I don't know who hung it there, but they captured the heat of the city remarakbly well with this vegetable installation!
The main railway station in Bombay: "like St Pancras on acid"
My favourite ring tone advert EVER!
Hiranandani Gardens, Gareth's neck of the woods
Mmmmmmm! Bhel puri
Christian "Indians it up" for a party
Me looking dapper in my kurta pajama
Gareth's worn this garb before
Ah! Michaela is pretty in pink...
...and so is Jaipur, the Pink City
Michaela agog at the beauty of Jaipur's Old Town
The world's biggest (and most accurate) sundial in the Jantar Mantar, the royal observatory in Jaipur
Our first elephant. And our first scarlet turbans!
Some local music to delight the ears and the eyes
Our second elephant, this one on the wall of our hotel reception
We visit a "traditional Rajasthani village experience"
A gateway to the Old City of Jaipur (they paint them fresh every year!)
Graffiti? No, a party political broadcast!
The biggest monkey god statue I've ever set eyes on!
Camels, ideally suited to semi-desert Rajasthan
The temple fountain has been dyed for Holi
The women just aren't allowed to wear the same drab colours as their menfolk
The step well at Abhaneri, a fantastic summer residence for Muslim princes, with built-in air conditioning
Some Hindu art from the temple the Muslims destroyed next door when they moved in
The view from the remains of the temple
Being holy is clearly thirsty work
Rajasthan is famous for its brick kilns
Haystack crossing!
Sunset at our hotel outside Bharatpur
The Keo Ladeo Nature Reserve is best seen on bikes
Birding in the park
Some unexpected fellow travellers
Taking a morning constitutional
Our knowledgeable and dedicated guide (stained for Holi)
And his brother, who looks after the car parking arrangements
Are these extras from Michael Jackson's Thriller video or what?
Stray dogs at dawn
Quickly! Before the crowds get there!
Ah!!! Now that's what I call a view
Delicious
Sun a-rise, early in the morning
Tourist bliss
Ooh, ooh, it's getting lighter
Okay, so our guide was a small guy, but he wasn't THAT small really
The Taj Mahal, simply breathtaking from every angle
The sun also rises
The only decoration is the word of Allah from the Qur'an
A golden glow from the rising sun
Looking back at where we looked out from
Our guide knew all the best spots for a photo...
Christian with a genuine photographer's grin on
Michaela stares in wonder at the Taj Mahal
Your standard tourist snapshot
It's just amazing! Really!
Multifunctional lake: cattle drink, playground, public convenience
The mosque complex at Fatehpur Sikri
Underneath the arches, Fatehpur Sikri
From inside the mausoleum of the holy man
Michaela gives us her Mother Theresa - or is it more Lady Di?
The floor was really hot (mosque = bare feet, folks)
Youngsters that somehow remind me of George Cole as the spiv in the St Trinians films
Selling or blessing?
Okay, the ants were big, but it's still impressive that they were dragging the grain up a wall
Squiggle steps
A little like the Belém tower in Lisbon, sort of
Marvellous palace courtyards
Abandoned for hundreds of years
Cow pats being dried for use as cooking fuel
See? British Gas provide more than adequate transport for their in-country staff!!
Back in Jaipur, one of the thousands of "Horn Please" trucks
Our driver Mr Singh takes a shine to Michaela
Mr Singh's family & friends look on
The neighbours pop in to see who's visiting too
Michaela, in the sari she has been given by the womenfolk, dances with Mr Singh's elder brother
The dance has an audience...
After all that exercise, a sit-down dinner is called for
The elephants that carry you up to Amber Fort
We drove up, because the queue was shocking
Looking back down to Jaipur
The waiting area in front of the main entrance to the palace
The main entrance to the palace at Amber Fort
The frescoes are done with ruby, emerald & gold dust and the colours are vibrant
Advertising that's in keeping with the location
Snake charmers!
The poor girl really didn't look like she was enjoying it
Reminded us of Thailand
A view back into Jaipur's Old City
Now THAT's what I call poppadums!
The sunken palace outside Jaipur
Monkey Temple!
Keeping my nuts in his cheek pouches
Mr Singh's friend, our guide around the temple
White monkeys can jump
Nice hat, Christian
Nice knee warmer, Michaela
They prise your fingers open
Scenic snacking
Oops! One nut too many...
Feeding the little loves
Mother & child
The Haji Ali Mosque in Mumbai
The mosque is only accessible across this causeway
Rose falooda, truly a drink for the gods
Bombay city scene
Sometimes a handbag just isn't big enough
The Doby Ghat, where half Bombay's shirts are laundered
A nice art deco building beside the Mani Bhavan Gandhi museum
Chao Pati beach, with a view down towards the old city
The Taj Mahal Hotel & the Gateway of India
A holy procession in a village on the way to Alibag
Sunset over our beach at Murud
Stunning beach at the Golden Swan resort
Pony & trap rides up & down the beach
Liquid gold
The flying foxes wake up
Damn! I missed the punchline!
Sunset splendour
Setting sail for Janjira Fort on an island in Murud bay
Michaela, with Christian in one eye & me in the other
The fort hoves into view
The fort's big secret: freshwater springs that made it siegeproof
Defence
Scary steps
Never let climbing plants get out of hand!
The tomb of a Muslim holy man
The poor cow was literally swimming about lost in the sea
Having a gander at the resort facilities
You've just got to love the devanagari script!
Rural India, only a couple of hours from the bustling metropolis
Abhishek Bachchan brings Bollywood glamour to Alibag's bus station
Alibag boasts this charming hotel
Double trouble on the ferry back to Bombay
One of the many mosques in the Muslim Quarter that we didn't have a chance to visit
The Parsees appear to have their own tower block
Pity the workmen who have to ride in the back of the van in that heat
Some slum dwellings
In an emergency, break the glass. There's bugger all behind it to help you, but you'll feel better...
The Milk Road, which runs through an oasis of calm right in the middle of the city
They hang out of the trains even at weekends, when things are much less crowded
We get standing room only, even in 1st class (which cost us 70 rupees instead of 7 in 2nd class)
An Indian family was desperate to have a photo of their daughter with these white people. So I took a photo too
The temple caves on Elephanta Island
Impressive statuary - especially since it was carved downwards through solid rock
Ah! At last a seat on the train!
Gareth checks where we need to get off
Our final moto-rickshaw ride, from the station back to Gareth's flat in Hiranandani Gardens
