Boys flying a kite over Varanasi for the Maker Sankranti festival in India
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22 / 100 Kite Flying

kite flying in India is HUGE. For weeks before Makar Sankranti, and for weeks after, people are completely obsessed with it and you will find bits of brightly coloured kites littering every surface. Children especially clamber up to the roofs of the tall buildings in the towns to fly their homemade kites, and, according to our Indian friends, fall to their deaths far too often.
A line off pillowcases drying in the sunlight in Varanasi, India.
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21 / 100 Hanging out the Washing

The relics of the caste system are still plainly obvious in India, despite people telling us it had long been abolished. The owner of this particular B&B wasted no time in introducing himself as a Rajput, a member of the warrior caste that sits right at the apex of the pyramid just beneath the Brahmin or priests.
Line of boats at dawn on the river Ganges in India. The perplexing river Ganges.
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20/ 100 The Perplexing River Ganges

So here’s what perplexes me the most about the river Ganges. As the river is so incredibly important to them, why do they quite literally treat it like a waste disposal site and toilet? It is worshipped by the very same people who fill it full of pollution and grime.
Chickens in India
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19/ 100 Chickens in India

Whilst wandering the streets of India we often came across elderly people, sitting in chairs next to the road wrapped tightly in several blankets (we were there in the winter), dozing through the day. I am guessing that there isn’t a great state-run care system for the elderly that is accessible to everyone so, if you could, it seemed common to take your parents to work to look after them.
A baby having its hair shaved in a religious ritual in Varanasi, India.
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18/ 100 Baby Shave

People frequently ask me why I love India so much. It is, after all, not the easiest place to get around and there will certainly be times when you wished you were back at home. I've seen some of the most horrible things there, and also some of the most wonderful and on each of our two trips there were times when I would have happily been teleported back home. Not all of those points in time involved toilets, but was certainly a major factor.
Chow standing at the top of the ghats in Varanasi, India
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17/ 100 Can Cows Climb Steps

Before our second trip to India we were chatting about our previous visit with a friend who was a farmer. The conversation was mainly about the scattering of un-farmed farm animals that were dotted through every city we visited and were free to roam anywhere they desired. Things got a little heated when he told us it was a well-known fact that cattle can’t climb steps. He said they were very reluctant to walk up them and would never walk down unless forced by a farmer. He said their physiology wouldn’t allow it.
Two boys taking a break from flying their kites by the side of the river Ganges in Varanasi, India.
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16/ 100 Fishermans Friends

These two young boys magically appeared each day whenever we sat down so that Fiona could work on her travel sketchbook and I could have a mental reset after a hot day walking the streets of Varanasi.
A bull in the Indian town of Pushkar casts a large shadow onto the road.
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15/ 100 The Dangerous Suburbs of Pushkar

The small town of Pushkar, in the dry and dusty Thar Desert between Jodhpur and Jaipur, was a fascinating place to visit. We arrived into Ajmer on the wonderful Shatabdi express train from Jaipur. Unlike some of the other trains we had experienced this one did indeed offer an express service, and had a great food served to us too.
Do not touch the monkeys. Four monkeys resting next to an ochre wall in Jaipur, India.
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14/ 100 Do Not Touch The Monkeys

I really liked this scene next to a temple in Jaipur. It reminded me of one of those dramatic Italian renaissance paintings where something terrible has just happened and angels have come down from heaven to tend to the sick. Perhaps there had been a fight to the death over a poppadum.
Monkey Temple Jaipur Galta Ji Temple
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13/ 100 Galta Ji Monkey Temple

We have visited the beautiful city of Jaipur, in the northern Rajasthan state of India, a couple of times now. It is a relatively relaxing and cultured place, a few hours south of Delhi, with lots to see in a fairly small area. We knew of the main touristy things to see but, as usual, we chatted to our host when we arrived and she mentioned a few other places that were definitely not on our radar.
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12/ 100 Scooter Dogs

Alongside all the cows wandering the busy streets of India, there are always a lot of dogs. They are mostly feral street dogs and spend much of their days lazing about the place in the shards of sunlight that shine through the gaps in the tall buildings. On the whole, though, they were quite focussed on trying to keep out of the way of people, who weren't as forgiving of the dogs as they are their giant cattle cousins.
The Taj Mahal, Agra, India
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11/ 100 Taj Mahal

Was it worth the trip to the plastic debris-lined streets of Agra to see the Taj Mahal? Not really. It just confirmed to me why we generally avoid the biggest tourist traps. It was super busy, even just minutes after opening in the morning. We had been told that getting there early was the key, so we were there about 10 minutes after opening and it was already heaving populated with enough people to fill a small town.