You can't miss the muscular fort that towers over the Blue City of Jodhpur: it's larger-than-life and, judging by the elephant ramming-proof gates, totally impregnable. Around Mehrangarh's base, the old city, a jumble of Brahmin-blue cubes, is just as attention grabbing....but, alas, that's as far Jodhpur came to capturing our imaginations. Maybe we've been travelling for too long, or perhaps the unbearable heat is finally taking its toll, but...

Our brief encounter in Assam was thrilling; but merely 'wet our appetite'. We wanted more.We knew the chances of a second tiger sighting were slim at best. And with only one morning at Ranthambore National Park, to do a safari, the odds weren't in our favour. But we had to try!So at 6am, full of anticipation, we piled into the Cantt (a 6-man jeep); our hearts sank as we listened to fellow passengers' tails of disappointing safari, after disappoint...

Not quite the traveller hang-out we'd anticipate... Our vision of chilling with like-minded backpackers -- drinking cold coffees in rooftop cafes -- fled along with all the visitors, and almost as many business owners, escaping the city's heat. Once we accepted this small disappointment, Bundi turned out to be a captivating town, full of narrow lanes of Brahmin-blue houses, lakes, hills, bazaars and a temple at every turn. I'd almost say that 'Blu...

"Jaipur, The City of Victory, is chaotic and congested, though it still has a habit of tickling travellers pink."Nice pun Lonely Planet (maybe a tad cliched). But I just don't get why Jaipur is called the 'Pink City'. Will someone explain this to me? It's really more of an orange! Colour aside, The city has a rich royal past and is full of hilltop forts and palaces.David's favourite: Jantar Mantar, an observatory, which resembles a collection ...

Ravindranath Tagore described it as 'a teardrop on the cheek of eternity', Rudyard Kipling as 'the embodiment of all things pure', while its creator, Emperor Shah Jahan, said it made 'the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes'.Maybe I'm a cynic, but when something becomes as iconic as the Taj Mahal, I just don't buy it. I instinctively lower my expectations; choosing to assume that the masses are getting over excited about th...