Posts Tagged ‘blog’

Ambling up to Amber Fort, Jaipur

Dream in India TOUR

Learn travel writing and blogging as you travel in India

Dream in India is for people who long to be inspired by India’s dazzling culture, fairy tale palaces and wondrous wildlife. Participants will experience the eternal beauty of the Taj Mahal, the excitement of Ranthambore tiger reserve and the fantastical art and architecture of Rajasthan. Plus, we will stop in Rudyard Kipling’s Bundi, the palace hotel where Bruce Chatwin wrote The Songlines and the Jaipur Literature Festival. The tour dates are January 08 to 21, 2011 (with a six-day extension in Jaipur, Samode and Delhi).

Along the way, I will teach travel writing and blogging; and will help participants get their own personal blog set up on WordPress.org or Travelblog.org.

For more information on the tours visit New! Tours to India or scroll down for dates, cost and detailed itinerary. Read the rest of this entry »

Help Passports with Purpose

Passports with Purpose is a collaborative online fundraiser created in 2008 by four Seattle-based travel bloggers: Debbie Dubrow, Pam Mandel, Michelle Duffy and Beth Whitman, the bloggers behind Delicious Baby, Nerd’s Eye View, WanderMom, and Wanderlust and Lipstick.

Each year, they choose a charity and leverage their online presence to help raise funds for it. This year, 2010, they are building a village in Southern India with Land for Tillers’ Freedom (LAFTI) and their non-profit branch based in the U.S., Friends of LAFTI Foundation.

Watch this video about the founder of LAFTI – a real modern-day hero. It’s a very inspiring, very moving story about women empowering women. Yay!

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Front gate of "the Beatles ashram," Rishikesh

All you need is love

This blog is dedicated to my older brother Matthew. If it wasn’t for his Beatles obsession in the late 60s and early 70s, I might never have come to India. I used to follow him around when we were children, which meant listening to a lot of Beatles music. I remember looking intently at the pictures of the Beatles — especially George Harrison, my fave  — wearing long hair, flowing shirts and marigold garlands. I had always loved anything “Oriental, exotic and mystical,” and when the Beatles went to India, I was entranced. I secretly wished I was old enough to be a “hippie” and join them. Read the rest of this entry »

[Note: Originally published as Recommended: Travel solo in India by Solotravelerblog.)

When I was 45 years old, I put everything I owned in storage, gave up my apartment and went to India for six months. It was the first time in my life that I had done anything like this. But it was time. I had always wanted to go to India and, after losing both of my parents, I knew it was now or never to go after my dreams.

Was I scared?  You bet. But it was the “healthy” kind of scared – the kind that rises up from within and first whispers, then roars: if you overcome this, you will be forever changed. So I went. I jumped off the proverbial cliff to see how the universe would respond.

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The largest gathering of humanity on earth

Millions of people gather each year in North India to take a holy dip in the sacred waters of the Ganges, Yamuna and /or the mythological Saraswati rivers. Hindu devotees, pilgrims, saints and sadhus from all over India and the world turn up in huge numbers each winter. They believe that a holy dip in the sacred rivers during the  Kumbh Mela washes away sins and can help them break the cycle of life and death and attain Moksha. Read the rest of this entry »

My India list: top places, events and festivals I want to see

I believe in magic. How else can you explain that the more I travel in India, the longer the list of places I want to go gets?! I was inspired to write this list by Mighty Girl’s Mighty Life List, so here goes. Here’s my list at the time of this writing (and I am sure I am missing several things …):

Top 10

1. see sunrise over the Himalayas from Tiger Hill, near Darjeeling
2. watch the start of the monsoon in Trivandrum
3. attend the Pushkar Camel Festival
4. climb Mount Arunachala
5. see a tiger! — perhaps in Kanha National Park, the place that inspired Kipling to write Jungle Book
6. Read the rest of this entry »

[NOTE: Originally published on Humantimes.com, September 2008.]

Mark Whitwell

After studying and practicing yoga for about 15 years, predominantly in Canada but also in India, I had the pleasurable experience of listening to a very outspoken yoga teacher pierce the veil of western illusions about yoga. He basically said the emperor has no lululemons.

I don’t know what it was like for others in the room, but listening to Mark Whitwell at the Yoga Festival of Toronto in August, 2008, was, for me, a sound for sore ears. I am at a point in my yoga journey when I want to try and understand the original intentions of yoga – without the overlay of western thinking, ideas and culture.

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[NOTE: Originally published on Journeywoman, July 2009.]

Moi, in salwar kameez, at Kanyakumari - the very southern tip of India

1. Wear “salwar kameez”

Aside from good walking shoes and sandals, a one-piece bathing suit and cotton bras and underwear – or, if you prefer, the synthetic kind that wicks away sweat – don’t bring any clothes to India. If you land in Delhi, head straight to one of the Fabindia outlets and stock up on inexpensive cotton “suits.” The three-piece suit (in Hindi, salwar kameez) consists of a long or short tunic over fitted or wide-legged pants, topped with a long scarf, called a dupatta. These outfits suit the climate, the need for modesty and will help you fit in, mitigating your status as a moving target for gawkers, touts and beggars.

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Temple bell, cow, temple, Pushkar

I am flagrantly copying a fantastic Travel Advisory I saw on Rebel’s blog — but I have adapted it for travel in India. (Thanks Rebel — imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!) Next time I am traveling and blogging in India, I will code each entry with one of the following:

Temple bells – At one with the universe. Content, happy, going with the flow.

Mango lassi -- Fun times! Having adventures, going to festivals, celebrating.

Masala chai – Situation normal. Feeling at home with friends. All is well.

Veg or non-veg thali – The challenge of culture shock is noticeable, but I’m taking it in stride.

Bhel puri – One too many people tried to sell me something, over-charge me, beg money from me or talk to me in a way that does not uphold “Aththi Devo Bahv.” Wishing I was invisible.

Chili peppers -- Arrggghh, too many people, too hot, too noisy, too polluted, I need sanctuary!

Moi, with friends, at the Taj Mahal

Do:

- Go to the Taj Mahal. Yes, it’s worth it. It may be one of the few times in your life when all the hype and hyperbole actually fails to capture the spectacular beauty of the real thing.

- Take the train. Traveling by train in India is an adventure. Indian Railway is the world’s biggest employer (1.2 million employees) and everyone takes the train, from ministers to farmers. It takes a bit of time to master the class system (2AC is a good choice); the new online ticket system really helps. You will meet lots of friendly people, no matter which class you travel.

- Learn a few words of Hindi. Most educated people speak English, but working class people and villagers rarely speak more than a few words. “Namaste” is a common greeting; “theek hai” is okay; “accha” is, is that right?; “jaao” is go away’ “chai” is tea; “paani” is water.

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