Category Archives: Travel

Sunny Pictures for Cold Times

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Rati Mehrotra

Happy New Year 2019, everyone! I just returned to frigid Toronto after a warm and colorful visit to my hometown, Lucknow where the food was great, the sun bright, the air polluted, and the traffic crazy. I’ll just leave these … Continue reading →

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Whale Watching and Puffin Love in Newfoundland

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Rati Mehrotra

I just returned from a week-long trip to Newfoundland. My favorite province! You know what that means, right? I am going to inflict you with pictures. But first, a bit of news. While there, I found out that my story … Continue reading →

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Camping in the not-so-wild

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Rati Mehrotra

Remind me again why I go camping. Yes, I know it’s a very Canadian thing to do, back-to-nature and all that. But really, from my point of view, nature is best enjoyed from the civilized shelter of a train, trundling … Continue reading →

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In the Ruins of the Residency

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Rati Mehrotra

This winter, I returned after a gap of some years to visit my old hometown Lucknow: the capital of the most populous and tumultuous state of India, Uttar Pradesh. There were parts that looked utterly different – enormous, walled-off parks with stern statues, bright … Continue reading →

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Biking (and writing) on the P’tit train du Nord

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

I have always bemoaned the slow, inexorable vanishing of Canadian trains. Steam-powered railways were integral to the building of Canada as a nation. Trains were the arteries connecting the heart of our country with its limbs, opening settlement in the west. But … Continue reading →

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Beautiful Puerto Rico

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

I went to Puerto Rico in May: the shoulder season, between the cruise ships and the hurricanes. The best time to go, even though I got drenched a couple of times and it was perishingly hot in the sun. Walk … Continue reading →

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Notes from Yellowknife

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

I’ve learned a lot in my visit to Yellowknife, capital of the Northwest Territories and home to two-thirds of its people. For instance, I’ve learned that the the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights, are a result of solar wind … Continue reading →

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Between Two Rivers, a Hidden Place

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Rati Mehrotra

Between the Betwa and the Jamnia Rivers in Madhya Pradesh, is a small strip of land called Orchha, or the ‘Hidden Place’. Legend has it that the Bundela chief Rudra Pratap Singh set off in search of a new capital, and … Continue reading →

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Temples, trees and turmeric: Notes from Delhi

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Rati Mehrotra

I’m in Delhi, which is having its coldest December days in eleven years. Lots of fog and smog. On the streets, at dusk, small fires cast a bit of light and warmth and a lot of smoke. Folks burn whatever they can … Continue reading →

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Starry and stormy nights at CAO

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Rati Mehrotra

Just spent a fantastic weekend at CAO, the Carr Astronomical Observatory two hours north of Toronto, near Thornbury, Ontario. Any RASC member can avail of the wonderful dark sky facilities at CAO, but every July CAO holds its annual Star-B-Q, … Continue reading →

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