We arrived here just as dawn was about to break. We'd taken a night bus for the seven hour journey, so had managed to get a little sleep. The upper berth which we'd been assigned had sliding glass windows on either side which were incredibly effective at reducing the noise, although it did feel a little bit like being in a glass coffin. John was just waiting for the music to kick in, and was on constant alert for any smell of burning. As we climbed down from the ...

On Thursday we ventured out from Bikaner for a short train ride to the local town of Deshnoke. About an hour away from Bikaner, Desnoke is famous for rats. A whole temple full to be exact. Apparently in the 14th century the son of Karni mata drowned. She ordered Yama the God of death to bring him back to life. Yama said he couldn't, but Karni mata as an incarnation of Durga had the power to restore her sons life. I couldn't figure why she wouldn't have known that...

Jaipur- the Pink city Jaipur never really grew on us. From the moment we arrived and were besieged by Jaipurian taxi touts on the platform of Jaipur station it was always going to be an upward battle. The one thing we hate is being taken advantage of. We hate being pressurised into anything, and like to consider our options first. so a sure fire way to get on the wrong side of us is to apply sales pressure. Fortunately our hotel had arranged a free pick up from o...

Udaipur is situated in Rajastan, part of the Golden Triangle, so popular with tourists from all over the place. It's understandably rated as one of the most romantic spots in India. A title well deserved. Nestling in the Aravalli hills, the large artificial lake accommodates the Taj Lake Palace hotel, famous for its part in the James Bond film Octop**** A completely white building, with domes and towers which appears to float on the water in the middle of the st...

After nearly three weeks in Mumbai, albeit for a two night sojourn to Aurangabhad, we were ready to leave the big city and start the travelling wheels rolling again. We had decided to take a night bus to Udaipur. 16 hours on a bs was going to be a whole new experience. We had located the departure point earlier in the week in true Boy Scout style,so just needed to get there for the 6pm departure. So far, every day in Mumbai had culminated in soaking my feet in a ...