We took a bus from Agra to Jaipur, this one 'delux' and about twice the price. This executive decision had been made following our previous bus journey, Delhi to Agra. It had been a sweaty, bumpy, noisy, cramped, painfully slow, nerve-jangling experience which made me hate life more than I ever have. When we arrived I would have jumped for joy and kissed the ground if I hadn't been trying to get away from Rickshaw drivers the moment I left the bus. (Don't know why I used a capital letter there, but it's just occurred to me how amusing it would be to meet someone called Rick Shaw). It had, however, been made somewhat less excrutiating by the fact that whenever you stop, people crowd around outside selling cold mineral water, nuts, bananas and ice-cream for a few pence. They also sell something called 'masala chai', which is a sweet, almost sickly, spicy version of the drink we know as tea. After the initial disgust you feel when first tasting it, it actually becomes quite palatable and even moreish. If you start thinking of it as a warm soft drink rather than a cup of tea, it helps.

Anyway, the bus journey to Jaipur, in Rajastan, was actually quite painless, verging on the pleasant. It took precisely 5 hours, as we had been promised, it was well aired, if not actually air-conditioned, and most importantly, it only contained about ten people. Obviously the jump in price had rocketed us into a new travelling class, and we were no longer amongst the untouchables. The plains of Rajastan began opening up before us, and the odd hill appeared to liven up the landscape from time to time. It was pretty green, for what is the driest state in India, though there wasn't much sign that it had rained recently. Outside, the sun was blazing and it was close to 40 degrees. Everything was just smooth until we got to Jaipur. I was ready for the rickshaw drivers here, as I'd read about them in The Book (The Lonely Planet for all you non-travellers). One of them actually came ON to the bus here, and tried to persuade me that

we'd arrived at the central bus station, and that I should come out and take a rickshaw ride with him. As I knew that this wasn't the central station, I shooed him away scornfully. What a nerve.

After some predictable but not-as-as-expected hassle in the bus station, we found our pre-booked rickshaw driver (whom I had located having given a secret number and password by phone to my hotelier in what must be the most clandestine act I have ever done whilst on hioliday), and were driven swiftly to our hotel. As soon as we stepped through the doors, we knew we had arrived at what may be the best hotel on the trip, and all our anxieties faded away. We were shown a fantastic, air-conditioned room with balcony, TV, fridge and huge double bed, with internet and library next door and a truly fantastic rooftop reastaurant above. The rest of the day we just lazed, strolling to the restaurant from time to time for a cold drink before going up there to get a sumptuous banquet of mixed Chinese, Tibetan and north Indian cuisine for under a fiver. A Rajastani sitar player and singer accompanied the meal and the awesome view over Jaipur and its fortresses as the sun set. Finally, we began to relax.