Mumbai's got it going on this month. First of all, the Kala Ghoda Art Festival is happening even as we speak. The festival runs from February 6th to February 13, and features music and dancing, theatrical performances, literature and poetry readings, film screenings, visual arts and street performers. There is also a special program for kids. All of this is free of charge! For an excellent write-up of the festival, check out this piece by Sumiit Lakhutia of MatadorTravel. The art festival coincides nicely with Mumbai's second annual Restaurant Week, which also ends February 13th. The restaurant week is an attempt to promote Mumbai's small but growing fine dining scene by allowing participants to enjoy prix-fixe menus at some of Mumbai's more upscale restaurants. Each meal costs 1,000 r

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Hyderabad, India is the country's 6th largest city. Also known as the "City of Pearls," it is a hub of the India's film and IT industries. Doesn't sound like the best spot for a vacation, does it? Actually, while Hyderabad is big and busy, it's also packed with gorgeous historical and architectural treasures. Plus, you can stay in a real palace! The New York Times named the city as one of its "41 Places to Go in 2011," saying "The latest buzz is the debut of two five-star hotels...The first, Park Hyderabad, is a futuristic structure designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with an aluminum and glass facade inspired by the settings and metalwork found in the Nizams’ jewelry collection. The new Taj Falaknuma Palace, on the other hand, is a window into the past. It’s a wedding c

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India may not be the first destination you think of when you think of birdwatching, but on a recent trip, New York Times writer Somini Sengupta discovered that it's actually a birder's paradise. She writes: "From the cold lakes of the Himalayas to the sand dunes of western Rajasthan to the tropical rain forests in the south, India hosts a dizzying variety of birds, like a dizzying variety of everything else. Residents and visitors, common and rare, more than 1,200 species have been recorded in India, which puts it somewhere between the United States (just under 900 recorded species) and Colombia (more than 1,800 species)." In India, it's possible to see a variety of different species of birds even in the cities. Go out into the countryside or to a large lake or river, and things get ev

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Watch out, Italy and Jamaica - the Indian district of Coorg is attempting to become the next must-visit destination for coffee lovers! The New York Times reports that plantations in India's top coffee-growing region have been adding bed-and-breakfast-type lodging for guests to help offset the uncertainty of the coffee market. In addition to drinking freshly roasted coffee from the plantations, tourists can also hike, climb nearby Mount Tadiandamol and visit the Nalaknad Palace. However, for coffee enthusiasts, the chief draw remains getting as close as possible to your favorite beverage. Some of the most respected brands of coffee in the world source their beans from this region, including Italy's Illy. To enter India, US citizens need both a valid passport and an Indian visa. You wi

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