India
There are [763] photos and [21] stories about India
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Thursday, 10 Sep 2009 | Photo Gallery
India - Rishikesh
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Wednesday, 26 Aug 2009 | Views [2533]
4 am starts are never fun, but I was very thankful that I had had the foresight to hire a porter to hawk my bag back down to the bus stand for me. The stand was packed and completely incomprehensible as usual but I asked someone who pointed out the ... Read more >
Tags: bus, river
Monday, 24 Aug 2009 | Views [2430]
The night bus to Shimla was “semi-deluxe”, which should be read as completely ordinary. It was however uneventful and I managed to snatch a few minutes sleep in between potholes and hairpin bends. It arrived literally at the crack of dawn – just past ... Read more >
Tags: history, mountains, temple, trekking
Friday, 21 Aug 2009 | Views [6178] | Comments [2]
As I waited for the train to leave the platform a tall Sikh with a large sword sat opposite me and promptly lay down to sleep. I'm no expert but it didn't look like the deadliest or most ostentatious of swords although, along with his clothes and turban, ... Read more >
Tags: cooking, live music, mountains, religion, temple, yoga
Thursday, 13 Aug 2009 | Photo Gallery
India - Macleod Ganj & Shimla
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Monday, 10 Aug 2009 | Photo Gallery
India - Amritsar & Atarri Border
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Monday, 10 Aug 2009 | Views [1208] | Comments [1]
I knew it was going to an interesting journey when the fight developed as the crowd on the platform pushed forward, preventing those on the train from getting off. Nowhere seems to be immune from this phenomenon. And in India there's no point in waiting ... Read more >
Tags: train
Sunday, 9 Aug 2009 | Views [2533]
Many guesthouses in India have telephones but seem rarely to deem it appropriate to answer them. Thus I arrived in Bikaner train station undecided as to where to go because nowhere would pick up the phone. As I was giving the hotel one more chance ... Read more >
Tags: camel, rat, temple
Saturday, 8 Aug 2009 | Photo Gallery
India - Jodphur & Bikaner
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Friday, 7 Aug 2009 | Views [2141] | Comments [1]
Having no hotel booked in Jodphur the rickshaw wallah took me to a place in the back streets. I didn't feel confident that Pushp would be a good place. Why would someone name their guesthouse after a push up? In fact, Pushp is named for the ... Read more >
Tags: family, festival, fort, party
Thursday, 6 Aug 2009 | Photo Gallery
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Wednesday, 5 Aug 2009 | Views [5233] | Comments [2]
The combination of sleeping aids did their job, much to my surprise, but I found myself waking up in Jaisalmer to the din of hundreds of touts and rickshaw wallahs shouting in through the bus windows. I never enjoy this part of travelling but you just ... Read more >
Tags: camel, desert, fort, tour
Friday, 31 Jul 2009 | Views [4324]
Udaipur is a picturesque city set on a lake where a large part of Octopussy, the James Bond movie, was filmed. I had booked rooms in the Udai Niwas hotel right beside the main temple, in the middle of the old town. Even from the rickshaw ride into town ... Read more >
Tags: history, lake, lesson, music, religion, sun
Tuesday, 28 Jul 2009 | Photo Gallery
India - Mandu & Indore
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Tuesday, 28 Jul 2009 | Views [3027]
It was an auspicious start to the day. As I ate breakfast there was a beautiful hindu song on the radio with a hypnotic, repetitive mantra. I had been reading “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. The author had been struggling to concentrate during ... Read more >
Tags: stupid, train
Monday, 27 Jul 2009 | Views [4676] | Comments [1]
The unmistakable stench of a combination of human excrement and decaying rubbush hit me as soon as I alighted the train. It was only a three hour train ride. My first, in Sleeper class was just fine but not quite as well equipped as AC class. Khandwa ... Read more >
Tags: bus, fort, monsoon, random, traffic jam
Saturday, 25 Jul 2009 | Views [1396]
The Plaza Hotel on Station Road, Jalgoan was so clean I felt I could have eaten my dinner off the bedroom floor. In India that's really saying something. The manager explained that they are Jain people so cleanliness is very important to them. I silently ... Read more >
Tags: doctor, hotel
Thursday, 23 Jul 2009 | Views [6061] | Comments [1]
Expecting the unexpected and prepared for anything I was in Mumbai's hectic CST station a full two hours before the train was scheduled to leave. I plonked my conspicuous rucksack down in the middle of the station and sat on it, joining the crowds ... Read more >
Tags: cave, monsoon, tour
Tuesday, 21 Jul 2009 | Views [5688]
The
sound of heavy rain on plastic woke me up. I was disoriented at first,
wondering first where Claire was and second where I was. Then it clicked.
London (or quite possibly in a holding pattern around the M25). Mumbai. I
looked out the window to ... Read more >
Tags: cave, crazy people, religion, scam, tour, train
Tuesday, 21 Jul 2009 | Photo Gallery
India - Mumbai & Maharashtra
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Sunday, 19 Jul 2009 | Views [1098] | Comments [1]
India was always going to be an experience of sensory overload, but not just for the usual culture shock-related reasons – the key to the beginning of my Indian travels is contrast. I was coming from Singapore, a model of modernity, order and efficiency, ... Read more >
Tags: city, monsoon
