DAY 24 - SHIMLA/MANALI We left our hostel in the early morning and swiftly made our way down Shimla's sloped paths until we arrived at our coach's departure point near the railway station. Our coach was far from 'deluxe', as our tickets had advertised, but it was comfortable enough and the 9 hour journey passed with relative ease. Once again, the Himalayan scenery was a treat and we spent the majority of the journey glued to our windows, watching river rapids cu...

DAY 22 - CHANDIGARH/SHIMLA We caught a morning train from Chandigarh's artistically decorated station at 10.30, arriving at a town called Kalka 40 minutes later. From there, we caught the region's infamous 'toy train' up to Shimla, meandering our way through the mountain ranges as we gradually ascended up the narrow-gauge railway line. The views from the brightly coloured carriages made the five hour journey an enjoyable one and we relaxed and shared stories wit...

DAY 19 - JAISALMER We spent the morning packing our things and enjoying our last morning of relaxation before catching the 19 hour train to Delhi. We got two bunks at the side of the carriage which suited us perfectly and listened to music, chatted and read as the afternoon dragged on. On the whole, however, the journey was relatively painless and we found ourselves somewhat accustomed to the trains, managing to pass the time leisurely and get some sleep when ni...

Greetings from Shimla - we've reached the Himalayas! There are some very interesting contrasts between the India I have seen thus far and the area I find myself in now, but I shall leave those comments for my entry on the town in a few days. In the meantime... DAY 18 - JAISALMER We spent the morning repeating the now familiar routine of breakfast in bed followed by packing (or more accurately, watching our guides pack), before slowly making our way back towards...

DAY 14 - JODHPUR We decided that our last full day in Jodhpur would be a relaxing one, so we spent the morning in the pleasant Umaid gardens, overlooked by the towering Umaid Bhawan Palace. After a while, we decided to visit the nearby Government museum which displayed quite an impressive array of stuffed animals and historical artifacts, albeit in a slightly run down building. Whilst in the area, we also visited the local zoo, which hosted a range of animals, f...