Tag Archives : India

Travelling Homebody explores the night market in Mysore, India.

Photo essay: Mysore, India


Mysore, in the south of India, was one of the friendliest places I visited while I was there. I spent a couple of days exploring the area and it was a fascinating place. Ostentatious wealth juxtaposed against families living on footpaths under tarpaulins. The Night Markets, which feature heavily in this photo essay are wonderful, and should be on the list of things…

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mysore palace india

India: trip highlights and lowlights


At the end of every trip, I like to do a highlights and lowlights summary. I have to say that India is up there with one of my favourite trips of all time (along with Vietnam, Italy, Greece and the former Yugoslavia). I would love to go back again, and take my time so that I can  really immerse myself in this…

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Oh, the things I’ve seen…


India is crazy-amazing, full of crazy-amazing sights. This is a snapshot of the things I saw in my month-long sojourn there… An elephant and a naked man walking along the same stretch of road in Delhi Camels, horses and mules pulling carts Cows, pigs and bulls walking around loose on main roads Sheep, goats and camels being herded along highways Buses…

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Kerala backwaters

Last official day in India: Kerala backwaters


I had no idea that Kerala was a 1.5-2 hour drive from Cochin—I thought it would be relatively close. I was wrong. And the length of the drive depended entirely on the traffic and how much congestion there was. Luckily for us, the traffic wasn’t too bad, but the drive was uninteresting: lots of urban sprawl, large and small shops…

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kochi indai

Last stop: Cochin


We arrived at the Trident Hotel, weary after 10 hours of travel from Ooty. The route we took through the Nilgiri Hills via toy train, coach, regular passenger train then autorickshaw was spectacular. The toy train took us through emerald tea plantations, villages replete with flat roofed houses, painted in pink, blue, yellow and green, quaint railway stations. When we…

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The Monarch Hotel at Ooty


The Monarch Hotel has the the dubious honour of being the only hotel I’ve photographed on this trip. And for good reason. It is one of the worst hotels I’ve stayed in—ever!—but is where I’ve spent one of the funniest nights. Picture a Russian prison and you have the basic layout of the hotel: rooms built up to overlook a large,…

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Lightning stop in Ooty


We left Bandipur National Park for the city of Ooty, located high in the Nilgari Hills. The drive was stunning. Winding roads snaked through misty mountain peaks and through small villages buzzing with activity. Emerald tea plantations scaled up the sides of hills at impossible angles. Eucalypts were so plentiful I thought I was being driven through the Australian Blue…

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I didn’t see one Bengal tiger on safari…!


I am writing this post from inside a tiger reserve—part of the the Bandipur National Park—which spans three states. It has been a peaceful couple of days spent here, punctuated by delicious food, tranquil surrounds and safaris. Away from hustle and bustle of crazy, chaotic India, this place is a Mecca for the soul. There is literally nothing to do…

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mysore palace india

Magical Mysore


The south of India is so different from the north in the way it feels, I could be in two different countries. Outwardly, of course, the appearance is the same: crowded streets, rubbish strewn in piles, wandering cows. But how the south conducts itself seems different. The people are more relaxed and open. Most are friendly without agenda. The “Where…

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My last night on a sleeper train


Last night, we travelled from Goa to Bangalore on the overnight train. It was a 15 hour journey, but it’s amazing how quickly the time flew past, almost as fast as the palm trees and rice fields and the stations. I chatted with my fellow travellers for an hour or so, then, wanting to check out the scenery, I wandered…

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Gorgeous Goa


I loved Goa, although Indira (our trusty guide) says that it is not India. It is touristy and Western and so very, very relaxed. We spent two nights here and it was a welcome change of pace. I needed to spend a day not doing very much at all, apart from a visit to the Post Office, a browse around…

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Using the Indian Postal Service


Given that I don’t need my cool weather clothes because I’m now in the south of India, and I won’t be running, I decided to post these back items home. After all, why lug around extra kilograms of stuff that you(I) don’t need? So Indira (my lovely guide) took me to the post office in Goa. It was a very…

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Catching my breath in Goa


After a couple of days of hard travel (all day bus from Jaipur to Kota, followed by overnight train from Kota to Mumbai, and then a very, very, VERY early train from Mumbai to Goa), I arrived in Goa, exhausted. We are staying in Panjim, north of Goa. It’s a pretty spot, heavy with Portuguese influence—from the architecture to religion…

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Lightning stop in Mumbai


We arrived in Mumbai earlyish after an overnight train from Kota. It’s a bustling metropolis and surprisingly clean. Traffic, of course, was crazy—but this is India. I only spent the one night in Mumbai, and I wish it could have been more. It has a lovely vibe—reminiscent of Athens or Naples—because of its location on the Arabian Sea and all…

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Diddled in Delhi, jimmyjacked in Jaipur


It’s not easy to get alcohol in India, although it is readily available in the hotels. I bought a small bottle of vodka for a few hundred rupees from a hole-in-the-wall outlet in Amritsar, but it was small, and didn’t last long. When I travel, I like having a couple of drinks as I tuck in for the night, otherwise…

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Three rules for travelling in India


1. Nothing is ever given for free, including help. (If someone approaches you offering to help you cross the road, find a good spot for a photo, show you where to walk etc. generally they want money for it or they want to sell you something.) 2. Negotiate your price up front, and stick to it. (Sometimes the price you…

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Agra and the Taj Mahal


Agra is a city not unlike others we have visited to date, although it does seem slightly less chaotic, if that is even possible. Almost as soon as we alighted from the train we were greeted by dirty, bright-eyed children begging and men wanting to carry our luggage. I’m wary of the luggage bearers after an experience in Delhi where…

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New Delhi: a slightly different beast


While Old Delhi can best be described as a cacophony of congestion and craziness, New Delhi reeks of old money and British Heritage. It is an exceedingly wealthy area. Mansions, obscenely ostentatious government buildings, manicured lawns with colourful dahlia beds, and monuments to kings long dead dominate the urban landscape. In amongst this development poverty can be clearly seen. Beggars…

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Delhi: right in amongst it


Delhi. Oh. Wow. We pulled into Delhi station, and organise porters to carry our bags for 100 rupees. Those men were amazing, carrying 15-20kgs worth of luggage on their heads plus an extra suitcase by hand. Up a long flight of steps, down a long flight on the other side. I saw similar feats of strength in China, when men…

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