18-19 November 2012 After an arduous and sleepless train journey, I arrived in Jaisalmer. As I sped towards the city in a rickshaw, it was an awesome sight. The massive fort of Jaisalmer rose out of the sandy plains. It looked and felt both exotic and mysterious. A place trapped in time. After eating a delicious Rajasthani thali and checking my fantasy football campaign in an Internet cafe, I took a jeep to the desert camp I was staying at. It turned out to be...

17-18 November 2012 For my trip around Rajasthan, I booked a six day tour with a travel agent as I did not have much time to hunt for accommodation or sort train journeys. My train from Delhi to Jaisalmer was seventeen hours. Having booked my tour, I thought all my train worries would be non-existent. How wrong I was. A few hours before my train was due to depart, I got a phone call from the travel agent telling me that my sleeper seat has not been confirmed....

14-17 November 2012 The next few days I went sightseeing in Delhi. I went to the massive sandstone Red Fort. Being a a bit of History buff, I really enjoyed walking around, taking in both the Mughal and British structures around the fort. The other sights I visited included Jantar Mantar. An odd collection of terracotta buildings that were used as astrological instruments. There was India gate. A huge memorial structure near the Government buildings. And Humay...

Today was the big day. Diwali. The Hindu festival of light. In both size and importance, it's easy to compare it to Christmas. And there are similarities. There is a lot of gift giving to family and friends. Commercially, there are Diwali special offers everywhere. Decorative lights line every house or apartment. It is a special time to be together as a family. However the religious side of the celebration is quite different. Across India, there are many differe...

Leaving on a train at 7AM, I began my day trip to Agra. Arriving around 11AM I hired a rickshaw driver, called Vikram, for the day. The Taj Mahal was nothing short of spectacular. Rudyard Kipling described it as 'the embodiment of all things pure.' Its creator, Emperor Shah Jahan, said it made 'the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.' None of my countless photos can do it justice. Truly a wonder. The architectural design is amazing in itself, but the le...