“Author, travel writer, food critic and columnist, Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu has lived and worked by one motto for two decades: Travel. Eat. Write. Repeat. She sees no reason to change that. Not even with her spectacles on.” Who you are (naturally!) A free spirit What inspired you to create/join your business? Travel writing was…
My Top Five Books Tiger Centric Books – A great and diverse small collection for International Tiger Day 2020
It’s International Tiger Day, social media will be flooded with images of this truly magnificent animal, hopefully also praise for the forest guards who spend their lives protecting them, the conservation groups who also do their utmost to raise awareness to protect this endangered species, and the lodge owners who provide wonderful accommodation for you…
People of India – Col Manoj Keshwar (Mike)
Col Manoj Keshwar (Mike) proudly served Indian Army, with distinction for 20 years. He is an IIM Lucknow Alumni, an entrepreneur and a TEDx speaker. He left the Army in 2011, in order to pursue a passion of his life, road tripping around the world. A passionate world motorcycle explorer, he has ridden in over 40…
People of India Project: Mickey Desai
I’d been in touch with Mickey for years and kept promising to visit his lodge in Gujarat but something always seemed to get in the way of my plans. However, it was time to make a concerted effort, he promised me wolves, it was my achiles heel. The opportunity to stay at a wonderful lodge…
Snapshots: Hanging with the Girls at Tia Village, the Impressions We Leave behind
I’d spent some time with a couple of ladies who were sitting by the prayer wheel in Tia Village Ladakh. Initially they didn’t want her photo taking and that was fine. I chatted with them via my guide to learn a bit more about their lives. The lady in black had walked to the village…
Snapshots – A Different Jaisalmer
One can never fail but to be humbled by the hospitality of India’s rural population. I was out on one of my missions, to discover what else could be done in Jaisalmer, I had decided to map out and sample a cycle tour of its outlying monuments ending with a picnic which I thought could…
Snapshots: A stay at Walterre and Discoveries around Dehradun
Woken by the sound of rain thundering down on the tin roof of the charming English meets India-style, country cottage. Ventured onto the terrace where we sat in comfort, under the shelter and sipped on g&ts whilst witnessing the angry skies thunder around us and the brilliance of the lightening showcasing the surrounding hills, standing…
The World’s Tallest, Highest, wettest, most buoyant, gruesome and most bizarre, only in India!
Yesterday there was an article in the Guardian, bakers and chefs in the southern state of Kerala had baked what they said was the world’s longest cake at (approx.) 6.5kms, I suppose the actual length depends on how many hungry people there wer around! But it got me thinking, where in the world can you…
If we cant visit India then she must come to us 2: 12 More Movies about this extraordinary country.
Hello hello hello, Following the sucess of part one of this series (of 2) I couldn’t not post all the wonderful recommendations that were sent to me by all gang over on FB. So here we have it, part two of, “If we can’t visit India, she must come to us,’ 12 More movies about…
Now Available – Escape to India by Philippa J Kaye.
Its been a 6 year slog but finally, here it is, my first novel. Naturally it’s based in India, how could it not be? About the book: When Jo Johnson discovers that her latest beau is in fact married to someone else, it’s not surprising that an offer to manage a lodge in an Indian…
From Mundane to Magical in Three Simple Words…..
India, where one must always expect the unexpected. A fact I remind myself of daily but one which she reminds me of hourly. I was traveling recently in Gujarat and was told that our next stop would be a museum. I have experienced countless museums in India. Many, even in mainstream destinations, are pretty woeful,…
If We Can’t Visit India, She Must Come To Us -13 Films About This Extraordinary Country
The man at customs on my most recent trip to India (and the friendliest customs man I’ve ever met) asked me if I liked India, I replied in the affirmative and asked him why he should ask me. His reply, ‘This is your 39th visit since 2007.’ My reponse, ‘Well, I guess that answers your…
Vindaloo,Who Knew?
This is, or should I say was, a pork vindaloo. I kind of forgot to take the before picture. It was rather tasty. Now, the mere mention of a vindaloo in the UK gives connotations of toilet rolls being placed in fridges and lager louts at the end of the Westgate run, a pub crawl…
International Women’s Day 2020
May I take your photograph, I ask (always). They pat their hair and ask why? They protest that they are old and ask why someone so much younger wants to photograph an old lady. “Because you are beautiful,” is my reply. They respond in various ways, some surprised, some shy, some laugh. But I repeat…
Snapshot, Dawn at Nagarkot, Nepal
It starts with a blanket of black, a darkness, a covering, the occasional twinkle of a star. As it lifts, hills and mountains, shapes and colours start to emerge, layer upon interwoven layer, shrouded in mist, waiting to be discovered. Soon birds emerge their slumber, dogs shout their final chorus of the night before settling…
Community Homestays, Nepal
And now for something completely different. This was my stay in Pataudi, not only is it (not yet) famous for almost being a UNESCO site, Pataudi was the first destination for a project now called Community Homestay. There are 17 homestays here where you literally stay in a local’s home with the family. This project…
Snapshot: Nepal welcomes me for the fourth time.
Day 01: Arrival NepalI opted to say in tonight and headed to the roof top bar. There are only two other people here, a couple, Instagram influencers. They are flouncing and pouting and setting up shoots taking photos and being demanding about food and drink. I apologised for stepping into their shoot, headed to the…
Driving Across India: Realising a life long dream.
The dream started when, living in Delhi, I decided to buy a car. An expat living in India, who’s been selling holidays from the days when these were the only cars that were available (well apart from Fiats and really, there’s no comparison) were a/c or non a/c Ambassadors, it just had to be one…
Do not trust Konjoin Technologies and their CEO Nirmesh Rajyaguru.
Do not trust Konjoin Technologies and their CEO Nirmesh Rajyaguru. Konjoin Technologies was referred to me when I needed a unique software solution built in order to launch my business. The project, Hotels Under 100, was an online booking engine for a particular niche of hotels. I took Konjoin Technologies on to do the project…
Delhi Belly, Truth or Myth?
I’ve just been following a thread on FB. One person asked how to avoid Delhi Belly and the long and short of the barrage of ensuing responses was that you can’t. It is inevitable that at some point in a trip, perhaps more than once, you will get it. Now I’m someone who, having gradually…
Storytelling East vs West, A Cathartic Process or Escapism?
Sometime in 2015/6 I recently went to a reading by famous Indian play write, Girish Karnad who started his performance by saying something that in all my years, I didn’t know about India; ‘In the west it is the audience who goes through the cathartic process of a story; whether it is a play or…
Snapshot: Slowing it down for Christmas.
Most tourists dash around Rajasthan, ticking off it’s cities, and put up with the traffic and noise in order to marvel at its forts and palaces. But can one really say one has done Rajasthan unless one has had a tranquil lakeside breakfast, the only sounds the chatter of a plethora of birds, strolled to…
Weather in India, Best Time to Travel and When to Avoid where.
India is vast with many different weather patterns and truly is a year round destination. The below is a quick guide to the best time to travel to which regions. Best time to travel to India Rajasthan A desert kingdom, temperatures soar in Rajasthan during the summer months of April to June, with things cooling…
Snapshots – When cooking on gas isn’t quite what you expect!
My company tagline is, Discovering India Differently, and this day, heading away from the main sights of Varanasi, led me to do just that. We headed out of Varanasi, in the words of the song (almost) “To see what we could see,” a soon found ourselves in the countryside where we came across a Gaushala…
An Interview With India’s Centre for Soft Power, Why Tourism Needs to Move Beyond The Taj Mahal.
India’s Tourism needs to move beyond the Taj Mahal Sudarshan Ramabadran March 25, 2019 An economic impact report (2018) by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has said that India is expected to establish itself as the third largest travel and tourism economy by 2028 in terms of direct and total GDP and that…
My take away from 20 years of hotel inspections.
So, here’s a question. I’ve been reviewing hotels now for over twenty years. During that time, I have stayed in a wide variety of hotels from budget brands to homestays to heritage properties to tented camps to what are considered to be some of the most luxurous hotels in the world. What I now look…
People of India – Anand Sankar
Anand Sankar set up Tons Trails as a means of promoting off-beat travel in one of Uttarakhand’s most beautiful and undiscovered regions, offering tourism that is 100% locally run, socially responsible, sustainable and culturally immersive. Here are his 15 Questions in 5 Minutes: 1. Who you are (naturally!) Daydreamer. Period. 2. What inspired you to create…
Snapshot – Shiva, Snakes and Spirituality, Varanasi
So there we were, sitting on the ghats, on chairs (most pple were sitting on the floor) and in prime position for the arti ceremony thanks to our hosts at #UPTWC16. It was a full moon night, the ceremony was underway, conch shells had been blown, lamps were lit, bells were ringing and devotional songs…
Beyond Delhi, India’s International Airports and where they lead to!
Most people consider Delhi to be the main entry and exit point to the wonderful country that is India and the splendours which abound therein. It therefore stands to reason that news of the cholking smog plaguing Delhi is bound to be detrimental to the tourism industry. However, there are plenty of other international entry…
Snapshots, a motorbike temple!
In India, always expect the unexpected. The trip that I had planned was to be, or at least I was hoping would be a a truly wonderful, if incredibly unconventional trip through Rajasthan. So, following local tradition, I figured I’d start by offering a quick puja for the passage. Where better to do this than…
Encounters With Locals – The Doctors Surgery
Encounters with locals continued….. This scene, the doctor’s surgery in a village in Rajasthan. The reason, being felled by a top to toe, and by that I mean from my scalp to the soles of my feet, inflamed, itchy, body rash. Attractive I know. Such a blight Is a first for me, I’m not even…
People of India – Vaibhav Kala
Adventure courses through Vaibhav’s blood – he is integrally responsible for opening up remote Himalayan valleys to adventure tourism, and has helped open up Indian river running like none before – with rivers like the Tons which was first run in it’s entirety 19 years ago,the Siang (Upper Brahmaputra), Subansari, Lohit in Arunachal Pradesh and…
Modern Day Memsahib: Escape to India Chapter 3
Chapter 3 We were immediately surrounded. Fingers tapped on windows, hands reached out trying to open the, fortunately, locked doors despite us still moving. I shrank back in my seat, a futile act as I had already been spotted, and looked at the driver in wide-eyed fear. We had entered Delhi station, men were standing…
5 Most Popular Hiking Places In Jaipur — JaipurThruMyLens
5 Most popular trekking and hiking places in Jaipur for adventurous people. via 5 Most Popular Hiking Places In Jaipur — JaipurThruMyLens
Modern Day Memsahib: Escape to India – Chapter 2
Chapter 2 I heard the taxi door slam, bottles chinked, shrieks and grumbles were heard. At last! The gang had arrived. I allowed myself a wry smile; of course Allegra wouldn’t take the underground. I grabbed the blanket off the back of the sofa, where I had been sulking and sobbing for the last couple…
Modern Day Memsahib: Escape to India Chapter 01
My hand paused half way through its ministrations of teeth brushing. I stood, open mouthed looking at him aghast through the reflection in the bathroom mirror. He hadn’t even paused in the rubbing down of his body. He had said it as casually as asking for a coffee and just carried on seemingly oblivious…
Snapshot – Beyond Corbett, Getting off the Grid.
Corbett National Park for Diwali brought about a series of firsts: First safari of the season First elephants of the season (6) First snake of the season (1, rat) First barking deer of the season (1) First tigers of the season (2) My first stay at the nearby Vanghat (Hopefully the first of many)…
The People of India – Malini Gowrishankar
Malini Gowrishankar is the Founder / CEO of F5 Escapes, a 6+ years old travel company with a vision to redefine the way women travel in India. She started F5 in June 2013 and was joined later by Akanksha Bumb as a Co-founder. They provide all-women fixed departure tours and custom India tours for women…
Hotel Review – Welcome to the Pleasuredome, Suryagarh, Jaisalmer
Suryagarh appealed to me on so many levels. Whilst I’d never quit luxury travel (who would?) for the last few years I’ve focused on more the off beat and experiential. For me an albeit fabulous hotel in a mainstream destination coupled with standard sightseeing didn’t showcase what for me is, the real India. Journeys of…
Thinking About Pushkar Camel Fair?
I made a plea about this last year. Please, please please, to all those of you traveling to the Pushkar Camel Fair or are making money out of it by sending tourists there, think about the real people behind the event, the Raika Camel Herders. Their situation is now critical, they receive no financial support…
Snapshot The Sunderbans
Scenes from the Sunderbans whose misty early mornings lend an ethereal quality to the start of your day’s safari. One knows this is a vast area of mangrove swamp lands but knowing that doesn’t prepare one for the sheer scale of the region, the tranquility, silence and sense of peace interspersed with moments of excitement…
The People of India – Deepa Krishnan
Deepa Krishnan is the power house behind Magic Tours, which offers experiential tours to suit all interests in 27 cities across India – be it culinary, textiles, art, music, shopping, culture and history or a Bollywood dance class you’re after, Magic Tours has something for everyone! Here are her 15 Questions in 5 Minutes: Who you…
People of India – Yasmin Kidwai
As part of my ongoing People of India Project, I would like to introduce, documentary film maker and fashionister, Yasmin Kidwai. We first met eight years ago when she was making a documentary on expats living in India and more recently at the Indore Lit Fest where we were both speakers, but played hooky for a…
Getting To Grips With The Moghuls
You visit India, you get dragged around the monuments and are given a history lesson at each one. Its baffling and confusing and for me, well 21 years in and I still can’t remember who built what and why. So here you go, Mughal Monuments Made Simple: Who were the Mughal Emperors and when did…
Solo Female Travel, the kindness of strangers and using common sense.
There’s been a lot written about this over recent years, I’ve read some articles, disregarded others and didn’t honestly pay that much attention to it. Foolishly perhaps, given the growth in this as a ‘business.’ Then, a couple of years ago, someone who had written many articles on the subject contacted me for an interview…
The Moment It All Began – Tamil Nadu
Back in 1998 I made my first trip to India. I had been asked by three investors to set up a travel company for them, they had decided on south India and I was despatched to recce with the aim of determining the product, then, writing the brochure and launching the company. The initial plan…
Snapshot: Tea, uses I’d never dreamt of!
Tea! I’ve visited tea estates in Assam and Darjeeling and Munnar. Strolled around factories, learned about the process, ctc and the differences in the production to make white, green, black, dust, blends, you name it. I’ve done tea tasting and spat it out as required (easier than wine!). I’ve created a tea experience in Delhi…
Jodhpur is more than Mehrangarh Fort. It’s also about zip wiring, stylish hotels and multiple types of safaris
THINK JODHPUR and quite rightly the image of Mehrangarh Fort pops in to your mind. It is undoubtedly magnificent, in my opinion, the most impressive of all the forts in Rajasthan (on the main circuit) and one monument that I encourage a visit to. It is excellently curated and well maintained, the jewel in…