Rajasthan

Well it only seemed like a week since I'd done the last entry but it's almost two weeks! After Dharamsala we travelled back to Delhi by overnight train, arriving about 6am Thursday morning, then straight on a bus to Agra where we saw the Taj Mahal that afternoon after a brief rest in our hotel. The Taj of course was sublimely beautiful, though not as white as it looks in most photos.

Next morning we saw the Red Fort in Agra, another sumptuous palace of the Mughal emperors, and then I left the group to head off to Rajasthan with my driver Bihari. Here we are with Ally, just about to head off.
First we headed to Jaipur for two nights, where I met up with Marija from the group next morning. We spent the day touring Jaipur in the car; it was fun to have some company and not be sitting in the back by myself. I did try sitting up front, like a good egalitarian Aussie, but it wasn't very comfortable, and the view nowhere as good.


Here's the Amber Fort just outside Jaipur. From Jaipur I headed off to Udaipur, city of lakes, again for two nights, and full of winding narrow laneways so not having the volume of traffic of other cities such as Jaipur and Agra. Udaipur was one of my favourite places, and like everywhere else had marvellous old forts. Then for one night each to Jodhpur, Bikaner and Mandawa. I was disappointed that we didn't get to Jaisalmer - my driver miscalculated and thought we had an extra night, so we should have stayed only one night in Udaipur or Jaipur. People have told me since that Jaisalmer is the most beautiful of all the Rajasthani cities, so looks like I'll have to see it next time.