Kolkata

Our last stop in India and a chance to catch up with Sam's friends Nathan and Kirri, who are living and working here.

The Victorian Memorial.

Taking a dip in the local snake lake. Didn't realise it had snakes in it till after.

Nathans neighborhood.

Jarrod playing with fireworks.

Khajuraho and Varanasi

After Agra we headed east to Khajuraho and their dirty karma sutra temples. Very cool and clean town with our nicest hotel yet. Even had waffles one night.

Hired some old school bikes and toured round some of the eastern temples. Sams kept breaking!

One of the spectacular Western Temples. Very intricate and detailed.

Some of the dirty sculptures that cover the temples.

Then on to Varanasi and the most sacred river to the Hindu people, the Ganges River. A very interesting time here as we walked along the ghats that line the river. We witnessed dead bodies being cremated, a man with his hand up a goat pulling out a stillborn, a buffalo giving birth and hundreds of people bathing in one of the most contaminated rivers on earth.

Chaos at one of the ghats.

Buffalo taking a mid afternoon dip!

One of the cremation sites.





Time for some chai tea! Disposable terracotta cups.

Crazy ceremony happening on one of the ghats. Its a nightly thing.

The Taj

We've all seen it in pictures, but the Taj Mahal lives up to its reputation. It is an amazing building, brilliant white against a clear blue backdrop.

The view from one of the many rooftop cafes. The area immediately around the Taj is pretty rubbish which was surprising.

The entrance.

Himalayan Ranges

After an arduous 6 hours winding up hill... we arrive at Syanachatti in the Himalayan mountains. From there we did a mini trek with the Hindu pilgrims up to the source of the Yanuman river, the second most sacred river in India. The well trodden path, covered in Donkey crap took us up through the ranges. Really cool views but a not-so-spectacular Yamanotri temple.

One means of transport to and from the temple.

The view up the valley to the snowy peaks.

The view from the top of the valley... from our lunch spot.

The Yamanotri temple.... not what we expected.

Us up above the clouds.

Skimming stones down by the river in Syanachatti.

Amritsar

From Delhi we caught a hellish bus up to the Punjab region to a city called Amritsar. Its the home of the famed Golden Temple and it was spectacular..... its the Sikhs most sacred place and coupled with their welcoming nature it was an awesome experience being there.

They bath in the waters that surronds the Golden Temple.

Us with one of the Sikh's. They're pretty cool.

We went back at night and it looked even cooler....

After visiting the temple we headed out to the India-Pakistan border in Attari. Everyday they have a ceremony there for the closing of the border. Its closest comparison would be the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace but with a much madder, bollywood, flamboyant style. It was absolute chaos and incredibly hot. Both side of the border cheer when their soldiers strut down the catwalk!! A very random but cool experience.

Thousands in the purpose built stadium. The Indian girls had all just been up shaking their booty's... very amusing.

The Indian and Pakistan flags being lowered simultaneously as the sunn sets. We felt sorry for the poor Pakistani's who didnt have much of a supporting crowd (see empty stadium behind)!

Delhi

Old Delhi. Much cooler than we thought it would be. Quite a crazy city, we saw an elephant wandering the streets late one night, cows everywhere and millions of people.

The Red Fort.

Sam trying his hand at the cycle rickshaws. Not an easy job. The driver is the passanger at this stage. And they still tried to rip us off!

The Mahatma Gandhi memorial where he was cremated.

Trains

We have been on many train trips through India. Some not so good, some absolute shockers, some quite nice and one really nice first class with our own room. We did 34 hours on this train so first class was our only option!

Waiting for our train to get moving after one of the many hold ups.

Celebrating in first class!

First class beds. Still had a couple mice to accompany us.

Kerela

We arrived from Goa into the Province of Kerela, very beautiful and very green. After a 3 hour jam packed bus winding up the hills we arrived at Wayanad National Park to do a bit of elephant spotting.

The whole area is lush and full of rice and tea fields.

Our wild elephant that we spotted..... our only one haha.

From here we headed to Alleppy to catch a boat ride through the backwaters. Stayed on a really cool thatched boat which was very luxurious for us after roughing it for quite some time.

The captain steering us through the backwaters.

Delicious curry even on the boat! Own private chef.

"Im on a Boat"

India

We arrived in Mumbai, India, to a good bit of rain and the end of the monsoon season.

Spent a couple of days wandering around Mumbai checking out the sites including Elephanta Island and its Hindu caves.

Then it was on a sleeper bus and headed down south the beaches of Goa. Started in Arambol which was a dive and then on to Palolem which was amazing. So we spent a few days relaxing on the beach and getting a tan. Hired scooters and motorbikes one day and went riding through the lush scenery discovering a few different beaches and running out of petrol in random places.

Women working on the beach of Palolem, Goa.

Cows chillen on the beach. They love it.

Our scooters and Royal Enfields. Running from the rain clouds.

Still running.

Our first train in India, quite an experience with mice, roaches, horrible smells and hoards of people. Its quite fun hanging out the door way and watching everything speed past though. This was on our way to Kerela.