As I was putting together posts from my most recent trip, I realized that I was about to hit my 100th post. I started this blog as a way to record a month long trip to India for my children when they get older. But now, 2+ years later, it’s turned into a therapeutic way…
For much of my shopping in India series I’ve concentrated on where to shop, now I want to talk a little on what to buy. Obviously everyone has opinions on what is a must buy in India. This is what I’ve found exciting and worth spending my hard earned money on year after year. Saris Saris are uniquely Indian…
The next stop in this series about Shopping in India is the local “market”. It’s just a collection of vendors selling everyday items to locals, but probably my favorite place to shop. Every town and many local neighborhoods within large cities have a market day. While they look like mass chaos, it’s worth falling into…
Continuing my series on shopping in India, I wanted to talk about independent stores and shops associated with the Ministry of Textiles. Here I’m talking about stores you don’t find in the mall, but along the street, in a strip mall, business area, or a tourist attraction. What you find, and the experience you have,…
When you have kids, everyone in India suggest you go to the local sound and light show. That is the thing to do with kids. So when our trip to Pune came up, the hotel concierge said, “See the sound and lights show at Shaniwar Wada, your son will love it”. I finally decided to…
I love shopping. I wish I didn’t, I would be able to travel more. I inherited a deep need for retail therapy at a young age and can’t seem to shake it. After 6 trips to India I’ve experienced a number of different shopping venues along the way and I thought I’d do four part…
When researching our trip to Pune, I read about a quirky little museum that is listed as a “must-see” in Lonely Planet India. A small out-of-the-way building, the Tribal Museum of Pune is dedicated to the history and artifacts of the native tribes of Maharashtra. Front exhibit rooms have several pieces of everyday artifacts (bowls,…
We did a short stint in Pune our last week in India, and our very first stop (after the hotel) was Aga Khan Palace. Aga Khan Palace is a large estate built in 1892 by Sultan Muhammad Shah as an act of charity for the poor hit by famine in the area. However its most…
When searching TripAdvisor for popular sites in Mumbai for families, we came across a listing for the Hanging Gardens (Ferozeshah Mehta), in the center of downtown. I asked to take the car for the afternoon so we could see the gardens. The drive downtown was surprisingly quick, but finding the gardens turned out to be more…
In catching up with my travels from India I would be remiss not to write about a favorite activity in Mumbai. As I mentioned in my previous post, Marine Drive is a 3 kilometer long walk-way along the one of the bays in Mumbai. Here on any given day you find people walking, jogging, or…