Tonight, I'm writing from the middle of a thunderstorm, the temperature has dropped significantly and while the sky lights up, the rain pours down and the heavens sound like they're coming down, there's a certain feeling of safety than can only be achieved when you're taking refuge in a fort that's been standing since the fourteenth century! They certainly don't build them like this anymore, although these days there is a tendency towards waterproofing and windows. Nevertheless, the view from our roof (not content with three terraces we also have one on the roof, complete with seating arrangement and views substantial enough to justify it being there) is spectacular right now.

It's a fitting end to what has been a strange day.

This morning we drove toward Neemrana, with high hopes after yesterday's treasure trove. But quite quickly we realised that as we headed further and further north, the countryside just wasn't quite as inspiring as we'd hoped. There were a couple of hilltop forts, both abandoned (and no doubt candidates as future fort-palace hotels) and with no real access, but apart from that, nothing that really piqued our interest. The larger villages seemed less rural and more industrial, truck stops and generally a bit more grubby. It's about little over a two hour drive from Kesroli (just outside Alwar) to Neemrana, and there, the fort-palace is probably the only thing worth seeing. It's buillt on many different levels, and in particularly good condition - having been converted in to a heritage hotel. The levels create interesting ways of appreciating the building from different angles - and of course mean you have views across the local area.It's the kind of place you want to wander around and explore every nook and cranny, but being a hotel that's not really practical. In fact the conversion in to a hotel really spoils the effect - terraces with an inordinate number of seating areas, the weekend crowd from Delhi (it's only 120kms or so in to the centre of Delhi so popular as a weekend getaway) chattering away by the pool and people generally milling around making it seem rather more like a theme destination. To top everything off the service was for the most part shocking, the management not much more helpful and so we left to make the return journey under a cloud of disillusionment. However, as Léonie wisely pointed out - this is exactly the point of the trip, to work out which hotels sound good in theory, but just don't deliver in reality.

Back in Alwar (our first real foray in to the centre) we had a list of the top sights that we were going to hit, only to find that what is described as a 'picturesque' town in the guidebooks, leaves a lot to be desired. After the morning's disappointment our first reaction was "head for the hills" - which is exactly what we did, out of the town and up the steep, winding roads through the wildlife park (more deer and peacocks with their tail feathers on full display) to the Bala Quila fort that perches on the Alwar Hills (mountain) range. The incredible views cover Alwar on one side, although knowing what's down there takes a little of the sheen off. The other side more than makes up for it though when you see the ramparts scaling the hills in the rest of the range, and look down in to the verdant valley below, which is exactly where we decided to go next, using up our last hour or so before dusk.

A few light showers earlier in the day meant we were soon dodging puddles in potholes surrounded by land being ploughed ready to be planted as paddy fields. We've seen more beautiful areas in Rajasthan, but it almost felt like not being in Rajasthan at all with everything soaked through. At the end of the road, we stumbled on yet another dried out lake, this one with a stunning palace on it's shores. It was surely at some time a very royal palace, and a very romantic residence for its occupants. Today it stands empty and unmarked apart from the "trespassers will be prosecuted" sign. We'll be making more enquiries on this one, as it's clearly one of the highlights of Alwar.