We woke up 5 minutes before we had to get off in Delhi, which was brilliant. Except for Barry, who got up early because the chai vendors were walking up and down the corridor passed his head. He finally got up an hour before arrival to enjoy a hot drink, but the chai vendors never came back! At the station, Binu ordered some taxis but we had to have one last dramatic episode! There was a line-up of cabs, and we made the mistake of getting into the wrong one. The...

Out the door by 8:30 am and off to a 3 hour public bus ride to Varanasi. It was an OK bus, although a little cramped in terms of leg room. The 3 hours went quickly and when we arrived, we took auto rickshaws to our new home, the Hotel Pradeep. We met for lunch down in the Poonam Restaurant. Binu recommended some rice and mutton (goat) dishes. We stayed safe and had butter chicken. Again. After lunch, we went up to the beautiful rooftop garden, which is also a re...

After a nice breakfast, we packed up once more and headed for Allahabad. This drive was not as smooth. As we tried to leave town, we were told to take a different route. Then, our drivers had an argument with a young man who had pulled a rope across the road and demanded a parking fee. Then, the other car stopped and we drove back to see why. They were watching wild cranes in a field. Then, we had to stop for gas. Then, a bolt broke on the other car's suspension....

The drive was about 6 hours long but we stopped for a nice lunch in Satna and then stopped at a Hindu Temple that told the holy story of Ramayama through beautiful paintings, base reliefs and dioramas. After checking into our hotel, we went for a boat ride on a disgustingly unhygienic river called the Mandakini. Chitrakoot is known as a mini Varanasi because of its many temples and ghats and is a popular Hindu pilgrimage destination. Everyone was blessing, wash...

We travelled for a few hours to our next stop, the Ken River Lodge. After dropping off our bags, we went on a game drive through the Panna National Park - a dry deciduous forest with tigers, leopards, jackals, sloth bears, nilgais, chitals (spotted deer), chinkaras (Indian gazelles), langur monkeys and samburs. It apparently was the inspiration for Kipling's Jungle Book! We saw antelope, spotted deer, a peacock and various other birds - but no tigers! It was nice...