India

Don’t Skip: Bundi

Intro to Bundi The region in the northwest of India known as Rajasthan has long been a favorite base for cultural and historic exploration. Most popular routes include the three…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination

Illumination has many interpretations, from the simple brightening with light, to a deeper spiritual or intellectual enlightenment.  In India, both of these concepts seemed to constantly be at play.  Major…

Travel Budget India: Recounting Rupees

India was one of our most challenging and most rewarding stops. We saw the heights of art and architecture and the depths of poverty and despair. We were sweet-talked and hustled, greeted graciously and treated with kindness. We were thrilled, frustrated, over-stimulated, exhausted, energized, thankful and sad, often in the same day. India will touch you, one way or another, in ways you can’t imagine until you’ve been there. We spent our five weeks exclusively in the north, taking our time, but still covering a lot of ground. We did the full Rajasthan circuit, substituting a couple of less-traveled spots for those we heard were over-saturated. Outside Rajasthan, we visited Varanasi and Khajuraho, New Delhi, and Agra (Taj Mahal).

Reflection: India

The magical kaleidoscope that is India.

Bikaner Camel

Camel Safari

Twenty miles or so out of Bikaner, in a small, dusty village on the edge of the Thar Desert, we met our two camels. A third was hitched up to…

Karni Mata

Don’t Skip: Bikaner, India

Desert Outpost Bikaner Firmly planted in western Rajasthan Bikaner has a distinctly different feel from the other Rajasthani cities we’ve visited thus far. It’s a big city, but one that…

Jodhpur Blues

Jodhpur has long been known as the “Blue City,” and the views from the top of its imposing fort prove this still to be true. Historically, it was only the high class,…

Udaipur, City of Lakes

Udaipur is known as the romantic City of Lakes. Throughout Rajasthan, people kept asking when we would visit this quaint, yet well-touristed spot. The city is as picturesque as promised,…

Push(y)kar: Feeling the Pressure in Pushkar

Monkeys gather near sunset. Some gaze placidly toward the pinkening sky, while youngsters tussle and tumble or practice jumps and balancing techniques. There are two main species, one noticeably more…

Not Yet Beaten: The Path to Bundi

Believe it or not, pounding the tourist trail can be hard work, especially somewhere as intense as India. When it all gets too overwhelming, it’s time to take a few…