LEH, INDIA - After a sleepless night on a bus from the honeymoon hill station of Manali, I was looking forward to reaching Leh — fast.

DELHI — It’s mid-day on a packed street in old Delhi, I’m remarkably jet-lagged and a little shell-shocked by my new surrounds.

JAISALMER, INDIA – The bottom half of my body was beginning to numb. “What was I thinking?” I thought to myself.

MUMBAI - There is much to do and see in this giant city of 18 million people but our guide Douglas Cyrus insists there is one sight that will impress us more than any we have seen during a fabulous day tour of India’s largest metropolis.

AGRA, INDIA - A handsome young man escorts a pretty woman to a bench outside the main entrance to the Taj Mahal, India’s monument to love.

VARKALA, INDIA- Feel the cool white marble of the Taj Mahal on your bare feet. Check. Witness the cremations on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi. Check.

MUMBAI - It’s just a few minutes before noon but already the landmark Leopold Café and Bar is crowded and the Kingfisher beer is being served by the “yard” in unique tumblers that are marked like rulers – a Leopold tradition we are told.

JAIPUR, RAJASTHAN - The narrow, winding trail leading to the iconic fort was crowded with a parade of elephants, all carrying Tilly-clad tourists to the majestic medieval castle that sits in a stone valley, 11 kilometres from downtown Jaipur, which is known as the Pink City of Rajasthan.

UDAIPUR, INDIA - The man in the rumpled suit interrupted his cell phone call just long enough to welcome us to his small craft shop on City Palace Road.