Hi everyone,

We arrived in Delhi on Monday morning, after a long flight. Has a crazy rickshaw driver weave through the manic streets, with cars, bikes and cows etc., but we managed to make it to our hotel in one piece. Ollie has already been ill, before he even reached India, from a fish curry on the plane. It doesn't bode well... We stayed in a really nice area, in a nice hotel, and the owner was lovely. We then did a bit of sightseeing. We visited Humayun's Tomb, a Mughal tomb, seen as the precursor to the Taj Mahal, which was really impressive. We also went to the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, which is a Sufi Muslim shrine. It was a bit of a mission finding our way here, as we had to navigate ourselves through a maze of tiny streets surrounded by stalls. We had to cover our heads as soon as we got there. I could put the hood up on my jumper, but Ollie had to wear a beautiful silk scarf! Whilst there we also visited the Lotus temple (for the Baha'i faith) and the Qutb Minar (which looks like a chimney). We had another near death experience taking a rickshaw to Connaught Place. He was quite unique - he had a picture of an Arnold Schwarzenegger lookalike stuck on his mirror! At the moment its winter here, so its about 12 degrees - this is really cold for many Indians, with a lot of ear-muffs and wooly hats on display! We also saw the Jama Masjid, a massive mosque in Delhi.

We caught an overnight train to Jaisalmer, which should have been an 18 hour journey, but turned into 22! Sleeping on the train was pretty uncomfortable and really cold! But we arrived safely, and were pleased to get off the train. Jaisalmer is a really cool city, relaxed and chilled. We are staying in the old fort, with amazing views over the city and desert from or guesthouse's rooftop restaurant. We have wandered around the old fort, looking at some beautiful temples and havelis (Mansions). We also went on a camel safari into the Thar Desert. Ollie's camel was called Raju and mine was named Jamala. Jamala was at the front, and Raju at the back all the time, so we didn't get to see a lot of each other! We spent two days and one night, and saw traditional Indian villages, had some great Indian food and listened to the sitar whilst we sat out under the stars...Being on a camel for two days though really makes you sore! We were ready for a shower and proper toilet once we got back to Jaisalmer! We are off to Udaipur tomorrow, we will let you know how it is...

love Jo and Ollie