You’ve probably already guessed I love to travel, and India is one of my favorite destinations. For sheer variety you can’t beat India. It has it all: history, palaces, temples, pomp and ceremony, wild life, gorgeous beaches, fun shopping, tasty food. People either love India or hate it. There are no half measures. It’s vibrant and in-your-face, and one day I hope to return. I’ve traveled to India twice and taken my travel experiences, combined them with teenage memories of Agatha Christie mysteries and come up with a book called Wanderlust. Anna is the tour leader for overland tour OE68. It’s a tale full of love and murder…
Below are thirteen destinations included in Wanderlust.
1. New Delhi - a mixture of old and new, and the start of the tour.
2. Agra - a romantic stop at the Taj Mahal is a must. See the photo section of my website for a snap of me at the Taj Mahal.
3. Jaipur - the famous Amber palace and the Pink city.
4. Pushkar - home of the famous Pushkar camel fair. The desert town is built around the shores of a holy lake.
5. Jaisalmer - a giant sandcastle rising from the Trikuta hills. It’s a magical sight, especially with the sun setting. My memories of Jaisalmer include feeling sick and being kept awake ALL night by barking dogs. Unknown to me I’d caught a case of malaria, and believe me, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone! And the dog thing - there was a shortage of rooms so we camped on a hotel rooftop. We also went camel riding.
6. Udaipur - you might recognise the city and the palace in the middle of the lake since it was filmed in a James Bond movie.
7. Ellora’s Cave - the real one. It’s a fascinating place with temples carved into the cliffs.
8. Mumbai - used to be known as Bombay. A huge city on the coast. There is both wealth and poverty in this city - huge contrasts.
9. Goa - I never realized the beaches were so beautiful before I visited. Think white sand, surf and palm trees.
10. Mysore - a magical palace that’s lit up on special occasions.
11. Madurai - home of the Sri Meenakshi Temple complex. A city of learning and pilgrimage.
12. Pondicherry - A former French colony with French architecture and flavor but it’s still India in all it’s vibrancy.
13. Madras - now known as Chennai. This southern city is on the coast and attracted seafarers, spice traders and cloth merchants in the past.
Pick up your copy of Wanderlust from Cerridwen Press on 17 April 2008 
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One day, I may yet travel to India. I’m just not sure I’m strong enough to handle it… I hope I am. I love the food and find the culture fascinating - but all I know about it I learned from the family of a boyfriend who was born in Mumbai (his mum was originally from Chennai, but the boyfriend had lived in the US most of his life).
Still, I’m fascinated and intrigued by the place. I just might have to pick up a copy of that there book, this summer. ;)
Ciao! - er, rather - Namaste!
by MsMenozzi April 3rd, 2008 at 2:33 amI’ve always wanted to see India. Thanks for sharing some of your experience!
by Gina Ardito April 3rd, 2008 at 3:30 amThose pics are awesome. My husband’s family lived overseas for a while. I love looking at the slides. Thanks for sharing! :)
by Morgan St. John April 3rd, 2008 at 4:01 amOh, Ellora’s Caves look amazing. Thanks for sharing your travels with us. Happy T13!
by Adelle Laudan April 3rd, 2008 at 4:40 amWasn’t Ellora’s Cave in the last Indiana Jones movie? I’d love to see it.
by Tempest Knight April 3rd, 2008 at 4:53 amWhat a fascinating place to visit! I’d love to go there someday.
by Darla April 3rd, 2008 at 5:19 amAwesome post!
by LA Day April 3rd, 2008 at 5:59 amWow, I love your post. I’m going to Madurai this summer.
by Brenda ND April 3rd, 2008 at 6:40 amOh wow. Especially the real Ellora’s Cave. India here I come.
by Tara Nichols April 3rd, 2008 at 7:03 amOh man, I want to go to all these places. You’ve given me a bad case of wanderlust.
by Alice Audrey April 3rd, 2008 at 8:14 amGorgeous, Shelley!!!! I love this. And Mysore was beautiful lit up like that.
by Jennifer McKenzie April 3rd, 2008 at 8:20 amYou might like the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup. The main character lives and works in many of the cities in your list. There’s a review on my blog.
by pussreboots April 3rd, 2008 at 8:48 amWow! It all sounds so amazing. I’m not fond of traveling, but admire those who are. :)
by Jennifer Bianco April 3rd, 2008 at 9:23 amVery cool, Shelley! Someday I’d like to travel everywhere. I’ve made it out of the country twice so far: Haiti and Switzerland. Thanks for sharing the gorgeous pictures.
I’ve got birthday cake at my place today, stop by and have a piece!
by Kaige April 3rd, 2008 at 9:26 amStunning! I wanna go now!!
by R.G. Alexander April 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 amLol, I had no idea Ellora’s Cave is based on a real place.
by Gabriele April 3rd, 2008 at 10:56 amVery cool! And great pics!
*hugs*
Paige
My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/
by Paige Tyler April 3rd, 2008 at 11:01 amWow, you are one well-traveled woman. I must confess, I’d probably be in the hate category for India — I don’t deal well with in-your-face. :D But I’m glad you love it!
by Robin L. Rotham April 3rd, 2008 at 12:10 pmWhat a fascinating post! Now I want to visit India! Cool! Happy TT…
by A. Catherine Noon April 3rd, 2008 at 12:11 pmI think it was probably lucky that I’d been to other countries beforehand such as Pakistan, Turkey, Iran to prepare for the sheer numbers of people. Sometimes we’d find a nice hotel and pay to use their swimming pool for the day, just for a time out.
Ellora’s Cave is an amazing place and the photo doesn’t do it justice. The caves are carved into rock faces and some have glorious paintings while others have huge buddha statues and other statues of the various Indian gods.
by Shelley Munro April 3rd, 2008 at 12:24 pmWow, India is beautiful. I hope to someday visit the sites and experience the rich culture, but my ultimate wish is to see the Taj Mahal in Agra.
by Jane April 3rd, 2008 at 1:03 pmWe were invited to a wedding in India when I was pregnant with #2 — so of course, we couldn’t make it. One day, I’ll get there.
btw, I have news for you! I’ll e-mail you as soon as I’m caught up — right now, I’m swamped!
by Susan Helene Gottfried April 3rd, 2008 at 2:01 pmOoh, Susan. Color me curious.
by Shelley Munro April 3rd, 2008 at 2:03 pmLove the pictures. It makes me want to travel there.
by Chloe Devlin April 3rd, 2008 at 4:26 pmI’m so looking forward to reading your book now!
by Ann Bruce April 3rd, 2008 at 4:57 pmChloe - it’s a colorful play, that’s for sure.
Ann - thanks!
by Shelley Munro April 3rd, 2008 at 5:21 pmOh, wow. THIS was a treat to read, but I wish your photos were bigger. I would love, love, love to go to India. (If I can survive L.A., bring on India.)
Your first photo–the one with the multi-colored trays and the pyramid colors–what IS that?
How long did you suffer malaria?
(Oh, cool! I just noticed that you’re responding to questions. You rock, Shelley Munro.)
I think I’ll put Wanderlust on my TBR list.
by Unhinged April 3rd, 2008 at 7:41 pmHi Unhinged
Thanks!
Some of the brightly colored piles are dyes and some are spices. The markets are full of smells - some delightful and some not so nice. I’m a vegetarian and remember wandering through a market in Pakistan, I think it was. They had these carcasses hanging from hooks and the heads of the various animals below. Not so nice to look at, but the people were friendly and wanted us to take photos.
I think I caught malaria in Pakistan, despite taking tablets. We traveled through Iran and into India. I didn’t start feeling sick until we hit Jaiselmer and was very sick the first time we visited Pushkar. (I’ve been twice to Pushkar) Hubby and I had to leave the trip in New Delhi and I spent about five days in hospital there before flying back to London. It was the cerebal type of malaria, which is pretty serious. I lost a lot of weight and was weak for a good month afterward. Another guy also got malaria. He hadn’t taken tablets at all and was flown back to the States. He had kidney failure and was VERY sick. I was lucky.
I’ve used a few of my actual travel experiences in Wanderlust. I might tell you which they are if you ask.
by Shelley Munro April 3rd, 2008 at 8:08 pmPS - have you checked the photos from the photo link just below my template? There’s only one Indian photo there, but it’s bigger. Hit the browse on the top right and it brings up all the photos. Click to bring up a larger version.
by Shelley Munro April 3rd, 2008 at 8:11 pmWow, India is now on my travel radar, where it wasn’t before. Great list!
Happy TT!
by Kathleen Oxley April 3rd, 2008 at 10:27 pmThanks for sharing your memories of India. I admit, I’ve never wanted to visit, but I do enjoy Indian food ;)
by Wylie Kinson April 4th, 2008 at 10:44 amI’ve always wanted to go to India. ALWAYS!!
I have a historical kind of sitting around that takes place in Victorian India only around the Himalayas.
I hope one day to set foot there. :D
by Amy Ruttan April 4th, 2008 at 11:08 am[...] I have a contest to give away a download of my upcoming release, Wanderlust at my website. Yesterday I also blogged about the setting for Wanderlust - India - and there are loads of photos. You can check out that post here. [...]
by The Dynamic Trio - Blog » Blog Archive » Weekends: Writing and Gardening April 4th, 2008 at 1:32 pmWow!!! Amazing, and informative. What a great wealth of information to draw from for your story. I hope I can be so well traveled someday. As soon as they come up with a method that doesn’t involve an airplane - I’m there!! Terrific TT - thanks for sharing!
~Gwen
by Gwen Mitchell April 4th, 2008 at 3:26 pm(No, I didn’t check the photo link, but I will.)
Shelley wrote:
I’ve used a few of my actual travel experiences in Wanderlust. I might tell you which they are if you ask.
And Unhinged says:
I’m going to ask!
Actually, I’m full of questions because I’m nosy that way.
Did your stomach get queasy at the sight of the carcasses hanging from a hook? (Bonus: Did you notice any flies around?)
What kind of TABLET did you have to take?
Does malaria feel like the flu, only ten times worse? Cerebral malaria. Guess I’ll have to Google that.
Love the photos. Still.
by Unhinged April 4th, 2008 at 6:55 pmLOL - no queasiness, but I wrinkled up my nose. There were a few flies but it wasn’t too bad. I was brought up on a farm and have a fairly strong stomach, plus I always close my eyes at the right time!
Malarial medicines are always changing. At the time we had to take paludrine and chloroquine plus we used insect repellents and mosquito coils. We also used mosquito nets at times.
Symtoms for malaria include really bad headaches, hot sweats and fever, weakness and sometimes diarrhoea, a cough or chills. I had a bad headache plus was alternatively hot and cold and found it difficult to sleep.
by Shelley Munro April 4th, 2008 at 8:49 pmBeautiful pics. Your Thursday 13 sure beats mine this week - 13 things in my purse.
I’ve never been to India but I hope to visit one day.
Good luck with your new book release. Many happy sales.
by Ashley Ladd April 6th, 2008 at 5:57 pm