Incredible India! As the clouds parted on our descent to Mumbai airport, the mysterious land was revealed to us. Luxurious marble buildings surrounded by thousands of corrugated-iron shacks, clinging to mountain sides, rail tracks and river banks, some have even tumbled onto the airport runway! Haphazardly piled on top of one another like shoe boxes, the slums are a sight for sore eyes: welcome to India, the land of contrasts!

Walking the streets of Mumbai is truly mesmerizing. After 20 months travelling through 20 countries, India managed to surprise us, it's unlike any country we've seen. The filth and the beauty; the putrid stenches and sweet smell of spices; the vivid colours and enchanting music, the hostility and smiles of the people, all combine to create a truly unique feeling of simultaneous love and hate.

Mumbai is the perfect city in which to acclimatise to India, providing everything from esoteric local markets to intricate Raj buildings, upmarket bars to street chai stalls, Bollywood glam to grimy slums. In the city we were caught in some of the heaviest rains we've experienced, torrential downpours soaking the skin in seconds, turning the streets into rivers and creating a sense of relief for the locals - a much needed break from the heat, a water supply and a natural shower for some.

Our timing in India is not ideal, the start of the monsoons and the peak of the summer temperatures. So we're heading north to the Himalayas to escape the heat and the dirt of the cities. Our route north through Gujarat and Rajasthan has taken us via a number of India's famous smaller cities. From the congested and polluted capital of Gujarat state, Ahmedabad, to beautiful Udaipur, home to the City and Lake Palace, famed from the James Bond film Octop**** Jodhpur, with it's amazing fort and views over the blue city - apparently the houses are painted blue to keep the mosquitos at bay, however the open sewers flowing through the streets counteract this somewhat!

Despite the intense heat we decided to head to Jaisalmer in the Thar Desert. The mid-west of India at this time of year is dry and barren, temperatures touching 50 degrees, the people and the cattle in desperate need of rain and the coming monsoon. In our wisdom we chose a 2 day camel safari out into the dunes of the desert with an overnight stay under the stars. The idea of this truly romantic experience was shattered inside about an hour, with howling winds giving us a good sandblasting and the acute discomfort of riding a camel! We also quickly tired of the scenery, barren land as far as the eye could see, with a few skeletal cows tottering around wearily hunting for anything edible. By the end of day 2 and after a terrible nights sleep in galeforce winds on top of a concrete roof, we were both relieved when the experience was finally over!

After washing the sand from every inch of our bodies we took the night train to Jaipur opting to stay in a plush hotel to make up for the desert experience. Jaipur is a congested and hectic city with some beautiful buildings and palaces within the old city walls, also famed for it's silver and leather shoes, Rachel took no time in sampling the local markets and bartering hard for a bargain!

The division between rich and poor is glaringly obvious when travelling from one place to the next on public transport - the wealthy live in the cities, the poor in the villages. Despite the level of poverty, Indian women always look their best, wearing bright and sparkly saris when working in the fields or in the home, simply stunning against the backdrop of the parched brown land.

In our initial 3 weeks in India we've had many strange and memorable experiences: intensely stared and sniggered at, incessantly begged at, been friendlily (albeit scarily) mobbed by a gaggle of kids over a bunch of bananas, received the splash-back of paan spit (local tobacco/ herb powder which is chewed) and old man's pee through a bus window, received curry burps in the face from a tour guide, sand blasted in the desert during a sand storm and being unable to walk after sitting on a camel for 2 days!

Exhausted from the stares, muck and chaos of the cities, we're hoofing it north via Delhi to relax in the mountains, enjoy the fresh air and scenery and take advantage of the yoga retreats. We're excited yet slightly apprehensive for what awaits us in the north of this mystical and crazy country.