Delhi

Value for money : 2

Cleanliness : 3

Friendliness : 2

Noise : 3

TOTAL : 10/20 [RANK : 37^th / 45]

COST : 220 Rs (single with bathroom) :

Value for money : 0

Cleanliness : 1

Friendliness : 3

Noise : 2

TOTAL : 6/20 [RANK : 45^th / 45]

COST : 90Rs (dorm bed)

Value for Money : 3

Cleanliness : 3

Friendliness : 3

Noise : 3

TOTAL : 12/20 [RANK : 21^st / 45]

INTERNET : 100Rs an hour

Delhi is not a city for the feint hearted. The first image you get when you leave the rather average airport is a thousand Indians behind a wire mesh, presumably waiting for family members arriving. The city is quite flat, polluted and honestly rather unpleasant. People are everywhere you look, but that is the same throughout India. Millions (I would imagine, I did not do a count) live in tents that amaze by the fact that they stand. Delhi railway station is the biggest I have ever seen. Trains are frequently late in India - waiting at the station I heard the message that the train from Calcutta was delayed 8 hours. A tourist office on the second floor of the Paraganj side of the station means you can avoid the horrendous queues that the Indians use.

Connaught Place is one of the hubs of the city. It contains what most cities do - GPO, clothes stores, restaurants, a McDonald’s (which I regrettably didn’t find) cinemas and many tourist agents. The underground Palika market has a great range of things to buy as well, and features many men desperately peddling socks (and plenty of other things) desperately to anyone whom may pass.

A visit to the Railway museum is possibly worth it, definitely if you are an enthusiast. It is a very clean part of Delhi, well looked after with plenty of grass. You pass through the areas containing the foreign embassies and parliament on your way there from Connaught Place which are easily the nicest areas of Delhi.

The problem with Delhi is it is not an easy city to compliment. People are always on your back in India to buy something from socks, auto-rickshaw rides to hashish. In Delhi it’s as bad as anywhere in India that I went. But the bargaining can be a lot of fun, and they play amusing western music in Wimpy’s, the British hamburger chain. Plus you can buy a lot of things here, and Internet is cheapest here as well.

JAIPUR

COST : 150Rs (single room with bathroom, no hot water)

Value for Money : 3

Friendliness : 3

Cleanliness : 3

Noise : 2

TOTAL : 11/20 [RANK : 27^th / 45]

Jaipur is commonly known as the Pink City, owing to the colour of many of the buildings in the old city. I was under the illusion that there was much to see here. The one thing that may have been worth seeing (according to those I met who’d been there) was the Amber Fort, which I missed. Jaipur is a big city and a hive of activity, not a haven of peace from the rest of India one might imagine. The streets are full of jewel merchants which is the main industry in Jaipur, owing to close by mines. I found myself in the position where I was being pushed to take some rings and supposedly make myself a huge profit by selling them in Denmark. I walked away from this, but apparently this is quite a common scam in Jaipur, so if you go there, be aware.

There is a place called the Royal Gaitor, which I saw. The architecture in India in general is quite brilliant, however, the condition of the buildings is poor. A charge of 10Rs is not uncommon if you wish to take a camera into many buildings. The Old/Pink city isn’t that Pink and is a bustling area for shops - Jaipur is the place to by up on things apparently.

UDAIPUR

Value for Money : 2

Cleanliness : 4

Friendliness : 4

Noise : 4

TOTAL : 14/20 [RANK : 5^th /45]

INTERNET : 5Rs a minute

Settled around Lake Picola, Udaipur is certainly a little haven for those who visit. In fact, it was my favorite place in India. It is not as jam-packed full of sights as some places, but I have learnt that there is more to travelling than seeing building after building, temple after temple. Actually, I spent a great deal of time just in the guest house (as did everyone staying there) sitting around, playing cards, meeting people, enjoying the roof top view and generally relaxing - and this is where I spent there most time in India.

In the centre of the lake sits the Lake Palace (thoughtful name!) - where scenes in the James Bond movie Octopussy were filmed. Like Khao San Road in Bangkok, there are quite a few places in Udaipur offering a meal and a movie, most often that movie is Octopussy. I saw 12 Monkeys and Octopussy twice. I should mention that Octopussy is not the best James Bond film ever made.

The Lake Palace is accessible but for dinner or lunch only, unless you are staying there (US300 a night may deter you). The costs of the meals are 620Rs for a buffet lunch, 750Rs for dinner - and drinks are not included. I decided this was pushing my budget too much, and I also heard it wasn’t too special.

The city is hillier than any city I saw in India - the bus out of the city went through a hilly region with many blind turns it decided to pass on. But more on buses in the transportation section. The auto-rickshaws struggled with the hills, but there was something a little satisfying in seeing that. If you come to Rajastan, the one place you must go is Udaipur.

PUSHKER

COST : 100Rs (single in a double, apparently normally 200Rs. With bathroom)

Value for Money : 3

Cleanliness : 2

Friendliness : 3

Noise : 3

TOTAL : 11/20 [RANK : 28^th / 45]

INTERNET : (reportedly) 8Rs a minute

Pushkar is apparently a place to go and chill, it certainly seems to revolve around the tourists. Again this town is built around a lake, and contains the only temple dedicated to Brahma in India. The population is only 13,000 here and the main section of the town is cut off from auto-rickshaws and most vehicles, although there were a few vehicles around (no rickshaws though) as well as plenty of motor bikes. It seems a good place for shopping, and the restaurants often have buffets, I had one for 110Rs at the Pushker palace hotel that was really a bit disappointing, we were told it was the best in town. The soup was lovely, the rest left a fair bit to be desired.

BUNDI

COST : 250Rs (single, normally 300Rs, with bathroom)

Value for Money : 2.5

Cleanliness : 3

Friendliness : 3

Noise : 4

TOTAL : 12.5/20 [RANK : 18^th / 45]

Bundi is a smallish town with a nice palace that overlooked where I stayed. The people try very hard for the tourists here, but I didn’t get the chance to see much of the town.

RANTHANBORE NATIONAL PARK (SAWAI MODHOPUR)

COST : 150 Rs (single with bath, bargained down from 200-250Rs)

Value for Money : 3

Cleanliness : 3

Friendliness : 3

Noise : 4

TOTAL : 13/20 [RANK : 11^th /45]

The town Sawai Modophur is the closest (town) to the park, and is where most people stay when visiting. The trains don’t often stop at the station, so you have to make sure you catch the right one. There is nothing to do in the small town, but the hotel I stayed in was nice enough, and had a good restaurant.

AGRA

COST : 150 Rs

Value for Money : 3.5

Cleanliness : 2.5

Friendliness : 3.5

Noise : 3.5

TOTAL : 13/20 [RANK : 12^th / 45]

Agra is not a pleasant place, but it does have the Taj Mahal, and if you stay in the same Hotel I did, you’ll be 2 minutes walk away from the most impressive structure in India. It’s kept amazingly clean, and if you don’t mind the insistence that your bag is kept in storage while you go in (I was told I had to check my bag in as no calculators were allowed!) then you’ll be suitably impressed. I also saw a Hindi movie whilst in Agra – ‘Kuck kuch Hota Hai’ which was quite a movie. A romantic musical – it’s good to see someone still makes them.

*** Whilst in India I also visited the towns Chandrigarh and Jallandhar. There is very little of tourist importance in these towns, but the locals are a lot friendlier in both places, and if you’re looking to get off the beaten tourist track, you might consider a day or two in one of these places. I was actually taken in by a guy on bus and stayed with his family for a night in Jallandhar. Fantastic company and experience. I was scootered around the whole town and met all his friends, and had tea in so many houses I can’t remember. All in all, this was possibly the most rewarding experience of my entire seven month journey.