Jaipur.

In light of trying to keep these entries shorter and sweeter here's a little update on where we went from Anjuna and where we are now.

Our flight from Goa to Delhi was scheduled at 15:15 on Sunday so we left the hotel at 12:00 and made our way there via a death and glory taxi ride through the narrow roads and winding hill roads in an hour! When we arrived we found they'd decided to move our flight forward an hour which was unfortunate for the 30 people who didnt make it onto the plane haha.

We arrived in Delhi and headed for the pre-paid taxi booth which by now we've figured is the best way to get a taxi without getting a pain in the ass from all the drivers. We grabbed our cab and headed for the Hotel Rak International in the Paharganj district of Delhi. The journey took us through posh and plus Delhi then through to real Delhi. Paharganj is renowned for its hippy/drug scene and there were plenty of unwashed, bearded, drawn out looking travelers to reiterate for us. The hotel itself was decent enough so we dropped of our gear and headed for a nearby rooftop restaurant for some traditional mexican food! At this point I'd like to highlight just how brilliant the Lonely Planet Guide has been, all our hotels, travel and many of our eating arrangements have been solved by the guide and it almost doesn't bare thinking about loosing it!

The next day we booked out train ticket (1st class to Agra, just for the experience) and did some exploring. The exploring didn't go very well as everywhere turns out to be closed on Mondays, so we wandered round the Gandhi memorial park and got a few bits and pieces near the hotel.

Next morning we were up stupidly early at 05:15, walked to the nearby New Delhi station and hopped on our train for 06:00. 1st class was certainly the way to travel! complimentary breakfast, tea and newspaper, plenty of leg room, reclining chairs and over-efficient air conditioning. We arrived in Agra about 2 hours later where we grabbed a pre-paid taxi which would also end up being our tour guide for our stay. He took us to all the sites around Agra including the Baby Taj Mahal across the river, The Red Fort and the Taj Mahal itself. The sites were all amazing, especially the Taj Mahal which was boderline magical especially in the late afternoon/early evening light! Standing in front of it was surreal, you see it on TV and on post cards but being there is something special. The hotel we stayed in that night was the Taj Plaza which was shit. Overpriced, poorly run and characterless. Needless to say, next morning we were up and out of there and into a lovely little establishment called the Tourist Guest House just up the road. We spent our 2nd day in Agra arranging our bus ticket, getting new books, post cards and putting our pictures on CD.

That pretty much brings us to today. Up again at 05:30, on the bus, 5 hour journey and wham we're in Jaipur. Pre-paid taxi to the hotel, then back to the same driver for an afternoon tour of the sites, the last of which was the Amber Fort overlooking the entire Jaipur area. Trust me, the view was bloody amazing! Just been for a lovely Italian meal at another rooftop restaurant, by which I mean a collection of plastic garden furniture, some pot plants and some decent service! We ordered our meal and due to their establishment being unlicensed our Kingfisher beers arrived in teapots! Tomorrow more sight-seeing in Jaipur and then off to Ajmer a day or so later.

Slightly less to digest there!