28.12.2004

Mumbai

We've arrived in Mumbai from Diu after an interesting 22 hour bus ride. I had plenty of time to come up with a tourist jingle for the little Portugese island town: "Come to Diu, there's nothing to see, and nothing to do!". That pretty much sums up the place, but if you're ever in the area and love grimy, rubbish-coated beaches the only place worth staying is The Resort Hoka, which made Diu almost bearable.

25.12.2004

Diu

After a month of racing around Rajasthan, we were excited to finally devour a few books on the palm frindged beaches of Diu. I mean, after reading the Lonely Planet's reference to Diu, it sounded like the perfect way to unwind and spend Chrissy. Right?

17.12.2004

Lost in the desert

We had only just become accustomed to the likes of cows and, more recently, elephants walking down the busy streets, but the desert state of Rajasthan threw in a new flavour to the mix. With their long lashes, ultra proud poise, and dainty strides, there is only one word which accurately describes these creatures. Transvestites!

16.12.2004

Bikaner

After racing around the Indian tracks, a chilled-out backpacker haven (i.e. Pushcar) is often a welcoming breath of fresh air. However, it's amazing how fast the atmosphere can turn stagnant after too much "where-you-from-come-into-my- shop-looking-no-problem-free-to-look-madam -good-price-very-cheap". Once we'd got our backpacker hit, we were itching to get away from the hoards once again. So where to next was the question. And Bikaneer seemed like the perfect answer.

14.12.2004

Pushkar

Pushkar is a holy little town huddled around a magical little lake. Every year this little travellers oasis plays host to India's biggest camel fair - 200 000 people come to trade 50 000 camels and have a general party.

11.12.2004

Saturday night at the movies

Bollywood is bigger than Hollywood. 2.5 million people work in the movie industry, there are 13 000 cinemas across the country and we weren't leaving India till we'd been in one.

10.12.2004

Jaipur

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan. 2.32 million people combine to stir up the dust, add colour with crazy turbans and add action with fleets of camel-powered trailers.

09.12.2004

Agra

Posters around Agra by the local tourism commission try hard to convince visitors it's a three day destination, but like most people we did the one day whistle-stop tour to see the Taj Mahal.

04.12.2004

Popcorn and Machismo

It's almost worth coming to India just to see this. A thirty minute auto-rickshaw ride out of Amritsar is the border town of Atari. Glimpses of Pakistan can be seen between the rolls of barbed wire, triple-reinforced bunkers, and platoons of troops that hang off the desolation of no-man's land.

Golden Temple - Amritsar

Founded in 1577 by Ram Das, fourth guru of the Sikhs, Amritsar is the centre of the Sikh religion. Although Amritsar is just another dusty indian city, albeit with some interesting old-city alleyways, the main attraction, the Golden Temple, is an exceptionally beautiful and serene place.

03.12.2004

McLeod Ganj

After spending three weeks in this gorgeous little mountain town, we can just about call Mcleod Ganj our home away from well, no home. Set in the foothills of the snow capped Dhauladhar mountain range, it is home to the Tibetan government and people in exile, including the Dalai Lama.

02.12.2004

Early morning stroll

While Sydney-siders were sipping on their morning Boost-Juice, complaining about the heat, we were embarking on an early morning strole up to 2,000 meters to Triond – the snowy viewpoint of the Dhauladhar mountain range.