Hello again, blogonauts! Blog postings will be slightly out of order, just so we don't slip too far behind. So on Wednesday, I hired a driver and a guide to take me from New Delhi to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. It was worth the trip, albeit the journey lasted about twice as long as everyone suggested. They should have consulted Google Maps, which predicted it precisely. The Taj Mahal is the India world wonder. For the most part, they are very proud of it. And ...

Hello again, Blogonauts! Sunday was the day to investigate some of the spiritual buffet that is on offer in Mumbai. We began at the Haji Ali Dargah, a mosque and tomb whose claim to fame is that it is almost six centuries old, and that the only access by land is via a long, narrow pedestrian causeway. Today, the swarms of crowds and vendors suggested this is a top destination for devout Muslims...and those who want to scour the rocks exposed during low tide. F...

Hello again, blogonauts! And greetings from Mumbai, India! My first day in India, under the expert guidance of my friend Zoe, has been spectacular. (I urge you to peruse through some of the photos that were uploaded along with this blog entry.) I ignored my hefty jet lag, and we embarked on a day-long trek through some of the cultural depths of this city and culture. We began by ambling through Dhobi Gillis ... err ... Dhobi Ghat, which is one of the slums whe...

Hello again, Blognauts! It has been a while! Did you miss my mini mobile missives? If so, there's a treat ahead. Beginning February 22, I will start an 18-day journey through India. And you will find posted here a host of photos and a rack of writings about the experience. (In case you wonder why my travels entered radio-silence, let me explain. At the end of 2016, the TravelPod site vanished into the Internet ether, never to be seen again. Finding a replacemen...

Hello again, Blogonauts! Once we emerged from the grapevine-entwined hills that surround the Rio Douro, our first destination was Aveiro, a former port whose harbor has long ago silted in. What remains is a charming little city with canals and waterways that are better suited to gondolas than deep-draft ships. However, we had not said our last good by to the Douro. Our true aim was to see Porto, the second largest city in Portugal, which sits near the river's o...