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On the Tragic Fate of Temple Elephants

Well, we haven’t had a Festival Friday for a while. To celebrate World Environment Day, this week we would like to offer something different. An article on the Onam festival in Kerala, and some thoughts on the fate of temple elephants.

India Fatehpur Sikri elephant carving — Elephant carving in an Indian temple

Kerala has something different from the rest of India. A mellow, slower pace of life. Touts won’t bother you, rickshaw-drivers are likely to be napping on the back of their vehicle. If you have read Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things, you’ll know what I mean. Kerala is a place of crumbling colonial architecture and steamy forests, criss-crossed by canals and fringed by beautiful beaches.

We continue our India month with an exploration of five sacred sites, some famous some less famous, to highlight the cultural and historical heritage of this incredible country. 1) The Taj Mahal Wait. Wait a second. What do you mean ‘sacred site’? The Taj Mahal, India’s iconic sight, daily trampled by hordes of camera-toting, paan-spitting tourists? … Read more

A Simple Guide to Indian Trains

Following our Simple Guide to Italian Trains, here’s another guide on how to navigate the incredibly confusing world of Indian trains. So, you’ve made it to India. Your first trip, congrats! You have overcome culture shock on your arrival and spent some days/weeks at your city of arrival, be it Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai or other. Now … Read more

An Ode to the Francesinha

We briefly hinted to how much we loved francesinha in our Porto Five Insider Tips. Do you want to know what it is, and why we loved it so much? Walking around Porto, you’ll see people tucking into a funny-looking sandwich on a plate, covered in melted cheese and a strange red-orange sauce. At a first … Read more

Porto in Five Insider Tips

New week, new destination! After Hamburg and Florence, let’s discover Porto through the eyes of five locals! What do you know about Porto? The northern capital of Portugal must be one of our favourite destinations ever. It is blessed with a stunning location, great architecture and thriving cultural and music scene. It has gorgeous weather, affordable … Read more

Florence in Five Insider Tips

After Hamburg, for the second instalment of our brand new series we’ll show you Florence through the eyes of locals. First time in Florence? Don’t miss our post on how to book Uffizi tickets! Forget David, forget the crowds and forget the queues snaking outside the Uffizi. Forget tacky souvenir shops and overpriced pavement cafés. Five … Read more