TRAVELOGUES
The best part of travel, for me, is when I manage to connect with a destination, when random foreign names on a map end up becoming almost as familiar as home sometimes.
These are my travelogues: the stories of my connection with the customs, folklore, traditions and value systems that shape people and the places they inhabit.
Granted, my earlier visits had been limited to meetings with modular furniture makers and interior contractors, but charm was still the last thing I expected to find in Delhi. An insidious allure that gets under your skin even as you wilt in the heat and the pollution smothers your lungs. “Do tourists really get to know […]
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Imagine for a moment, that you are an early French explorer. You are stumbling upon these crumbling ruins in the shadowy half light of dense tropical jungle and making the startling discovery that those tree covered towers are, in fact, eerie, mysterious faces! Hundreds of them! With hooded staring eyes and implacable smiles. In the […]
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Discover the symbolism behind Angkor Wat temple architecture and details on how to visit these magnificent temple ruins in Cambodia.
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Laos Travel: Experiencing Luang Prabang, its tranquility and identity as a practicing Buddhist city steeped in ancient traditions.
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Why you should not skip Vientiane, Laos. This fully updated 2021 travel guide covers the best things to do in Vientiane in a day.
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“No, that can’t be Mount Fuji” I dismissed my sisters query very authoritatively, as I snuggled back into my seat. “Where is the snow cap and cloud cover?” My sister’s faith in my opinion was plain for all to see, when she turned to our guide for confirmation. “Nooooo! Where is the snow cap and cloud cover?” she […]
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Whether it is a resurgence of indigenous identity or as in recent times, just political posturing by populist governments, a number of places from Peking to Pondicherry and Bombay to Burma, have undergone name changes in the past decade. Could I locate a renamed city among the photos in my archives for the story challenge: letter Q? It […]
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How to visit the dramatic Nabatean city of Petra, Jordan.
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Out beyond ideas of wrongdoingand rightdoing, there is a field.I’ll meet you there.When the soul lies down in that grassthe world is too full to talk about.~ Rumi Every time I read Rumi, I am filled with regret that I cannot read it in the original Persian, for I know how much is lost in […]
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“Remember to bury these under the Sun Gate.” Frank, our guide, handed over a bunch of coca leaves…. “For luck.” I carefully tucked the leaves into my pocket before boarding our train to Aguas Calientes. Frank was going to await our return to the Sacred Valley, the next evening. We lucked out with front row […]
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We wind up the Kings Highway from the Dead Sea to ancient Moab. (No this is not a biblical tale! This is R and I, on our way to check out one of the largest crusader castles in Jordan :-)) As we crest a promontory, we spot the redoubt, straddling a strategic position atop a windswept ridge. […]
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This excerpt from the Book of Revelations, clearly cites what early Christians thought of the fabulous Altar of Zeus, on which Antipas was sentenced to death, when he refused to declare that the Roman emperor was “Lord and God.” “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘I know your works, and where you dwell…where […]
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The Urge To Wander 