Indian Summer: Day 15 - Agra

6am and we're standing at the west gate of the Taj Mahal, queuing in our 'ladies' line for entry to the monument.

The sight of the Taj Mahal, swathed in early morning mist, is breathtaking.

Overnight train to Varanassi here we come :)

Indian Summer: Day 14 - Agra

As we arrive in Agra, the sunshine is well and truly back, along with the heat. Sheltering from midday in a local cafe, we try to figure out what the best plan is for the next day or two.

The 'Baby Taj' was up first, a perfect little area of quiet in a very (veryveryvery) busy city. Again my partner shows too much faith in the kindness of strangers as he accepts some shoe covers from the man in front of the temple (20 rupees please) - though I scorn, the skin on the soles of my gentle feet prickles over the sun baked stone.

I made some new friends in the local wildlife, are these chipmunks? Showing a woeful lack of animal knowledge here.

We then caught a rickshaw to the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal, where there's a lovely garden walk, with lovely views over the monument.

Now, sitting on a rooftop terrace, watching the sun set beside a brilliant view of the Taj Mahal, my dinner has arrived. Nomnom.

Indian Summer: Day 7 - Jodhpur

Embarking on a bus at 4.30am didn't appeal at first, but what a great way to nap and cool down whilst giving yourself more time to explore during the day!

After a quick swim in the pool (love swimming) we set off to see the fort at the centre of the town. From here you could see the many blue buildings of the 'blue city'. These were originally painted blue to show the social status of the inhabitants, also offering the benefits of insect repelling and cooling. Now, however, anyone can paint their house blue, and it makes for an impressive sight.

Walking into the blue city itself is daunting. The streets are the busiest we've yet visited, with rather aggressive rickshaw drivers!!

Local Lassis are incredible. Lemon flavour perhaps? Absolutely brilliant - if you've never tried a lassi before, you really should head to your local Indian cafe and drink one :p

Indian Summer: Day 5 - jaisalmer

The train today was a new experience. Hot, crowded, covered in sand as the scarce but keenly awaited gusts of wind bring what seems like half of the desert with it. We were lucky, though, managing to grab a bay for our group for most of the journey.

On arriving in Jaisalmer, we headed for the hotel to freshen up. What a beautiful hotel! Made from the same rich golden sandstone as the fort nearby, with a great pool outside.

After dumping our bags, we rode a rickshaw to the nearby cultural heritage museum. A very homely little museum, the elderly man who had collected all the items and articles within gave us our own private tour (complete with a grandad-style rant about today's youth culture). A truly lovely man, this filled our afternoon before meeting back up with the group. Together we visited a grand old temple by the side of a lake - water is very important in these desert areas, so can often be found surrounded by shrines or temples.

Dinner was slightly disappointing! I knew already that I prefer the local restaurants to the tourist one, but this made me more determined than ever to branch off & eat dinner else where. At the saffron restaurant the portions were small, the prices large, and the spices nothing special. It was very pretty though, and just in time for hiding away from the thunderstorm...