7am- lying in bed listening to Dirty Dancing soundtrack, I like this it reminds me of a holiday with friends Nicky, Alli and Amanda in Turkey a few years ago. Allison and I got pissed one night, I got stuck up a tree and Alli still has a scar to show for it!
Anyway not up for any of that this morning. I've been coughing all night, have a banging headache and feeling all stuffed up. I will be so glad to get out of here.

Today we are travelling to Pushkar, this is according to Iram a 3 hour journey in the car and we have already booked a guesthouse in advance. So fingers crossed it will be nice and if not nice at least clean. Pushkar is a very holy town, mainly famous for its huge camel festival at the start of November and I have read that many travellers reach here and grind to a halt experimenting with spirituality, facial hair and marijuana.

Just found we have Abba in our music collection – hurray! I can't believe I never realised that- going to get up now and have a little dance around. Abba, 2 paracetamol and a hot shower and I reckon I'll be well up for it!!

I have enjoyed the drive to Pushkar, the road was really good, the nearest I have seen to a motorway and we hared along. We spent the first hour or so learning more about the Hindu religion. The main manifestations of Brahman, which is eternal, never ending and always been there, are the gods Shiva,Vishnu and Brahma. We spend some time discussing them and then talk about Christianity and the Catholic faith.

The landscape is very flat but as we approach Pushkar we have to cross some mountains called Snake Mountains. Simon has found an expensive hotel with a pool and we call in there on our way to The Whitehouse Hotel. It will cost us 900 rupees (about a tenner) to spend the afternoon swimming there and one look at the pool and we decide to go for it.

Iram then decides to take us to another guesthouse which he insists is very good and cheap and to placate him we agree to go. It turns out to be lovely and fairly cheap but is in an isolated spot and the kids will have to sleep in a thatched hut
We tell him he must take us to our choice and when we get there are completely sold!
It is spotlessly clean with a friendly mum and son team who make us feel very welcome.

We quickly change into swimming gear and Iram takes us back to The Jagat Singh Palace Hotel where we spend the rest of the afternoon by the pool. The kids have a great time and I feel like I am on holiday- it's absolutely bliss lying on a lounger reading Harrods magazine I have found peace already!

Have to say it feels a lot longer than 12 days, not in a bad way. It is just that everything you do in India needs careful planning and execution, just crossing the road here, for example, is a major event. So this makes for tiring days and you quickly lose perception of how time is passing.

3 Cities, 2 overnight train journeys and now 3 days into an 11 day trip around Rajasthan with a car and driver.

Our hotel in Varanasi was the Indian equivalent of 'Faulty Towers.' The owner/head chef was a right grumpy old git, food was good but served with sneer. Varanasi was definitely worth the effort to experience, but we were glad to be getting away on the third day. Even though we were heading for another night train, I've found it hardest to sleep on the trains. I think that maybe it's because I've half an eye open checking on our bags. We chain them to the bunks, but you know what it's like check and double check. Have heard some real quality snoring of the highest order, funny Charlotte doesn't snore like that at home normally(Joking! Joking!).

Arriving in Agra was a little challenging, got off at a different station than we planned and there was no official pre-paid rickshaw booth that we had expected. This is when you are most at mercy to commission touting rickshaw wallahs. We got besieged and headed outside to give ourselves time to take stock. We collected our thoughts and went for it with the 2 that least dodgy looking (This is a bit like grabbing a Cactus to find the bluntest needle!). True to form one suddenly needs petrol, while my driver shows me a book with recommendations about another hotel. Whilst telling me how dirty/bad/closed our choice is. We don't take any bull off them and head for our choice, arriving we do get shown higher priced rooms than we had expected, but it is good and clean.

Walking upstairs to the rooftop restaurant was 'cool as you like.' It has a clear view right across to the Taj Mahal which is no more than a half mile away. We order a couple of drinks, and sit like the other few people there, staring at the view.

Booking the car and driver for Rajasthan is an interesting challenge, every agent has the best deal to offer. Not like everyone else, better driver, no hassle's, go where you like, etc. We plumped for one option having made it clear on our terms. The driver picks us on schedule and we head off to first overnight stop of Jaipur, it soon becomes apparent that we will need to be on our toes. The lunch stop is clearly drivers backhander haunt, and we get stung for a more expensive the usual meal, won't let that happen again. The 'recommended' hotel, as Charlotte has mentioned, was not acceptable so we passed on that. The guide waiting with our driver in our car, when he came to pick us up in the morning, showed that they will keep looking for an opportunity to make the extra cash.

I've come close a couple of times to losing my cool with the relentless touting of wares, but we try to remember they are only trying to a living. Sometimes it's really hard to smile and say a polite 'No. thanks!' It does make the peace, when you find it, all the more enjoyable.

We head off to Pushkar later today and a bit less pollution.

I awoke at 6am this morning to the Muslim Call to Prayer. Slept ok, the beds are a bit smelly but comfortable enough.
We have our breakfast in the hotel restaurant which is nice and cheap and check a few emails from home. Have had an email from a Canadian family who are planning a trip like this with their children and its good to hear they are enjoying our website.

We return to our room and I have the best shower since arriving in India, lots of hot water and a good strong flow on the shower. (These things are important now and it's the first question I ask when arriving at a new place)
I feel better after washing my hair and a bit of pampering. I guess with my hairdryer, straighteners, full range of make up and massive first aid kit we're not the usual backpackers but then with two kids we're not that usual anyway.

This hotel is full of backpackers, but we haven't seen many other Brits and none to speak too. Other travellers have mostly ignored us although we have spoken to a few nice people. At breakfast today I saw someone wearing a Stevie Gerrard shirt but he was Chinese and it is a very different experience to when we holidayed in Goa a few years ago.

Simon then wins a gold star for being brave and sticks his hand down the toilet to unblock it. Oh my god it was completely horrible, the power went off and he was stuck in there with his arm submerged in the dark! Meanwhile me and the kids were outside laughing and encouraging him on and asking him what The black hole of Calcutta really was like.
What a vile experience and I have to hand it to him what a hero!

We spend an hour doing schoolwork, we are alternately doing Literacy, Numeracy and Science and following the curriculum (loosely) Ali and Maisie are tired today though and not very enthusiastic so I choose something I think will be easy.
We practice writing formal letters and they both write a letter of complaint to the owners of the hotel. I give them a B for attainment but only C for effort and they both agree I am mean and tougher than their teachers.
We go to The Amber Fort; we spend a few hours wandering around here and visit the armoury museum, the kids seem to enjoy this although I'm feeling a bit queasy and don't really have a good time. I have noticed if I don't take my malaria tablets with food they make me feel really sick and vow not to do that again.

We then visit Hawa Mahal (The Palace of the Winds) this famous palace was built in 1799 for the Royal Ladies so they could watch the comings and goings of Jaipur without being seen from the street. We climbed to the top but as Alister is afraid of heights, we don't stay up there long.
Following a bit of Christmas shopping in the bazaar for Maisie's school friends we return to the hotel.

Its 9pm now had our dinner and emailed a few friends, I'm glad to hear they're missing me and following our website avidly. (Keep it up mates!) Sat in bed watching James Bond (Not the latest to Ali's disgust but good enough)
Feeling great now, so happy and looking forward to tomorrow. We are leaving for Pushkar at 10am and to be honest I can't wait, it is a bit rank here and I'm optimistic that Pushkar will have more to offer. Bring it on.

The Taj Mahal has been described as the most extravagant monument ever built for love.
It was built over 22 years for the wife of the Emperor Shah Jahan after she died giving birth to their fourteenth child in 1631.
We found out that originally two buildings were commissioned but the black marble building was never built. Also legend says that the 20,000 workers who built it had their thumbs cut off when it was done so they could never build another.

I woke up at 6.30 feeling really excited, the Taj entrance is a two minute walk from where we are staying. The security at the gate is very strict and we are searched and patted down before being allowed to go through.
Sunrise is the best time to visit the Taj as the light reflects off the white marble, the building glows first golden, then pink and then blue. The visitor numbers are also less as many people visit the Taj in the evening on daytrips from Delhi.

There is a huge red sandstone gateway and once you pass through this you see the Taj properly for the first time. It is absolutely beautiful and while I can't describe it in any way that would do it justice, many people have tried to sum up its beauty calling it a "teardrop on the face of eternity" and "the embodiment of all things pure".

We take lots of photographs from all angles; the fountains are turned off so the reflection in the water in front is not spoiled. Simon lies on the floor and gets some great shots but when looking back through our pictures later we all agree Alister actually snapped the best picture!

We are allowed to walk onto the mausoleum itself and go inside to view the tomb but not allowed to take photos inside. The marble in here is carved very intricately with flowers and inlaid with semi-precious stones and someone shows us with a torch how the moonlight shines through the translucent soft marble.

As I sit on a bench in front of this wonder of the world built for love, I think of all the people at home who I love and although Maisie gets a little bit tearful when she sees someone who reminds her of Nana Judy we all end up laughing when Simon points out a large American tourists elaborate hairdo that is an equally impressive feat of engineering and would I'm sure, also stand the test of time.

Following breakfast at the hotel Kamal, Simon spends 2 hours teaching the kids science, Ali learns about the states of matter and Maisie learns about the Earth, Sun and Moon. I hope they will at least have kept up with their classmates when we go home, preferably ahead in some things.

In the afternoon we go to Agra Fort, we learn that following the building of the Taj Mahal the Emperor Shah Jahan was imprisoned here for 8 years by his son, who didn't want him to blast anymore of his inheritance on building another black Taj.
It is also very beautiful but by the middle of the afternoon we are all monumented out and catch a pony and trap back to the hotel where the kids watch Shrek 2 on the telly and we sit down to plan our route over the next 11 days through Rajasthan.

I will be sorry to leave here. At 6 pound 50p per room per night it is a bit more expensive than what we have been paying but hey I guess you have to splash out a bit every now and again and for the last few days experience here, I reckon it's been worth every penny and then some.

We thought the kids were feeling a bit fed up tonight and asked them if they wanted to go to an expensive hotel for dinner. They said they didn’t but we headed off to a restaurant serving continental food. After ordering their meals we were told that continental food was off the menu tonight!
So on the way back we called in at McDonalds for McFlurries , I was recently laughing at my friend for feeding their son McDonalds for breakfast- how bad are we !!

We had a 16 hour train journey from Varanasi to Agra. This time second class sleeper although "sleeper" train is slightly misleading as I don't think any of us got much sleep. Still I enjoyed the journey; we sat next to a man who was a teacher in hand loom textiles and accompanying 10 students on a 20 day tour of India. We spent a couple of hours chatting to him about Indian politics, culture, the divorce rate in the UK and what we usually eat for breakfast.

I then spent an hour practising the guitar; Ali was laughing at me and said I reminded him of Phoebe from Friends! Guess I need a lot more practice but have learnt an Oasis song and going to learn Greenday Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) next – Best song!!

The kids did an hour or so of school, we learnt about the life of Mahatma Gandhi and I tested them both on what they had learnt. Pleased to say they both did well in their test and I gave them a housepoint each. I told them they will get a reward when they get to 10 points.
We had set our alarm for 5.30 as the train attendant told us we were due at Agra at 6am, we finally pulled into Agra station at 9.30, by this time tired, hungry and all feeling generally crappy with sore throats.
I was feeling apprehensive about finding the hotel as we hadn't reserved a room and didn't have a pick up arranged from the station, but still after a bit of bartering with the taxi wallahs we set off in 2 rickshaws.

The hotel is absolutely lovely with a pretty courtyard, clean rooms and friendly staff. They tell us our room will be ready soon and point us in the direction of the rooftop restaurant. We climb up a small winding little staircase and out onto the roof to be met by what can only be described as the best breakfast view ever.

The Taj Mahal really is breathtakingly beautiful and all the clichés that have been said about it are true. The kids both agree it's gorgeous and to see the white marble glistening in the sun, so close to where we are staying is really special.

We decide that we will visit The Taj tomorrow at sunrise when the visitor numbers are less and we are all a bit more with it after a good nights sleep. I spend the next few hours showering, drying and straightening my hair, plucking my eyebrows and generally trying to improve my "been travelling for ages appearance".
After eating we spend sometime talking to a nice Canadian couple, he turns out to be a maths teacher and we take advantage of this and he helps Simon and Alister with some difficult algebra question. Of course if they had asked me I could have easily given them the answer!

Its 6pm now I'm going to check emails and then off to bed. Feeling completely knackered, this is taking ages to write and have a wonderful day ahead tomorrow. Going to see the Taj Mahal, the most visited monument in India and something I have dreamed of. So excited I just can't wait.

We got up at 5am today; we had arranged to go up the river again to see the ghats at dawn. The Indian people seem very sociable and sunrise on the ghats is a time to wash clothes, practice yoga, pray and exercise amongst other things. We shared our boat with a friendly German couple who told us about their experiences of travelling around India and Ali helped row the boat back.

The guesthouse we are staying in is at the back of Scindhia ghat and has great views of the ghats and the river. Other good points are that the food here is great and although I try not to drink coffee at home a Nescafe goes down well at breakfast. The service though is completely indifferent and the owner of the guest house is quite scary, so I keep well away and let Simon deal with him!

We spend the rest of the morning doing very little, it is so hot, over 30 degrees here and after an hour of schooling with the kids where they learn some Indian history, we laze around. Ali and Maisie spend some time writing a song about their experiences in Varanasi, and Maisie draws a picture of me lying on the bed listening to my MP3 player.

I don't feel guilty about this, as I remind myself that we don't have to rush to fit in all the sights, I have spent hours over the last week talking to my children and to spend time together as a family was our main objective of the trip. We all agree they have covered history, art, P.E and music today.
We have compared this trip to being on holiday but it is a very different experience. We would usually drink a lot of beer, eat the local food, get up late and spend like Viv Nicholson. So far though we have only shared an occasional beer, ate mainly local food and tried to be as strict with the kid's diet as we are at home. Alister would love to have banana and chocolate spread pancakes for breakfast but we compromised and let him have one after dinner which I felt was fair.

I have thought about our decision to bring our MP3 players etc as I read that these can create a barrier and make you more likely to be a target for thieves but we are watching our stuff like hawks. I have gone to sleep listening to Coldplay at night and for me anyway, this reminds me of the people I care about the most and makes me feel at home.

We go to the burning ghat in the afternoon and are given a very good explanation of the Hindu cremation rituals. We are then blessed by an old lady and asked to make a donation to give us good karma. We give what we think is a sizable amount but are then informed that we each need to give. As the guest house owners specifically told us we shouldn't donate and we have already been blessed with good karma I figure that they won't take our good karma away and we decide to take our chances and leave things there.

Last thing to do today is check emails, heard from good friend Nicky not heard from her for a week, seems like a lifetime ago since we last spoke.

Respect to Ali and Maisie, after battling trough a very crowded New Delhi train station at dusk with rucksacks that almost weigh the same as we do, I am relieved to get on the Shiv Ganga express train to Varanasi.
We are sat next to a nice couple who explain to us that we will be able to buy whatever snacks we want and that blankets and pillows will appear later. Sure enough within 2 minutes of us sitting down a man appears asking if we want Chai and there is chocolate and crisps to keep us going for a bit.
Maisie and I go and find the toilet, she makes me laugh when she uses the squat toilets like a pro local and announces to the carriage that "these squat toilets are ok aren’t they mom" (what planet is she on, I would barely describe them as ok and that is at the start of our journey but still they do the trick and when in Rome etc) I just thank god I packed wet wipes, alcohol gel for their hands and they had virtually all vaccinations known to man!
After a game of scrabble and a meal of cold curry, we were served last as in third class sleeper, we settle down for the night. I am only slightly disturbed when I see a mouse run over the end of my bunk, I must be toughening up a bit and after the rats in Delhi these mice seem quite cute.

I awake at 6.30 Maisie is leaning over the bunk whispering that she needs the loo, the poor thing has woken up with a streaming cold and a good going dose of the shits.
Still it makes her laugh when she realises that her squat toilet empties straight onto the track and I am relieved that she can find humour in anything as she does kook a bit pale.

Varanasi is one of the holiest cities in India, I have read that it is the spiritual centre of the Hindu's universe and Hindu's come to wash away their sins in the Great Mother (Ganges River), Varanasi is also a city of the dead, to die here and be cremated on the banks of the Ganges on one of the burning ghats is very good and releases Hindu's from the cycle of rebirth.

Several hours later and we have arrived at the Scindhia Guest House, we have some banana porridge and chocolate pancakes for breakfast. After a bit of excitement when Maisie got locked in the loo for 15 minutes we go for a walk on the famous ghats.
It is absolutely boiling here, much hotter than Delhi and I think we will need a few days to get used to the heat so we make our way back.

Alister has been trying to teach me to play the guitar on and off for the last year and although I'm no good and haven't really got the patience to practice enough, I am hoping to learn simple stuff whilst we are away (Just enough to get me by when I have had a few beers) and we spend a few hours sat in a tiny room with the fan whirring away listening to Ali playing.

At 5.30 we go on a boat trip up the Ganges, there is a festival on one of the ghats and we are going to watch. Firstly though we stop at Manikarnika ghat this is the most auspicious ghat to be cremated on and we count 15 fires, the logs are piled all around and there are 3 bodies on the steps waiting.
Tiny candles on little baskets of reeds and flowers are being floated up the river and it looks beautiful, I'm not sure what the significance of these are but as I float mine I make a wish anyway and cross my fingers just in case.
We didn't take any photographs out of respect but watching the funeral pyres in the dark from a small rowing boat on the river was really indescribable and something I will never forget.

…this morning was little disconcerting. I wondered, as we waited for our free hotel pick-up to arrive, whether we had taken a step to far to the wild side. Varanasi (or Vara-nasty as it is refered to in some quarters) is awash with touts of the worst kind trying to take you dodgy hovels and collect their commission. We were prepared for this, but still white faces generate a real feeding frenzy, and it can be a little uncomfortable when you are aware that there is a criminal element in this area that looking to not just fleece you, but rob you.

Immediately it is clear that Varanasi is much dirtier than Delhi, which is saying something. Eventually the friendly face of our pick up arrives, carrying a little scrap of paper with "Mr Bowman" written on it. He walks us over to 2 auto rickshaws, Charlotte and Maisie in one and Ali and I in the other. I am slightly worried when the young boy sat in the front of ours turns out to be the driver and not just waiting for dad to get in. As soon as we go to leave the station car park he loses the other rickshaw in the melee. We then proceed to experience what can only be described as extreme rickshaw driving. He drives through the traffic like Ali playing on a Playstation racing game!

Still, we do actually arrive in one piece. How? I may never quite work that out! Arrive meant arrive at the point where the rickshaws could go no further. We then had to walk the rest of the way to the hotel, 2 minutes we are told. Every turn down the dark and dirty alleyways seems to take us further into some scary maze. I am really beginning to wonder if this is too 'real' for us, let alone the kids. Just as I am about to lose hope of getting to the hotel, and feeling in my shoulders, we turn a corner to look out over the Ganges glistening in the morning sunlight. From that moment it all seems worth it, the river banks are alive with the day to day comings and goings of Varanasi. "What was I worrying about?"

"Always check spare batteries are charged!"

On our last day in Delhi we chose to visit the Indira Gandhi Museum and Humayun's tomb. After a couple of picture's at one of the lesser, but nonetheless stunning, tombs at this world heritage site. The batteries ran out in the camera, no problem I thought, I inserted the spares. Which turned out to be dead as…well you know…. dead! There was nowhere to be seen in the vicinity to get any batteries, what a nightmare! Then boss-man at the gate sends one of the guards off to get me a new set. 10 minutes later he returns with new set of local 'everready' batteries. Unfortunately these don't have the power to even turn the camera on. OK no problem we've seen plenty of fantastic buildings already and are sure going to clock up a few more by the end of the trip.

So we continue on around the tomb complex and through an arched gateway to be confronted with what can only be described as a breathtaking view. Ali nearly collapse's on the floor laughing as he says "Wow, this would make a great picture!" To think that this building only gave the inspiration to the Taj Mahal, sharpens even further the excitement for what is yet to come.

I woke up this morning to Simon playing Elvis, Heartbreak Hotel to us, listening to familiar music reminds me of home (all those drunken evenings at mums!) the choice of music was very apt as this place is a bit of a dump, the walls are the colour of nicotine and it does remind me a bit of the smoking room at the hospital.

We set off for the second time to find The Indira Gandhi Museum and I'm glad we make it there to day as it is very interesting, also quite sad to think that Mrs Gandhi was assassinated by the people who she trusted to protect her, I can remember this happening when I was younger and it is quite moving standing at the spot where she died and seeing her bloodstained sari.

We then went onto Humayun's Tomb, this is A World Heritage Site and the architecture is amazing and very beautiful, the kids are also very impressed with it and when I say to them that I am surprised they like it so much as I wouldn't have appreciated it at their age Maisie says to me "but we're travellers not tourists mum" yeh that’s my girl!! Unfortunately the batteries ran out on the camera at this point so we don't have any photo's – Good planning !!

How to deal with the huge numbers of people who ask for money is still a difficult one, we have alternately not given anything, given small change and bought people food, I don't know what is the right or wrong thing to do and we think maybe on leaving India donating a sum of money to a recognised charity would be a good idea, but still, walking past people who appear to have so little seems tough and you would have to be heartless to ignore them.

We are leaving Delhi tonight on the 6.30 train to Varanasi, I am looking forward to moving on but Delhi has been an amazing place to start our trip and I have loved it here, the pollution has literally made us sick and the noise levels are something else.
Despite what horror stories we have read and heard we have so far found everyone to be very friendly and helpful, we have kept our wits about us and subsequently have had a fantastic time.

Just woken the family up on our last day in Delhi with a bit Elvis, which as you can imagine was a bit of a shock wake up.

Coming to the end of our 4 days here I can confirm that on the surface it does conform to most of things said about it. It is dirty, smelly, busy, full of touts and so on. However if you are prepared to accept and even indulge these things you will find there is a lot more to found and experienced. There are some beautiful clean and calm places like the Lodi Gardens, with some wonderful old tombs in the middle of bustling city. A lot of time the smells, as you push, squeeze and dodge your way through the bazaars, are enticing aromas of fresh baked coconut biscuits, sweet snacks or spices. At other times the smells are so 'well' less than enticing that you can almost feel your nose recoiling. Touts are touts the same as anywhere, just a few more of them, they just want to get their commission. If, however, you are well informed and ready for the yarns they are going to spin you then you can just give them the brush off and avoid the hassles.

Delhi has been an intriguing city with lots to offer. We've seen some great sites, eaten some new foods and watched a lot of day to day Delhi life pass by.

I don't know where to start because there's so much to say and do. The best thing has been the cycle rickshaws I liked these because you can go up hills without any work.
India is very hot, noisy, stinky, and humid and that’s why I love it.

Today we went to The National Museum, it was great there but I was looking forward
to the ghost mask it was a monster made out of paper and material, but it was moved somewhere else.
We saw Buddha, Vishnu and Ganesh who are Hindu gods. We saw very old coins and how they made them, there were small ones, really thick ones and square ones.

In the afternoon we went to Lodi Gardens, me and Ali went and took lots of photos.
There were lots of chinchillas and birds that I looked at through our binoculars.
I saw green parrots, blue throats and jackdaws.
Then we went and had soup for lunch and a I had chocolate mousse for pudding (yum, yum!).

We had a bad start to today; we had planned to go to The National Museum and got up early, I decided before we came away that we would get up every day at 8.30 at the latest and we were all showered and ready to go by 9 o'clock.

I don't know whether it was because I didn't have any breakfast or more to do with breathing in so many fumes or the way but by the time we got to the museum I was feeling ill and unfortunately was sick in the entrance. This quickly spread to Alister who was also sick and whilst I was scrabbling through my bag for wet wipes I realised I couldn't find all my 3 credit cards.

Several hours, and a bit of panicking later and chips and coke for breakfast we were all feeling fine and ready to go and check out the Hindu gods, the museum was great and we got lots of photo's to record our time there.
The kids seem to have learnt a lot and we are learning quickly that you have to be very flexible and open minded about the approach to their schooling and take the opportunity to teach them stuff as it arises.
Today we spent a long time talking about The Kohinoor Diamond, this was taken from the Red Fort by Nadir Shah in the 18th century and taken to Persia, at the museum the Nadir Shah's axe was on display which was a good discussion point and we are going to look up more information on the web tomorrow about how it ended up as part of the British Crown Jewels.

After the museum we went to Lodi gardens, these are beautiful and so peaceful; we saw lots of different kinds of birds and the kids photographed each other in the temples.
We have definitely seen a very different side to Delhi and following some scrummy lunch at gorgeous Lodi Garden restaurant we sit there and look at the time. It is 1000 am in the UK, on a Tuesday morning I would be on a busy ward round, it doesn't get much better than this, perfect weather, lovely surroundings and great food this is definitely the life!!

Its 10pm now we have come back to our hotel a bit earlier and are going to try and get an early night, we have a 16 hour train journey ahead of us tomorrow evening to Varanasi- can't wait.

Today we have to go to New Delhi train station and book our tickets to Varanasi.
I am dreading this, we are staying very close to this station and when we went to check it out yesterday it was absolutely packed and someone squeezed my bum when I brushed past them which was a bit creepy.
Its all amazingly easy though, foreigners have to buy their tickets from a separate area and as advised we ignore several people who insist the International Tourist Bureau is closed and leave the station 20 minutes later with our tickets to Varanasi and onwards tickets to Agra.

Next to do is go and buy Ali a new chain, we have our travel talismans that were bought for us by our friends Marie, Carl and Ben and my workmates and I bought Alister a St Christopher, in true Ali style he has broken the chain 3 days later so we get that replaced for him for 200 rupees.

We are moving hotel today and repack our rucksacks, mine is so heavy it nearly pulls me over and I can't imagine how I am going to walk anywhere with it on my back, will have to cross that bridge later I guess! Our new hotel is just across from where we are staying at the moment in the Main Bazaar (cheaper, only six quid a night) and no bar.

That's fine, as the old place had a sign saying no guns/ ammunition allowed in their bar we never really went in it! Sorry mum if you are reading this but we have moved on now and it really was fine there!

We start the kids schooling today, they have both woken up very tired and have absolutely no enthusiasm whatsoever when I tell them its time for a bit of learning.
We set a time limit of an hour's formal schooling a day and start with some English. We have bought study support books with us and decide to write a story about the life of a dog in Delhi, they plan it together and then Maisie writes the story.
Ali writes the fight scene where he (Reefer) gets bitten and catches rabies from another dog and we spend a long time discussing Reefers feelings about his life of poverty in Paharganj. We then correct all their spellings and punctuation together and are all surprised to see that an hour and forty minutes have passed.
School is out for the rest of the day!

Six o'clock and we head back to the hotel, I have totally screwed up this afternoon and arranged for us to go to visit the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum in West Delhi, which as Simon points out to me afterwards is shut on a Monday and is in South Delhi.
I blame him as I feel he should know after 8 years together that firstly I am crap at organising stuff and secondly map reading has never been one of my strongest points!

I wash my hair tonight using Lush solid shampoo, good purchase, it does the trick and after drying and straightening my hair ( I'm so glad I packed the GHD's) feel completely human , for someone who usually washes my hair every day I think I have done well to last four days.
Ali proudly announces he hasn't changed his pants since we arrived in India, that's my boy! He makes me laugh so much and I suggest to him that although the shower is cold it's probably a good idea.
Lastly we are sitting in a rooftop restaurant, Dad asked me to think of him and Pauline if i am anywhere that i think he would like - Well in the warm air with Bob Dylan in the background - Dad i reckon you would really like it here !

Before our arrival in Delhi I felt quite anxious about what I would find, I tell Simon when we wake up that I don't know how anyone wouldn't like it here and he laughs at me and says apart from the amazing noise level, filth, dust, pollution, crowds and poverty he thinks my parents would love it.
I know what he's saying but for me it feels absolutely alive and I think it's wicked

After breakfast which was lovely - salty porridge for me, Indian breakfast for Simon and eggs, toast and jam for Ali and Maisie we decide to head off to see the Red Fort and Jama Masjid - the largest mosque in India.

Our chosen mode of transport is a sort of bike/carriage that is cycled by a fella, I feel guilty when we have to go up a big hill and offer to get out and walk but he won't hear of it although his mate makes him swap over half way (he has Simon and Ali in his)

I have read about foreign women attracting lots of attention from men here and although I am well covered up, Maisie and I receive lots of stares and calling out, but it isn't threatening (quite good natured and friendly) and doesn't make me feel uncomfortable. When some teenage boys touch my hand and I snatch it away they all laugh at me and I feel stupid not offended or annoyed.
I do realise though not to stare at men or make eye contact, as they seem to regard it as blatant come on.

The Red Fort makes for a great few hours sightseeing, the kids learn about the British Empire rule in India and both agree, that although the museum explains India & Mughal history and eventual independence and they are very glad the Indian people are no longer "chained by the British Invaders" its still great to be a foreigner here as you get to jump massive queues at least 2 miles long.

Eight o'lock and we are heading out for some food we seem to be doing ok I don't feel like anyone has skinned us on our first few days and so far the money seems to be going ok. Simon is asked if he wants to buy Hashish twice within 200 yards of the hotel, which I guess, means he is beginning to look like a traveller. I'm pleased to say no one offers me any which is good news - still feeling fairly glam although 3 days since I washed my hair - going to try and buy some flowers to put in it tomorrow, that'll do the trick.

I didn't think I was going to be trying any extreme sports at least until we arrived in New Zealand but then I hadn't foreseen the madness that is the traffic in Delhi.

We are staying in Pahargani which the Lonely Planet describes as bursting with budget accommodation, shops and human traffic. I reckon that’s a fairly good description and there seems to be lots of backpackers around.

The first thing that we noticed of course was the weather, it is lovely and warm not too hot or humid with a gentle breeze. The noise here is unreal- people shouting, constant banging, Hindustani music, children chattering and car horns blasting non stop.
Everywhere smells, some smells are good – like frying samosa's on the sides of the streets and burning incense sticks, other smells remind me of Glastonbury toilets so strong they make your eyes bleed – absolutely horrible and Maisie grabs my hand and rushes us past!

We arrive at our 3 star hotel which would be lucky to scrape half a star in the UK but surprisingly for me I don't even bat an eyelid when |Simon tells me the toilet seat isn't actually attached to anything.

I do feel very anxious about the potential risk of malaria though and conscious that we haven't taken our tablets today, we head off to find an ATM so we can buy some water and take our tablets.

Six o'clock and we are back at the hotel, the kids are completely exhausted, I feel pleased that we have managed to negotiate our way around successfully without getting lost and have eaten some vegetarian curry, a couple of chapattis and some spicy vegetable rice for less than three quid. Ali is a star and clears his plate and for the millionth time I thank god that he will give anything a go. (Apart from mushrooms – of course)

We get our children into bed and I think about the little children that have grabbed my hand today and asked me for money. Filthy dirty little kids only 3 or 4 years old, dressed in raggedy clothes with nothing on their feet.
Maisie looks at me and I don't say anything as I gently pull her away from a little toddler only a bit older than her beloved cousin Josh – what can I say to her? Whatever - it would seem completely inadequate and I know from the look on her face that although she is only ten she shares my mixed feelings of compassion and guilt.
I always used to say I wanted Alister and Maisie to know there is more to life than Disneyland and I guess tonight for them its true and they get my point.

Really not sure how I feel, at the moment, having just given up the job which I was beginning to become established in (Some at PCMC are sure to disagree, but hey everyone is entitled to their opinion…..!!).
Still sitting here at the moment it feels like the best decision I've made. The family and I are about to embark on something special.
People we speak to are mostly amazed at what we plan to do; some are mildly jealous and fall into the "wish I could do something like that!" category. Others are "You're so brave; I could never do something like that."
It really gives me a buzz when we speak to people who can really see it the way we do.

For example the other day I met a young woman, trying to flog broadband in the new shopping mall in Plymouth (Hi Nora – if you're reading), who was just so enthusiastic about what a life experience it would be for the kids, it really put everything into perspective and the couple in the check-in queue who were "like WOW!!"
All these little buzzes add up to re-enforce the benefits that we see coming from the trip.

Sure there are worries, like waking up on the morning of your scheduled departure to find water coming through the bathroom ceiling. You begin to think 'has somebody got it in for me?' 'This has got to be a wind-up? Leaving the house with the all the bathroom floor pulled up, confirmed it wasn't!!!

Have been reading a bit more of the India Lonely Planet guide, past experience tells us these are an invaluable starting point when entering a new country. Past experience also tells us that no matter how well prepared are, you will always get fleec'd a few times on your first day. The only difference being that you realise a little sooner.

Battery is about to die on the laptop, so this will do for now Delhi here we come…..

Awoke at 6.30am, it seems unreal that today has actually arrived at last.
I lie in bed for about 10 minutes and then decide I am feeling sick, go into the bathroom there's no loo roll and I'm sick everywhere.
Simon goes downstairs to make a drink and informs me there is water dripping through the kitchen ceiling- our long awaited trip has arrived - what a fantastic start to the day!

Several hours later, the bathroom floor has been ripped up, the shower and bath dismantled; and I have made several calls to the insurance company's emergency helpline, the moderate amount of water dripping through the ceiling would be better described now as pissing through, my nausea hasn't improved and I'm sick again and Maisie tells me she has a rash.

Things can only get better I think!!

Four o'clock and we have arrived at Heathrow – starving hungry, Maisie asks for a pasty for tea and has to settle for a bagel which seems to hit the spot for us all and things are definitely looking up.
I ask the kids to keep an eye out for David and Victoria Beckham and they look at me pityingly as if I am some sad creature from space, a shame really, as last year when we travelled to Thailand and I asked them the same question they both got quite excited at the prospect.

I am reminded again of how quickly they are growing up and it strengthens my resolve to get on that plane and go and show our children the world.

Maisie and I go shopping- we buy The Raconteurs CD in Virgin and get told off for fiddling with the make up in Dior, several large sprays of Jo Malone later and we are ready to board.
As we're waiting to take off I read lots of texts and listen to some messages from my friends. What a great bunch of mates – I'll miss them a lot - I guess they will be having a few Corona's for us tonight.

Yeah you lot, you know who you are!!

Its 11 o'clock now – been struggling with this for the last hour so am going to try and get some sleep so goodnight children hopefully when we wake up we will be in India, and that - will be another story.

Today I finished work, what a strange day; it started as usual with our regular Friday morning meeting which felt a bit weird, knowing that I wouldn't hear the outcome of decisions being made about patients care left me feeling a bit out of it and disconnected from my colleagues.

It's hard to describe how I feel - I'm so excited I can't stop smiling, when we were driving to work I kept thinking this is the last time I do this for a year and it felt great. I seem to have spent years daydreaming about today and I'm going to make the most of it.

Work flat out for next few hours, Amanda tells me she is getting her pound of flesh and I don't blame her! I have a few calls and cards from patients wishing me good luck which is really nice and I feel a bit choked.

I cleared my desk and removed all my photo's from the wall, taking down The Serenity Prayer that I read every day felt a bit strange but I guess I will need it more over the next year than I ever did in our department so it's going with me!

Then speak to a friend on the phone, knowing that I will be saying goodbye to them soon for a year feels really difficult and I try not to think about it too much, that's the spirit I think to myself - be brave but I am worried about next week saying goodbye to all the people I love will be hard for me.

Lunchtime arrives and we all go out to the leisure centre - a bit of a treat as we usually eat in our offices in front of the computer and it makes a lovely change.

Jon tries to frighten me and regales us with scare stories of - I quote "Arse tap" and advises me on where to buy PVC pants in case of an upset tummy, (how pleasant- over a panini and chips) I tell him I will be going commando for a year to save on space and he completely redeems himself by paying for lunch for us all - hurray!

Back to the office and we have coffee and cakes, they've bought me a lovely necklace and as Amanda fastens it on for me I make up my mind to keep it on for the year to remind me of them all. I know that's a good idea when she tells me that the moonstone is a talisman for travellers and the feminine stone.

Soon it's the end of the afternoon and nearly time to go, I say goodbye to my workmates one by one, we are a small and close team of eight and I feel emotional as we all exchange hugs and they tell me to make sure I come back !

Lastly its just me and Amanda, my friend and more recently my manager, we have shared a lot over the last 6 years, we walk downstairs and both cry - it will be weird without her around, we spend a lot of time together and I will miss her a lot. She walks off to the carpark and I take one last look at the hospital before I go - see you in a year I think.