Hotels are fine, but homestay is an ideal way to experience travel in IndiaHotels are fun, and even cheap hotels have their charms. But sometimes, you have to dig deeper. Indian hospitality is justifiably famous — captured by the slogan, Atithi Devo Bhava, which means The Guest is God. To fully experience this philosophy in action, and to really get to know the culture when you travel in India, you have to stay with an Indian family. But what do you do if you don’t know anyone?
Well, you could try booking through a company like Mahindra Homestays. They are India’s most well-known homestay company. I asked Japa Ghosh, head of marketing at Mahindra Homestays, to fill us in about the homestay option for travellers to India. Here’s what you need to know to find, book and enjoy a homestay, including etiquette tips. (more…)
Travelling to magical Jaisalmer in RajasthanAt the western edge of India, in the middle of the world’s second-largest desert, the fairytale kingdom of Jaisalmer appears, as if by magic, like a golden mirage in a desolate landscape
Despite the chaos of unmarked coaches, the train left the sodden grey bedlam of New Delhi Railway Station on time. But it still took more than 21 hours to reach the far side of Rajasthan, India’s largest state. Stuck in a cramped compartment, with nothing to look at but flat desert terrain, I had plenty of time to think about the heavy heart I was dragging from Delhi; and wonder if the long journey to Jaisalmer would be worth the effort. (more…)
Bangkok, Thailand 1992
I started travelling long before Breathedreamgo was launched, long before I went to India in 2005 and long before digital cameras were invented. Recently, I dug out my old photo albums and scanned a bunch of photographs of me travelling around the world — to Asia, Europe, Central America and Australia. So, for a lark, here I am in in Tokyo, Japan and Bangkok and Koh Samui, Thailand in the 1990s. (more…)
At the Shopgirls boutique
Recently, I was walking along Queen St. W., in Parkdale, Toronto, when I discovered Shopgirls. I couldn’t believe it: a store in my neighbourhood, with a great atmosphere and staff, that has gorgeous, affordable women’s clothes that travel well and that you can buy online! And then I met the owner, Michelle Germain, and knew instantly that we were like-minded, and that she was the reason I like the clothes so much. So I asked Michelle if she would be willing to become the “official fashion clothing supplier” for Breathedreamgo — in other words for me! — and she said yes. She is totally cool.
I’ve been so busy travelling and writing the last few years, I stopped paying attention to my wardrobe and how I look. But now that Breathedreamgo and my travel career are both doing so well, and I am going to meetings and speaking at conferences, I felt it was time for a makeover and especially for new clothes. So Michelle spent a couple of hours with me and put me in some of Shopgirl’s most classic and fashionable women’s clothes. (more…)
Travel to India is like going through the looking glassWHEN I TRAVEL, especially in India, I feel like Alice in Wonderland; I feel like I’ve fallen into the rabbit hole, or stepped through the looking glass. I lose my bearings and everything is challenged, including my sense of self in the world and my ideas about how life and people should be.
And the experience of being in the alternate universe of a foreign country has helped me become more aware of myself and of the role perception plays in shaping reality.
In India, I meet other foreigners who tell me they think Pahar Ganj in Delhi is “the real India,” and who say the only way to travel in India is by staying in 150-rupee-a-night hovels. I also meet Delhi-born Indians who tell me they think Pahar Ganj is a ghetto and wouldn’t go near it. They prefer Delhi’s five star hotels and the shopping malls of Gurgaon.
When I live with my partner’s Indian family in Delhi, I am accepted into the family and I live as an Indian. But when I travel, I am seen as a foreigner and as if I know nothing about the culture. What’s the truth? (more…)
And a breakthrough year for travel bloggersI’ve been travel blogging about India and meaningful travel for about two-and-a-half years on Breathedreamgo, and for several years before that on a previous blog, too. Slowly, I’ve been building my career as a travel blogger and advocate for travel blogging, and this week feels like a breakthrough week for me — as I think this year, 2012, will be a breakthrough year for travel blogging. Here’s what happened. (more…)
Thanks to Mike Corey of KicktheGrind TV, I now have a stunning opening sequence for upcoming Breathedreamgo videos … now all I have to do is make some! Isn’t this lovely?
I am very excited to announce that Breathedreamgo won a Canadian Weblog Award in the Travel category!
Thanks so much to Ninjamatics and the jury for nominating and choosing Breathedreamgo. It couldn’t come at a better time as I am seeking sponsorship for the blog and for an ambitious travel blogging trip I am planning to India and South Asia! Read this Breathedreamgo Sponsorship Opportunities PDF to find out more. (more…)
Elephant blessing in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, India, 2006
I recently realized that my story doesn’t actually appear anywhere on my blog. By that I mean, a concise telling of why I blog about India. And it’s not like I just started this. I’ve been traveling in India, and blogging about it, for six years. But it feels like it’s time, especially since Sir Ken Robinson helped provide me with some new insight.
In early December of 2011, I marked the six-year anniversary of landing in India for the first time by publishing Six years of travel writing and blogging. A while later, I was on Twitter and saw a Tweet from @SirKenRobinson, which said he was writing about passion. You have probably seen Sir Ken’s video — the most famous TED video ever, about how school kills creativity in kids.
I tweeted my six year blog to Sir Ken, he read it and retweeted it, and the next day his co-author Lou Aronica contacted me and interviewed me for their new book, Finding Your Element — which is a follow-up to their bestseller about passion called The Element. The interview with Lou was cathartic and made me realize why I do a lot of the things I do: it’s because I am a deeply creative person who has never had my creativity supported. Well, certainly not in school. (more…)
Bada Bagh, Jaisalmer: India is my soul culture
Last month, I started writing a bi-monthly “column” for the new Travel+Escape website — which complements the new Canadian TV channel — about immersive travel. What is immersive travel? It’s travel that takes you deep into a culture and changes you. Immersive travel can be voluntourism, solo travel or long-term travel. It can be embarking on a spiritual path or a going to a health & wellness retreat. Or it can be simply an attitude. It’s about being open to a new culture, learning from it, and letting it change your ideas, beliefs and assumptions about life and the world. If you go on a trip, and see things differently when you get back home — then, you have probably experienced immersive travel. Here’s a synopsis of my first three columns. (more…)
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.
