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I end my travels at the Taj Mahal

22 November, Agra

On my last full day in India, I take a cab to the station to catch a train to Agra and the Taj Mahal. I had planned to visit earlier, but after those plans fell through, I resolved to go, spend the night in Agra and return to Delhi the next day in time to catch my flight in the evening. At the station I go to the foreigners’ ticket office upstairs. Everything in the room is old and faded. I take a seat at a desk where a man books my ticket on a decrepit computer. When I pay he tries to give me change in old 500 rupee notes. I start to object and the other ticket clerks turn on him and he gives me valid currency. The train is not for another hour or two so I go and have breakfast at a nearby cafe.

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Cashless in Delhi

21 November Delhi

It is my second day in  Delhi. Over the course of my travels in Kerala my thick wad of banknotes had diminished to a slim pile of a thousand or two. But nearly two weeks since demonetisation hit, cash remains in short supply with long queues at the few banks and ATMs that are open the norm.

I had last managed to visit a cash machine two days ago at the airport.

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Driving through forests and rivers, cooking outdoors and visiting tea plantations. Our adventures in Kerala continue...

November 16 Anakullum and Munnar

We wake early and discover our humble lodgings are in a lush part of the forest near the river. Sreejith goes down for a swim before we go to the village. There is a small shrine in the centre of the village playing spiritual music. A priest walks round the shrine holding a coconut and bowing at each side of the building.

My masseur was a small, softly spoken man. After replacing my clothes with a meagre loin cloth, he set to work on my face, prodding and rubbing as if applying an invisible coat of make-up. It was only when he finished that my skin felt softer and muscles more relaxed as if my face had been remoulded into a happier expression.

I did not have long to absorb the pleasures of this appetiser as there was still the rest of my body to work on.

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I fly south for adventures in the forests and backwaters of Kerala...

November 13 Cochin

Ashok drives me to the airport in the morning for my flight to Cochin in Kerala. At the entrance to the airport there is a small currency exchange booth manned by four people. The rates displayed are the best I have seen so I try to change some money but am told they are closed. 

The sun is bright when I arrive in Cochin which is just as well because it is run entirely on solar power.

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I go on the trail of the great poets of Maharashtra.

November 12 Pune, Alandi, Dehu

I travel to two towns near Pune with temples devoted to famous poets and prophets. I am grateful to Ashok, not only for driving me there but for being a guide in sacred places where it is easy to feel at a loss as a foreigner. Our first stop is Alandi – the resting place of 13th century poet and saint Dnyaneshwar.

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My travels continue in Pune with sightseeing, shopping and unexpected financial problems...

November 9, Pune

In the morning I am grateful to a passerby who pays R100 towards my tuk tuk fare. Ashok is working that day and had suggested that I go into town and take a day tour of the city. When I pay the driver the R120 fare with a 500 note he starts protesting. At first I think he hasn’t got change but he seems to be saying he can’t take it.

November 5, 2016, Mumbai

I make the following observations during the taxi ride from Mumbai Airport to my hotel: A group of men stood in the back of a small van trying to remain upright and in the vehicle, a girl on the back of a motorbike talking on her phone in the thick of the traffic with horns blaring non-stop – needless to say she isn’t wearing a helmet, a take-away advertising the softest kebabs in the world, a shop called Selfie Hairstyle, trees full of lights from the recent Diwali fes

Kerala is a region with plenty to explore. Most tourists start in Cochin where there are enough sights and attractions to last a week or more. But the backwaters of Allepey offer a more gentle pace and outstanding natural scenery. Escaping the bustle of the city to cruise the rivers while enjoying the best Keralan cuisine should a part of any traveller's visit to the area.

When you leave Mumbai Airport you know you're in India. My black and yellow cab drove onto the road in the late evening into a hectic cavalcade of fumes and metal. Ahead of me a small truck had its back door open, revealing a group of young men trying to stay up right and in the vehicle. Foolhardy motorcyclists wove among the traffic with every driver ready to plough forward at the slightest hint of a gap in the gridlock. I passed a woman sat on the back of a moped calmly talking on her phone.
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