Less than 50 kilometres from Bhopal is the small town of Sanchi, home to one of the best kept Buddhist temples in the world. Built in the 3rd century and lovingly restored in recent years, the stupa and its nearby
Bhopal: The City of Lakes and Surprises
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
Indian Culture, Apologies and Blame
For a long time now I have had this niggling observation about Indian culture, but wasn’t sure if it was just me, isolated incidents or something I was imagining. I now think it is a cultural thing, Indians don’t seem
The Magic of Rural Rajasthan: Homestay Experience
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
Exploring Bollywood
Anyone who knows me knows I am not really a huge fan of Bollywood. I have however found that living in India you kind of absorb information about Bollywood almost subliminally. My parents on the other hand are huge Bollywood
Theft on Indian Railways
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
Dating in India: More Than Just Marriage
I was recently asked to write a relationship column for a fantastic online magazine here in India called Women’s Web. My first topic is about dating in India, something I have written about before here and here. These posts have
Mumbai: Crawford Market
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
Foodie Post: A Gujarati Barbeque – Matla Undhiyu
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
The Difference Between Sri Lanka and India
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