The word on the street is that Bundi is the next big thing. Give it two or three years they're saying. And it's quite possibly true, although we'd like to think that it will always be the small town with the friendly people. Having only been there once before there was a definite feelgood factor about a handful of people actually remembering you.

Being back in Bundi seems strangely like being somewhere you've known all your life. Not that I can claim to have been here more than once prior to this visit, but still. Last time we were here we fell in love with the palace. This time, it's the Taragarh Fort. Perched along a ridge, high above the palace, it's lit up at night and from the pool of our hotel was already looking inviting last night. Even though we'd promised ourselves a lie-in and some quality pool time, after lunch we'd already committed to seeing at least the fort before sundown.

We arrived in Bundi last night, slightly worn out after the early start (I'll say it again - yes, we actually saw a tiger) but still in high spirits. The journey was long, but we found enough energy to fit in Kota along the way and after visiting the royal museum one of the attendants took pity on us and brandishing a bunch of keys, bit by bit opened up the city palace allowing us our own private viewing. You have to bear in mind that it's low season right now and Kota isn't exactly top of list of places to visit for most people, so when you do show up at this time of year, you do get some odd looks.