There could not have been a more dramatic start to a family holiday. I was at the doorstep of the Embassy of Romania in Delhi on the dot of 12 noon, picked up our four visa-stamped passports, heaved a combined…
The Spirited Train to St Petersburg
“He’s a liar,” he said, pointing an accusatory finger at Lonely Planet’s Russia Guide that my sister held in her hand while responding to her question on the safety of drinking water in St Petersburg. “I don’t think he has…
Blue Eyes Don’t Lie
It was oddly weird (or weirdly odd?) to be sitting alone in the city square of a magical foreign destination waiting to be propositioned by a drug peddler. After all I was up in the Rif Mountains, the main hashish…
Passion with Compassion
As the waves gently lapped the rocky shores and the sun set on another gorgeous day in Koh Lanta, I sipped on my lemongrass margaritas and watched nature’s brush paint gorgeous colours against the skyline. It was a surreal setting…
Memorable Acts of Travel Kindness
In the midst of spring cleaning a few weeks ago, a little yellow note fell out of a travel notebook I had carried on a trip to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia some years ago. “Dear Guests,” it read,…
What To Carry When Travelling Solo
I travel solo to test my own limits…to discover how far I can go, where my journey will take me and how much more I can learn about myself Dusk had descended as I alighted from the bus that had…
Bollywood In The Most Unexpected Quarters
A hearty greeting from a very cheerful, aging taxi driver followed us as we stepped off the bus terminal into a taxi, wary as often happens in new surroundings of being ripped off. “Where are you from?” our driver asked.…
I’m So Glad for Octobers
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers,” L M Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables “On the 27th (of October) I will be on my own and was wondering if you were free to take me…