Global Travel Writers: Articles

Putting on the Taj

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 01:08:00 -0500

When high profile actress and model Liz Hurley married earlier this year she did it in true Bollywood style, throwing an elaborate bash featuring a cast of thousands at an Indian Palace in Jodphur, Rajhastan. The Umaid Bhawan Palace is still home to the Maharajah and his family who live in one wing but the majority of it is given over to guests who stay at the palace, which is now a Taj Hotel � and the jewel in the Taj crown.

The Umaid Bhawan isn�t the Taj Group�s only palace hotel � they have a number of them sprinkled around northern India, most notably the Lake Palace at Udaipur, a glistening white edifice that floats like a mirage on Lake Udaipur and once featured in a James Bond Movie....

Karen Halabi explores the palace and fort hotels of Rajasthan, royal retreats which have become upmarket historic hotels, where you can breathe the rarified gentile air of a bygone era�

The above is sample copy only. A story or feature on either the Taj Group, the Umaid Bhawan, at Jodphur The Lake Palace at Udaipur, or The Palace Hotels and Resorts of India, can be tailored to any length or individual editorial brief. A range of high quality digital images are also available including the author's individual collection. Please contact the author for more information....

Global warming - for the birds?

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 03:54:00 -0400

Will global warming make Planet Earth wetter? The jury is so far out on this question that it seems to be taking a permanent lunch break. In India at least disastrously low rainfalls from 2002 to 2005 have recently been aggravated by diversion of water from wildlife sanctuaries for agricultural use. The record monsoon rains of 2006 were so uneven that some places experienced severe drought. Nowhere have these fluctuations been more acutely felt than in Keoladeo Ghana National Park, a World Heritage-listed bird sanctuary about three hours by rail from New Delhi. See image preview: http://www.photographersdirect.com/simmons/search.asp?lb=6700

A Postcard From India

Sun, 01 Apr 2007 22:29:00 -0400

"I sell you very good rings, sir. You like. Your wife will like." The sales room is the shade of a neem tree. There is no negotiating table as both vendor and potential customer squat in the dust. Yet the sales technique is faultless.

"Sir, would you prefer the emerald? Or the ruby? I can have it to you today, sir, if you would like, sir. Very good quality, sir."

Welcome to jewellery sales, Rajasthani-style.

��

This article continues, written in a conversational style and includes information on travel in Rajasthan, north India, accommodation provided, local food and cuisine, things to do and see.

��..

(finishes�)

We have been warned that the Sam dunes are alive with touts and people trying to sell us souvenirs, yet there have been only a few boys, offering bottled water.

Our guide shuffles his feet in the sand. "The world's events have been hard on us here," he says softly. "I hope people will return. We have so much here."

He is right of course. India has a lot to sell. Sometimes it happens under a tree in a busy street. Sometimes it is a bunch of jostling youngsters, arguing and shoving, pestering you to buy postcards or keyrings. Sometimes it is the experience.

That people will come and take back memories as well as photographs and postcards, is their hope. It's a tempting deal � for what price can you put anyway on the memory of a child's smile, or a flash of crimson in a field of grain?

Or a sunset?

FACTFILE: (to be updated on the sale of this article)

Where is it?

Getting there:

Getting around:

Where to stay:

Where to dine:

What to see:

Health:

Currency:

More information:

(1600words + Fact file) �Sally Hammond 2006

(Sally and Gordon Hammond travelled as guests of India Tourism)

��..

Contact Sally Hammond for a pricing schedule or to discuss purchase of this article.

� Currently the article runs to approximately 1600 words plus Factfile (fact-checked and updated free on sale of this article).

� The article may be shortened according to editorial needs, and the Factfile may be expanded, however if additional work is requested it will affect the final cost of the article.

� Pictures are available

�This article has previously been published in Australia and first Australian rights have been sold. Other rights are available.

Like a Maharajah

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 05:00:00 -0500

When Bikki Oberoi built Rajvilas at Jaipur, India�s first boutique hotel, he modelled it on a Rajasthan prince�s fort, and more recently, Udaivilas on a royal palace. The result is the kind of places that leave you open mouthed and gob smacked, feeling decidedly overwhelmed and underdressed, wondering whether you�ve just stepped into a fictional world. It's not surprising, then, that Conde Nast Traveller and others consistently rate Rajvilas one of the world�s top resorts.

This story runs to about 1,100 words, but can be tailored to editorial requirements.

Push on to Pushkar: An Indian Extravaganza

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 23:52:00 -0500

For a few days around November, a dusty throng of camels and their owners, pious Hindu pilgrims, holy men in their hundreds and spectators from far and wide converge on the sleepy Indian desert town of Pushkar. Beyond the fairground the desert people of Rajasthan make camp with their camels, flanks freshly branded, and tricked out with the finest pom-poms and flower-bedecked harness.

In the pre-dawn darkness throngs of chanting pilgrims circumnavigate the sacred lake. As the day wears on, the faithful gather on marble steps to disrobe and bathe in the hallowed waters. The narrow streets fill as sadhus, streaked in ash and garlanded with marigolds, brush past beggars and backpackers; sandwich boards hawk internet access and Israeli fast food.

More images