For me, mindful travel isn’t just about getting off beat. There is no point in driving to or even through off beat destinations or just staying there for a night, clicking a couple of pictures of locals or rural life and then moving on to the next destination. With the selfie and Instagram, ‘need to…
India: Knowing a Little Bit About a Lot Goes a Long Way
Face book today reminded me of this post below. It made me think. I started specialising in India as a destination in 1998. We had a policy; if you hadn’t seen it, you couldn’t sell it. I would travel to India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal 2-3 times a year to ‘learn’ the destination in…
The Murder and the Lion – Wildlife Tales from Gujarat
We had heard there was a murder and were invited to investigate. Anyone who has watched any crime drama wants to get involved right? In this instance a murder could mean a double murder because for there to be a murder chances are that there had been a death that could have been a murder…
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…
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 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 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…
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…
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…
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…
The People of India Project – Kartick Satyanarayan
Kartick Satyanarayan is a well-known wildlife conservationist, who has been tirelessly involved in wildlife conservation, animal welfare and nature protection for over twenty five years. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS and heads the Wildlife SOS anti- poaching unit, Forest Watch. Kartick manages Wildlife SOS as CEO and oversees 10 wildlife rescue…
Desperately seeking satisfaction, could Gujarat deliver?
A few months ago I developed a mild obsession, I don’t know where it came from, it was certainly out of the blue, but it wouldn’t go away, it just kept niggling away at me. Then, one day, I received an invite. Do you believe in synchronicity? The bestower of the invite, without me prompting,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
India, Perception vs Reality
Facebook, as it does, just threw up a post from two years ago. It was a post which at the time, got a lot of response from my friends and colleagues. It was a post which came about as a result of a casual chat with a fellow passenger on a flight to Abu Dhabi….