Welcome to this week’s Postcard From – the feature where I chat to some lucky explorer about their recent travels. If you would like to take part please get in touch – eluxton@hotmail.co.uk – I would love to hear from you!

This week, it’s the turn of travel enthusiast and amateur photographer Andre Nedelcoux, whose unique style of photography I love! Originally from Paris and currently living in London, Andre tries to travel as much and as often as possible, to take as many interesting photos as he can – here’s one of him in Peru! He’s taken plenty of trips to Latin America, his favourite continent, as well as Asia, and loves spicy curries!

Andre’s Site

Andre’s Flickr

Welcome Andre! Tell me about your trip!

Last year I had the chance of spending two weeks in Northern India, travelling through Rajasthan and out of many trips, this has probably been one of my favourite ones.

Our trip was basically a train/car road trip which means we were moving from town to town every two days and that’s definitely the right way to visit India. We did a sort of loop: Delhi > Jaipur > Pushkar > Ajmer > Udaipur > Chittorgarh > Ranakpur > Jodhpur > Delhi > Agra and all these places were definitely worth a visit.

Wow, so you were all over! What did you get up to?

Rajasthan is quite famous for its forts and we did visit at least six of them in different towns; they are so impressive and atmospheric (I think Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom that was actually filmed in Amber Fort), often built at a scale that I have rarely seen elsewhere. There are also many temples worth a visit, like Ranakpur’s temple and the towns themselves for the atmosphere (and the food!). Delhi is a mad city worth visiting – many highlights there, you could almost spend three days visiting it – and of course the Taj Mahal as well as the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri.

Can you pick a highlight?

So many highlights! Visiting the Taj Mahal at sunset, arriving in Udaipur on Diwali’s night, the sunset on Udaipur’s lake, Jodhpur’s fort, traveling by train… impossible to choose!

How did you find the weather?

We went there in October/November which is the best season for northern India – dry season, bright sunshine but not ridiculously hot.

As a curry lover, you must have been in heaven! How was the food?

As you can imagine, food was absolutely amazing and I believe I had 14 curries in a row, which in itself is a pretty decent record! The best food we had was in a (not very promising) restaurant in Ajmer next to the train station which ended up serving an unbelievable Tikka Massala.

Obviously, India is full of tourist-related hazards like Delhi-Belly! Did you have any disasters?

Nothing major which is not bad in India Taking the tube in Delhi at rush hour is quite an experience and it gives a whole new meaning to the word “crowded”

Do you have any tips or advice for anyone planning a similar trip?

Travel on your own (don’t buy a packaged trip) and take the train: travelling by train in Rajasthan is a fabulous experience, even if it takes four hours to travel 100 miles… you get a different perspective on the country and it helps you switch to the pace of India.

And finally, did you learn any useful Indian phrases on your trip?

Not really a word but learning to decrypt the famous Indian “side to side head movement” – which is very confusing at first but mastering it helps with the (multiple) negotiations you will have to go through in India.

NB – all images are owned by Andre Nedelcoux.