The first backpacking trip outside of Europe in 2012. With only a couple of city names on a piece of paper, a Lonely Planet edition of India and a camera we set out to travel from Bombay all along the western coast of the subcontinent through Kochi and Trivandrum to the southernmost point of the country, Kanyakumari. From the sacred city of Rameshwaram we visited the fishing village of Danushkodi on the narrow, sandy landstripe pointing towards Srí Lanka - which have been demolished since then, and a highway built in its stead. After marvelling at the hindu temples of Madurai, Thanjavur, and the rock fort of Trichy we took a two-day train trip to leave the south and reach New Delhi, then continued to the foot of the Himalayas on the famous Kalka-Shimla railway.