Traveling Rites of U.S. Passport Renewals

So my renewed passport cost $75 and arrived last week and the color of my cheeks are changing back to rosy- Guatemala, here I come!  This summer I’ve felt a little glum from the combo of the recession’s impact on my work influx and the summer swamp heat in NYC. Not fun.  New York City with its looming skyscrapers and tread-milling can feel like a prison at times for a closet gypsy like me and the only thing I ever desire doing is to jailbreak and take a trip abroad.

The moment I am on the plane, I am instant Zen. Observing and participating in different lifestyles of diverse cultures really helps to clear my mind, I find.  Traveling also helps put my life into perspective as I gain a lot of invaluable experiences, insights into various cultural attitudes and even into my own sensibilities as a traveler.

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Iowa: Cedar Rapids & Suriving Last-Minute Business Travel

My day began at 5:30A when my XYZ Car service picked me up at my apt to shuttle me off to La Guardia airport to meet up with my D.P. and catch a flight to Cedar Falls, Iowa for a last minute 2-day shoot for MTV’s Engaged & Underage.

Rule #1- It is NEVER advised to schedule someone on a connecting flight with only 1/2 hr leeway to get to their gate.

a) you never know how far the airport terminal of your connecting flight will be &
b) have to allow for possible delays and weather
(*especially if you’re traveling during winter!)

The connecting airport- Chicago O’Hare. CHI-O’Hare is an airport which I’ve frequented through several touchdowns and generally like. It won me over several years back with its self-cleaning plastic rotating toilet seat covers (to make me feel like they have my sanitation concerns at heart), but my one rant is that this is a big airport and the terminals can be a hike…even if your connecting flight is on the SAME airlines carrier. Hauling camera equipment on your back while running a mile to your gate with your overnight rolling duffle, because your plane got delayed in taxi due to “snow & ice” weather conditions, is not a cheerful start to getting to your shoot. Carriers these days, have gotten to touting haughty attitudes to customers and some will close their doors 10 minutes earlier than the ticketed departure (with the reprimand that you were supposed to have gotten there 2 hrs earlier!) Needless to say, we missed our flight and had to take the next one out. (more…)

Luxury and Air India

They say the differences between the rich and poor is extreme.
My friend, Sandeep is picking me up from one of the markets i’m at to go to dinner before catching my flight. Today, he is not driving his car because he has his driver! We take dinner at a restaurant in his neighborhood and drive by his 3 story house…no, mansion! He comes from the sector where growing up w/ servants, a cook and a driver is normal. As he says “Everyone has them- cooks and drivers and such… This is normal, right?” Well, maybe drivers are common in (more…)

Solo Delhi & Haggling for a taxi to Chandni Chowk

shopping in Chandni Chowk
Fri, Oct 10, 2008:   shopping in Chandni Chowk

My red-eye flight with India Air leaves at 1:15 AM tomorrow morning and India Air is allowing me to change my travel dates without an extra fee. In the meanwhile, my hotel is allowing me a late checkout until I figure out what I want to do.

 

Solo travel in India can feel exhausting and nerve-wracking

Truthfully, a much as I want to see more of India, the fatigue of scrambling to find my daily bearings in this crash course of solo travel is getting to me. It’s not easy to travel solo 24/7 with last-minute preparations made on-the-fly; at least, not in India and when you’re a newbie to solo travel. I’m excited to be experiencing travel on my own and feel empowered with each passing test. But I’m not used to winging it solo. 

 I wish I planned better! Momentarily, I seek an oasis of calm, “a moment” of beauty and a bit of spoiled privilege to rejuvenate myself. None offers (more…)

Taking Indian Sleeper Trains

 Sleeper Trains in India: panorama of indian slums near the railways

 

Tonight I’m taking the overnight sleeper train from Jodhpur to Delhi.

Shahi Palace had their driver take me, Margaret and Dan to the train station in Jodhpur. We’re all a bit tense knowing that we’ll need to deal with the scam tour agency when we get back to Delhi.

Regina stayed behind to stay a few extra nights in Jaisalmer. When we go to Nepal, she’ll stay back in India and follow a different route. Likely, we’ll eventually meet her again at some point.

 

Indian Train bathrooms and the Freshette

We didn’t see any of the blue architecture of Jodphur city, but arrived just in time to settle into our station and to use the bathroom. The station (more…)

Video: Taking a Camel Safari in Jaisalmer

My first camel riding adventure did not take place in Morocco, Egypt or Mongolia… it took place last year in India! Deep in the Rajasthan region where the environment is arid and hot, you can see these Quasimodo animals as native to the region as cows pulling wagons.

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Top 5 Things to do in Jaipur and the Dangers of Driving on an Indian Highway

Rajasthan: Jaipur, Deshnok, Jaisalmer

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Drive by Rajasthan: Delhi to Jaipur

  Seeing the Rajasthan region through a plate of glass while flying itinerary-speed across the highway is a blur. It’s as romantic as the music in our  driver, Kul’s car. North Indian highways have all types of traffic Rajasthan, being Northern India, is shrouded mostly in desert. Sand, dry heat, arid landscape,  farming … and [...]

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