Category: My Journey
A Lifetime of Travel
In a previous blog I shared my collection of passports —a long line of documents that began when I was sixteen. These booklets, with their photos that reveal my gradually aging face and random visa stamps in red, green, and blue, represent a lifetime of travel. I also have a large box of travel journals,…
Seven Types of Travelers. What Kind are you?
What kind of traveler are you? I don’t mean how experienced you are or if you prefer to travel locally or internationally. I’m interested in what activities and experiences make travel special for you. Recently, I got to thinking about this after I received two very different reviews of my memoir, Wherever the Road Leads,…
Two Women on a Train to Sangam. (Part 8, Return to India)
Our hotel host in Matheran had checked our train tickets and was upset to see we were booked on the slow train that stopped at every village station. “The local train will take six hours to get to Pune,” Mr. Lord had told us. “I recommend you change your tickets for the Konya Express train.…
An Indian Hill-Station Holiday (Part 7 of Return to India)
At Neral Junction, Una and I descended from our train into a different world. Gone were the crowds and filth of Mumbai. The station was a quiet oasis shaded by a striped awning. We waited there for more than an hour while trains from Mumbai came and went. There were several ways to get to…
An Early Morning Departure, (Part 6 of Return to India)
The telephone in our hotel room jangled at 4:30 am. “Yes?” I croaked into the phone. “Wake up call, Memsahib.” “Too early. We said to call at 5:30.” “So sorry! Will call again at 5:30, Memsahib.” I rolled over with a groan and pulled the sheet over my head.
Solo Women Travelers in Mumbai (Part 5 of Return to India)
After a late night, Una and I began our first day on our own in India very slowly. I spent what seemed like hours on the phone booking a driver and guide for the next day. We arranged for an Elderhostel friend, a lady who also stayed a few extra days in Mumbai, to join…
A Room with a View in Mumbai (Part 4 of Return to India)
From Mumbai on, Una and I would be women traveling on our own in India. We were both nervous and excited. I had been in charge of planning and organizing this part of our adventure. Because I retained pleasant memories of the waterfront area of Mumbai from my previous trip twenty-eight years before, I felt…
Finally Rajasthan (Part 3 of Return to India)
After five days in Northern India seeing the iconic sites of the classic Mogul emperors, we headed west. Finally, I would see Rajasthan. The largest state in India, it hugs the Pakistani border and much of it consists of the inhospitable Thar Desert. Once the home of the Rajput maharajas, Rajasthan literally means “the land…
Elderhostel and Agra Revisited (Part 2 of Return to India)
After 28 years, I was again in India. This time, rather than sharing a romantic adventure with my new husband, I was on an Elderhostel tour with my older sister, Una. I had reached the ripe age of 55, which at that time was the age the travel group considered elder-enough. Of course, younger travel…
A Night in Delhi (Part 1 of Return to India)
“We need to head straight for Delhi,” Tom said. “I want to get you to a doctor.” I simply groaned. I didn’t want to miss Rajasthan, our next planned stop, but I was miserable and scared. (page 281, Wherever the Road Leads) This illness in early March of 1973, set the stage for my return…