India’s leading travel search engine, Zoomtra.com, has launched a contribution platform for travel bloggers.

The platform named Travel Blogs is a collection of hand-picked blogs written by some of the most eminent travel bloggers of the country. It is a one-of-its-kind platform that will enable travel bloggers from India to showcase and share their travel experiences

The Travel blogs  provide readers a neutral resource for authentic travel information on various places in India and empower bloggers with a platform to reach millions of readers in India and across the globe.

Check it here

The country of India is very old and complex. It is one of the oldest and greatest civilizations in the world covering an span of approximately 5000 years. It is a land where the history rewinds itself and brings ahead an image that surprises you with the timeless magic of historic fervor.

From the smallest ignored monument to the majestic Taj Mahal; the mighty snow covered Himalayas to dense forests; exciting wildlife to lazy idyllic walks; adventure sports to soft lilting music; eternal rivers to majestic sea; blazing deserts to golden beaches; lovely lakes to eye-catching waterfalls; shimmering sands to rippling waves, colourful fairs & festivals to warm & friendly hospitality of the people…….There is a special magic to India. A new discovery every time……a new magic again.

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White Russian Run

The White Russian Run is a crazy motor rally across the hidden and forgotten regions of Eastern Europe. This Challenge is a race for the enthusiasts and a perfect mental recreation for those who are interested in the region and dare enough to sign up.

The Gujarat government is planning a fleet of distinctively coloured auto-rickshaws, very different from the green-yellow paint combination of three-wheelers plying the state roads today. It plans to offer a toll-free number, ‘109′. And it wants to turn the rickshaw into the poor man’s Rolls Royce with services such as phone, newspapers, bottled water and music.

The political leaders ranging from Gaddar of the Public War Group (PWG) to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi find an invaluable communication tool in the rickshaw. Gaddar wrote his first song on an auto rickshaw driver and now Modi plans a ‘dial-a-rickshaw’ service in Ahmedabad.

It is not as ludicrous as it may sound. Modi understands the pulse of his people and the way an autorickshaw connects with the masses. Whatever the motives, it is an innovative idea whose time may have come.

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Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is often called The Gateway to South India. Established by the British in the 17th century, the city is known for its rich arts scene. It is also home to Kollywood, the southern Indian film industry.

Poet, painter, photographer and writer Sharanya Manivannan, 23, says the city’s cultural vibrancy gives her all the inspiration she needs for her work. She has just published Witchcraft, a collection of poems, and is working on a novel titled Constellation Of Scars.

When she needs a break, she grabs her camera and goes looking for the perfect shot among the city’s colourful streets, temples, old buildings and beaches.

Click below for full article and tips from Sharanya to exploring Chennai, with or without a camera in hand-

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Vetran

The rickshaws which were used in CEAT Mumbai Xpress- 2008 have been brought back to Chennai. These heroes will be remembered..  Click here for full photo album.

Most of these beauties are for sale to the ardent collectors in ‘AS IN’ condition, or you may choose to give our pimps a hand in making it the meanest pimped autorickshaw around!

The humble auto rickshaw is hailed as kitschy and cool, as it springs up in ads and art as the ultimate metaphor for a crazy, urban life.

A wobbly three-wheeler that trundles through the traffic, its two-stroke engine lugging four people at a Prozac pace of 40km/hr, the autorickshaw hasn’t been the most stylish vehicle in town. Roger Moore might have dodged a chase in it and Rajinikant might have serenaded it in a Tamil blockbuster, but the “auto” — our diminutive pet name for autorickshaw — had not been hailed as either cool or kitschy. Not until now. Probably for the first time since a plucky little version rolled out of a shed in suburban Bombay in 1957, the autorickshaw is springing up in ads and art as the metaphor for Indian urban life. Auto has become the motif.

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Hot on the heals of the Honda Unicorn will come the first Honda three-wheeler, a Honda auto rickshaw that will take on the likes of the ubiquitous Bajaj rickshaw and the Piaggio Ape.

The new rickshaw from Honda will feature a modified Honda Eterno engine (150 cc), and may later be offered in a 200 cc version too.

So after making its mark in the scooter market and winning the battle with India’s largest scooter manufacturer; and about to launch a motorcycle that will take on the same manufacturer’s best-selling motorcycle, Honda India is about to take on the same auto manufacturer in the three-wheeled passenger segment too. Very, very interesting.

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CEAT Mumbai Xpress- 2008 managed to get amazing press coverage over the entire event, not to mention countless articles which followed up after the challenge.

Click here for the English Press clippings Gallery
Click here for Vernacular Press clippings Gallery
Click here for Web Media Showcase Gallery

If you have any clipping / press coverage which is not in this collection please send us the same!

Rick Anduza, who rode in the CEAT Mumbai Xpress- 2008 from Chennai to Mumbai, opens his diary

“Taxi drivers and pedestrians were asked for directions. A common response was: “Go down two streets, go left, then straight, straight, straight until you find a circle. Take second left and go straight, straight, straight. When you see petrol station, you’ve gone too far…”. Twisting hand-motions accompanied the directions for “straight, straight, straight”! “ …. More here!