What a difference a border makes! The Nepalese are very friendly – still want as much money from you as possible, though – and they know exactly what backpackers are looking for. Fried breakfasts!Natalie was planning to do some volunteering in a town outside Kathmandu but it fell through when she had to teach and didn’t have anything to teach them… C’mon, she isn’t very clear when she speaks at the best of times. I went to Eve...

We had wanted to spend a couple of weeks traveling around Rajhistan but Thailand got in the way. Maybe next time… We had 2 nights in Jaipur as there was a train (another 33hrs! this time our compartment was shared with cockroaches – hundreds of them) direct from Kolkata. “Hassle loaded” is how Lonely Planet describes it. Hmmm. Another gripe about this bloody book. DON’T BUY LP INDIA! Jaipur is actually relatively hassle free. O...

Beefburgers, bikinis, booze and beaches. Bliss. Well, for a fortnight at least. A break was needed from the backpacking scene so we opted for a Bangkok shopping spree (put it on the credit card, mum) along with a tanning session on the costa del sol of Thailand. Whisked Natalie around Bangkok like I was a professional guide. It all felt very strange as it felt like only last month when I was there travelling the first time. I love Bangkok to bits and I ...

Best place in India to date. People are friendly. City easy to navigate on foot (although a map would have saved us our 3km detour). We did a walking tour that Lonely Planet details but the person who wrote it obviously never tried to walk it themselves. After asking lots of helpful people we managed to get to the river for a wee ferry trip. Very relaxing place to be in and we now feel very wise to all the tricks of the touting trade. We obviously look ...

Since we hitched a lift with a Punjab family when we were staying in McLoed we decided to visit them in Chandigarh hoping that they would show us around and give an insight into the rich Indian life. Chandigarh is also said to be the cleanest, greenest and most organised of all Indian cities. Hopes were high especially since we would be there for my birthday. Disappointed. Not least because the father of the family we met turned up with his mate and we di...