Udaipur 27-28th January We were delighted to leave the Castle at a civilised time of 9.30am for the 3 hour journey to Udaipur. Our tour guide was very excited as this is her home town and she was bursting to show it off. After a quick check in we were whisked off to a traditional painting studio/shop where miniature art was demonstrated and we each had one nail painted with a different symbol. Jo actually got two, a camel (for love) and a elephant (for good luck...

Castle Bijaipur 26.1.10 Republic day for India and Australia day! (We are travelling with 3 Ozzies…which made for buoyant travel mates).Once again we travelled in jeeps and stopped to watch a school 'assembly' to celebrate the day. The head teacher was unusually hilarious and the crowd appreciated all his jokes. We, of course were oblivious but were treated like Royalty and a row of chairs was immediately vacated as we approached. The next stop was at a field ...

Panngarh Camp, near Bijaipur 25.1.10 We left the hotel at 6.30 to catch a local train (think bench seats, crowded with locals) to Bassi. The journey was around three hours and we were very grateful that we did not have 'tummy troubles' as did two very pale members of the group who looked frantically for toilet facilities at the station. The state of the toilets on the train made Jo cross her legs for the whole time and gave her a phobia about future train journe...

Bundi - 24th January After a magical drive through some unspoilt villages where we were treated like celebrities; everyone, both adults and children, waving at us the whole route, we arrived in the small non touristy town of Bundi. Nikki was particularly excited as she had arranged to meet her guide from her previous visit to India six years ago and it was rumoured that he had done rather well for himself. Our hotel was a beautiful old haveli and we had a sup...

Ranthambore National Park - 23th January After two days in the city we were pleased to escape to some greenery. As we headed south the temperature improved further and by now Jo was tempted to remove her fleece during the hours of daylight. Once at our hotel, Jo spotted a very tempting pool and was torn between tiger spotting and relaxing in the sun. After being convinced she would be disappointed to miss a tiger, even though the chances of seeing one is ver...