Rajasthan

The trains in Rajasthan were heavily booked so we decided to take a 2 week trip around the state. Rajasthan is India's most colourful state. Its also very dry and has a desert and semi desert like landscape. Water shortages are a common problem here so women walk long distances with terracota pots to fetch water. The women here wear really colourful saris with mirrored detail that sparkles in the sun.
We both really enjoyed Rajasthan, it really is the land of the Kings!
From Delhi our first stop was Bikaner. Here we went an overnight camel trip in the Thar desert. We were only around 50kms away from the Pakistan border so there was a very strong military presence around us.
The camel trip was great craic and we were very lucky with the group that travelled with us (3 Spanish girls and a German couple).
We were on the camels for one full day so our backsides were pretty sore after it! In the evening we had a fab dinner under a full moon and a starlit sky! Our entertainment for the night were 3 local Rajasthani musicans. When the music finished we started our own sing song and Ben did us proud with a few home tunes! Afterall that singing we managed to get a goodnights sleep in our cosy tents!
It was time to move on the next day and it was good to get away from the smelly camels!
We travelled 300km to Jodhpur city on the edge of the Thar desert. We visted the Meherangargh fort which is the most impressive fort we have seen in the whole state. The fort is sprawled across a huge rock overlooking the city (around 10times the size of the Rock of Cashel!) Its a nice city and we enjoyed strolling arouynd the old city which is full of spice markets. It was good to get out of the city alive after nearly killing myself! I was walking along checking out the view when I slipped on cow sh*t and nearly broke my back! You really have to be careful where you walk here!
After Jodhpur we travelled further south via Ranakpur and visited India s largest and most important Jain temple. Entry into the temple was free but for a mere 20 rupees (around 30 cent) the Jains fed us the most amazing thali! Ben ate them out of the house and home and has converted to Jainism since!
Udaipur is known as the Venice of the East and is India's most romantic city! Its a beautiful city overlooking Lake Pichola. Udaipur is famous for marble and the James Bond movie "Octopussy"!
All guesthouses in the town show the movie everynight to lure customers in even though it was filmed in 1983!
It was such a treat to sit down and watch the film because we hadnt watched tv in about 4weeks!So we sat on the rooftop restaurant and watched the film.
Its wedding season at the moment in India, when we were on the rooftop we could see all the fireworks from 4 different weddings across the city! it was magical!
We also had our first hot shower which was the best feeling ever! Felt like I needed to be power hosed in bleach to get all the grime off!
After Udaipur our next stop was Pushkar. Its a holy pilgrim town where alcohol, meat and even eggs are banned! The place was really relaxing and very clean by Indian standards! We visited a few Hindu temples and soaked up the atmosphere. The place was full of sadhus or Holy men. They devote their life to Hinduism.
From Puskar we travelled along the dusty roads again to Jaipur "The Pink City"! Its the capital city of Rajasthan and by far the most chaotic! The streets were full of auto rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, camels, cows and even elephants!
We visted Amber fort and haggled hard for a spin on elephant to the top! I was terrified, we were so high up and just about managed to get there safely!
One of our highlights was a visit to Ranthambore National Park home to the Indian tiger! We were so lucky to see 2 tigers because we only had time to do one safari. There such beautiful animals and did nt seem to bothered with us taking their pictures even though there was no roof on the jeep!The park is also full of crocodiles, deer and birds!