Tuesday night before we caught our overnight bus we took a walk down to the palace as the festival had started. The palace was lit with thousands of lights, it was breath taking. After another overnight bus journey we arrived in Hampi. We took a walk down to The Mango Tree and had breakfast. The place is amazing as you sit facing the river and mountains. It's so peaceful. You sit on mats on the floor with lowered tables to eat. After breakfast we decided to t...

We arrived in Mysore yesterday morning after a 12 hour bus journey. The bus was comfortable; the seats reclined right back which was good apart from the persons head in front was pretty much on your lap. When we got off and got our bags from the luggage compartment they were soaked due to the storm overnight. All of Pete's clothes were wet.  We quickly found a hotel room, hung up the wet clothes all over the place and went out to explore Mysore.  It's the fir...

We have spent the last couple of days in Fort Cochin. We got the train after breakfast at the shack in Varkala on Thursday. Once we arrived in Ernakulam we caught a local bus to Fort Cochin. The bus journey was a bit crazy as you can see from the video. Friday we spent the day wondering round Cochin. You can see the strong Portuguese and British influence here through the architecture. As you walk along the streets you can't miss the sweet smell of the open sewe...

Yesterday was our last full day in Varkala. We spent the morning on the beach and watched as the fishermen auctioned their catch. After lunch we thought we should take a look in some of the shops on the cliff. Everyday the women sitting outside try to get us inside to have a look.  We made a point of not going in the first couple. The women seem rude. One we heard shouting, "it doesn't cost anything to look, Madame" as a westerner walked by.  We went in to on...

We took our first train journey and we have now arrived at our second destination, Varkala. The train journey was interesting, first of all the trains are incredibly long with different types of cars, we were booked onto the basic chair car, however once the train had pulled in and we had found the carriage there was no room so we sneaked into a sleeper car. When the ticket inspector came round he didn't bat an eye lid....phew! We met another couple who are trave...