There is no denying the attractions of Pushkar. Famous for its annual camel fair, it also rates highly on the holy scale. The focal point of this valley town is the lake with its various bathing ghats.

I am now sitting in a rooftop café with a perfect view of white and blue walls, archways, cupolas and steps, all dutifully reflected in the fractured olive green glass of the lake. The golden afternoon haze makes this city blush bronze and the sparkles of distant saris...

We are progressing further into the lush zone as we leave Udaipur. We have a long drive and pass many large faggots of sticks with legs striding underneath, and there are rust coloured haystacks in the fields and many more shady trees.

Ganeshji takes us as far into the town of Jojawar as he can on the bus. We then get out and walk through the narrow streets and market stalls to find our last heritage hotel of the trip. Again, we receive a rolling drum welcome and...

Now we have moved into southern Rajasthan, the scenery has altered from flat sparse horizons to mountainous and rocky, with verdant terraces of fledgling wheat crops and orderly regiments of sugar cane. Water is suddenly part of the scene and we stop to watch a man riding a bullock in circles. The animal’s effort drives a wheel of cans that lift water from a pond, to then pour it down the culverts surrounding the fields.

In all our driving I have been curious to note...

Returned from our Thar Desert experience, we find ourselves in the golden city of Jaisalmer (Jye-sal-mere). Like Jodhpur, this remote city of 75,000 centres around a fort. The difference with Jaisalmer, is that it is a living fort and its precincts contain many homes, shops and hotels. This fact has also been the cause of major problems, with drainage and water causing subsidence and erosion of the fort's ancient foundations. It has resulted in Jaisalmer being ranked in...

‘Okay Fluffy Lips, looks like it’s you and me,’ I say to the long-lashed camel nonchalantly chewing its cud with teeth that would make a dentist’s eyes go ka-ching. The camels are all sitting with their articulated legs all folded up beneath them and their handlers are waiting to see which of us gets allocated to them for the two-hour ride.

The Indian camel saddles are different to those I encountered in the Middle East. They are metal-framed with smaller silver...

We unload ourselves out of the bus and our tour leader Shivani is sucked into the night and immediately surrounded by a clutch of bright-eyed porters. The haggling is vigorous and a deal takes about five minutes to strike. The backpacks are loaded onto a cart and we trek into the labyrinth that is Old Delhi train station. We pass families and piles of household possessions and eventually find our own resting place at the far end of platform 16.

It is Christmas Eve and,...

As originally foreseen, there have been many opportunities to mail home this last week (particularly when I have been resting my weary buns after a day’s non-stop walking), but I am fully expecting these to dry up overnight with my departure to Rajasthan imminent. Not only will Internet connections be of diminished quality, but I also know what is ahead of me for the next three weeks of touring with Imaginative Traveller. Lots of rushing around, time keeping and...