Jaipur allowed me to catch up with myself. I was fully rested. All the experiences so far were still waiting to be properly processed but my body, and mind, knew it had to relax.

Safely inside the walls of the Umaid Bhawan Hotel we could relax and talk without any of the pressures that had been on us. The bar served cold beer and the food was good. After a week of water, chi, potatoes and cauliflower it was a chance to be more adventurous. My body had not completely forgiven me yet, but it was good to add extra flavours into what were basic meals.

The paradox of the tourist – a night out watching local dancers and enjoying ‘made for tourists’ entertainment. A group of four men sat on the floor with their various instruments while women danced as the beat grew faster. They placed pottery and other items on their heads and twirled around in an almost hypnotic trance.

Some of the group experimented with the food, tourist menus tend to be a lot spicier than normal restaurants as this is the expectation of India. Only twice did I experience spicy hot food, and both were in tourist eateries.

The evening and camaraderie cleared my head. I still sat with those who preferred to joke and drink, their life and humour still carrying me through. But as a group we were close again and enjoying ourselves without a care.

We had to be up early the next day. Our friendly tuk-tuk drivers did not have a licence to drive up to the Amber Fort, and with big early morning queues they got us as close as they could as the sun was rising.

As with most of the other locations on our trip the air was heavy and smoggy in Rajasthan. With the orange glow of the sun and the pink of the granite it was a magnificent sight as we had our first look at the Amber Palace. It sits on the edge of Jaipur dominating and looking down, the home of the Maharanas.

Not having time to think we took our place in the short queue to take a ride on one of the elephants. They start at the bottom of a steep slope and take you around the palace walls, winding their way into the courtyard.

It is only when you are on the elephant that you start thinking about the ethics. You are giving work to the locals, you are contributing to the local economy, it is on the check-list of things that you have to do… but while you have to hope that the animals are looked after you have to worry about what life is like for them. They can look tired and bored and you cannot see that they would be allowed to retire gracefully.

Due to time pressure and you only realise afterwards what you have done, yet their is a balance to be made with the local economy – I don’t have a solution to balancing this up.

The Amber Palace is magnificent. We do not have architecture in the west like this, not on this scale. Its history spans the centuries and gives a hint of the this remarkable country.

With all its granite and marble and colour it represented power. Interestingly, it was difficult to find any reference to British colonial rule, as if it had been erased.

It offered us views across all the sights of Jaipur. Given my previous experiences I was happy to be an amateur historian/geographer again, piecing together how this city was formed. Looking at the different areas, how Hinduism, Islam and Janism had led to some of the most remarkable buildings that I had seen.

We were back with tourist and away from the other side of India that we had been experiencing. I needed it at this moment. Reflections on everything else would come later.

Coming down from the Amber Palace we stood by the lake. The temperature was rising, it was going to be a hot day and were going to head back into the city. The Jal Mahal stood out in the middle of the Sagar Lake, another piece of architecture. One of the many sights to behold in Jaipur. From the lows of the trip so far, this was one of the high-points. I was back and feeling good… and this would continue for 24 hours… Until…