Rama's Field Notes & Reflections
Firsthand travel reflections, authentic photographs, and practical notes gathered over ten years of walking India alone as an Indian woman.
They say happiness doubles when shared. Beyond the quiet road lined with apple and peach orchards lies Pangan Monastery—where 300 butter lamps glow daily, young monks play courtyard cricket, and Sister Flower welcomes travelers with quiet grace.
Exploring does not mean staying two or three nights, clicking pictures, seeing snowfall and returning home. That is visiting. Exploration begins when you stop being a tourist and start becoming a learner—understanding the air, water, and everyday resilience behind the postcard.
Most people rush through Varanasi in 48 hours and leave exhausted. But when you sit quietly on the stone steps as priests ring dawn brass bells, the river city reveals its gentlest secret.
At 2,730 meters in Mandi, Parashar Lake sits inside a velvet-green bowl with a mysterious floating island. A dispatch on stone cairns, Gaddi sheep in the mist, and the healing power of high-altitude quiet.
Foreign travelers are often told to avoid street food completely. But staying terrified in a hotel room means missing the soul of India. Here is Rama's honest, practical truth after a decade of walking Old Delhi's historic alleys.
Most visitors experience Rishikesh through crowded suspension bridges, cafe playlists, and rafting vans. But if you wake before the town stirs and follow the hidden stone footpaths down to the riverbank, the mountain Ganga reveals why pilgrims have come here for thousands of years.
Ten years ago, friends warned me that India was too difficult for a woman alone. Here is what actually happened when I stepped out the door and walked across 10 states.