Travel Tips

Top spots in Toronto’s India Bazaar

By on May 17, 2013 in Canada, India, Travel Tips

Little India, Gerrard St Bazaar, Toronto, CanadaA taste of India in Toronto

When I feel the need to experience India, and I’m stuck in Toronto, I head to the India Bazaar on Gerrard Street East. It’s a one-stop shopping destination for “all things Indian” and a visit there can make for a fun afternoon. India Bazaar is lined with Indian stores bursting with colourful finery, restaurants that feature authentic north and south Indian cuisines and stalls offering streetfood favourites like grilled corn, fresh sugar cane juice and golgappa (dumplings with sauce). Here are my favourite stops. Continue Reading →

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In search of my Ottawa Valley Irish family roots

By on May 9, 2013 in Canada, Travel Tips
log cabin Ottawa

Victoria and Mariellen in front of Victoria’s 100-year-old log cabin home

A meaningful adventure travel experience to connect with my Irish ancestors

This year, I will be Going home to Ireland as part of a massive tourism initiative called The Gathering 2013. Read on to find out about the search for my Irish-Canadian family roots, and the Irish heritage of the Ottawa Valley.

Celtic Cross, OttawaI think it was the mosquito that did it. When I saw that mosquito, etched into the Celtic Cross at the mouth of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, I suddenly gained new insight into the harsh conditions Canada’s early settlers faced. The Celtic Cross stands at Ottawa’s most picturesque spot in honour of the 1,000 Irish workers and their families who died building the Rideau Canal (1826-32). Apparently, a significant percentage of them died from malaria. I had no idea. The other symbols on the cross include an explosion, a wheelbarrow, a pickaxe & shovel and in the centre of them all, a harp — the symbol for Ireland. Approximately one-third of Rideau Canal workers hailed from Ireland.

I recently drove to Ottawa to follow the Irish trail through eastern Ontario, which is where my ancestors settled when they emigrated from Ireland in the early 19th century. In fact, many of Canada’s Irish settlers ended up in the Ottawa Valley, and they have long been known as “Ottawa Valley Irish.” I’m retracing my roots this year, in anticipation of my September visit to Ireland as part of The Gathering 2013 – a tourism initiative to bring home the Irish Diaspora. My first blog in this series, The Journey from Ireland and back recounts the harrowing story of loss that drove my ancestors from Ireland to Canada, more than 200 years ago. Continue Reading →

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Why you should travel overseas even if you’re scared

By on May 2, 2013 in Responsible Travel, Travel Tips
Nepal-Kathmandu-Durbar-Square1 560

Kathmandu. Photo courtesy Barbara Weibel

Because though travel adventure comes with risk, the rewards are usually far greater

“In the wastes of civilization, Luristan is still an enchanted name. Its streams are dotted blue lines on the map and the position of its hills is a matter of taste. It is still a country for the explorer. I penetrated only a vey little way. But I spent a fortnight in that part of the country where one is less frequently murdered.” Legendary travel writer and explorer Freya Stark wrote these lines in 1934, after an extremely arduous trip, by donkey, into parts of the Middle East no European woman had previously visited. Her book about this trip, The Valleys of the Assassins, is filled with adventurous tales of avoiding bandits, sleeping under the stars, looking for hidden treasure and suffering every kind of discomfort, mishap and illness.

It was typical for Dame Freya Stark, who lived to be 100 and was many times decorated by the Royal Geographical Society. She set off on many daring journeys, usually alone, with only one native guide. Yet all of her trips ended well; she always found safe passage; and most of the people she met along the way were kind, generous and helpful. And so it goes. Continue Reading →

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What you need to know about Holi

By on March 25, 2013 in India, Travel Tips
Holi Festival of Colour in India

Photo of Holi, courtesy Dave Bouskill, PicturethePlanet.com

Holi in India: Everything you need to know about The Festival of Colour

IT’S NOT INDIA’S biggest festival, but it’s the most colourful — and probably the one most beloved by foreigners. Many people have “experience Holi in India” on their bucket lists, and for good reason. How often do adults get to throw coloured powder at each, and squirt each other with water guns filled with coloured water? And … for those who are more adventurous than me … there is the bhang lassi, too. Holi does not happen on a fixed date each year; it takes place on the day after the full moon in March. This year it’s March 27. I’ve been in India three times for Holi, and my experience is that it’s a holiday best celebrated with family and friends, especially if you are a female and a foreigner. Here’s my top 5 tips for playing Holi safely. Continue Reading →

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What’s the story? Is travel in India safe?

By on March 19, 2013 in India, News/Events, Travel Tips
Taj Mahal Agra India

The Taj Mahal at sunset from the other side of the river.

Why I think you should BOTH practise safe travel AND keep your perspective

A series of much-publicized rapes in India has many people wondering if India is safe for travellers. A female British tourist just jumped out of a hotel window in Agra to escape an assertive employee knocking on her door. Was she justified; was the threat real? Or is the increasing fear volume in India making people overly anxious? It is my opinion that media bias and sensationalizing is making India sound unsafer than it actually is; but having said that, I also strongly encourage using common sense and practising “safe travel.” Media sensationalizing is having another negative effect, too: it is distracting from the real story, which is the worldwide problem of violence against women and the worldwide rape crisis. Please read on to find out real rape statistics around the world and why you need to practice safe travel wherever you go. Continue Reading →

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Travelling down memory lane to London and England

By on March 14, 2013 in ENGLAND, Travel Tips
Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England

Me, at Stonehenge, during my first trip to England in 1987

Memories of London town and the English countryside in spring

It’s about this time of year, early spring, that I always think of travel to England. I haven’t been there in years, but I travelled several times to England at about this time of year in the past. The first time I stepped foot in London, on a balmy, overcast day in the spring of 1987, I felt at home. Though I had never been to Europe before, there was something familiar about London. Maybe it was all those English movies and books I’ve consumed, or perhaps something in the blood, the collective memory of my family. Whatever the reason, I am writing this post as a love letter to England in the spring. Continue Reading →

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Professional travellers love Emirates

By on March 13, 2013 in News/Events, Travel Tips
Emirates airline flight to India

Photo courtesy of Emirates.

Travel bloggers know the best airlines

Regular readers of Breathedreamgo know I was very impressed with my Emirates flights to India and back. Though I was a guest of Emirates, and flew in Business Class, it doesn’t make me blind: I recognize a great airline when I see one.

But don’t take my word for it. While extolling the virtues of Emirates on social media, I noticed a lot of other travel bloggers felt the same way. So I grabbed some screen shots and tapped a few leading bloggers for interviews. After all, travel bloggers are basically professional travellers, and that means they know a good airline when they see one, too. So, without further ado, here’s what some of the internet’s leading travel bloggers had to say, and why they recommend flying Emirates. Continue Reading →

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Comparing travel prices online

By on March 3, 2013 in News/Events, Travel Tips

home page, SkyScanner flight and travel price comparison websiteSkyscanner is a smart, fun and easy-to-use travel comparison site

People who travel a lot — and people who dream about travel a lot — spend a lot of time online comparing flight prices, reading hotel reviews and planning their dream trips. And I am no exception. So when the good folks at Skyscanner asked me to take their online travel comparison site for a test drive, I was excited. Is there anything better than doing what you love for work?

If you don’t know, Skyscanner is the #1 leading flight comparison site in Europe, and they are gaining popularity in India, Asia and elsewhere. Skyscanner is available in 30 languages, dozens of currencies and searches about 1,000 airlines. The internet and mobile versions get about 32 million visitors per month, total, and the app has had 12 million installs so far. And all of this was started by three IT guys who thought they could build a better travel comparison site. After testing Skyscanner out, I think they were right. I found it easy to use, and it has all kinds of great features I have never seen before. Continue Reading →

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Travel with “Me to We” to India on a life-changing trip

By on March 1, 2013 in India, News/Events, Travel Tips
Lake Palace Hotel and the pink-hued Aravelli Hills, Udaipur, Rasjasthan, India

Lake Palace Hotel and the pink-hued Aravelli Hills, Udaipur, Rasjasthan.

Enjoy the beauty of Rajasthan on a volunteer adventure trip-of-a-lifetime

Pink sunsets giving way to the broadening dome of an azure sky. Peacocks flying low across the desert. Burnished golden forts rising from the baked earth. Women walking gracefully in neon-bright saris. Men in bulbous turbans leading loping camels. This is Rajasthan: romantic scenes from your fantasies of India really do come to life here. But of course Rajasthan is much more than a picture postcard of idealized India. It is also home to a large population, many of whom lead traditional and impoverished lives of back-breaking labour in a climate of extreme weather.

And this is where Me to We is building Araveli Cottages, a new property for volunteer travellers. Participants will be able to experience Rajasthan, contribute to the community and stay in comfort. For more than 10 years, Me to We Trips have been sending young people, families, adults and groups on life-changing trips to a Free the Children “Adopt-a-Village” program near Udaipur, Rajasthan. And starting this summer, 2013, participants will be able to stay in luxury at Araveli Cottages, a property designed with authentic Rajasthani decor and featuring well-appointed private cottages and generous indoor and outdoor shared spaces. Read on to find out more about Me to We trips to India and Kenya (and elsewhere), and about the surprising story of how it was all started by a 12-year-old Canadian boy. Continue Reading →

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Finally, a perfect small hotel in Delhi

By on February 27, 2013 in India, Travel Tips
Red Maple Bed & Breakfast hotel in South Delhi India

A typical room at Red Maple.

An ideal stay for solo female travellers in South Delhi, India

It was desperation that drove me to Red Maple Bed & Breakfast in Delhi … but delight that kept me there! In January, I was staying with friends in Gurgaon, a huge, new suburban community south of Delhi, and the temperature kept dropping and dropping. One day, it hit a 50-year record low: high of 9 C. and low of 2 C. Now, you might be thinking, “She’s Canadian, what’s that to her?” And you’d be right: in my home city of Toronto, temperatures can drop to minus 25 C. in winter. But we have insulated houses, indoor heating, hot showers, continuous power, and so many other things that make living in a cold climate bearable, and even cosy. No such luck in Delhi, where the houses are built to keep the heat out, and floors are usually made of marble.

In short, it was bone-chilling at my friend’s place, and also far from my favoured stopping grounds, South Delhi. Yes, I am a South Delhi girl. I like frequent stops at Barista or Cafe Coffee Day. I shop at Fabindia in Khan Market and go for ice cream treats at The Big Chill. I meet my friends in Hauz Khas and get my mani-pedis done in Green Park. And my idea of a perfect market is GK1 N-Block. So, I reached out to Harminder Saini at the Red Maple Bed & Breakfast to find out if he had availability, and when he said yes, piled all my suitcases in a taxi for the long ride from Gurgaon. Continue Reading →

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