Jaipur, 7 - 10th September

Rajastan's capital, know as the 'pink city.' Why the 'pink city?' Nothing to do with all the Indian men that mince around town holding hands. The city was painted pink, the colour of hospitality, in preparation for a visit by the Prince of Wales in 1876. I wonder if the Broom Park Residents Committee are planning something similar for our homecoming. More likely we will find a leaflet on 'keeping quiet' posted through our letterbox.

Above: Jaipur's most impressive attraction is Ahmer fort. You can reach the fort by elephant or jeep. We opted to leave the poor elephants at the bottom of hill.

Above: Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II was a great astronomer. This incredible observatory contained a giant sun dial and numerous constructions to assist in the creation of astrological charts.

Pushkar, 10th - 12th September

At the centre of Pushkar is a sacred lake with over 52 'bathing' ghats, where Hindus make pilgrimage to cleanse themselves with holy water. There was a magical atmosphere around the lake, particularly at sunset with priests calling prayers over loud speaker.

Above: Views from Pushkar

We had read about the scamsters of Pushkar (each city has a different scam) and felt well prepared. We booked a tour guide to show us around the sites. First stop, a Braham temple. We removed our shoes and I felt very relieved that all my jabs were up to date as my feet stuck to the road and we skirted around the dog poo.

We were then taken for a closer look at a bathing ghat and introduced to a 'priest.' We started chanting as instructed, were blessed with the holy water whilst holding a coconut and had a vermilion bindi and rice stuck to our forehead. After a few minutes, the 'priest's' chant changed course. "How much money will you give? Donate for good karma. How much money will you give me? 3,000 rupees?' Adam chanted, 'absolutely nothing' and wiped off his bindi. We had fallen directly into the scam, dooh, but no harm done. Sadly, our tour guide was unimpressed with our lack of donation (no cut for him) and stormed off, tour over!