THAILAND | Monday, 18 Feb 2008 | Views [540]
Almost everyone we spoke to about our travel to India warned us about the culture shock one experiences when steeping out of the comfort zone of the West. The shock was probably there, but by the time we could actually feel the impact of it amidst our ... Read more >
Tags: Adventures
NEPAL | Monday, 14 Jan 2008 | Views [609]
Serene abode hidden from the world of mundane worries, immersed in silence, contemplation and prayer... I used to imagine monks sitting in meditation for hours whispering mantras and solemnly surcumambulating big white stupas ( Buddhist architectural ... Read more >
Tags: Culture
INDIA | Sunday, 16 Dec 2007 | Views [628]
In the morning, we headed for a free schedule sight seeing of Delhi, Our first stop was Jamma Masjid, the largest mosque in India, a magnificent complex built of red and white stone whit a spacious inner yard able to hold thousands of devotees. To ... Read more >
Tags: Sightseeing
INDIA | Saturday, 15 Dec 2007 | Views [347]
After our short visit to Delhi almost five months ago in the monsoon chaos and after having heard from other travelers of the city only in derogatory terms we were heading to the Indian capital with a mixture of excitement (as the last month was the ... Read more >
Tags: People
INDIA | Monday, 26 Nov 2007 | Views [629]
Dear Friends, the title of this letter may surprise you, but as I and Misha recently discovered, for four months we had managed to travel in India and ovoid the Indian. Dharamsala, Ladakh and Bir ( read about it on my travel blog : http://journals.... Read more >
Tags: letters to friends
INDIA | Friday, 23 Nov 2007 | Views [861]
After more than 3 months of dwelling in the north of India and enjoying the quietude of meditation halls and empty mountains, we are headed to the more Hindu part of the continent...well at least as Hindu as a Sikh capital can be. Amritsar is ... Read more >
Tags: Relaxation
INDIA | Thursday, 22 Nov 2007 | Views [847]
One of the Indian myths to be unveiled is the belief that all white bearded gurus, sieges, and enlightened teachers dwell somewhere here between the Himalayas and the Ganges, and if only you opened your heart and humbly touched their feet... ... Read more >
Tags: I should have known better!
INDIA | Wednesday, 10 Oct 2007 | Views [385]
Dear Friends, Hope that this letter finds you in good health and spirit! I am writing it from Ladakh, one of the highest and driest human habitats on Earth, which geographically belongs to India and culturally harbours the traditional pre-... Read more >
Tags: letters to friends
INDIA | Sunday, 30 Sep 2007 | Views [427]
Dear Friends, I am assuming that you all are impatiently waiting to hear about our Vipassana course and the benefits of silence:-) Well, 10 days of quietude is a gift that every human being should have a right to. I knew my mind was tired of inner dialogs, ... Read more >
Tags: letters to friends
INDIA | Saturday, 15 Sep 2007 | Views [399]
Dear friends, I am in India! The last 10 days have been filled with wonder, excitement and bewilderment. In fact, a sense of reality has just started to make its way into my mind. I and Misha have settled down in MacLeod Ganj, Uttar Pradesh, ... Read more >
Tags: letters to friends
TURKEY | Friday, 31 Aug 2007 | Views [320]
Heat painfully intensified by splashes of wild colour, poignant smells of flowers and kebab, dark eyes piercing through bushes of black eye brows and mustachy smirks, tea offered everywhere one went, vendors of leather, of golden jewellery, of tea...... Read more >
Tags: culture
BULGARIA | Saturday, 28 Jul 2007 | Views [374] | Comments [1]
Unlike any other part of our travel adventure, the trip to Bulgaria was burdened with countless expectations, hopes and even fears. Will I be able to share with Misha the place I was born and raised in? Will he appreciate and understand it? How will ... Read more >
Tags: Family
ITALY | Friday, 20 Jul 2007 | Views [368]
Trying to remember Italy.... Early morning arrival to Carpino International Airport, sunshine, a quick croissant and a cappuchino in a plastic cup (such a rarity in Europe!, the cup I mean) bought at the airport cafe, the thought "ah! Italian coffee!"... Read more >
Tags: Adventures
UNITED KINGDOM | Thursday, 5 Jul 2007 | Views [441] | Comments [1]
It's been nine days since we left Toronto. An enormous sigh of relief! After all, the posessions are gone to friends and strangers lifting the anchoring weight they've been adding to my life. Still, our backpacks feel heavier than we imagined, and I ... Read more >
Tags: Adventures