Jodhpur and Jaipur

On our way to Jodhpur we stopped at Ranakpur - a stunning complex of Jain temples built in the 15th century. The largest temple, Chaumukha Mandir is built from almost translucent white marble and is intricately carved throughout and it is easy to see why the place is an important pilgrimage site for Hindus.
The city of Jodhpur is famous for the impressive Mehrangarh fort and for its blue hued buildings... Traditionally, only the homes of Brahmin (priests: the highest caste) were blue but owing to the alleged cooling and mosquito repelling properties of the colour, the trend caught on and now any Tom, Dick, Harry and Vikram can join in. Mehrangarh dominates the skyline, rising seamlessly from the mound that it's built on. A sweaty ten minute walk up a hill in the blistering heat gets you to the main gate where you can get your entrance ticket along with complimentary and quite impressive audio tour which includes interviews with the current Maharaja of Jodhpur who opened the gates of the fort to the public (thereby giving lucky locals plenty of photo opportunities with us strange white folk- see photo of them taking a photo with me below). Directly inside the forts old main gate are two sets of red handprints which give a creepy impression when first viewed and become even more chilling when you learn the history of them: They are the handprints of the widows of Maharajas as they leave the palace for the final time with the body of their husband and throw themselves on their funeral pyres... This practice of self-immolation was known as sati and was stopped after the last of the unlucky widows died this way in 1843. Inside the fort you get an idea of the grandeur that they spent their lives in before their fiery end - everything from natural air conditioning created from moistened and perfumed blinds, grand manicured gardens, marble latticed walkways and beautifully crafted palanquins for when walking was too much of a chore.
From the Blue City we moved on to the Pink City which is the current capital of Rajasthan. In Jaipur we visited the palace of Amber (meaning sky) which, although interesting and beautiful, just about tipped us over the edge of architectural saturation. Instead of heading to the City Palace after, we decided to brave the bazaars and cut our Indian haggling teeth... By the afternoon we were pros and I'm pretty sure that I can now get ANYTHING for a tenth of the stated price given enough time and patience... Who am I kidding, we probably still got massively ripped off (it's hard to tell when things seem so cheap!) - but we ended up with lots of pretty things so no complaints.

Pushkar and Udaipur

Pushkar is a holy city in Rajasthan which Hindus should visit at least once in their lives. The lake which it is built around is said to have appeared when Brahma (the creator) dropped a lotus flower and it is the only place in India with a Brahma Temple, apparently due to a curse that was placed on him by his first wife when he married his second... A woman's wrath and all that.
We had been warned not to accept flowers for prayers off anyone as they could end up charging you 100 dollars or more so when a very insistent man at the entrance of the temple asked us to take a flower to show respect we acted as though he were pointing a gun in our direction rather than a delicate rose... Eventually we gave in and he showed us around the temple and showed us what to do... Which is just as well because it was insane in there. I've never seen such aggressive worshippers! Unfortunately the experience was marred by my absolute distrust in this poor guy who as it turned out was actually just being helpful and trying to win himself some karma points, and although he naturally wanted a tip, the pound or so that I gave him seemed more than enough, and in fact he even offered to give it back to me. Anyway, the nice stranger whose name I didn't even think to ask, took us to the lake after the temple and taught me to pray in Hindi (apparently acceptable for all religions -including atheists) - So now after wishing lots of happiness and good things for all people I hope you are all feeling the benefit! More than anything the experience did teach me that whilst of course you should be wary of people and not blindly trust every idiot who comes our way, sometimes being overly paranoid can turn a potentially beautiful experience into something of a trauma. I'm usually too trusting, so behaving negatively towards someone who is supposedly trying to help feels very unnatural and uncomfortable to me... At the end of the day I think it's best to lighten up and if the worst thing that happens is that you get swindled out of a few pounds then so be it. Needless to say I'll stop short of following strangers down dark alleys or other such activities that may put me in physical danger!
In the evening we went for a camel ride and slept in our guides house in a village in the desert. On paper it all sounded very relaxing and romantic but the reality was that we were the entertainment for his 3 kids for the evening... The eldest girl kindly painted the worst henna ever on our hands and feet, the middle boy happily ran around with our cameras snapping everything and anything (though mainly photos of himself) and the youngest girl took to jumping on our backs and demanding piggy back rides... They were cute though so I guess it was ok... What was definitely NOT ok were the neighbours playing the worst music I've ever heard on full blast ALL night long. When I say the worst music, I don't mean bad as in 'I don't like hip hop or heavy metal' bad. I mean bad as in 3 men wailing into a microphone completely out of tune and out of sync bad. I'm talking music that one's own mother couldn't bear to listen to if they had written it specially for her. So after a practically sleepless night under the clouds and stars (the locals sleep outdoors and we did the same), we hopped back on our camels and bounced back to Pushkar for our sleepy drive on to Udaipur.
When we arrived at Udaipur we found the laws of karma had come into play as we were dropped off at the nicest hotel with the softest most comfortable beds possibly in the World... Or perhaps they were shit and we were just thankful for a mattress? Who knows... The photo still looks nice enough!
The city overlooks a beautiful lake with a palace in the middle of it and with plenty of roof top restaurants to enjoy the views, it is easy to see why they say it is the most romantic city in India. Unfortunately Cata and I were not really after romance so rather than stare lovingly into each others eyes we decided to go to a show at the museum of typical Rajasthani music and dance which was amazing - from the women dancing with flaming jars on their heads to Rajasthan's answer to Tina Turner who was able to give out a heck of a lot of sass while balancing 10 pots on her head and walking on glass...
During the day we did some sight seeing and visited the grand City Palace, the beautiful Jagdish Temple and a beautiful garden just outside of Udaipur... Of course I'm making this all sound rather comfortable and easy but what you must realise and remember is that between each relaxing drink, meal or sight one has to battle through the onslaught of chaos that is India's roads... Ninja rickshaw drivers whose heads pop out of nowhere looking for a fare, moped users with a passionate love for their horns, holy cows frothing at the mouth and whipping you with their tails, the endless chorus of 'where you from's coming out of shop doors, the sweet aroma of incense lulling you into a fall sense of security before falling away to reveal the sharp odour of shit... I could go on and on...
On the whole however, despite its intensity, or perhaps because of its intensity, there is something really endearing and likeable about this country, its culture and its people and for now I am learning to love it!

Delhi

I've heard so many horror stories about India that I got off the plane in Delhi with a lot of apprehension mixed with a large dose of jet lag: It is somewhat of a surprise that I didn't just stay on the plane and head straight back to London... We're only a few days in , but so far I'm loving it... Check back in a week or so!
While in Delhi we decided to make our lives considerably easier (and somewhat more expensive) by hiring a driver for 2 weeks to take us around Rajasthan. The agency arranged our car, our hotels and our train to Arangabad and Goa as well as a camel safari and tiger safari... We probably overpaid but to be fair it's still ridiculously cheap compared with anything we would get in Europe, it has so far been hassle free and I'm currently sitting in the plushest hotel I've ever paid for so I'm not complaining.
I found that Delhi as a city was nothing to write home about but then again we were only there for 2 nights and suffering from exhaustion. First impressions pretty much matched up to expectations - an overload of the senses - colours, sounds, smells and crowds, some of it good, some of it not so good! Though the culture shock that I was expecting was thankfully not quite as violent as I had imagined! Yes, we get stared at and random strangers take photos of and with us but so far none of it has seemed malicious - just a general curiosity about the white folk. Of course you are seen as a walking piggy bank as well which is a little annoying but we're getting used to that now after 2 months of being tourists!
On our second day we visited The Red Fort, Ghandi's Memorial and Humayun's Tomb - we luckily happened to arrive on 'World Heritage Day' which meant all entrance fees were waived though they would have been well worth paying anyway.
I've been trying to read up on India's history to give some context to its sights and monuments but it is bloody confusing so I'm not even going to go there... This is as far as I got... The Red Fort was built as a royal residence in the 17th century when the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan decided to move his capital from Agra to Delhi. You can sadly tell that the past 4 centuries have not been kind to the fort which must have been unbelievably stunning in its prime. The site is still impressive, but hints at its former glory such as dried up moats, crumbling fountains, weedy flower beds and empty pavilions leave you wondering what the place must have looked like in its prime. Humayun's tomb however, which actually precedes the Red Fort, seems to have managed to retain its beauty thanks to extensive restoration. The tomb was commissioned by the wife and cousin of the Mughal Emperor Humayun (clue is in the name) and was designed by a Persian architect which explains its Arabic feel. The structure is stunning and acted as inspiration for the Taj Mahal which would later be built in the Mughal capital of Agra by the same man who commissioned the Red Fort.
Ghandi Smriti is a memorial built on the spot where Mahatma Ghandi was shot in 1948... Unfortunately heat and tiredness seemed to have got the better of me and I didn't appreciate my visit properly because according to my guidebook, as well as the central pavilion which I did see, there are concrete footprints marking his last steps and a museum in the house where he had been staying with his few possessions on display, which I did not see.

Lima

Before we got to Lima we were told by several people that it was a horrible city so we only left enough time to be there a couple of days before our flight... What we found when we got there was pleasantly surprising... Lima seems to be a bit of a surfing hub which attracts young and fun loving tourists from all over. The cafes are funky, the bars are trendy and the restaurants are varied and serve some damn tasty food so even though it may nit be a beautiful city, in the end we regretted not having stayed a little longer to have squeezed in a surf lesson and some sand boarding. We did however take advantage of the good food, trying out the most amazing ceviche on the planet at La Canta Rana and stuffing ourselves on 'Anticuchos' which are skewered cow hearts... Sounds gory but its actually the tastiest thing ever and you should definitely all go out and try it before you die... I feel a little bit blasphemous writing this as I am actually currently on India where cows is sacred... But what can i say, the truth is the truth.
One of our days in Lima was spent visiting a school in a shanty town 2 hours outside of the city. The school is run by my Year 1 primary school teacher, Sister Patricia who we hadn't seen in over 20 years. We found Sister Patricia practically unchanged despite the amazing achievements she has managed since she left Gibraltar. The school educates some of the poorest children in Peru in the middle of nowhere surrounded by dusty mountains where people live in homemade shacks with no electricity or running water and where malnutrition and tuberculosis are common. The school itself is a brick and concrete oasis which now educates 1000 local children and feeds 500 of those. A couple of years ago the school attracted attention by achieving the top mark for maths in over 1000 schools in and around Lima. Considering the attitudes towards the poor in Peru this is a huge step forward in changing perceptions of what these kids can achieve - it is assumed that because of their background it is impossible for them to do well but, of course, with the right education there is no reason they shouldn't excel and Sister Patricia personally selects all of the amazing staff which are the drivers behind the school's success.

If I thought the 2 months in South America had flown by it was all thrown in to context by meeting someone whose last memory of me was when I was 6 years old... 6 months travelling is definitely not enough! Friends and family, I will see you in about a decade or two...

Key info, Lima
Hostel: Loki Lima, Miraflores - Super cramped rooms but clean and sociable place in a nice area.
Food: La Canta Rana, Barranco - Best ceviche in Lima according to even the locals. The huge queue is worth it!
School: Fe y Alegria #58, Mary Ward, Jicamarca