Hi everyone - good to hear from you..fancy snow in Uppermill - it's about 35+ here and getting more humid now we are in Varanasi. Alan - I've corrected the typo and it should now read leopard; Iain says they are not many leotards in the desert! Can you tell us how to change the settings Lizzy? We have not been affected by the unrest in Bombay and Assam and other places, so we're still here - India is huge! To get back to our narrative - we didn't much like Pushkar - very chaotic and pushy but the Hindu ceremony we took part in on the bank of the lake at sunset was atmospheric and touching. Jaipur was mad...colourful, dirty and very crowded - but the fort and city palace were spectacular. Then we went to Agra and saw the wonderful Taj Mahal - although it was somewhat misty due to all the fireworks set off the previous night to mark Duvalli (not sure how to spell it Alan!) . We loved the baby Taj - the inlaid marble was even more intricate and beautiful and predates the Taj Mahal and the crowds of tourists were far less so it felt more peaceful. We also went round part of the huge Red Fort - the biggest in India and very impressive although the British destroyed a lot of the inner buildings. We are taking far too many photos and although we have 10 megs will probably have to buy another card in Bangkok! We then had an overnight train to Varanasi - an experience we don't want to repeat too often but at least the train wasn't too late getting into Agra where we boarded and was only 2 hours late in Varanasi! Went to visit Sarnath where there are many archeological remains from where Buddism was born and Buddha preached his first sermon. We then managed to get down to the Ganges for the night time ceremony of fire where with thousands of spectators, 16 priests invoke the Goddess of the Ganges and her blessings. We watched from a rowing boat which at 5.30am today took us up and down the Ganges past the Ghats where one could see all the life of the river; people washing, swimming, washing clothes and praying. The edge of the river is filthy with rubbish but it doesn't seem to put them off. The two end Ghats are where bodies are cremated and are appropriately termed the Burning Ghats. We returned back to the bus through filthy but interesting narrow back alleys. We are off after lunch to see three temples and then it's an overnight train again to Delhi and straight on for us to Kathmandu - we just hope the train isn't too delayed! We will try and post again in a few days but it may have to wait until we return to Kathmandu in 7-8 days as Pokhara and Chitwan are unlikely to have broadband. Do let us know how everyone is - Phoebe must be growing apace! Lots of love from us both Ann & Iain