A Journal of Travel Tales Across 72 Countries
“JAI MATA DI” frenzied chants ring out in concentric echoes on the hillside. There is a riot of colours in the profusion of merchandise piled high on both sides of the winding path. Vivid red sequined nylon prayer scarves with fetching golden borders flutter from …
Pokhara dissuades all but the inveterate trekker or the masochistic traveller who does not balk at a 12- hour road trip through some of the most clogged, dusty, treacherous roads in Nepal. Of course, you can book a flight from Kathmandu months in advance if …
Kazan, a day’s drive from Moscow, is a delightfully different Russian town with a distinct Tatar flavour. Tatars come from diverse ethnic backgrounds, but trace their origins to the Bulgars an ethnic group that inhabited this part of the Volga in the 9th century. The …
WHO could have visualised that something as unremarkable as an abandoned gas tank could be transformed into a spectacular art show, one that would invite a steady stream of connoisseurs and visitors from all over the world? But then Yadegar Asisi did, and thus sprang …
Sochi’s selection as the venue of Winter Olympics 2012 brings memories flooding back – of winding hill roads teasing you with tantalizing glimpses of the Black Sea at every bend; of streets blanketed in canary yellow petals that rise up in a swirling cloud as …
Of all the quaint and picturesque villages that dot the banks of the Sutlej as she comes coursing down the slopes in Himachal Pradesh, Kalpa is truly special. Liberally clothed in stately fir, pine and cedar trees that have their crown up in the clouds, …
Concealed behind expansive bungalows surrounded by lush green gardens and an occasional high-rise apartment complex, this archaeological treasure reveals itself only to the determined seeker. Agrasen ki baoli is an ancient stepwell right in the heart of the national capital, on Hailey Road, just a …
As I make my way out of the terminal at Khomeini airport in Tehran, I am startled to see two placards bearing my name. One is held by a stylishly veiled lady who holds it discreetly near her waist while the other is held aloft …
Even the sun seems to linger wistfully behind the altar which must have once supported a giant statue of the Buddha, but is now bare and exposed to the cobalt skies. Its golden rays cast a cascade of chiaroscuro patterns on the votive miniature stupas …
As you drive from Bhopal to Bhimbetka, the forty- five kilometer stretch is the first hint of the drama that awaits you. The lustrous broad-leaved evergreen jungle abruptly gives way to vast plains carpeted by lambent meadows and lush shrubs. For miles, there is no …