After traveling for three very long months and visiting a grand total of 18 cities in India, we finally prepare to depart from Ladakh, and Mother India herself. But before we go...
Read MoreShanti Stupa, Leh, Ladakh
Stories about finding your heart and soul around the world.
Filtering by Category: Inspiration
So You Want to Visit A Tibetan Buddhist Monastery? Part 2
Ancient Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries are a wonder to behold in real life, and as I wrote last week, there are a number of them to see in Ladakh, India.
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Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing in Jaipur + Pondering What's Next
There are many times on this journey that I find my mind wandering, contemplating what will happen next.
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En route to Hampi, women construction workers walk along the train track
Stepping off the path + A train ride to Hampi, India
"Chai chai chai! Chai chai chai!"
"Pakora! Samosa! Pakora!"
We are on a train heading east to Hampi. Food hawkers jump on and off at every stop, rushing through the cars shouting, selling refreshments. I want to taste everything that passes—samosas served from a worn cardboard box, crispy masala rice snacks in a giant plastic garbage bag, fresh mango lassis carried in a tattered milk crate. Yet I cringe as the vendors grab food with their bare hands, passing it to customers wrapped in sheets of used newspaper."Chai chai chai! Chai chai chai!"
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Hauling in a boat after a day at sea, sunset view from my favorite hangout on Palolem beach
The value of mapping what you know + Beach life in Goa, India
I've grown to love late night arrivals. A blanket of darkness wraps around everything keeping it secret until morning's unveiling. There are so many unknowns that come with travel: Will this new bed have bugs in it? Will I die in a rickshaw? Will there be toilet paper? All that is unfamiliar dawns the next day. Ok, maybe not all, but at least you get to see where it is that you've landed.
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Checking out beautiful decorative designs from a puja ceremony at the yoga ashram in Kerala
Sometimes you have to surrender before you win + Answering Mother India's call
Stepping out of customs and into a crowded pen of late-night travelers, the warm Mumbai air reassures me we are no longer in China. Bunches of people are waiting, but not for us. Unfortunately, that appears to include the taxi driver we'd supposedly hired in advance.
"Sometimes you have to surrender before you win. Surrender is at the heart of the Indian experience." — Gregory David Roberts, from Shantaram
If there's one thing I've learned about India, it's that surrender really is at the heart of the Indian experience. There are so many inexplicable hoops and loops to everything here, and the method in which they are worked out rarely makes logical sense.
In this instance, in order to find our driver, we have to pay someone to contact someone else who eventually discovers our guy sleeping in his car.
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