29.05.2013 : Chiang Kong - Laos

slept surprisingly well and was up at 6.30 for a breakfat of rice soup...hmm dodnt quite hit the spot! we got a debrief on th visa situ, exchanged spme money into kip black market stule and headed to the river. it only took about 5mins to get across to Laos so once we got our visas we headed for the slow boat to Pak Bang (half way to Luang Prubang) 6houra kater we arrived...it was actually a lovely boat ride - stunning scenery and very relaxing - i read my book and caughy up on my diary writing :) we just meandered down thw river surrounded by little beaches, mountains and jungle. we watched the Laos people go about their day to day life of the river and in the villages - fishing seemed a popular activity :) we had liveky accommodation at Donevillasack - i shared a twin bed room with Jacob and all went for dinner with an irish girl, Dee, and an engkish guy/girl,Tim and Jess

28.05 2013 : Day 29 : Chiang Mai to Chiang Kong

after some breakie  from Chiang Mai gate i got on the mini bus to Chiang Kong - this is hust a stop ober on the way to Laos :) we stopped at the WHITE temple - Wat Rong Khun. absokuteky breaktaking and SO different to other temples!  it felt kinda eveil...like the white queen from Nania shild live there - there were goblins that looked  theu were the oeolpe she turnes to stone! the inside was just as impressive - a monk sitting with 2 statue buddahs above him  - the murals  were kinda evil too - lots of space and wierd goblin head and faces but at the same tome fasinating. defonietlu the most inpressive temple i have been to!  we then headed to Chiang Kong and only myself, Rennie and Sylvio (2 italian guys) and Jacob (a guy from Poland) got off the bus...the others were heading striaghy to Laos...and lucky them! the place reminded me of a scene from Texas Chaindaw Massacure...very sketchy and in the middle of nowhere! we wandered around the town and headed back for a dinner of rice and omlette  and a game of cards! we headed to the 'disco  bar' by the river for  Drink to knock us out before bed haha! 

27.05.2012 : Day 28 : Chiang Mai

Massive chillax day again! I walked to the other side of the old city to Buak Head Park, via a temple and sat in the little cafe for about 4 hours reading! I then wandered back to the hostel to skype Rat and met up with Marissa at 6pm to go to dinner. We went to Nimmanhamin - a student area near the university just outside the old city. It was lovely and we had Northern Thai food which I had never had before! I couldn't believe how different all the flavours were - much stronger than normal Thai food! After trying some of the local fruit for dessert - Magostene and Jack fruit I went back to pack as it was my last night in Chiang Mai... kinda feel a bit sad about leaving Thailand actually - even though I haven't done much here i love it so much! Just the culture, people and area is gorgeous!

26.05.2013 : Day 27 : Chiang Mai

woah...a full month since leaving Sydney!! it feels like a lifetome ago already!! another lazy day! o got up, skyped Ains and then tried to start sorting my photos from India...! there are SO manay but it was so nice to look back througj them and remember how crazy that country is!  i tjen skyped mum & dad who were in Switzerland with Susie and Fieter...had lunch and then Ksyped Bammers beofre meeting Kaitlin and Kasey at 7 for dimmer :)  I know i am in SE Asia and should be busy doing thinhs but I am absolutely loving having a few chilled days doing nothing as it has been a while since I have jist had 'me' time!! 

25.05.2013 : Day 26 : Chiang Mai

i went for a walk in the morning to check out a few other hostels but decoded to stay put at Giants. I got a taxi up to Doi Suthep - the temple on the hill - everyone had recommded going up there - the story was that a monk was going up the mountain on a white elephant when it collapsed and died. they saw this as a sign and built a temple there! it is about 40mons out of Chiang Mai and has an amazing view over the city! I got blessed by a monk who tied a pieve of cotton string around my wrist and i have just found out from Ains i have to keep it on until it falls uloff otherwise it os reallg bad luck...massive fail! haha I spent the afternoon chilling beofre skyping Claire and Charlotte and then met up with Kaitlin and her friend Kasey to have a walk around thw Saturday Night markets and try the delicious street food! had a very interesting meal - a mushroom salad thing with noodles and a spicy dressong - but the mushrolms were like nothing i have every seen before...they looked lile flowers! amazing amd surprisingly very yummy! 

24.05.2013 : Day 25 : Pai - Chiang Mai

i checked out, had a last wander around to gorgeous small hippy town pf Pai and chilled in a cafe until 2.30 when i got on the mini bus to Chiang Mai. sat next tp a veru chatty german guy frlm just putside frankfurt, Chris so we chatted thw whole way while the pior Chinese girls suffered with the windy roads! i decided to stay at Giants other hostel in Chiang Mai as Jukie's was full. it is very basic amd hippyish but free water, internet and tea and coffee whoch suita me fine for the next few days!  i went to Chiang Mai gate to grab some street food for dinner amd bumped into Kaitlin! we caught up and i wrmt back to the hostel where i got chatting to a hirl from Melbourne who os gping to qork in Tawian for a year and an english guyvfrom Bristol.  at about 10pm myself, Phil and Ant walked along to Sitau's bar jn the middle of the old city (he was Tigers friemd from Pai, an absoluteky loveky hippy thai guy with drrads and a moustache imhe twizzles at the emd  ...he is really 'artsy, hes a musican and artist and for the ladt 6yrs has set up big concerts in Chiang Mi to raise money for the childrens hospital) - on the way we stopped off at 'Wat Chedi Luang' - a big temple in the old city with the old one dorectly behind it. the atmosphere was buzzing as it was 'Buddha day' where everyone brings offerings to the Buddhas to celebrate birth, enlightenment and death of the buddha. we walked around and it was the first time i have ever been in a temple and felt the spirituality of it. it also looked stunninv as evrrywhere was lit up and there was an amazing full moon. we continued the journey and arrived at Sitachu's bar - so cool, loads of character and trendy nic nacs. we also saw his art gallaery upstairs and his paintings of the sculptures on the oytside o thw city wall that he made with hos friend! my night wad cut a bit short as Ant had a bit too much pf the bong and needed to be taken home haha!! 

23.05.2013 : Day 24 : Pai

a very special day as it is Eleanor, Emma Pitt and Mez's bdays! and i celebrated it in style for them! Tiger took me out on his moped as i didnt want to drive myself...we went to Pembok Waterfall...slightly off the beaten track and had a swim, then from there went to the Canyons and the WW2 Japanese bridge..i learnt some more history here too!! the waterfall was amazing - so high and refreshing! the canyon was stunning...full of trees looking out over the nearby villages and mountaims! absolutely stunning scenery! from there we drove up to the Chinese Village and carried on to some hot springs. again these were off the beaten track, on a dirt road and when the raon started i wasnt sure it was such a good idea! ha but we carried and and i am so glad we did...the hot spring was amazimg! about 30degrees so we could swim in them! just like a bath in the jungle - amazimg! from there we headed back to Pai and i had some lunch and watched the wprld go by qhile it monsooned outside! its amazing how quockly the air changes from hot to cooler, wetter air before it downpours...the droplets actually hutt they are so big and heavy! and there is always such a distinct smell in the aor...of the dusty roads being saturated with water! later the plan is to chill and meet Jacki for dinner somewhere in the town :) we had an immense dinner - pizza fpllowed by the most ginprpus ice cream /- coconut & chocolate and cookies n cream! 

22.05.2013 : Day 23 : Pai

had a 'relaxing' day of yoga...probably am not guna be able to move tomorrow! 2hrs in the morning and 1.5hrs in the afternoon! it was in a lovely location though - a verander overlooking the mountains...very zen! ha met a lovely German girl, Jacki there so arranged to meet her for a drink in the evening...she is also travelling alone but has been travellimg for 3years!!!! crazy! after i finished my yoga mino marathon i grabbed some food and met Jacki for a drink. we ended up in a pub quiz in 'Almost Famous' which was such fun! palled up with 2american girls and we came 6th out of 8 groups! not too bad considering i knew about 4answers...really need to scrub up pn my general knowldeg! 

21.05.2013 : Day 22 : Chang Mai - Pai

The minibus picked me up from the hostel at 10.30am and we made our way up the 762 bends to Pai.  it took about 4hours and when i arrived i checked ibto the gyesthouse 'Giant' recommended by Betty. it was lovely, very peaceful, right next to the river and i had my very own little bungalow! Pai is a gorgeous sleepy little town surrounded by mountains that house waterfalls, hotsprings and tribes. the river Pai flows through it...very serene and chilled...ssoooo different from Chang Mai!! The guy at reception used to work as a chef for Wagamamas in london so wad chatting to him and he said he would teach me to cook anything i wanted!so any Thai gitl, Bier took me on her moped to the markets to buy the ingredoents!when we got back i walked into town and booked a days yoga course for tonorrow!  we then got stick into cpoking Tom Yum soup with rice...it was delish!  i then just chilled out with the satff and locals and an american guy who has been here about a konth! ubfprtunately he didnt plan it and got stitched up after buying weed, spent 2nights in a thai jail and is waiting onbfingerprints from BKK To return...he hopes it will all be sprted in the next 3weeks!! 

20.05.2013 : Day 21 : Chang Mai

a very productive day...!!! unfortunately i dropped my camera yesterday and this time it didnt survive the fall...'zoom error'! so i wemt to the Airport Plaza about15 mins drive from the hostel. i bought a new camera..with a worldwide guarentee ha and headrd back to the old city! after my strenuous day yesterday i was aching SO much haha so went for a thai massage! then came back to the hostel, had food, booked my flight to vietnam for 8th June (a week earlier than planned)  and had a chilled evening...went to dinner with a Canadian girl called Caitlin...nice and healthy - papaya salad and fresh spring rolls :) 

19.05.2013 Day 20 : Chang Mai

needless to say after getting to bed at 3am a wake up call to go trekkinv at 7am wasnt too well received haha managed to guzzle down some scrambled eggs before getting picked up from my first hostel! it was an hour drive to start the trek and i was in a car with 2french couples and a french lady..they chatted so didnt notice my wee nap ha our guide was Bon...James Bon haha he was such a joker and made te trek so fun!  he was such a jungle man..pointing out what cool functions various plants had, making hats from banana leaves and getting us to try all the local produce!we tried...lychees, pineapple, te middle of a banana tree, chilli,Thai ginger (which was quite spicy), chillis, we smelt Thai mint, lemongrass, saw oranges, papaya, mangoes, cabbages and bananas growing...dad would have loved it!! after about 3/4hours  walking in the heat we mafe it to a tribal villaged for lunch! this was very wrll recieved by us all! the 'village' was made up of 3banboo houses..it seemed all rather new and there was quitr a lot of 'construction' work going on! this was the long neck tribe i was expecting but the had the big rings in their ears! but it was lovely for them to have us and we had a yum fried rice and poato curry with watermelon for pudding!  but no rest for the wocled and we carried on hiking through the jungle to another village. again tjis wasnt 'tribal' but interrsting to see! from here we walked down to the waterfall..ahh it was SO refreshing!! after wallowing for a while we carried on to the elephant park. here one of the french couples were staying the night to ride the elephants the nexy day but we hopped in a car back to our hostels! i got back, had a shower and headrd to the sunday night markets...after doing a express food tour of the market i wandered round properly before meeting Ash for a drink at Rooftop bar as she is heading to Laos tomorrow :) 

17.05.2013 days 18/19 : BKK - Chang Mai

After a nice lay in I had breakie across the road from the hotel and caught up on my blog!!! Ha
Next stop is to collect my visa and head to the train station for the overnight journey to Chang Mai..eeek!                                                                                                                                        made it to the train station in time after rather a rush to get the visa...who knew bangkok would be so busy around 3pm on a friday...?! ha boarded the train and was soo surprised with it! after our india train experiences i expected a cramped, dirty, hot sleeper train! but no...it was spacious and the beds were amazing! the porter came round about 9 to make the beds...he pulled the lower two seats together to make a platform for the bed and grabbed a matress from the top bunk to make it comfy! he then made the bed with sheets, pillows and blankets...amd it was all so clean! then the top bunk (where i slept) folded from the ceiling with the same set up - mattress, sheets, pillow and blankets! amazing! i sat opposite a lovely old thai man who spoke very gopd english and was hikarious so that made the journey more enjoyable! i also got chatting to a brother and sister from canada who were doing the g tours through asoa! all in all a very pleasent experience! arrived into chang mai abiut 9.45 and got a tuk tuk straight to Deeja hostel! checked jn but the room wasnt ready until 2pm so have a quick freshen up, booked myself on a day trek tomorrow amd took a wonder through the town :)                                      So after a slightly unwarm welcome to the hostel i decided to check out a few other hostels in the area and checked and into Julie's guesthouse! it just had a nicer feel to it and the people seemed a lot friendlier! so i awkwardly interrupted 2girls to ask if i could sit with them and ended going for dinner with them! they wrre both from holland and  haf an english guy sitting with them too :) after dinner we went to Rooftop Bar - a cholled hippie bar on the outside of Teppe Gate and then went tp Zoes - a few bars in one area with a communial outdoor area! very nice...had a few bevvies and a dance which was fun! also met Ash there - a Canadian girl traveling on her own :) fun times byt didnt end up home until 3am...after a drunken feast of...wait for it...curry!!!! indian not Thai! haha 

15.05.2013 : day 17 Goa - Bangkok

So the day came when I had to go off solo and leave India!
We said bye to Bonnie and Eimear in the morning and then myself, Sylvie and Mathilda went for a final lunch at Britto.
I got a taxi to the airport about 3pm to Mumbai where I had a 6 hour wait until the final leg to Bangkok.
I met Laura and Charlotte - 2 English girls in Mumbai - they had been on the G Adventure Tour around India 2 days ahead of us so was really nice to chat to them - it definitely made the time go quicker!
We arrived in BKK about 6.30am so it had been rather a sleepless night! We shared a taxi to our seperate hotels and then I head into Bangkok to get my Vietnamese visa and book my train to Chang Mai.
It is SO freshing to be here!! Even though it is still hot and busy, it just seems more chilled (and maybe familiar). Everyone is so much more smiley and friendly and it is nice being around Khao San road as there are more tourists around! :) never thought I would say that! Haha

I met up with Laura and Charlotte in the evening and we grabbed some dinner on Rambuttri Street (where I am staying) before heading to Khao San Road for a few drinks.

14.05.2013 : Day 16 : Goa

Sylvie, Mathilda, Bonnie and Eimear went off for a cultural day to the spice plantations and to see Old Goa. I was freaking slightly about my next adventure so stayed at the hotel to plan Asia!
So...my rough plan is:
- Thailand : 16th-31st May.
One night in BKK to get Vietnamese visa and then head to Chang Mai on the overnight train
- Laos : 1st-15th June
Travel by boat from Chang Rai to Laos and make my way down to Vientiane
- Vietnam : 15th-3rd July
Fly to Hanoi and travel down the coast
- Cambodia : 3rd-11/18th July
Make my way round Cambodia and hopefully head to the islands for a bit of beach time!

I know this will probably change but feel a lot happier!!

After that I met Mark and Jackie across the road at a nice pool and then met everyone for a last dinner at a restaurant opposite Electric Cats in Baga. This was yummy - veg stirfry with chips in it!! They LOVE their carbs here! Ha And then we had a drink at a beautiful bar on the beach under canopy's and fairy lights...delightful!! 

13/05/2013 : Day 15 : Goa

We checked into the new hotel and had a lovely beach front lunch at Britto. Best food I have had the whole holiday - grilled fish with chips and salad and a mango smoothie - YUM!!!!
We sat on the beach for a bit until the audience got a little much and the sea was really rough so didnt take a dip although it was really warm.
We met Alex and Colette and Alex and Izzy (their last night) for dinner at a restaurant on the beach which was lovely.

12.05.2013 :Day 14 - Goa

Dad's birthday!
After breakfast we all walked to the local beach (we were staying in Calanguta) and it was NOT how I imagine Goan beaches to look!!!!! Unfortunately very disappointing!! I was picturing clear blue crystal waters, white sandy beaches and we were faced with a rough dirty sea and average beaches...and of course an Indian male audience! As myself, Jackie, Mark, Sylvie, Mathilda, Eimear, Bonnie, Courtney and Becks had a few extra days here we decided to get taxis up to the more northern beaches to see if we could find somewhere nicer to stay.
I know it is the end of the season and the monsoons are coming but it was just not what we expected as we were about to find out..!
First stop - Anjuna...meant to be the place to be, a hippy town and nice beach. We arrived - only a few market stalls open and no beach...apparently it had been washed away in the last monsoon...!! Ha
Feeling slightly deflated and confused we went further north to Morjim Beach which is apparently stunning... we arrived - the beach was dirty, sea was dirty and there was one restaurant open which didnt sell food as it was off season..oh right! Ha
So back off to Baga where we had lunch opposite Cavala Hotel which was recommended by the Lonely Planet. Sylvie and Mark did some awesome negotiating and we booked in for the next few nights! It was lovely, friendly staff, wee paths to the rooms filled with flowers, clean rooms (myself, Sylvie and Mathilda were sharing) and 3 minutes walk from the beach and town. Perfect for the time we were there!
We headed back to the other hotel for a dip in the sea and our last night with everyone!
Dinner was at Zanzibar - a restaurant on the beach in Baga...this is more what we expected - it had a very 'Thailand' feel and you can imagine in high season it would be buzzing! Anyway it was a lovely last evening as a group :)

11.05.2013 : Day 13 Mumbai to Goa

The day finally came to leave the busy cities and head to the beach!
Nice to experience another of India's public transport...I think we have tested most of the options now... car, boat, bus, train, autorickshaw, cycle rickshaw and of course camel!! It was fine though - Jet Airways and we even got a meal on board - always a bonus!!
After an hours drive from the airport the to hotel we all went for a dip in the pool. We were staying about 10 minutes drive outside of Baga (the main town) and it wasn't quite the relaxed, beachfront accommodation we were expecting...! Anyway we had a lovely meal at Electric Cats in Baga and then headed to one of Romi's friends bars for a few bevvies! Awesome music, Alex danced on the table and I think the locals enjoyed the show! Haha

10.05.2013 : Day 12 : Amedabad to Mumbai

Well this was a busssssy day!!
Up at 4.30am to get our last train to Mumbai. 8 hours, but it was quite a comfortable journey as we have air con but Jackie had a resident mouse chilling in the airconditioning unit above her head! Haha
The platform at Amedabad was more how imagined Indian stations to be like...busy with lots of people and a nice fragrant smell of sewage! Ha
When we arrived into Mumbai it felt very chaotic and busy! We checked into the hotel and we out again having lunch within 20 minutes! Then we split into 4 taxis and had a quick tour around Mumbai. It was a bit of a shame we didnt get more time to explore this city and it had an interesting different vibe and there was so much to see! It felt so much more westernised than any of the other cities - especially Delhi...the driving was still crazy but not quite as crazy and the people, even though they stared, they seemed friendlier - we even got a few smiles when we caught people checking us out! Haha

I will do a quick run through of what we saw:
- Hanging Gardens : Felt like Hyde Park or Central Park, a more serene place to go and it takes you away from the crazyness of the rest of the city. There was a gorgeous view over Mumbai from here - quite an unexpected, impressive skyline!

- Power of Silence : This is used by the religion, Parsi. It is a tomb where they put respected dead people. It is on the top of a hill and they leave the bodies there to be eaten by vultures...nice! They believe if you get cremated, as your body is reduced to ashes so you can't get reincarnated...this way you can!!

- Public Laundry : This was the most amazing/organised place I have ever seen!! We looked down onto rows and rows of hanging laundry, all colour coded drying in the hot air! They had rows of concrete 'baths' to wash the clothes it - it was just incredible! And so amazing they get the whites so white!! Even the launderette in Bondi didn't manage this! It is apparently Asia's largest manual laundry and they wash all the hospital uniforms and bed sheets here too.

- Victoria Terminus : This is Mumbai's main train station and it is such a beautiful building! You can probably guess after the name it has major British influence and it did look like they had transported it from London. This was the same with the main University and High Courts - very old British buildings!
- We drove the Racecourse and Hazi Ali - the muslim area with mosques

-Marine Drive, Chowpatty Beach : Interesting to see everyone fully clothed on the beach but I don't think many people would have chosen to take a dip as it wasn't the cleanest ocean I have ever seen!!

- Shanty Town : This wasn't the biggest shanty in Mumbai but one on the outskirts of the city. We didn't go in or take photos as we felt a bit weird but it was just how you would imagine, teeny doorway next to teeny doorway leading into single rooms which were peoples houses. There was the same set up on top of the lower levels!! Incredible how they build it all! It was interesting to hear that apparently a lot of the people that live in the slums actually have white collar jobs but they choose to live here as it is with their families and communities. We saw a lot of kids playing in a open area and they all looked so happy... despite playing around the rubbish!

- Final stop was the Gate of India : A very random but impressive piece of architecture built during the British Raj.It was a crude jetty used by the fishing community which was later renovated and used as a landing place for British governors and other prominent people. In earlier times, it would have been the first structure that visitors arriving by boat in Mumbai would have seen.

We then met everyone for a drink at Leopold's - the bar from Shantaram. As I am currently reading this (thanks to Tom!) it was very nice to go an visit as this is where Gregory Roberts spent most of his time in Mumbai! The downstairs is a restaurant but the upstairs is quite how I imagined it to be...Kinda dark, edgey with little booths, smaller tables where you can imagine all the dodgey deals he describes going on! It had a lovely feel to it but unfortunately a cockroach fell of Izzy's arm so a few of us opted out of eating there and went to Cafe Mondar down the road for dinner. An awesome bar - lots of atmosphere and it felt very westernised! I had my first vegetable stirfry in India...absolutely delish and it stayed down! Yay!! :)

9.5.13: Day 11 : Udiapur - Ahmedabad

After a very sloooow breakfast at a very nice neighboring hotel (with a old car museum...random!!) we had a 6 hour bus journey to Ahmedabad (the home of Ghandi's Ashram where he spent 14 years of his life). Again the bus was nice, air conditioned and Alex lucked out and got a bed bunk for the journey!!
It was such a shock going to a more busy city again after a few days in smaller villages!! The second we got off the bus the air was hotter, it was noisier and dirtier!!! It is funny how quickly you adapt to your surroundings even somewhere like India - we were all suddenly missing the slightly quieter life of Udiapur!

Unfortunately after nearly a week of not feeling 100% and living off bread and biscuits i decided to see a doctor and get anitbiotics so I didn't make it to the Ashram...but apparently was very interesting and there was a museum etc! That evening a few of us went to a shopping mall for dinner as no one was feeling a curry! It was like being in Singapore or something - all the English shops etc! It felt very out of place in India!!

8.5.13 : Day 10 : Udiapur

8.5.13 : Day 10 : udiapur

First stop today was an art Lesson at Janak Arts. They taught us how to draw and paint various minature animals from elephants and peacocks to camels and tigers - i chose a camel who turned out like a  'lady' with her nose held high...named her Beatrice It was so fun and a lovely way to spend the morning! 

We met Romie for lunch at The Whistling Teal (where we went for dinner the other evening) and i managed to hold down some plain pasta...tummy is actually rejecting any type of indian food now so sticking to a Healthy diet of plain carbs and biscuits...yum!! After lunch it was back to the Hotel for a wee nap and some of the group did an indian cooking course which i decided to skip due to the stomach situation and had a chill, picked and watched a few movies.

Days 6-10!!! Jaipur, Todi Sagar, Pushkar and Udipur

3.5.13 : day 6 - Jaipur - Todi Sagar

Best part of the tirp so far! Todi Sagar is a small indian village about 3 hours from Jaipur...´´real india´The place we stayed was a converted palace - absolutely stunning and so peaceful and serene after the hustle and bustle of all the busy cities. We all got henna done on our hands before heading off on open jeeps to see the local farm where they grow barley, spinach and maize. Then to the next village which is even smaller than Todi where we had a walk around and a wee peak in their houses! It is such simple living, they are all so resourceful. The majority of houses in these small villages are made from cow pats and hay which they lay over brick structures. To decorate they literally paint straight over the structures with Indian doodles - gorgeous and surpisingly not smelly as when the cow pat dries it looses its smell, luckily!! We then headed to the sand dunes to watch the sunset and have masarla tea and cookies - absolutely delightful!! 

4.5.13 : Day 7 Todi Sagar to Pushkar

In the mornign we walked around the village of Todi Sagar - a little bit more ´developed´than yesterdays villages but still basic living. tThey had a temple dedicated to Krishnar - the creator of...(I will have to confirm this later!!)  Then to a pottery house where the guy made it look a lot easier than it was and off to Pushkar! A quick dip in the not so luxurious pool and to meet for a walk of the city and dinner. Unfortunately sickness had got the better of me so I skipped the walk and went to bed. 

5.5.13 : Day 8 Pushkar

Still feeling rather delicate in the morning we missed the sunrise walk to the local temple and lazed around the hotel until about 5 where we had a fun evening activity planned...camel riding!! We did make it into Pushkar for lunch so I saw the holy lake where most Indians visit once in their life for a blessing. Ghandi´s ashes are scattered here. All togged up in the most unflattering (but apparently traditional camel riding clothes) we headed to the desert to sunrise and an evening of entertainment and dinner. The entertainment was provided by the local Snake Charmers - we had a magician who was amazing, dancers (who didnt make it look like there wsa much skill involved haha) and a fire thrower. All in all a lovely evening until I again wasn,t very well so it was back to the hotel on another empty stomach!

6.5.13 Day 9 Pushkar -  Udipur

An 6 hour unairconditioned train didn,t really help the tummy situation so was feeling a bit worse for wear and sweaty when we arrived into Udipur...but it is such a lovely city. I also sat next to an Indian albino girl which was very interesting! It is meant to be the most romantic city in India and it definitely seemed that way. Lovely little streets with good shopping, murals on the walls of buildings and little cafes and resturants dotted aroound. After a relaxing afternoon at the hotel we headed out for a wander and to the lovliest resturant for dinner. It had beautiful gardens with flowers, draped material and fairy lights and was owned by a member of the royal family.

7.5.13 Day 10 Udipur

The day started off going to a local art factory which is famous for its minature drawings. They were incredible - so detailed and intricate...thought of Claire with her nail art as he painted a wee design onto all of our nails. It started off tame with camels and elephants, got a bit more exciting when Silvie had the Taj Mahal painted and finally ended with Alex and the Karma Sutra...!!  We skipped the museum and headed to the shops where I bought a gorgeous silk/wool pashmina, a journal and some alibaba trousers for Rachel. Mark and Jackie joined us for lunch as they stayed in Pushkar an extra night due to illnesses and then back tot he hotel for a chill before a sunset boat ride Lake Picola.

Day 5 : Jaipur

not up too early but a few  of us went to checl out the cities local sights...forst stop was the Amber Palace - Jai Singh lived here with his 30wives!!! it was a stunning palace on the hill and surrounded by water! lots of turrets, corridors and entertaining quarters, it would havr been an amazing place to live!  we then went for a yummy lunvh where were we all sgared tasters so got to try a few new dishes!  then we stopped at a textile printing factory abd watched the block printing - very interesting until they took us upstairs  and did 'The srll' haha anyway a few got some printed silk scarves! we then went to the Jantra Mantra - an astrological observatory that Jai Singh set up! it just had lots of interesting sculptures...wasnt maddively my cup of tea! anyway, had a quick photo outside the City Palace and then back to the hotel for a chilled afternoon! i am trying to figure out a plan for my next stop and to do a potential volunteer program...not sure what to do but maybe will do something in Thailand...will keep you updated! then tonight off to an indian families house for a traditional indian meal...i will update later on how that goes :) 

Day 4 : Agra - Jaipur

up nice and early for the 6hour public bus ride to Jaipur. again India has surprised me...i imagined a dirty, overcrowded bus but we all hsd sests and there was even power points (they didnt work, but still!!) anyway the journey wasnt too bad, i started reading Shanteram and caught up on my diary and it was interesting warching the day to day life of the locals as we past by! we arrived ib Jaipur (the Pink City) at about 1pm whrre we checked jnto the most gorgeous, quaint hotel! it is drcorated with antiquey details and the rooms are just as gorgeous...it has a very cottagey feel and a beautiful roof top with a view over Jaipur. Ramie gave us an orientation walk around the city where we saw flower markets and how they cut, clean and set precious stones!  Jaipur is a compact city but very busy...roaf traffic invcludes - tuk tuks, bikes, mopeds, cars, camels, elephants and buses...so anything goes!! oh and not to forget the VIPs of the roads..the cows! we had dinnet at a liveky indian restaurant where i had mybest curry so far - a chicken, chefs special curry and my first beer of the trip! we haf a lovely evening and carried onto an indian bar...not the most happening of places ; more like a gentlemans club with lots of staring eyes!! ha was fun tho and an experience!!