Posts Tagged ‘hotel’

For Video Friday on BreatheDreamGo, I have a video I took while riding in a bicycle rickshaw on the way to the train station from my hotel in Haridwar during the Kumbh Mela. I was staying at the wonderful Haveli Hari Ganga, which is located deep in the bazaar – where the streets are too narrow for cars and too crowded with people and stalls piled high with brass figurines of the Hindu pantheon, pyramids of vermilion kumkum powder and neatly stacked wafers of pastel sweets. The hotel has its own bicycle rickshaw for transporting passengers to and from the train station.

Classic Sikkim view: rhododendrons, mountains, mist

I left Darjeeling for Sikkim thinking I could visit Gangtok and Pelling in three days. They are only about 130 kms apart. Sometimes, it is hard to leave Canada-brain behind: in Canada, that would take about an hour-and-a-half. In Sikkim, it takes most of the day. The roads are so narrow, so windy,  so bumpy and at such an incline (either up or down) that you have to drive very slowly. So, three-quarters of the way to Gangtok, I had to decide where I would spend my three days in Sikkim, and I chose Pelling. This added many difficult hours of driving to my trip, more so for my wonderful guide (Paras) and driver (Ashok). It was very sporting of them to not only agree to this abrupt change of plans, but to encourage it: they wanted me to have the best possible experience in Sikkim, and they felt Pelling would be a better choice. These guys from Help Tourism are true professionals; I cannot speak highly enough about them. Read the rest of this entry »

Kanchendzonga, sunrise, March 8 2010

Stop two on my IndiaTourism-sponsored road trip was three nights in Darjeeling, known as the “queen of the hill stations,” and home of the “toy train” and of course the “champagne of tea.”

I have long wanted to visit Darjeeling and when I was researching and planning my trip, I set my heart on staying at the Windamere Hotel.  I had also set my heart on getting up at 4 am to drive from Darjeeling to Tiger Hill to watch the sun rise light up the great Himalayan range on my 50th birthday. Luckily for me, both IndiaTourism and nature cooperated. Read the rest of this entry »

Guruji feeding elephant, after our interview, AOL ashram

During my week in Bangalore I had the good fortune to meet some very inspiring, warm and wonderful people. Bangaloreans, as a rule, tend to be friendlier and more laid-back than in other Indian cities. Until recently, Bangalore was a small sleepy town with an idyllic climate (the best in India, they say), abounding with graceful traditions such as inner-city golf, horse racing, dawn flower markets and leisurely breakfasts. Read the rest of this entry »