Indian Railways readies passenger facilities for train service to Bangladesh

Indian Railways is putting together passenger facilities ahead of the start of a trans-national train service between Kolkata and Dhaka for the first time in more than four decades. The service is expected to begin in August, though no exact date has been announced.

India to have 35 new airports by 2010

By 2010 India will have 35 new airports to cope with the rising demand for air travel. India currently has 133 airports that include 14 international terminals. Speaking at a seminar organised by the Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism (FAST), V P Agarwal, member (planning), Airports Authority of India (AAI), said that AAI would invest Rs40,000 crore in the next five years on developing airport infrastructure. He said the growth of low-fare airlines and cheaper airfares would encourage road and rail passengers to shift to air travel. To cope with rising demand the AAI had planned the rapid vacation of runways and interconnecting all major airports with city centres by metro trains.

Assaf in Jageshwar

Hi from India,
Smells of Cider trees welcomed us to Jageshwar, a little villge with an amazing temple complex, that dates back to the 8 centuary a.d.. with the intensity of rains here it's a real wonder. 124 temples for every form of lord Shiva are presented in the temples. there are also some dogs who eat the prasad given to the gods. we happend to arrive just at the first day of a one month festival, as apperently it's lord SHiva's month. there are many stalls selling graet varaiaty of things, and night shows of dancing (with impossibly laud music from the speakers). supraisingly, there are not many people coming to the festival, so the place is rather calm.

We found a lovely room, overlooking the temples and the river, with great forest views as well. yestrday we walked up to old Jageshwar (not that this place looks new). the one hour walk turned to be a lovely 3 hours climb through the forest, going from ceder forest topine forest and at the top oak forest. all the way there are flowers and running water, and once we reached the top we looked to the other side and saw the great nothing. like the edge of the world, there was nothing but fog on the other side.

If, by chance, you happen to recieve in your T.V the Uttaranchali cannel "tv100" you can see my interview about the "how i feel about the temples" in a small shabby chai-shop.

Have fun too,

Assaf
Traveller,Earth.

Carriers Prepare To Offer Service Between United States And India

Air India, Continental Airlines and Jet Airways are ramping up service between the United States and India, seeking to satisfy growing demand for travel between the two countries. Air India said that it plans on Aug. 1 to introduce daily nonstop service between New York JFK and Mumbai using Boeing 777s. Air India already serves India from Newark, Toronto, Chicago and Los Angeles, and serves Mumbai from New York via London, while Jet Airways' route plan is its first to touch the United States. The carrier said it plans to expand its coverage between the United States and India later this year.

India's Golden Triangle

AGRA, India — The sane traveler makes a simple calculation when planning agetaway: The longer it takes to get there, the longer the stay required to make it worthwhile. By that definition, my friends and I are not sane travelers.

Air India Express to operate Malaysia flights from October

Mumbai: Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary of the national flag carrier, will start Chennai-Kuala Lumpur flights beginning October under a new agreement to liberalise air travel between the two countries, an airline official said. The airline is finalising details of its Malaysia entry following the signing of the agreement on July 13, reports quoting airline sources said.However, the agreement is silent on landing rights of Air Sahara, which was disputed by state-controlled Malaysia Airlines. Malaysia Airline allegedly asked the government to cancel Air Sahara's licence on the grounds that passenger volumes on the New Delhi-Kuala Lumpur route were low.

The government's decision to charge visitors

About four million foreign tourists visited India in 2006 and brought in foreign exchange worth more than $6.5 billion. According to World Travel and Tourism Council, the Indian tourism industry is set to grow at the rate of 10 per cent annually over the next decade. The actual potential, which is much more, can be realised if roadblocks that impede the sector's growth are removed.

Yoga and Ayurveda in India

"Could you tell me what places in India you recommend for instruction in meditation, introductory yoga, and Ayurvedic medicine? Do you have any recommendations on same in the US?"I asked travel planner Sanjay Saxena of Destinationa Himalaya to answer your question, since I didn't have time to take a single yoga class while I was on assignment in India a few years ago. Sanjay is recommended for travel to India, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Tibet on Conde Nast Traveler's annual list of the world's best travel specialists. Here's what he told me:"Yoga is intrinsically wound into Indian life and a traveler can expect to see (and partake in) basic yoga in almost any city. All you have to do is ask at your hotel where the local yoga group is meeting and just show up. If you are serious about learning the daily yogic life or training to become an instructor, then your best options are in Kerala or Rishikesh.

indian pilot project that seeks to bring travel agency TravelPort’s services to malls

The India Transact kiosks will have 10 applications, including bill payments, travel bookings, shopping, banking, buying talk-time for mobile phones, and information on restaurants, nightclubs, and movies. It has tied up up with partners such as rediff.com for shopping, IndusInd Bank Ltd for banking and Visa for bill payments. The kiosks of both India Transact and TravelPort have television screens that run advertisements, another possible source of revenue.

It’s a short, sweet passage to India

Mumbai, Goa, Kerala and Kolkata during his one- year sojourn in India. “Leh boasts of an enchanting landscape, and Delhi, I believe, is the most colorful and culturally vibrant of all Indian cities.

The Gateway to the Himalayas

It's another beautiful day in Rishikesh, near the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, northern India. The sacred Ganges is clear and clean here and the intermittent sandy beaches are dotted with sunbathers, saddhus and hippies concentrating on their meditative state.

Assaf short way to the Himalayas

Hi there.The Jordanian flag marked the beginning of our new journey.as we were told by two young arab-israeli students, who study in Amman, things are not so simple at the jordanian side. we were not allowed to leave the border post to meet our taxi-driver. "it's for your own safety"said the police officer. after he shook hands warmly with the taxi stand manager and we were forced to take a taxi from the border post. there were absolutely no farther problems, and we boarded the flight to Bahrain. it was a new airbus 330 with personal screens and good food. after a couple of hours we could see the wild over-developed shores of the Persian golf. we had 6 hours to spend in Bahrain airport. it's quite a cosmopolitan place. people from all over the world with strange dressing. airports are boring all over the world, but at least we had a chance to chat a bit with people from places we don't normally meet. a young Saudi guy, an Afghan school teacher, an Iranian woman traveling alone...at last we boarded our flight to Delhi. we were served with indian food,got indian music in the head-phones, and many indians rushing out of the plane once it landed.

In Delhi business is at usual. the same clerk, the same black and yellow taxis,the same heat. we took half day of shopping and changing money, met a friend from israel in the street (Gopal) and took a night train towards Almora. oh, the madness of indian train-stations... the only way to know which platform your train is leaving is to ask a porter. somehow, they know it all. then we only had a 3 hours jeep ride and here we are, in Mr. shah's unbelievable guesthouse, on the hills of Almora. I was happy to meet Mr. Shah again, energetic and happy, at 90 years old.

It only takes 45 hours to get from israel to Almora. now we are chilling out in this colourful town, where it seems like no-one is allowed to paint his house in the same colour as his neighbour. soon we'll head north, closer to the peaks of the himalaya.
it's good to be here again. feels like we never left, combined with the feeling it's our first time here. India is great !

Assaf
Traveller, Earth.

Indian luxury hotel boss calls for clean-up

"We have to clean our cities or risk losing tourists," said P.R.S. Oberoi, the chairman of the EIH Associated Hotels group, which includes the five-star Oberoi chain. "Water is a big problem, power is a big problem, the roads are a mess. Cleaning up our cities must happen," he told reporters.