Planes, Trains and Automobiles

9 and a half months since we left home, Howard and i have been racking our brains thinking back to all the transport we must have used to get us between and around 12 countries. This is what we came up with:

Bus/coach 83
Tuk tuk 36
Boat 34
Train 28
Car/taxi 27
Plane 14
Pick up truck 9
Motorbike 6
Cyclo 4
Bicycle 3
Horse and cart 2

Only one journey left...homeward bound.

India, Jodhpur to Mumbai

These last two weeks we spent in the south and west of Rajasthan.

The larger than life Mehrangarh fort dominates the city of Jodhpur. It was never breached in its history so the palaces inside the walls are still beautifully preserved giving you an insight to the life of the maharajas. The views from the battlements are vast, showing the "blue city" in all its glory. The city looked alive with every boy and girl up on the roofs flying kites to celebrate the riki festival. We bought a paper kite and joined in although it was soon clear these kids were 

expert flyers, you could hear the little paper 

kites whipping through the air litlle birds.

Bundi was a lot quieter than the busy throngs of Jodhpur. It is soaked in royal opulence with its fairytale palace and many steps wells, some of which were commissioned for the royal ladies to bathe in. The intricate carvings and ornate arches tell of a time of grandeur. Bats are the only residents in the palace now and monkeys roam the rooftops often coming down into the gardens in search of food. In our case one quite aggressive male mistook flip flops for food and ran off with one dangling from its mouth. Howard was soon jumping over the wall stick in hand chasing after the monkey.

"The city of lakes", Udaipur is one of Rajasthans most romantic cities, where every rooftop and window looks out over Pichola lake with its glamorous lake palace where some of James Bonds Octopussy film was set. The locals love this fact, showing reruns of the film all day long. We had our best curry here in an outdoor restaurant on the lakeside. We weren't too thrilled about the prospect of going vegetarian for these 5 weeks, but the curries are so full of flavour we've hardly even noticed there's been no meat in them. Local Indian barfi (fudge-like sweets made from milk) were a nice treat after dinner.

We arrived in Mumbai after 16 hours on an overnight train from Udaipur. We stepped out of the somewhat derelict railway station to be met by dirty busy streets. Prices in Mumbai were much higher than anywhere else we had visited in India as we discovered when we payed over double what we usually pay to end up with a cell like room. Spent most of the days out and about in town exploring some of the local architecture and bazaars and took a train out to one of Mumbai's largest slums. 

Don't get lost in the maze that is Dharavi slum,

a city within a city. 

Our rucksacks had grown so big over the past 9 and a half months we had to spend a bit of time throwing what we could out and jiggling it all around before getting on our flight home.

India, Varanasi to Pushkar

India is like walking through a dazzling kaleidoscope, which we've loved almost every minute.

After enduring what was a noisy and uncomfortable 25 hour bus journey across the border from Nepal we finally arrived in Varanasi. Our first stop in India. It was just as we'd imagined; an assault on our senses. Litter, flies, spices, cattle, beggars grabbing our arms and of course horns being sounded from every moving vehicle. Varanasi is one of the holiest places in India where Hindu pilgrims come to the ghats (steps) lining the river Ganges to bathe in the sacred water, perform pooja (offer blessings to deities), wash their clothes or buffaloes or to cremate loved ones. A visit here is not complete without a sunrise boat trip down the river.

Our first train journey in India was not as bad as we were expecting. We slept in our bunks for 13 hours as we headed west to Agra. There we found a simple guesthouse with a 1st class view of the Taj Mahal from the rooftop restaurant, couldn't believe how close it was! The next morning we visited the Taj, so beautiful. We challenge you not to come over all mushy and sentimental as you gaze at this monument to love. 

Jaipur 'the pink city' was our next stop, 5 hours by train this is the gateway to Rajasthan. It is a chaotic and conjested city though still manages to draw you in. Despite the hassling tuk tuk drivers, inside the old city walls there are some beautiful palaces harking back to India's majestic past. The city palace and Hawa Mahal (a palace built for the ladies of the royal household to watch over the city) were well worth the visit. 

A contrast to Jaipur, Pushkar was a serene escape. The town and milky-coloured temples curl around the sacred lake where Lord Brahma was said to have dropped a lotus flower when on his search for a tranquil location. It was lovely to relax in the pool and do a bit of people watching sown by the lake where we saw sitar players and sadhus (wondering holy men). Pushkar has been our favorite place in India so far.

Hopefully our next and last 2 weeks of India and our trip will be just as good as these.