India can’t be instantly appreciated, nor can she be rushed. She will reveal herself in her own time, she will move at her own pace. You can’t demand from her nor hurry her along. India is magical, baffling, confusing and unfathomable and frustrating. She is captivating and beguiling, fascinating, awe inspiring but most of all,…
Travel, the journey, hope and freedom.
You go because there’s nothing left to hope for; because there’s everything to hope for and all life is risk. This poem is part of an online course entitled Working Supportively With Refugees which provides an interesting insight and asking many questions of what the understanding is of the actual situation of the millions of…
Discovering India Differently: Adventure Travel in Rajasthan
A while ago I was asked if I’d give a talk on travel in India, nothing unusual there. I happily agreed. I was told they would revert with the topic and fellow speakers. I was then told the topic, Adventure Tourism. I panicked slightly, I mean I love a bit of horse riding and white-water…
People of India Project – Bob Rupani
I’ve never actually met Bob, and I never usually feature people I’ve never chewed the fat with over a campfire or an Old Monk, but his was the first book I bought when I moved to India. Road tripping is something we sort of know about in the UK, but it was after I moved…
The People of India Project – Shilpa Sharma
Shilpa started Breakaway to share her love for travel with others, and the philosophy of the company is very much ‘Beyond the Brochure’ experiences, enabling guests to enrich themselves with the connections made during their travels. Here are her 15 Questions in 5 Minutes: Who you are (naturally!) I’m Shilpa, a Creative entrepreneur with business interests in…
The People of India Project – Gaurav Bhatnagar
I first met Gaurav at the Outlook Traveller Responsible Tourism Awards in Delhi where he was a gold medalist! He is the inspirational figure behind The Folk Tales, which started in 2013 with the aim of offering travelers a chance to experience life in rural India by integrating tourism with socially and environmentally responsible initiatives…
Discovering Agra Differently (and more sustainably)
The Taj Mahal re opens today, there is no denying that it is a magnificent monument (putting my prejudices aside here!) but if you are going to visit Agra, take time out to appreciate the city for what else it has to offer, because, there is far more to it than meets the eye and…
India’s Top 13 Street Foods As Voted By Its Most Intrepid Travellers
It all started with a plain dosa: one of those giant crisp pancakes made with fermented rice and lentil batter. It was 1998 and I was on my very first trip to India; there weren’t many places to stop and refuel on long, gruelling drives, but our driver knew the best places for a great…
The People of India Project – Sanjay Thakur
Sanjay and I had been in contact for some time but I first got to meet him by chance whilst consulting with a DMC in Delhi on a day when he was visiting. I didn’t know much about the NE of India at that stage, I’d seen some itineraries over the years but they…
Focus on Mainstream Destinations for a More Sustainable Travel World
At the start of the pandemic, there were a lot of knee jerk reactions as to what would save tourism in India. Many rightly said domestic tourism and in terms of many hotels this is correct, however this is not the case for many inbound DMC’s. Another reaction was that sustainable travel would save the…
Discovering Wales Differently
I’m sorry, what, bog snorkeling? Did I read that right? What on earth is Bog Snorkeling? Of course, the person who sent this text knew exactly what they were doing, having followed my less than conventional travels around India for 20 years. The minute they heard that I was heading to Wales, they asked where…
Supporting India: Small/Local NGO’s and Aid Centres That Need Your Support
The people of India are enduring unimaginable hardship, hospitals are overwhelmed, and there is a critical shortage of oxygen and ventilators, livelihoods have been lost and people are starving. Many of you have messaged us to ask me how you can help with the smaller organisations who may not be getting much exposure, but which…
Sri Lanka & A Truly Extraordiary Wildlife Experience
They said the meeting place was by the Buddha statue just on the edge of the town. A short while later they called to see if I’d reached. ‘I don’t think so,” was my response, “Is it obvious, could I have missed it?” I credit them for not being sarcastic in their response, being, as…
Shops, Restaurants, Heritage and More at The Piece Hall
Why don’t you go to The Piece Hall? Where? The Piece Hall? Why? It’s a Grade 01 listed building and has got lots of shops. It didn’t do it for me. I didn’t go. I didn’t know what I was missing. I’ve since visited. I do now. I then said I was going to write…
People of India Project: Sameer Shisodia
I’m not sure how Sameer and I first connected. We’ve chatted about this and come to the conclusion that social media will have played a part, sharing similar passions is another. He is one of those people that one just inherently knows that, despite having few meetings in the flesh, we’re from the same tribe…
Discovering India Differently: Eco Lodges in Corbett National Park
My jaw hit the hideously over-patterned carpet. There he stood, microphone in hand bleating out something entirely unrecognisable, both for his apparent ability to change key four times in three notes, and the fact that the volume was set so high as to distort anything that was forced, hurricane like, out of the speakers, the…
It’s Rhubarb Season, but did you know?
It’s cold, even by normal Yorkshire standards. Snow is on the ground and for several days temperatures hover around 0C, to which phone apps add comments such as ‘feels like -5C, which aren’t terribly helpful. Weather like this means a couple of things. The first is quite obvious, yes, it’s winter in Yorkshire, fortunately we…
The Mysteries of Mountains
Ghostly, ethereal Layer upon interwoven layer of mountains Shrouded in a gossamer mist Haunting, mysterious. Standing proud or hunched? Kind or cruel? Smugglers, nomads, shepherds, Centuries of stories Love? Maybe But bravery, grief, hardship, sorrow then death Hidden in their rugged and steadfast embrace. The view, this view induces gazing Wistful Pondering The mysteries of…
Snapshots – A Visit to Vann Vihar, India’s Smallest National Park
It looks glamorous and I can’t deny it is fabulous, but being on the road on a recci trip is tough. The things you don’t see, although I agree that I am my own worst enemy as I hate to miss out on anything vaguely different or potentially interesting. This results in daily 0530 starts…
The Story of Tea and it’s Journey into Tourism.
From a Portuguese Princess to India to the world’s most popular brew to somewhat unexpected forays of tourism. The journey of tea might not be quite what you expect! ‘Stick the kettle on,’ must be one of the most used sentences amongst the British population. We are renowned for our love of tea; the problems…
My Original Top 4 Off Beat Hotels for Slow Travel
Ever since I first visited India in 1997, I’ve had a passion for what’s different, away from the mainstream destinations but places where there is the opportunity to discover the real India, away from the chaos and mayhem. Where you have time to peel back the layers of a destination, they are invariably hosted by…
Discovering Goa Differently
Discovering Goa Differently I’ve never been a beach person, truth is, I was once voted worse than a man to take shopping and worse than a child to take to the beach, that was 25 years ago, nothing has changed. It came as quite a surprise therefore that Goa was my choice of destination for…
A Tribute to the Dogs Who Love Us Warts and All
As Brits we are a nation of dog lovers, we are renowned for it. This has only increased throughout lockdown, I am sure that there are stats on this, but just from the numbers of people walking puppies that we see out daily these days, my guess is that a lot of people have become…
Top Ten Reasons to Visit Sri Lanka
Serendipity – the phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. That’s the definition, but have you ever wondered where the word Serendipty came from? Probably not, but let me tell you anyway. It was inspired by one of the former names of Sri Lanka, Serendib, and that to me, is what Sri…
Did you know the Mulbery Bush nursery rhyme originated at Wakefield Prison?
As a child, my grandfather would walk me to the fields above his house and as we gazed down over Wakefield he would always point out three buildings, conspicuous by their architecture, these were the Cathedral, the town hall and the prison. They are the three landmarks of Wakefield that have always been familiar to…
Three hotels in Gujarat which aren’t quite what you’d expect.
Think of Gujarat and what comes to mind? The first thing every inbound agent will say is that you can’t drink, not strictly true but yes, it can be off-putting to those who enjoy a drink or two with dinner. But once that hurdle has been overcome, what are the words that spring to mind…
Sustainable Travel: An Interview with Shiva Dhakal Founder of Community Homestay Network Nepal.
A year ago today, I set off to Nepal on a consultancy project as part of the work we do with Indian Experiences. A few weeks earlier, I had been introduced to Shiva Dhakal, found of Royal Mountain Travel Nepal and Community Homestays Nepal, a true visionary who wants to change how travel to…
What do Sandal Castle, a nursery rhyme and Pontefract Cakes have in common?
Oh, the grand old Duke of York He had ten thousand men He marched them up to the top of the hill And he marched them down again And when they were up, they were up And when they were down, they were down And when they were only half-way up They were neither…
Calcutta, a destination I’ve never been able to write about.
There is a black hole in Calcutta, a historical fact which gave place, in part, to the reputation of this misunderstood city thankfully, unwittingly rebranded as the ‘City of Joy.’ Calcutta has created her own black hole in my mind she is indescribable. I visit time and again, determined to capture her soul, her essence,…
Rediscovering Yorkshire – The longest way round is the shortest way home.
Two things happened yesterday. Probably a lot more to be fair but two things to prompt this article, which is handy when you need daily content for a ridiculous writing challenge! The first was that I took dad out for a drive, he’s been getting cabin fever and, given that I’d been raving about the…
Walking With Vikings
Walking with Vikings Walking and words, two passions of mine. Last week I was out walking discovering, as many of us now have, my own back yard, finding walks and history and stories right on my doorstep that I previously never knew existed. Given the amount of rain and snow that we’ve had, as soon…
Have Bucket Lists Destroyed The Art of Travel?
Have Bucket Lists Destroyed the Art of Travel? Travel: To go from one place to another, typically over a distance of some length. Journey: Originally a literal unit of time and travel, has become a metaphor for the experience of living life with all its ups and downs. I recently read the Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas and it reminded…
The Women of India – Julie Kagti
Julie reached out to Indian Experiences as a result of our social media. She told us that she was doing tours in Assam and we arranged to have a chat. I was intrigued enough to venture up to Assam to meet her (no hardship to be fair it was an area I had wanted…
Snapshots, Discovering India Differently, Kota, who knew?
The giant orb of a setting sun guided us down river, casting magical lights on the rippled water as, surrounded by the stark cliffs, we spotted nilgai, owls, vultures, storks and crocodiles. This was our spectacular introduction to Kota, Rajasthan, why had no one mentioned this to me before? In a world of over tourism,…
Writing Challenge Day5/28 – So what exactly is a micro-destination?
I saw a video clip a few weeks ago by NDTV that made me smile. It was all about micro destinations and how they are the future of travel. Now I understand that marketing constantly needs new spins but what made me really smile about this was that they were featuring what I call destination…
Beyond the Tiger – A comprehensive guide to India’s wildlife
India’s Wildlife Beyond the Tiger India is often overlooked by wildlife enthusiasts, many of whom seem to prefer heading off to Africa to see the Big 5, those who do venture to the sub-continent some in search of tiger, in a single minded obsession, and yet, India has so much more than our stiped king…
The Women of India – Bhavna Menon
Bhavna Menon graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from Delhi and later, moved to Mumbai to pursue her post-graduate studies in Journalism. She is currently employed with Last Wilderness Foundation, an NGO working towards wildlife conservation, as a Programme Manager and has a particular affinity for leopards. Last Wilderness Foundation (LWF) an organisation that…
People of India – The Young Naturalists – Sunny Shah
I only met Sunny relatively recently, in September to be precise. I’d asked my mentor if he knew of any good naturalists in Gujarat and he recommended Sunny. As it turned out, he was wrong, Sunny isn’t a good naturalist, he is incredible. He has foresight & insight, knowledge & passion, intelligence & vision. I…
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…
The Women of India Project – Niyati Kukadia
Niyati Kukadia is one third of the founding partners of Soar Excursions in Gujarat. I was delighted when I came across them on social media as so few people showcase this often ignored state for the truly incredible and diverse destination that it is. However, when I met Niyati, I very quickly realised that…
People of India Project – Chef Jatin Mallick
I first met Jatin by chance, in a bar with a mutual friend of his who was from Oberoi. I was then persuaded to visit Tres and have been a fan ever since. Not only was the food great, but it is one of the few restaurants in Delhi which still believes in the art…
People of India Project – Eric D’Cunha
Eric majored in botany and zoology from Mysore University and has a long-standing association with the Mangalore Wildlife Trust and the Bombay Natural History Society. He took up the job of a Senior Naturalist with Indian Adventures at Kanha in 1986 and became the resort manager in 1987. Ever since, he has lived in Central…
Snapshots – A Weavers Village in Guwahati
A village home in rural Guwahati, we were there predominantly to see the handlooms still being used and how they are being kept relevant in today’s market, which is dominated with machine made items. There are around 120 home looms still operating in this region. But what struck me, along with the cleanliness of these…
The People of India Project – Deeya Bajaj
It’s time for this week’s People of India Project and ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for this? At 14, she was the youngest member of a sea kayaking expedition along the west coast of Greenland. At 17, she became the youngest in the world to have undertaken the Trans Greenland Skiing Expedition which she…
The People of India Project – Thomas Ramapuram
I think it was way back when, sometime in 2002 that I decided that the usual drag in Kerala was beginning to suffer from overtourism and I decided to venture north to see what lay beyond, I had to travel in August and it was wet! A couple of weeks in and a bedraggled and…
The People of India Project -Roopesh Rai
People who dare to be different always capture my attention and Roopesh Rai, founder of Green People, The Goat Village & Bakri Chaap is certainly no exception. As he says, in his own words, ‘There’s always an ‘idea’ in ‘idealism’ and I wear my idealism on my sleeve without fear or apology. Deeply affected by…
World Tourism Day 2020
What’s in a smile? I’ve been writing content for a new travel website for a client, somewhat optimistic perhaps, but he’s determined to be prepared. In doing so, I was flicking through past content for other websites I’ve written seeking inspiration; “Infectious smiles,” was a phrase I came across and smiled to myself, and thought,…
The People of India Project – Rajeev Samant
In 1996, Rajeev Samant had an epiphany when he realized that Nashik in Maharashtra had the perfect climate for growing wine grapes. In 1999, he established Sula Vineyards, Nashik’s first winery, with help from noted Californian winemaker Kerry Damskey. This historic move transformed Nashik into India’s Wine Capital, and today, Sula Vineyards is globally…