Indiaphile reviews a selection of the latest Indian guidebooks (1) India Culture Smart – The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture – Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in Indias, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. This inside knowledge will...
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Over 15 years as a travel writer, there are few places I’ve enjoyed so much, or visited so often as Yoga Magic, a unique eco and yoga retreat in Goa, India . From the first time I went there I felt at home and have delighted, on each visit since, in seeing it grow...
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Samode Haveli Hotel, Rajasthan is an Indo-saracenic town-house that’s perhaps ultimate place to stay within the walled city of Jaipur. This 200-year-old city mansion enjoys an unbeatable location and an interesting history, with 30 tasteful rooms of various sizes furnished in original Rajasthani antiques. Home to some stunning murals and frescoes, and with a...
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Situated at 8,250 feet in the magnificent Himalayas, Wildflower Hall is a fairytale luxury resort set in 22 acres of virgin woods of pine and cedar. The former residence of Lord Kitchener, rebuilt to a new magnificence, Wildflower Hall recreates the grand style of the colonial era. Wood panelling and original artwork create an...
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First opening its doors in 1903, Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai was originally the brainchild of Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata, known as ‘the father of Indian industry.’ This 565 room Indo-Saracenic masterpiece, commanding a prominent view of the harbour, has a special place in the hearts of the Mumbaikars, not least of which because of its...
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In the second of our profiles of Rajasthani Palace hotels, Indiaphile looks at Udai Bilas, Dungarpur, in the southernmost part of the state. Udai Bilas Palace dates from the mid-19th century, when Maharawal Udai Singhji-II, a great patron of art and architecture, built a sumptuous palace of bluish grey local stone “Pareva” overlooking the...
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Encompassing most of the Thar desert, Rajasthan is India’s largest state, and also one of its most romantic. Home to the blue city of Jodphur, the golden city of Jaisalmer, and the dusty pink capital of Jaipur, Rajasthan is a beguiling mix of rural India and a modernising society anxious to shrug off its...
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So you’ve arrived in Delhi, now where do you stay? Indiaphile offers a how to guide for finding a room in the capital of India. The first thing to know about accommodation in Delhi is that it’s expensive. With the country’s economy still climbing, and the Commonwealth Games imminent, rooms in the capital are...
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