The Tranquilo Traveler
The Tranquilo Traveler is a celebration of voluntourism, slow travel, and other interesting ways to see the world. Travel writer and award- winning Moon Handbooks author Joshua Berman created The Tranquilo Travel as a resource for world trippers and international volunteers, a window to the author’s travels in Nicaragua, Belize, and beyond, and an update of his books and articles.
Map: Darjeeling to Delhi
By Joshua | 
1 Comment » 
Since we orginally opted for a domestic flight from Delhi to Calcutta (back in August), our current westbound journey by rail and bus completes our bragging rights to a subcontinental overland crossing — from Pakistan’s Hunza Valley to the Bhutan border.
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More Swastika Peace Symbols
By Joshua | 2 Comments » 
I’ve already explained the significance of the swastika in Buddhist and Hindu culture, and, during my four months in India, I’ve continued to see the symbol, dozens of times a day.
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Tuning Out and Tuning In: The Root Institute for Wisdom Culture
By Joshua | 4 Comments » 
The last Buddhist teaching I received was in Kalimpong, in the tiny “Road to Lhasa” eatery, whose Tibetan owner, Ola, espoused the Buddha’s teachings while Tay and I dined on momos, thukpa, and Sikkim rum. Buddhism is about recognizing suffering, trying to overcome it, and calming the mind, said Ola, as he shifted excitedly from foot to foot. Before that, my learning was equally informal: reading books, occasionally trying to meditate regularly, and once, participating in a winter weekend retreat at Northern California’s Shasta Abbey.
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Being in Bodhgaya
By Joshua | 2 Comments » 
Once we decide to stay awhile, we quickly find a routine, consisting of some combination of eating, emailing, temple visiting, and shopping. And even though we are sleep-deprived from the endless succession of noisy November festivals (Diwali, Lakshmi Puja, Id, Jhat, Sun Puja, etc.) with their firecrackers, processions, amplified music and preaching, we are still quite content in Bodhgaya.
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Bodhgaya: In the Footsteps of the Buddha
By Joshua | 1 Comment » 
I have seen the largest tree in the world (the “General Sherman” in California’s Sequoia National Park) and I have walked among the tallest trees in the world (the Redwood Forests of the Northern California coastline). Now, I have sat under the holiest, most revered tree in the world.
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Closure in Calcutta (Part 2)
By Joshua | No Comments » 
Sarmishtha lives with her parents and her brother’s family. The two-story house overlooks a narrow lane and a squared-in, natural pond. On the other side of the pond is the house where Sarmishtha spent the first 14 years of her life. The last 17 years, she has lived here, in this house in Dakshineswar, a somewhat peaceful neighborhood in the Howrah section of Calcutta.
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Closure in Calcutta (Part 1)
By Joshua | No Comments » The southbound Darjeeling Mail from NJP to “Cal” (as the cool kids refer to West Bengal’s beleaguered capital) is crowded with Bengali families returning from rain-soaked vacations, and Tay and I must share a narrow upper berth in the sleeper car. It is cramped and uncomfortable, there are cockroaches on the walls, but at least we are not sleeping on the floor, as some people are.
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Final Report: Malnutrition of Tea Workers
By Joshua | 16 Comments » 
We have completed our report on the malnutrition of workers on six Indian tea gardens. This is the reason we came to West Bengal, answering the call of a local NGO which had been looking for volunteers with public health and writing expertise (my wife, Tay, is a nurse and has completed numerous health surveys in West Africa). Eventually, I‘ll make the full report available for download; in the meantime, I’ve posted the Abstract and a few excerpts below. If you would like to receive the complete report, let me know (jberman@gmail.com) and I’ll be happy to send it.
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Going Organic in Darjeeling
By Joshua | No Comments » 
I’d planned on being a plain old tourist in Darjeeling: Nothing to do but eat, drink, trek the Singalila, and visit the sites my guidebook told me to, (Snow Leopard enclosure, Mountaineering Institute, Ghoom Monastery, etc.). I also wanted to experience the unique culture of Nepalese-descended Indians, who make up 95% of the town’s population, and whose hospitality and cheerfulness are famous. After 10 days, I’ve succeeded in accomplishing all of the above—except the site-seeing and trekking. There are two reasons why:
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Just Another Darjeeling Sunrise
By Joshua | No Comments » 
Mount Kachenjunga was not visible this morning. In fact, I’ve only glimpsed its mighty mass twice during such a cloudy week in Darjeeling. But despite its absence, I think you’ll agree it was worth the morning-chilly rooftop rising. More:
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BY JOSHUA BERMAN
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