The Tuktuk Driver in Lucknow Train Station
I did not need a tuktuk driver in Lucknow. The modest 3-star hotel that I booked (mainly because I couldn’t find backpackers’ hostels for Lucknow), came with a pickup service. I suppose Lucknow is...
Category: Travel Stories
Leaving Varanasi on a Train Bound for Lucknow
I stowed my things beneath the bottom bunk, climbed up to mine, and breathed a sigh of relief. The train leaving Varanasi had not left without me. A detour for Banaras silk before leaving...
Underground in Varanasi: Contrasts and Blasphemies
By far, the most common remark from foreigners who have travelled in India, is that she does not leave you unmoved. Whether you loved her or hated her, whether you’ve felt both – in...
Seeking Sanctuary on a Sarnath Day Trip
My Sarnath day trip was an impromptu decision. That day, I actually intended to explore more of old Varanasi – specifically the festival that was going to be observed in the Kashi Vishwanath temple....
My Varanasi Day Tour with a Shiva Devotee – The Burning Ghat
A procession approached us, headed to Varanasi’s burning ghat, while we were drinking our chai. It was a group of people surrounding a smaller group of pallbearers. On the litter that they bore was...
My Varanasi Day Tour with a Shiva Devotee – Shiva City
Varanasi. Benaras. Kashi. Anandavana. Rudravasa. Avimukta.* Arriving in Varanasi Varanasi hit me like a ton of bricks. I had braced myself for the intensity of movement, of very many people in a very small...
A Kumari Contemplates Kathmandu Durbar Square
The tour guide seemed to hope greatly. An older man, he insisted on showing me his credentials as an authorised independent guide with quiet dignity. And he continued giving me his pitch on why...
Experiencing Singing Bowl Sound Therapy in Nepal
There was a little cafe in front of the meditation place in Pokhara, where I was instructed to go to for my sound therapy session. Umbrella Cafe was a hippy sort of place, with...
The Kashmiri Serendipity: Stories of Female Travellers in Pokhara
I ended up staying with Kashmiris in Pokhara, because I purposely did not book my post-trekking accommodations in advance. That’s basically me trying to be spontaneous and making space for serendipity. I was in...
Annapurna in the Monsoon Day 10: 9 Trekking Tips
I woke up sore all over, on the final trekking day. New muscles had begun to ache, across my upper body. Unsurprisingly so, since for the past two days I was basically trekking with...
Annapurna in the Monsoon Day 9: The Perks of Slow Trekking
My efforts to try and dampen my knee problems the previous night seemed to do some good. They held me up a little better in the morning. I would need them to hold me...
Annapurna in the Monsoon Day 8: Trekking Through the Summer Plateau
The day dawned free from rain, so I went for a walk around the base camp before breakfast. The rising sun shone gently over the alpine plateau of Annapurna, waking its green summer colour....
