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Kerala: More to It Than Backwaters – Wynad, India
Kerala: More to It Than Backwaters
Wynad, India
It outstared us, the wild bison, or gaur, at Muthunga wildlife sanctuary.
“Be different.” This is my motto in life. So, when friends learned that I was planning a trip to “God’s own country” (the State go
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The Drive to Somewhere – Shivasamudra, Mysore, India
The Drive to Somewhere
Shivasamudra, Mysore, India
The elephant statue on the road.
It seems to be a case straight out of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Yes, the state Karnataka where I reside, a sandalwood smuggler and his gang of merry men have held the state to ransom. Every
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The Last Mahaseer – India
The Last Mahaseer
India
A fine six pounder
Plunk! A silver splash breaks the taut skin of the water just upstream of the grey boulder where the rapid enters the calm womb of the turquoise pool. With slow turns of the handle I begin to reel in my lure; gently easing it as close to th
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Searching for the ‘Magic’ of India
Searching for the ‘Magic’ of India
India
I’d been to India once before and truly hated it: The noise, the oppressive heat, the poverty, the swarming mass of mustachioed humanity that engulfed me. Instead of facing up to the challenge, I hid pathetically in the insulation of a
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Boot Camp at 20,000ft – Uttarkashi, India
Boot Camp at 20,000ft
Uttarkashi, India
5:30 am Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, India
“I hope all you gentlemen are ready for a bit of light exercise this morning!” the instructor from the Indian Army’s High Altitude Warfare School booms.
There’s silence
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Tiger, Tiger…Bijrani, Uttar Pradesh, India
Tiger, Tiger…
Bijrani, Uttar Pradesh, India
Mr. Imran Khan seems to know everything about tigers. I hardly expected to engage myself in an academic conversation about tigers on a planned luxury holiday – out with the boys where our interests were to “chill out”, as they s
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The Untouchables – Malana, India
For most of my Indian school life, I was fed on the usual diet of Hindu caste and colour structure. A society made up the four-tier Varna system with the Brahmins at the top and the Shudras (labelled untouchables) at the bottom. And then years later, one quiet evening, I found myself sitting be
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Hippies, Hikers, Hookahs and Harems #5: Kerala – India
Kerala (Trivandrum – Kollam – Alappuzha – Kovalam)
A sedate cruise through the Keralan backwaters, the ‘Hugging Mother’ roadshow and a talented, fortune-telling parakeet completed our introduction to India.
January 2003
Exchange rate: (�1 = Rs75)
India evokes p
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Me, My Girl, and a Frost Free February #4: Delhi-Simla-Manali-Chandigarh-Agra-Khajuraho – India
Delhi-Simla-Manali-Chandigarh-Agra-Khajuraho
September 13, 2002
I knew that India would be different.
When I was a child, my parents kept a Bhagavad Gita in the house and practiced transcendental meditation. This was the 70’s, of course. There was also an illustrated book on yoga in our
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Me, My Girl, and a Frost Free February #6: Jaisalmer-Udaipur-Mumbai-Aurangabad-Ellora-Ajanta – India
Jaisalmer-Udaipur-Mumbai-Aurangabad-Ellora-Ajanta
October 17, 2002
Given the choice, we took a day bus from Jaisalmer to Udaipur. A female friend had given us a vivid description of her recent nighttime bus ride. The man in the seat behind her managed to work his hand through the gap between h
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Me, My Girl, and a Frost Free February #7: Madagon-Palolem Beach-Hampi-Gokarn – India
Madagon-Palolem Beach-Hampi-Gokarn
November 9, 2002
India has some of the world’s most glorious temples, sacred art and fascinating historic sites. But you won’t hear about them here. This installment of MMGFFF is all about the beach.
The official slogan of the Goa Tourism Develop
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Me, My Girl, and a Frost Free February #9: India, Bangladesh – India, Bangladesh
India: Chennai, Mahaballipurum, Pondicherry, Calcutta, Varanasi
Bangladesh: Dhaka, Chittigong, Cox’s Bazar, Teknaf, Khagrachari
January 14, 2003
To give or not to give? Half the population of India (that’d be half a billion people) earns less money per day than I spend on a bag o
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Mother May I? Relaxing in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram – Pondicherry, India
Paul Theroux said that travel is only glamorous in retrospect. I was beginning to agree with him. After just three weeks in India, I was already worn out by the time I arrived in Pondicherry. I had been scammed by taxi drivers, touts and tour guides. I had argued bitterly with my travel compani
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In the Movies – Mumbai, India
In the Movies
Mumbai, India
Does the term Bollywood ring any bells? For those of you in the know, please skip the following paragraph. The rest of you, read on.
Bollywood is India’s equivalent to Hollywood. It has produced around 27,000 films since the early 1900’s and is still go
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Welcome to India – India
Welcome to India
India
I am a social worker and a seasoned traveler. I am female and I have been backpacking off and on for 13 years. I have hit 35 countries along the way. I recently traveled to southeast Asia, originally was headed to Vietnam but due to the SARS and the war, I decided to tuck
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The Bombay Express – India
The Bombay Express
India
I made my usual messy entrance to a long train trip at Haridwar Station the day after Holi Festival. My backpack swung heavily from side to side, sandals had come undone and my pash mina shawl was covered in dust after a horror rickshaw drive.
While my face was streake
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Cities of Rajasthan – Rajasthan, India
Cities of Rajasthan
Rajasthan, India
Jaipur
Jaipur has now spread far beyond the original city walls and passing several of the original gates we were given quick glimpses of the famous Pink City. The walls of the city and the buildings that lie within are not exactly pink but more different s
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More to Agra than the Taj Mahal – Agra, India
More to Agra than the Taj Mahal
Agra, India
For once the queue for the ladies was miles shorter than for the men and I had time on my own to savour a sneak preview of the most beautiful building in the world. Like a mirage, the Taj Mahal lies at the bottom of immaculate, symmetrical gardens and
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India: a Foot in Each Century – New Delhi, India
India: a Foot in Each Century
India
Although a bit run down in places, New Delhi was exactly how I imagined it to be, but the real surprise was discovering that Old Delhi was also very much alive and thriving. Our guide described India as having a foot in each century and he could not have phra
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Bring on the Tourists – Varkala, India
Bring on the Tourists
Varkala, India
The Eden Garden Ayurvedic Health Retreat is gearing up for a busy winter. Smart new signs are nailed to trees and glossy menus offer guests “authentic South Indian rejuvenation therapy.” There’s no room for complacency, though. Therapeutic
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