Geo: 26.9118, 70.9127 Rob's not well today so will rely on Kelly & Connie for some daily events plus photos. Pio & Connie went on tour of Jaisalmer Fort, built in 1156, only fort where villagers still live within the walls. Jaisalmer's unique fort is a living urban centre, with about 3000 people residing within its walls. It's honeycombed with narrow, winding lanes, lined with houses and temples. As so confined we found to be very filthy & smelly plus so congested. Open drains & filth made it very confronting. Kelly, Pio & Connie went on trip to Sand Dunes in Jeeps then dinner in the desert. Not very comfortable sitting on the dunes, so we got some chairs a bit later to sit on. Unfortunately Rob was quite ill so spent the full day in ... read more

Geo: 28.0199, 73.3176 Up early , breakfast and depart 7.30am.Long drive to Bikaner, 2 stops, arrived at 1.45pm for quick lunch. 3.15pm left for National Camel Research Centre. Very interesting seeing the different camels and breeding centre. Also the museum describing how important camels are for the desert dwellers, for transport, milk, hair & hides. Then had a icecream made from camel milk, tasty & creamy. Back to Palace hotel for a look around, our room 3rd floor overlooking back courtyard. Our room was upstairs across the rooftop to a lovely secluded room. Fixtures & fittings were quirky, a little old and strange but this added to the old world feel. Our bathroom was huge, down an internal hallway overlooking a courtyard. Bedroom quite large with a lovely comfortable bed. Small fridge which was noisy so ... read more

Geo: 26.8616, 75.6958 Up early again for breakfast, very poor breakfast with no real quality, depart at 8am.After tackling the traffic congestion headed a local Agra craft workshop to look at how marble inlay is done. Also selling the beautiful work, table tops, elephants etc. Very interesting but expensive. Connie bought a small marble elephant. Then headed for ancient Mughal capital of Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) , stop here for 1.5 hours to view the Palace. This was built in 1500s when the Mughal decided to leave Agra. Built of red sandstone with large open courtyards and private residences for the king, separate residences for his wives & princesses. Eventually abandoned due to lack of water and secluded from the rest of India. On our way to Jaipur, stopped for light lunch at hotel ... read more

Geo: 28.6137, 77.1834 Up at 5.40am, breakfast and on the bus at 8am. First stop after tackling the crazy Delhi traffic to India's largest mosque, Jama Masjid. Shoes off, then walk around the mosque, interesting but not spectacular. One of the largest mosques in India & was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan completed in 1656 AD Pickup our shoes then jump in a bike rickshaw thru the lanes & backstreets of Old Delhi & Chandi Chowk market. Absolute mayhem, riding up little alleyways stop, start then weaving in and out traffic. Stopped at market stall where they make Jimble??, a sugary crisp sweet. Little man working over a hot oil drum cooking the dough, right next door to a fireworks stall! Anything could happen. On the way to Ghandih's memorial, past the President's huge house ... read more

Geo: -33.8671, 151.207 Up very early, 3am, for a pickup at 5am. It was very good of Steve & Emily to drive us to the airport for an 8.30am flight. Thanks again Steve & Em for getting up so early on a Sunday & Valentines day also. Great trip in, no traffic so quick. Checkin was easy and quick, through immigration and security in 45mins. Now just couple hours wait for departure. A little late for take off and we're on our way. Good legroom and seating thanks to premium economy, very impressed with Cathay Pacific and a good flight, just over 9 hous to Hong Kong. Sitting in HK terminal writing this waiting for connecting flight to Delhi. Bit late leaving, 5.20pm, very cramped in economy but arrived Delhi 8.30pm. Cleared e.visa immigration and customs ... read more