Varanasi, hanging out with Japanese backpackers

4/4 - 4/14

Jalgaon to Varanasi, the place where all those pictures of the Ganges come from. We found our seats and sat down despite the hostile young madam next to us who tried to convince us we had the wrong carriage! Not the best start to a 22 hour train journey. Luckily I had spotted a Japanese name on the passenger list before boarding, so partly just to be sociable but also to avoid the icy atmosphere in our cabin we spent a lot of the trip chatting with Makoto and Miisha further down the carriage. They turned out to be fun and interesting people, so we stuck together as we made our way to 'Baba's' hostel in Varanasi.

Daulatabad citadel and Ajanta caves.

4/1 - 4/3

Daulatabad seems to be overlooked by guide books in favour of the caves nearby, so we almost didn't visit but I'm so glad we did.

A straight razor haircut and the Ellora caves.

3/28 - 3/31

Took a train to Sholapur, met a friendly Sikh who was surprised to see foreigners in such a place and enthusiastically invited us to Nanden temple. We took a bus to Aurangabad anyway, arriving around midnight to have various awful or awfully expensive hotel rooms aggressively pushed at us. We eventually haggled a fancy room down to less than half the asking price.

Golgumbaz's whispering gallery

3/25 - 3/27

On the train leaving Hospet we opted to sit on the luggage racks, which was much roomier and more comfortable than the crowded seats.

We only got as far as Gadag Junction, which was clearly a place where tourists don't usually end up. Gadag hotel was the only place to stay, but the staff there were so much nicer than we were used to. Towels, soap, toilet paper, a morning newspaper quietly slipped under the door, all luxuries we weren't used to receiving.

Hampi and towels.

Early bus to Bangalore, good food. Get two berths on a sleeper train to Hospet, where we met a Finnish dentist who stays 4 months a year and an Italian farmer who lives in Auroville. The Italian entertained us all with stories of his trip to Japan - his first bath in Kyoto's YMCA, travelling and busking as a musician.

From Hospet we took a bus to Hampi, where we walked to the ghat and waited for the ferry across the river. While we were waiting Lakshmi, the temple elephant, awkwardly walked by for her bath. Amazingly docile and obedient, despite the painful-looking scrubbing.

Mysore (bum), surprise reunion and the wonderfully named Sravanabelagola

3/13-3/19

Just say that out loud a few times "Sravanabelagola". Lovely in't it?

Anyway, Mysore, lots of people trying to sell you or scam you into buying incense, but in a really nice way, so it didn't bother us.

Hill stations in South India

3/2-3/12

We visited two of the major hill stations in Southern India, Kodaikanal and Ooty (Ootacamund). One of them was great, the other not so much.

Just getting away from Tiruchirapalli we had a great experience. Wandering around the bus station, unable to find the right bus, ticket counter, or anything of use, we got waved into the station manager's office and treated to tea and a long chat about marriage and romance.

Puducherry and Tiruchirapalli

2/27 - 3/1

Puducherry, or Pondicherry, is one of the few places aside from the big cities that actually sounds familiar to me, so I expected it to be either nice or too touristy. It wasn't either really, but seemed a bit expensive and without a lot to recommend it beyond some tasty bread, a strangely clean French quarter and a Ghandi statue that seemed popular with the kids.

Mamallapuram and around

From Tirupati we took a bus to Kanchipuram, and from there to Mamallapuram. The bus took over 3 hours to travel 60km and as it got dark the bus got more and more packed. About a dozen young guys were hanging from the front and back doors, dropping off and running at every stop and start to give their arms a rest. Amazing that no-one got injured or left behind as they jostled for space. The bus diverted due to some religious float thing blocking its usual route, and the potholed mud tracks it took didn't seem to be going the way the driver wanted.