On The Bus

An early start today as we have a long bus journey ahead. A take away breakfast was provided by our homestay as we left there before 6 o'clock. We walked about 30 mins to the bus station where we quickly found the bus. It was a while before we set off and when we did the bus turned around in the middle of the busy road, before heading out of town. This seemed a very strange manoeuvre but it appears the other 10 buses do it too!

Shortly after setting off we stopped for a breakfast break, then a toilet stop, then a lunch stop. We were starting to wonder if the bus would ever arrive with all the stops. However this made for a very relaxed journey. The road was rather bumpy but that meant the driver had to go slowly, which we liked.

The views of the snow capped mountains, tiny villages and rice terraces were so beautiful. It was hard to capture photos of the scenery; firstly because the window wouldn't open, secondly because the window was dusty and finally because we couldn't hold the camera still due to the potholes.

Eventually we made it to the bus station in Pokhara, which just happened to be really close to the trekking permit office. This was our first stop. Here we needed to arrange an Annapurna conservation permit and TIMS card for our time in the mountains. It was very straight forward. We filled out a few forms, had our photos taken and paid up!

Next we walked through the centre of Pokhara, along the lake and out towards our homestay. A warm welcome awaited us and straight away we were offered tea and biscuits! We enjoyed our tea on the roof terrace over looking the lake. It was so quiet and relaxing.

We spent the evening at a pleasant restaurant and listened to live music before retiring to bed. Welcome to Pokhara!

Patan

We are loving the homestay breakfasts and the free tea and coffee. We never want to leave in the mornings! However we dragged ourselves out and onto the shopping streets of Thamel. We were searching for gloves for our trek to ensure our hands stay toastie warm. We eventually found a pair each that fitted well and were a good price.

In the afternoon we decided to head out to Patan, a quiet little town about 30 mins from Kathmandu. We caught the local bus which was fairly quiet and it dropped us a few minutes away from the temple sites. Patan has a Durbar Square just like Kathmandu. It is full of beautiful old temples. We ate some lunch and washed it down with chai before walking amongst many beautiful temples and buildings. We followed a really nice heritage trail through the town back to the bus stop.

The bus home was rather more crowded and we stood until seats became available. Once back in Kathmandu we wandered the busy streets before heading back.

Another amazing meal was served and we spent the rest of the evening chatting and planning the road ahead.

Durbar Square

We were treated by an enormous breakfast feast this morning included in the price of our homestay. Eggs, toast, tea ...

After we headed to the Garden of Dreams because we were staying pretty close. It was very beautiful and many people were relaxing on the finely manicured lawns. Next we made our way to the frantic streets of Thamel, which are packed with shops sell trekking equipment.

Onwards to Durbar Square where we saw so many beautiful temples. Many were being rebuilt after being damaged by a recent earthquake, which was really sad.

Wandering back towards the homestay we browsed the shops looking at the beautiful Nepalese souvenirs.

In the evening we had a fantastic meal at the homestay sharing stories with the other travellers staying there. We have met some really interesting people over the last few days. One lady has sailed around the world twice, another young chap has a really interesting business helping many charities and one student is completing his PhD on solar energy!

Flight

Our fight time was 13.50 today but we decided to go to the airport early as we were staying a little way from the centre of Delhi. We left our Pod at 8.30, spent no more than 10 minutes having breakfast and then walked across the park to the Metro station. The walk was around 10 minutes. The metro got is into a connecting station where we switched lines to the airport link. It took us around 2 hours to reach the airport.

We had already checked in for our flight and we had mobile boarding passes on our phones. However, even with hand luggage only, you still need to print a boarding pass at a machine in the airport and then wait at a check-in desk to show your ID plus have your boarding pass stamped. So, what exactly was the purpose of checking in online? Wouldn't it be easier just to go to the check-in desk and do the whole process in one go?

The flight left on time and from our seats we could see the Himalayan mountains from our window. Once we had landed we purchased our visa, passed through immigration and walked a short distance to find the local bus.

The traffic was terrible as it was now rush hour. The buses were crammed with people hanging from the doors. It was impossible for us to get the first 3 or 4 buses that passed. Eventually we made it on board and stood with our bags, squashed in like sardines. It was about 2km from the bus stop to our homestay. We had to ask the locals to help us find it, as it was tucked away down a small back street.

Eventually we found it at around 8.30pm having left India at 8.30am. The welcome was so friendly and we ate the most amazing home cooked food. We spent the evening chatting to other travellers before we went to bed.

A long day but now we are in Nepal!

Gandhi

This morning we closed up our Pod and headed to the Mother Dairy shop which is just across the road. Here they sell really delicious cold lassis, which we love!

Next we walked through the the park to the Metro station where we discovered an interesting shopping mall. It had lots of well known food outlets; Taco Bell, KFC, Starbucks... The Metro took us to Khan Market, which had a few fancy shops including an M&S lingerie shop. From here we walked along wide, neat and clean streets to the Gandhi Smriti.

Gandhi Smriti was a museum dedicated to the life of Gandhi with interesting displays, videos and beautiful gardens. It also housed the spot where Gandhi's life was ended by a bullet.

We continued to explore nearby Lodhi Gardens where a number of ancient Muslim tombs could be found. There was also a pretty lake and lots of Delhi residents enjoying their weekend.

The Metro took us back to where we had stated. Burger King was calling, so this was where we ate. Christmas music was playing as we entered the shopping mall and there were also Christmas decorations in one of the fancy coffee shops.

From here we walked through the park and joined the queue to visit inside the Lotus Temple. It was packed and the crowd monitors ushered people through. When it got dark we ate at a street seller under the Metro rail before heading back to our Pod through the park.

Stolen Bag

The train journey to Delhi was ok but for the first time we were in separate carriages. We were lucky to get sleeper berths at all because many people were travelling for a festival. The train was packed. We chatted to a couple of families before retiring for the night.

In the morning we put our bags on the upper bunk and stayed pretty close to them, talking to the friendly families. Darryl sat opposite the bags and Christine sat on the lower bunk. When we came to leave the train Darryl's small bag was missing! It had been stolen by someone, possibly a coordinated gang. One minute the bag was there, the next it was gone. We hope the thief enjoys their new bag, the packet of crisps, some ear plugs and a phone charger. Nothing of any value was inside the bag, so we think the thief will go home disappointed. Today's Karma for someone is going to be bad!

Stolen items replaced at the Delhi market, plus 2 really warm coats purchased for the Nepalese winter. Only 2 days to go until our flight to Kathmandu! After shopping we walked to many of the famous Delhi sights; The Red Fort, Jama Masjid mosque, Connaught Place and the India Gate. By about 9am our phones were telling us we'd walked 10000 steps each. Enough walking for a while.

We caught the Delhi Metro out to our Pod hotel on the outskirts of town, away from chaotic Delhi. Tonight we are sleeping in a queen pod.

More walking in the afternoon through a fancy park to the Lotus Temple. Finally, street food satisfied our appetites.

Last Day in the Desert

Our final day in Jaisalmer was a long one. Not for any other reason other than our train leaves at 1am, so we have to stay awake for a long time. For that reason we stayed in bed a little longer before exploring Jaisalmer for the last time.

We headed straight for brunch filling up on fruit before hitting the lassis. We walked a lot visiting lots of beautiful Havelis and actually making it to the 7 interconnecting Jain temples before they closed. The carvings were exquisite!

We sat and people watched a lot and found a quaint little park away from the hustle of Jaisalmer. We were the only ones there and found a nice bench in the shade of a tree. It wasn't long before we were interrupted. First a friendly dog came over to say hello. Next a goat rocked up for a chat!

We saw a viewpoint on the map so tried to find it. However we walked too far and missed the turning. As it was getting towards sunset we headed back to the fort to find a suitable spot to watch the sun disappear into the desert. We tried a few roof top restaurants that all had good views but eventually settled on a quiet spot between the turrets. It was a great sunset. Not a cloud in sight!

In the darkness we headed to our regular restaurant, filled up on another fine Indian spicy curry and left very full. However, there was a tiny space remaining for our last special saffron hot milk delight, which we thoroughly enjoyed before heading to the train station for our 1am train.

Jaisalmer

The train arrived at Jaisalmer station at around 6.30 am, far too early to get out of bed and face the chaos of an Indian station.

This time our arrival was slightly easier. No walking 2km to the hotel, they were coming to pick us up. As we walked out, there they were holding a little plaque with our names. After a short ride in the jeep we were welcomed with chai and waited for our room to be prepared.

It was just getting light and the view of the Jaisalmer fort from the hotel roof was fantastic. We decided to get a closer look so dropped off our bags and headed towards the fort. We spent the day exploring the ancient city and its many bazaars. There were great views from the top of the battlements over the city.

The afternoon was too hot so we curtailed our walking, sat and ate lunch. We bumped into a couple we had met in Pushkar and chatted to them for a while.

Next was a trip to the hairdresser, who quickly made a success of both our mops. With our new styles we walked outside the city walls to show them off in a local restaurant. Here we ate far too much before washing the meal down with hot saffron milk from the busiest stall we have ever seen. We can see why ... It was delicious!

Blue Jodhpur

We left our bags at the hotel and took the back entrance from the building to the Maherangarh fort. As our hotel was already at the top of the hill, it was an easy walk rather than an uphill climb.

At 10am it was already pretty hot. We expected to grab a bottle of water from a street stall before we entered the fort. Unfortunately there were none, which is very unusual, so we were forced to pay 'fort prices'.

The fort had magnificent views over the city and some beautiful ornate rooms. We walked around to the opposite side and had splendid views over Jodhpur's old blue buildings.

A different path lead us down and amongst the pretty blue streets. We searched for food but it wasn't easy to find. However we did find textile shops galore! Part of the area was being restored to its former glory and many of the buildings housed stylish French boutiques. We found other buildings that were beautiful but in ruins. There was even an old car amongst them which must have been pretty old! Puppies were sleeping under a piece of corrugated metal. They had a bowl nearby for their food / water but it was empty. We added a little of our water so they could drink. They all suddenly sprang to life and couldn't get enough!

The clock tower helped us to find our location and we sat down to enjoy a chai. We had to keep looking for food as we were getting hungry. We found an omelette man but passed him up for a quaint little restaurant on the main road. It was good food so we ate there again in the evening.

Behind our hotel was Jaswant Thada where we spent the evening as the sun was setting. There were some nice gardens and a statue of the Maharaja Jaswant on horseback. The views were beautiful and a couple of young girls were using the last of the sun's orange glow to perfect their selfies for Instagram!

Our train was leaving just before midnight so we killed time playing at the hotel. We made fun games with the hoteliers 5 year old son and a packet of straws. Walking to the train station was busy, when we arrived many people were sleeping on the floor outside. The station buildings were lit up like a Christmas tree and the autos continually honked their horns. Whether the people outside actually get any sleep, we would love to know!

Leaving Pushkar

The usual Pushkar Breakfast wallah was obviously having a Sunday lie in. However there were still 2 other men selling breakfast rice flakes at the market area. A smaller portion than the from the usual Pushkar Breakfast wallah, but equally as nice. Luckily the day was brightened up as Mr Ginger chai was in his usual spot. Chai ordered and then back to the hotel to pack our bags.

After checking out it was only a short walk to the bus station. Our bags were loaded into the boot and 2 seats were found inside. Well sort of. Christine sat squished up on the back seat and Darryl sat on the engine at the front.

A careful driver took us to Ajmer and we took a leisurely stroll to the train station. We arrived early and sat waiting and snacking and waiting some more. We spotted a Canadian couple we had spoken to several times in Pushkar, followed by an English couple we had met on a train. Also at Ajmer station we spotted a vending machine. Well not exactly, more of a recycling machine. You feed it your plastic water bottle, type in your mobile number and it sends you a text, a movie or a film. Thanks for recycling!

Our train left on time from platform 2 and we had a comfortable 5 hour trip. We ate opposite the train station in a busy restaurant before dragging our bags 2km to our hotel. It was quite an interesting journey through the back streets of Jodhpur. The hotel was located near the famous fort and was higher than most. It meant we had a spectacular view from our room of the fort and the whole city.

Just before collapsing into bed we went out for chai. We were talking to the chai seller's son who explained that his father had been making chai for 55 years at his shop. It tasted really creamy and the son explained that the secret recipe included buffalo milk!

Camel Dancing

We have seen a lot of camels but today was something special! We made our way to the stadium in the morning to witness the spectacular Pushkar Mela camel decoration competition!

The camels all looked very lovely wearing their best glitzy attire. There were coats of many colours adjourned with mirrors and jewels. There were shaved camels with various words shaved into their fur. Quite a spectacle!

But, the highlight of the day followed next. It was the camel dancing competition. 8 camels took part, each dressed to impress. Their owners danced with them and guided them through their routine. It was hilarious! Bands played, camels danced to the music ... nothing strange about that, right?

After a rather quieter afternoon, it was time to visit the fair ground. It was a wonderful sight with the 3 Ferris wheels lighting up the sky. Too scared to go on any ourselves we watched as others people paid up, took their seats and screamed. We are not sure if they were screaming because they were enjoying the exhilarating ride, or as soon as they realised they weren't being strapped in!

A music concert played through the night, followed by traditional dancing. All very nice and a great way to spend our final night in Pushkar.

Pushkar Mela

We started our day at the rice breakfast stall and checked in for chai with the ginger chai man. Ginger being what he adds to the tea rather than his hair colour, which is black.

The camels were waiting for us and we enjoyed watching the activities of the traders. After a while we headed to the stadium area for the official Pushkar Mela opening ceremony. There were dancers, acrobats, a rangoli contest and a football match! It was really nice to watch all of the action taking place.

Lunch was served under cover in a big tented area. It was great to be sitting in the shade and to be out of the sun for a little while. Lunch lasted for a reasonable time (as it was so hot outside) before we headed back to the hotel for a break.

In the evening we enjoyed a fantastic concert in the stadium where we danced to the local music. There was a huge hot air balloon flying at the other end of the stadium which looked impressive in the dark with its burners firing up.

Dinner came later today before we collapsed back at the hotel. We had obviously danced too much to the Indian bangra!

Camels

An early start today as walking around in a desert gets a little hot at midday. We were up and out for an early morning chai and a tasty rice flakes breakfast.

The Pushkar fruit and vegetable market was a hive of activity, many of the ladies wearing beautiful brightly coloured saris. We explored a few of the mass of temples in Pushkar but as foreigners we are not allowed to enter some of them.

After a short walk we arrived at the camel fair. There are a lot of camels and horses too. We leisurely enjoyed strolling amongst them, amazed at what odd looking creatures they are. We watched the owners putting the camels through their paces, practicing for the camel dancing competition tomorrow! Some of them had their front legs tied together, we assume to stop them running away, though they still seemed to try! Many are decorated with their faces painted, however we are not sure if there is a beauty contest for the camels too.

It got a little hot so we decided to hide from the heat back at the hotel for a few hours. When we made it back out to the fair the sun was setting and people were preparing for a night in the desert. Fires were lit, dinners served and camels were taking up their sleeping positions in the sand.

We also needed dinner and ate before retiring to the hotel. Tomorrow the excitement of the festival really starts!

Jaipur-Ajmer-Pushkar

First pay the hotel bill. Second relax with a ginger chai. Next, hit the road.

Today our final destination is Pushkar. From Jaipur Junction we took a train to Ajmer. The train was late and we chatted to some young up and coming Indian people. As the train arrived we found out we were actually in the same carriage. Not only that but were actually sitting next to each other! We continued chatting for the whole 2 hours before leaving the train at Ajmer.

We were all heading the same way, so shared an auto to the bus station before catching a big bus to Pushkar. Luckily we got seats as the bus was packed out. After pulling into the bus station, we said our goodbyes and headed to find our hotel, which was close by.

Due to the Pushkar Camel Festival hotel prices are double the normal rate. The hotel we are in is ok but is half as good as others we have stayed in and double the price. Pushkar, a small desert town, is now full of tourists, all paying too much!

As we walked towards the main festival we crossed over the Holy Bridge. We saw various temples and lots of big cameras hanging from tourists necks. One group of people from China had about 3 DSLR cameras each. On we continued into the main area where all the action takes place.

There were hundreds of stalls selling everything from water to camel harnesses and glitzy camel decorations. There were lots of camels and even horses too. We walked around the desert area, taking photos and enjoying the ambience. As the sunset we moved to look at the variety of stalls and then began our search for Indian food. You would have thought that Indian food might be easy to find in India, but no ... Falafels and pancakes were! We persevered and eventually came across an Indian restaurant, that had reasonable price Indian food.

We ate and chatted to an older couple from Canada who were enjoying their retirement based around travelling. We ate some more, chatted some more and when we left, walked the wrong way to find our hotel! We soon realised our error and turned around.

We reached our hotel after a spicy chai served up by an interesting man wearing odd shoes. One was blue and the other orange? It wasn't that he couldn't afford matching shoes but more a fashion statement.

Fort Number 3 in Jaipur

A quick walk to catch the Metro interrupted only by an irresistible hot ginger chai. After 2 stops we left the train and started our walk towards Narahgarh Fort. Only problem is, like all forts, it sits on top of a big hill.

We initially walked on roads, passing shops and small houses. Eventually we found a path up the mountain. It was wide enough for scooters but not autos and cars. It was fairly steep but a very pleasant uphill stroll with great views of Jaipur. We didn't enter the Fort, just admired the walls and views from up high. Another reason for not going in was that the fort is supposed to be haunted!

Walking down was much quicker but we stopped a few times to enjoy the peace and quiet and being away from the busy city traffic. It has been more difficult finding good places to eat in Jaipur as it is just like one huge bazaar but today we stumbled across a small pizza restaurant!

We decided to stop to sample their Veggie Delight pizza before heading to the Raj Mandir cinema. The movie was 'The Thugs of Hindusatan'. It has been released over Diwali in India and is a big box office hit. Unfortunately, it was all in Hindi but was a little like Pirates of the Carribbean. It lasted for just under 3 hours and whenever one of the stars came on screen the whole audience screamed and whistled!!

On the way home we stopped for a delicious Thali and Lassi before taking the Metro.

Amber Fort

Today we made it out of the hotel a little earlier than yesterday. We had a little way to travel as today we are off to Amer to see the Amber Fort.

Nearly every auto driver in Jaipur must have asked us if we wanted them to take us to the fort. However, we just jumped on the local bus at the railway station, followed by another at Hawa Mahal. Easy and a lot cheaper!

The Amber Fort was a magnificent sight perched on top of a hill. Next to it stood another fort, Jaigarh Fort. They were surrounded by a huge wall that looked a little like the Great Wall of China. We had a good look around both forts, took lots of photos and walked some pretty steep roads to the top of the hill.

There were great views from the top of the wall; the town of Amer, the surrounding countryside and lots of really old Hindu temples. There were some huge wooden doors and plenty of souvenir shops. Inside the Fort area there was a rather exclusive restaurant, a chance to ride a Segway and loads of 'cartoon' electric cars. None to our taste so we explored Amer to find food!

Amer was a little lacking on the food front but after managing to buy some fruit and an emergency packet of crisps, we did actually find a restaurant. Parathas filled with paneer and cauliflower followed by daal fry and chapatis.

The bus stopped outside the restaurant and whisked us away to Jal Mahal, the Lake Palace, in a rather cramped standing kinda way. We disembarked right in front of the palace and were welcomed by stall after stall of Maharaja dressing up clothes and people itching to take our photos whilst wearing them. We passed and took photos of the palace set in the centre of the lake. It didn't appear that you could go inside the palace but there were a few boats available for lake tours.

The bus back to the central area of Jaipur was crammed but we squeezed into the available space. We jumped off at Hawa Mahal and went straight for chai. Once refreshed we walked amongst the bazars on our way back to our hotel. The traffic on the main road was busy and the fumes from the cars, buses lorries and autos ... Horrible!

At the end of the street we are staying in we have a great little momo (dumping) stall, where we ate before retiring to the hotel roof top terrace with an ice cold Thumbs Up (Indian Cola). Thumbs up is made by Coca Cola and each shops sells both. We are still trying to figure out the difference as both taste the same!

So Many Beautiful Buildings

Trip planning kept us busy for the morning but we made some great plans.

After lunch in a small street cafe, we made our way to the railway station to catch a local bus to Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds). We chatted to a friendly family on the bus and today, being Sunday, the traffic was not too chaotic.

Near to Hawa Mahal was the City Palace, which we went to see. Next door was an interesting observatory. Following this we walked a little further to the Albert Hall, which was really beautiful. We were discussing the number of rats we'd seen in India and both decided hardly any. We may have spoken too soon. As we continued through the gardens ... we saw rats. Not just the odd one but hundreds! They lived in little burrows in the gardens and they were everywhere.

Just across the street was the zoo but we gave this a miss. Also the famous Raj Mandir cinema was just around the corner. However the movie that was showing didn't sound that good.

It wasn't far to walk to the Metro station and we stopped at a friendly store to cool down with fresh lassis. The shop owner let us try an Indian drink. It looked like coke with a Masala flavour. It was weird and it must be an acquired taste, that we hadn't acquired!

Down a very dark back street a huge marque was being constructed for a wedding later that evening. The action didn't start until midnight. When we reached the Metro the train was at the stop and a shiny new one it was too.

At the end of our street we tucked in to a bowl of fried momos (dumplings) and noodles before we went up to our room for the night.

Jaipur

A slightly chaotic morning! Darryl was woken up on the train by the friendly family who we shared a sleeping compartment with. The family had all left the train but the father stayed to tell Darryl we had arrived in Jaipur.

Darryl woke Christine and told her we had to get off, he then left the train expecting Christine to be right behind him. However, when he turned around she was not there and the train was leaving! Luckily, the trains start moving fairly slowly and Christine managed to jump. What a start to the morning, only to find out it was the wrong station in Jaipur, we needed the next station! We checked when there would be another train for the one stop but were told it would be a one and a half hour wait, so we got an auto rickshaw!

We made it to the hotel and freshened up before tackling the Jaipur Metro. A 6 rupee ticket got us near to where we needed to go but we still had a bit of a walk.

Food was hard to find today. There didn't seem to be many restaurants or street stalls near to where we were. Eventually we found some on a stall and it was pretty good.

After filling up, we looked around a few temples that were 300 years old but the highlight was the 18th century Palace of the Winds. This beautiful 5 story building was built so royal ladies could watch what was happening on the streets below. From the top there is great view of the fort up on the hill and a fantastic sunset view.

As we headed to what we hoped was a food area, we saw a lovely Rajasthan history museum set in a beautiful building. Finally we ate in a restaurant! It was on what we termed as Lassi street. In Jaipur each street sells one particular item. There was car stereo street, push bike street, gold street and general everything plastic street!We stopped for a Lassi and Dahi (like set yoghurt) that helped fill us up, before we caught the Metro back to our hotel.

We have a roof terrace at the hotel where we relaxed, drank tea and watched random fireworks in all directions.

Leaving the Golden Temple

We had a teeny weeny lie in on our last day in Amritsar, then dragged ourselves out of the comfortable, warm bed and visited the trusty masala chai wallah for the last time. After our excellent brew we decided to plan ahead a little. Our last stop in India is Delhi, where we saw on the news that the pollution at the moment is horrendous. So, we purchased a couple of medical masks.

Loaded up with our new items, we checked out of the hotel and started our long walk to Amritsar train station. We were glad we bought the masks and decided to give them a try. The fumes along the main road were fairly disgusting. We detoured to a fort but didn't go in as it seemed to be more of a fun park offering Segway rides. Instead we continued.

Crossing the main road with around 8 lanes of traffic and some traffic lights which were ignored by everyone was interesting. However the next road lead us through a rather exclusive area where local judges lived. They all had their status printed on their front wall. A little further and we arrived at the Hindu temple we had been looking for. We left our shoes and bags at the counter and headed in.

This was an interesting temple because some of it is underground. It is a very glittery place where mirrors line the walls. There were lots of Gods, all with their individual shrines. We went through the temple following small alleyways, taking us down below the ground. Well, we are not exactly sure where we went as it was a bit of a maze!

Outside we collected our belongings and headed to the sweet stall. There are so many sweets on sale for Diwali we had to try a few. They were really quite good.

The train station wasn't far away but it was back across the horrible main road. This time crossing was a little easier. Inside the station we stocked up on food for our overnight journey to Jaipur, the pink city. There wasn't a huge amount of choice, just the usual crisps, biscuits and chai. Don't ask how long it took us to open the crisp packet but let's just say ... quite a while!! We found the main electronic display board and our train was on time. Off to find the platform next and the train was waiting, although left a few minutes late at 18.00. Arrival time in Jaipur 08.00.

Langar

First stop today was the little chai stall outside the gate to the Golden Temple. They sell really good masala chai! We watched the pilgrims outside the temple and chatted to a few of them, though they didn't speak any English. They took charge and insisted we went inside the temple complex for Langar. One of the men kindly guided us to where we needed to deposit our shoes and then took us to join the Langar queue.

Langar is the Sikhs community kitchen where everyone is welcome. In fact the Golden Temple is also the largest free kitchen in the world. During festivals up to100,000 meals are produced each day!

We waited in line and were given a plate, bowl and spoon. We were then ushered into the dining room, where we sat crossed legs with around 5000 other people. Men with buckets of food distributed it carefully as they walked around the hall. The meal consisted of rice, daal, chapatis, rice pudding and sweets. It was delicious! The whole experience was unforgettable and the number of meals made is truly incredible. Wow! We then sat and listened to a group of men playing music in the Golden Temple before our next unbelievable Indian experience.

After our morning at the Golden Temple we booked a shared taxi to Attari. This is the border town with Pakistan. At 5 o'clock each day the Indian and Pakistani border guards take part in the very elaborate Wagah ceremony. The closest thing we can compare it to is the changing of the guards or a flag raising ceremony. However, it is really something else!

We met a really nice husband and wife in the shared taxi and they acted as our guides for the ceremony. We caught a cycle rickshaw to speed up our arrival, so we could get good seats.As we were foreign passport holders we could have sat in the VIP seats but we stayed in the Indian stalls, where the real action takes place. Indian flags were waved, Indian caps worn and huge flags were surfed across the crowd.

The whole ceremony is like a face off between the Indian and Pakistani border guards. On the Indian side there is huge grandstand seating thousands of people. Loads of ladies were called to the 'stage' and marched with Indian flags. They then had a kind of dance off while the crowd cheered. There was chanting and shouting and waving arms and clapping. It was quite amazing to watch and you have to be there to believe it. The guards then goose stepped towards the border crossing in perfect time to the music. Flags were raised, lowered and folded whilst the crowd went wild.

The whole experience took half an hour and was quite something. We caught the auto back to Amritsar and went for a cup of special Amritsar hot milk with our Indian guides, who were so kind to us. The welcome and hospitality we have received in India never stops to amaze us.

Diwali

We finally figured out a way to get to Jaisalmer by train but the times of the tickets we booked were a little awkward. However we managed to change them at a train booking office near the Golden Temple.

Next we visited the Jallianwala Bagh. This is where the British opened fire on a crowd of Indians with no warning, killing about 400 and injuring a lot more. As we walked around the memorial gardens, the bullet holes are still evident in the walls and we visited the well where many people died as they fled from the bullets. Inside the monument were the ashes of the man who assassinated the general who gave the order to shoot. Outside was a statue of the same man to show him as a big hero.

After lunch, which was a speciality of the Punjab, we headed to the Golden Temple museum. It shows the history of Sikhism and there were many photos of battles and the Sikh gurus. What was interesting was to learn about the brutality of the battles and the tortures inflicted on the Sikhs. It really was horrible!

At 5 o'clock we had arranged a rendezvous with some people we had met in Kolkata. We chatted for a while before giving in our shoes, covering our heads and preparing to enter the Golden Temple.

Together we walked around admiring the temple from all angles. The lake was already lined with people lighting candles for the Diwali festival. Several people took photos of us and asked us where we were from. They asked us if we were enjoying being there and what our names were. We found a spot where we could sit and watch as it slowly got darker and darker. Darryl chatted to some Sikhs from London who had flown to India especially for the Diwali festival at the Golden Temple. They told him every detail of the Sikh religion and it was really interesting.

At about 6.30 the fireworks started. They were fired above the temple from the four surrounding gates. The show was spectacular with fireworks flying in all directions. We were pretty close to some! The atmosphere was electric. So many people, such a beautiful site. The whole experience was out of this world!

After the fantastic show ended we ate dinner in a quaint little restaurant. From here we could see and hear the Diwali festivities in full swing. Outside the noise of the fire crackers was so load and this is set to continue all through the night. If we want any sleep tonight it's definitely going to require earplugs!

Amritsar

An early start today, woken by the 5am alarm. The auto rickshaw driver was waiting to take us to the train station. There was very little traffic. In fact, we saw more joggers enjoying the cold morning than we did vehicles.

The train seat we had booked seemed to be double booked. An Indian man had been allocated the same seat us us from the wait list. A little confused but we stayed in the allocated seats. Eventually the ticket conductor helped resolve the situation.

"Sir / Madam you are in the wrong seats. You have been upgraded to first class."

So we moved to our new seats and enjoyed the comfy seats and tranquility of first class!

We arrived at Amritsar Junction station and started walking to find our hotel, which was about 3km away. En route we passed a Hindu temple which was set in the centre of a small lake, so we removed our shoes and had a look around.

After dropping off our bags at the hotel we headed in the direction of the Golden Temple. We covered our heads with small, orange Golden Temple scarves and gave our shoes in at the desk.

As we entered the main complex where the Golden Temple stands, we were both speechless. The area is beautifully lit for Diwali and the Golden Temple looked unbelievable! The atmosphere surrounding the lake where it stands was buzzing with people. We took lots of photos and joined the very long queue to go inside. Eventually we made it and the décor was exquisite. The marble was embossed like the Taj Mahal and very beautiful. The whole top of the temple is real gold! What an awesome sight and great place to spend Diwali.

We followed our visit to the temple with hot chocolate, a wonderful Indian meal and an ice cream. Zzzz.

On the buses

After breakfast we walked with our bags to the BCS bus stop. We caught our first bus of the day to the Old Bus Stop Shimla. Here we transferred to the next bus. This bus took us to the New Bus Stop,5km the other side of Shimla.

This is where we caught a big bus heading towards Chandigarh. It was faster than the toy train but the road was being improved, so there was plenty of roadworks. The views all the way down were magnificent. About 4 hours later we arrived at the Section 43 bus terminal in Chandigarh.

We casually walked across the bus park to the local buses. Waiting for us was the exact bus we needed towards our hotel, which was the other side of town. We must have been looking a little lost, as a couple of local lads offered their help. They said they knew where we needed to go and we should follow them. So we did.

They told us where to get off the bus and we followed them down a dark but busy street. After a while it appeared that they didn't exactly know the way. In fact one of the boys appeared to ask for directions in Hindi. We walked quite a way and we checked they were not going out of their way. They said not and kept leading the way ...

Eventually we got to the hotel and thanked them for their help. People are so lovely here. These young lads obviously went way out of their way to help us, just because they wanted to help! The funny thing is, they had no idea where they were going either!

The hotel is great in a nice quiet road. Just around the corner is all the hustle and bustle of India. We dropped off our bags and went walking. The streets were busy in preparation for Diwali which starts in a few days, there are lights everywhere! We found a friendly restaurant, however, no Indian food in sight. Tonight was pizza, 2 for 1 Monday!

Temple on Top

Our breakfast was ready! The call came through to our room telephone for us to attend the breakfast room.

This time we enjoyed an English breakfast with coffee. There was a friendly girl from South Korea staying too and she joined us for interesting conversation. Her English was excellent.

We caught the local bus up to the old bus stand. It was so busy. We were packed in pretty tight for the 10 minute ride. We asked about a bus for tomorrow and then headed up through the markets to The Ridge. This is a lovely pedestrian area overlooking both sides of the valley. We studied many old colonial buildings before viewing the beautiful Gaiety Theate where many people have been on stage including Michael Palin and Lord Robert Baden-Powell.

The sun was out this morning which meant everyone was out enjoying a Sunday stroll. The locals were playing Bingo and had small stalls selling homemade products. We viewed a couple of art exhibitions where we watched one artist painting beautiful portraits.

Next was a steep climb to the Hanuman temple on the highest hill in Shimla. There was a cable car to the top but we chose a 30 minute uphill trek to keep us warm. We had heard that the monkeys can be a little tricky, so were advised to carry sticks. At the top was a huge Hanuman statue and a small Hindu temple dedicated to the God. We watched the monkeys carefully as we walked around the beautiful gardens. On the way back down we saw the monkeys go to work. We saw one that had stolen a shoe. We Saw saw another steal a scarf from a lady. Next we saw one jump onto a man's shoulders and steal his glasses! We continued to watch and were surprised what happened next. The man minus his glasses went to a street seller and bought some nuts. He threw the nuts at the monkey holding his glasses who dropped the glasses, picked up the nuts and ran away. Apparently the monkeys have been trained to do this and it is a bit of a scam! The ladies who lost the shoe and scarf didn't pay up and didn't get them back!

The walk down was a lot quicker than going up. We then relaxed over coffee and chatted to two men from The New Forest. There seems to be a lot of Chinese food in Shimla, so that's what we had for dinner before catching the bus down to New Shimla and a short walk to the hotel.

Shimla

This morning was different. It rained a lot! This meant we had a much longer breakfast at our hotel.

The rain came to an end at lunchtime, so we headed on the local bus from New Shimla up the hill to the Mall. The mall is a pedestrianised street that runs for 7km. It is full of shops, restaurants and old colonial buildings. Sadly some of the old colonial buildings had seen better days. One is where apparently Rudyard Kipling started writing the Jungle Book.

The views are amazing in Shimla and we are up in the clouds. It is cold here so we both needed our wooly hats on. Christine's was made in South Africa by an expert and Darryl's was made by Christine!

A lot of the afternoon was spent drinking coffee and chatting, first to some friendly people from Ireland followed by 2 Indian teachers, who were so kind to us and super smiley!

A different meal tonight, Sweetcorn soup. Very healthy!

Up the Mountain on a Toy Train

Today we left Chandigarh behind. We took an Uber to Kalka which was about an hour away. Normally we wouldn't use taxis but local buses, however, for the convenience and fractional price difference the taxi won the day! The journey saved us hours and was very comfortable. There was only one delay where a bus had broken down in the middle of the road.

Kalka was a tiny station and we got dropped on the wrong side so had to clamber across a few train tracks to get to the right place. The train was a little larger and more robust than the toy train to Darjeeling. All of the carriages looked almost the same even though some were first class and others 3rd class.

The train left slightly late but the journey was amazing. We chugged along the narrow guage track through magnificent scenery of the valleys below. En route we travelled through 102 tunnels as the train climbed the mountains. It was a truly spectacular journey.

When we arrived at Shimla we walked to the old bus station where we caught a local bus to BCS bus stop. We then walked through the darkness to find our accommodation. We took a few steep stair cases to cut corners but got lost amongst the maze of alleyways. There were a couple of people sat in a car and we asked them for directions to where we were trying to get. Not quite sure but a phone call later and they were on to it. In fact they took us to the door which was so kind.

The street where we are staying is decorated beautifully for Diwali with pretty lights on all of the houses. This seems to be a very exclusive area and the people are so helpful. Our room is great and the house is also spectacular!

VR Mall

After a rather late start, we walked about 3km. En route we chatted to a number of locals and posed for several photos with them. In this area of Chandigarh foreigners must be a little rare.

We reached the main road where the VK Mall is located. This was no ordinary shopping centre. It was huge and contained lots of fancy stores. Big high street names such as Superdry, Marks & Spencers, H&M, Zara and Hamley's lined each level. To enter you had to walk through the x-ray machine and be checked by a security guard. We studied the prices in the shops and they were similar to the UK. All we bought was ... lunch!

On the way back we bought lots of fruit to eat. Paying was slightly more difficult than usual as no English was spoken. Money was held up and that is the amount we gave.