Author: Sonia Lotay, Guest Writer

Banarasi spirit: There can never be enough footprints on a place. You can be there, repeat that, but never be done with it. Varanasi or Banaras (as locals like to call it) is one such place. Saraswati Nandini Majumdar’s travel book ‘Banaras: Walks Through India’s Sacred City,’ is just out. It breaks down one of India’s most-visited and photographed cities into 12 different walks, with the city’s ghats along the Ganga being central places for most walks. In a recent article, Majumdar goes one step further and ponders “What will Varanasi become in the new India? And what can Narendra Modi do for Varanasi?” An interesting read. [India Today]

Bangladesh about to hit the tourist radar: Two well-written accounts of Bangladesh by Vicky Baker and Rupert Parker are acknowledging the country as a tourist destination that is still untouched by mass tourism. Vicky Baker writes “Beyond the headlines, there’s another Bangladesh out there and it feels like it could be on the cusp of a new era.” Change IS coming. So ‘come before the tourists visit.’ [The Guardian & HuffPost Travel]

30 Days, 30 stories, One Man’s Journey: One of the best things about travel is meeting new people, experiencing the kindness strangers, hearing their stories and learning about their way of life. Well, Rajeev Gupta from India set out to do just that with his “30 in 30” Kickstarter campaign. Using popular travel sites such as Couchsurfing.org, Rajeev drove from New York to California meeting and staying with 30 American families in 30 days to hear their stories and share them back home in India in a documentary. Check out his interview below. [ABC7News]

Photo Credit: Creative Commons License, Ganges & Ghats – Ken Wieland