A study trip to India becomes sexual harassment trip

Michaela Cross, a 23 year old American student of “South Asian Studies” from the University of Chicago who travelled to India in 2012 to study has written a document called “India: The Story You Never Wanted to Hear” on CNN’s ireport under the name “RoseChasm”. She describes how she was sexually harassed, groped, stalked, stared and masturbated at. It was so bad that she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder upon her return to the United States. 

India Travel Survival Guide For Women now in paperback

My book “India Travel Survival Guide For Women” (previously in Kindle edition) is now available in paperback. The reason for the slight delay was because I was waiting for the proof (printed copy for myself) to arrive from the publisher & distributor (Createspace) in the United States. This allowed me to see exactly what the paperback would look like in my hands. Once it was in my hands, I had to preview the final version. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised with the printed version which I then approved. It took them about 4 days for them to make it available for sale on Amazon. I am also planning it go for “Expanded Distribution” which means it will be available to larger audiences through more online retailers, libraries, academic institutions, book stores and distributors such as Barnes & Noble within the United States and Europe. You can find the US version here and the UK version here.

Golden Temple- More than guys with turbans and a temple covered with shiny gold

My friend Manuela shares her experience of her visit to the Golden Temple Amritsar (also known as Swarn Mandir) in the Punjab.

Golden Temple: More than guys with turbans and a temple covered with shiny gold By Manuela Osorio Pineda

I’ve always considered myself as an ‘off-the-beat-traveler’ who craves visiting the remote little spots of a country to find its essence in the unknown and not so popular places; one that always preferred to stay in hostels or with locals through CouchSurfing instead of booking hotel rooms, and definitely the type who ‘hates’ scheduled tours and ‘you-have-20-minutes-to-go-get-a-profile-picture-and-come-back-to-the-bus’ orders … Although I have to say I’ve been there and done that. After all, you’ve gotta try things to know you don’t like them, right? 😉

Old Famous Jalebi Wala at Chandni Chowk of Delhi

Jalebi is one of those sweet dishes you must try when you are in India. To be honest, you’ll find Jalebis everywhere. But so far the best Jalebis I have tried was at the ‘Old Famous Jalebi Wala’ at Dariba Kalan, Chandni Chowk in New Delhi. They make jalebis in pure ghee.

The charms of an old ruined temple in India - Pulicat

Have you noticed that ruined Temples have a charm associated with them – Especially, if a Temple is very old? Today, let us look at one such charming, old and ruined Temple in India – Adi-Narayana Perumal Temple, Pulicat, Tamil Nadu. Does the photo below look like the entrance of a Temple? It sure looks like an entrance alright, but Temples here generally have a Gopuram (Tower) on top of the main entrance doors. Looking at the size of the Temple doors of this Temple, the Gopuram should have been quite huge. But no one knows whether the Gopuram was destroyed in a war, or whether the Temple was constructed with a Gopuram at all! If there was no Gopuram from the beginning, this Temple should be quite unique.