You know how you’re always thinking to yourself, “I wish this next trip I could both surf and expand my spirituality at an ashram”? Well look no further than that Kaliya Mardana Krishna Ashram in Karnataka, India, home to Swami Narasingha.

As the Telegraph reports, “Swami Narasingha, who grew up surfing in Florida, established this coastal outpost to his main ashram four years ago. For the past two years they have welcomed paying guests, as well as sharing their surfing knowledge and love of the ocean with local children.”

A glance at their site reveals that daily activities include “surfing, kayaking, swimming, volley ball, mantra meditation, yoga-asanas, surf film entertainment and environmental awareness documentary presentations.” Sound like most Sandals resorts, right?

Rooms are 2,500 rupees a night for single occupancy (or about USD $55) and 3,500 four double occupancy (USD $76). Enlightenment is extra.

There are surely easier — and less smelly — ways to travel through Rajastan’s Thar Desert. But with a face like that, who could say “no” to a camel?

By Lucy Corne

As I bounced around in the camel cart trying to cling on to a bale of half-chewed hay, I was surprised to find myself thinking that I’d actually rather be riding one of these animals. Of course, being sandwiched between two camels, pondering which end emits a worse odor is not the most enviable position to be in, but I never thought I’d actually feel comfortable sitting atop a camel’s hump.

Quite a step for someone who, just 24 hours earlier, actually burst into involuntary tears at the mere thought of even touching a camel. It was a series of mistakes and coincidences that had led us to Bikaner, a relatively quiet corner of India’s much-visited Rajasthan province. Unable to secure tickets to the prettier, more popular city of Jodhpur, we opted instead for an overnight train to Bikaner, an untidy town in the northern reaches of India’s Thar Desert. With plans to stay a night and then head north to the Himalayas, we asked a rickshaw driver to take us to the closest cheap hotel. Our lack of Hindi and clear status as backpackers led him to presume that we were here for an overnight camel trek — seemingly the only reason people detour to Bikaner — and drove us away from downtown to Vijay’s Guesthouse, home of the infamous “Camel Man.” (more…)

India’s definitely one of those countries where its sheer magnitude is sometimes hard to get your head around. Take for example the fact that in 1947 the country was comprised of 565 princely states, most of which was home to their own extravagant palaces.

What, you say, not content with shacking up in a hostel for your entire trip to the sub-continent? You’re in luck. Many of these estates have opened their doors and offer travelers the chance for a little royal treatment of their own (we can dream, right?). Beware, your budget must be able to withstand a hit of at least a few thousand dollars.

There are a few exceptions. Take for example Udaipur’s Lake Palace in Rajasthan, where for about $400 a night you can shack up in one of the country’s most iconic buildings. (Remember how Anthony Bourdain boated out here in his India episode for a martini nightcap?)

For something a little more landlocked, the nearby Umaid Bhawan Palace, the 26-acre, 347-room behemoth — said to be one of the  largest residences in the world — also doubles as a hotel for those willing to spend the $400 a night.

For the rest of us nestled up in nearby hostels, many palaces are open to the public, like Agra Fort. Just northwest of the Taj Mahal, this UNESCO World Heritage site is only a few dollars to get in, and a great way to see what it was like to be a Mughal leader in the 16th century (the answer is: good).

For some more ideas and places to ogle, click through here.

New York to Delhi for $835 (total): I may harp on these flights to India, which is usually a sign that I’ll have trouble putting off my own trip there soon, but anytime you’re able to score flights there for under a grand you’ve got to seriously think hard about going. Valid until the end of the year.

New York to Lima for $250 (total): This one’s valid for travel between May and June of 2010, just in time to blow your tax refund!

The Coolest Idea For A Hotel Ever: Okay, this one’s not so much a deal as it is a total gimmick that I would definitely fall for: a “Vertigo” themed hotel in San Francisco. Not only was the building a shooting location, but the hotel works in nods to the film all over the place, from the spiral staircase to the swirly symbol found in the artwork. Rooms start from $119.

Just as America has it’s 9/11 which altered its future, India has it’s November, 2008. Unfortunately, the results of these events are a part of the times we currently live in. This post on IntelligentTravel is a sobering reminder of that.

The article talks about the security measures instated at New Delhi’s ISKCON Hare Krishna Temple since the attacks in Mumbai. Just coming back from the ease and serenity of the temples in the Far East, it’s hard for me to picture a line of people waiting for a pat-down before entering a place of worship as if it’s a Packers game. Security at places frequented by locals and travelers is now a top priority. Although perhaps necessary, it is unfortunate.

As the author waited at the security check, she overheard the most striking quote I’ve read in quite some time, “If God needs all this to protect him, how on Earth will he protect me?”

I was only but a slowly developing zygote 30 years ago, but in the world of travel lore, Goa was the place to be around that magical time period during the 1970’s. Today? Not so much. But for the chance of experiencing your very own sense of discovery, try heading north to Diu.

Not that you’re likely to run into too many hippies there today, but Diu, the small island lying just off the Gujarat coast, does offer the chance to visit a laid-back, un-commercialized island far from any tourists, as this Times article explores: ” . . . the beach, Nagoa, on which Indian men, tourists from the cities, frolicked delightedly in beige underwear. We were the only Westerners there.”

What is being touted as a “palace on wheels,” the Maharajas Express is starting to take reservations for its inaugural season on the tracks of India.

Picture this, you’re on your way to the Taj Mahal (one of the six listed destinations around India), after checking your email in your room, you call the butler to help lay out your tuxedo jacket to wear at dinner and show you how to operate the microprocessor climate control system in your room. At dinner, you debate whether to choose a game of elephant polo or to have high tea at the Laxmi Vilas Palace in Baroda. There are just too many decisions to make over filet mignon, so you swing by the bar car for a martini on your way to catch the sunset from the observation lounge. Later, looking out the panorama window back in your room, you wonder how you’ll get on that elephant in the morning.

It all comes with a price tag of around $800 usd per night, for each of the four different itineraries offered, all within the Indian subcontinent, including, Udaipur, voted as this year’s “Best city in the world.”.

Photo by runran

“Venice of the East,” or the Indian city of Udaipur won a Travel & Leisure’s annual “World’s Best Awards” as the best city for travelers in 2009. With its many lakes, canals, palaces, and value, it came in ahead of Cape Town, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, and Chiang Mai rounding out the top five.

Along the same lines, Bali just nudged out Galapagos for the world’s best islands. Those interested in the full results of these two polls, as well as categories for the best hotels, airlines, and cruises click here.

As I have yet to get to any of the top five cities, and (tail between my legs) only two in the top twenty, can anyone offer up any advice on these locales or your top picks? TheExped just happens to have an expert of our own in Buenos Aires, as we speak. Hey Hal, what’s it like in BA?

In a city of 21 million (with some parts containing more than a million people per square mile), it’s almost impossible in Mumbai to come by peace and quiet or to avoid images of heartbreak while traveling in the city.

As David Farley describes in his piece at World Hum, a stroll on the way to Crawford Market, Mumbai’s main greenmarket, entails a conflicting experience of gaining the attention of child beggars, elderly vagabonds, and middle-aged peddlers, images made all the more poignant after seeing Slumdog Millionaire.

Upon finally arriving, David finds the market to be every traveler’s dream: an escape from the tourist trail and a glimpse into the inner-working of the local culture.

I eventually made it back to the Crawford Market and was dazzled by the medieval bazaar-like quality of the place. Sunlight soared in through breaks in the high, strewn-together canopy ceiling, illuminating bales of hay, tied up goats and wandering bovines. Muslim men, their white skull caps and beards identifying them from their fellow Hindu denizens, huddled together sipping tea, while veiled Hindu ladies sat on crates in a semicircle. There were no tourists. No big balloon salesmen. There was plain rice and no one offering to write my name on a grain. No one really even paid much attention to me.

So how exactly do you benefit from visiting India in the summer? Plenty. Mumbai’s Ganesh Chaturthi Festival, Ayurvedic treatment during the wet, moist monsoon season, and mango fever. Yes, Mago fever, or mania, as experienced during the early parts of the summer when the emergence of this revered fruit makes newspaper headlines and Indians all over celebrate the coming of the season. I once thought that I was experiencing a kumquat craze, but it turned out to only be a mild cold.

For more reasons — eleven to be exact — check out this Matador piece.

What’s the difference between 1st AC and Unreserved 2nd Class? What’s the Indrail Pass? What can a hundred rupees note get you with the Train Ticket Examiner? (Answers: Air conditioning and a bunk, unlimited train pass for a period of time, a seat on a full train). For a few more insights, including the best way to book and what not to eat, check out BootsnAll’s guide to India train travel.

Open to the public since only 1974, the Ladakh region in the northernmost tip of India offers the rare chance for the seasoned hiker to trek amongst the world’s tallest peaks, at elevations ranging from 10,000 to 16,000 feet, as detailed in this article from the WSJ.

Just an hour flight from New Delhi, this region is now one of the last remaining areas in the Himalayas where travel is even possible, given the political strife in Pakistan, Tibet’s bureaucratic jungle, Bhutan’s high tariffs, and Nepal’s increasing social unrest.

As to what you’ll find: “Here are dramatic canyons with multicolored walls and villages unchanged for centuries. Many of the mountain-savvy inhabitants are willing to guide visitors safely through difficult terrain and weather. To talk with people who spend half the year in isolation, when villages are cut off by snow, is to meet people from another world.”

India is a breathtaking, beautiful, but at times bewildering country. Here are my tips on how to make a trip to the sub-continent run smoothly while making the budget stretch, as I learned from my recent trip to Delhi and Rajasthan with my other half — The Norwegian.

By Jenny Wight

1) They say the clothes maketh the man, and in India, especially if you are a woman or are straying from the tourist trail, choosing modest clothes will certainly make your trip easier. Indian clothes will not only look beautiful, but protect you from dust, insects, impertinent stares and the sun. The retailer fabindia has stores throughout India, and is an excellent choice. During our stay I visited many temples and forts in a salwar kameez, a long fitted tunic and the most enormous pair of drawstring trousers. Modest they may be, but flattering to the hips they ‘aint. One sweltering day on a visit to Humayun’s Tomb, a kindly yet mortified Delhi matron sidled up to me and whispered to me, “Actually, we wear these inside,” pointing to the drawstrings of my trousers that were swinging brazenly between my knees. Imagine walking into a crowded restaurant with your fly unzipped, this is the Indian equivalent.

2) Most of India is hot most of the time, and the tap water is best avoided. Apart from the environmental impact — which is hard to avoid — the cost of bottled water can really add up. Hotels seem to make a fair profit on bottled water as even the budget joints jack up the price by 50% or more. While we were staying at a cheap and cheerful place near the magical Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, we bought bottles for five rupees at the local shop down the road, whereas our guest house was charging 20. The classier hotels charge 50 rupees and more. (more…)

Think it’s a little strange to invite yourself to a wedding? How about if that wedding is in a remote mountain village in India? Don’t worry, it just happens to be the next step in cultural tourism: immersing yourself in the everyday workings of a local culture.

And contrary to perhaps other weddings you may have attended lately, you’re actually welcome at this one, as recounted in this article over at the Guardian.

“I was assured my presence would be a source of pride to my hosts, who interpret the attendance of a guest from out of town, never mind another country, as a mark of the event’s significance.”

For your own wedding experience, check out Village Ways. Mental note: pack tux for next trip to India.