Mariellen

Freelance travel writer and blogger

M birthday

Welcome to Breathedreamgo! My name is Mariellen and I am the dreamer behind this site. I believe in the power of travel to transform and I am inspired to share the beauty of and magic of life through my writing. I particularly enjoy finding beauty where it is not usually perceived. I’m a freelance writer, editor, social media strategist, India travel and business consultant, yoga student and tea lover; I live in Toronto; and I travel regularly to India.

To find out “why India” please read My Story. To find out how my skills can help benefit you, please read Breathedreamgo Services and Consulting .

Please scroll down to see a select portfolio of my travel-related writing. I am also a copywriter. You can find out more about my corporate copy writing at MariellenWard.ca or by visiting my Linkedin profile. I am a member of the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) and the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC).

Portfolio

Magazine and newspaper articles

Toronto Star
- Aging Gracefully: Delhi at 100

Homemakers Magazine
- The Joy of Cheap

Toronto Star
- Mumbai Mesmerizes

Maple Tree Literary Supplement
-Defining Indo-Canadian Writing

Canadian Living Magazine
- Change is a process, not a destination

Toronto Star newspaper
- Life in an ashram in India

Homemakers Magazine
- Sacred Journey (PDF)

Zoomer Magazine
- Lotus Blossom: Turning 50 in India (PDF)

Discover India
- Bengaluru: Impressions of a city (16-page cover feature) (Bangalore PDF)

Asian Woman (Canada) Magazine
- Role Models: Rani Mukherjee, Pryianka Chopra and Seema Biswas

This magazine
- Booming trade in slum tourism dispels some myths, create others

Arrival Magazine: Aeroplan’s monthly magazine and Arrival online
- Winter wonderland: Cool, colourful things to do in India in winter

Acura Style magazine
- Golden Mirage: Jaisalmer (PDF)

The Toronto Star travel section
India: Journey to the other side

Dreamscapes Magazine : Globe and Mail supplement
- India is Yoga (PDF)

Online travel and yoga magazines / sites

Travel+Escape
Bi-monthly Immersive Travel column
- Comfort and Joy: Three heavenly havens
- Are you a tourist or a traveler?
- New Year’s Eve in Kerala
- Have you found your soul culture?
- A perfect winter moment

Travelllll
- Why India? The advantages of destination specific blogging

Sympatico Travel
- On the trail of the tiger in India

Verge Magazine
-Travel Blogging 101

ZipSetGo
- What is Transformative Travel?

Brave New Traveler / The Matador Network
- Travel is an exercise in perception

Bootsnall
- 10 Ways to Experience India Now

Passports with Purpose
- Why I support Passports with Purpose

Bootsnall
- Five hard truths about long term travel

The Art Gallery of Ontario : Maharaja
- If these walls could talk

The Brooklyn Nomad
- My favourite train rides in India

Travel Writers Exchange
- How to work with tourism boards

Travel Writers Exchange
- The importance of finding your travel niche

Matador Abroad, The Matador Network
~ India, poverty and the fear of traveling to poor places

SoloTraverlBlog
- Getting ready to go: Four top solo travel tips
- Recovering from loss by following a dream

Transitions Abroad
- Yoga as a window into Indian culture

Transitions Abroad
~ Learning to love Delhi

Journeywoman website and e-newsletter
~ She packs for India: packing tips for travel in India
- Top 10 things to buy in India
- Top 10 tips for women travelling in India
- How to dress for social  success in India

Trazzler
~ Strolling in Lodhi Garden, Delhi
~ Falling in love with the Jaisalmer desert
- Walking with millions in Haridwar

What travel writers say
~ Ashrams in Rishikesh

SoloTraveler
~ Recommended: Traveling solo in India

The Matador Network
~ 11 reasons to visit India in the summertime

Humantimes.com
~ What Yoga is

Examiner.com: Sustainable Travel
~ Butterflies are free: volunteering in Dharamsala

The Mindful Word
- How I learned to accept change

Press

Desi News
Wide-eyed Wanderer: A profile

Citizen Lou
Helping Hands

8 Women Dream interview
Breathedreamgo: A mantra for living

Weekly Voice
How one woman found solace in India PDF
Interview: How one woman found solace in India

Interview with Rashi Khilnani, Indo-Canadian Report on CBC
- Blogging about the IIFAs

Appearance on Nat & Marie, Ustream TV talk show
- Bollywood in Toronto

Masti Magazine
- Song of India  book-review

Canadian Living Magazine
- Change is a process, not a destination (PDF)

Akshara Yoga blog
- Of Breathing, dreaming and blogging

India-Asia News Service
- Raj Kapoor martini marks IIFA in Toronto

Travelblog

Mariellen’s India Travel blog
~ between December 2005 – April 2009 I spent 11 months living, traveling, studying and volunteering in India. Please visit if you want to share my adventures on the subcontinent.

All material on this weblog is copyright Mariellen Ward 2010

12 Comments »

  • Usha Rao said:

    Mariellen – I love your blog! I love all your musings about India! I am a vacation planner by profession with India as one of the destinations I specialize in. Despite being a native of India, I feel you have expressed the details that I find it hard to sometimes prepare my clients with. Here on out I will be sending your link to my clients going to India.
    I don’t see much of a mention for South India – are you still in the process of discovering that area? I myself am from there and would love for you to discover that region as well. I think it’s dramatically different then the North.
    Thanks for your blog and discovering India and also for sharing!

  • Deanna said:

    Hello Mariellen! I met you during the Toronto Travel Tribe meeting which, serendipitously, was being held the night of my photography exhibit opening reception at the Rivoli! I would love to travel to India, and I find you blog very inspiring! I am now following you on Twitter, and hope to attend the future meetings!

  • Angela Artemis/Powered by Intuition said:

    Mariellen,
    I’m so happy I found your blog. I really love it. I just subscribed and became a fan on facebook.

    I’m trying to get in touch with you regarding an opportunity you might be interested in regarding sharing your blog with a larger audience. Would you be so kind as to reply to my email where I can share this with you privately?

    Thank you,
    Angela Artemis

  • Mariellen (author) said:

    Hi Deanna, Hi Angela! Thanks so much for commenting. It’s fun to meet people here, on Breathedreamgo.

  • Rashmie said:

    Mariellen – just found your blog and am so happy I did. I loved your spirit and love for India captured through your writings and photographs. I could feel much in common between us and hence had to connect by leaving this comment. I love photography too and love traveling.
    Saw your Holi photo of the ashram in Rishikesh. Would like to know which ashram this is. Also, what do you think of Rishikesh as a place. I have been thinking of making it my summer retreat… :)
    Hugs…

  • Meghan Brady said:

    Just stumbled onto your blog! I love your article,”change is a process, not destination”-so inspiring. I have always wanted to go to Indian and study yoga-and I WILL someday. I am currently traveling the US and going after my dream to be a travel writer-Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

  • sharell said:

    Wow, I’m also really happy I discovered your blog. Your story is similar to mine in many ways. I came to India after some personal losses, except I’m still here over 5 years later (and I married an Indian guy as well). I also write about India travel — I look after About.com’s India travel website (part of the New York Times) and I’ve written a book about my transformational India experience (but it’s not due to be published until later this year). India has had an amazing affect on me… hard to believe I used to be a very bored accountant. ;-) Anyway, I wish you well on your adventures. Can’t wait to read more of your blog. Best wishes.

  • Anita said:

    Hi Mariellan,

    We never got to meet but enjoyed reading your India piece. Stay in touch.

    Anita

  • Ann Kirkland said:

    Good morning Mariellen,

    I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation at Meet Plan Go on Monday evening. I own a small literary travel company, Classical Pursuits. We are going to North India this winter, where we will read and discuss Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, Edward Luce’s In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India, and some classical poetry. I would like to create a blog post with a link to your site and to include some of your fabulous photos (with attribution, of course). I am writing to ask your permission to use some photos, to welcome your feedback on our itinerary, and to ask if there is a way I can list our trip on your website. Here is the url. http://www.classicalpursuits.com/learning-vacations-2012/india-learning-vacation.php

    Namaste,
    Ann

  • Mariellen (author) said:

    Thanks Ann, your tour looks amazing! I will add the link to my Resources page. Cheers.

  • Manas Rawat said:

    Mariellen,
    First of all, you are beautiful :)
    And your writings are equally beautiful and capture India experience very differently.
    I hope you like it and also hope you make it to Kolkata on your next visit to India so that we could meet over a cup of coffee.
    Manas

  • Mariellen (author) said:

    Thanks Manas. I would like to spend more time in Kolkata. Bengali culture is so rich. Perhaps we will meet one day.

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