Inspiring India

Steamy Sunset on the Arabian Sea...It's Like a PaintingBreaded Prawns at One of Neeleshwar Hermitage's Restaurants Living the Life of Luxury After having traveled in a more chaotic rhythm up to this point, moving from city to city and activity to activity, we were...

Cindy and I posing with the Taj Motel after getting off a crazy boatride from Elephanta IslandThe outside of the Tea Shop (full name is Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea House)A Hip Hotel & Neighborhood Cindy and I landed in Mumbai after our whirlwind tour of Northern...

Garmeet made sure we took all forms of transportation even on a camel cart!Me dressed in my Indian fineryThe Experience of a Lifetime Cindy and I keep referring to our trip to India is the trip of our lifetime. That is true in so many ways but I'd have to say that...

The National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad Open-Air CampusA Little History After India separated from British rule and became an independent country, the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru set in motion various actions to make India a modern and global country....

Garmeet insisted we travel through the city of Jaipur during the night for Diwali because of the light show...this is just part of the festive lights we saw...a red light aimed at the old city entrance gate turns it extra pink.From top down, outside the City Palace,...

Cindy and I took the ropeway up to the Karni Mata Temple. This is us with the overlook to the city of Udaipur.Not the Great Wall of China(but the Great Wall of India) On the way to Udaipur in the state of Rajasthan we stopped for a night in the city of Kumbhalgarh...

From Driver to Lifelong Friends. A Decision We Will Never Regret.10 out of 5 Stars Believe me, if I could give more than a five I would give 10 or more as our experience with driver Garmeet Singh was more than just the hiring of a great driver and tour guide.  This...

Cindy and I, early morning, in front of one of the Seven Wonders, The Taj Mahal.On Our Way to the 7th Wonder We arrived in Agra via the town where Siva was born and lived as a child. I didn't take any photos of these towns that were next to each other for two reasons:...

Cindy and I take part in the Ganga Aarti ceremony. Here we are placing flowers in front of the Gods.Words Won't Do Justice We drove quite the distance down the mountain to arrive in Hardiwar just before the Ganga Aarti ceremony. When we arrived we went into the city...

View overlooking city of Shimla that sits on two sides of the valley.Large Hanuman statue in Simla. See more images in gallery.The Festival Experience We weren't the only people to make our way to the temple and Hanuman. Dussehra is one of the main holidays for the...

The Rana family, Cindy and I at the top of the Simsa Mata Temple.Palampur Tea Plantations and Unbelievable Views We continue our tour of Himachal Pradesh and the Himalayas with a stay in Palampur. It was a fairly short drive from Dharamshala to Palampur but of course...

Prayer wheels at the Tsuglagkhang Complex, the Temple of the Dalai Lama.Our View from the Bunksters Hotel in Mcleod GanjA Quiet Retreat Into our second week in India and we have reached the mountains of Himachal Pradesh. It was a much needed retreat from the hustle...

The Golden Temple of the Sikh faith in Amritsar. A Statue of Maharaja Ranjit SinghAmritsar: The Border, the City and the Temple We spent two nights in Amritsar in the state of Punjab. Amritsar is the holiest of cities for the Sikh faith and sits very close to the...

Layers of Design at Virasat e KhalsaA Rich Museum Experience One of the designers and studios I visited in Delhi, Amardeep Behl and Design Habit, design exhibit spaces, many historical in nature, about Indian religion and culture. When in Chandigarh, we were lucky...

Our First Train Ride After 4 crazy days in Delhi, we are taking the train to Chandigarh. Above, Cindy waits on the platform that we finally found after asking a few people how to navigate our way to the right platform and the right part of the train that would be...

We are in a rickshaw, in this rickshaw jam in the Old Delhi market.Day 2: The India Gate & The Lotus Temple On our second day in India, a little less worse for the wear, we are off again to see some sites. Our first day was such a whirlwind that we started a bit...

Arriving in the Indira Gandhi airport to this beautiful display of mudras. Airports use symbols of place to welcome you to their city and their culture.Design Habit & Space Matters We visited two design studios with amazing hospitality. The designers/architects...

We flew from Duluth to Chicago for the first leg of our trip to India and had a whole day to explore the city. It was a warm day and a Sunday, so people were out and about. We walked 7 miles and saw just the downtown area, went to the Art Institute of Chicago and...

Click here to see the full map.I have drawn several versions of this map to familiarize myself with the states and the cities we plan to visit in India. The mauve color is showing the various cities we plan to travel to, starting in Delhi. Each time I post, I will...

I am leaving soon...this Sunday! btw, for a design research trip to India. We have planning this trip for more than a year and have known it was going to happen this fall, for sure, about a year ago. So, I have been talking about it, reading, exploring the web and...