This modern megacity mixes spots of unspoilt serenity with the noise and chaos that will, I suspect, come to define India for me. Read on to learn what we loved and loathed (?) about what is comfortably the maddest place I've yet been!

The city by the lakes combines a meandering old-town with a beautiful lake-front setting and some of the most stunning palaces in India. We chose to come here to celebrate Diwali in this magnificent setting.

Pushkar is a very holy place, with over 500 temples and 52 Ghat's surrounding a Holy Lake. It's also the home of the world's largest camel fair - which was just ramping up when we were in town!

When Rao Jodha sought to build a new capital for the nation of Mandore, his eyes settle on an outcopping of rock atop which he decreed a great citadel should be constucted. He certainly managed that!

Jaipur is the largest city in Rajasthan, and home to many fabulous sights, as wella s being a thriving regional capital and international commerce hub. We both loved and hated it at different times!

Ranthambore National Park is world famous as a habitat for Bengal Tigers. Did we manage to spot one in our slightly treat-y two day visit? The picture may be a spoiler!

Bundi is a small city with a lot of history and an unexpectedly magnificent palace - even if it is partially ruined. We also managed to bag pretty nice accommodation!

Another big Gujurati city, although not quite on the scale of Ahmedabad. Its 19th century Laxmi Palace looks like a Mahorajah tried to build his own English stately home - with fantastic results.

Far out to the west, close to the Pakistan border, Bhuj takes a bit of getting to, but promises the trip to be worthwhile. On the first day, just the sight of smog-free skies has raised spirits!

Glittering, metropolitan Mumbai feels like a different country to the rest of India. A modern city from the modern world, without a cow in sight. 

In the southern third of India, The small state of Goa sits along the coast of the Arabian Sea, and is a popular destinatin for beachgoers, particularly at Christmas. So we went. At Christmas.

When Vasco de Gama first landed in India, it was in Kochi. This major port city shows Portuguese, Dutch and British influences as it was ruled by all three, yet it remains quintessentially Indian.

Deep in Kerala's Western Ghats, Munnar is tea country, with steep slopes and rolling hills carpeted in the neatly tended emerald green bushes. It's a wonderful part of the world.

Also known variously as Kumily and Periayar, this Keralan town is home to the Periyar Tiger Reserve, which made for some very interesting trekking and rafting. 

A quiet spot on the famous Kerala Backwaters. Great to enjoy some cycling, walking, and riding the lake.  It is very calm and tranquil here - our accommodation is a mile from the main road!

A small city at the far south of Kerala, Trivandrum was a bit of a pause point on the way down to Kanyakumari, but had some interesting mueseums.

At the very southern tip of India lies the small town of Kanyakumari. It's a bit of a coastal resort / pilgrimage location, with an awesome viewpoint over the juncture of three oceans.

The spritiual capital of Tamil Nadu, Madurai has been a thrivng trade hub since Roman times. Centred around the riotously colourful Meenakshi Amman temple, we didn't really get much time to do this charming city justice.

Known by its French governers as Pondicherry, and as Pondy to locals, this mini-state is an enclave of european charm in the midst of Tamil Nadu.

As one of India's big 4, we would have liked to hav spent more time in Chennai, but unfortunately it we only managed a flying afternoon visit. Still, we checked out the main museum while we were there...

Mysuru wowed us with its famous palaces, but charmed with its compact centre, walkable streets, and cheeky little railway museum

This hill station was a welcome break from the heat of the south, and provided a great opportunity for some hiking and seeing the countryside.

With a 5KM main beach and four more equally beautiful sand strips, Gokarna is a surprisingly quiet beach resort where we paused to chill for a couple of days after January's crazy travel.

A small private resort in inland Goa, Olaulim backyards is an absolute haven of tranquility - and was a much enjoyed treat for us!

The ruins of ancient Vijayanagar litter the boulder-strewn plains of Hampi like the discarded lego-bricks of the gods - they are myriad, in various states of completion, and can hurt your feet when you step on them.

Badami's rock cut cave temples and ancient hilltop fort look like they should feature in an Indiana Jones movie. The town is definitely not se up for international visitors, however.

We had originally planned Hubballi as a stopover prior to catching a flight to Calcutta, but we ended up with a little bit of time to explore and quite liked what we saw.

India's third city, and for two centuries the British capital in India, Kolkata is an incredible city and truly an assault on the senses, both for better and occasionally for worse!

The small North-Indian town credited with the birth or Buddhism was an interesting stopping point for a couple of days.

The holy city on the Ganges is an incredible place to just wander round and watch life - and death - in all it's various forms.

Home to a dozen magnificent temples, and considered the highest pinnacle of North Indian temple architecture, Kajuraho is a small city - but with a few surprises up it's sleeves!

Agra is the peak of Indian tourism and architecture, and is worth a few days of anyone's time. We sacrificed one of the two we had here for a day trip to Gwalior, to see what that was all about.

A long run North took us to the home of the Golden Temple (not shown), and we even made it to the Pakistan border to see how Indian and Pakistani border forces play together every evening.

Touching the foothills of the Himalaya, Dharamshala is home to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium, the highest test cricket ground in the world. It's also next door to the village of McLeod Ganj, home of the Dalai Lama.

We spent our final day in India in the capital, doing a bit of sightseeing and some shopping - as well as a bit of sleeping after the overnight train!