Hi everyone,

It was really good to read all your messages after our last blog, and we're both really pleased to know that people are keeping up to date with our travels!

Well, we are now in Udaipur. Our last day in Jaisalmer passed without any real hitch. In the morning we visited some Jain temples, which were really ornately carved, with amazing detail. All the temples were joined together by little stairways, corridors and doors. Our afternoon bus to Udaipur was at 3.30. We had a double sleeper bed, and it was actually quite comfortable. We envisaged getting a fairly decent night's rest, but how wrong we actually were! The roads were rickety and potholed, the bus went really quickly and we slid about whenever there was a corner, and the bus even had a novelty horn, which it sounded continuously! All in all, not a good night's rest!

We were also told that the bus would arrive in Udaipur at 6 in the morning, so you can imagine our surprise when it suddenly arrived at 4! Finding a hotel became a nightmare! As it was such a strange time of the night, all the hotels were closed up. Our rickshaw driver took it upon himself to help us out, and went around waking up the night porters in at least 6 different hotels! He even nudged some of them with his foot to wake them from their slumbers! The answer from all of them was 'Full, come back at 10'. So, we ended up waiting on the streets until around 6. One of the abiding memories of the night will always be a Chinese boy who was also trying to find a hotel. We were in our rickshaw, and another rickshaw slowed down as it was passing us, and a little face peered at us with huge eyes, and even bigger glasses. Noone said anything and he just went by really slowly. It was totally surreal, and Jo and I still find ourselves in hysterics whenever we think about it! At 6, one of the hotels had pity on us, and let us stay on their sofas in the rooftop restaurant. After finally getting a little rest, staying there until about 9, we found a room of our own in another hotel.

Udaipur is a really beautiful city, situated by a lake, with loads of whitewashed temples, havelis (mansions), palaces and ghats (jettys) lining the shores. We are staying on the more tranquil north-western side of the lake, where we have just about recovered from our nightmare journey on Sunday/Monday night. It's been really peaceful for the most part, and we have been able to relax. One afternoon we spent by a swimming pool, taking a dip and sunbathing, as well as reading our books (it's around 25 degrees here). We have also visited a Hindu temple, quite similar in design to the Jain temples in Jaisalmer, and the City Palace. The palace had lots of different interesting rooms, fine views over the city and lake, and galleries of miniature paintings (Udaipur is famous for its fantastically detailed and tiny miniature paintings). We have also taken a boat ride around the lake, narrowly avoiding colliding with a huge pelican! The ride provided some great photos.

I bought some new sunglasses in Udaipur, after the ones I bought in Jaisalmer broke after only a week! I have gone a bit more upmarket this time, at around 3 pounds, and thought I was getting a good deal when I noticed a 'Ray Ban' tag on them. On closer inspection, they also have an Armani sign on the sides, and 'Ray Ban' is actually spelt 'Ray Bon'! I love them! My breakfast this morning also proved unusual...I ordered some hash browns, and instead of getting the crispy, golden triangles we are used to at home, I got some potatoes, with red onion and pepper, in a weird BBQ/curry-style sauce. Needless to say, neither Jo or I were impressed!

We will be moving on to Agra this evening, catching a bus at 6, which gets in at 7 tomorrow morning. We have been careful this time to book a hotel in Agra before we arrive, so we can hopefully avoid the mishaps I've described above! We're hoping the journey will be slightly more comfortable this time as well!

Please keep in contact with us and let us all know how you are, it's really good to hear from you all whilst we're away,

love Ollie and Jo xxx