Rakhee Ghelani

Category: Travel

  • Bollywood: Where Heroes Can Be Villains

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    There is an interesting thing I have observed in Indian culture, if someone is admired, lauded or dare I say worshipped, for some reason they seem to be above the law. They can do as much wrong as they want, but very few seem to care. Worse still, if you are poor, then your life…

  • Cambodia: Spending Time in The Beauty of Angkor

    Cambodia: Spending Time in The Beauty of Angkor

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    Siem Reap in Cambodia is one my top 5 travel destinations in the world.  For anyone who has been there or seen images of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and the surrounding region I am sure it is not hard to understand why. The historic sites of Cambodia are simply stunning. I am a temple junkie,…

  • Bolivia: Walking on the Moon and Cycling Through Death

    Bolivia: Walking on the Moon and Cycling Through Death

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    Bolivia is famous for its cocaine trade and altitude. Whilst this may seem a little daunting for some, I actually found Bolivia quite safe even though I was travelling solo. Mind you this was about 7 years ago, but I never felt scared or threatened.  Quite the contrary, I loved Bolivia for its spectacular landscape…

  • Austria: Christmas In Vienna

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    Austria always makes me feel a little wistful, perhaps I inherited that from my father who still describes a summer spent there when he was a university student with a small sigh. I also visited Austria when I was a student, or more accurately on a backpacking sojourn across Europe just after I had completed…

  • Home: St Kilda

    Home: St Kilda

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    I have travelled to 48 countries in the world, and consider myself a seasoned traveller. However so far my blog has only touched on my adventures of the past two years. So I have decided to challenge myself to relive the other places I have been and share with you the great, the harrowing, the…

  • Into the Jungle: Satpura National Park

    Into the Jungle: Satpura National Park

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    I must confess I hadn’t heard of Satpura National Park, I had heard of all the big parks in Madhya Pradesh like Bandhavgarh, Pench and Kanha, but not Satpura.  It is a relative new-comer on the MP wildlife scene and it is because of this that it makes it such a fabulous place to visit.…

  • Bhopal: The City of Lakes and Surprises

    Bhopal: The City of Lakes and Surprises

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    Bhopal is a city that I had never really considered going to. It is unfortunately most famous for being the site of one of the world’s worst industrial disasters (in 1984, a gas leak in the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal exposed hundreds of thousands of people to a toxic gas that killed thousands).…

  • Mumbai: Elephanta Island

    Mumbai: Elephanta Island

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    Whilst I had been to Mumbai 5 times previously, I had never made it to Elephanta Island, but now I have seen them twice in less than a year.  Located off the coast of South Mumbai, this island is famous for its Buddhist and Hindu caves believed to be about 1500 years old. The voyage…

  • Happy Easter: The Dolorosa Walk in Jerusalem

    Happy Easter: The Dolorosa Walk in Jerusalem

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    It is Easter, usually a time when I am gorging myself with chocolates and hot cross buns, but here in India it is almost a non-event, except that banks are closed and my Hindu maid has decided to take the day off. So sitting here I started reflecting back on some time I spent in…

  • The Magic of Rural Rajasthan: Luxury Experience

    The Magic of Rural Rajasthan: Luxury Experience

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    During my travels in India, I have usually done it quite rough, with the one exception where I had a slice of luxury in Jaipur. So when my friend was asked to visit a luxury property in rural Rajasthan I jumped at the chance to go with her.  From the website, Lakshman Sagar looked nice,…

  • The Magic of Rural Rajasthan: Homestay Experience

    The Magic of Rural Rajasthan: Homestay Experience

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    When I was invited to visit a homestay in rural Rajasthan I just could not say yes quick enough.  It had been almost a year since I was last in Rajasthan and since my visit to Kutch, I had found myself fantasising about getting back to rural India.  The grime and congestion of Mumbai has…

  • Theft on Indian Railways

    Theft on Indian Railways

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    Yes, as you can tell by the title, theft on Indian Railways really does happen unfortunately.  I travelled Indian Railways through most of my backpacking journeys across India, and in 9 months never had anything stolen nor felt unsafe.  That is until a recent trip, which has now left me with a rather bad taste…

  • Mumbai: Crawford Market

    Mumbai: Crawford Market

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    Crawford Market is one of those iconic places in Mumbai. You can buy anything here from fresh veggies to precious jewellery. There are several different sections to the market that stretches out over several blocks, with different regions each specialising in specific products. Starting at the fruit and vegetable market, a grand old building… we…

  • Foodie Post: A Gujarati Barbeque – Matla Undhiyu

    Foodie Post: A Gujarati Barbeque – Matla Undhiyu

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    It has been a while since I wrote about some of the wonderful food I have been eating, and what better way than to rave about one from home – Matla Undhiyu.  I tried this when I was visiting my family in Vadodara, Gujarat recently, and my cousin explained it to me as a Gujarati…

  • Chilling in Colombo

    Chilling in Colombo

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    I didn’t know what to expect from Colombo.  If it was anything like the other capital cities I have seen in Asia, loud, noisy, polluted and full of a frenzy of activity is what I was expecting.  What I got was something completely different. We arrived in Colombo on  a Saturday, it was our last…

  • I Want Kandy

    I Want Kandy

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    Kandy was a town that we were looking forward to visit, because it has always been fondly remembered by a close Sri Lankan family friend as their favourite place in Sri Lanka.  With all the anticipation, I am happy to say that it certainly didn’t disappoint, even despite the relentless rain. Kandy is slightly elevated…

  • The Ancient Cities of Sri Lanka

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    The Cultural Triangle is one of the most popular tourist trails in Sri Lanka.  I am a bit of a temple junkie, having done so many throughout India over the past 18 months, so I couldn’t resist seeing the famous sites of Sri Lanka.  What I didn’t realise was just how much Buddhist history was in…

  • The Difference Between Sri Lanka and India

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    It had been 18 months since I had been outside of India.  That’s a long time, and to be honest I didn’t think going to Sri Lanka was really going to be a big change from what had become normality to me, after all at some points there is only 30 kilomtres separating Tamil Nadu…

  • Relaxing at the Seaside in Sri Lanka

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    I started the year with a family holiday in Sri Lanka. I had never been to Sri Lanka, but had always wanted to go.  First stop was a few days at the seaside to just relax. It got off to a bad start, with a flasher unfortunately interrupting my peaceful walk on the beach.  After…

  • The Crafts of Kutch

    The Crafts of Kutch

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    I have a little fascination with the arts.  Whilst I wouldn’t consider myself to be a creative person, I really enjoy seeing and appreciating a wide variety of arts.  It is one of the things that draws me to India, every region has their own form of art or craft.  Whether it be dance, music,…