The era of the freeloading traveller came to an end with that of the great emperors. The dawn of democracy meant the wayfarer earn for the road ahead – giving rise to the breed of the ‘physical’ nomad – those who laboured bodily to fund their trips. This breed might be waning today with skills like bartending, dancing or teaching English not rich enough to fund a visit visa and short stay. Out of the embers rose the new tribe – the ‘digital’ nomads. A genre probably rooted all
Gold prices are plummeting. Make the most of it when you travel this summer. Wanderink brings you the states within the country where the yellow metal is art and history, pedigree and design. And hoarding it a virtue. How I wish my grandmother was alive today! That whole generation had an obsession bordering on the psychotic when it came to gold. Too much was never much. Even through the thick glasses I remember detecting her cataract-clouded eyes sparkle – giving the encrusted diamonds a run for their shine – as
Majestic are the moutains so why should staying there be anything less? This summer when you head out for your holiday in the Himalayas, stay in one of these manors tucked away and well into the verdant hillsides; these refurbished remnants of the colonial age, brimming with understated elegance and creature comforts thankfully more an afterthought than arbitrary attachments. A bit on the pricey side, it is because they don’t cater to numbers – for whom options are aplenty, a little bit lower in altitude and closer to town, if
If you are going to listen to the government, you are going to go bankrupt very quickly. This is Jim Rogers in a recent interview to CNBC. And this is, in a nutshell, what I like most about Jim – no-holds barred, audacious at the same time piquant. And most importantly, with an opinion. The last bit is particularly momentous in modern times when money not just talks, but dictates; advertisers give ‘inputs’ to channel interviews and soap storylines ‘pass by’ through sponsors before going on the floors. Adventure Capitalist,
Won a travel contest? Hold your bags, it is too early yet. It had been over a year since I went out of the state. So you can imagine my heart – faster than Chev Chelios’ on a full charge – when I received the following email from the marketing department of a leading travel magazine. Dear Mr. Jose, Greetings from Magazine Name, India! This refers to my conversation with you on Thursday, 18th October with regards to the subject contest. We received huge response from our readers across India
And how I nearly missed the big mama in my own backyard Amrita Shergill. Marg. The name meant just a marg – another road. The only lure – the reason I took a detour from the Lodhi Road – was the once-a-year festival of Christmassy meats on sale and display by the sunny Goa Sadan on this otherwise leafy avenue. After my visit to the National Gallery of Modern Art – my first-ever after nearly seven years in the capital – I walked through the marg, the mind a churn-pot
Now, Ladakh is that Promised Land for motorcyclists; we are all happier than Moses at Canaan outskirts when we pass through, taking proud photographs next to the ‘Khardung La – World’s Highest Motorable Pass’ board. Then, did you know that there are also a bunch of splendid canyons in Ladakh – between Phey and Nimmu, to be exact – where you can do a spot of rafting as well? Read on for more of such little known adventure stuff you probably never heard of possible in some well-known places. Andaman
Sex. Bollywood. Cricket. This is the pecking order, southbound, of the top-three ever-popular activities of national India. Signals and stress might have come in the way but sex continues to rule the roost – and outside of it too; for we never give up. Though our cricketers today do everything else but play cricket – sing, act, dance, modelling, race bikes and run restaurants – we love them unconditionally for that tsunami-knock that comes with the frequency of well, the tsunami. Our lives are indefinitely brightened up with that one
Roaming internet comes with two major hiccups – an aversion to rural hinterlands and a penchant to be pricey everywhere else. Wanderink.com introduces you to some tailor-made apps for both the cases, compatible with iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Use it or just talk about it, either way you will look smart. You flash the PNR number and name from your mobile, wave the passport and soon you are weaving your way towards boarding. Getting anywhere couldn’t be easier, faster or less remarkable – all you remember are the whiskies,
Like most treaties, this one too was entered into after the war, bloodshed and loss of imperial face. And of course, there were the many give-and-takes: while the British were given access to the forest and its rich produce, they had to shell out a princely sum in gold and silver to the five kings of Dang. The year was 1842. Cut to the present. The post-Independent government of India stopped all privy purse payments to erstwhile princely states through a constitutional amendment in1971, though it was the carrot to
