BreatheDreamGo.com has always been about transformative travel. But now I am making that underlying value statement explicit with the launch of the Travel That Changes You e-newsletter. I will be featuring inspiring stories of real change by real travelers – and transformative travel tips by pros like Evelyn “Journeywoman” Hannon. Please sign up – the sign up box is in the right menu bar. I want this new initiative to be an inspiration for people who want want change in their lives, but don’t know where to start. By sharing stories, we can inspire each other – and also prepare each other for the ups and downs of change, travel … and life in general. So if you have a story of change or a travel experience that changed you please contact me to submit it and you could be highlighted in Travel That Changes You (with a link to your blog or website). The guidelines are below.
Gandhi statue in New York City
This weekend I was in New York for TBEX 10, the travel bloggers conference. As I was walking to dinner with several colleagues, we unexpectedly came across a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in a small garden in Union Square. I did a double-take. I have seen the same statue countless times in India, in the centre of Delhi, in small towns, on mountain ridges, at the seaside — basically, Gandhi is everywhere. His presence in India is palpable, though of course he has been gone for 62 years. For a moment, I felt transported to India or, at least, my idea of India. To me India represents both sights, sounds, tastes and smells — the kaleidoscopic circus of the senses — and a way of being in the world that is based on the belief that we are all part of the same universal life force — the Hindu ideal that underlies Gandhi’s worldview.
The next day I returned by myself, and touched his feet. I would never had made such a gesture before traveling in India.
On Wednesday, January 20, 10 travel mavens met at the Duke of York pub in downtown Toronto to talk about traveling, blogging, social media, TBEX 2010, following your bliss and other delightful topics. Thanks for coming: Evelyn (Journeywoman), Janice (Solotraveler), Diance (Girlsgetaway), Jaun (GlobalCulture), Natalie (@natcow34), Zinaida (@redsberry), and from Gap Adventures, Greg (@greghayes), Lauara (@millsionaire) and Kerri (@awndrlster_gap).
Pictured above is Evelyn and myself. We had a great time and are already talking about holding another one in May.
On the morning of April 14 approximately 10 million people streamed into the sacred town of Haridwar in north India to bathe in the Ganga on the most auspicious day during the 2010 Kumbh Mela. I was one of them. Find out how I found myself alone, and at home, at the world’s largest spiritual gathering.
In Varanasi, where the veil between life and death seems very thin, a boat ride on the river can become a journey to the other side. Come along with me on a boat ride on the Ganges River in India’s oldest, holiest city and pierce the veil.
The Ganges / Ganga River is the Mother of India. The River speaks in many voices as she travels from the high Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. At the source, her song is joyous, full of the the jubilance of youth, the rush of fresh mountain streams, the sincere chanting of pilgrims and the excitement of the onward journey.
