Haridwar, 10-12 August

Mohyal Ashram, room B101

What a sanctuary. As ashrams go, this is a very relaxed one, welcoming to foreign guests and spotlessly clean. Our room with fan was spacious and light, with the best-equipped bathroom we've had in India yet. There was a hot water shower and a Western-style loo. All food is included in the nightly cost; what's more, it's generally delicious. Unfortunately it hasn't photographed very well. Yoga instruction is available at 150 rupees per person for an hour and a half, and there's a library for guests' use with all sorts of books, including, of course, spirituality and self-improvement.
3 days is not quite long enough for a stay here- we recommend 4 at least.

Bathroom: private and very, very clean
View: Garden
Cost: 600 rupees (double) inc all meals
Contact details: email mohans_india@yahoo.com Address: Rishikesh Rd. Ph 261336

Haridwar, August 9

Mansarover International, room 108

After half an hour of asking around at several small Lonely Planet-recommended hotels nearby, we spurned their overpriced, undercleaned offerings and plumped for this large hotel with the grand moniker, not mentioned in the guide book. Although it's seen better days, prices are reasonable, it has a good location near the Mansa Devi cable car and it was the cleanest hotel we inspected in town.
Our room was spacious, with clean bathroom (hot water) and a balcony, which seemed to have been adopted by a family of pigeons. Management are helpful.
Bathroom: private
View: Lush green hillside and tops of old buildings
Cost: 600 rupees (9 euros)
Recommended: Definitely
Contact: Upper road, haridwar email: hotelmansaroverintl@rediffmail.com Ph:01334 226501

Lucknow to Haridwar, August 8

Overnight train, 2 A/C class
Surprisingly, not too bad. We shared a carriage with a couple of soldiers heading up to Haridwar for training, so this train trip we weren't as concerned about security, at least. The train was much the same a our previous experience, basic beds, basic bedding, but this time we got some sleep. All in all, not too bad, but then, you can't always guarantee you'll get such good company.

Lucknow, August 7

Hotel Mayur, room 35If you're not on a strict budget, read no more. If you are on a budget and are arriving late/departing early from the train station, this will do. But only for 1 night. The mattress was stained (noticed this as we asked for the sheets to be changed), walls were peeling and there were strange holes in the wall through to a ventilation duct. The whole room smelt vaguely of piss, while the hotel stair landings doubled as a rubbish dump, hosting such various items as old mattresses, beer bottles and broken furniture. Management were reasonably helpful and offer a 24 hour checkout. Our room had satellite TV though, a welcome addition after weeks of Indian only fare. We watched an old episode of Seinfeld at 1 in the morning. It was great.
Bathroom: Private (apart from the hole in the wall)
View: Street
Recommended? Exactly how desperate are you?
Contact details: Address: Subharsh Marg

Varanasi, August 5-6

Alka hotel, room 130.


Varanasi, holy? Hmmm. Heap of hassle, more like. First, we asked to be dropped at a different hotel, and were taken to completely the wrong part of town by the usual thoroughly corrupt taxi drivers hoping to persuade us to stay at the Hotel Sonmony (hotel located above one of the cremation ghats). This may be fine for you if you like the smell and sight of burning bodies outside your window, but we don't.
So we walked approx 1.5km upriver, through cow shit, human shit and piles of rubbish,the smell of piss wafting around us all the while, checking out a few other hotels. Most were horrific. Hotel Alka is a haven in comparison, and as one of the only decent ghat-side hotels, it gets busy; we heard several people turned away, including those trying to reserve ahead by phone. The room was small and basic, but reasonably clean, with a TV and ok bathroom with hot water (first hotel to claim hot water and actually provide it!) However, we would not stay here again if we had a choice. Staff were extremely rude and unhelpful. No one is allowed to check in until 12 midday at the earliest; despite people checking out earlier, they don't clean the rooms until late. They've also amassed a small collection of books, which you would expect to be available through a book swap scheme like most other traveller-friendly hotels. However, Hotel Alka do not swap; they sell the books people leave behind and will not even give you one book for two. We interpreted this as no need to leave a tip – we just left a book. If you do decide to stay here, do not make the mistake of eating here: the food is terrible and cups and plates are not clean. The pancakes in particular are stomach-churningly awful with the texture and taste of solidified glue. Instead, head to Godaulia Crossing and turn right to find the Palawi Restaurant with well-priced yummy food in a chilled-out setting by an old temple.
Bathroom: private
View: No view as window was frosted.
Cost: 700 rupees (approx 11 euros)
Recommended? Not really, but beggars can't be choosers, and it's the best of a very bad bunch in Varanasi at this time.

Overnight train Satna – Varanasi, August 4

2nd class air-conditioned carriage
Sorry, no pics.
Our first experience of train travel in India, and what a shock to the system it was, after the organised pleasure that was Iran. This trip was slightly more expensive than what we paid for the same length overnight journey in Iran. However, instead of a private 4 person compartment including dinner and breakfast snack (Iran), we had a 4 berth compartment, with only a velcroed curtain between us and the corridor, no food and a distinct lack of security (at every station people would get on and take a brisk walk through the carriage looking for unsecured baggage to misappropriate). We had not brought chains, unlike many local travellers, and so we spent a relatively sleepless night. The whole experience convinced us to stick to day train travel if at all possible in India in future.
Bathroom: Used it once; held on for the rest of the trip as I didn't feel safe enough to walk along by myself at night.
Views: Varied
Cost: 1400 rupees for 2
Recommended? Only if you are short on money and time, otherwise, travel by day and stopover at a hotel for the night.

Khajuraho, August 2-3

Hotel Zen, Bodhi Dharma (Buddha) room
This hotel is located along the Jain Temple road, a handy spot for getting to the Western and Eastern temples. Rooms in several price brackets (negotiable in off-season) are located around a series of courtyards with lotus ponds (despite the resident fish, these are a breeding ground for hungry mozzies, which head straight to the non a/c rooms on the ground floor). We plumped for a room with air-conditioning, which was spacious and very clean. Apparently there is hot water, although ours was never more than lukewarm. Staff were extremely helpful when our television did not work, swapping it 5 times until we got one that did. However, the painted over bathroom window had a peephole scratched in the paint, allowing staff to have an illicit perve while you shower or toilet. We didn't catch anyone in the act, although a fellow guest did – female travellers in particular may wish to search for and locate the peephole and cover the window with something from the inside.
Overall, this hotel represents great value, although the restaurant is overpriced compared to others in the vicinity. They also charge an expensive 100 rupee pp booking fee for trains
Bathroom: private
View: Courtyard
Cost: 500 rupees (approx 8 euros)
Recommended? Yes, overall very good value and the cleanest Indian hotel so far.
Contact: jain temple road, khajuraho, tel 7686 274228 email oshozen62@hotmail.com ohozen62@rediffmail.com

Agra, July 31-August 1

Kamal hotel, room 2

Our first choice was full up, so we ended up at this budget option a short walk from the Taj Mahal. They were doing some renovation, so air-cooled rooms were not available, only basic rooms on the ground floor. Ours was a cleanish room with fan and bathroom with bucket shower (cold water) and poor drainage. The rooms are not well-ventilated and at this time of the year (monsoon) get stuffy and are hotter at the end of the day than the air outside. We woke up one night to find a rat in our rubbish bin. Management are quite helpful and the restaurant on the rooftop serves decent food with a view of the Taj. For train tickets or taxi hire, the travel agent/money changer across the road to the right (recommended by the hotel), was more honest than most others we've dealt with.
Bathroom: private
View: Corridor
Cost: 400 rupees (approx 7 euros)
Recommended? It's ok, but you could probably do better.

Delhi, July 30

Hotel Cosmo, room 230

Once we extricated ourselves from the jammy, scammy guesthouse (previous entry), we booked into this hotel up the road in the same area for a night. For an extra 100 rupees, we got a much nicer bathroom, quieter air-conditioning and nicer reception staff. All in all, much more professional.
Bathroom: private, spacious, but again, no hot water and shower was a 'bucket shower'
View: A wall
Cost: 700 rupees (around 11 euros)
Recommended? Yes, offers good value in Karol Bagh, and is in the same street as the dodgy scammers mentioned in previous entry, if you end up there and prefer to find your own accom.
Contact details: 7A/40 Channa Market, Karol Bagh cosmohotel@yahoo.com

Delhi, July 28-29

Bill's Guesthouse aka Dandoo Guesthouse

We did not intend to stay here, actually booking for Vivek Hotel 3km away. However, thanks to a dodgy taxi driver, a dodgy tourist office and our overtiredness after an overnight flight, we inadvertently ended up here. (Common scam from Delhi airport: taxi driver drops you off telling you that he can't find your hotel, but you are in the area you requested, so there's a tourist office who can help you find the hotel. 'Tourist office', actually travel agent (Travel Venture India Pvt Ltd), tells you you're in the wrong area, but that the area you planned to go is not nice and you should instead book into a local guesthouse (which you later find out is run by them). Then they try to sell you an overpriced package for travel around India.) Anyway, the guesthouse was cheapish with ok rooms, but there was no hot water, the floor was grubby and the door locked with only a sliding bolt. The air-conditioning unit varied from sounding like it was about to take off, to squealing like a mating fox. And to top it all off, on the second day someone was obviously caught short with a bout of the runs on the stairwell up to the guesthouse, and no one cleaned it up. The tourist office holds the key to the guesthouse, so if you go out you need to go via the office, where they subject everyone to heavy-handed sale spiels for trips to Kashmir. Not a nice experience.

Bathroom: private
Views: Small window onto dark internal lightwell.
Cost: 600 rupees (approx 9 euros)
Recommended: Never. These scammers don't deserve a shred of further business.
Contact details: Bill's Guesthouse, Dandoo Guesthouse give the office address details, 7A/W44, WEA Channa Market, Karol Bagh, New Delhi BEWARE if any guesthouse you plan to book has this address, it is linked to this dodgy office.

Shiraz, July 23-26

Anvari hotel, room 230
After a night roughing it, we stepped up a class and got a room with a double bed (one of the few available), air-con and private bathroom. It was very clean, spacious enough and quiet, apart from the child with behavioural issues along the hall. Management were frosty at first, but warmed up day by day. This hotel is well-located for restaurants and internet cafes and about 15 minutes walk from the bazaar.

Bathroom: private
View: rooftops
Cost: 180,000R (around 13 euros)
Recommended: Absolutely

Shiraz, July 22

Saadi hotel, room 38

Cheap as chips, clean enough and a good basic choice. Our room was big, with an enormous private bathroom, although with the bars on the windows we couldn't escape the feeling that we were staying in a prison. Management are very friendly, although not much English spoken. Breakfast is available for an extra cost from the small restaurant downstairs.

Bathroom: private and huge, although quite institutional
View: Windows too high to see out of, but think it is an internal lightwell
Cost: 140,000R (or just under 10 euros)
Recommended: Doable if you're on a budget

Yazd, July 20-21

Malek- o-Tojar
Was the Lonely Planet recommended choice in our (2004) edition but will have undoubtedly lost that mantle by now we're sure. It's still a gorgeous old house but the owners have turned their attention to a couple of larger, more elegant establishments, with the result that this now looks quite neglected and run-down. Nevertheless it is still an atmospheric place to stay – if you don't mind keeping your valuables and money on you at all times – we had some money stolen from our room at the same time the room was cleaned, and management acted as if they did not understand us when we complained. Rather than press home the point by calling the police, we had a bus to catch, so left it at that. However, be warned. If you stay here, bargain hard to reduce the price and do not leave anything in your room you mind losing.
Bathroom: private
View: Courtyard
Cost: 280000R including basic breakfast
Recommended: No, sadly, due to our experience of theft at this hotel. Spend your money on the Silk Road or Orient Hotel instead (both of which we viewed but did not stay at).

Esfahan, July 18-19

Amir Kabr Hotel/Hostel, room 10

Another of life's reminders: you get exactly what you pay for. We moved to this hotel because we needed to save some money. And it was immediately clear where the price discrepancy was. For a difference of 100,000R, almost 8 euros, we sacrificed a private bathroom, cleanliness and privacy. Our room was on the top floor, facing the courtyard, which is a good place for travellers to meet – but makes for a bit of noise in the evening. The room itself had very firm beds, with mattresses like large hessian sacks stuffed with straw. We asked for the beds to be changed because there were some dubious hairs lurking on the sheets. All credit to the management: this was done promptly; in fact, management were consistently friendly and helpful. They do make this a good place to stay for travellers. No towels provided. A basic breakfast (bread, cream cheese, carrot jam, cup of tea) was included in the price.

Bathroom: Shared, mostly clean but particularly smelly (esp upstairs)
View: Courtyard

Cost: 185,000R

Recommended? Mmmm, good for the budget, not so for beauty sleep.

Contact details: mrziaee@hotmail.com Address: Charbagh St, Isfahan Tel: 0098 311 222 7273