The journal of an Englishman’s solo trip across Northern India Have you ever considered visiting the Taj Mahal or exploring the pink city of Jaipur? Or maybe a trek to see a tiger in the wild is more to your taste? Join me on my adventures where I encounter colourful temples, tempting curries and eventful drives along some of the world’s most dangerous roads.
A guide to the beliefs and practices of India. The book introduces some of India's leading saints, sadhus and gurus, while chapters of Buddhist, Sufi and Christian India demonstrate the variety and complexity of religious traditions.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-89) was one of the most renowned travelers of 17th century Europe. The son of a French Protestant who had fled Antwerp to escape religious persecution, Tavernier was a jewel merchant who between 1632 and 1668 made six voyages to the East. The countries he visited (most more than once) included present-day Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. In 1676 he published his two-volume Les six voyages de Jean Baptiste Tavernier (The six voyages of Jean Baptiste Tavernier). An abridged and very imperfect English translation of the book appeared in 1677. The first modern scholarly edition in English, presented here, was published in 1889, with translation, notes, and a biographical sketch of Tavernier by Dr. Valentine Ball (1843-95), a British civil servant with the Indian Geological Service. Among the most memorable chapters in the book are those that recount Tavernier's visits to the diamond mines of India and his inspection of the jewels of the Great Mogul. Tavernier was not a scholar or an educated linguist, and after his initial popularity in the 17th century his authority waned, as historians and others questioned the accuracy of his observations. In the 20th century, however, Tavernier's reputation rose, as such important historians as Lucien Febvre and Fernand Braudel used the detailed information he recorded about the prices and qualities of goods and about business and commercial practices in their pioneering studies of economic and social history. The book contains several appendices by Ball about famous diamonds (including the historic Koh-i-Noor Diamond now belonging to the British royal family), diamond mines in India and Borneo, ruby mines in Burma, and sapphire washings in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). A fold-out map shows Tavernier's voyages in India and the mines he visited.
This practical travel guide to India features detailed factual travel tips and points-of-interest structured lists of all iconic must-see sights as well as some off-the-beaten-track treasures. Our itinerary suggestions and expert author picks of things to see and do will make it a perfect companion both, ahead of your trip and on the ground. This India guide book is packed full of details on how to get there and around, pre-departure information and top time-saving tips, including a visual list of things not to miss. Our colour-coded maps make India easier to navigate while you're there. This guide book to India has been fully updated post-COVID-19. The Rough Guide to India covers: Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana, Gujarat, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Goa, Kolkata and West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand, Sikkim, the Northeast, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the Andaman Islands, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. Inside this India travel guide you'll find: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EVERY TYPE OF TRAVELLER Experiences selected for every kind of trip to India, from off-the-beaten-track adventures in Jaipur to family activities in child-friendly places, like Kanha National Park or chilled-out breaks in popular tourist areas, like the Taj Mahal. PRACTICAL TRAVEL TIPS Essential pre-departure information including India entry requirements, getting around, health information, travelling with children, sports and outdoor activities, food and drink, festivals, culture and etiquette, shopping, tips for travellers with disabilities and more. TIME-SAVING ITINERARIES Includes carefully planned routes covering the best of India, which give a taste of the richness and diversity of the destination, and have been created for different time frames or types of trip. DETAILED REGIONAL COVERAGE Clear structure within each sightseeing chapter of this India travel guide includes regional highlights, brief history, detailed sights and places ordered geographically, recommended restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs and major shops or entertainment options. INSIGHTS INTO GETTING AROUND LIKE A LOCAL Tips on how to beat the crowds, save time and money and find the best local spots for caving, diving or visiting bazaars and temples. HIGHLIGHTS OF THINGS NOT TO MISS Rough Guides' rundown of Delhi, Gokarna, Udaipur and Madurai's best sights and top experiences help to make the most of each trip to India, even in a short time. HONEST AND INDEPENDENT REVIEWS Written by Rough Guides' expert authors with a trademark blend of humour, honesty and expertise, this India guide book will help you find the best places, matching different needs. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Comprehensive 'Contexts' chapter of this travel guide to India features fascinating insights into India, with coverage of history, religion, ethnic groups, environment, wildlife and books, plus a handy language section and glossary. FABULOUS FULL COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY Features inspirational colour photography, including the stunning Lotus Temple and the spectacular Pichola Lake. COLOUR-CODED MAPPING Practical full-colour maps, with clearly numbered, colour-coded keys for quick orientation in Mumbai, Punjab, and many more locations in India, reduce the need to go online. USER-FRIENDLY LAYOUT With helpful icons, and organised by neighbourhood to help you pick the best spots to spend your time.
After graduating from university, I travelled around India for the best part of 15 months. This book is a collection of essays produced from those travels. There is a focus on the practices of spirituality and meditation found in India, and also a commentary on the differences between the Western and South Asian approaches to life.
In its ports, we find a priceless cargo of information; here are the first foreign descriptions of tea and porcelain, a panorama of unusual social practices, cannibal islands, and Indian holy men--a marvelous, mundane world, contained in the compass of a novella. In Mission to the Volga, we move north on a diplomatic mission from Baghdad to the upper reaches of the Volga River in what is now central Russia. This colorful documentary by Ibn Fadlan relates the trials and tribulations of an embassy of diplomats and missionaries sent by caliph al-Muqtadir to deliver political and religious instruction to the recently-converted King of the Bulghars. During eleven months of grueling travel, Ibn Fadlan records the marvels he witnesses on his journey, including an aurora borealis and the white nights of the North. Crucially, he offers a description of the Viking Rus, including their customs, clothing, tattoos, and a striking account of a ship funeral.
Traveling India in the Age of Gandhi is a study of "armchair" travel writers who journeyed to India during what has often been termed the "Age of Gandhi," placed between 1914-1948. Most of the travel writers surveyed understood this era to be a unique time in world history--in India and elsewhere on the globe. The lingering trauma of World War I, the rise of radical state ideologies in Russia, Italy, Japan, and Germany, world-wide depression in the 1930s along with a host of other unsettling political, cultural, and technological realities revealed a world of bewildering complexity and uncertainty. For many of the travel writers surveyed in this work, India was the main drama in a shifting global landscape. Moreover, many viewed it as the ultimate travel experience, a journey that tested one's capacity to fully engage the earth's most compelling forms of human diversity and suffering. Although a few notable figures are included, most of the authors in the study constitute a breed of largely forgotten travel writers. This work is an attempt to extract the core of their observations, impressions, and conclusions concerning what they saw and experienced, particularly concerning Indian aspirations for independence and India as the world's most exotic human landscape.
Gleaned during his voyage along the coasts of India, Marco Polos mystified reports include the story of a giant bird that eats elephants, along with many other tales both reliable and fantastical.
