Jaipur's construction began in 1727 and was completed just 8 years later. It was the first city in India to be built according to the town planning principles in "Shilpa Shastra", an ancient treatise on architecture. There were nine neighborhoods divided an named according to the commodity and caste who lived there. Today, these divisions are much less apparent. We arrived in Jaipur in the late morning after a train ride turned very uncomfortable because I was s...

Agra took the shape of a city under the ruling of Akbar, the Moghul Emperor. It became the capital of the Moghul Empire in 1566. Today, it is most famous for being the home of the architectural wonder the Taj Mahal. It was built by Shah Jahan as an eternal symbol of his love for his favorite wife nicknamed Mumtaz Mahal ("Jewel of the Palace") who died during child labour. The construction started in 1641 and took 20 000 laborers 22 years to complete. We arriv...

Legend has it that the moon God had a short affair with a young maiden and told her that she would bear a son who would build a temple in honor of their love. This son was the first of the Chandela dynasty who settled and ruled Khajuraho between 900 and 1200 A.D.. These kings built over 85 temples in honor of that original affair. These temples were abandoned in the 13th century when the Sultans of Delhi took over most of Northern India. They were accidentally re...

Varanasi is one of the most sacred cities in the world. It is the holiest of Indian pilgrimages and is home to Shiva, a Hindu God. Varanasi is also where the dead are brought in hopes of of achieving moksha, the salvation of the soul from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Devotees come to Varanasi to bathe in the Ganges to wash away their sins. This ritual is performed by hundreds every morning. Walking around the streets of Varanasi is like walking in a ma...

We had not originally planned to go to the Andaman Islands but after many conversations with a French acquaintance in Auroville, we were convinced that this was a stop that must be included in our itinerary. However, getting to the islands was more challenging than we had anticipated. We were informed by our acquaintance that the islands were reachable by plane or by boat, the boat being the less expensive option. With this information, we asked the travel agenci...