Route: Mumbai-Goa-Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Pushkar-Jaipur-Delhi

Total number of days - 17
**See below for breakdown

Budget:
Overall Average: $20/day

Interesting Expenditures:

• 25-hour train-ride from Goa to Delhi: $51.
• 3-hour train-ride from Delhi to Agra: $1.84

Average spent per day on…

• Food: $5.49.
• Hotels: $5.60.

Food and Drink: We have to say (and we’ve heard it said by other travelers too) that food in India isn’t as good as the food outside of India.  Maybe it’s because we were on a budget, but no food blew us away. Oh, except for rice and curd, which is like rice and yogurt.  It´s really tasty, and it’s perfect for those stomach issues you’re bound to get.  Drinks, however, are another story:  Our friend Trak and his buddies invented a drink dubbed Chai Teachers, which is Chai Tea, appropriately sweetened with Teacher’s Whisky.  It’s like a Hot Toddy… but better.  Chai Tea on it’s own is pretty amazing, and you can get a cup of it for as little as $0.12 on some of the trains.  And you must try the lassies, a sugary yogurt fruit drink, but make sure you do it somewhere you’d trust the ice is made of mineral water. (Lauren: I could not get enough of Chai Tea or the lassies while I was there. SO good…)

Must Eats:

• Chai Teachers
• Chai Tea 
• Lassies
• Rice and Curd
• Thalis – almost like a Tapas plate, comes with rice and tons of different dishes

Highlights:  The Taj Mahal lives up to the hype.  It was unfathomably beautiful.  We also loved Pushkar, the ultra-Hindu and ultra-Hippie town near Jaipur, but all the worshipping makes it hard to sleep at night… so it might wear on you after a couple of days.

Best Deal: $15 for a double room at Hotel Sheela in Agra.  Sure, there are slightly cheaper rooms, but Hotel Sheela is only about 20 meters from the entrance to the Taj Mahal.  Because of its proximity, the roads near it are blocked off to vehicles, so there’s fewer touts begging you to take an unwanted ride.  It also has a private garden in the back perfect for relaxing with a cup of chai tea.  (And they have the cutest dogs…). Thalis – (see above) a great deal, and easy to share.

**Calendar of Events:
January
5 - flew to Mumbai (from Bangkok)
6 - Mumbai to Goa
7 - 11 - Goa
12 - Goa overnight to…
13 - Delhi
14, 15 - Delhi
16 - Delhi to Agra
17 - Agra to Jaipur
18 - Jaipur to Pushkar
19 - Pushkar to Jaipur
20 - Jaipur to Delhi
21 - Delhi to Qatar