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Traveling solo in India

Mariellen — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:12:45 +0000

[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.

I will never forget peering out the window of the plane into the midnight blackness as we began our long descent into Delhi. All I could see was strange, random groupings of flickering orange lights. The familiar grid pattern of bright, even, white light you see when flying over a western city was nowhere in sight. I had no idea what to expect. I was on the greatest adventure of my life and I knew it.

And then I landed, and smelled Delhi’s acrid-pungent air for the first time and I knew everything would be okay. And it was. I spent six glorious months on a magic carpet ride. The universe held out loving, embracing arms and caught me.

Feeling safe among warm, friendly people

While all the stereotypes about India are true – it is crowded, dirty, noisy, chaotic and poor – it is also unfathomably rich in culture, tradition, spirituality and beauty. The ancient wisdom culture of India is alive in so many ways, but especially in the friendliness of the people. It’s the people of India that make traveling solo such a wonderful – and safe – experience. I can’t imagine kinder, more helpful, happier people.

Indians know how to enjoy life. They know how to be in the here-and-now, and appreciate time with family members and friends. They have a gift for relationship – and everything in India is relationship-driven. A poor shop owner would rather lose a sale than lose time with his family.

So, while traveling in India can be challenging due to crowds, chaos and delays, you will always find friendly people willing to engage in deep, meaningful conversations on philosophy, religion, values and other thought-provoking topics; and you will always find people willing to help you in any way they can. Personally, I would rather be in India with its dirty, late trains and warm, friendly people, than in a country with clean, super-efficient trains and reserved, aloof people.

If you go to India, my advice is to go with an open mind and an open heart. Take all the precautions, of course – especially with drinking water – but don’t go with fear in your mind or heart. I always say that India is like the cave that Yoda sends Luke into. “What will I find in there?” Luke asks. “Only what you bring with you,” Yoda answers.

Thank you for reading. Please visit BreatheDreamGo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

Magh Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, 2010

Mariellen — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:36:41 +0000

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.

The Maha Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years in Allahabad — the sangam, or place, where the three rivers meet. This is the “big one.” The Maha Kumbh Mela is the largest gathering of humanity on earth. This year, a “smaller” version. called the Magh Kumbh Mela will be held in the sacred city of Haridwar, which is a four-hour train ride north of Delhi. (There is also an Ardh, or half, Kumbh Mela that takes place several times during the cycle.)

I am planning to be there, as my ashram is only a few kilometres from Haridwar. Not sure when yet, but I may try and be there for one of these auspicious bathing dates.

Bathing Dates for Haridwar Magh Kumbh Mela 2010

14 January 2010 – Makar Sankranti Snan – First Snan (bath)
15 January 2010 – Mauni Amavasya and Surya Grahan (Solar Eclipse) – Second Snan
20 January 2010 – Basant Panchmi Snan – Third snan
30 January 2010 – Magh Purnima Snan – Fourth Snan
12 February 2010 – Maha Shivratri – Pratham Shahi Snan – First Royal Bath
15 March 2010 – Somvati Amavasya – Dvitya Shahi Snan – Second Royal Bath
24 March 2010 – Ram Navmi – Fifth Snan
30 March 2010 – Chaitra Purnima Snan
14 April 2010 – Baisakhi – Pramukh Shahi Sanan – Main Royal Bath
28 April 2010 – Shakh Purnima – Snan

Thank you for reading. Please visit BreatheDreamGo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

My India list

Mariellen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:44:43 +0000

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

see sunrise over the Himalayas from Tiger Hill, near Darjeeling
watch the start of the monsoon in Trivandrum
attend the Pushkar Camel Festival
climb Mount Arunachala
see a tiger! — perhaps in Kanha National Park, the place that inspired Kipling to write Jungle Book
watch Indian classical dance at sunset in front of the temples during the Khajuraho Dance Festival
stay in tea gardens in Darjeeling, Assam and the Nilgiri Hills
have tea at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai
stay at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata and watch the Kali Puja
go on Char Dham pilgrimage to source of the Ganga (Ganges River)

And the list continues …

be in Jaisalmer for the Desert Festival
visit Gandh’s ashrams: Sabarmati and Sevagram
take part in Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai
see the Brahmaputra River in Assam
visit the Ellora and Ajanta Caves
hike in Ladakh
be in Mathura for Janmashtami
take a boat cruise through the Sunderbans
join the Chariot Festival in Puri
hike in Sikkim
stay at Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur
see the Republic Day Parade in Delhi
~~spend some time writing in Bundi, where Kipling wrote~~
undertake 10-day Vipassana retreat near Jaipur
brief stop in the world’s wettest place, Cherapungi
see Dal Lake, Srinagar
stay at a spice garden in Kerala
visit the spice market in Old Delhi
finally go to Akshardham in Delhi
see the sun set and the moon rise at Kanyakumari (happens only two days per year)
attend Jaipur Literature Festival

Thank you for reading. Please visit BreatheDreamGo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

What yoga is

Mariellen — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:37:13 +0000

[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.

If you want to do yoga to look good in tight, black stretchy pants that dip just below the tattoo of another culture’s sacred symbols on your sacrum, it’s a free country. Fill your boots. In fact, for many – including me – passing through the “fashion” stage of yoga can be a stop on your way to a greater understanding of yoga.

But attempting to achieve some kind of yoga ideal — as seen on the cover of Yoga Journal! — is not yoga. And it’s high time that some people are starting to speak up and to set the record straight. I think we in the west have been doing yoga long enough for some sense of maturity to set in.

Patanjali, mural in Kerala

Yoga is not a systematic, linear process intended to get you somewhere. A tighter butt. Your leg behind your ear. Closer to god. That is western dualistic thinking. Yoga comes from an ancient non-dualist tradition.

I like the way Mark Whitwell put it: “Yoga is intimate participation in the given reality.” It’s an interior process. A kind of prayer. You spend time every day consciously breathing into your body and experiencing an intimate relationship with the marvel that is you. The manifestation of “extreme intelligence,” as Mark puts it.

Yoga is Sanskrit for union or yoke. It means to link, to connect. It is the experience of connecting to yourself and the nurturing source reality that you cannot be separated from.

Mark encourages people to do a minimum of seven minutes of yoga alone in their room every day. “Do your yoga. Naturally, actually and not obsessively,” he advises. Make a commitment. See what happens.

Joseph Campbell

I’ve been doing it. And I follow Joseph Campbell’s advice. He said do your spiritual work, your rituals or whatever, and then comb your hair and leave your room. In other words, it’s a personal experience. It’s YOUR experience. Your truth is in your skin. Yoga gives you the opportunity to experience your truth.

“Yoga is the embrace of ordinary reality,” Mark said. “It’s the celebration of intimacy and attachment.” I love that he said that. Maybe that’s what I really needed to hear. Maybe that’s what we all need to hear.

You don’t have to look like a yoga celebrity. You don’t need brand name outfits. You don’t need a tattoo. You just need seven minutes, your breath, body and movement.

Thank you for reading. Please visit BreatheDreamGo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

10 Tips for women traveling in India

Mariellen — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:38:02 +0000

[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.

2. Carry a long scarf

Even if you don’t opt for wearing the costume preferred by many women in India, the “suit” or salwar kameez, always travel with a long scarf made of light-weight fabric. It will come in handy for situations where modesty will be more convenient and allow you to go into mosques, gurdwaras and more traditionally minded Hindu temples.

Rawla Guest House, Jaipur

3. Rawla guest house in Jaipur

Jas Vilas Hotel in posh Bani Park, Jaipur is a favourite accommodation option, a real gem, but it is on the expensive side and often full. The owner’s niece, Sanyogita – who is a Rajput royal – recently opened a comfortable and gracious guesthouse in her lovely home. The Rawla, also in Bani Park, offers modern amenities, good food, and, best of all, Sanyogita’s company and advice. Sanyogita is a charming hostess who knows Jaipur like the back of her hand.

4. Bring tissue and hand sanitizer

In India, I never go out for the day without a mini pack or two of tissues, a small bottle of hand disinfectant, a cell phone and an iPod shuffle. I use the cell phone to call a friend and report the number of the taxi, as I get in, and so that the driver can hear me. (If no one answers, I pretend!) In markets and bazaars, I sometimes turn up the iPod so that I can’t hear the aggressive vendors, and they eventually leave me alone.

5. TripAdvisor

Check TripAdvisor.com for recommendations and tips from fellow travelers.

Ganges View Hotel terrace, Varanasi

6. Hotel Ganges View, Varanasi

I was very glad that I stayed at the Hotel Ganges View, Assi Ghat, in Varanasi. Aside from being a comfortable and safe place to stay, it also features a communal dining experience in the gracious dining room. At dinner, I met other women traveling alone, and a couple of us went on to Delhi together, sharing some of the expenses.

7. Yoga capital: Rishikesh

Rishikesh is a wonderful destination for a woman traveling alone in India who is interested in health, wellness, yoga or spirituality. The “yoga capital of the world” is a relatively serene town that meanders along the jewel-green Ganges River as it cascades through a beautiful valley among the Himalayan foothills. There are many safe accommodation options in ashrams (such as my fave, the Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram) and guesthouses and lots of opportunity to take yoga classes, study and meet other women traveling alone.

8. IndiaMike.com

IndiaMike.com a great online resource, packed with destination information, travel articles and forums on many topics relating to traveling or living in India. You can pose very specific questions and chances are good that a friendly and knowledgeable fellow-traveler will respond.

9. Makemytrip.com

Makemytrip.com is an Indian travel site that offers information and can help you plan your itinerary and book plane, train and bus tickets as well as hotel and homestay accommodation.

open-air dining room at Shinshiva Ayruvedic Resort, Kerala

10. Shinshiva Ayruvedic Resort, Kerala

One of my favourite Indian experiences was staying for two weeks at Shinshiva Ayruvedic Resort in south Kerala (about 8 kms south of busy Kovalam Beach). The Shinshiva is a small resort that features thatched-roof cottages, an open-air Ayurvedic dining room, a perfect cliff-top setting overlooking the Arabian sea and magical sunsets AND authentic Ayurvedic treatments such as one-hour-long hot oil massages performed by two young women working in rhythmic harmony. Also a good place to meet other women travelers, it is a favourite destination for Europeans.

Thank you for reading. Please visit BreatheDreamGo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

Indian travel alerts

Mariellen — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:16:41 +0000

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!

Thank you for reading. Please visit BreatheDreamGo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

Do’s and Don’ts in India

Mariellen — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:04:49 +0000

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.

- Wear kurtahs (long shirts) if you are a man; and salwar kameez (also called a “suit,” it’s a long tunic over pants, and topped with a long scarf) if you are a woman.

- Take a yoga class or stay at a yoga ashram.

- Try a homestay guest house. The family is the backbone of the social system in India and you will learn a lot about the culture — and have a great time — by living with a family.

Don’t:

- Hand out money to beggars in crowded places. You will be swarmed. In fact, authorities advise that you don’t give money to anyone asking for a handout. If you want to give, by all means do so — India has many, many worthwhile charitable organizations. Your money will go to a better cause of you give it to a charitable organization. Many beggars work for gangsters, so the money you give to them, just ends up in the gangster’s pocket.

- Wear your shoes in a temple, mosque, gurdwara — any house of worship or sacred place.

- Dress in scanty or provocative clothing.

- Use your left hand for eating, if you are eating with your hands (this is especially true in South India). Also, use only your right hand for any religious or sacred gesture; and don’t point with your feet, or touch things with your feet.

- Eat street food unless you absolutely know it is hygienic. Same goes for salads.

- Take any risks with drinking water. Always ensure the water is completely safe. Buy sealed bottles only.

Thank you for reading. Please visit BreatheDreamGo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

10 (more) books I love about India

Mariellen — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:56:03 +0000

A while I ago, I wrote a blog post that listed my Top 10 Books on India (thus far). This is the second installment in my series, Books I love about India.

1. Kim by Rudyard Kipling. It’s a masterpiece. I read it with my jaw on the floor. I have been reading for, oh, 43 years, give or take, and I have never read a book that is so in the moment. You tramp along with Kim down the streets of Lahore, on the Grand Trunk Road, through Himalayan passes. Every sound, every smell, every gesture, every accent is evoked. The dust swirls around you, the smell of cooking food entices you, the fresh air of the mountains revives you. Kipling knew the road in India, and he knew how to capture it in words. And Kipling is not just a master of description — he is a master story-teller. Like India herself, this story is bold, complex, subtle and ambiguous. Though it is not an easy read, it is hugely rewarding. I will be reading it again soon.

Fishermen on the beach in Kerala, south India

2. A Rope in the Water by Sylvia Fraser. I read this book just before I left for India the first time; and I am re-reading it now. The story engrossed me the first time; it’s her writing skill that captures me this time: vivid descriptions, intelligent insight, great story-telling and a journalist’s skill for reporting. She also has a sensitive feel for the culture of India and keen spiritual understanding She can do it all. I don’t want to give anything away … but when she tells the story about the rope in the water, I get shivers. That story has really stuck with me. I also got shivers when she gets an astrology reading done and reveals her birthday, March 8, which is also mine. I find it very compelling that Sylvia Fraser and I have so much in common … we are both female writers from Toronto, born on March 8, who went on pilgrimages to India to deal with trauma from the past. I also ended up in many of the same places she did — without meaning to! But even if your birthday is not March 8 and you haven’t been to India, this is still a great read by any yardstick. And if you are looking for an authentic spiritual quest, read this before Eat, Pray, Love.

3. No Full Stops in India by Mark Tully. Actually, anything by Mark Tully. I also have India in Slow Motion and India’s Unending Journey. Tully (which means drunk in Hindi!) was the chief correspondent for the BBC in Delhi for many years. He’s a good writer and he knows India. His most recent, India’s Unending Journey, is by far the most personal. It’s about his own psychological and spiritual journey as he learns from India to be “certain about uncertainty.” I can relate. Compelling reading.

4. Holy Cow by Sarah MacDonald. A classic. Every time I think of the iron scene, I start chuckling as I picture Sarah’s face hidden by her hands so the very serious servants won’t realize she’s actually bursting with laughter over the missing iron. I laugh even more since I experienced living with servants in a Delhi household. (But servants in an India household are a bit more light-hearted than those in a foreigner’s household, methinks.) Oh, just read the book. It’s both hilarious and also moving as she traces her own relationship to India from reluctance and disdain to head-over-heels, unabashed love.

5. Slowly Down the Ganges by Eric Newby. Eric and his wife took a slow boat down the Ganges in the days before India’s modernization began. It’s a fascinating journey, written in precise detail that makes every agonizing minute they are dragging the big tin boat over rocks and sandbanks almost painful to read.

6. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Had to start this book a second time before I really got into it. It creeps into you like rain forest dampness. Very evocative and very powerful. While the setting is Kerala, in tropical southern India, it could be anywhere rural and stifling. I thought of the American deep south more than once. Strikingly original writing.

Jama Masjid, Old Delhi

7. Twilight in Delhi by Ahmed Ali. This book, a “cult classic,” was apparently very hard to get for many years. Ahmed Ali was a Muslim writer and professor from Delhi who was out of the country when partition was announced and Pakistan was created. He was not allowed back into India and had, instead, to settle in Pakistan. It is a prose poem dedicated to the twilight days of “old” Delhi, when the Muslim area of the city flourished. It not only captures a bygone era, it also relates some moving personal stories.

8. City Improbable edited by Khushwant Singh. Bombay/Mumbai and Calcutta/Kolkata seem to get all the press, but there are those of us who are quite taken with Delhi. It’s a fascinating, historical, multi-layered city that sometimes seems, well, improbable. This is an excellent collection of entertaining and informative essays.

9. Calcutta edited by Geoffrey Moorhouse. The history of Calcutta, from its founding in 1690 by Job Charnok, an agent of the East India Company, is inextricably linked to the history of the British in India. Calcutta was the capital of the British Raj until it was moved to Delhi in 1911. The tales Moorhouse chose make for fascinating reading. They cover many eras, many subjects and include well-known authors as well as excerpts from the diaries of English women who came out to be with their husbands (or to find husbands).

10. Rajasthan Getaways by Outlook Traveller. Oh, I was glad I had this book when I was traveling by myself in Rajasthan. Published in India, it’s much more than a simple guidebook. The book is primarily a series of essays written by talented writers who love India’s most-visited state as much as I do.

Thank you for reading. Please visit BreatheDreamGo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

Finding spirituality on trip to India

Mariellen — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:49:35 +0000

The soul of the world

I enjoyed reading Christine Garvin’s article, Can You Develop Your Spirituality Without Visiting India? on Brave New Traveler (part of the Matador Travel Network).Of course, I whole-heartedly agree that finding or increasing your spiritual awareness is not about location. Spirituality is an attitude and an understanding. You can find it, learn it or increase it anywhere and anytime. In fact, the lessons often come from the unlikeliest people and places. You don’t even have to go to a temple, church, mosque, gurdwara, mediation centre, ashram, monastery or what have you. Once you begin to see the world from a spiritual perspective, you may never need a formal teacher again.

Yoga is my spiritual path and my teacher, Swami Brahmdev (known to his students as Swamiji) of Aurovalley Ashram said there are two conceptions of yoga. The one that is popularized in the west is that yoga is something you do. According to Swamiji, however, “Yoga is established in your understanding and attitude; it is a way of life. Yoga is living with a yogic attitude – naturally and with simplicity. When that attitude is born, you are a yogi, no matter where you are.”

But I take exception to the Brave New Traveler article subhead “Forget flying halfway around the world to find happiness.” I encourage you to fly to India — or sail or walk or go by camel if you must! — if you feel the urge. I felt a compelling desire to go to India about five years ago, and to say I’m glad I went is the biggest understatement of my life. Going to India was the best thing I ever did. I am writing a book about all the gifts I have received from three trips there.

Everyone’s path is different and for me, India is my spiritual home. The “advances” I made on my spiritual path while traveling and studying yoga in India for 11 months may have taken me a lifetime here in Canada. I recently wrote an article for a Canadian travel magazine, India is Yoga, that addresses the question: why go to India for yoga? I asked three Indian yoga teachers, including Swamiji, for their opinions, and their answers are worth reading if you are interested in the subject.

It is my experience that, generally, India has a milieu or energy that I find very spiritually conducive; whereas I feel the opposite is true in my home town, Toronto. I am not saying you can’t have a spiritual experience in Toronto or that you are guaranteed to have one in India, of course. As I said, a lot of it is attitude. I go to India with the attitude that I am going to learn, and I do. Just learning to go with the flow of train delays and crowds and sights of appalling poverty can really open you up, if you let it.

Until you experience India, and yoga in India, you probably won’t be able to understand just how different it is over there, as compared to here. God is ever-present in India. God is celebrated, worshipped and invoked in road-side shrines, massive temple complexes, at tiny altars in many stores and in the prayer rooms in most homes; and in the thousands of sacred places — rivers, mountains, tress — and places associated with sacred events, such as Krishna’s birth or the battle of Kurukshetra. All of India is a living, breathing sacred place that is alive with history, myth and the stories of the epics and the gods.

And of course it is not just that the people are religious. They are also, for the most part, very spiritual. My own experience is that the people of India are kind, helpful, open and much more content and — dare I say it? — happy than we are in the materially affluent west.

To people of a certain temperament, like me, all of this makes a big impact.

Joseph Campbell would say that if you are a seeker, if you are on a quest, at some point, you must leave your community. There are certain predictable steps or stages in the hero’s journey, and leaving your community to go in search of treasure — your holy grail — is one of them. It doesn’t mean you have to go to India, of course. A pilgrimage is a very personal thing.

But by going to India, you are at the very least bound to gain some perspective, which I think many westerners could benefit from — as only about 8% of the world lives as luxuriously as we middle-class westerners do. (I wrote more about this in my post, Life is perfect. Or, as the Globe and Mail ads say, “It’s not just news. It’s a wake up call from the other side of the world.”)

It probably all comes down to your attitude. I often say that India is like the cave that Yoda sends Luke into. Luke asks, “What will I find in there?” and Yoda answers, “Only what you bring with you.”

Thank you for reading. Please visit BreatheDreamGo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

Tweet-up at Red Tea Box

Mariellen — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:16:52 +0000

Here I am, having tea with three amazing women travel bloggers: Janice “Solotraveler,” Evelyn, “Journeywoman,” me, and Nora “Hobonora.” We had a magical afternoon at the Red Tea Box in Toronto, sharing stories, inspiration, resources and tips. Sometimes, you just have to leave your computer and actually meet face-to-face the people you connect with in cyberspace.

Thank you for reading. Please visit BreatheDreamGo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

BreatheDreamGo » blogs

Traveling solo in India

Feeling safe among warm, friendly people

Magh Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, 2010

The largest gathering of humanity on earth

My India list

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

Top 10

And the list continues …

What yoga is

10 Tips for women traveling in India

1. Wear “salwar kameez”

2. Carry a long scarf

Rawla Guest House, Jaipur 3. Rawla guest house in Jaipur

4. Bring tissue and hand sanitizer

5. TripAdvisor

Ganges View Hotel terrace, Varanasi 6. Hotel Ganges View, Varanasi

7. Yoga capital: Rishikesh

8. IndiaMike.com

9. Makemytrip.com

open-air dining room at Shinshiva Ayruvedic Resort, Kerala 10. Shinshiva Ayruvedic Resort, Kerala

Indian travel alerts

Do’s and Don’ts in India

Do:

Don’t:

10 (more) books I love about India

Finding spirituality on trip to India

The soul of the world

Tweet-up at Red Tea Box

Rawla Guest House, Jaipur

3. Rawla guest house in Jaipur

Ganges View Hotel terrace, Varanasi

6. Hotel Ganges View, Varanasi

open-air dining room at Shinshiva Ayruvedic Resort, Kerala

10. Shinshiva Ayruvedic Resort, Kerala