India List of all countries I've been to »

Arriving in a Northen Indian city is always kind of a challenge. You are immediately surrounded by people trying to sell you something and taxi or rickshaw drivers. Jaisalmer was the worst but Delhi is not far behind. We got out of the station in search for a rickshaw to our booked hotel. Fortunately, we had stopped in Delhi 2 weeks before on our way to Varanasi so we knew where the hotel was ... read more »

Visited: Febuary 2013 Posted: 17/02/2013 India

Up to Jaisalmer we were always lucky. None of us became sick, the weather was always nice, we didn't get scammed, we haven't missed any flights, buses or trains or any other travel annoyances. Things got a little less fun for me in the *Golden City*. Jaisalmer is located in the Thar Desert, 100km from the Pakistan border. It is famous for its fort, a still inhabited sandstone castle. You reac... read more »

Visited: Febuary 2013 Posted: 07/02/2013 India

Mehrangarh is the famous fort of Jodhpur, the blue city and the gate to the Thar desert. The Fort is an imposing and beautiful structure built on top of a hill. The museum inside has some interesting pieces. The work that has been put in some rooms and in carving the stones of outside walls is quite impressive. The city in itself is a maze of (dirty) narrow streets with blue houses and shops ... read more »

Visited: Febuary 2013 Posted: 05/02/2013 India

Jaipur is the capital city of the *land of the kings*, the largest Indian state, Rajasthan. It's also known as the Pink City as the wall of the old city are painted in pink color (which looks like orange to me...). The city has a few famous landmarks. The City Palace, located in the center of the old city was the residence of the Maharajas and is still used by its descendants. It's quite an im... read more »

Visited: January 2013 Posted: 02/02/2013 India

I don't know if the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful building in the world as some people are claiming but it clearly is at the top of the list. The white marble building is quite huge and lights up beautifully at sunrise. The architect designed the building with a base so it's elevated from the ground and as a result only has the sky as its background which makes it really stand out. ![Tah M... read more »

Visited: January 2013 Posted: 30/01/2013 India

Varanasi must be one of the most, if not the most, chaotic city I ever went too. It's the spiritual capital of India and one of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Paradoxically there are few cars in the city center. And while there are rickshaws (auto and cycle), what makes the streets so busy is the number of people. The streets of the old city are narrow, dirty, smelly, f... read more »

Visited: January 2013 Posted: 28/01/2013 India

Kerala is famous for its backwaters, a network of lakes and canals along the coast of the state. Cruising the canals on houseboats is one of the biggest tourist attraction in Kerala and is a unique experience. The main starting point for houseboat cruises is from Alappuzha (Allepey). We reached this city using the public ferry from Kottayam. While being very noisy, this boat ride is by itself ... read more »

Visited: January 2013 Posted: 27/01/2013 India

Our first night train from Goa to Kochi went smoothly apart from the fact that I didn't sleep much. We stayed only one night in Fort Kochi which was plenty enough as there's not much to do and the town is disappointing compared to the "extraordinary" adjective the Lonely Planet was giving it. A (bumpy) 5 hours bus ride the next day took us in the Western Ghats mountains. Munnar is a busy li... read more »

Visited: January 2013 Posted: 19/01/2013 India

After a few nights in North Goa, we sought that it would be nice to try out South Goa, even if it's for one night only. I'm glad we did because I liked it much more than the North. We stopped in Palolem in a nice hotel not far from the beach (very good quality/price ratio). The best would have been to find a hut along the beach which is the main kind of accommodation but we'd decided to come ... read more »

Visited: January 2013 Posted: 15/01/2013 India

Goa is famous around the world for its beaches and party vibe. Hippies have also made it their home but apart from the laid back atmosphere, I haven't seen what I would called "real hippies". It seems they are further north. We stayed in Vagator, right beside Anjuna, where party people enjoy trance music on the beach during the day and go clubbing at night. Loads of (younger) travelers and Rus... read more »

Visited: January 2013 Posted: 14/01/2013 India

The big trip has finally started! We have been visiting Mumbai for the last few days (I'm traveling with David while in India). An incredibly big city that is way too crowded. Chaotic is the only word that could describe the traffic and the sidewalks are always overflowing from people. Mumbai is a paradoxical city where skyscrapers are rising everywhere, surrounded by slums. You'll see brand n... read more »

Visited: January 2013 Posted: 09/01/2013 India