Tim Olsen

TimOlsen

Tim Olsen

I've always wanted to pursue travel writing as a career. Now it's time to make that dream a reality - with your help.



Asia » India » Rajasthan January 25th 2013

“You and me, sir, best friends! You call me, ten minutes, I’ll be there.” That was the send-off I received from my tuk-tuk driver as he dropped me off at the Delhi National Rail Museum on a bright, sunny Sunday morning. I’d only known him for half and hour but his greeting was typical of the friendliness I experience every day here in this city. I’ve been here for almost a month now, and I admit that I have been remiss on writing my blog but the days just seem to blend into each other. Before I realized it, I am already into my fourth week and I thought it was time to say hello and share some photographs. Outside my bedroom window, wild parrots are squawking in the trees and the traffic noise threatens to ... read more
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Asia » India » Maharashtra » Mumbai » Worli December 22nd 2012

One of the daunting things about going to a new country must surely be leaving all your friends and family behind. You're a stranger in a strange land and you have to start from scratch, hoping that your work colleagues and the people you meet there will accept you, foibles and all. I was lucky with my first trip to India as the friends I made in Mumbai will definitely be friends for life ... and I wanted to introduce some of them to you. In ten days I head out there again, to meet up with old friends and to work with a brand new Star Team. I can't wait!... read more
Laura, AJ and Jared
Bhav and I
The Team!

Asia » India » Maharashtra » Mumbai » Bandra December 7th 2012

Just when you thought you'd read my last blog update, I am back with some news! On January 2nd, I return to India for eight weeks to continue training for the Starbucks India Partners and to work alongside them in our three glorious stores in Mumbai. I thought it was a dream come true last Summer but now I'm doing it again! There'll be more frequent updates this time and more photographs ... and I'll see you in January!... read more
The Taj Palace Hotel
The store in Oberoi Mall
The Entrance to the Fort Store

Asia » India » Maharashtra » Mumbai October 7th 2012

Mani Bhavan – A short blog about Gandhi-ji The monsoon rains forced me to cancel my trip to Pune so I decided to visit Mani Bhavan, the house where Mahatma Gandhi lived for many years. Located in downtown Mumbai, this house served as Gandhi’s base for almost twenty years and was the focal point for all his political activities during this time. A beautiful house on a leafy, tree-lined street, it has now been turned into a museum and archive to celebrate his life and achievements and I felt that a visit was essential. If Barack Obama felt it necessary to visit during his State Visit in 2010, I thought it was only right to follow his lead. (A short aside: You may be asking why I refer to Gandhi in the title of this blog ... read more
The oval plaque, reminiscent of the blue plaques in London
The bronze bust watching over us
Gandhi-ji's Room

Asia » India » Maharashtra October 1st 2012

An aside: A good friend alerted me today to an inaccuracy in my previous blog. I stated that many of the city name changes in India took place just after independence from the British Empire. I should have checked Wikipedia first, I guess, as Madras was only renamed Chennai in 1996 and, as Wikipedia states in Mumbai's case, "the English name was officially changed to Mumbai in November 1995. This came at the insistence of the Marathi nationalist Shiv Sena party that had just won the Maharashtra state elections and mirrored similar name changes across the country. A theory was proposed suggesting that "Bombay" was a corrupted English version of "Mumbai" an... read more

Asia » India » Maharashtra September 30th 2012

One thing I had promised myself about this trip to India was that I would do my best to experience it as a native Indian does. I would travel as they travel and, as much as possible, eat what they eat. So, no McDonalds, KFC, or ham and cheese sandwiches and more Guajarati Thali, biryanis, lentil dahls and the like. (I have eaten at Subway but that was a Chicken Tandoori sub so that doesn’t count, right?) Indian food at the source is nothing like the westernized versions we taste every day in the UK and America; not every curry burns your mouth and every region has its own distinct flavours and textures. Some I’ve loved, others have just been a little too strange for me like the sweets made of chickpeas and the restaurants where ... read more
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Asia » India » Maharashtra September 23rd 2012

Mumbai – A City of Contrasts, A City Alive Allow me to set the scene. When I was younger, I read an article in National Geographic entitled India By Rail. It described in incredible detail, and with amazing photographs, the railway network in India. It didn’t concentrate on the machinery but rather the people who kept it running and the villages, towns and cities it visited as it made its way across the massive, unbelievably diverse country known as India. I was fascinated by the history and culture and kept the magazine, imagining that one day I would be able to experience it for myself. In the years that followed, I got married – twice – and had children – three – and the dream remained exactly that – unrealized and filed away in a metaphorical ... read more
Welcome to Mumbai!
AKA Victoria Terminus
Starbucks Dubai

Asia » India » Maharashtra » Mumbai » Gorai September 6th 2012

Namaste Everyone! After months of planning, my trip to India is so close I can almost taste it. I've had all my injections, my malaria tablets and industrial strength insect repellent are already packed and ready to go and now I just have the weekend to wait. I've learned a few basic Hindi phrases but everyone I talk to tells me that in Mumbai, everyone speaks English so I should be okay on that front. I've done my research and my working visa is in place in my passport. Boxes are ticked. Twenty eight days in a foreign land, a world so very different than my own, awaits. I'll be posting frequently so I'm hoping that my friends will be able to savour, through me, the wonders of India. I can't wait. Oh, and the day ... read more




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