Al salaam a'alaykum (A formal greeting in Arabic that stands for “peace be on you”), How are y’all? I just returned from a trip to Tunisia. Nestled along the Mediterranean coast in Northern Africa, Tunisia has been a crossroads of cultures for several millennia. I didn’t know much about the country before my visit. Looking at a map, you can see that it is wedged between Libya and Algeria. Do not let the small size of it fool you as this country has a rich history dating back to ancient antiquity. The first settlers of the region were the Berber. Their [View Full Entry]

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I said my goodbyes to the Polish travelers as I left Agra and headed to Mathura, the birthplace of Krishna, a reincarnation of Vishnu (Hindu god). Following the advice of the Ukrainians, I went to pay a visit as it fell on Krishna's birthday. I could only imagine the festivities that must arise. The newspaper said that there would be about 500,000 pilgrims visiting Mathura and Vrindavan, a nearby town that housed the center of the festivities. So it was no surprise that I took a shared taxi to Vrindavan. It took me a while to find a vacant room of [View Full Entry]

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Namaste, How's everyone doing? I've been back home for a bit over a month now and so it's about time I start writing again. I have received many encouragements from friends and family to do so, specially since it's been a long time since my last travelogue. So I'll start writing and sending out the remaining travelogues of my trip. This first installment starts off where I last left you back in September in India. My friend Nicole and I had just arrived in Manali after a 2 day overland trip from Leh. For more on the ordeals we went through [View Full Entry]

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I took an early bus to the Nubra Valley the next day. This road is probably one of the highest roads on earth (the very highest according to the Indian authorities) as you make your way up towards the Khardung La (at a height of 5,600 meters above sea level; over 17,000 feet). I can't honestly proof them correct or incorrect, but suffice to say it was an awsome experience. There were lots of twists and turns as to be expected in a mountain road. There were several nerve raking moments when the bus could have just as easily gone off [View Full Entry]

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Joo-lay (useful phrase to know in Ladakh as its the ladakhi word for "hello", "goodbye", "thank you", and "please"), I last left you with my update on Kashmir. I had a wonderful time in that corner of the world. The events of the last few days alone had been amazing. The yatra/trek left a deep and lasting impression on me as I shared that experience with thousands of devotees who where treking for several days to see Shiva's, their god, abode. The people not only allowed me to follow on their steps, but also welcomed me as a fellow pilgrim. Now [View Full Entry]

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Namaste, I last left you in Rajasthan, as I was taking a night train out of Bikaner and to Amritsar. I had spent 3 weeks in the dry state of Rajasthan and so as I woke up the following morning to the tune of the moving train my eyes nearly fell out when I look at all the green fields on the state of Punjab. They have build an extensive irrigation network in this state and as such is one of the green belts of India. After a long train ride, I arrived to Amritsar, a large city in the state [View Full Entry]

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I left the town of Pushkar and headed to the city of Jodhpur, one of my fav destinations in Rajasthan. The bus ride was thru farm fields that slowly gave way to the desert. Jodhpur is famous for its impressive fort up a hill and the blue houses sorounding it down below. The blue dye comes from chemicals designed to fight off termites and mosquitos. I arrived into town and ask the auto rickshaw driver to take me to Cozy G.H. (foremerly known a Joshi's Blue House). He takes me there and I ordered some lunch. It wasn't until after lunch [View Full Entry]

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Namaste, Sorry it's been too long since my last update. At times it's seems as though I have experienced a lifetime since I last wrote to you guys. India is such a wonderful place where a multitude of religions, cultures, and ideas blend together. I'm not too sure where to begin now, so i'll just continue from where I left off. After leaving the former Portugese colony of Diu, I headed to Rajasthan, which thru it's enigmatic history is known as the home of the Maharayas and the powerful Rajasthan armies. The Moghuls invadors from Central Asia knew better then to [View Full Entry]

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Namaste, I promised you an update exclusively on Diu, a lovely island that was foremerly a Portugese colony. And so I start of from Bhavanagar in Gujarat... Today was spent on a bus most of the time. I took a state bus out of Bhavanagar and towards Una en route to the island of Diu. I arrived to Una only to find out that the entire bus station parking lot was flooded in a few inches of water. The only save heaven from the water was the standing covered waiting hall, which was on a bit higher grond then the road. [View Full Entry]

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The following is an unedited account to my travels thru India from June to September. I sent this writeups to my friends and family. As such it is aimed at those who know little about Indian history. Please read that last sentence, "aimed at those who know little about Indian history." So to all the veterans out there this is but my mere interpretation of what I saw in India. I'm sure you will find it biased beyond imagination so I hope I didn't insult anyone. And if I do, well stop reading . Anyway, I have not cut anything so [View Full Entry]

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