Back in Brooklyn now after an unplanned two-day drive from Chicago following an Irene-inspired flight diversion from Delhi, I have had almost 24 hours to catch my breath and reflect on the crazy month that I just experienced. It was fantastic, intense, challenging, beautiful, terrifying, inspiring, depressing, insane, hilarious, exhausting and amazing trip. The few words that I write here can barely do justice to the feelings touching me throughout the adventure. India is maximum sensory overload at all times and it goes straight to the brain. We ended in Delhi, with two days at the uber-luxurious Imperial Hotel as…

The Himalayas have an aura untouched by any other range, partly because they contain the highest peaks on Earth and partly because they contain such a diversity of cultures. I would love to someday travel across these mountains, from the India to China, and witness the gradual cultural evolution. On this trip we made it only into the foothills, to Dharamsala, but the shift was evident. Tibet sounds like one of the most beautiful and fascinating places on the planet, but unfortunately suffers under one of the most brutally repressive governments in existence. China invaded Tibet over 50 years ago…

Chaos abounds! In every way, Indian cities are collages of clashing elements. It seems that everyone is a merchant, whether they sell from a storefront or a nomadic basket and lawlessness engulfs all aspects of life. Traffic lacks order and food is entirely unregulated, leading to questionable choices in nearly every moment of day-to-day existence. This is, of course, much of what I love about this country; it is raw and real, daring you to test the limits and taxing your comfort constantly. And then there is Chandigarh. The capital of both Punjab and Haryana states, it is the only…

We are traveling in a vast and varied cultural and physical landscape. Planning this trip was frustrating because there were too many places we wanted to visit in too little time, so we decided that we would divide it into two weeks in the South and two in the North with specific locations to be determined. We arranged a flight from Goa to Delhi at the midpoint and then, knowing we would end our trip in Delhi, hopped on a train headed towards the legendary Rishikesh; a small town straddling the Ganges River as it flows out of the mountains.…

Our friend Martin grew up in Vermont and attended Middlebury with us but he was always seeking something beyond his New England upbringing and in his post-grad world travels, he found what he was looking for in India. He settled here a few years ago and built a house in Gokarna in the state of Karnataka. We adapted our itinerary to visit him for a few days and confirm that he had indeed found a special little corner of the Earth. Gokarna is a small town on the Arabian Sea and a sacred site for Hindu pilgrims. There are several…

Animals are everywhere. Dogs, cats, goats, ponies, pigs, chickens, cows and others roam the streets at will. Domestic animals are wild and live with the people; they are tolerated in some cases and revered in others. I have seen some stunning birds and today I watched a monkey climb onto our hotel balcony, pick through an ashtray, chew on butts, then toss the container on the floor. Some animals need separation from humans, and they have recently gained some protection in the form of National Parks and Reserves. Our travel style has always been highly improvisational, inspired by whims and…

Elephants charged us!

Tea Plantations in Ooty

Travel is exhausting; just sitting in a seat can be mentally taxing when large distances are being covered. This is especially true here, where you can be packed into a vehicle that is literally overflowing with people and the appalling road conditions lead to bags and people flopping on top of you while the incessant honking assaults your ears and putrid smells you could never have imagined existing penetrate directly into your stomach and trucks heading dead on towards you tense every muscle in your body and make you want to scream STOP! Our trip is short and we want…