A day in Delhi before flying home

After our few hours in a dodgy hostel we checked out by midday and headed into Delhi to do some last minute shopping. We were right by my favourite market by New Delhi railway station and spent a few hours wandering around looking for souvenirs and getting some lunch in a restaurant. There are so many shops and stalls that just walking around took ages, but I finally managed to get the spice boxes and spices which I'd planned as well as spending my last few rupees. We ended up back at the hostel repacking our bags before getting picked up to go to the airport at 6pm.

We arrived at the airport and checked in, going through security and then had our final cultural meal in asia... a subway. The flight was uneventful though we all had to sit separately which wasn't ideal! Fortunately emirates extensive entertainment system made that more bearable. We landed in Gatwick around 7.20am and exactly 2 months after we'd left London, bringing our adventures in Asia to an end.

Laura x

Food and village tour

Today was the food tour which we'd signed up for which I was super excited for. I've managed to eat almost completely vegan throughout the trip but this food tour was a real highlight of my time in India before and so I went vegetarian for the day. As all of the local specialities involve ghee (refined butter) it would have been impossible without. We set off around 10.30 and did a tour of Amritsar, seeing parts of the old city and architecture whilst making stops at key food points in the city. It was very interesting to see shops and restaurants open for over 100 years and try their dishes, with restaurants often only serving one thing.

The tour took until about 2, when we got a tuk tuk back to the hostel. We were also booked onto the village tour at 3.30 but had a night bus to catch around 9.30 back to Delhi, and so we set off with all of our stuff in tow. The village tour was another highlight for me as you get to really experience what life is like for locals in India. We were driven by a tuk tuk to the house of one of the hostel owner's families, where we helped to make pakora on a mud stove and played with the baby farm animals. After a while we were taken by bull cart out to a field nearby where we played a team game which was so funny before heading back to the house. We then dresses up in traditional Punjabi suits and the guys wore turbans and took pictures. They were boiling! And then the family made us a huge dinner which was so sweet of them but we were still stuffed!

After learning some Hollywood dancing we headed back to the city in the tuk tuk, and were dropped off ready to get our night bus. This was yet another weird experience as we found that the beds were like double compartments and so I had to share with a random Indian woman. Thankfully I still managed to get a lot of sleep on the bumpy ride back to Delhi! We then got a tuk tuk and checked ourselves into a hostel at 6am to get a few hours of sleep!

Laura x

Temple and border tour

We had discussed going to the temple for sunrise which I'd done previously, but given our messed up sleeping patterns already we opted to head down about 9 instead. It wasn't too busy which was nice and we queued to go inside the beautiful golden bit which I hadn't before. Afterwards we went for food and managed to get in so quickly. The simple meal of vegetable curry, dahl and chapati is so nice and it's just amazing to see the volunteers cooking and distributing it to so many people 24 hours a day. After walking around we left and had a little look in the shops where I manged to pick up some spices at last to take back as souvenirs.

After relaxing for a bit at the hostel we went to the Wagah border on one of the hostel's trips. I went last year but decided to go anyway, especially as it was Pakistan's independence day so was going to be more exciting than usual. It wasn't as hectic as last year which was good, and we got good seats to watch the strange performance. On both sides of the border there are people dressed up who perform almost like a dance routine getting each side's support through cheering. Very weird but very entertaining, especially on the Pakistani side which had an extra performance at the end for independence day. The border is about 30km from Amritsar and even just the tuk tuk ride through the city makes it worth the £2 for the trip.

We got back around 9 and after showering and starting to pack in preparation for going home, I bought some fruit from a stand near the hostel and had it for dinner. By then it was pretty much time for bed!

Laura x

Arrival in Amritsar

Fortunately our night train experience ended at about 4.45 when we arrived into Delhi. We got our bags and headed off the train, where we needed to get a tuk tuk to another train station to go to Amritsar. The tuk tuk drivers were quoting ridiculous prices but even when sleep deprived we bargained to save that extra 20p, and made it to the other station with about an hour until our train. Someone tried to scam us- usually I'm quite good at spotting it but there was a guy waiting by where you scan bags to go into the platforms next to a sign saying that you need a valid ticket to proceed checking tickets. He said we needed to go and check our tickets at a desk as our train had been cancelled the last couple of days but as I queried why we had to do that 2 English girls appeared and said to us to ignore him and anyone else who tried to speak to us and just walk to our platform. Now I can see that it was a scam but thank god for those girls for noticing!!

We then got the train to Amritsar. We were in the nice A/C class where we had food brought to us and finally got some sleep which was nice. We got into Amritsar around 2 and got a tuk tuk from the train station to the hostel with an English guy we met on the train who was staying there too. The hostel's electricity and water was done which was annoying as it meant we couldn't shower after such a long journey, so we ended up just heading out anyway. We went to McDonald's near to the golden temple. This was definitely not our most cultured meal but it's the only vegetarian mcdonalds in the world and after so much travelling it definitely hit the spot. Afterwards we went to the temple, we had planned to go and get some food there but after our meal we weren't hungry so just walked around.

The temple itself is by far my favourite as it's just so beautiful. It's the holiest Sikh temple in the world and always packed. It has water in the middle where people bathe, and the small golden temple in the middle is just really impressive. You have to cover your hair as it's Sikh and the temple serves around 75,000 free vegetarian meals a day to anyone who needs one, as well as accommodation. It's super cool. We stayed until it got dark as they light the whole thing up and it's just so nice to see. Afterwards we walked back and I got some fruit to have, before a VERY needed early night.

Laura x

Yoga, art class and night train

We started the day with an hour of yoga. This was something I'd hoped to do during the trip and we found a place very close to the hostel where you just paid a donation and did the hour long class at 8am, which was perfect. It was harder than I was expecting but definitely woke me up!

I'd finally built up a bit of an appetite after the cooking class and had some toast, and then after checking out we headed out to a local festival. It was not quite what we expected- maybe we were too early, but it was essentially a huge street lined with market stalls and a few fun fair rides. It was definitely aimed at locals and a lot of the stuff for sale was weird, but I picked up a lunchbox for 20p and a knife for 20p so that I could cut and take fruit, and also got some very reasonably priced souvenirs, so it wasn't entirely a disappointment!

After a while we headed back and went for lunch at a cafe which had been recommended. I had a nice vegan salad and toast which was pretty expensive by Indian standards but still under £2! We then went to our art class. For 200 each we essentially copied a painting of an elephant done by an artist, and he offered any help which we wanted. It was a bit of a strange idea but ended up being so fun! I'm still kind of sad we didn't get to do jewellery making but this was still a super fun alternative. It took ages too as there are so many details, and by the time we'd finished we just had time to collect our bags before heading to the train station.

We boarded our train and home for the next 12 hours and then got off to buy some snacks at the station. We had some drama as meg thought she'd lost her purse but luckily found it and soon we were on our way armed with some samosas and paratha.

The train was one of the strangest experiences of my life. I'd been very skeptical of going sleeper class over night but was assured we were in a "tourist only carriage". Lies. To imagine how the carriage looks, it's essentially separated into segments like on a western train where they're arranged facing together with a table. But able the two normal seats there are then two more rows or almost benches, which are beds. Katie and I opted for bottom row beds and Meg middle- mistake. Once we'd put the beds down at around 9pm, it quickly became apparent but other people on the train hadn't reserved seats, and came and sat or lay with us on our very thin beds!! At one point katie had to literally move an old woman off her bed, and during the night we both woke at multiple points to find random people either sitting or lying next to us. SO WEIRD! Unsurprisingly this wasn't our best night's sleep.

Laura x

Cooking class and animal aid

We started our day in Udaipur with breakfast at the hostel. It was very cheap and we had really delicious paratha. We had already arranged a cooking class for that day (not making the same mistakes as we did in Pushkar!) and headed there for an 11am start. We did the class with one other girl and it was sooo much fun! A woman and her son taught us, and we made loads, all of which they made vegan for me! We started with tea, made a simple dahl, a vegetable dish, a rice dish and then chapatis, stuffed paratha and sweet paratha. It was all so delicious and so much fun to make, especially after our last attempt at a cooking class! We ended the class by eating everything that we'd made. They kept refilling the plate and I honestly thought I was going to explode! But it was so worth it as it was sooo delicious and definitely £8 well spent.

After the class we got a tuk tuk to a place called Animal Aid. It's a really amazing sanctuary rescuing injured street animals including cows, dogs, pigs and birds. We got a tour and it was so sweet to see all the animals, but also sad as many have injuries from accidents like being hit by cars. They were so sweet, especially the street dogs and calves, and we spent the afternoon looking round.

Afterwards we went back to the hostel and then tried to find somewhere which would do a jewellery class for us. Again, we were unsuccessful, but did find a jewellers who pierced mine and Meg's ears for £3. Sorry family, not sure you'd approve, but it least it wasn't a tattoo this time! We tried to go to a local dance performance which sounded amazing but the tickets had sold out. I was and still am gutted! Guess I'll have to go back... As we couldn't find a jewellery class we managed to arrange an art class instead for the following day, and then went to a cafe where the others got some food. I was still too stuffed! Afterwards we headed back to go to bed.

Laura x

Udaipur bound

This morning we opted not to attempt the hostel breakfast again, and so after checking out we headed into town. It had got considerably hotter today so it was a relief when we found the cafe we had been looking for, which I was drawn to due to it serving vegan chai. We had a pretty big breakfast here overlooking the city centre, and then wandered around the market for a bit. I picked up some cheap 10p earrings and then we found a supermarket where we stocked up on snacks. We then found the Stepwell which was partly the purpose of our trip, however it looked considerably less impressive than usual due to the heavy rain the previous night which was a shame!

We wandered back into town and went into a shop to buy bedsheets (wall hangings). After looking through loads we managed to get nice ones very cheaply, and then went off in search of lunch. Meg and I shared a delicious veg curry and naan which was the perfect fuel for another long journey. We walked back to the hostel and had a bit of time before a very sweaty walk with our big rucksacks to catch the bus to Udaipur. We had opted for a local bus which had no A/C or fans. It was far from being the most comfortable journey but thank god that we got some breeze as it moved!

The bus departed just before 3 and we were told it should take about 6 hours, but we didn't end up arriving until after 10. We ordered an uber to the hostel and arrived and checked in by about 11. Somehow sitting for a long time is tiring, and soon we were all asleep.

Laura x

Jodhpur fort and the blue city

We started the day with breakfast at the hostel. Well, I tried to. For some reason you could only get breakfast sets including drinks, cereal, fruit and toast and I only wanted toast. The language barrier got too confusing so I ended up not having anything. Sad times. Afterwards we headed out to the fort. It is the city's main attraction but they rather lose their appeal when you've seen a few. We were going to get a guide but opted for an audio guide instead as it was included in our ticket. This turned out to be extremely detailed and we spent the next couple of hours following the 33 stops on the guide, learning about the fort's past. It was interesting though a little heavy, and we didn't end up finished until around 1. There's a pretty temple nearby which we intended to go to afterwards, but we've now been to A LOT of temples, couldn't get a cheap tuk tuk and wanted lunch, so decided against it in the end.

We headed down to the clock tower area of the city where we'd had dinner, and found a restaurant which we'd spotted on our way back last night. It was really cheap and so we got some indian food here. We planned to have a wander around the market before walking back to the hostel, but just as we were leaving the restaurant it began to absolutely pour with rain. We had no choice but to get a tuk tuk as it was truly pouring it down, though annoyingly it stopped just after we left!

We had a couple of relaxed hours at the hostel before embarking on a blue city tour at 5pm. Whilst Jodhpur is known as India's blue city, the blue walled buildings are no longer that common and are actually really hard to find. We were given a waking tour (though without much touguiding) of the remaining blue section, and learnt that all the original buildings are blue but that people now paint over them. The blue is associated with the old religious past of the city and now that this isn't seen as relevant people want to cover it. This is such a shame as the blue is so beautiful! And it was really nice to see the old houses and a quieter part of the otherwise hectic city.

After a couple of hours we drove to see the criminal justice courts which were founded by a man who smoked a lot and so strangely they do a daily ceremony of placing a lot cigarette into the statue's mouth which we watched. Bizarre. Before heading back to the hostel. We walked back out to near the clock tower to get some cheap food for dinner, and then as usual got an early night.

Laura x