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Solo Trip to India and Nepal
  • Happy Days Travel
  • Happy Days Travel

Solo Trip to India and Nepal

This is my first solo overseas trip since Mark died earlier this year. I'm excited to return to India and to explore Nepal for the first time, but it will be strange not to have Mark with me to share the experience with. Read more
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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Village walk

    April 14 in India ☀️ 27 °C

    After breakfast, we went for a village walk with Tusher and a local guide. Tordi is a typical Rajasthani village - full of character and locals going about their daily business. It was very picturesque, but I imagine it's a harsh life.Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Village pottery

    April 14 in India ☀️ 28 °C

    We visited the village potter who demonstrated his craft using a manual wheel. It was amazing! Rick and Emma both had a go and made a decent job of it. Fiona and I both bought a couple of small decorative pots - they were only 50 rupees each.Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Arrival in Jaipur and lunch

    April 14 in India ☀️ 36 °C

    Back at the hotel, we had time to use the facilities before we boarded the bus for the transfer to Jaipur. The journey was uneventful and took less than three hours. In Jaipur, we checked into our heritage-style hotel, had lunch, and then had time to relax ahead of a leader-led walk at 4.30pm. I took the opportunity to put some laundry in - the last time I'll do this before I go home.Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Walking tour of Old Jaipur

    April 14 in India ⛅ 36 °C

    We went on the bus to the old city, where Tusher guided us around the local area. It was immediately obvious why Jaipur is known as the Pink City. The buildings were very photogenic, but the city didn't feel as compact and walkable as Udaipur and Jodphur. I don't know if we just didn't see the best of it.Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Roop Chaturbhuj Temple

    April 14 in India ⛅ 36 °C

    We visited Roop Chaturbhuj Temple, one of the least known heritage temples in Jaipur. Despite being located at a prominent spot in the walled city, it fails to attract many devotees and followers. Not much is known about the history of this temple, except that it dates from the 18th century. The walls and ceilings are covered with incredibly beautiful frescoes.Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Hawa Mahal and more

    April 14 in India ☀️ 36 °C

    We walked to Hawa Mahal, a palace built from red and pink sandstone, located close to the City Palace. It is also known as the 'palace of winds'. It was built in 1799 by the Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. It is considered unique as it has 953 small windows called Jharokhas decorated with intricate latticework. The original intent of the lattice design was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life and festivals celebrated in the street below without being seen. This architectural feature also allowed cool air from the Venturi effect to pass through, thus making the whole area more pleasant during the high temperatures in summer. Many people see the Hawa Mahal from the street view and think it is the front of the palace, but it is the back. This is the best part of the palace. On Tusher's advice, we didn't go in. He said the inside is completely empty.

    We walked back to the bus through the grounds of the City Palace. We might visit it tomorrow afternoon, depending on how we feel.    Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Block printing and Jaipur by night

    April 14 in India ☀️ 34 °C

    We then drove to a textile showroom, where we watched a block printing demonstration, and then had the hard sell treatment 😀. Fiona bought a scarf as a gift and Rick bought a wooden printing block.

    We drove back past Hawa Mahal, now illuminated and looking very pretty, on our way to a rooftop restaurant for dinner. I wasn't particularly hungry, and still wasn't feeling the best, so I just had tomato soup and a cheese naan.    Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Amber Fort

    April 15 in India ☀️ 32 °C

    Some of our group did a hot air balloon trip early this morning. The rest of us got a bit of a lie-in before breakfast and a 9am meet up to go to the Amber Fort by bus.

    I had seen pictures, but once again on this trip, I wasn't prepared for the wow factor when I saw the real thing for the first time! We had to walk up 185 'comfortable' steps to reach the entrance where we were meeting our guide.

    Amer Fort or Amber Fort is located in Amer, a town 11 kilometres from Jaipur. Perched high on a hill, it is the principal tourist attraction in Jaipur. It is a great example of Rajput architecture. Some of its buildings are influenced by Mughal designs. Constructed of red sandstone and marble, the attractive, opulent palace is laid out on four levels, each with a courtyard. It consists of the Diwan-e-Aam, or 'Hall of Public Audience', the Diwan-e-Khas, or 'Hall of Private Audience', the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace), and the Sukh Niwas where a cool climate is artificially created by winds that blow over a water cascade within the palace. The Amber Fort was the residence of the Rajput Maharajas and their families. At the entrance to the palace near the fort's Ganesh Gate, there is a temple dedicated to Shila Devi, a Goddess of the Chaitanya cult, which was given to Raja Man Singh when he defeated the Raja of Jessore, Bengal in 1604. Raja Man Singh had 12 queens so he made 12 rooms, one for each Queen. Each room had a staircase connected to the King’s room. With its large ramparts and series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks Maota Lake, which is the main source of water for the Amer Palace.    Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Old Jaipur and dinner

    April 15 in India ☀️ 38 °C

    Some of the group were going straight back to the hotel. Fiona, Kathy, and I got dropped off in the old city, so we could have a look around the markets. It was pushing 40 degrees, so we didn't stay long. Fiona bought some bangles, Kathy got some handkerchiefs, and I bought several 25cm lengths of cotton fabric for 50 rupees (about 40p) each. We then went for a cooling drink. My strawberry lassi was bright pink, extremely sweet, and tasted of chemicals. Yuk!

    We then took an Uber back to the hotel. Kathy went straight to her room, while Fiona and I went across the road to the Bluez Café for a decent drink. I had an iced Americano and some vanilla ice-cream. Back in the hotel, I tried to get some posts done while Fiona slept.

    Later, some of the group were meeting for dinner in the hotel. We decided to go back to the Bluez with Kathy. We had a lovely evening.    Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Return to Delhi

    April 16 in India ☀️ 25 °C

    I didn't sleep at all well, and I was awake way before our 6am alarm. We had to be in the hotel lobby by 6.30am to get autos to the station to catch the 7.40am train to Delhi.

    The train journey was comfortable and hassle free. They served us coffee and tea and digestive biscuits, quickly followed by a full breakfast of rotis, curry, vegetable cutlets, yoghurt, and a cup cake! We arrived back in Delhi by 11.30am. It was already 40 degrees - almost 10 degrees hotter than when we left the city just over a week ago!

    We transferred to air-conditioned taxis for the journey back to Hotel Perfect. There, we checked in, reclaimed the bags we'd left behind, and went to the roof for lunch. It was incredibly hot up there! Afterwards, we went to our room. I caught up a bit with Penguins while Fiona slept.

    This evening, we had a farewell dinner with the group. Most of them are leaving early in the morning. Only Kathy and Mira and Hisa are leaving later in the day. We are the only ones staying an extra night.    Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Our last day in Delhi

    April 17 in India ☁️ 32 °C

    There were a couple of sites we intended to visit today, but it was so hot that we decided not to bother. We had breakfast with Kathy at a South Indian restaurant round the corner. It will be the last dosa and uttapam I'll be having for a while 😊.

    After breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Kathy, and then spent the afternoon packing, catching up with posts, and relaxing. 

    This evening, we went across the road to the biryani restaurant we'd been to before for our final meal of the trip. It was delicious! While we were eating, the heavens opened! We decided to cancel our plans to go to India Gate to see it lit up!    Read more

  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalTraveler

    Return to the UK

    April 19 in England ⛅ 10 °C

    We left our hotel in Delhi at 6.30am yesterday to go to the airport for our direct Virgin flight to Heathrow. The flight was comfortable and uneventful.

    We spent last night at the Best Western Ariel, just a short distance from the terminal. After breakfast this morning, Fiona set off to drive home and I got the shuttle bus to Terminal 5 to get the train. Three changes and a bus later, I finally arrived home. The weather was bright and sunny, but blimey, it's cold! I guess I'll have to get used to it before I can escape to warmer climes again 😀.Read more

    Trip end
    April 18, 2026