Hi everyone,

So the day after my birthday we spent most of our time in Pushka, I really enjoyed the town its been my favourite place in India so far - that and Udaipur but I will tell you about that in a bit.

The morning after my birthday I had a lovely lie in and got up to have my second hot shower of my trip so far - hot water is a major luxury when your staying in 2 pound a night guesthouses. I then left the hotel and headed to the main shopping bazaar in Pushka. We met a cockney couple who kindly explained to us the process of being blessed in pushka. We took their advice and headed to the holy Ghats for our blessing.

Basically getting blessed in Pushka is like a right of passage - once done they give you a red and yellow cotton wristband, tieing it to the left wrist if you are single or the right if you are married and upon seeing the band no other religious man will approach you or hassel you for a donation. We headed down to the water and were both handed an orange flower and asked to remove our shoes then a priest took me and a little boy took kim. They blessed us our families and our friends and after I had flicked holy water on my head and body repeated a poem and held a coconut covered with red and yellow powder? I was done and I had earned my "Pushka Passport" (wristband). I ignored the Lonely Planets advice to give the priest 100- 300 rupees and gave him 20 rupees for me and 20 for kim which he grumpily accepted and we were free to go. After buying some bangles and seeing the mosque we went back to the hotel and met our driver - then off to Udaipur we went.

After a long 8 hours drive we got to udaipur. I immediately took to the city with its winding lanes packed with stalls on both sides, all of the roads lead down to the lake which is used for everything from swimming to washing by the locals and transport to boat tours by the tourists. We arrived at night and due to a road block left our driver and walked into the old town, I felt completely safe (which is rare for india at night) and happily wondered from hostel to hostel looking for something cheap but nice. We quickly found somewhere suitable and headed up to the roof top restaurant for tea, the roof had moroccan style pillowed areas to lounge on and panoramic views of the city. As it was the second day of Diwali there were plenty of fairy lights covering the buildings and later on there was music and fireworks. The food at the restaurant was the best we have had in india the currys were sooo delicious we went back the following night too.

Our second day in Udaipur was spent seeing the floating palace and shopping, Udaipur is known for its camel leather (diaries, satchels, wallets) and its pashminas. I went nuts and spent a wopping 15 pounds on leather embroidered sandals, a leather bag, diary, pashmina as well as a christmas present or two ;)

Me and kim loved both Pushka and Udaipur. I have been asked before if I would recommend for people to travel india - I said no, its a tough place, people are rude and sly, places are dirty chaotic and loud and your the alien in the middle of it. However after travelling some of Rajestan (the state containing Pushka and Udaipur) I have changed my mind, North india has a lot to offer. The people are more friendly, there is a lot to see and the atmosphere is lovely. Its culturally rich and welcoming - Im hoping the last 10 days of my trip is equally as brilliant and I leave India with a positive attitude and a passion to tell people how cool a country it can be ... if you give it a chance?!

Anyway I will stop nattering on, im currently in Jaipur and I have a lot to see and do in a short amount of time. I know some of you are wondering if I have seen the Taj Mahal yet - no not yet but its my next stop after this one so I will give you all an update soon.

xxxx