Namaste from India

Ok, so this blog covers our last section of India, from Udaipur back to Delhi, via a few little stops - Bijaipur, Bundi, Pushkar and Samode - as well as Jaipur and Agra (where the famous Taj Mahal is located). We even added a few days on to our tour to visit Rathambore National Park (where Russell Brand and Katie Perry were last week before their wedding nearby!), where there are Tigers!

So by this point we had really settled into life in India, we had got used to the noise, open sewers, dirt, touts selling crap everywhere and really relaxed into enjoying the sites. We also were a little more off the beaten track and so were in less busy places and really didn't see many tourists at all. In fact in some hotels we were the only guests - nice to have the pool to ourselves, but strange to have 8+ staff at our beck and call.

We visited a huge fort at Chittaurgarh which contained temples and palaces and a massive tower, with a good view of the fort from the top. At Bijaipur (very rural spot where we were the only guests in a huge hotel owned and run by descendants of the Maharaja of the area) we went on an excellent safari tour of the local area, which included visiting tiny little villages of mud huts, but with electricity and meeting little kids who wave and shout hello. We stopped at a lake to watch the sunset and had Masala (Indian) tea and biccies...bliss ...got some great photos too!

In Bundi we stayed in a lovely boutique havelli hotel, which only had 2 rooms. The owners didn't speak much English but were really nice and the food was simple but gorgeous and so cheap. It was lovely sitting on the roof top terrace watching life in Bundi go by and catching the sun setting over the palace and fort.

Samode is very small and basically centred around the Palace, once the home of the Maharaja of Samode. We stayed in a gorgeous and expensive tented camp. We only had one night here, but took a camel ride to the Palace a few km away, looked round the Palace, now a v expensive hotel (run by the same people as the tented camp) and had a much welcomed G&T in the Palace courtyard. We then watched the locals burn what I can only describe as a huge guy fawkes...it was actually meant to represent the devil. It was about 25-30ft tall and packed with fireworks, so when it fell over and fireworks started firing towards us and the rest of the crowd ... we made a fast retreat!!

At Jaipur we were back into a city atmosphere so it was busy with traffic and a bit dirtier than the rural areas. Another Palace, this time preparations were underway for the current Maharaja's birthday so the place was full of flowers, gold statues and orange and pink clashing fabric - very Indian celebration-esque! We also saw an astrological observatory where you can track the zodiac, read the positions of the stars and tell the time...to within 2 seconds! The most amusing part of our stay in Jaipur was when we were taken to a 'cultural evening' - our driver picked us up and drove us miles out of town to this hotel/resort where we were the only white people surrounded by Indian tourists. The only thing I can compare it to is a theme park or wild west themed place in America, but Indian and crap! It was very tacky and pointless and we walked around for about 30 mins thinking we'd stepped into a parallel world! Anyway, we quickly decided we wanted out, so marched past the confused manager and staff on the door, found Sampat and drove back to Jaipur to find a 'proper' restaurant! We ended up having one of the best meals in India in a lovely place called Niro's, not very Indian sounding but really good food and with locals as well as westerners in!.

We had an elephant ride up to the Amber Fort just outside Jaipur, which we spent the whole time getting shaken about and not too sure how we felt about it ethically! I don't think I will do that again!

Ranthambore was beautiful, we stayed in a nice hotel and the park was lovely. It was still v hot here, but in the park with a little breeze and in the shade it was pleasant. The scenery was stunning and it was really nice to drive around and see some wildlife. It was also very well looked after so there was no rubbish etc. We had 3 safaris each of about 3 hours, early morning and afternoon, but unfortunately didn't see any tigers. Others at our hotel did so we assume they exist! The closest we got was to see fresh tiger footprints. Maybe next time!

Our final stop in India before returning to Delhi was in Agra, home to the Taj Mahal. We didn't expect alot of Agra as it is a busy touristy city and it was busier and dirtier than some areas, but not as bad as we thought. We got to the Taj early as suggested and even at 7:15am it was v busy! It gets 4 million visitors a year! Anyway, despite the small queue and being busy and the staring/leering it was absolutely amazing and beautiful and worth the visit to India alone. It is huge. It is actually a mausoleum and only constructed by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his third (and favourite) wife who died during the birth of her 14th child (Dave and Lianne you have a way to go!!). It now holds both of them. There isn't alot to see inside (although there's still a huge queue to get in) but the outside and gardens are incredible. I didn't find it romantic as some people say, just because of the sheer number of people there, but it was lovely to stroll around and it was quieter at the mosque on the west side, so we sat there for a while with a great view and watched the crowds go by. We also saw the fort at Agra which was v cool and a site termed 'baby Taj' which is very similar (style, detailing. materials, layout) but was constructed 2 generations earlier.

So with great memories of our visit to the Taj we headed back to Delhi for our flight to Bangkok...see the next instalment!

Missing you all (although not the weather!) and keen to hear from you all...it's nice to know what's going on back home.

All our love

Gem and Andy xxx