The Indian Subcontinent - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 325

A trip could kick off in the rose-pink city of
Jaipur, famous for its magnificent sandstone
Amber Fort. After staying for a night or two in
an attentive, family-run hotel, you might decide
to travel on to the semi-arid areas of Shekhawati
or the desert city of Bikaner, where you'll meet
artisans busy weaving Rajasthan's famous
patterned carpets and making pretty tie-dye
garments. You can even make your own bangles,
like those you see dripping from most Indian
women's wrists.
Elsewhere, you'll join the Makrana people, who
practise puppetry not just to entertain tourists
but, in conjunction with The Blue Yonder, to
educate and inspire illiterate local children. You
could finish your trip with a shopping expedition
in market-filled Udaipur. And in the evenings
you'll sit among the community and listen to
folk songs and stories, watching the whirling
choreography of the richly bejewelled dancers.
As well as looking behind Rajasthan's cultural
scene, you could choose to go on a jeep tiger-
safari in Rathambore Park, visit the Karni Mata
Temple, where thousands of rats are worshipped,
or hop aboard a camel for a bumpy ride among
the sand dunes of the Thar Desert. Allowing
visitors a large variety of ways in which to meet
the local people and to see little-trodden areas
of the state, Blue Yonder's trips give a vibrant
taster of the real India.

Need to know A typical two-week tour starts in
Jaipur and ends in Udaipur, but it's possible to
customize your visit to any length, and to any of the
projects and villages involved. Contact The Blue
Yonder ( W www.theblueyonder.com; T +91 (0)
8041 152 218) for prices and more information.

The Blue Yonder take guests
to meet the people making
souvenirs like this doll

442 the real raJasthan

The largest state in India, Rajasthan is also
one of the most beautiful and exciting - home
to colourful markets, welcoming cities, vibrant
music and delicious cuisine. The royal palaces
that pepper the state feature heavily on tourist
itineraries: rich, decorative and intricate, they
epitomize the luxury and decadence of the
Raj. But for those who want to go behind the
scenes, India-based travel company The Blue
Yonder runs custom-made trips that allow you to
explore what really makes Rajasthan tick.

443 sleeP in an elePhant, sri
lanKa

That's no misprint in the title. At KumbukRiver,
an award-winning ecolodge, you really do sleep
in an elephant - except this one is 12m tall and
thatched, built to resemble a pachyderm and set
in rural surroundings by a babbling river. It's