I’ve been pondering recently and if I think about it, it was solo travel that changed my life. Back in 1998 I met three people who had a travel company specialising in Africa and they wanted to start another specialising in India. They had a policy, if you haven’t seen it, you can’t sell it…
The top 15 must do experiences for the ultimate trip to India.
I am not sure who first said it but it has been repeated by anyone who has ever visited and that is, ‘One lifetime isn’t enough to explore India.’ I can testify to that, I’ve been traveling India extensively for 25 years now and still the list of places I want to visit is longer…
Could Mahua Become The National Drink of India?
I remember the first time I tried it. I had an audience, eight eager faces anticipating what my reaction would be. Years ago (okay, actually decades) when I was a ski rep, my team would buy me tequila, which I hated, purely for their own amusement, it would appear my tequila face was a sight…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Olfactory India. Can the character of a city be determined by its’ aroma?
OK, the title may cause some sniggers. ‘’OMG, India stinks!’’ declare all the people who have never been there, the same ones who are convinced that all you will be confronted with are an overwhelming wave of poverty and will be struck down imminently, never to recover, with Delhi Belly as soon as one foot…
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 – 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…
Encounters With Locals – In a Sacred Grove in Meghalaya
Meghalaya has sacred groves, small pockets of protected forest, hundreds of years old which are owned and protected by individual communities. They believe that they are the abode of deities and to enter with bad intentions or to remove anything from these groves will result in, at the very least, bad karma. Needless to…
Snapshots: Morning Encounters at Chambal Safari Lodge
Woke to the sounds of the forest waking up and decided on an early morning walk instead of floundering in bed. I emerged from my room only to come face to startled face with a herd of nilgai. We each stood stock still and stared until they vanished back into the trees. Not two minutes…
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,…
Women of India – Anamika Singh
I first heard of Anamika when a dear friend Marryam Reshii (also featured in this series) messaged to tell me I simply must meet this genius of tea. She had just been on her tea course in Dharamshala and was incredibly impressed. Knowing how hard that is to do, I immediately followed up. I’d been…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Jaipur & the Great Outdoors – yes it is an adventure destination.
People tend to think if they have been to Jaipur and seen ‘the sights’ then there is no point going back. I disagree, Jaipur is a destination that can be visited time and time again, the city itself has so much to offer, but if you have ‘been there and done that’ as far as…
Encounters With Locals – Prosperity in India
To assist with translation: 1. Globally: To have become prosperous = to have gained wealth. In India: To have become prosperous = to have gained weight. 2. Globally: Subtlety and discretion when dealing with strangers, acknowledged traits. In India: Subtlety and discretion when meeting strangers = No such luck. The Encounter: Picture the scene if…
Top Five things in Puri for under INR200.00 (or GBP2.50)
Five things in Puri for under GBP2.50. I often say, when referring to something cheap, or someone who wants something but doesn’t want to pay, ‘Oh, he wants that for GBP2.50.’ It’s just a figure I hit on for no particular reason but have banded it about now for several years. Living in Delhi, though…
The Sun Sets over the Sun Temple, in more ways than one
Today India made my heart bleed. The Sun Temple in Konark is my favourite monument in India. I have wonderful memories of my first visit almost 10 years ago; an incredible spectacle looming up in the middle of nowhere. One man selling Patachitra, etched palm leaves, trees lined the streets and entry into a monument…
He is 80 and he survived his first trip to India – Dad’s trip, the dids’ and the did nots.
So dad leaves tonight after a long three weeks which have absolutely flown by. He is currently tucked up in bed with a cup of tea and the Far Pavillions, a book which it transpires, is also a three week journey. My aim was to showcase my world to him, my India, the place I…
Memsahib’s Dad Visits India, aged 80 – Part 5.
It’s never too late! Travels around India with my octogenarian dad. Dungarpur was meant to be all for dad, the car collection here was the ‘must’ and the bar is truly any petrol head’s delight. But, from cars to kachories to a museum curation, quirks and the karma sutra, it turned out to be a…