Rakhee Ghelani

Tag: Travel

  • The Most Beautiful Place on Earth: The Galapagos Islands

    The Most Beautiful Place on Earth: The Galapagos Islands

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    It is a big statement to make, but for me the most beautiful place I have ever been is the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. Nowhere else in the world has ever come close. It isn’t just a beautiful place to see though, the Galapagos Islands are also one of the most relaxing places to travel…

  • Climate Change: From Mumbai to Melbourne

    Climate Change: From Mumbai to Melbourne

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    Through Mumbai’s sweltering, suffocating Summer, I have spent many a day fantasising about rolling around in ice cold snow or being rugged up in layers of winter woolies. I have literally had dreams about it. So I was very excited about the prospect of escaping the sauna that is a Mumbai monsoon and spending some…

  • How to Blend in With The Locals: The Czech Republic

    How to Blend in With The Locals: The Czech Republic

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    Blending in with the locals is something that I strive to achieve when I travel, but I think I generally do a pretty bad job of it.  So why do I want to blend in? Well, I can only speak for myself, but I like to think that I experience somewhere differently if I don’t…

  • Pigeons are Vegetables: Being Vegetarian in China

    Pigeons are Vegetables: Being Vegetarian in China

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    When I was working for both Foster’s and ANZ, I was required to travel to China for work a few times. I had heard some horror stories about Chinese food which made me a little apprehensive about eating anything animal there, particularly as I am already quite picky about what non-vegetarian food I will eat.…

  • The Tackiest Place on Earth: Niagara Falls

    The Tackiest Place on Earth: Niagara Falls

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    Yes it is true. If I had to pick the tackiest place on earth (at least that I have ever seen) then Niagara Falls would win hands down. I was visiting family in Canada and had always dreamed of seeing this natural wonder, so was really excited when we decided to make a day trip…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Remaining a Child in the Eyes of a Parent

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    I recently had a friend drop in to visit me at home whilst my father was visiting me from Australia.  My friend came in and I offered him a seat on the couch, my father was working at the dining table.  For a short while he stopped to chat with us, but then went on…

  • Tiffins Galore: My Visit to Spice Box Tiffin Service

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    As part of my day spent with the dabbawalas, I visited Spice Box who cook, pack and send off over 500 tiffin meals a day to hungry office workers all over Bombay.  They use the dabbawalas to make the deliveries, and therefore have to have all their tiffins packed and ready to go before 10am in…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…