When I travel abroad, I often get recommendations on where to eat, what to do and what to read and watch from Sam Mendelsohn. Not just a few sentences, as if from a travel guide, but pages of unique and original content. I usually only have time to pick one or two recommended items but they are always great. When I stayed at Devigarh Palace outside Udaipur, for example, Sam pointed me to the movie Eklavya: The Royal Guard set in the palace. Movie viewing has been added to the living area. It’s not your usual thing.
Sam is now officially turning his notes into a travel blog. You start with some of the lesser known places in India but soon you will add more. He is also an expert in Thailand. Email him for out-of-the-ordinary tips.
Every place is its own unique world: a certain combination of intellectual, literary, culinary, musical, sonic, linguistic, spiritual, philosophical, visual, architectural, geographical, botanical, olfactory, and cinematic, and so on, combined with different cultures and historical currents, and that it’s all a small part of the story of any place. That such worlds of worlds really exist, and that the planet is full of them, seems not to be believed. Few people have the time or background knowledge to offer anything more than a cursory assessment of any of these while on tour, and I wouldn’t say that either. Despite my wishes, I am in the middle. Still, trying to get lost in these worlds, however briefly and imperfectly, is inspiring and meaningful to me. I like cities more than most people because they contain so many worlds to get lost in, but on a short trip a little can be a lot.
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