SECK: SA to SEA

Mumbai: the home of Bollywood; 12 million people ; and our final stop. Having spoken to other people about the city I was expecting it to be dirty, busy and expensive and at times perhaps it was all three but we absolutely loved it. Admittedly it's often easier to enjoy a city when you're willing to spend some money but given we had numerous presents, for both ourselves and others, to buy and little time this could have made it all rather stressful. Armed with bargaining skills honed over the past 10 months and cash at the ready we headed out to explore the markets sprawled across the city. First stop, Dhavari,. The famous slum in Mumbai where Slumdog millionaire was filmed and home to more leather shops than you can believe. The area of Crawford market seems to have a specialist market for practically everything and picking up some cheap new shoes on MG road was a productive though tiring end to the day. Beyond shopping the city has plenty to offer and surprisingly cheap, despite its reputation, as long as you avoid the trendy overpriced hot spots. Given our imminent return to the west this was no problem for us and a final indulgence into Indian culture and cuisine was just what we were after. Amongst the top tourist spots was the gateway of India, dhobi ghat (the largest human washing machine in the world), local cinema in the heart of Bollywood and of course an evening spent at Chowpatty beach. It's with sadness that I leave India, the final destination of the most amazing 10 months of my life. Traveling on 23 flights, 72 buses, 19 trains, 6 boats, 3 private cars, 2 hitchhikes and 3100km by motorbike we've certainly covered some distance. I've seen some breathtaking places, met some incredible people and experienced life which I'd only read about before and got to do it all with my favorite person in the world. All of which I'm extremely grateful for. Despite not wanting all this to end part of me is inevitably looking forward to a warm shower, functioning western toilet, soft mattress and not having to dodge rats on the way to the bathroom! I only hope Qatar airlines can live up to Charlie's expectations for our final journey. Next stop, Devon.

Heading to the beach for a final time in our epic 10 month adventure. Trying our hand at yoga in Gokarna whilst sleeping in a tree house was the perfect get away. Chilled hippy beaches resembling Goa before mass tourism hit gave some time to reflect on the journey we've made whilst putting our bodies through their paces. Patnem, south Goa, again provided a palm tree lined beach. Kicking back on the beach with a cheap beer, being taught how to cook a 12 dish banquet for kings, and celebrating holi festival at one of the raves Goa is renowned for was 3 days well spent. Unfortunately waking up with red hair is a longer lasting memory than I need just before we return to the UK!

Hampi, a UNESCO site in the Karnataka state, provides our final exploration of ancient ruins of our travels. Beautiful temples, basements of palaces and royal elephant stables are strewn over a landscape with heaps of giant boulders precariously perched over banana plantations and paddy fields. Walking and biking through the sites, stopping for a chai whilst watching the morning bathing rituals and talking to local children certainly made the day long bus journey to reach here worth it.

The gender inequality in India had been a subject of much discussion whilst in India and after a week in Kerala I had a surplus of photos of men working. Unable to resist a man doing hard graft, here it is... the working class heroes of south India.

Beautiful beaches, relaxing in a hammock between a lake and paddy, chinese fishing nets at sunset, meeting a lot of friendly locals and of course the legendary backwaters left a warm spot in our hearts for Kerala. The relaxed pace of the south we welcomed with open arms whilst of course trying to squeeze in as much as possible in our last 3 weeks. A cooking class in Kochi has provided a menu for our next dinner party and finally taught us something about all the Indian food we've consumed over the last month. One last epic journey...Hampi!

Amritsar, a pilgrimage city for Sikhs in Punjab, had a lot more to offer than just a quick whiz around yet another temple. The Golden temple is the holiest temple in the world for Sikhs and home to the largest community kitchen in the world. Serving up to 100,000 people per day we were able to try langar (a free meal offered by the temple) as dinner. It was a privilege to watch the dedicated volunteers cook food in gigantic pots and clean dishes in an assembly line set up. By far the most efficient operation we've seen in our trip! Staying at the Jugavdus' hostel, highly recommended, we joined in a free yoga session on the roof and were delighted to be invited to attend a Punjabi wedding. With over 1,000 guests it didn't disappoint. A ridiculous breakfast banquet followed 3 hours later by an extensive lunch spread gave us ample opportunity to over indulge not forgetting the various platters continually circulating the tables. Dancers performing and music playing accompanied the men knocking back whiskey and beers whilst the Indian women watched on. Only downside being the inevitable sexual inequality! The Wagah, Indian and Pakistan, border closing ceremony was an amusing but worthwhile experience. Done with fascinating pomp and ceremony that involves lots of tall soldiers in massive turbans goose-stepping about and slamming gates. Watching Indian women run up and down with flags and dance in the streets was probably the most liberating and entertaining part of it all. A city full of culinary delights, heart warming hospitality and cultural stimulation was a great end to our north Indian trip.

The idea of skiing in the Himalayas was pretty awesome no doubt. The fraudsters, liars and cheats that tainted our trip were a nightmare we could have done without. Gulmarg, in Kashmir, is one of the top resorts in Asia if not the world but with limited information on the internet and given the political unrest in this region we decided it would be sensible to enlist the help of a tour agency. Unfortunately skiing is expensive anywhere in the world with India being no different but given the quality of the skiing and that the trip would be hassle free with a guide we stumped up the cash. It could not have less hassle free. Our 'local guide' knew nothing about the resort or skiing in general, once in resort the company refused to pay for our lift passes despite this being included in the price of our trip and we received nothing but lies and aggression until our guide finally left us in Gulmarg 3 days into the trip. I thought motor biking was going to be the most dangerous activity on our trip but after our car was pelted with stones during a shutdown in Srinigar and 2 large avalanches during our stay in Gulmarg killed a number of skiers it looks like our final chapter of traveling is going to be nothing if not eventful. Despite this the mountains were insane even sticking to the safer areas and it was great to be back on a board again. Most importantly Charlie got in some decent powder runs to keep him going until next year. Admittedly the relaxed backwaters of Kerala and yoga retreats in the south of the country seen pretty appealing now!

Despite a freezing overnight train we arrived in high spirits to Jaisalmer, our final stop in Rajasthan and time to hop on a camel and head out into the desert. An overnight 'non-touristic' adventure booked through mystic hostel gave an opportunity to sleep under the seemingly endless night sky without another traveller in sight. Kicking back with a chilled beer looking out over the dunes was a pretty sweet way to end this part of our trip. Highly recommend buying some cookies to make the evening a little more interesting though! Beyond the desert trek Jaisalmer is an attractive, relaxed yellow city with yet another fort looming over the city sprawled below. Some more local food delicacies were lal mana, ker sangri and kadhi pakota.

Local delicacies of: mave ki kachori and makhhan vade from Jodhpur sweets; traditional thali from Gypsy restaurant; and mirchi bada from the clocktower market are all worth a try but the makhaniya lassi within the gate of Sandar market was by far the winner…absolutely delicious!

Continuing our tour of Rajasthan we spent a very relaxed couple of days in Udaipur. Named 'The Venice of the East' or the 'City of lakes' this is a beautiful spot nestled in the mountains. Easily able to pass 3 days meandering the streets, completing the obligatory temple and palace (the largest in Rajasthan no less!) visit but mainly kicking back with a lassi, thali and good book in a rooftop restaurant. Not to forget some traditional dance at Bagore ki Haveli and indulging in an evening of James Bond's Octopussy in the city in which it was filmed.

Pushkar, a prominent pilgrimage town for practicing Hindus and a cracking spot for a bhang lassi for a gora. The holy lake, numerous ghats, several wedding processions and as we found out the only Brahma temple in the world (?!?!) nestled amongst mountains made this out first opportunity to see the chilled side of India. Naturally 'chilled' actually corresponds to constant hassle, posing for numerous photos and Charlie being run over (well bumped and he's fine). Still India after all. Good rooftop restaurant for dinner, Ombaba.

Jaipur, our first taste of and the capital of Rajasthan. Despite both suffering from the inevitable stomach problems that every traveller experiences on a Indian adventure we were determined to not completely rule this city out. Dragging ourselves out of bed we had our first Bollywood cinema trip (terrible story but epic atmosphere) and visited some of the tourist hot spots: Hawa Mahal; Jantar Mantar; and my personal favorite Amber fort located 11km outside Jaipur.

Even if Obama had to cancel his trip to Agra we certainly appreciated being able to see one of the most famous buildings in the world without the spit stains and mounds of rubbish usually found at the site. Despite cloudy weather detracting from the much talked about sunrise glow on the Taj Mahal we were the first to enter the gates to get the all important tourist free shots of this stunning building. It really is a masterpiece and completely mesmerizing to the eye. Agra fort, Baby Taj and the ancient ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri are also worth a visit especially if you're continuing on to Jaipur as we were. Though be warned alighting an overcrowded bus at Fatehpur Sikri may not be the most comfortable journey with 2x2 seats, beds in place of luggage racks and approximately 15 people squeezed into the driver's cabin. But hey, always good to experience traveling like a local!

Varanasi: the city of learning and burning. The ancient city has much to be explored observing the people, ceremonies, and overall life (and death) that’s so evident. The mysterious Ganges river lined with multiple ghats and the gallies, narrow alleyways, weaving back into the city overflowing with traffic, people, monkeys, cows, goats and dogs all to the sound of incessant beeping. A sunset or sunrise boat trip to watch the daily washing rituals and cremations on the shores of the Ganges is a must on a trip here. Viewing the burning ghats from a rooftop is a fascinating process to watch and with 200-300 cremations a day it's certainly a busy place. Sipping on a freshly made lassi whilst bodies are carried past on bamboo stretchers soon becomes a regular event. Being here certainly seems a long way from home. Gambled on sleeper class on the train to Agra despite the horror stories of overcrowding and general dirtiness and perhaps our standards are just sufficiently low enough now that we found it fine. Despite the incessant staring, a little patting and another passenger partly on my bed... no problem!

Singapore on a budget is far from ideal but thankfully still managed to find plenty to do. Garden by the bays, the skyline of marina bay, art week events and various cuisines made this a welcome stop before our final chapter of traveling...India. Goodbye noodles and hello curry!

After hectic 8 days exploring Myanmar and before Emily and Jo returned to the English winter we spent a relaxing few days on the Burmese coastal town of Ngwe Swung beach. Huge expanses of white sand with few tourists gave us a holiday from traveling before embarking on our final adventure. Accommodation $65 ($16pp) for quadruple, ac, breakfast - Shwe Hin Tha, $12.5pp double, fan, breakfast - The Silver Coast Motor taxi to hotel: $1pp Food: $1-$6.5 Drink: $0.5 water, $1.5 shakes, $1.6-2.5 large beer Boat trip and snorkeling at Bird island: $20pp Bus to ngwe beach/Yangon: $10pp (local bus), 5.5 hours

Kalaw and Inle lake Time to dust off our trekking shoes and put them to good use on the 3 day trek to one of the biggest tourist attractions in Myanmar. A 60km jaunt through beautiful scenery, sleeping in local village homestays and experiencing a little of rural Myanmar including amazing avocado salad and paying our respects to a deceased head monks body who had passed away earlier that day. Arriving to Inle Lake at lunchtime on the third day we enjoyed a sightseeing tour of the beautiful highland lake, 900 meters above sea level. The lake is 22km long and 10km across though in reality it's hard to know where the lake ends and the marshes begin. It is inhabited by many different ethnic nationals of the area with the main attraction being the Intha people, the Lake dwellers who are unique for their leg rowing (where one leg is wrapped around the paddle to drive the blade through the water in a snake-like motion). Although highly touristy it's definitely a destination worth the visit. Accommodation: $10pp for double or twin, ac, breakfast, The Golden Kalaw $12.5pp for double including breakfast (inle lake) - Shwe Pauk Pin Food: $0.5-$3.5 (western food) Drinks: $1.5 strawberry shake, $2 large beer 3 day 2 night trek fee: $40 (Inc guide " Johnny Walker", accommodation, baggage transport, meals) Entry fee (Inle lake): $10 Sightseeing boat trip: $20 (split between 8, $2.5pp) Bus to Yangon: $20 a.c., 12 hours, VIP bus