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…
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…
Women 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…