Curry for Christmas in India

The Gateway to India
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Three weeks in India - and I really don't know where to begin.  I saw so many things and had so many experiences it's hard to pick the best to share with you.

I started my journey in Mumbai (Bombay) and travelled with a tour group from there, through the Rajasthan area, to Delhi for 2 weeks, then stayed with a friend in Dharward inland from Goa.

Most entertaining experience - going to a bollywood film...

My welcome to India was a drive from the airport to the hotel and it was a real culture shock.  There were two lanes on either side of the road but the traffic was sitting at four lanes thick each side - there really didn't seem to be any road rules that I could understand it was each man for himself.  Even my driver said it was busy for Mumbai standards.  We went for a walk to the waterfront and the 'Gateway to India' which gave us an insight into the crowds and poverty which we would see constanty during the next few weeks.

Riding the Rickshaw
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Favourite places:

Chandelao - this was a little village where we stayed on Christmas Eve.  The people were really friendly and it was away from the crowds.  On Christmas morning we went for a jeep safari through the village and visited some of the locals.  The kids were great fun to play with and loved getting their photo taken.

Jaisalmer - this is a city near the boarder of India and was fantastic for it's winding streets and alleyways.  You never knew what you would find round the corner!

Vege shopping
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Udaipur - The views from the lake to the palace were amazing!  The photos say it all.

Taj Mahal - I really expected to be disappointed with this, but it totally passed all expectations.  We got up early and went to the Taj for sunrise - it was worth the early rise!

Dharward - staying with a local family in a small community was an experience of a lifetime.  The people were so friendly and generous.  They really made me feel like I was part of the community.  And I got to visit a local school - another highlight!

Temple in Udaipur
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Favourite Food:

My best food was made by the locals when I was staying at Dharward.  I was lucky enough to be invited into a few different homes for meals and they were amazing!

Favourite Transport:

The rickshaw had to be the best way to travel round.  In one city we even had our drivers having races while we were on our way back to the hotel - my rickshaw came in second.

Temple in Udaipur
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Worst experience:

Apart from getting Dehli Belly.....we had an awful guide round Jaipur.  He was so boring that hardly any of the group managed to stay with him right through to the end.  I can't say I enjoyed the camel ride that much either.

Most entertaining experience:

Going to a bollywood film.  We didn't expect to last the whole movie (all 3hrs of it!) but it was actually really good and we could understand most of what went on.  But the really entertaining part was everything else that went on - the seperate lines for males and females, the locals getting excited about seeing tourists at the movies, the clapping and cheering from the audience during the movie....it really was a fantastic experience.

Holy men - or simply beggers
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As you can imagine I took heaps of photos and have added a good selection here.  There is so much that I couldn't put down, but hopefully you can experience a little of it from seeing the photos.