Travel Memories:
Animated Debates Between Monks in North India

The sound of emphatic clapping was my first greeting as I walked into a Tibetan monastery in McLeod Ganj, India. The monks were prepping for exams with lively debates spread all over the monastery grounds and the open-air courtyard allowed the laughter and debate to roll across the grounds like a playful child, the sounds echoing off the walls of the monastery and into the surrounding hillside.
McLeod Ganj is the headquarters for the Tibetan government-in-exile and with the dispensations from India, a large population of …

Travel Memories:
A Glasses Switcharoo Over Chai in Nepal

Legs crossed and boiling hot chai in hand, I sat on the floor in the back of Sunil’s shop swapping stories and chatter. Sunil’s shop was popular, and not just with the backpacker crowd haunting the cramped streets of Thamel, Kathmandu, his friends regularly popped into the shop.
And as is the case with any good chai time, hilarity ensues with a cup of chai in hand. See, chai time is one of those rituals you just don’t mess with in India and Nepal; …

Travel Memories:
Posing with Ronald at Indian McDonald’s

Is it wrong to admit I’ve developed a strange fascination with McDonald’s restaurants around the world? This one is in India and, as you’d expect, there was no beef on the menu. Stateside, I eat McDonalds maybe once a decade…and I even find myself  apologizing to other travelers about America’s stellar contribution to the global food industry.
So color me surprised when the Indian McDonald’s boasted an intriguingly diverse menu; my traveling companion ordered a paneer tika wrap…and it was actually decent! Echoing the diversities of …

Travel Memories:
Eating Out of a Pedigree Bag in India

Asking for a to-go container in India yeilds some pretty interesting results…and to be honest this may have been the only time I asked so I’m not sure what I would have gotten elsewhere. A lovely little Tibetan restaurant in McLeod Ganj had amazing momos and in the true nature of eating out in India, my need to sample yielded more food than I could possibly eat in one sitting.
The vegetarian momos were so tasty I couldn’t bear to leave the last six on the plate.
So …

The annual Passports with Purpose (PwP) fundraiser is taking off once again; last year the results were staggering…I watched with amazement as the travel blogging community rallied together and raised nearly $30,000 (yep, thirty thousand from this fundraiser alone!) to build the Passports School in rural Cambodia (complete with a school nurse, daily food, and school supplies) – that’s the kind of actual visible and oh-so-very tangible help that I can get behind.

Build a Village in India for the Untouchables

So I did! This year A Little Adrift teamed up with …

Travel Memories:
Indian Cultural Dance in Udaipur

A local artist I met in Udaipur, India (who essentially proposed marriage a few days later) insisted that I attend this cultural dance. The dancing was gorgeous and this photo so perfectly points out one of my favorite aspects of India – the vibrant colors and ornate decorations.
My would-be suitor was waiting for me right after the performance, to ensure that I enjoyed the dancing and music, and we followed it the performance the only way you follow up anything in India – with a …

Travel Memories:
The Time I Got Charged by a Cow in India

Today I’d like to share a bit snippet clip from my relaxing walk down the white sandy beach on the Ganges River in Rishikesh, India.
My cousin and I were amazed by the cows on the beaches so we went closer to snap some shots of these cows hanging out by the river – cows in India really just tend to generally ignore people and focus on their cow business so we didn’t think twice when the cow started trotting toward …

Travel Memories:
Camel Burb on Safari in Pushkar, India

It’s not like I was engaged in any form of camel abuse…but that camel just didn’t like me! My travel companion at the time got the calmer of the two camels and during the break in the middle of our camel safari in Pushkar, India’s desert my camel proceeded to burp, gurgle and emit a slew of other strange digestive noises before finishing off the little show with a spit in my direction and a nipped aimed at me (and intercepted by my …