We took our first night train to Mettapalaym, at the bottom of the Nilgiri Hills. From here, we caught the best train ever - a miniature steam train which pushed us up through the mountains - the scenery was amazing (especially as we managed to blag some window seats). When the train stopped to fill up with water (yes Sarah...water makes steam), the station was packed with cheeky monkeys stealing anything they could get their hands on! One jumped into our carriage and we could not scare it away despite our terrifying claws and growling noises (which of course the Indians loved). The train was really relaxing, until the tunnels when every Indian person on the train insisted on screaming.

In Ooty, we found a nice hotel, run by a stange old man with no teeth who did not speak a word of English but liked to smile none the less. Our plan for Ooty was Everest training session number two. However, we found that Indian people do not quite understand the concept of trekking...or even walking. When we asked the tourist office about trekking, they said it was a nice walk over to the Botanical Gardens 5 mins away by foot. We eventually found a guide who took us out into the Hills the next day. It was a nice 18K trek through tea planatations, Eucalyptus Forests (where the Tigers live!) and local farming villages until we reached the view point at the top of a mountain. We were escorted by two village dogs who hunted down all the snakes and lizards in our path. We got back to the hostel to find that Sarah had turned into a Lobster - so we went on a hunt for Aloe Vera to soothe her burning skin! It got so cold in the evenings up in the Hills - we had to get out our woolly jumpers and base layers!

We went to Ooty's equivalent to Roath Lake (Cardiff) the next day and rented a romantic pedalow for two. It ended up being a pretty good workout because we had to pedal away from all the Indian men trying to take photos! Sarah nearly killed a cow when she fed him an entire corn on the cob which he ate in one! We left the scene pronto - not the type of attention you want in India!

We found a market selling every type of fruit and vegetables so we bought a peeler and sat outside our room munching on fresh carrots, cucumbers, apples, pineapple and Green Giant sweetcorn (much more cow friendly). Felt much healthier to get the digestive system back in working order!