Lynton and Lynmouth cliff railway in Devon Great Britain

If you ever visit Devon in the South of England then do visit the two villages of Lynton and Lynmouth situated on the North of Exmoor National Park. I was there recently and really enjoyed myself. What I found most interesting was the Lynton and Lynmouth cliff railway purely powered by water from the West Lyn River situated about a mile away. The Lynton and Lynmouth cliff railway actually joins the two twin villages (some say they are towns). Once you are on the top of the cliff there’s a coffee shop and had one of the best cafe lattes I had for a long time. The views from there were spectacular. We then walked about a mile to the Valley of the Rocks. It was slightly scary walking the narrow lane as one side there was mountains and the other side a cliff and one slip and you would end up in the sea. 

If you smoke then try the Indian cigarette the "Beedi"

Bidi (also spelled as beedi) is a deadly poor man’s thin Indian cigarette packed with high amount of nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide. It is very popular is south Asian countries, especially in India and is exported to more than 100 countries. If you are a smoker then I wanted to pinpoint the Indian styled cigarette that you might wish to try when you are in India (at your own risk of course). But a word of warning!  Research has shown that a regular size bidi contains 5 times more tar than a regular cigarette and also thrice the amount of nicotine and carbon monoxide. Apart from these they have additional harmful chemicals like phenol, benzopyrenes, hydrogen cyanide, and ammonia.

Packs of Bidis (beedi)

Often bidis are manufactured by tying unrefined tobacco flakes in a Tendu Patta (leaf of Indian Ebony plant) and rarely by Bidi leaf tree (Bauhinia Racemosa). Bidis accounts for nearly 48% of the tobacco consumed in India. They allow the consumer to ingest a lot of particulate matter as they do not have any filters on them. They are unhealthy, addictive and are known to be the cause of oral, esophagus and lung cancers among many users, in addition to increasing risk of cardiovascular diseases and lung diseases. Unlike the cigars or cigarettes, bidis do not remain lit for a long time. Like any type of smoke, bidi smokers spread the smoke, making people exposed to it passive smokers and increase their health risks too. The user has to breathe in the smoke constantly and puff the bidi to prevent it from dying down which again has serious health issues. Research conducted shows that the health risk is much higher among bidi smokers than those who puff of cigarettes.

Indian woman smoking bidi. Photo by Nagarjun Kandukuru.Compared to cigarette smokers bidi smokers run higher risk of

• Oral cancer – 42%
• Respiratory diseases – 69%
• Inthrathoracic organ diseases -69%
• Lung – 35%
• Larynx – 112%

Essential India Travel Guide: Travel Tips And Practical Information

Bidi consumers often come from low economic background and are at most of the times unaware of its ill effects on their health. The misguided perception about the bidi among its consumers is that unlike cigarettes it is a natural, handmade product with lesser factory manufactured chemicals like cigarette.

Bidis are often purchased lose without any package and they do not have any printed warnings. Even if they are bought in package, there is no statutory warning label on the package and even in the rare cases where they are present, the users may not know to read or understand it. Unlike the cigarette smokers these people are ignorant and do not know what they are getting into. The anti-tobacco ads promoted by Government of India which had been focusing on cigarette smoking has realized this aspect and is now trying to concentrate on prevention of tobacco usage through showing the ill effects of gutka consumption, eating paan and bidi smoking. The manufacturers often avoid tax payment, which allows them to sell the product at lower rates than other licensed tobacco products.

You can buy the bidi at a pan shop

With the increasing competition in market, the manufacturers came up different flavors of bidi including fancy types like vanilla, mango, strawberry or chocolate besides the traditional ones. These have attracted young smokers, as young as 10 year olds leading to serious illness and even death in some cases.

Though Bidis came into existence in 17^th century, the usage began to increase only after Gandhi’s promotion of using Indian products gained popularity among the Indians. Most of the people gave up the usage of foreign cigarettes and tobacco products and started using Bidis which were made in India by the Indians.  Initially prepared by the workers of the tobacco industry who could not afford expensive cigarettes but took the waste products and wrapped in leaves to enjoy a smoke in the evening after hard work, today Bidi manufacturing is a flourishing industry where the owners are minting millions of rupees.

Though the government implemented regulations to control the bidi manufacturing, it has survived as a cottage industry employing men to work in factory for higher pay, whereas women are allowed to work from home for lesser pay. Most of the workers of bidi industry become addict to the harmful product due to its easy availability and constant exposure to it. Even those people who abstain from smoking bidi suffer from the increased cotinine levels in their blood.  The sufferers are often women and children from the rural or semi-urban areas who are driven to work in the industry due to prevailing poverty.

The home based workers of bidi create constant exposure to the dust and fumes of tobacco, thus causing health hazard for all the family members including small children and even infants in some cases. Most of the people exposed to bidi manufacturing suffer from diseases like asthma, bronchitis and tuberculosis besides cancers and heart disease.

You can find beedis in “paan shops” like in the picture above. By all means try it, they are cheap and cheerful and you never know you just might like it. Don’t forget to bring some beedis home with you. Just remember that bidis are as harmful as cigarettes.

If you want to enjoy India to the fullest then you might wish to get this book:

Travel India: Enjoying India to the Fullest: Things to do in India

Top 3 most common mistakes tourists make when visiting India

It is pretty natural, that some people tend to act a little bit weird and inappropriate then they travel to some faraway places. India is one of these countries, where tourists tend to make many mistakes that can offend local people and might even ruin the whole trip. And nobody wants that! So because of it, I am going to share with you 3 main and usually made mistakes in India that many tourists do and don’t even think about it. It will help you to avoid any unnecessary problems and let you enjoy India the best!

Jallianwala Bagh: Beautiful garden with a bloody story - Must visit on India’s Independence Day

Although it is the most emblematic place, going to Amritsar is not only about visiting the Golden Temple; the border with Pakistan is just one hour drive away and the Jallianwalla Bagh is right next to the temple! Besides, the city is well known for its delicious and not-so-healthy typical dishes so don’t miss the Amritsari Kulcha. But let me retake the story!

Ride the bicycle rickshaw – India’s sustainable transport

The bicycle rickshaw is a widely used in many Asian countries for short distance travel, especially in eco sensitive areas and cities. The mode of transport is similar to carts pulled by horses; the sole difference being here is that the muscular animal is replaced by usually impecunious men whose impoverished condition has forced them to look for a physically strenuous job for some extra money. In India the rickshaw pullers are often people who have moved to urban areas to look for some extra money due to failure of income from their agricultural labour jobs. The lure is off course only the money they can make though the task is more physically demanding. The strenuous work of pulling the passengers in the cart, especially when they are going uphill takes its toll on the health of the rickshaw pullers who finally end up spending their earning on hospitals and medications.