Desert Ships I arrived at Jaisalmer train station at midday to a huge crowd of touts and rickshaw drivers all wanting me to go to their hotels and get in their vehicles, asking my name and where I'm staying to which I bluntly refused any answers not wanting to fall for any of the scams by which if they know your name they tell you they're there to pick you up or that your hotel is closed and take you to another which is giving them big commission which is of co...

Indian Hangover This entry is going to rather short! In a few words, yesterday I did practically nothing! I woke up at about 9am feeling quite rough an extremely thirsty and had no water but before I could venture up to the restaurant to buy a bottle, I was in such a state a had to shower first! Afterwards water in hand I lazed in bed with the telly on (if you think i was wasting time in this beautiful country, I was still absorbing the Indian culture through me...

Jaipur and Amber Fort Had a early start with a sandwich and a fruit lassi for breakfast, checked out and met my auto rickshaw driver from the day before and headed out to visit the Amber Fort, the biggest sight and normally the main reason for a visit to Jaipur. It's a little bit out of town and once we reached the outskirts where the roads weren't as congested, it we picked up the pace and was nice to have a heavy breeze through the rickshaw instead of the usua...

Taj Mahal 5:30am and I'm up and at 'em! Quick rickshaw journey and I arrived at the east gate to the Taj Mahal (there are four main entrances to the complex, north, south, east and west) where I had to pay my Rs. 750 entrance fee which is only about £10 but compared to every other sight entrance fee (Rs.100-200) it was expensive and go through a rigorous security check which was like going through airport security with a metal detector and bag check. After thi...

The Pink City I had a nice wee sleep-in till about 10am on my first day in Jaipur and then once showered and dressed, I took some laundry to reception and headed up to the rooftop restaurant for some brunch, another veggie club sandwich and I ordered a mixed fruit cocktail (non alcoholic of course) which turned out to be a fruit juice and vanilla ice-cream float, very tasty and refreshing! I then set about my daily ritual of making my to do list and plans for th...