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The Best Homestay in Kerala – Community Greenpalm Homes Review (Part 3)
Blog: Kerala India Travel - 8 November 2009
Community Greenpalm Homes is my favourite Kerala homestay. In Part 1 of my review I gave my reasons why, including the wonderful location, friendly host, relaxing atmosphere and delicious food. In Part 2 I focused on the fantastic range of activities on offer, such as village walks, bike rides and canoe trips.
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Inside the Rat Temple with Alex Budak
Blog: Twenty-Something Travel - 8 November 2009
Peering around a dark, damp corner, in search of my source of good luck, I was startled as I felt a strange combination of fur and flesh touch my foot. I looked down and saw a huge rat sidling up to me, and before you can say “Karni Mata” I was out of there. About thirty [...]
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Ved Shala - The Observatory, Ujjain
Blog: A Wandering Mind - 6 November 2009
Our trip to Ujjain was purely a temple tour, but I simply can’t imagine a visit to a place without going all over it, looking at interesting places and things. From all I had read about the city, the Kalideh Palace seemed an interesting place, situated on the banks of the Shipra at the site where once stood a sun temple. Unfortunately, our driver absolutely refused to take us to the palace,
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Friday Flashback – The Taj Mahal & Red Fort in Agra, India
Blog: GoBackpacking - 6 November 2009
On the overnight train from Varanasi to Agra, I saw my first purple sunset and met a Parisian by the name of Laura, who would eventually show me around her home town. Agra surprised me in that even the budget backpacker hotels had stunning views of the Taj Mahal, at least on the rooftop where meals [...]Buy travel insurance from Worldnomads.com (Lonely Planet's preferred carrier)
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Some more temples in Ujjain
Blog: A Wandering Mind - 6 November 2009
Gadkalika Mandir This temple dedicated to the Devi has its roots in ancient times, and is related to the story of Kalidasa, one of the foremost poets of ancient India. It is believed that Kalidasa was a simple and stupid, but a handsome lad, who was devoted to Kali (hence his name, which literally means – the servant of Kali). His looks attracted a princess who married him, only to be soon
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Why I Hate the Indian Bureaucracy (Part 2)
Blog: GoBackpacking - 5 November 2009
And that’s when I got the help I couldn’t do without. I used the last of my funds to get a cab from the edge of town I crawled to to get to the bar where I met two Peace Corps volunteers, mutual friends of a sorority sister, and agents of [...]Buy travel insurance from Worldnomads.com (Lonely Planet's preferred carrier)
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5 Karmic do's for Rishikesh
Blog: 99 + 1 countries - 5 November 2009
1. Arrive in the oh so New Age Rishikesh weary of all the hippies and yoga nutters, conviced that this would not be your place. Laying your eyes on the sacred Ganges have a total change of heart.
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Bhartruhari Caves, Ujjain
Blog: A Wandering Mind - 5 November 2009
Bhartruhari was the elder brother of the legendary Vikramaditya (probably a step brother). He was unduly attached to his wife, Pingala, who conspired to get Vikramaditya thrown out of Ujjain. Once, it is believed, a Brahmin gave Bhartruhari a fruit which would enable him to live longer. The infatuated Bhartruhari gave his wife the fruit, who, in turn gave the fruit to the horse-keeper of whom she
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Kal Bhairav Temple,Ujjain
Blog: A Wandering Mind - 5 November 2009
One of the most famous temples in Ujjain, this temple adds to the similarity of Ujjain and Kashi. As at Kashi, Kal Bhairav is the Kshetrapal, or the guardian deity of the city, and it is the custom to leave the keys with the deity when the temple is closed at night, in the belief that he takes care of the temple and its properties. However, this temple is famous, not for its origins or its
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Why I Hate the Indian Bureaucracy
Blog: GoBackpacking - 4 November 2009
The first worrisome truth: my ATM card wouldn't work in the country.Buy travel insurance from Worldnomads.com (Lonely Planet's preferred carrier)
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Sandipani Ashram, Ujjain
Blog: A Wandering Mind - 4 November 2009
The Sandipani ashram was the first halt on our temple tour of Ujjain, and we entered the grounds expecting a short 10 minute halt, warned by our driver cum guide not to waste too much time, and ended up spending close to an hour wandering around the ashram. The reason was an inmate of the ashram, an engineer by profession and a Veda scholar by choice, a descendant of Guru Sandipani – the
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Harsiddhi Temple, Ujjain
Blog: A Wandering Mind - 3 November 2009
Ujjain might be a city most well known for its temple to Shiva as Mahakal, but it is also the abode of Parvati as Harsiddhi, a temple occupying a position equal to that of Mahakaleshwar. The Harsiddhi temple is one of the 52 Shakti Peeths situated all over India. According to legend, Shiva married Sati, the daughter of Daksha, a Prajapati who was proud of his position and disliked his
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Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain
Blog: A Wandering Mind - 3 November 2009
All roads in Ujjain seem to lead to the temple of Mahakaleshwar, which is the focal point of the city. Mahakal, as Shiva is known here, is not only the guardian and patron deity of this holy city, he is also regarded as the ruler of this city. Our car driver regaled us with tales of Vikramaditya, the legendary king of Ujjain, tales which were more of myths, interspersed with history. One such
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A journey to the heart of India - Glimpses of Ujjain
Blog: A Wandering Mind - 2 November 2009
The ad for the MPTDC (Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development corporation) says “ ih<dustan ka idl deoae”, in English – “Come and see the heart of India”. This is the line that keeps cropping up as I walk along the busy streets of Ujjain. Ujjain might be a modern city today, with developments happening all over, but at heart, it remains the spiritual capital of central India – a position it holds
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10 do's for McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala
Blog: 99 + 1 countries - 1 November 2009
1. Arrive in McLeod Ganj two hours early from Manali at 4 AM when everything is closed. Fight with touts who want to take you to the shabbiest guesthouses down some freaking long steps. Say no to the overpriced lousy rooms and walk the even longer seeming steps back up and camp out on the street with stray dogs. Good fun if you have the right company! Shalom! Something in Danish!
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Khadela Haveli (and Jaipur).
Blog: Leave Me Here - 31 October 2009
We were quite excited about our time in Jaipur, gateway to the wild west of Rajasthan, Amber Fort and an old city that’s completely pink, but when we were dropped off at Khandela Haveli (http://www.khandelahaveli.com), we had something else to be excited about.. I’ve stayed at some seriously nice places over the years, but Khandela Haveli [...]
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Friday Flashback – The Ganges River and Ghats in Varanasi
Blog: GoBackpacking - 30 October 2009
_ Varanasi is a pilgrimage site for many Hindus in India (and around the world) as it sits along the holy Ganges River. Along with Old Islamic Cairo in Egypt and the old part of Kathmandu in Nepal, Varanasi offers great photographic opportunities with every step. These two Varanasi posts include a lot of my favorite shots, [...]Buy travel insurance from Worldnomads.com (Lonely Planet's preferred carrier)
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the Taj.
Blog: Leave Me Here - 27 October 2009
Possibly our greatest day in India, the Taj was legit. Cmon Tuk, Leeetts go! Oh My Stoked. Taj! Inside and out with some home comforts for Dinner Seriously.
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Destination India
Blog: Leave Me Here - 27 October 2009
One of the more confusing things when in Delhi is trying to arrange your onwards travel, and being confident in what your told is correct. There are countless fake ‘Government Approved’ Tourist Info places, Tuk-Tuk drivers will always take you to these. Examples of fake “Government Approved” Tourist Offices. But there is only 1 Official Government India Tourism [...]
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Haridwar
Blog: Leave Me Here - 26 October 2009
We decided to go to Rishikesh for Diwali and to see the Ganges, except the only problem was we didn’t have enough time. The closest we could get was Haridwar, and upon reading that it was the much more spiritually significant than Rishikesh, and it was the beginning of the Ganges, it sounded a good [...]
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A cheater's guide to surviving a ten day Vipassana course
Blog: 99 + 1 countries - 26 October 2009
If you are seriously thinking of doing a ten day Vipassana meditation course you might not want to read this. In a Vipassana course you commit yourself to not communicating in any way for ten days.
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The Best Homestay in Kerala – Community Greenpalm Homes Review (Part 2)
Blog: Kerala India Travel - 25 October 2009
Community Greenpalm Homes is a wonderful Kerala homestay located on the peaceful backwater island of Chennamkary, near Alleppey.
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Chandigarh
Blog: Leave Me Here - 25 October 2009
Even if your not a Architecture buff, Chandigarh is totally worth visiting, maybe because its so un-Indian, or maybe because its just a beautiful town. The main draw card for most coming here though is the whole place was basically designed by renown Swiss-French Architect Le Corbusier, which didn’t mean a thing to me, but Paula [...]
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Udaipur, India
Blog: Patrick and Katrina do the Globe - 25 October 2009
When we first started planning our Rajasthani adventure back in Delhi, a Shanti Home employee told us we would never want to leave the relaxing lakes of Udaipur. Little did we realize at the time just how long we would, in fact, call Udaipur home.
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Travel Video – Life & Struggle in India
Blog: GoBackpacking - 24 October 2009
_ Image locations include Kolkata, Bodhgaya, Varanasi, Agra, & Delhi. Buy travel insurance from Worldnomads.com (Lonely Planet's preferred carrier) Related posts:Friday Flashback – The Taj Mahal & Red Fort in Agra, IndiaFriday Flashback – The Ganges River and Ghats in VaranasiFinal Thoughts – Incredible IndiaBuy travel insurance from Worldnomads.com (Lonely Planet's preferred carrier)
