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…
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…
Lucknow,The Ugly Duckling Became a Swan
I first visited Lucknow in 1999 and have no fond memories of the place. Any vague flashbacks which do remain are of a dirty, broken city with one dank, dark hotel, scruffy monuments, litter; you get the picture. It was , as far as I remember a depressing city. In its entirety it should have…
People of India – Marryam H Reshii
Marryam H Reshii has been writing about food and lifestyle for the last 30 years. She is the Times of India food critic besides being an independent writer on cuisine and matters gastronomic. She has been working on the Times Food Guide for Delhi for the last seven years. In addition, she has done a…
People of India – Bikram Grewal
Bikram Grewal is an ornithologist, author, birdwatcher and conservationist from Delhi, India who has written several guides to Indian birds. His father was a senior civil servant in the Indian government. He has been working with governments and private groups to promote Eco-tourism in Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal and Nagaland. His 2002 book Birds of India…
People of India – Kiran Manral
Kiran Manral is, amongst many other accolades, the author of five excellent books, she is on the planning board of the Kumaon Literary Festival, Chair of the Women Unlimited Series of the Taj Colloquium, a mentor with Sheroes and Qween, and is an advisor on the Board of Literature Studio, Delhi. Having (almost) met her for the…
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…
Dudhwa: One Lodge, Two Nights, Three Parks.
‘Why would we fly? We can drive it.’ ‘Well how long will that take?’ ‘Around 8 hours or so.’ I shrugged and half-heartedly nodded as my Indian (resigned) persona kind of, sort of agreed. In England, if I was to set off and drive from my house, for eight hours in any direction, I am…
It is the heart that is important – The Singinawa Experience
Loved this, evocative yet succinct…
Delhi Diaries, Encounters with Locals, part 2
It seems that it is impossible to walk down the street in India, or get through a single day without having some sort of wonderful if unexpected encounter. Here are some more random, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant encounters from my daily wanderings. Seriously, the Kohinoor Diamond? I was quite happily walking to work the other…
MP & UP tourism going head to head?
In a destination competition between MP and UP for me, without even having to think, the outright winner would be MP. And yet, I am one for giving the underdog a chance. Let’s face it where UP lacks in numbers of monuments, it more than makes up for in fame and fortune. It has THE…
Delhi Diaries: Valentines Day, Indian Style
Not sure Lucknow or maybe India fully gets Valentines day. Here I am in a restaurant in the newest ”in” place in town. The decor is classic Indian style, tacky overkill with thousands of heart shaped balloons taped to walls, strapped to chairs and dangling from ceiling lights. Mind you, with those descriptions and what…
Bundi – A hidden gem of Rajasthan
The milkman, a person easily recognisable by his vibrant red turban and traditional clothing, cycled along the road with four large brass urns attached to his bike—he was impossibly well balanced as if his load was nothing more than himself. Palm trees and chattries lined his path—it was like a scene that one would imagine…
Delhi Diaries: The changing face of India, women drivers & pilots!
The longer I spend in Delhi, the more I realise just how quickly India is changing. Being in travel and therefore usually immersed in heritage and culture I spend most of my time here surrounded by the traditional but, five years away and a return to Delhi has assisted in emphasising the huge changes which…
Lost in the Jungle.
Anyone who knows me will know that I have no sense of direction what-so-ever, and as I work in the travel industry, the irony is not lost on me. At a push, I could get lost in my own house, I certainly never turn the right way first time around on coming out of a…
Delhi Diaries: Rules of the road – Delhi style
Well it’s taken six months after being reunited to finally get her back into road worthy condition but we made it! The Babe and I taking Delhi by storm. Of course my driving technique needs to be refind to suit local conditions. 1. At a local T junction: Do not slow down on approach, stop,…
Cochin, but not as we know it
A barely perceptible ripple on the surface of the water alerted the beady eyes of the multi-tasking Vinod, who promptly dived into the lake, emerging seconds later, his small, wiry brown body glistening with droplets of water as he threw three live fish onto the gangway of our private Chinese Fishing Net to show them…
People of India – Sarita Kumari Sodha – Rani of Ghanerao
Thank God winter is on its last leg , cold freezes me! My room faces East and it was with a feeling of well-being when I got up this morning with the first warm rays of the morning sun … I felt rather than saw the warmth cascading from the head of the…
People of India – Rajul Janu – Tuk Tuk Driver
I was born in village called Gangapur near Sawai Madhopur which is known for tiger safaris but when I was two years old my family moved to Jaipur so I grew up in Jaipur and still live there. I go back once in while to my village and I love to be in the countryside…
The People of India – JANHAVI PRASADA
Hill stations in India are charming and reminiscent of the British Raj. I live in a house called Abbotsford that belonged to an Englishman, John Hope Simpson, Esquire of the Indian Civil Service in the erstwhile United Province of Agra and Oudh. My great grand parents bought it in 1903. A century year old legacy…
19 Things You May Not Know About Ladakh.
It is fascinating and stunningly beautiful, yes its full of monasteries and monks, but there are some things I hadn’t figured on: 1. Ladakh has the smallest cows and horses I have seen in India, however it should be renamed as the land of the enormous chickens, they were HUGE. 2. 10% of the population…