After a busy six hour train journey as the only non-Indian in the carriage - with lots of stares both at me and my bright pink rucksack! - I arrived in Jaipur, the Pink City and the third corner of India's Golden Triangle. I've just spent dinner with some friends from Paris in the rooftop restaurant of the neighbouring guesthouse with views over the whole of Jaipur and lightening brightening up the sky. And beginning to get used to Indian food with stuffed tomato...

It had to be done! A classic visit to the Taj Mahal, and it is beautiful! I'm sure every word imaginable has been used to describe how wonderful it is but it seems to float etherealy between earth and sky and doesn't quite seem like it's really there! Later I also visited a workshop where they use the same techniques as those in the original construction with inlaid semiprecious stones in translucent marble, carving each piece by hand and chiselling the marble in...

I've arrived in India! And what a wonderful first day! Having avoided the customary craziness of airport arrival thanks to a few tips to book a taxi in advance I arrived at the beautiful home of a lady called Prabeen, a friend of the local guesthouse, who has a spare room for visitors. Indian tea and mango on the balcony for breakfast with parakeets landing on the tree just outside was followed by a welcome 6 hours of sleep (!) and an afternoon just enjoying some...