https://bkpk.me Piggy-back ride with A&Z Sun, 26 Jun 2022 18:39:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 https://bkpk.me/traveling-to-india-during-covid-19-restrictions/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=traveling-to-india-during-covid-19-restrictions https://bkpk.me/traveling-to-india-during-covid-19-restrictions/#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2020 06:17:46 +0000 Ashray https://bkpk.me/?p=22001
  Mid-2022 Update Since earlier this year, you do not need a PCR test to fly to India if you’ve been vaccinated in certain countries. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare maintains an updated list of bilateral agreements on their website. If the country you were vaccinated in is ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/traveling-to-india-during-covid-19-restrictions/feed/ 6 https://bkpk.me/things-in-common-india-mexico/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=things-in-common-india-mexico https://bkpk.me/things-in-common-india-mexico/#comments Wed, 09 Aug 2017 23:11:36 +0000 Zara https://bkpk.me/?p=20305
If India and Mexico made love, they could give birth to something beautiful! No doubt the newborn would dress colorfully and adorn its everyday things with vibrant tones. It would be saucy, spicy and topped with heaps of cilantro. Chances are it would also care a great deal about religion. ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/things-in-common-india-mexico/feed/ 17 https://bkpk.me/cartoon-afternoon-in-incredible-india/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cartoon-afternoon-in-incredible-india https://bkpk.me/cartoon-afternoon-in-incredible-india/#comments Thu, 11 May 2017 14:04:43 +0000 Zara https://bkpk.me/?p=20086
No matter how many countries we keep on visiting, rare are the places that can manage to have the same impact on me as India does. On the same day, or even in the same hour or at the exact very minute, India will make sure you experience a rollercoaster ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/cartoon-afternoon-in-incredible-india/feed/ 4 https://bkpk.me/tips-for-bargaining-like-a-pro-in-goa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tips-for-bargaining-like-a-pro-in-goa https://bkpk.me/tips-for-bargaining-like-a-pro-in-goa/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2017 14:38:39 +0000 Zara https://bkpk.me/?p=19710
If you’ve read Backpack ME before, you know that Ashray is Indian and that I am Portuguese. But there is at least one thing in which I am [stereotypically] more Indian than him: I love a good bargain! Not only I like negotiating a transaction until I reach a price ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/tips-for-bargaining-like-a-pro-in-goa/feed/ 5 https://bkpk.me/diksha-school-help-educate-a-child-in-india/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=diksha-school-help-educate-a-child-in-india https://bkpk.me/diksha-school-help-educate-a-child-in-india/#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2016 16:28:19 +0000 Ashray https://bkpk.me/?p=19079
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine posted about a crowdfunding campaign on Facebook. As someone who’s been active on the internet since the days before Google existed, I’m quite skeptical when it comes to donating money online. However, this time it was different. Akriti said that Diksha is ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/diksha-school-help-educate-a-child-in-india/feed/ 2 https://bkpk.me/the-man-pulled-rickshaws-of-kolkata/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-man-pulled-rickshaws-of-kolkata https://bkpk.me/the-man-pulled-rickshaws-of-kolkata/#comments Wed, 10 Feb 2016 17:29:09 +0000 Zara http://bkpk.me/?p=17221
In India, there tends to be a big gap between regulations and what really happens all around you. We could call that gap “reality”. Because reality and the harsh facts of life usually impose themselves over theories, ideologies and written rules. Even though technically banned back in 2005, plenty of ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/the-man-pulled-rickshaws-of-kolkata/feed/ 1 https://bkpk.me/delhi-killing-us-softly-with-its-smog/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=delhi-killing-us-softly-with-its-smog https://bkpk.me/delhi-killing-us-softly-with-its-smog/#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2015 18:00:15 +0000 Zara http://bkpk.me/?p=16918
DELHI. There are certain things in life that, no matter how well you know how they’re going to be, they always manage to surprise you. Every time we return to Delhi, specially during Winter, I’m always amazed at how polluted this city is. While Beijing keeps on making the international ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/delhi-killing-us-softly-with-its-smog/feed/ 2 https://bkpk.me/street-creativity-in-india-an-outdoor-barbershop/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=street-creativity-in-india-an-outdoor-barbershop https://bkpk.me/street-creativity-in-india-an-outdoor-barbershop/#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2015 07:12:15 +0000 Zara http://bkpk.me/?p=16007
Some people think of San Francisco when they think of entrepreneurship.. I always think about the streets of India! There are endless cases that prove that the old saying “necessity is the mother of invention” is absolutely true. More than invention, here in India, it’s about creativity. Right outside the ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/street-creativity-in-india-an-outdoor-barbershop/feed/ 4 https://bkpk.me/monsoon-season-has-arrived-in-delhi/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=monsoon-season-has-arrived-in-delhi https://bkpk.me/monsoon-season-has-arrived-in-delhi/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2015 15:15:45 +0000 Zara http://bkpk.me/?p=15783
Monsoon season has started! Today, it rained elephants and tigers here in Delhi. And what joy the rain has brought with it! While in other parts of the world (like where I come from) we might associate the rain with winter and cold weather, in India it is not like ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/monsoon-season-has-arrived-in-delhi/feed/ 3 https://bkpk.me/idyllic-vagator-beach-in-goa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=idyllic-vagator-beach-in-goa https://bkpk.me/idyllic-vagator-beach-in-goa/#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2015 20:03:19 +0000 Ashray http://bkpk.me/?p=15410
North Goa tends to be the crazy part of Goa. Lots of busy beaches with lots of tourists. You need to get a little out of the tourist areas of Baga and Anjuna, rent a scooter or a motorbike, and drive north until you reach Vagator. Suddenly you’re in paradise ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/idyllic-vagator-beach-in-goa/feed/ 2 https://bkpk.me/edible-india-what-to-eat-when-you-travel-in-india/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=edible-india-what-to-eat-when-you-travel-in-india https://bkpk.me/edible-india-what-to-eat-when-you-travel-in-india/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2015 17:56:35 +0000 Zara http://bkpk.me/?p=11681
They call it Incredible India… but for many of us, it is EDIBLE INDIA!! A country that feels like a continent, a cuisine that embraces millennia of traditions and cultural convergence… intense, rich, spicy, with impressive contrasts and nuances. Inviting for meat lovers, a paradise for vegetarians and deliciously accommodating ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/edible-india-what-to-eat-when-you-travel-in-india/feed/ 32 https://bkpk.me/the-assamese-fish-man/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-assamese-fish-man https://bkpk.me/the-assamese-fish-man/#comments Thu, 15 Jan 2015 17:28:26 +0000 Zara http://bkpk.me/?p=14656
You may associate Indian cuisine with chicken tikka, mutton curries or deliciously fresh breads with garlic and butter. But when it comes to Assam, the North-East state of India where Ashray’s family is from, the staples are dal bhat (lentils and rice) and fish. Fish vendors like the one pictured ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/the-assamese-fish-man/feed/ 2 https://bkpk.me/how-to-park-in-delhi/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-park-in-delhi https://bkpk.me/how-to-park-in-delhi/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2014 05:10:04 +0000 Zara http://bkpk.me/?p=14294
New Delhi is an extremely congested place when it comes to traffic. There are 7 and a half million vehicles in the city right now, and an average 1400 new cars start circulating every day. As you would imagine, parking is indeed a nightmare. Around shopping areas, it is very ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/how-to-park-in-delhi/feed/ 3 https://bkpk.me/in-new-delhi-business-on-wheels/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=in-new-delhi-business-on-wheels https://bkpk.me/in-new-delhi-business-on-wheels/#comments Sun, 21 Sep 2014 09:47:15 +0000 Zara http://bkpk.me/?p=13702
If you have seen my previous photo tribute to street entrepreneurs in Delhi, you’d know by now that I am a big fan of those creative minds making the streets of India their daily spot for business. In this photo, you can see a mobile kiosk, that sells sweets and ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/in-new-delhi-business-on-wheels/feed/ 1 https://bkpk.me/a-street-entrepreneur-in-india/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-street-entrepreneur-in-india https://bkpk.me/a-street-entrepreneur-in-india/#comments Tue, 02 Sep 2014 14:46:40 +0000 Zara http://bkpk.me/?p=13645
India: one may love it or hate it. But we all have to recognize that are certain things around here that are pretty admirable. The way people with limited resources use their creativity to come up with business ideas is certainly one of those things. Meet one of Delhi’s street ... more »]]> https://bkpk.me/a-street-entrepreneur-in-india/feed/ 9