Goa, Goa, gone!

And so, dear friends, we came to Goa, for a relaxing week of sunshine on the beach before facing reality back in the UK.

From almost the first moment in Goa, we found a complete contrast with the chaos associated with the rest of India. Our guest house was adequate but the guys running it were great and their was just an amazing amount of cheap eats to choose from in the evening. The last night we even ended up dining on the beach front surrounded by candles, looking out on the rolling sea under moonlight skies...

Despite being there for a whole week, we didn't actually achieve much - just topped up our tans a bit and enjoyed the fresh air missing everywhere else in the country.

We're now back in Delhi (just) and have a nine hour flight tomorrow back to London then another hour in the air to Manchester - should be fun.

79 days down, one to go!!!!!!

Jaipur

And so to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan and another very different side of Indian life. Jaipur is known for the Pink City, which is the walled Old town which was painted pink in honour of a visiting British monarch. However, it's not that pink anymore - which is understandable.

Anyways, we got to the train station not knowing where we would be staying so we popped into the government travel agency to ask about what hotels were available. There only seemed to be one they recommended, which was a bit suspicious, but having nowhere else booked we took a chance. Good job we did - it was undoubtably the best hotel we've stayed at in India - all for about 13GBP a night. Clean sheets, a proper mattress, flat screen tv(!), a decent shower and a great rooftop restaurant. Just what the doctor ordered.

So we headed out for the day to check out the old town and the City Palace after grabbing some lunch. On our way we got a bit sidetracked as we were stopped in the street by an American guy wanting to tell us about this sect of Hinduism he had got involved and how "orthodox" Christianity agreed with it. We were probably chatting with him for at least an hour, debating various things and tried to show him how Christianity was fundamentally different from other religions. He was very sincere but at times it was frustrating - he tried to argue that India was the most civilised nation he had come across, due to "orthodox" Hinduism, and that a little girl who came up to us to beg for money was happy because she was smiling! This was perhaps an indication of his mindset.

After this interlude we found somewhere for lunch (at about 3pm) on recommendation of our rickshaw driver who also took us to a couple of shops as it was too late to go to the palace. Because of his helpfulness we agreed to let him take us to a couple of sights the next day.

So the next day Amar, our driver, picked us up to take us to the Amber palace/fort. It is an amazing place and the rest of India could learn something from the Rajasthanis about how to preserve their heritage. Built on a hill about 10km from Jaipur it is a stunning piece of architecture. Highly recommended.

Next we headed back to Jaipur for lunch and then to the Hawa Mahal, a very arabic looking 5 storey building with views over the pink city. At this point we parted company with our rickshaw driver and gave him (a very reasonable) 300 rupees for his trouble. Unfortunately he now decided he wanted 600! We found this many times in India, that if there's money involved, you generally see the worst side of Indian people - though I guess it is the same the world over.

Anyways, after giving him an extra 100 we made our way to the Hawa Mahal and on to the City Palace. Not quite as good as the Amber fort but still an impressive sight.

And so our time in Jaipur was up and we were on the way back to Delhi to catch our flight to sunny Goa.

Only one week to go before we get back to sunny Cheshire!

Golden Temple & Taj Mahal

After the smelliness of Delhi we had a 5am(!) train up to Amritsar to see the Golden Temple. We had a fantastic day walking around the Sikh temple and even got a free lunch! It's a really interesting place and the contrast of how people act inside compared to outside is stark - no spitting or littering in sight.

The next day we had planned to see the border closing ceremony on the India -Pakistan border. Unfortunately we weren't feeling too good (perhaps as a result of the free food the previous day) so we just spent some time in AMritsar and went to a Hindu temple which is like a mini Golden Temple - quite funny really though not sure which came first!

In the temple were a couple of kids from Tibet dressed as Gods- because of this they weren't even allowed to walk and had to be carried. We also spent some time chatting to a guy who was really interested with Stonehenge and Britain in general. He had composed a letter to Gordon Brown regarding the war in Iraq - he even taught us some Hindi which we duly forgot!

Another early train followed and we were on the way to Agra. It turned out to be quite amusing as we ended up chatting to a Sikh family on their way to a wedding. Ben taught the son a few games to pass the time and we showed them some of the photos we had taken elsewhere. It was so refreshing to talk to people knowing that they don't want any money out of you (QUite a novelty in India).

Still feeling a bit rough from the day before (plus an early morning and twelve hours on a train) we didn't end up doing too much on the Friday. We just took in a couple of sights (Baby Taj etc) and got an early night in.

On the Saturday we had a double whammy of Agra fort and then the Taj. Agra fort was, well, a fort and although it was a step up from the Red fort in Delhi we felt it wasn't the greatest sight we've seen.

On to the Taj Mahal and the queues were massive - Ben had to wait ages to get in although Kat jumped in the special ladies queue and was in in no time. The Taj is pretty spectacular, especially it's size - despite the eye-watering entrance fee (well, eye-watering for India). We duly set about filling up our memory card with photos from all angles. Kat also was asked to pose for photos with Indians countless times - something she began to weary of by the end of the day. Perhaps a small glimpse of what it would be like to be famous.

Anyways, another early train followed and we were on our way to Jaipur. But that's another story.....

Smelly Delhi

And so, after spending the majority of our day on the plane we arrived in Delhi. Unfortunately none of the cash machines were working so we had no way of paying for a taxi to our hotel. However, it turned out we had enough spare baht (just) to convert and secure our transport.

First impressions of Delhi are that it is rather smelly, rather smoggy, very busy and extremely noisy. Ben was in India a few years back but thinks it is even worse than before. We stayed near the New Delhi Train Station on the Main Bazaar - it was jam-packed with people, cycle-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, mopeds, cars and even cows...

However, we headed out by rickshaw to Connaught Place, a sort of Westernised slice of Delhi. We had a bit of a look around the shops, sought out some souvenirs in the markets and emporiums as we eased ourselves into the Indian way of life - though Kat can't quite get used to people staring at us and even taking our picture!

The next day we went to see the Red Fort, which is near Old Delhi. It's quite an impressive place, though admittedly looking a bit tired these days - in the evening we went to see and "sound and light show" - which involved a guy talking while the different buildings were lit up. It was alright I guess, but it was nice to see the fort by night and even learn a little history.

In between our visits to the fort we went on a rickshaw ride around Old Delhi, exploring all the different markets that are on display - it was a brilliant, though tad uncomfortable, ride and brilliant to see the variety on goods on offer.

Although interesting for a while, Delhi probably has a limited amount to see so we were glad to head off to Amritsar for the next leg of our journey.

Happy Birthday Mrs Cruse

We arrived into Phuket to be met by torrential rain and by the time we had settled into the guesthouse we barely had time to have a quick look around and get dinner before crashing in bed (strangely rather than sheets or duvets, the guesthouse provided large towels to sleep in - nice).

The next day was Kat's Birthday - a considerable change from her usual backdrop of fireworks and chilly weather and also her first birthday as a married lady. Kat found it a bit strange with a lack of presents or cards but as a treat we headed to a spa for Thai massages, manicures and pedicures (Ben only partook in the massage).

A thai massage is a strange thing - it seems to consist of a small asian woman trying to inflict pain on her unsuspecting victim. Kat claimed she found it relaxing (though later admittiing to back pain) but Ben was less enthusiastic (He had planned to read a book while Kat was pampered). Still, when in Rome..... and Kat did enjoy her manicure/pedicure while Ben enjoyed reclining in a armchair and reading his book. Kat felt like a new woman after eight weeks of no make-up or nice girly things like that.

A bit of souvenir shopping and fancy meal followed as well as a Birthday cake (well, Starbucks muffin!) and here we are checking out Birthday wishes via email and Facebook! It feels very odd.

Well, it's about bedtime here (and Kat is getting on a bit so she needs her sleep) and we still need to pack (again) for India tomorrow - our final stop on our whirlwind trip.

Until next time....

57 days down, 23 to go....

Phi Phi Don, monkeys and movies

After a(nother) short boat we arrived on Phi Phi Don, an island in the Andaman Sea. Strangely it has no motorised transport so rather than people asking us whether we wanted a Taxi or Tuk-Tuk, we had water-taxi and boatride touts to contend with as well as the massage and suit sellers.

We imagined Phi Phi Don to be a idylic island paradise but it has been spoilt with rampant tourism. The central "tourist" village is so compact and busy it was hard to relax.

However, we did head up to a viewpoint one day giving a fantastic view of the island with its two crescent bays. There was also a photograph showing the aftermath of the Tsunami form the hill. It was hard to imagine that it happened and virtually left nothing standing considering how it looks today.

We also made an effort to get away from the main tourist beaches and walked a questionable path to a place called Long Beach on the south-eastern tip. After finding a slice of paradise we headed into the sea for a refreshing dip. Then, for the first time whilst on Phi Phi it started to rain!!!!! Typical - but you have to laugh...

As we felt we hadn't had enough boat trips (double figures and counting..) we took a half day tour to Phi Phi Leh - also known as the setting for the film "The Beach". First stop was Monkey Bay where a colony of Monkeys live on the beach - sometimes they're nice, sometimes they're nasty we were told. However, we found them in playful mood and escaped intact with our belongings!

After the monkeys we went to Phi Phi leh island where we stopped to kayak and snorkel. The marine life was amazing - even better than Fiji - there were so many different types of fish swimming right up close. It was also our first kayaking session - though within three minutes of setting of it started raining again and got a bit choppy so it was a bit briefer than planned.

Stopping at a cove further along the island we leaped off the boat to swim inshore (over sharp corals in rather shallow waters) and scrambling over rocks and through tunnels we made our was to Maya bay - which is the main setting for The Beach. It really was paradise (plus some toursits and long tail boats). Huge cliffs surrounded crystal clear waters and a white sandy beach. Needless to say, we were glad we had purchased another memory card earlier in the day.

After getting ferried back to our boat we set off back to Phi Phi Don but not before eating fried rice whilst watching another beautiful sunset....

Next stop Phuket....

Elephants in Ao Nang

After the hectic surroundings of Bangkok we whizzed down to the West Coast by Thai Airways (including some questionable in flight refreshments) to our 4 star hotel in Ao Nang.

The room was fantastic - the biggest of the trip. We had a balcony overlooking the pool and the bed was huge - at least 2m by 2m! On the first day the hotel was empty but the next day we were joined by a coachload of Germans - fortunately there were more than enough sun loungers to go round.

Unfortunately every day we got rain but mostly it was pretty sharp downpours that soon dried out. It was really great to just chill out for a bit by the pool and work on those tans!

One night Ben headed to the Thai Boxing stadium for some sporting entertainment (Kat stayed in and read her book). The first fight seemed to be between two eight year olds but the proper fighting started later - great stuff (purely as a cultural experience you understand).

The last day in Ao Nang we went Elephant trekking which was amazing. We followed a stream through a jungle - only stopping for our elephant to grab a trunk-full of something to eat (he didn't seem particularly fussed what). They really are gentle giants though it took a little getting used to being so close to them. After we got to feed our ride with some bananas and he even gave us a wave goodbye!

After the elephant trekking we went to see the Tiger Cave temple. Also at the location was a "mountain" which offreed views of Krabi province. Kat wisely decided to stay at the bottom (after scaling a couple of hundred steps) and look at some more buddhas/temples - such an RE teacher! Ben gamely advanced to the top and after 1,238 steps (some of which were about four inches deep and 12 inches high!) got to the top. Unfortunately he had misjudged how long it would take and only had time to catch his breath before heading back down. Not recommended to anyone with dodgy knees (like Ben) or in high temperatures (like in Thailand). Needless to say Ben was a tad sweaty and tired once back at the bottom. While Ben recovered Kat snatched the camera away to get some more Buddha/temple photos.

There were also several rather cheeky monkeys around - some going into the shops to steal food and even straight out of people's hands. The Tiger Cave Temple was impressive as it had hundreds of Buddhas - though strangely no Tigers. Kat accidently had a bracelet tied on her arm, which in turn cost us a donation, which in turn means our names will be engraved on some bell! Good luck everytime it will be rung - Hooray!

Next stop Ko Phi Phi!