Varanasi & Bodhgaya!

Varanasi lived up to our expectations of being filthy and overcrowded. It is a popular tourist destination for foreigners who want to see the Hindu ceremonies on the river Ganges, yet at the same time a popular place for Indian people to go when they know they are going to die as Varanasi is a holy city making path to heaven easier. Funerals are conducted continuously through day and night on the burning Ghats by the river side. There are a lot of sick people begging on the streets making every trip or exploration around the river slightly depressing. However, Jonny very kindly treated me to a nice hotel with a spa which he had promised as a birthday present meaning we had somewhere lovely to go back to every night with Ayurvedic massage and a steam room.
Every day they conduct cremations on the ghats of the river, lighting each body with a fire which has apparently been kept alight for over 2000 years! We saw some of these cremations taking place but didn't look for long.. It felt a bit distasteful to go and see such a personal experience as if it were a tourist attraction.
We saw a few temples before getting a boat out onto the river at sunset to see the nightly ceremonies worshipping different Hindu gods. We lit candles on beds of flowers which we put in the river to watch them float and many other people did the same making the water look magical. This is called puja.
The next day, we got up before sunrise to take another boat out. The sunrise was beautiful and worth the early start as, like in Agra, there were fewer tourists around. We saw people washing on the banks of the river and others singing or chanting in their daily religious rituals.  We were shocked at the rudeness of some tourists who were taking photos and videos of those washing! If somebody filmed me having a bath I would throw their camera in the water!
Next, we travelled to Bodhgaya to see the Bodhi tree under which Buddha apparently got enlightened. The town was a lot smaller and calmer which was a relief after the chaos of Agra and Varanasi. We were  also overjoyed then we found a restaurant in a Tibetan monastery which served food which hadn't been drenched in a pint of oil! The further north we go the more often we have our food served swimming in ghee (the fat from butter Indians use as a cooking oil)
The temple was very calm and relaxing with beautiful gardens. Many Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, and Japan all make pilgrimages to this site to see the famous tree and there were people from all around the world. We attempted to meditate under the tree, but I don't think I am spiritual enough to embrace Buddhism just yet as I got distracted by an ant...
The leaves from the sacred tree are supposedly blessed and lucky, and it was amusing to see all the monks rushing around to grab them whenever the wind blew.
We met some boys who work at an orphanage who showed us around some other holy sites in the area, such as a cave where Buddha meditated without food or water for 6 years.
There hasn't been a lot else to do and unfortunately we have had to stay two days longer than planned as all the trains to Delhi were full but we have still had a lovely time and it has been nice to chill in such a relaxed place. 

Jodhpur & Agra!

I immediately fell in love with Jodhpur on arrival. Our hotel room was gorgeous, with Indian themed interior design and yet still reasonably priced (900 rupees a night) overlooking a  view of the beautiful blue buildings of the city and the fort at the top of it all. It was a good city for shopping for materials, however you need to be aware of shopkeepers lies such as that they produce scarves for Hermes and Burberry. One shopkeeper had even photoshopped a photo of Liz Hurley next to him and his staff!! (He has recently been found to be a fraud by a local newspaper). 
We visited the fort which was gorgeous with exquisitely decorated rooms, where we learnt about the most recent Maharaja of Rajasthan who was crowned at just four years old! 
The next day was holi; a hindu festival of colour, so after being kept up all night by people playing drums in the streets (we had joined them for a bit but didn't want to stay out too late) we put on some clothes we didn't care about and headed to the streets to find a place serving breakfast. Before we had even eaten we had been pelted by paint and water by children, as well as chased by angry street dogs who were obviously agitated by the festivities. Everywhere was closed so we ended up going back to our hotel for some food and spent an hour or so throwing water balloons outside our window. It was just like being a kid again. We threw some more paint around with the people from the hotel but had been warned not to go too far in the afternoon as the young boys who have had a drink get very touchy feely and rude to girls, using the paint throwing as an excuse to put their hands down womens tops. In the evening the hotel put on some traditional Rajasthani dancing and singing. 
Next we travelled to Agra to see the famous Taj Mahal! Somebody we met on our travels had told us that when they saw the Taj for the first time it was so beautiful it made them cry.. It didn't quite have that effect on me but it did make me stop in my tracks speechless for a second or two. There are lots of rooftop restaurants so you can get a good look without actually having to pay to go inside the grounds. When we did spend a day inside we got up before sunrise; meaning we had an early start of around 5am! It was completely worth it though as we got there before most other tourists and saw how the marble changed colour through different parts of the day. It is definitely the most beautiful building I have ever seen. Agra however was not so nice; the streets are so hectic, you can't walk a few metres without rickshaw and cycle drivers pestering you to take a look at their friends shop but I guess this is to be expected from the city with one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world. 
We then continued on the tourist trail to Varanasi to see the Hindu ceremonies being performed on the ghats of the holy river Ganges.

Gujarat!

Night buses are usually our preferred method of transport around India, as it is cheap, relatively comfortable and means that most importantly we don't waste days of our journey on the road. The trip to Ahmedabad however was one of our worst. The bumpy roads meant we were constantly being thrown around and there were several occasions I feared I would actually be thrown off the top bunk of the bus. When we woke up properly from our restless nights sleep we woke to what seemed like a different era. Instead if the British-Indian style architecture and hustle and bustle of the busy modern streets of Mumbai there were people riding camels and horse drawn carts. We  were knackered, and relieved when we found a cheap, clean, quiet hotel. After finding some food we retired to our room to watch a film and drink the small bottle of Indian whiskey we had smuggled into Gujarat. (It is a dry state- no alcohol)
The next day we travelled to Bhuj in Kutch. It is renowned for it's handicrafts, so after seeing some amazing things being sold all over India from Gujarat we wanted to see where some of it was made and meet some of the talented workers. On our first day we saw some villages which are government funded to give people living in rural places which used to be self sufficient a place to trade their work and keep their culture alive. 
We rented a moped and went on an adventure which took us to an ashram hindu temple. We sat under a tree in the shade and drank chai tea whilst chatting with the people who lived there. They offered us food and to sleep there, but as kind as their offer was we had to refuse as we wanted to continue exploring the area, and the next day we had a camel ride in the desert booked. 
The camel ride was amazing. We rode out to the white desert; White because the ground is rich with calcium chloride. It looked like snow under our feet. We had a guide who led the camel out, but on the way back we were left on our own a be jumped in a car and left us to it on the way back. Afterwards we saw some more villages but it can feel awkward walking into somebodies home, often whilst they are busy working, eating, or looking after children, and so as we had such an early start that morning we called it a day to get some rest before our journey to Rajasthan.
Gujarat was an amazing experience. We saw beautiful things and great people.

Mumbai!

I am currently reading Shantaram and so was excited to visit the city in which the book is set. Gregory David Roberts describes the first time he ever reached Mumbai (or Bombay as it was then) and how he smelt freedom and it was wonderful, but to be honest the first thing that I smelt was poo. 
On the day of our arrival we visited an art gallery and wandered around the city, drinking beer whilst watching cricket at a local sports centre before going out for a nice meal. 
The next day we decided to take a trip to Dhiravi; the slum area in which the film Slumdog Millionaire was filmed. It is absolutely huge and so we didn't explore too deep, but were surprised at how the area functions so well. Jonny was the only one to brave the public toilets, yet reported back that they were some of the cleanest he has seen in India. Despite this, it was very shocking to see the conditions that some people grow up in; watching young children running around playing with rubbish on the street wearing nothing whatsoever apart from a t-shirt. We also saw some of the toilets used in the film, dropping straight over the river. I have used some disgusting toilets on my travels, but all safe in the knowledge I can return home to a lovely clean white loo. These people don't have this luxury. 
The next day we took a trip to Elephanta Island to see the ancient caves built into the hillside by monks, some over a thousand years ago. It was a nice day out, however a bit of a tourist trap where we were constantly having to pay more and more each step of the way. It also gets annoying when most tourist attractions charge foreign visitors so much more than Indians. We were charged 250 rupees whilst Indians pay just 10. I'm happy to pay a bit more, yet to pay the equivalent of 25 Indian people's entry seems a bit over the top.
When the ferry got back to the mainland we visited the bar Leopolds; written about in Shantaram for some beers and chicken before our night bus to Ahmedabad. 
When we arrived for the bus it turned out it was delayed by over an hour leaving us stood next to an overflowing bin. The smell was unbelievable. I was angry yet felt bad to complain as we were stood where the travel office was situated. The people organising our travel had to put up with the smell every day.
When the bus finally arrived we were very happy to leave Mumbai.