For the 6 months prior to coming away I trained myself to sleep with only one pillow. I knew from holidaying in Asia previously, that the chances of being supplied with anymore than this were zero.
Even so I couldn’t train myself to get used to sleeping on mattresses that are about as soft as concrete other than by sleeping on the floor and I wasn’t about to start that. So subsequently every morning I have woken up feeling like I’ve been in a fight and this does take a bit of stretching to sort out.

We have our breakfast on the roof terrace, the view over The Old Blue City and up to Meherangarh is really fantastic and I’m looking forward to spending the morning there. We have arranged to meet Iram and after a bit of confusion we finally get there. Simon thinks he may have never been to Jodhpur before as he doesn’t always seem to know where to go which is slightly surprising for a Rajasthani guide!

The entrance cost to Meherangarh is about 10 quid, nearly every main tourist attraction in India is free for under 15′s but we have to pay for the kids here as the audio tour is recommended and we don’t want them to miss out. Ali has woken up evil though and really we waste our money as he refuses to listen to it properly and ambles around looking miserable. This attitude soon rubs off on Maisie and before long we have 2 sad looking kids trailing after us. It�s a shame because it’s really interesting here and I would have enjoyed it a lot if Simon and I had been on our own.

The fort is still run by the Maharaja of Jodhpur and inside there are gorgeous courtyards and palaces with lots of interesting exhibits in the museum such as elephant seats, armoury and royal baby cradles.

Still I am conscious that we need to try and do things at their pace. Ali is missing his friends and so far they have been really great so I’m fairly patient with them.
They have always been the best of friends and really enjoyed each others company until the last year when Ali has started to grow up and leave her behind a bit.

We then go up to Jaswant Thada which is a pretty, milky white marble memorial to Maharaja Jaswant Singh and they brighten up a bit. Maisie has a go on a strange Indian musical instrument and manages to make us all laugh with her efforts.

I suggest we go to The Garden Restaurant for lunch this is on the other side of town and where all the Jodhpur trendies go. Simon gets a beer and we all have mixed kebabs but they’re not piping hot and I convince myself I am going to get salmonella and don’t really enjoy mine which is a pity!
We go and check our emails I have two best friends Shirley and Lou and get an email from Shirley today, as she lives in Birmingham we don’t see each other a lot and I’m pleased she’s been following our progress and doesn’t seem to think I’m writing a load of crap!
It’s good to email but not the same as talking on the phone and as we can talk for England I promise you Shirl I will call soon!! Miss you lots XX

Tonight we are going back to Meharangarh, for dinner at their restaurant which has excellent reviews, so looking forward to that it’s now 3 hours since we ate the kebabs and so far no signs of food poisoning � fingers crossed!

Our standard of living has improved dramatically since yesterday. We didn’t succumb to food poisoning and had a lovely meal last night in the most amazing setting.
The terraced top of Meharangarh Fort is a very romantic restaurant; we were greeted at the fort entrance by waiters in traditional Rajasthani dress who took us up to the very top of the fort and sat us at one of only 6 small round tables lit by the moonlight and candles.
We ate Thalis and drank Kingfisher beer to the sound of Indian music and the feel of the warm desert breeze.
In case this all sounds too good to be true I have to point out that Ali and Maisie were only reasonably behaved and dressed in my combats, battered converse trainers and with dirty hair I really didn’t feel all that glam but still we had a great time.

We leave for Jaisalmer at just gone 9am. Jaisalmer was once an important trade route and a very wealthy town. I have read that there are lots of elaborate houses and temples here. It’s as close as we will get to the India / Pakistan border and although it’s a peaceful place the airport is closed due to border disputes. Iram said the journey would take around six hours and I was feeling a bit apprehensive about this but the kids are in a better mood today.

We start the day with some science, we discuss what we learnt about the brain previously and I’m pleased they have remembered it all. I can’t teach them about any other organ of the body without study support so I teach them about the structure and functions of the liver. We then talk about food groups and how proteins, fats and carbs are processed by the body and they do really well.

Schools over for a bit and we put some music on. Today’s choices are The Killers and The Scissors Sisters. The Scissor Sisters could only remind us of one couple, our friends Di and Jimmy and a mad night we had out in Birmingham a couple of months ago.
By four o’clock in the morning following quite a large amount of beer and vodka we decided we were all at least good enough for The X-Factor and recorded ” I don’t feel like dancing” on our phones. When I heard it back the next morning I’m surprised the taxi driver didn’t chuck us out of his cab when we were practicing it!

By the time we are half way to Jaisalmer it has started to rain, it was cloudy in Jodhpur this morning and soon its pissing down and not very warm. We have to stop as Alister’s guitar is strapped to the roof rack and swap it over for one of our rucksacks which have waterproof covers.
The road to Jaisalmer is quite good and we don’t see much traffic. I have noticed that Iram seems to speed up a bit when we get closer to places and I’m glad when we arrive safely. The main risk to us on the road would be hitting a cow but sheep, goats, camels,
dogs, horses and large birds in no particular pecking order also think they are the kings of the road and completely ignore car horns.
The landscape is flat with lots of scraggy trees and occasional scruffy looking little ruins. We see a few people, the women dressed in the brightly coloured saris that are typical of Rajasthan and men all wrapped up with just their eyes showing.

We discuss where to stay on the way, there are lots of good quality hotels in Rajasthan and as the weather is crap we don’t want to be stuck in some grim room for the next 3 days. The Jaisalmer Palace is just inside the town walls and has been partially converted into A Welcome Heritage Hotel called The Mandir Palace. As we have read some good reviews about it we decide to have a look.
Some of the Royal family still live in the palace and as soon as we pull into the courtyard I want to stay there. It’s much more expensive than anywhere else we have stayed and while the kids are swayed by cable TV for me it’s the fact that loo rolls, soap and towels are supplied.
After a bit of haggling we get two luxurious rooms for 15 pounds per room per night and I can’t wait to phone home tomorrow and tell mum Maisie and I are princesses in our palace at least for the next 3 days.

I hope the weather clears up, we have brought waterproof jackets with us but as the main reason for coming to Jaisalmer is to go into the desert on a camel safari I want it to be dry. I ‘m dreading this anyway, I’ve been on a camel before and I remember they stink; they won’t go where you want them to and it hurts your arse.

I may take some persuading to swap my bed in a perfectly good palace, for a night under the stars with a wet camel.

The best things that we’ve seen is the Taj Mahal: wow too hard to explain, it was so beautiful I know I will remember it!
The Ganges River: the morning and evening boat ride was fab except the body burning creeped me out and gave me a nightmare.
We drove through Rajasthan and the area was interesting but polluted and hot.
Now we are in Jaisalmer and the first impressions weren’t great because it was raining and empty and grey. But that soon turned around as we are now staying in an old palace
which still has some of the royal family living in it so that was a surprise!

The only thing I miss is not much but family and friends not much else.
Mum is now sitting in our room shivering and moaning she is cold so dads got a blanket for the bed and a coffee to warm her up.

Today is bright and sunny, although not too warm at first. We get up slowly and I decide to wash some more of our stuff. It takes me ages and I will be glad when the travel wash has all gone and I can’t do it anymore.

We have our breakfast in a restaurant next door, the breakfasts are very good so far in India and I have noticed that the kids are eating loads. Usually they have cornflakes with banana and honey followed by toast and jam but today they go for an omelette each as well.

It’s nice to have a look around where we are staying as we weren’t able to see much of Jaisalmer yesterday due to the rain. It is divided into two areas inside and outside the fort. Although we are staying in this expensive place it is outside the fort walls and this is recommended as a more ethical choice.
The fort is India’s second most important monument next to The Taj Mahal but unfortunately is slowly being destroyed by the impact of tourism. It is carved out of golden sandstone and has 99 battlement things around it called bastions. Since 1995 three of these have fallen down and this fort is now on the worlds top 100 list of monuments to protect.

Around the fort entrance there are lots of small market stalls and women selling silver jewellery, carpets, saris, postcards and other touristy stuff. We’ve hardly bought anything as our rucksacks are already heavy but we can’t resist a leather cowboy hat today and Maisie and I decide we’ll share it.

We spend most of the morning doing schoolwork; they don’t seem to object to this too much and seem to have enjoyed most things we have done so far. I give them a paragraph of information about our trip so far and ask them to rewrite it in a much more descriptive way and they both do quite well. We then go over what they have learnt for science and I tell them they have done the brain and the liver. Tomorrow we can start on the heart or lungs and I will chase Simon into doing some maths with them.

We are going to try and eat a bit earlier tonight, we never eat until 7pm at home anyway but I have noticed we are having dinner quite late and subsequently going to bed late. Although I’m strict on bedtimes at home I don’t mind this but as I make us get up before 8.30 sometimes this is a bit of a struggle.
Alister loves to speak to his friends on MSN messenger but because of the 5 and half hour time difference he can’t do this until at least 9.30pm as they will still be in school. We are restricting his internet use to an hour every other day much to his disgust but as he is restricted at home also he knows better than to argue with us over it!

Just got back to the hotel, we had some great food tonight in a tented restaurant where some little kids entertained us playing the drums, singing and dancing.
I am now completely freezing and from the reports of the weather at home I reckon it’s at least as cold here as in Plymouth. Get in to bed with two extra blankets and some vile sweet drink that would never pass for coffee in a million years!

We have decided tomorrow is camel day, I can’t put it off any longer and am looking forward to it so much I can hardly contain myself.

The day of the camel has arrived and I feel sick. We woke up at 8.30 and after showering went and had a long and leisurely breakfast. We took the kids schoolbooks with us and Simon spent an hour or so doing maths with them. I can’t do maths so it gave me the opportunity to sit and study our guide book and start to plan our next few weeks in India.

The kids then had a game of cricket with the waiters from the hotel we are staying in. I am surprised and pleased that they have been getting on so well together and although their PSP and Nintendo DS have seen plenty of action, they had a great time today with a ball that cost 10 rupees and two empty coke bottles for bats.

We went and found Iram who seems very happy to be staying here and tells us he has a very nice room. We have decided that the best option is for him to take us out to the sand dunes where the camels are and try and negotiate a fair price when we get there.
Neither of us like organised themed trips and wherever we have been we have always found them to be very overpriced and generally shite.

We set off at 3pm, I am dreading it being cold as much as anything else but as I only have one cardi thing with me the only option is to take my waterproof jacket as well and I stick it in the rucksack.
We drive for about an hour and eventually see signs for Khuri village, Maisie makes us laugh when she tells us “I’ve just seen some massive eggs, I think they’re camel eggs”.
I have to explain to her that camels don’t lay eggs which leads to more discussion about mammals. She is surprised to learn that foxes don’t in fact lay eggs either – bless!

We get out the car and are immediately asked to sit down. The camel safari is explained to us and apparently includes an hour or so on the camels, out to the dunes, watching the sunset and then on return sitting around a fire watching some dancing and dinner. We’re having none of it though and Simon explains to the man that we only want to ride the camels and then will return to Jaisalmer for dinner.
Eventually we agree a price of 450 rupees each (about five pounds) and we set off for the camels.
I’m a bit worried to find that the camel drivers sit behind you on each camel as I have read that this is advised against especially for women but there isn’t much we can do about it and I clamber on. Simon and the kids all seem excited although Ali looks a bit apprehensive.

We set off at a good pace, the camel driver seems quite nice, he picks me some flowers for my hair and tells me he has six camels and the one we are on is called Lalu when I ask him. I’m not too sure if this is only my camels name though or if they are all called that although Maisie tells me later hers was called Baby.
Eventually the desert changes to perfect, rolling sand dunes. I’ve never seen anything like these before and it’s really beautiful. We don’t see anyone else and listening to the drivers singing and clicking to the camels in the dusk I realise I am actually having a great time.
We arrive at the top of the dunes there are lots of other people here but quite a long way from us and we get down to sit and watch the sunset. The kids love it and spend the time free running up and down the dunes. We write our names and the date in the fine sand and take lots of photos.

We get back on the camels and join the large groups of people also making their way back on their camels. The camel driver gives me the reins and shouts at Lalu to make her go faster, soon we are cantering along and although I’m hardly Lawrence of Arabia it is lots of fun and I am enjoying myself and pleased when we whip most people back to the village.

We get back to Jaisalmer and make for a restaurant called The Trio the food is probably the best we have had so far in India. We share a Rajasthani speciality mutton curry, tomatoes stuffed with goat’s cheese, raisons and almonds, chicken mughlai, mixed vegetables and special biriyani.We have banana fritters for pudding and wash it down with Kingfisher beer and cardamom spiced coffee Yum!

Today has been good, better than I thought and I should learn not to dread things so much they may turn out ok after all.

This is my first bit of diary writing! We started in Delhi and are now at Jodhpur for the second time. Delhi was cool, the traffic was crazy and the whole place had a really mad vibe to it!

We then went to Varanasi to see the river Ganges I really liked it and seeing the burning bodies on the ghat’s was weird, Maisie found it scary but I was more scared of the supposedly one hundred and three year old woman! She blessed us and apparently gave us good Karma or something like that.

We then went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. It took 13 hours on the over night train and Dad woke us all up 3 hours to early but when we finally got to Taj the next day I knew it was worth it.

We then went to Pushkar, it was hot so we went to a really posh hotel and used the pool! We spent two days there and visited a very big fort!

Then we were off to Jodhpur with our driver Ihram who had picked us up at Agra, when we got there we all had a bowl of soup! The room was nice but we all had to share one and peace was completely impossible to find but I’m sure they all thought the same about me!

We then drove to Jaisalmer and it was raining. Everyone one was a bit depressed because of this, so we decided to stay in a Palace for three nights. I had been waiting since the start of Jodhpur to watch ‘Gone In 60 Seconds’ but frustratingly for that one night the channel it was on was broken. I was unhappy but we watched ‘Spiderman 2′ and that was quite good!

After our three nights of luxury we hit the road for another five hour journey back to Jodhpur we are now in the same hotel and room as before for one night and will be driving to Udaipur for another 6 hours tomorrow!

So far I have liked the trip however I am really missing my friends and family at home.
But all in all I am looking forward to the next place!!!

Its 3 o’clock in the afternoon on Thursday 7.12.06 I was just saying to Simon that I couldn’t think of too much to write today as we haven’t done much but he seemed surprised at this and said he couldn’t remember a time before when I was stuck for words and can usually talk shite for hours – how rude!

We have now arrived back in Jodhpur, our next and last city to visit in Rajasthan is Udaipur and we will leave Iram there. But as Udaipur is 600km from Jaisalmer and too far to travel in one day we are breaking up the journey and spending a night here in the same guesthouse as before.

We decided this morning that although it was good in the palace hotel it is hard to justify spending a hundred quid on 3 night’s accommodation when this place is only costing us just over a fiver and in fact has all the same facilities just not as nice.

Ali has been playing his guitar a bit this afternoon, he hasn’t played that much since we have been away but at home sometimes doesn’t play much for a few weeks either.
He refuses to teach me anymore until I agree to pay him for it so I am teaching myself which is actually fine. As I only want to learn a few songs with a year to practice I reckon I will have nailed them by the time we get back.
My friend Alli and I subjected the pub to our own special version of Michael row the boat ashore on New Years Eve a few years ago and I’m sure if I had been able to play any of the chords at all it may have sounded better so that is my aim!

Been out for a few hours checking emails from home- our fence has blown down and mum tells me the weather has been terrible in Plymouth with lots of storms. I don’t miss that at all. I can’t stand the winter and hate the cold and for the last few years we have always had our main holiday away during the British winter so we could catch a few rays and reduce the seasonal affective disorder. It is warmer here than in Jaisalmer and should be warmer again in Udaipur as it’s another 300km further south.

Simon and the kids have been complaining they are a bit saddle sore today so I guess being a girl, with the fattest ass in the family does have some clear benefits!

We are ordering room service tonight, eating out every night is tiring and Ali and Maisie like staying in the room watching TV. I have to force myself not to feel guilty about this as its hard not to feel that we may be missing out on some experience or other.
We can’t be on the go constantly though and at home all have some down time where we just doss around, they all watch the telly I tend to listen to music.

Got to get up early tomorrow, leaving at 8am for Udaipur. The James Bond film Octopussy was mostly filmed there and I’m looking forward to seeing if I can get a Martini shaken not stirred of course.

We got up at 6am as we have to leave at 8 for Udaipur. Iram tells us the journey will take around 6 hours as “no good roads”. I’m feeling a bit sick and don’t have much breakfast but just put this down to being tired. Ali also feels sick and when we get in the car I let the kids go back to sleep for a few hours.
Despite Iram’s prediction the roads seem ok and we seem to be going at a good enough pace. By now I am looking forward to getting to Udaipur and saying goodbye to him. I have enjoyed travelling around Rajasthan but it has been very tiring and I can’t wait to get to Goa and lie on the beaches in the sun.
Rajasthan has also been much colder than Delhi and Varanasi, this has meant that we have had to wear the same clothes for a week as we each only have one set of warm stuff and I am fed up with this.

On the way we have planned to stop off at Ranakpur, this is one of India’s oldest Jain temples and an incredible piece of architecture. To get to Ranakpur we have to cross over a mountain range and the roads are very twisty. The landscape is completely different to anything else we have seen so far in Rajasthan. Very mountainous and green with lots of lovely flowers, almost tropical looking. There are big monkeys sat on the roadsides watching us go by and we see signs saying this is a wildlife sanctuary and pictures of leopards. I say to the kids that they probably wouldn’t be satisfied with West Midlands Safari Park again after this and they agree.

The Jain religion was set up in the 6th century BC; Jains believe that liberation can only be attained by achieving complete purity of the soul and in order to do this, all matter that attaches itself to our soul by our actions, must be shed .Right conduct is essential and non violence to any living thing is fundamental. This means the Jains do not eat any meat or vegetables that may have caused damage to insects during their harvest. Some Jains sweep the floor in front of them to avoid treading on insects and at the temple picking flowers, wearing leather, smoking and wearing shoes were amongst many other things that were strictly forbidden.

The Jain temple was absolutely beautiful and I hope the photos will do it justice although we weren’t allowed to photograph the idols that were on the outside of the temple walls.
The carvings were very intricate and delicate and the 1444 milk white marble pillars are all different. When we first entered the temple Alister said “oh wow its amazing isn’t it” which I guess sums it up if a 13 year old is impressed.
It was without doubt the most amazing thing we have seen other than The Taj Mahal since arriving in India.

Sadly though Ali and I weren’t able to enjoy it for long as our slightly nausea turned into full on throwing up. We were followed to the toilet by a little girl who wanted money for the privilege of standing and watching us being sick and I wished she understood enough English for me to say to her “sometimes honey when you got to puke you just want a bit of privacy!”
We got back in the car and then had to drive what seemed like hours across “no good roads” this was an understatement if anything and I can only really describe it as something like torture. I lost count of the number of times we had to stop for poor Ali to throw up and I think we all had whiplash injuries by the time we finally arrived at around 5pm. We had booked a hotel and we all staggered in weighed down with all our stuff.
Eight and a half hours later and I vow not to travel in any car, anywhere, ever again for any longer than 4 hours max.
I thought Simon was going to sort Iram out in the hotel reception but apparently he had paid him earlier and I felt really bad when I realised he had gone and me and the kids hadn’t even said goodbye or thank you to him. Simon said he seemed happy enough with the tip he gave him, baksheesh is a way of life here but I still felt awful and I hope he realised I didn’t mean to be so rude.

We got in the room and Ali and I promptly both threw up again, today has not been a good day, got straight into bed aching all over hopefully will feel better tomorrow.

I woke up at 5am to the most awful racket; this hotel is, Simon reckons the noisiest place he has ever stayed in and I agree with him. I did sleep but only because I think a combination of being completely exhausted and ill overwhelmed me. The noise here is unreal and although Simon is usually pretty tolerant of most things the sound of what we think were Krishna’s dancing and singing outside our window while it was still dark was enough to have him swearing like a trucker.

He is now ill also and has been up half the night with belly ache and sickness and when I get up at 8.30 I leave him in bed and go to sort the kids out. Maisie is as fit as a fiddle and Ali and I haven’t been sick again so things are looking up.
Ali doesn’t want any breakfast so Maisie and I go up on our own and have a lovely breakfast overlooking the James Bond lake. Apparently lots of the hotels play Octopussy non stop on a loop so I guess we will get to see it sometime while we are here.

Our guidebook describes Udaipur as whimsical, serene and surrounded by misty hills. I’m not too sure about the serene bit but the hills are very pretty.
We have planned to visit The Lake Pichola and The City Palace and Museums while we are here and also want to go and see the Maharaja’s classic car collection which includes the Phantom Rolls Royce used in Octopussy.

As we will be having a quiet day I decide to get some stuff sorted out and send our clothes to the laundry, I ask the fella if we can stay an extra night and I’m not too sure if he agrees to this or not! I then have a cold shower which wasn’t very pleasant as I have to wash my hair and it takes ages. My Lush solid shampoo has run out and I haven’t got anymore so have to make do with the hotel soap.
The power then goes off (this conveniently happens between 8 and 10 am every where we have been and doesn’t come back on till the evening.) so I am unable to dry or straighten my hair and now look like a wiry haired scarecrow. Couple this with the fact that I am wearing Simon’s jumper as mine has gone for washing and I feel pretty scruffy. Good job we won’t be having any photo’s taken today!

I take the kids out for a bit of lunch and we have cappuccinos, toasted cheese sandwiches and strawberry cheesecake. (Very Indian!) We sit next to an English couple and their little toddler daughter and they tell me they are also travelling. They have made their way from The Himalayas to here and plan to move on to Goa soon. I think they are brave travelling with a 2 year old; at least Ali and Maisie will eat anything and can tell you if they are ill.

We are back at the hotel now; it’s difficult to know what to do when you can’t go out and I am a bit reluctant to go very far on my own with the kids. They seem to be happy enough watching the telly but I’m not a telly lover and practice my guitar playing instead. I am getting a bit better I think and Ali says he will teach me some new chords soon.

Been out for dinner, I have given Simon some Dioralyte, but he isn’t feeling much better and we go to the hotel across the road. Udaipur is very busy at night with lots of small shops selling hand woven goods, paintings and lacquer work boxes. Most other businesses seem to offer internet and “ISD” calls to the UK and we also see such services offered as henna tattooing, body massage and hair arranging.

Like all the other cities and towns we have visited in India dogs, cows, goats and pigs roam around freely scavenging whatever they can to live on, it’s surprising how quickly we have got used to seeing them and they are a part of life here as much as cars are a part of our lives at home.

We watched Octopussy and really enjoyed it, along with the other 5 or 6 couples all glued to a small screen. It actually was a great experience as we are right by Lake Pichola and it looks very pretty all lit up with fairy lights. What a classic line when Bond chucks a load of rupees at this fella and tells him “Here you go, that will keep you in curry for a few years”
Maybe you had to be there but it made me laugh anyway.

Had a great day today, we woke up at 8.30 all feeling much better and went up and had some breakfast, a bowl of banana and honey porridge and toast and jam each and I set the kids onto some work. We spend at least 3 hours going over what they have already learnt in science and discussing the structure and differences of plant and animal cells. Looking through the books we have brought with us they cover similar stuff but as Ali is at Key Stage 3 his work is much more in depth so I pitch it at his level. Maisie seems to be lapping it up and when I test them later does really well and remembers almost as much as he does.
They then do some literacy and write a formal letter to Tony Blair asking him for money to provide education and condoms for young adults in a remote village, with high rates of HIV infection, I can see a big improvement since they last practiced letter writing and its very satisfying to think I have taught them this.

We are going to visit the city palace and Lake Pichola, it isn’t far from where we are staying so we walk there. When we get to the ticket office we can choose to visit various sites of interest and we get tickets costing about 10 quid in total. These will cover us for entrance to the palace and museum and a boat ride on Lake Pichola.

We decide we want some lunch first though and choose the most expensive looking place, well worth it though, we have club sandwiches, fries and baked onions and they’re yummy! After the last few days of sickness none of us want Indian food today and I am not being too fussy about what we eat.

We catch the boat and have a half hour ride around Lake Pichola, we go past the floating palace where much of Octopussy was filmed. It is now a hotel and although it from a distance it doesn’t look anything special, close up it does look nice and for over 400 US dollars a night I guess it must be ok.
We of course opted not to stay there on the basis that we wanted to experience more of the real India.

We then wandered around the city palace, this is a truly amazing place it’s like a maze with lots of tiny corridors leading up and then down narrow winding staircases, these then open out into rooms which are all decorated differently. Some rooms are themed with colour, pale china blue bedrooms with tiny brass beds and floaty curtains and a dark red balcony overlooking the courtyard. Other rooms are huge with intricate inlaid jewelled walls and ceilings and big imposing portraits of royalty. We also visited the palace stables and the kids went in a portable tiger cage.
We said it would be a great place to play hide and seek although I don’t know if you would ever find each other.

The weather is lovely here, hot with clear blue skies and a warm breeze. Now I’m feeling better I can appreciate Udaipur and for me it has definitely been the highlight of Rajasthan. Surrounded by mountains and with the clear calm lake it is as lovely as the guidebook says. Since our arrival we have slept much better and the noise levels are bearable although it is quite lively here.
We end the afternoon with a beer and puddings for the kids on Sunset Terrace. This overlooks the lake and the floating palace and the perfect location for a cold Fosters and a few crisps.

Simon spent the morning sorting out our tickets to Mumbai and we catch the bus at 3.30 tomorrow afternoon. I am scared about this but trying to stay calm and keep thinking even if it’s really horrible it’s only 16 hours and anyone can get through that. Also from then on we only have to catch trains. We should be arriving in Goa in 6 days time – hurray! Really looking forward to this, we had a lovely holiday there a few years ago and I can’t wait to get on the beach and do nothing for a week or so.

I’m feeling very happy tonight and lucky. Travelling is wicked, so far I have absolutely loved everything about it and even though we have some interesting experiences over the last few weeks I wouldn’t change a thing. Not sure if I will still feel the same after the bus trip but I’m fairly optimistic and I hope so.