Having summerised my last blog, I've noticed that it was a bit lengthy, I'll keep this one shorter. I hope all's well with whoever can still be bothered to monitor my travels.

Last time round, Andy and I were preparing to go on a safari with the girls (Nicola & Abbi). We arrived in Ranthambore with hi hopes that we'd see tigers in the wild. We booked in for a few days and looked at our options: either we could hire a jeep during our safari, or we could use the lesser alternative, a canter. We were told that it'd be a 'first come first serve' basis with the jeeps - hell no! In short, the rich take all the jeeps (as there were only a limited amount aloud within the park at a time) and the rest of us take the canters. A pointless thing to add in my blog you may say, however this was the subject of four days frustration. We didn't even get to see any Tigers - gutted. We did get to see a Leopard, although it was from far away; the Moon was probably closer to it than us.

We left Ranthambore, with the girls heading West, and us North. I just love long train journeys now. Andy and I visited the Punjabi district, home of Amritsar (and the Golden Temple). The Golden Temple is the Sikh's holiest shrine, made prodominently of.................gold (suprisingly enough) and sorrounded by water. The ambiance was notably more relaxed than the previous ares of India I'd been to. I'm told this is because the Sikh religion is a giving one, so the poor generally don't ask for money and begging isn't so commom. Within the temple itself, only one person (during our two visits) asked for money; unusual for busy places in India.

Our two visits to the Temple were split, with one during the day and the other at night. In my eyes it's truly a must-see place when visiting India. It just so happenes that there was a two-day festival whilst we were there (celebrating the birthday of the Guru who built the Temple).

Not far from Amritsar is a town called Atari. It was suggested by friends of mine (Dawn & Mike) that I attend the daily border closing ceremony there. Suprisingly enough, this is a big event. Each day, when India and Pakistan close their respective borders for the day, their soldiers scowl at each other with agressive persona. There must've been 10,000 or so people on the India side, with only 50 or so on the other (probably due to it being Ramadan). As I'm white, I was aloud to sit in the VIP section.

We intended to visit Chandigarh after Amritsar. Whilst on the train, we changed our minds and stayed on, travelling through to Delhi. Something I won't forget is a particular conversation I had with an Indian guy, about his country, his thoughts of it, both at present and in future. Maybe we should've followed through with our plans, but we just couldn't be bothered with the logistics of it all. We stayed in Delhi for a few days, awaiting the return of the girls, and the arrival of Leon. I'd arranged it so that the five of us would hire a jeep and a driver for our visit to Rajistan.

So the girls came back. Leon arrived the following day. Andy and I decided to wear some traditional Indian clothing to suprise him at the Airport. We had a few people staring at us; we were wearing orange trousers with black embroidered tops. It was great seeing Leon at the Airport, we made a sign for him (Leon Bishop - friend); big hugs followed. We caught a rickshaw (motorised bike thing - called tuk tuks in some places) back to the hotel (via the shop to buy Leon the same clothing that Andy and I were sporting). We met up with the girls for dinner; with us three all wearing the same Indian clothes.

We started our road trip visiting Agra (home of The Taj Mahal) at sunset. The Taj Mahal has to be in the top three things I've seen since I've been away. Like many things you hear of, I thought it'd be a bit of a dissapointment once there - no way, if I were a women, I'd say it was beautiful. The building itself is gigantic, bigger than I thought it'd be; a teardrop on the face of eternity - a wise person once said (me). So we went to Jaipur the next day and saw some.....stuff (nothing to write home about). The Bazaars' (markets) were a little crazy though.

Then onto Pushkar, where we all participated in Camel riding for a couple of days. We were told that we'd be sleeping in tents whilst in the desert - nope. I'm not complaining though, we slept under the stars that night - all five of us tucked under blankets. The only downside being that Abbi and nicola were kicking me from either side all night. Why am I whinging at having two 'adequate looking' women either side of me (ha ha, I hope they read this).

Jodphur was.....pretty much the same as the rest. There's a fort there that overlooks the City, providing some nice views. We finished our jeep tour in Udaipur, visiting one of the Lake Palaces. In all, Rajastan was the most civilised of the states we visited. The five of us caught a train or two to Mumbai (Bombay), spent a night there, then went our seperate ways.

I've been asked many times if I enjoyed India. I can't say that I did, other than the company I shared of course!

"The ability to inspire, frustrate, thrill and anger all at once."

Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram, on describing India.

Having returned to Australia, Andy's parents were at Melbourne Airport. The following day I went to St Kilda's (a suburb of Mebourne) to stay with Sinead and her friends. In total, I'd spend a week with her. She'd kindly arranged a suprise night out for me, taking me to see The Phantom of The Opera; I really enjoyed it and this was the first musical I'd seen in years. To return my thanks, I took Sinead for an overnight stay on The Great Ocean Road. A road full of great views as every turn, unfortunately the wheather wasn't as we'd liked. Sinead, should you read this - thankyou!

Sinead flew to South-East Asia, and I stayed in Melbourne for a few more days. I was able to catch up with Garth and Jeremy, Aussie twins I'd been travelling with in North America, and also Estee, an Aussie girl on the same trip. Andy and I spent a day at the Melbourne races with the twins and their friends and I hope to see them again soon.

So now I'm in Sydney, where I've been staying with Justin and Vinny, who we'd travelled with down the East Coast. They have a great apartment which overlooks the Parramatta River, Harbour Bridge and Opera House. I've met a friendly local (Hilde), well, sort of local, she's Norwegian and has lived in Sydney for the last five years. Hilde will be showing me the sights and attractions in due time; I'm grateful for her time and look forward to tapping into her knowledge.

Anyhow. Andy and I move into our own little place soon. Over the following days/weeks, I have various friends arriving in Sydney. I was thinking of getting a job for a while, but I'm not sure that I will; I'm yet to decide. I can't believe Christmas and New Years are around the corner; at least I don't have to buy presents for a change.

Thanks again and take care!

ps. Sorry for the late update and lack of photo's.

xPx