I am now in the famous Corbett National Park! This park was India’s first national park and was established in 1936. Measuring 1,318 km2, it was a hunter’s paradise during the British Raj. It is now one of India’s finest wildlife sanctuaries and was renamed after Jim Corbett in 1957, after Corbett’s death. Jim Corbett was an avid hunter in his earlier years and was famed for his skills, including the ability to track and kill man-eating leopards and tigers. He became a leading conversationalist well before it was fashionable and the park was fittingly named in his [View Full Entry]

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Today I went to Rishikesh and Shivpuri. Rishikesh is Haridwar’s twin city and is about 20km away which is actually an hour’s drive with the road conditions and the traffic. It lies even further upstream along the Ganges and is the starting point for the holy Char Dham pilgrim route of holy sites along the Ganges. We drove through Rishikesh to the northern end of town where we parked. I wanted to walk across the Lakshman Jhula, one of two suspension bridges across the Ganges in town. It was cool and there were good view of the river from the bridge. [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Haridwar at 11:43pm last night after a rather bone-jarring six hour drive. My flight was late out of Varinasi as we had a political Minister on board so security was extra tight. It also took 45 minutes to get the luggage unloaded so I didn’t hit the road until 5:45pm, an hour later than I hoped. My driver was good and we made decent time. I checked into my hotel and hit the sack pretty quickly. I was still a little wound up from the road so it took me a while to fall asleep. Plus, the sheets [View Full Entry]

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Today I went to Sarnath which is 10 km northeast of Varanasi. Sarnath is as scared to Buddhists and Varanasi is to Hindus. In 528BC, The Buddha came to the Deer Park to preach the Dharmachakra, the Wheel of Law, his first major sermon after attaining enlightenment. Sarnath was one of India’s ancient centers of learning and many monasteries flourished here. The Dhamekh Stupa marks the spot where Buddha delivered his sermon to his five disciples. The tower is 28.5 metes in diameter and 42.6 meters high. There are eight niches around the stupa which once contained images of the Budd [View Full Entry]

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I am now in Varanasi, situated on the west bank of the Ganges and India’s holiest Hindu city. The spiritual and religious legacy goes back nearly 3,000 years. This is the city of Shiva, the foremost amongst the 12 places where the god burrowed and then burst into the sky in a fiery pillar of light. The Ganges is accessed by a series of approximately 90 ghats stretching along a 6km stretch of the river. The ghats are lined with temples and shrines and are used for daily rituals and profound rites of passage. Late yesterday afternoon, I took a bicycle [View Full Entry]

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These photos were taken of sculptures on and inside the various temples of Khajuraho. They are explicit and intended for adults only! [View Full Entry]

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I flew from Delhi to Khajuraho today via Varanasi. My driver and a representative from the travel agency were there to meet me. We went directly to my hotel, The Grand Temple View, so I could check in. My plan for today was to see the Eastern and Southern Groups of temples and catch the evening sound and light show at the Western Group. Tomorrow, I want to see the Western Group of temples in the morning and then travel 20km to the Raneh Falls in the afternoon. We got to the hotel and I was greeted by the entire staff! [View Full Entry]

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The Ken Ghariyal Sanctuary and the Raneh Falls is a nature preserve 20 km from Khajuraho. I went round and round with Mohit yesterday about traveling there as he insisted it would be an extra 800 rupees. I said that I had paid for the use of the car for three days and there would be no extra cost. We again agreed that he would call his manager and I would call my travel agent. I talked to Ashutosh who agreed that there should be no extra cost. He said he’s call Mohit again and clarify the situation. My driver came [View Full Entry]

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I traveled to the end of the earth or at least the end of the Indian subcontinent to stand on the southernmost point of India where the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal meet! I flew from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivandrum) and from there it was a three hour drive. My flight was late from Mumbai so I barely made it in time for sunset. We watched from Chaitra Purnima and, although it was fairly cloudy and the sunset wasn't the best, but it was still nice to see. My driver and I walked around a [View Full Entry]

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Today was a bit of a slower paced day which was nice since it was very hot and humid today, much more so than Tuesday or Wednesday. I slept in a bit and just got up in time to get breakfast. I headed out to the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai’s most prestigious museum. There were three floors of displays showing everything from sculptures, metal work, paintings, coins, an interesting collection of stuffed birds, mammals, and sea creatures (including a gigantic 475 pound perch caught in Mumbai harbor in 1931) and arms and armour. It was interesting and a nice way [View Full Entry]

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