip! The overnight train took us back to Delhi where my group and I said our goodbyes. I was heading straight to another hotel to meet the girls and our "Unforgettable India" group for the next 15 days. After a day in Delhi and another stop in Agra with my new group to revisit the majestic Taj Mahal, we headed to a small town in Uttar Pradesh called Chanderi. The town is still off the beaten track and the only westerners to visit the villagers are Intrepid travellers. We spent our first ... read more

Udaipur certainly lived up to its reputation of being India's most romantic city! White marble palaces, the lake, rooftop restaurants and cafes and the small, winding cobble stoned streets...divine! The city is a centre for artists, dancers and musicians and lets not forget backpackers! I haven't seen too many westerners since I arrived in India almost two weeks ago, but Udaipur is apparently the backpackers paradise in Rajasthan. We visited the City Palace, one of the largest Royal Palaces in India (#2) and spent an afternoon aboard a small row boat on the lake in which everything in Udaipur is centered around. It was really intereting to watch the locals going about their daily lives from fishing to washing clothes, bathing and just enjoying the water & sun.... read more

We travelled through villages and farmlands to get to the small town of Bundi, in a remote part of rural Rajasthan. Bundi was a perfect town to explore on foot, with the streets & markets full of energy, colour and every day Rajasthani life. We spent the day visiting the Palace and it's beautiful murals, step-wells and the endless bazzars. Our stay in Bundi was far to short, but a welcome change of pace. Bundi is relatively new on the tourist map so the negative effects of the tourism industry haven't hit here yet. There were no street children begging for money and store owners would leave you be after the first NO.... read more

Well, we were certainly in for a special experience when we arrived at Fort Madhogarh, our accomodation for the night. Fort Madhogarh has been in the Royal Family of Rajasthan for over 500 years and like many beautiful palaces & forts in Inida, was slowly falling apart year by year. A younger member of the family came up with a plan to restore the Fort to it's former glory by turining it into a Heritage Stay. Intrepid have been bringing their groups here for the past few years and the positive flow on effect can be seen throughout the village. From the local electrician to vegetable seller to milk man - the villagers all benefit from the Fort in some form or another. Our host took us on a guided tour of the village, stopping to ... read more

I don't even know where to start.....words such as amazing, spectacular, moving come to mind. The Taj Mahal is every bit wonderful as the photos indicate and people say it is. We arrived to the Taj early in the morning, hoping to avoid the crowds. Fortunately for us females, there were separate female & male lines to line up at. We were in in about 2 minutes, the guys not so lucky - they were stuck in the line for almost 2 hours. I don't know what it is about me, but apparently to the Indian people visiting the Taj that day, I was every bit as interesting as the Taj. I couldn't walk 10 metres without a family or group of young people coming over, wanting to chat and to have my photo. As I ... read more