India

My Most Recent India Gallery is Now Online
My Most Recent India Gallery is Now Online

My Most Recent India Gallery is Now Online

See images from my most recent trip around the North East side of India here, with safaris for tigers and rhinos, and being amoung tens of millions of pilgrims in one crowded location… (Kumb Mela 2019), plus interesting stops along…

Tired of Tracking Tigers? Try Rambling for Rhinos in Kaziranga!
Tired of Tracking Tigers? Try Rambling for Rhinos in Kaziranga!

Tired of Tracking Tigers? Try Rambling for Rhinos in Kaziranga!

Perhaps a silly premise, who could ever possibly get tired of tigers?  Ha ha, but it is worthwhile to note that India has more than just tigers in terms of exotic animals.   While my winter safaris in India were most…

On The Tiger Trail – Part 3
On The Tiger Trail – Part 3

On The Tiger Trail – Part 3

This is Part 3 of “On The Tiger Trail”  “How I Spent My Winter on Photo-Safaris in Northern India” “Pussycat, Pussycat, Where are You” To paraphrase part of the 1960’s song called What’s New Pussycat, the challenge of actually finding…

On The Tiger Trail – Part 2
On The Tiger Trail – Part 2

On The Tiger Trail – Part 2

This is Part 2 of “On The Tiger Trail  – How I Spent My Winter on Photo-Safaris in Northern India” Where to Go India has the largest population of tigers (two thirds of the global total), and the most accessible…

Stranger in a Strange Land – Witnessing A Pilgrimage for 130 Million People
Stranger in a Strange Land – Witnessing A Pilgrimage for 130 Million People

Stranger in a Strange Land – Witnessing A Pilgrimage for 130 Million People

It’s called “Kumbh Mela“, and it happens over the course of 2 1/2 months in one of the four different holy locations in India that periodically host this festival on a rotational basis.  During that time, more than 130 million…

Into the Deep End of India – Reflections
Into the Deep End of India – Reflections

Into the Deep End of India – Reflections

If you are looking for the start of this series of posts about India, go to the beginning here. Otherwise, just continue on to the conclusion of this journey, described below.. and then work your way backwards in time going…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Twenty One, Last Stop – New Delhi
Into the Deep End of India – Part Twenty One,  Last Stop – New Delhi

Into the Deep End of India – Part Twenty One, Last Stop – New Delhi

New Delhi is not really my favorite city (not by a long shot), but it does grow on you a bit after you spend some time there, and get used to getting around.  My first experiences there were pretty awful,…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Twenty, Meandering in Mumbai
Into the Deep End of India – Part Twenty, Meandering in Mumbai

Into the Deep End of India – Part Twenty, Meandering in Mumbai

Mumbai (Bombay) is India’s most populated city at 18.5 million people.  While I much prefer smaller cities in India compared to the huge ones, Mumbai is one of my favorite cities overall in India, and most certainly the one I…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Nineteen, Going Postal in Hyderabad
Into the Deep End of India – Part Nineteen, Going Postal in Hyderabad

Into the Deep End of India – Part Nineteen, Going Postal in Hyderabad

I was getting fat, luggage wise that is, particularly from all the spice packages I had purchased – my suitcase was almost bursting.  As I have done in many other countries, my plan was to go down to the post…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Eighteen, Goa
Into the Deep End of India – Part Eighteen, Goa

Into the Deep End of India – Part Eighteen, Goa

For someone thinking about visiting India, but not quite sure if they can handle the culture shock, in my mind at least, Goa is the perfect destination.  It resembles popular beach-centric holiday locations found elsewhere around the world, yet offers…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Seventeen, Hobnobbing with the High Class on the Way to Hampi
Into the Deep End of India – Part Seventeen, Hobnobbing with the High Class on the Way to Hampi

Into the Deep End of India – Part Seventeen, Hobnobbing with the High Class on the Way to Hampi

  I actually had little or no choice in my method of getting to Hampi.  There was only an overnight train.  I actually wanted to do another train trip, in order to explore what first class would be like –…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Sixteen, Mysuru
Into the Deep End of India – Part Sixteen, Mysuru

Into the Deep End of India – Part Sixteen, Mysuru

Mysuru (also known as Mysore), is also called the City of Palaces, with the highlight being Amba Villas (AKA Mysore Palace). I found Mysuru town a bit frustrating photography wise, as there was not much to see that would allow…

Into the Deep End of India, Part fifteen, Lies Damn Lies in Bengalaru
Into the Deep End of India, Part fifteen, Lies Damn Lies in Bengalaru

Into the Deep End of India, Part fifteen, Lies Damn Lies in Bengalaru

The name Bengalaru means “City of Boiled Beans”, supposedly named by a Maharaja who was wandering through here and was offered that for dinner by one of the inhabitants. Bangalore as it is also called it is now the third…

Into the Deep End of India, Part Thirteen – Kolkata
Into the Deep End of India, Part Thirteen – Kolkata

Into the Deep End of India, Part Thirteen – Kolkata

My next stop was Kolkata (formerly called Calcutta). I had sat with an amazon sized Aussie gal on the plane from Lucknow, and we decided to share a cab into town to reduce the costs. I had found it interesting…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Twelve, My Veneration of Varanasi
Into the Deep End of India – Part Twelve, My Veneration of Varanasi

Into the Deep End of India – Part Twelve, My Veneration of Varanasi

I didn’t quite understand why all my Indian friends laughed like hell and smiled a lot when I said I was going to Varanasi, that is until I had actually spent some time. In, truth, its a bit over the…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Eleven, Unlucky in Lucknow
Into the Deep End of India – Part Eleven, Unlucky in Lucknow

Into the Deep End of India – Part Eleven, Unlucky in Lucknow

Having just completed my tiger safari in Ranthambore, I was looking forward for something a bit different at my next stop, Lucknow, because it has quite a reputation as being a “foody” destination. The Nawabs of olden days had enjoyed…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Ten, Tiger Safari at Ranthambore National Park
Into the Deep End of India – Part Ten, Tiger Safari at Ranthambore National Park

Into the Deep End of India – Part Ten, Tiger Safari at Ranthambore National Park

With apologies to William Blake’s The Tiger e.g.  “Tiger Tiger Burning Bright, In the Forests of the Night..”,  my version is: “Tiger, Shmiger hiding right, in Ranthambore only to be seen at night, I paid a fortune for this sight,…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Nine, Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh
Into the Deep End of India – Part Nine,  Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh

Into the Deep End of India – Part Nine, Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh

My next major objective was a Tiger Safari that had been pre-booked with fixed dates, for Ranthambhore National park.. but that was still a few days away, and I needed to get closer, so my next stop was to be…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Six, Rajasthan
Into the Deep End of India – Part Six, Rajasthan

Into the Deep End of India – Part Six, Rajasthan

Rajasthan State and the Bus Ride from Hell My next step was to venture into Rajasthan State in order to see some of the desert, and the historic forts and palaces that had been used to hold and control the…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Five, Amritsar – A Truly Holy City
Into the Deep End of India – Part Five, Amritsar – A Truly Holy City

Into the Deep End of India – Part Five, Amritsar – A Truly Holy City

Santa Claus is Coming to Town One of the more amusing sights on my bus trip from Dharamshala to Amritsar was the Santa Claus Parade that I came across in one of the small towns that the local bus transited…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Three – Abort on the South, Back to Delhi
Into the Deep End of India – Part Three – Abort on the South, Back to Delhi

Into the Deep End of India – Part Three – Abort on the South, Back to Delhi

My initial plan for touring the south by gradually moving northward, came to an abrupt halt when the city of Chenni experienced extremely heavy flooding. I had planned to cross over from the southern west coast to the east coast…

Into the Deep End of India – Part Two – South, Kerala Province
Into the Deep End of India – Part Two – South, Kerala Province

Into the Deep End of India – Part Two – South, Kerala Province

After a two week side trip to Sri Lanka, that also included a few days of R&R in the Maldives (mostly scuba diving), I was back into India for more adventures, but this time I was entering in the far…

Into the Deep End of India – Part One, A Rough Crowd at Pushkar
Into the Deep End of India – Part One, A Rough Crowd at Pushkar

Into the Deep End of India – Part One, A Rough Crowd at Pushkar

Pushkar What was supposed to be a CALM three day visit to New Delhi, i.e. take it easy, get my bearings, figure out the main systems in place for India, get sorted out with an Indian SIM card for voice…