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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Snapshots – When cooking on gas isn’t quite what you expect!
My company tagline is, Discovering India Differently, and this day, heading away from the main sights of Varanasi, led me to do just that. We headed out of Varanasi, in the words of the song (almost) “To see what we could see,” a soon found ourselves in the countryside where we came across a Gaushala…
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…
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….