Arrived in Chennai (Madras) at 9:00AM. The first leg of our journey up north wasn't too bad. Headed somehwhere for brwakfast shortly (very shortly) after arrival. Immediately whisked up to the AC private VIP room and waited on by a team of four, which obviously included the manager. Not that we wanted that... After breakfast we caught a domestic train across town for 5p - not the pain the tube causes. We explored Fort St.George and were quite impressed by the mus...

23/01 After a breakfast completely different to what we ordered (which is getting more and more common) we caught richshaw with Maayen to a secret beach four miles north of Alleppey. It was completely stunning! Miles of unpolluted white golden sand. Both slightly burnt (slightly being the understatement of the century) after hours of swimming, frisby & sand castle construction! Spontaneous decision to visit Periyar tomorrow. 24/01 Early morning start (5AM...

19/01 Arrived in Mysore this morning. Not much of a fan. Maybe we were just miserable from no sleep, we don't know. But we won't be returning. The modern looking temple at the top wasn't particularly great after the ancient ruins of Hampi. The richshaw driver was a lying arse. The Palace wasn't too bad. However; entry: Indian R20 Foreigner R200. Do the maths. To be fair the spice market set in a crazy labyrinthine of colour filled alleys was awesome. Just a sha...

14th The fantastic crescent shaped beach at Palolem really is something you expect to see in in the Bahamas, and seems a huge step away from the chaos of the rest of India. After our first nights stay in a beach hut balanced on precarious stilts that looked like something half out of a film, half a shanty town in Haiti, we decided to have a beach day. As supposedly the 7th most beautiful beach in the world, we felt it rude not to! swimming, eating (of course) sp...

I trust you're all well. 10/01 Today was our first full day - made a trip up to Vagator beach just north of Anjuna. After exploring the coast we quickly scrambled up to a 17thC Portuguese Fort - the name of which escapes me... On the way back from lunch we were approached by a tubby Indian and his older gentlemen friend, riding shotgun on the back of his moped. He opened by asking why western people are so closed down and ignorant. After convincing him otherwi...