The train station was manic, people everywhere but the train was in so we made our way to the carriage and started to settle in but we felt that the standard of the carriage was a lot less than we had expected …….We re-checked and found that the carriage was split in two and we had gone to the wrong half. Moving to the correct carriage with 4 rucksacks and the bulk of people trying to board the train as we disembarked wasn't easy but finally we made it without blaming each other……. much. As we settled to sleep (Heather on the lower bunk, Dan on top) another problem emerged ….. the train was bound for Delhi but we were getting off in Jaipur, in the middle of the night but nobody seemed clear on the time.

In the event we woke up on time, made the correct guess in terms of the station and found ourselves on a platform with wall-to-wall people mostly lying down - We surfed through this huge wave of humanity, found a Tuk-Tuk driver, who sped us through the dark but busy streets of Jaipur and into the still dark night (slightly worrying) to arrive safely and at the correct hotel at 5:00 a.m.

Jaipur was the craziest city we had been in so far, the sheer amount of people everywhere and the traffic was indescribably mental - the best explanation is to imagine a snooker table with all the balls stationary, then striking the balls until they are all speeding around the table - Somehow, they seem to avoid colliding, despite the odds to the contrary …… In a Tuk-Tuk one feels particularly vulnerable, a bit like being in a tin can.

There was a lot to see and do in Jaipur …… The Pink City, The Amber Fort 11km out of town, The Albert Hall (based on the Victoria & Albert Museum but also looked slightly Venetian), The Monkey Palace and many more tourist highlights….. The food was very good and the restaurants lively and entertaining. The city is quite spread out, so a fair bit of commuting between the different places usually in the ubiquitous Tuk-Tuk and amidst the background of a highly vibrant city where the streets are alive, day and night.

We visited the major sites using the tuk-tuk driver who successfully got our business on arrival at the railway station - a full day for £7.00. We spent our 4 days in Jaipur with some relaxation thrown in - our hotel had a small pool which helped us to cool down and the colonial bar had a snooker table (and free peanuts). Rachel and Al - if you are reading this, it was very reminiscent of the snooker session we had in Beaune. We also spent some time deciding on our next destination - Heather wanted to go to Ranthambore National Park which was a 2-hour train journey away, so we went on line to book tickets. However, the train was completely full. We went to the station and queued at the foreign tourist counter to try and get seats, and we were put on a waiting list - "come back tomorrow at 10.30am to see if there are seats available" - so at this stage we didn't know where our next stop was going to be.

After 4 days (and two Saares later) it was time to move on. After some confusion at the railway station we finally got confirmed seats for our short journey, next stop Ranthambore