Family vote on the best & worst of India...

We feel like we've traveled a continent already and we are only in our first country destination. There is so much we have experienced from mindblowing landscapes and immersion in culture, to a country ravaged by poverty and pollution. From the humerous and heart warming, to the scary and the downright weird, we feel smaller and bigger, weaker and stronger, just like India. There is so much to love and so much to hate, all at the same time. This blog site is just a snippet of our adventures and the stories we could tell.

So we've had a family vote on the best and worst of India so far. Here are the results:


Best Places We've Stayed (these places have a WOW factor that sets them apart from places that are just OK):

• The Green Hotel, Mysore, Karnataka. Beautifully restored palace, eco-tastic, fair trade, awesome rooms. Room price includes a buffet breakfast that makes lunch obselete. 2 double rooms costs us 2800 rupees per night (bit of a birthday treat)
• Yak Tail Hotel, Leh, Ladakh. Oldest and characterful hotel in Leh, super friendly staff, spacious and cosy adjoining family room - and hot water (which is a real luxury up in Leh). Two double rooms adjoining cost us 1000 rupees per night.
• Dersy's Guesthouse, Agonda Beach, Goa. Lovely little cottage and beach huts on quiet beach. Sociable restaurant with a fab tandoor, safe place for children to have complete freedom, excellent body surfing (enough for fun but not so much someone might drown) and a big up to Regan, Jesus and the rest of the family there, who take really good care of everybody. Spotless adjoining double rooms - 400 rupees (what a bargain!).
• Yellow Guesthouse, McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, Himachel Pradesh. Chilled basic place run by friendly Tibetan and Indian. Balcony fronted rooms overlooking farm and village valley areas. Rooms next door to each other. Two doubles cost us 350 rupees per night.
• Mrs Bhandaris Guesthouse, Amritsar, Punjab. Funky art deco guesthouse, lovely staff, free internet. The Den is perfect for a family of 4. Cost about 1800 rupees per night.

Worst Places We've Stayed:

• Chand Palace Hotel, Pahar Ganj, Delhi. Cockroach infested filthy building site! Courtesy of Ebookers, 20 pounds per night.
• Chandra (HPTDC) aka 'The Shining' Hotel, Keylong, Himachel Pradesh. Nuff said!
• Beach accommodation at Gokarna (Om and Kudlee) - nice fishing village & great food in town but we don't want to stay on the beach in a tarpaulined spiders nest with no view, no mossie net, no fan, no window, no balcony.....

Best Places We've Eaten:

• Lamayuru Darbar, Leh, Ladakh - best thali ever!
• McLo's & Nick's Kitchen - great continental food in Mc Leod Ganj. Kids loved the ice-cream parlour!
• Madhur Milan Darbar, Dasaswarmedh Ghat, Varanasi. A saving grace for this filthy place.
• The Green Hotel, Mysore. We can't say enough good things about this place.
• World Peace Cafe, Leh.

Best Experiences so Far:

• Trekking & gompa stomping in Ladakh.
• Beach life on Agonda, bouldering, body surfing and early morning yoga on the beach.
• Community kitchen and early morning puja at The Golden Temple, Amritsar.

Best Places We've Visited:

• Ladakh
• McLeod Ganj
• Hampi
• Mysore
• Gokarna

Worst Places We've Visited:

• Pahar Ganj in the rain (Delhi)
• Agra
• Mangalore
• Varanasi

Best Buildings We've Visited

• Gompas of Alchi & Lamayuru, Ladakh
• Maharaja's Palace, Mysore
• Hampi Temples
• Humayun's Tomb, Delhi
• Agra Fort