10th Sept – day 1 – Well here we are, we have arrived in Delhi, India. We’d reached another world as soon as we stepped foot out of the airport. Busy was an understatement. The taxi to the hostel was an adrenaline rush in itself with cars, bikes and scooters everywhere, all beeping and rushing around. We checked into Roots Hostel and set our things down. We decided to venture into New Delhi and explore. All the new sights and smells were overwhelming and we could not belive how busy it was. We tried to get a SIM from a shop and we found out a few days later that this was our first experience of being scammed! When buying a SIM get it from a legitimate phone shop which looks new (there is one in Connaught Place). We turned in for the night for a long sleep after many hours travelling and our first experience of India.

11th Sept – day 2 – After a browse through our Lonely Planet we had set our sights on some tourist attractions. Unfortunately for us they were all closed! Check when things such as the Jama Masjid and Red Fort are shut for prayer and days off. Instead, we went to India Gate and walked around Connaught Place where we found some good food.

12th Sept – day 3 – We caught Uber around Delhi and finally managed to visit the Jama Masjid, Red Fort and the Ghandi Museum. After a busy day we had booked our bus to Agra, but after the ‘misplacement’ of a passport we ended up missing the bus and hiring a driver to get us to Agra late at night.

We checked in to Big Brother hostel and slept as much as we could before our 4am alarm.

13th Sept -day 4 – Our alarms went off and we took the short walk from the hostel to the Taj Mahal for sunrise. This was the perfect time to see the Taj Mahal; there were no ques and it was nice and cool. Be careful what you pack to take into the Taj Mahal though, the Hucclecote Harriers Teddy bear Hugo saw a quick end to his travels.

After seeing the Taj Mahal we took the train to Jaipur. Once we had arrived at the Wanderers Nest Hostel we had a long chat with the owner who was extremely helpful before getting an early night.

14th Sept – day 5 – We read our trusty Lonely Planet and decided to follow their walking tour around Jaipur, the pink city. We visited the Jantar Manta, which is an astronomical observation site built in the early 18th century. Then walked on to the City Palace, Hawa Mahal and Street bazaars.

In the evening our hostel owner suggested going to the Masala Chowk food hall and it did not disappoint. It has a great selection of Indian food in a clean eating/picnic area. On our way there we also got to see the Albert Hall Museum lit up in multicoloured lights.

15th Sept – day 6 – We hired a recommended tuk tuk driver (@shahidkhan3235) to take us around more of Jaipur. We went to the Amber Fort, Jaigarh Fort, Step Well, Water Palace, Monkey Temple and Badrinath Temple.

Being inside the Amber Fort and Jaigarh Fort was like stepping back in time. Elephants carried people up the steep slope to the entrance of the Fort and you can imagine what it was like hundreds of years ago.

16th Sept – day 7 – From Jaipur we caught local (extremely busy and crammed) buses to Pushkar.

Once we were there we took a walk around the Pushkar Lake and explored the array of clothes shops and food stalls. In Pushkar there is a lot of Israeli food such as hummus and pitas, and lots of pancakes/crepes smothered in chocolate!!

We stayed at Mustache Hostel, which had a super chilled vide and common area.

17th Sept – day 8 – After a delicious meusli bowl we walked up Savitri Temple. This temple is a pilgrimage site for Hindus, and it was amazing to see the young and very elderly making the tretchurous trek up steep steps to reach the temple. We then relaxed for most of the day before catching the overnight bus to Jaisalmer.

18th Sept – day 9 – After what felt like a 12 hour long roller coater ride we arrived in Jaisalmer. We checked into the Swan Hostel. The hostel was super clean, had a HOT shower (yay!), a rooftop restaurant and happiest waiter in India!

We walked around the city, which is within the Fort walls and bought some clothes. It felt like we were in the movie Aladin! In the evening we ate at a rooftop restaurant within the Fort walls and watched the sunset.

19th Sept – day 10 – We hung out at the hostels rooftop restaurant until it was time to go on our camel safari which we booked through the hostel.

On the Camel Safari we drove for about 1 hour by jeep into the desert, before riding our camel a further hour into the dunes. We set up our camp (army beds under the stars), had dinner, bought beers off a 10 year old who was walking around the desert with his mobile bar and played cards until it was too dark to see.

20th Sept – day 11 – We woke up and watched the sun rise over the sand dunes. We rode the camels back to the jeep and headed back to the hostel. We were getting a night train to Jodhpur that night at 1am but when we got to the station it was delayed, by 5 hours! We slept on the train station floor and then for hours on the train.

21st Sept – day 12 – We arrived in Jodhpur (finally) and we relaxed until the evening. The young staff at Locomo Hostel took us on a walking tour of the blue city. We tried ‘fruit beer’ (non-alcoholic) and an Indian sweet desert called Gulab Jamun from the street vendors.

22nd Sept – day 13 – We walked up to

Mehrangarh Fort in the morning and around some more of the city.

After almost two weeks in India we decided to book flights to Sri Lanka that afternoon for a few days time.

23rd Sept – day 13 – Although we had lost a bit of love for India, we had a new love for samosas. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. We decicided to try a bit of cooking for ourselves at Krishna’s Incredible Cooking Classes. I cannot recommend this class enough! It’s held in a typical Indian home, and you make the most incredible curry, side dishes and desserts. Once we were totally full of food we got on the sleeper bus to Udaipur.

24th Sept – day 14 – Arrived in Udaipur and slept for a few more hours in the Zostel common area. We then took a long stroll around the ‘city of romance’, and took a boat trip across the lake.

25th Sept – day 15 – we walked around Lake Pichola and Fateh Sagar. These places are best known for their appearances in the James Bond film ‘Octopussy’. That evening we went out with some of the girls from the hostel who introduced us to some street food and we watched our last sunset in India.

26th Sept – day 16 – and that was it. We flew from Udaipur to Mumbai and Mumbai to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

India challenged us all. We had no idea how busy, hot and humid. It was a huge culture shock and like nowhere I have ever been before. Once you settle into the craziness, experience some of the real Indian food and enjoy the architecture and history of the old buildings you really can enjoy it (and I still crave veg curry at least once a week for breakfast). Some things you should take to India are long sleeved clothes, baby wipes, hand sanitiser, paper toilet seat covers, strong legs for lots of squatting (if you know, you know) and lots of snacks if you’re a fussy eater! Things we left India with were a lot more patience for people and public transport a better understanding of how people in India live and work and of course the dreaded Delhi belly!