Manuela arrives in Chandigarh

You will remember that my friend Manuela arrived in Delhi from Colombia. Now she leaves Delhi to live in Chandigarh the capital of Punjab! She describes her leaving of Delhi and experience of Chandigarh in her own words. An interesting account.

Proving why Chandigarh IS the City Beautiful

Even thought India is becoming a really popular destination for people from all over the world, not a lot of travelers know about Chandigarh. Of course you’ve all heard about chaotic Delhi; Mumbai and Bollywood; the Holy city of Varanasi; Jaipur, the pink city; and all those ‘European’ paradises spread over the huge country like Shimla -also known as ‘the little Switzerland’- Pondicherry -‘the little France’- Kasol -the unnamed Israeli territory- and Goa, the party destination, where you can see the entire world hanging out together, especially on its famous Christmas and New Year’s parties… Would I make it to Goa on this December 31st? …

5 top tips to enjoy traveling during the magical monsoons in India

Most westerners prefer to come to India from September to March when the weather is cool in most parts of India. But a few brave ones arrive during Monsoons also, when the whole country is experiencing the magic of Monsoons.

There are a lot of things you can do during the monsoons to enjoy and have a pleasant stay in India like chasing the monsoon, enjoying the delicious hot Pakoras or bhajiyas with tea while it rains outside. But Monsoons also bring with them their own set of problems also like water logging, floods, a lot of mosquitoes and flies. All these factors combined can make anybody run away from India except for the very brave.

Manuela arrives in India from Colombia

My friend Manuela writes about her experiences in India. She talks about coming to India and settling in Chandigarh. Read to find out more about her Indian fairytale.

My own Indian Fairytale by Manuela Osorio Pineda

From the very first moment I placed my feet in Indian lands, I had that strange but fascinating feeling of being walking in two different countries at the same time; not between a ‘rich’ and a ‘poor’ one – although the economic gap is so huge you can almost touch it- not between a ‘women’s’ and ‘men’s’ country – although gender equality is still a utopia as in most regions of the world- and not either between a religious divided country, although the conflicts involving the beliefs differences can still be felt in some parts of the vast subcontinent.

I am now an ixigo expert

I am delighted to inform everyone that I am now part of the ixigo expert panel. Ixigo happens to be one of India’s largest and award winning travel search engines that was founded in 2006.

The panel of experts consist of travel enthusiasts who work towards simplifying the life of travellers and to make travelling in India a happy experience. Therefore the Ixigo experts advice and answer questions on a topic they feel most comfortable with.

My interests include my own state of Bihar, women’s issues and travel safety. This means that I answer questions relating to travelling to Bihar and questions related to women’s safety. Here’s my ixigo expert panel page.

The calm blue vastness of Tarkarli Beach

Tarkarli beach is one of the numerous and amazingly beautiful beaches spread across the Konkan sea coast overlooking the Arabian Sea in the state of Maharashtra. The beach is situated almost 550 km from Mumbai near the village of Tarkali in district of Sindhudurg, coastal Maharashtra. The Mumbaikars (people of Mumbai) love visiting this place on the weekends.

The long coastline stretching across the beach with silky sand, its clean and clear waters, and the calmness of the place attracts tourists who are looking to get refreshed and rejuvenated both mentally and physically in natures lap. The place is also known for dolphins and turtles which can be sighted if you are lucky. The soft stretch of sand on the beach is ideal for romantic walks, on the long stretch of beach which seems to be never ending. The pristine and clear waters of the sea are untouched by pollution, so much so that on a clear day you can clearly see the seabed with snails, shells and other sea life up to the depth of 20 feet.