COW KILLERS BEWARE Varanasi 'airport' was a foray into comedy. Imagine someones living room with an x-ray machine, a check-in desk and passport control all crammed in together. The flight to Kathmandu is the shortest flight I've ever taken - only 30 minutes long and they even served us with a sandwich, some cake and a drink! The views over the Himalayas were spectacular from the air. Nepal is a wonderful country. The people are very friendly and everything her...

YOU CAN'T BEAT A BIT OF BHULLI After a bit of a nightmare stop over in Delhi we've finally arrived in Varanasi. Our first day here was spent sorting out flights to Kathmandu. In order to get to the Indian Airways office to book the flights we enlisted the services of one of Varanasi's longest serving rickshaw drivers. The man in question goes by the name of Bhulli and he possesses the unique, if somewhat unattractive, ability to conduct a full conversation whils...

DEATH AND TAXES (AND, IF YOU'RE IN RAJASTHAN, PALM READERS) Undetered by our bus trip to Jodhpur we also caught the bus to Jaisalmer. We had a run in with some officials at the city border when some guys got on the bus asking for Rs.20 tourist tax. It took a while for us to be persuaded that it wasn't some scam and pay up. We spent some time exploring Jaisalmer Fort which is quite different from the other forts that we've seen - it must be the world oldest li...

PLANES, TRAINS AND 'SUPER-DELUXE' BUSES After numerous trains we decided to travel to Jodhpur by bus. After much shopping around we booked the 'Super-Deluxe' 5 hour bus to Jodhpur. Needless to say it was neither 'super' or 'deluxe', however we did have the best seats at the front of the bus, with pleanty of leg room. The upside of travelling on the bus is that you get to see so much more of the country that you're travelling through. The views of the Rajasthan m...

SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED After yet another sleeper train we arrived in Udaipur. It's an amazing place. It has a real seaside feel to it. There are lots of small winding roads, packed with pretty shops, that lead down to the ghats on Lake Pichola. Our hotel has great views over the lake which is surrounded by mountains, palaces and temples. They filmed half of Octop**** here so almost every hotel has a nightly showing of the film in their restaurant. It's quite surre...