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The Adventures of Bindi Girl: Diving Deep Into the Heart of India
A SPIRITUAL TRAVELER'S SASSY TALE by the author of Truth A Spiritual Adventure of Love, Loss, and Liberation, coming April 2021! Erin Reese is a one-of-a-kind travel writer—a spiritual seeker and solo backpacker who dropped out of a successful career in corporate America, hit the road, and never looked back.
Packed with plenty of spicy curry, cows, and comedy, Bindi Girl takes us on one heck of a wild ride across India. From Dharamsala and the Dalai Lama to ashrams, yoga schools, and meditation melodramas, Bindi educates and entertains as she goes. We discover the Hindu deities, the tourist trap mafia, and the beach havens of the hippie trail. From “Guru Disney” to the holy hell of Varanasi, Bindi’s got us clamoring for more masala chai all the way.
When Bindi meets an attractive young stranger who is more than her mental and physical match, her fiery spirit is put to the test. He whisks her off to the furthest reaches of India—the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. There, in an isolated jungle, they attempt to live out a Robinson Crusoe fantasy. Will it be the Garden of Eden or end up a natural disaster? Among the wild beauty and danger of the islands and the kooky madness of “typical India,” Reese takes us deep into the heart of a country and her very self.
Bindi Girl is a gift to the traveler, the spiritual seeker, and the armchair tourist—anyone yearning for honest inspiration and a real kick to get out and truly live!
PRAISE FOR THE ADVENTURES OF BINDI GIRL
“Lovely, lyrical, gentle, and informative. It made my world bigger.”
~ James Fadiman, author of The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide and editor of Essential Sufism
“Erin Reese ‘gets’ the spirit of India. In reading her adventures, I could almost hear the crowds and smell the curry. But more than that, I felt blessed by the soulfulness of half-a-dozen millennia. Erin was born to be in India — and to write this book.”
~ Victoria Moran, author of Creating a Charmed Life and Shelter for the Spirit
“‘Milk-coming-out-of-your-nose’ hilarious at times, and heartrending naked revelation at others, Reese takes us along on her unsentimental spiritual journey through India as she fearlessly follows her heart through worlds few travelers experience. Bindi Girl is a must-read for anyone who yearns to travel within and without, and who is not afraid to be transformed in the process.”
~ Pamela Lund, author of Massively Networked
“Erin goes places, physically and metaphorically, few travelers dare to go. Her stories amuse, outrage, inspire and provoke. This isn’t the tale of someone who received a book advance jetting off business class for a few weeks in an ashram. This is third class train, steerage class ship, with a dash of indulgence thrown in. Erin is a gifted, special writer, and she’s the real deal as a traveler.”
~ Lynn Braz, editor and travel writer featured in The Dallas Morning News
“It’s like Eat, Pray, Love — with teeth.”
~ Jessica Shepherd, author of A Love Alchemist’s Notebook
“Reese reports on an India few outsiders get to witness — not the Goa parties or tourist sites or political turmoil, no. Instead she dives into the throbbing spiritual centre of India and tries to place her California soul amongst the gurus, mystics and visionaries that remain a constant of Indian religion. Yet Reese is no New Age tourist full of cosmic waffle. Her writing is both beautifully descriptive and very funny. She captures the sweaty heat of India, its madness and charm. Her own spiritual quest mixes with her lusts and frustrations to create a new kind of travel writing. If I ever return to India it will be with Bindi Girl as my guide.”
~ Garth Cartwright, author of Princes Amongst Journeys with Gypsy Musicians and More Miles than Journeys through American Music
Packed with plenty of spicy curry, cows, and comedy, Bindi Girl takes us on one heck of a wild ride across India. From Dharamsala and the Dalai Lama to ashrams, yoga schools, and meditation melodramas, Bindi educates and entertains as she goes. We discover the Hindu deities, the tourist trap mafia, and the beach havens of the hippie trail. From “Guru Disney” to the holy hell of Varanasi, Bindi’s got us clamoring for more masala chai all the way.
When Bindi meets an attractive young stranger who is more than her mental and physical match, her fiery spirit is put to the test. He whisks her off to the furthest reaches of India—the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. There, in an isolated jungle, they attempt to live out a Robinson Crusoe fantasy. Will it be the Garden of Eden or end up a natural disaster? Among the wild beauty and danger of the islands and the kooky madness of “typical India,” Reese takes us deep into the heart of a country and her very self.
Bindi Girl is a gift to the traveler, the spiritual seeker, and the armchair tourist—anyone yearning for honest inspiration and a real kick to get out and truly live!
PRAISE FOR THE ADVENTURES OF BINDI GIRL
“Lovely, lyrical, gentle, and informative. It made my world bigger.”
~ James Fadiman, author of The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide and editor of Essential Sufism
“Erin Reese ‘gets’ the spirit of India. In reading her adventures, I could almost hear the crowds and smell the curry. But more than that, I felt blessed by the soulfulness of half-a-dozen millennia. Erin was born to be in India — and to write this book.”
~ Victoria Moran, author of Creating a Charmed Life and Shelter for the Spirit
“‘Milk-coming-out-of-your-nose’ hilarious at times, and heartrending naked revelation at others, Reese takes us along on her unsentimental spiritual journey through India as she fearlessly follows her heart through worlds few travelers experience. Bindi Girl is a must-read for anyone who yearns to travel within and without, and who is not afraid to be transformed in the process.”
~ Pamela Lund, author of Massively Networked
“Erin goes places, physically and metaphorically, few travelers dare to go. Her stories amuse, outrage, inspire and provoke. This isn’t the tale of someone who received a book advance jetting off business class for a few weeks in an ashram. This is third class train, steerage class ship, with a dash of indulgence thrown in. Erin is a gifted, special writer, and she’s the real deal as a traveler.”
~ Lynn Braz, editor and travel writer featured in The Dallas Morning News
“It’s like Eat, Pray, Love — with teeth.”
~ Jessica Shepherd, author of A Love Alchemist’s Notebook
“Reese reports on an India few outsiders get to witness — not the Goa parties or tourist sites or political turmoil, no. Instead she dives into the throbbing spiritual centre of India and tries to place her California soul amongst the gurus, mystics and visionaries that remain a constant of Indian religion. Yet Reese is no New Age tourist full of cosmic waffle. Her writing is both beautifully descriptive and very funny. She captures the sweaty heat of India, its madness and charm. Her own spiritual quest mixes with her lusts and frustrations to create a new kind of travel writing. If I ever return to India it will be with Bindi Girl as my guide.”
~ Garth Cartwright, author of Princes Amongst Journeys with Gypsy Musicians and More Miles than Journeys through American Music
260 pages, Paperback
First published March 17, 2011
32 people are currently reading
322 people want to read
About the author
Erin Reese
5 books9 followersErin Reese is a self-described "travel and soul" writer and the author of the new spiritual memoir Truth Seeker: A Spiritual Adventure of Love, Loss, and Liberation, which tells the story of a woman's existential crisis, the end of seeking, and the willingness to lose everything to find true, lasting freedom. Truth Seeker is the long-awaited sequel to the spiritual travel book, The Adventures of Bindi Girl: Diving Deep Into the Heart of India.
Erin is also a spiritual counselor, non-dual philosophy teacher, and intuitive consultant for her students and clients around the world. She lives in the High Sierra of Northern California. For more information on consultations, teachings, and articles, visit erinreese.com.
Erin is also a spiritual counselor, non-dual philosophy teacher, and intuitive consultant for her students and clients around the world. She lives in the High Sierra of Northern California. For more information on consultations, teachings, and articles, visit erinreese.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
March 14, 2015
This book can be summed up as: white American woman spends a few months travelling around India and, unforgivably, doesn't seem to meet any Indian people or appear remotely interested in doing so, only to hang out with her fellow westerners who are also travelling around India, to, like, totally find themselves spiritually, man. I was especially keen to read the author's experiences visiting Pune because a good friend of mine lives there, but no no, she doesn't care at all about anything in Pune or meeting any people who might actually live in or come from Pune or experiencing any culture or anything at all that's Punean (or whatever the correct adjective is) - she only goes to that famous ashram there whose name currently escapes me and - surprise surprise! - meets and talks to and hangs out solely with other white people, the kind of white people who go to India to hang out at ashrams with other annoying white people. Grrrrr. Multiply this by dozens of other places and you have the book. After a while the lack of mention of any Indian people in India made me laugh out loud and shake my head. Two stars because I'm feeling generous.
November 5, 2012
Long before traveling to India became de rigueur for everyone who's ever taken a yoga class, Erin Reese had begun combing the entire subcontinent in her quest for a deeper, decidedly unWestern, experience of life. What I love most about Bindi Girl is that Erin presents the full picture of longterm travel in a destination that is usually either glorified or vilified. Erin takes readers to the heights of India's attributes--the sights, smells, sounds, mountains, cities, islands, festivals, colors and colorful people--and also to the depths of the country's underbelly. Erin's accomplished storytelling is underscored by her voice--crisp, quirky, funny, often biting, always original.
During her years in India, Erin has spent the requisite time in ashrams, Vipassana centers and sitting at the feet of her Guru. She's also lived the life of an Indian beach bum, had love affairs and traveled by train and ship 3rd-class (which, trust me, requires serious kahunas). Erin's budget traveling style (generally, under $10 a day) comes with an enormous payoff for Erin and her readers. Instead of throwing money at India in an attempt to make her experience more comfortable, she finds a way to experience all of India for as few rupees as possible. Her resourcefulness leads to alternatively scary, disgusting, comical and truly heartwarming situations. I would bet few Westerners know India's geography, culture and people as well as Erin does.
Besides entertaining, Bindi Girl also enlightens. Readers travel along with Erin as she follows her intuition from Rishikesh (a Himalayan foothill mecca for Western travelers) to the beaches of South India. Readers get to know the eclectic group of fellow travelers who join Erin for stretches of her journey. And while spirituality plays a huge role in Erin's Indian discoveries, the book remains adventuresome in tone and experience.
Anyone--especially solo travelers--who has been to India will LOVE Bindi Girl. Finally, you'll have someone to laugh with over the billions of absurdities encountered daily in India. If you're planning a trip to India, you must read this book. It is the best book out there for getting a solid feel of the country.
Full disclosure: I happen to know Erin Reese personally and I also happen to be a frequent traveler to India. And that's what makes Bindi Girl all the more impressive to me. I'm a tough critic. I did not expect to relish Bindi Girl as much as I did. Erin's writing is just so damn good.
Erin does things in a way I could not imagine doing them (her budget, her willingness to take overnight buses and trains from one end of the country to the other, her considerable time spent in Bombay and Calcutta, places I avoid completely). She has had the richest, sexiest, funniest experience of India that is available in book form.
During her years in India, Erin has spent the requisite time in ashrams, Vipassana centers and sitting at the feet of her Guru. She's also lived the life of an Indian beach bum, had love affairs and traveled by train and ship 3rd-class (which, trust me, requires serious kahunas). Erin's budget traveling style (generally, under $10 a day) comes with an enormous payoff for Erin and her readers. Instead of throwing money at India in an attempt to make her experience more comfortable, she finds a way to experience all of India for as few rupees as possible. Her resourcefulness leads to alternatively scary, disgusting, comical and truly heartwarming situations. I would bet few Westerners know India's geography, culture and people as well as Erin does.
Besides entertaining, Bindi Girl also enlightens. Readers travel along with Erin as she follows her intuition from Rishikesh (a Himalayan foothill mecca for Western travelers) to the beaches of South India. Readers get to know the eclectic group of fellow travelers who join Erin for stretches of her journey. And while spirituality plays a huge role in Erin's Indian discoveries, the book remains adventuresome in tone and experience.
Anyone--especially solo travelers--who has been to India will LOVE Bindi Girl. Finally, you'll have someone to laugh with over the billions of absurdities encountered daily in India. If you're planning a trip to India, you must read this book. It is the best book out there for getting a solid feel of the country.
Full disclosure: I happen to know Erin Reese personally and I also happen to be a frequent traveler to India. And that's what makes Bindi Girl all the more impressive to me. I'm a tough critic. I did not expect to relish Bindi Girl as much as I did. Erin's writing is just so damn good.
Erin does things in a way I could not imagine doing them (her budget, her willingness to take overnight buses and trains from one end of the country to the other, her considerable time spent in Bombay and Calcutta, places I avoid completely). She has had the richest, sexiest, funniest experience of India that is available in book form.
December 5, 2024
Let me start off with this caveat: I like the ideas of self-publishing and Kindle free downloads, however, self-publishing shouldn't make you exempt from editing your text.
I really struggle reading travel journals such as this one. The overly-conversational writing style, the poor punctuation, the poor grammar, and the inconsistent verb tenses drive me mad. Erin Reese's fondness for em dashes and emphasis via ALL CAPS and exclamation points add to my frustration.
And that's just the physical challenge; the mental test -- asking oneself, "Can I do it? Why am I doing this? Who cares?!" -- is another dimension altogether. In actuality, the silence part -- not speaking for ten days -- is a beautiful thing.
It boils down to this: reading about successful women quitting good jobs and running off to foreign lands to discover themselves and the meaning of life should be enlightening and inspiring. Rather, I've found it to be annoying, and slogging through the unedited, mediocre writing of such adventures is doubly annoying.
Maybe Erin Reese, Elizabeth Gilbert, et al should consider trading their one high-paying jobs for three, shitty minimum wage jobs, taking the bus, and living in Section 8 housing for a transformative experience. Sadly, such an experience wouldn't help with poor grammar and poor writing.
This was an Amazon Kindle freebie, but the price doesn't justify the torture of slogging through a text so desperately in need of a good editor. I'm marking this book as "finished" at 12% on my Kindle.
I really struggle reading travel journals such as this one. The overly-conversational writing style, the poor punctuation, the poor grammar, and the inconsistent verb tenses drive me mad. Erin Reese's fondness for em dashes and emphasis via ALL CAPS and exclamation points add to my frustration.
And that's just the physical challenge; the mental test -- asking oneself, "Can I do it? Why am I doing this? Who cares?!" -- is another dimension altogether. In actuality, the silence part -- not speaking for ten days -- is a beautiful thing.
It boils down to this: reading about successful women quitting good jobs and running off to foreign lands to discover themselves and the meaning of life should be enlightening and inspiring. Rather, I've found it to be annoying, and slogging through the unedited, mediocre writing of such adventures is doubly annoying.
Maybe Erin Reese, Elizabeth Gilbert, et al should consider trading their one high-paying jobs for three, shitty minimum wage jobs, taking the bus, and living in Section 8 housing for a transformative experience. Sadly, such an experience wouldn't help with poor grammar and poor writing.
This was an Amazon Kindle freebie, but the price doesn't justify the torture of slogging through a text so desperately in need of a good editor. I'm marking this book as "finished" at 12% on my Kindle.
September 18, 2012
After reading some of the reviews here, I think its important to understand what this book is. It is a travelogue, an experiential diary of a woman who does what many women & men would love to do but only dream of...she finds the courage to let go of a life that is not working for her and set sail on a voyage that will permanently change her life. She doesn't have a neat, tidy journey and as she bounces around looking for her self, her writing reflects this. But you also get a sense of Erin's deep love for the country, and the inner transformation taking place. I look forward to Erin's next book!
August 9, 2012
Erin Reese described India in such a way I could almost imagine myself there. The good, the bad, and the smelly. Her descriptions and experiences made me want to jump on a plane and go to the Heart. Now if I could only somehow travel around Mother India with her...
February 22, 2012
BINDI GIRL: PUTTING THE SELF INTO SELF DISCOVERY
If like me you believe that the heart of a Nation is its people then you may be disappointed to discover this is less a tale from India’s heart and more a voyage of self discovery in which its people appear mostly as chai wallahs, shopkeepers and beggars.
The Westerners Reece meets come off a bit better but rarely get described in greater detail than their name nationality and approximate age - even Jan, the Czech man she travels with for the last quarter of the book has only a minor supporting role, we never get to know him.
However for the first half of the book the absence of characters, likable or otherwise, is an advantage because Bindi Girl is a superb companion for anyone wishing to get to grips with India’s spiritual side, a subject on which Reece clearly has not just a sound working knowledge but a deep respect as well.
She steers us through the labyrinthine world of Hindu deities, the intricacies of meditation, yoga, Buddhism the vagaries of Rainbow gatherings and India’s curious enclaves of long stay Westerners.
Her spiritual outlook also allows her to be philosophical not only about the many of the downsides to foreign travel, insects, heat, disease but also the unpleasant situations in which solo female travellers sometimes find themselves and where most of us would become infuriated Reese simply checks in with her mental state and uses these incidents, to spring back into action like a form of spiritual judo.
As a writer she has considerable descriptive powers and her chirpy, personable style and uncluttered solo perspective work very well initially but as Bindi Girl unfolds and Reese’s plans, and purpose become less and less clear more pages are devoted to her dreams and thoughts, her relief at finding accommodation with decent facilities and staying in huts on beautiful beaches.
As her frequent descriptions of paradise blur into each other the latter part of the book starts to read less like an exploration of India’s heart and more like a round robin holiday email from someone with too much time on their hands.
We also get very little feel for India as a country despite that fact that she regularly traverses great swathes of it by bus and train.
At the very end of the book she gives us a brief snapshot of some of the poverty and squalor that lies much closer to India’s heart than its beaches and temples but its not enough to make Bindi Girl live up to its title ambitious title and by the end we feel as relieved as she does that the journey is finally over.
If like me you believe that the heart of a Nation is its people then you may be disappointed to discover this is less a tale from India’s heart and more a voyage of self discovery in which its people appear mostly as chai wallahs, shopkeepers and beggars.
The Westerners Reece meets come off a bit better but rarely get described in greater detail than their name nationality and approximate age - even Jan, the Czech man she travels with for the last quarter of the book has only a minor supporting role, we never get to know him.
However for the first half of the book the absence of characters, likable or otherwise, is an advantage because Bindi Girl is a superb companion for anyone wishing to get to grips with India’s spiritual side, a subject on which Reece clearly has not just a sound working knowledge but a deep respect as well.
She steers us through the labyrinthine world of Hindu deities, the intricacies of meditation, yoga, Buddhism the vagaries of Rainbow gatherings and India’s curious enclaves of long stay Westerners.
Her spiritual outlook also allows her to be philosophical not only about the many of the downsides to foreign travel, insects, heat, disease but also the unpleasant situations in which solo female travellers sometimes find themselves and where most of us would become infuriated Reese simply checks in with her mental state and uses these incidents, to spring back into action like a form of spiritual judo.
As a writer she has considerable descriptive powers and her chirpy, personable style and uncluttered solo perspective work very well initially but as Bindi Girl unfolds and Reese’s plans, and purpose become less and less clear more pages are devoted to her dreams and thoughts, her relief at finding accommodation with decent facilities and staying in huts on beautiful beaches.
As her frequent descriptions of paradise blur into each other the latter part of the book starts to read less like an exploration of India’s heart and more like a round robin holiday email from someone with too much time on their hands.
We also get very little feel for India as a country despite that fact that she regularly traverses great swathes of it by bus and train.
At the very end of the book she gives us a brief snapshot of some of the poverty and squalor that lies much closer to India’s heart than its beaches and temples but its not enough to make Bindi Girl live up to its title ambitious title and by the end we feel as relieved as she does that the journey is finally over.
April 27, 2013
If you are looking for more of a travel guide about India, then this isn't your book. However, that being said, if you are looking for a well written and interesting travel log that reads like a personal memoir, this is certainly a good book to choose. I enjoyed reading the stories of this woman's travels through India and her unique and spiritual perspective on the land, people and customs. There are portions of this book that really made me want to sell my stuff and take off on an adventure as well! Something about the way she brings a carefree spirit of adventure to her readers makes you want to join her on her magical trek through an unknown world.
Erin Reese has a way of using humor throughout her writing that can make you smile from page to page and just have a really good time while you enjoy her work. She has taken the highlights of her experiences and introduced us to a land that is still shrouded in mystery, exposing some of the most unique and interesting little known facts about India. While there are parts of this book that are personal, Erin has written a book that is both touching and absorbing. This book is about life, love, learning and travel.
I was both fascinated by her descriptions and excited by the idea of just getting up and going, with no reservations. This woman has experienced things that many of us will only read about. There is also a travel planning section at the back with some good, practical advice--no matter where you plan to travel. Overall I thought the author had a pretty unique voice and I would read another book by her. It was a journey that I won't soon forget.
Erin Reese has a way of using humor throughout her writing that can make you smile from page to page and just have a really good time while you enjoy her work. She has taken the highlights of her experiences and introduced us to a land that is still shrouded in mystery, exposing some of the most unique and interesting little known facts about India. While there are parts of this book that are personal, Erin has written a book that is both touching and absorbing. This book is about life, love, learning and travel.
I was both fascinated by her descriptions and excited by the idea of just getting up and going, with no reservations. This woman has experienced things that many of us will only read about. There is also a travel planning section at the back with some good, practical advice--no matter where you plan to travel. Overall I thought the author had a pretty unique voice and I would read another book by her. It was a journey that I won't soon forget.
January 10, 2012
It was FUN!! It really made me want to venture outside of my shell and experience something new - life! She tells her story in a non-judgmental way. She simply just tells of her experiences - beautiful. I highly recommend this book if you want an "experience" and some fun. At the end she gives you ideas of what you should bring with you on such a travel experience that the guide books leave out. She wrestled snakes, sand fleas, falling coconuts, urine smells wafting in your face on the ack-barf boat, fangy-hand-sized tarantula looking spiders, huge cockroaches, no privacy, going without bathing for weeks at a time, and she had the time of her life she never wanted to leave - but "go west" started calling to her when she decided to make a plan to stay awhile longer - HA - she says "if you want to make the god's laugh - tell them your plans." Early on in the book she says the one thing about India - there are no plans! Hold onto your seat and enjoy the ride.
October 27, 2012
This book reads like a grocery list of places the author has been and people she has met. It lacks substance.
The book is constructed with chronological blog entries that make the story somewhat disjointed. The reader, at least this reader, feels like she missed some important part of the story from one chapter/blog entry to the next.
There are a lot of yoga and Hindu Gods references that can get a bit annoying when you are not familiar with one or the others.
As I said at the beginning, I felt the book lacked substance. The emotions that were shared by the author all felt fake and over the top.
Maybe I just didn't get it. Although I am interested in spirituality and Buddhism and have read about both, the way it was presented in this book just wasn't my cup of chai.
The book is constructed with chronological blog entries that make the story somewhat disjointed. The reader, at least this reader, feels like she missed some important part of the story from one chapter/blog entry to the next.
There are a lot of yoga and Hindu Gods references that can get a bit annoying when you are not familiar with one or the others.
As I said at the beginning, I felt the book lacked substance. The emotions that were shared by the author all felt fake and over the top.
Maybe I just didn't get it. Although I am interested in spirituality and Buddhism and have read about both, the way it was presented in this book just wasn't my cup of chai.
January 24, 2012
After something of a muddled and confused start, this non-fiction romp turned out to be a warm and loving portrayal of a beautiful country. Bindi Girl tells us the good and the bad but she tells it with the love of someone who knows nothing is perfect. I really enjoyed this book.
June 23, 2015
Meh, it was okay. For someone who professes to love Indian culture she doesn't really examine it. I do know how much she loves certain beaches now though; and how superior she feels to her fellow travelers and most of humanity.
January 28, 2012
I had a blast on Erin's adventure. I really connected with her journey and hope to someday have my own India adventure.
April 1, 2013
wonderful read ...a great adventure and journey of self discover as well as a beautiful and spiritual picture of India
June 20, 2019
Most people who go to India have one of two reactions; they either love it and can’t wait to return, or they hate it and would eat their own eyeballs rather than set foot on Indian soil a second time. I’m firmly in the ‘Love’ camp and I’m always interested to read accounts of how other people respond to a country that means so much to me. I don’t particularly mind whether they love it or hate it so long as they write well. I bought ‘Adventures of Bindi Girl – Diving Deep into the Heart of India’ by Erin Reese to read on my Kindle.
Every traveller who loves the country has their own reasons and they’re often different from mine. Reese is the classic ‘spiritual’ traveller – the ‘dippy hippy’ who immerses herself in spirituality, takes classes in meditation and spends time in ashrams contemplating her navel. Such an approach is often referred to as ‘looking for yourself’. Personally, it’s never appealed to me as I’ve never knowingly ‘lost’ myself but I am interested in understanding how other people react to one of the world’s most fascinating and complex cultures.
The book tells the story of two extended trips which Reese took to India, separated by a period of four years. Reese had a very successful career as a California recruitment consultant with a fabulous flat, loads of money and a dream lifestyle but was looking for a new way of life. She sold up, rehomed her cat and flew to India. I can’t help but admire the energy it takes to travel solo in India on a budget and for periods of several months and especially to make your first trip to this overwhelming country on your own. However, whilst I can admire her stamina, I can’t entirely relate to her motivations as I find a lot of her spiritual (pardon my language) ‘claptrap’ hard to handle.
Reese’s India is very different from the country I love – even when her visits include many places where I’ve also spent time her experience rarely matches up with mine. Her routes are very much ON the beaten track and largely illogical. It’s a good thing that no map is provided or readers would soon realise that she’s basically bouncing about all over the place, zipping back and forth and up and down the country without much of a plan. Love it or hate it I'm a planner, my routes have to make some kind of sense. Her beaten track is the hippy trail of ashrams interspersed with long periods of beach life and a very occasional bit of slightly more conventional tourism. Hers is the India of two-dollar a night accommodation, of not washing very often and of relying rather too much on the recommendations of the Lonely Planet, online forums or suggestions on notice boards in cheap hostels. It’s a journey based on schlepping from one hippy hotspot to the next, lying in hammocks, doing yoga and getting a massage. It doesn't quite hit the depths of getting stoned and living off banana pancakes but it's heading in that direction. In effect, it’s spiritual backpacking. At one point she finds a “new community of groovy folks living on a beach straight out of a movie set” and joins a big celebration called the ‘Rainbow Gathering’ on the Konkan Coast. She finds the place from a few instructions left on a notice board, clearly picturing herself as an extra in Alex Garland’s book, ‘The Beach’.
When she writes about interactions with the local people, I enjoy what she has to say but there aren’t enough of them. Most of her interactions are with fellow travellers and whilst she writes some fun profiles of these people, they’re not what I was looking for.
I particularly struggle with all the ashram stuff. If, like me, you were disappointed by the India section of Elizabeth Gilbert’s book ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ then you’re going to go crazy reading about gurus and meditation and deep inner ‘stuff’. Even Bindi Girl can’t deal with too much of it – after visiting the infamous ‘Osho’ ashram complete with mandatory HIV testing (I’d definitely want my own clean needles for that) and obligatory special purple robes, she reveals “That was the most bizarre f***ing thing I have ever experienced” and runs away as quickly as her feet can carry her, opining that instead of feeling calmer and at peace, every day there made her crazier. She also tells us that she didn’t see anyone having sex on the lawn – just in case we wondered.
There are moments when I really enjoyed this when I recognised that she ‘got’ India but they weren’t in the spiritual passages. In Varanasi, she asks a boatman why Indians play music so loud at 5.30 am and is told that “It’s so everyone can ENJOY, no matter where they are in the city”. Now THAT is a true Indian insight – something everyone who visits will ask themselves but few will work out. It’s the opposite of the idiot on the Underground forcing his music on the fellow passengers through tiny earphones – in India they ‘pump up the music’ because they want everyone else to share in their enjoyment.
Returning to America, Erin is a changed woman. When a woman in the supermarket reveals how excited she is about ‘grillable cheese’ – described by Erin as ‘modified flavoured plastic that won’t burn on the BBQ’, we know it won’t be long until she’s heading back to India.
Her second trip annoyed me slightly less than the first. There was more interaction with local people, slightly less of the mumbo jumbo. At one point she “lost my sense of humor, overcome by the heat, lack of proper nutrition and incessant harassment by pesky vendors” – she’s getting wise to the scams and schemes played out to part an unwary backpacker from her money. All she needs to fix the negativity is a guitar – well it would be, wouldn’t it – and a tall, blond, blue eyed Czech with a bicycle that he’s just ridden all the way from Prague. Jan lures her off to the Andaman Islands on a boat that sounds like a floating cesspit. “Imagine hundreds of Indian women pissing and shitting at, near or on your feet while you’re standing in the sewage collection stinkpot that is the third-class ladies’ toilet”. The injection of a little bit of romance and a handsome hero rescues the second part of the book from getting too introspective.
The advent of blogging has no doubt led a lot of people to think that all it takes to make a book is to take bits of your blog and stick them all together. Personally, I find reading blogs difficult at the best of times and I suspect they encourage people to record rather too many fine details and e-book publishing sadly doesn’t seem to encourage enough active editing. If you have a spiritual side to you, love your yoga, dream of spending a few months in a lotus position and ‘finding’ yourself, then I would say that this is a book you will find useful and it may help you to decide if doing India the way Erin did is for you. If you aren’t into yoga and meditation, don’t want to travel on a couple of dollars a day and stay in hovels and you want to know more about India, I’d recommend maybe giving this a miss. If you’d like a bit of humour, skip this and try 'Yoga School Dropout' by Lucy Edge, 'Holy Cow' by Sarah MacDonald or skip the yoga stuff altogether and try ‘Not Very Bollywood at All by Richard Beeching. I don't regret reading Bindi Girl but I find this book to be very disposable, easy to forget and not something I'd read more than once.
Every traveller who loves the country has their own reasons and they’re often different from mine. Reese is the classic ‘spiritual’ traveller – the ‘dippy hippy’ who immerses herself in spirituality, takes classes in meditation and spends time in ashrams contemplating her navel. Such an approach is often referred to as ‘looking for yourself’. Personally, it’s never appealed to me as I’ve never knowingly ‘lost’ myself but I am interested in understanding how other people react to one of the world’s most fascinating and complex cultures.
The book tells the story of two extended trips which Reese took to India, separated by a period of four years. Reese had a very successful career as a California recruitment consultant with a fabulous flat, loads of money and a dream lifestyle but was looking for a new way of life. She sold up, rehomed her cat and flew to India. I can’t help but admire the energy it takes to travel solo in India on a budget and for periods of several months and especially to make your first trip to this overwhelming country on your own. However, whilst I can admire her stamina, I can’t entirely relate to her motivations as I find a lot of her spiritual (pardon my language) ‘claptrap’ hard to handle.
Reese’s India is very different from the country I love – even when her visits include many places where I’ve also spent time her experience rarely matches up with mine. Her routes are very much ON the beaten track and largely illogical. It’s a good thing that no map is provided or readers would soon realise that she’s basically bouncing about all over the place, zipping back and forth and up and down the country without much of a plan. Love it or hate it I'm a planner, my routes have to make some kind of sense. Her beaten track is the hippy trail of ashrams interspersed with long periods of beach life and a very occasional bit of slightly more conventional tourism. Hers is the India of two-dollar a night accommodation, of not washing very often and of relying rather too much on the recommendations of the Lonely Planet, online forums or suggestions on notice boards in cheap hostels. It’s a journey based on schlepping from one hippy hotspot to the next, lying in hammocks, doing yoga and getting a massage. It doesn't quite hit the depths of getting stoned and living off banana pancakes but it's heading in that direction. In effect, it’s spiritual backpacking. At one point she finds a “new community of groovy folks living on a beach straight out of a movie set” and joins a big celebration called the ‘Rainbow Gathering’ on the Konkan Coast. She finds the place from a few instructions left on a notice board, clearly picturing herself as an extra in Alex Garland’s book, ‘The Beach’.
When she writes about interactions with the local people, I enjoy what she has to say but there aren’t enough of them. Most of her interactions are with fellow travellers and whilst she writes some fun profiles of these people, they’re not what I was looking for.
I particularly struggle with all the ashram stuff. If, like me, you were disappointed by the India section of Elizabeth Gilbert’s book ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ then you’re going to go crazy reading about gurus and meditation and deep inner ‘stuff’. Even Bindi Girl can’t deal with too much of it – after visiting the infamous ‘Osho’ ashram complete with mandatory HIV testing (I’d definitely want my own clean needles for that) and obligatory special purple robes, she reveals “That was the most bizarre f***ing thing I have ever experienced” and runs away as quickly as her feet can carry her, opining that instead of feeling calmer and at peace, every day there made her crazier. She also tells us that she didn’t see anyone having sex on the lawn – just in case we wondered.
There are moments when I really enjoyed this when I recognised that she ‘got’ India but they weren’t in the spiritual passages. In Varanasi, she asks a boatman why Indians play music so loud at 5.30 am and is told that “It’s so everyone can ENJOY, no matter where they are in the city”. Now THAT is a true Indian insight – something everyone who visits will ask themselves but few will work out. It’s the opposite of the idiot on the Underground forcing his music on the fellow passengers through tiny earphones – in India they ‘pump up the music’ because they want everyone else to share in their enjoyment.
Returning to America, Erin is a changed woman. When a woman in the supermarket reveals how excited she is about ‘grillable cheese’ – described by Erin as ‘modified flavoured plastic that won’t burn on the BBQ’, we know it won’t be long until she’s heading back to India.
Her second trip annoyed me slightly less than the first. There was more interaction with local people, slightly less of the mumbo jumbo. At one point she “lost my sense of humor, overcome by the heat, lack of proper nutrition and incessant harassment by pesky vendors” – she’s getting wise to the scams and schemes played out to part an unwary backpacker from her money. All she needs to fix the negativity is a guitar – well it would be, wouldn’t it – and a tall, blond, blue eyed Czech with a bicycle that he’s just ridden all the way from Prague. Jan lures her off to the Andaman Islands on a boat that sounds like a floating cesspit. “Imagine hundreds of Indian women pissing and shitting at, near or on your feet while you’re standing in the sewage collection stinkpot that is the third-class ladies’ toilet”. The injection of a little bit of romance and a handsome hero rescues the second part of the book from getting too introspective.
The advent of blogging has no doubt led a lot of people to think that all it takes to make a book is to take bits of your blog and stick them all together. Personally, I find reading blogs difficult at the best of times and I suspect they encourage people to record rather too many fine details and e-book publishing sadly doesn’t seem to encourage enough active editing. If you have a spiritual side to you, love your yoga, dream of spending a few months in a lotus position and ‘finding’ yourself, then I would say that this is a book you will find useful and it may help you to decide if doing India the way Erin did is for you. If you aren’t into yoga and meditation, don’t want to travel on a couple of dollars a day and stay in hovels and you want to know more about India, I’d recommend maybe giving this a miss. If you’d like a bit of humour, skip this and try 'Yoga School Dropout' by Lucy Edge, 'Holy Cow' by Sarah MacDonald or skip the yoga stuff altogether and try ‘Not Very Bollywood at All by Richard Beeching. I don't regret reading Bindi Girl but I find this book to be very disposable, easy to forget and not something I'd read more than once.
April 17, 2022
This is a pretty good travel story that I enjoyed all the while thinking, "I'd love to see that" coupled with "nope, not for me". It would have been better with more interaction with locals. She mainly spent time with other travelers, which is fine, but had only slight interaction with the people except for buying things. I hoped to get real insight to things like the celebration of Holi but she glossed over it in a few sentences while going through yoga sessions at length. Still, I admire her bravery and sense of adventure to travel alone, for the most part, across the world.
February 17, 2018
I'm a sucker for a travel book and this one, like most others, left me inspired by the author's willingness to go adventuring on her own and her positive attitude. However, she was a little too 'new-agey' for me and had me rolling my eyes at various points. But she was open about who she was and what she was about, so that was purely a difference in beliefs between author and reader. It was a quick and easy read, so it was worth the time it took to finish.
November 26, 2017
Of interest in this book was the spunky young lady following her dreams... traveling the non touristy portions of India, living meagerly and studying meditation with the guru's. I greatly appreciated her enthusiasm and head-strong attitudes to getting and doing what she wanted! Quick, easy treadmill read.
May 30, 2022
love, love, love
I like to read books that evoke a sense of connection with spirit (or whatever you call it), and this book did that completely, all the way through. It touched my heart.
I like to read books that evoke a sense of connection with spirit (or whatever you call it), and this book did that completely, all the way through. It touched my heart.
September 1, 2020
I lost interest and didn’t finish this book.
April 4, 2021
Erin's love for India comes through, in this funny and soulful account of her first encounter with India-the good, the bad, and the ugly- making an enchanting "bhel puri" mix.
September 10, 2024
An ok travel tale, even if the author is a full of energy, risk taker. I worried about her safety on several different levels, and her attempts at attaining "spirituality" were troubling.
March 1, 2020
Erin Reese is a one of kind travel writer, I mean she wrote that as the blurb of her groundbreaking memoir so it must be true, right? I mean white women working in corporate world never chuck their jobs and no one ever especially not white Westerns has ever decided they found spiritual enlightenment in India. Why even her nickname Bindi Girl is super unique and white women never use the Indian decorations which have religious and spiritual meaning as nothing more than costume fixtures. I mean so what if the picture she choose to use on the cover is her covered in various marks and make-up that aren't even bindis and it's taken at Burning Man. I mean if an event in the Nevada desert that's 97% white people doesn't exemplify the "Heart of India" and what a Erin Reese Bindi Girl is all about- what does?
What makes Erin such a one of kind travel writer you ask?
for one thing she was a backpacker- I know right crazy, she didn't stay at luxury resorts and didn't even bring a straight iron. Backpacking is very rare and it;s something that no gap year 18 year old kid from the UK or Israeli post military service ever does in India. She carried her OWN LUGGGAGE! who does that? Other than the literally of millions of backpackers who have visited India.
Yes I hear you saying but haven't there been backpackers close to a century, isn't there even a whole series of travel books all about backpackers Lonely something or other?
Why yes there is but here's where Erin is very unique- she backpacked SOLO. Yes can you imagine a women in 2010 all by herself in one of the most widely traveled and visited counties in the world that has massive networks all over the country for backpackers and where it's extremely cheap to travel and English is widely spoken being on trains and buses alone. I mean just because there are literally 100's of memoirs of solo female travelers dating back centuries even in India Erin is clearly unique in her experience.
And we know it's unique because what does Erin, I mean Bindi Girl find at the Heart of India, herself of course. Because nothing says a subcontinent with a history 1000's and 1000's of years old and deeply connectioned to the centuries old experiences of brown people and non-Christian religions and beliefs like a white lady who think enlightenment comes from a work break trip. Erin knows that it's not the language, the history, the culture or even the complex political and cross class issues that are at the heart of India. Nope it's her personal self fulfillment and what she can get out her holiday, oops I mean solo backpacking spiritual journey.
For her being such a unique travel writer, if you are Indian, have lived in India, backpacked in India (or dealt with backpackers in India) or gone to Burning Man (and I will cop to all of that) you have met an Erin. You may have been Erin yourself but the good thing is you don't have to stay an Erin and like most of the Indians and many of even the Westerns that she spent almost all her time with you can just roll your eyes and then forget about Erin and all her uniqueness. Not that Erin actually interacted with many Indian as since the heart of India is her own white reflection she magically found it through other white travelers that she travelled with on her "solo" travels.
While this book is on kindle you can find it like we did in a free pile of books in Berkeley where there was "preview copy" with a personal inscription to her dear friend who clearly valued as much as this reader did.
But don't worry Erin has gone to try to make money of so many other cultures and traditions that she has no actual knowledge or connection to as only a uniquely white lady can.
What makes Erin such a one of kind travel writer you ask?
for one thing she was a backpacker- I know right crazy, she didn't stay at luxury resorts and didn't even bring a straight iron. Backpacking is very rare and it;s something that no gap year 18 year old kid from the UK or Israeli post military service ever does in India. She carried her OWN LUGGGAGE! who does that? Other than the literally of millions of backpackers who have visited India.
Yes I hear you saying but haven't there been backpackers close to a century, isn't there even a whole series of travel books all about backpackers Lonely something or other?
Why yes there is but here's where Erin is very unique- she backpacked SOLO. Yes can you imagine a women in 2010 all by herself in one of the most widely traveled and visited counties in the world that has massive networks all over the country for backpackers and where it's extremely cheap to travel and English is widely spoken being on trains and buses alone. I mean just because there are literally 100's of memoirs of solo female travelers dating back centuries even in India Erin is clearly unique in her experience.
And we know it's unique because what does Erin, I mean Bindi Girl find at the Heart of India, herself of course. Because nothing says a subcontinent with a history 1000's and 1000's of years old and deeply connectioned to the centuries old experiences of brown people and non-Christian religions and beliefs like a white lady who think enlightenment comes from a work break trip. Erin knows that it's not the language, the history, the culture or even the complex political and cross class issues that are at the heart of India. Nope it's her personal self fulfillment and what she can get out her holiday, oops I mean solo backpacking spiritual journey.
For her being such a unique travel writer, if you are Indian, have lived in India, backpacked in India (or dealt with backpackers in India) or gone to Burning Man (and I will cop to all of that) you have met an Erin. You may have been Erin yourself but the good thing is you don't have to stay an Erin and like most of the Indians and many of even the Westerns that she spent almost all her time with you can just roll your eyes and then forget about Erin and all her uniqueness. Not that Erin actually interacted with many Indian as since the heart of India is her own white reflection she magically found it through other white travelers that she travelled with on her "solo" travels.
While this book is on kindle you can find it like we did in a free pile of books in Berkeley where there was "preview copy" with a personal inscription to her dear friend who clearly valued as much as this reader did.
But don't worry Erin has gone to try to make money of so many other cultures and traditions that she has no actual knowledge or connection to as only a uniquely white lady can.
March 5, 2014
Two of the reasons that I picked up to read this book in first place:
1) It was being sold at a throwaway price in a sale
2) I'm from India and wanted a non Indian narration ..
I have previously read "A search in secret India" ,by Paul brunton ,an non-Indian author writing about his spiritual experiences in India . Such books help me make a journey where I'm no longer a part India but floating along watching and scrutinizing everything as I go along. Paul's book exceeded my expectation in providing me those sort of details that I can only dream about and havt experienced being an Indian myself ..
Was hoping to read a women's narrative and picked up this book. This book is a series of journal entries spawned together supposedly as a story of her journey . But many a times there's little connection between one entry to another's king it feel like the books missing pages.
The initial part of the book has many references to Hindu gods and practices . Being a Hindu myself this was kind of a refresher course. But this can be very distracting and irritating at times for global / non-Indian audience with no iota of knowledge about Hinduism. This excessive rant comes across as a too much of an info vomit onto your lap. Besides the info is not really important in continuation of story and hence doesn't add much value.
The language used is overtly informal and can be irritating sometimes when the sentences start making not much of a sense owning to poor grammar.
On brighter side some of the experiences told in this travelogue is mind blowing. The author sure is gutsy enough to be traveling the ways, she claims to have traveled . Also her writing voice is that of a confident , smart and resourceful person. Always a treat for me when I get in touch with a strong personality like that , even if the personality is only a capture in a book !
1) It was being sold at a throwaway price in a sale
2) I'm from India and wanted a non Indian narration ..
I have previously read "A search in secret India" ,by Paul brunton ,an non-Indian author writing about his spiritual experiences in India . Such books help me make a journey where I'm no longer a part India but floating along watching and scrutinizing everything as I go along. Paul's book exceeded my expectation in providing me those sort of details that I can only dream about and havt experienced being an Indian myself ..
Was hoping to read a women's narrative and picked up this book. This book is a series of journal entries spawned together supposedly as a story of her journey . But many a times there's little connection between one entry to another's king it feel like the books missing pages.
The initial part of the book has many references to Hindu gods and practices . Being a Hindu myself this was kind of a refresher course. But this can be very distracting and irritating at times for global / non-Indian audience with no iota of knowledge about Hinduism. This excessive rant comes across as a too much of an info vomit onto your lap. Besides the info is not really important in continuation of story and hence doesn't add much value.
The language used is overtly informal and can be irritating sometimes when the sentences start making not much of a sense owning to poor grammar.
On brighter side some of the experiences told in this travelogue is mind blowing. The author sure is gutsy enough to be traveling the ways, she claims to have traveled . Also her writing voice is that of a confident , smart and resourceful person. Always a treat for me when I get in touch with a strong personality like that , even if the personality is only a capture in a book !
November 26, 2015
India calls to Erin. Her love of this country shines through on every page. She is a much more intrepid traveler then I am, and I enjoyed sharing her journey with her. I do think the book lacked depth. Although she relates her journeys to India, I think this book would’ve benefited from more detailed descriptions and more about her inner journey. I wanted to see more of what she was seeing and feel more of what she was feeling. I also would’ve wanted a bit more background of her life in the U.S. to contrast this with her time in India. There is beauty and sadness in India. We always hear about the poverty and the horrendous caste system, and then the gentleness and spirituality of the people. Erin delved into the spiritual side. I craved more of the wisdom she gained from conversations with those further along this path. I enjoyed and felt invested in the story. I guess I just wanted a little more.
February 25, 2016
(kindle) - For me this was a wonderful read, The Author takes us on a journey through India, which had a new twist from what I have read before. "From Dharamsala and the Dalai Lama, to meditation melodramas and yoga schools on the banks of the holy Ganges, Reese educates and entertains as she goes. We discover the Hindu gods and goddesses, the tourist trap mafia, and the beach havens of the hippie trail. From __Guru Disney__ to the holy hell of Varanasi,."
She left her life in San Francisco, to get away from the rat race and to find her soul. She has quite a bit of humor in the way she writes and her love of India, is wonderful to experience. As she states in her book:
"Dear sweet India has such a hold on me I love you so, my mother, my soul. For it is here that you made me whole."
She left her life in San Francisco, to get away from the rat race and to find her soul. She has quite a bit of humor in the way she writes and her love of India, is wonderful to experience. As she states in her book:
"Dear sweet India has such a hold on me I love you so, my mother, my soul. For it is here that you made me whole."
September 13, 2013
I found this a fascinating and curious study of India and spiritual searching. The book is split up into short chapters, most of which I would say are easily read in 5 minutes, making it an ideal book to pick up and put down again. This was necessary for me as I have rather limited knowledge of Hinduism, yoga, spirituality and backpacking in general.
There was a great deal of information, discussions of various Gods and practises, but I felt it was all well explained, is a bit too much of an info dump in places. I particularly liked the chapters where she travelled with another visitor, I felt these held the most details of interactions, as well as showing the contrast between people from India and the other continents
There was a great deal of information, discussions of various Gods and practises, but I felt it was all well explained, is a bit too much of an info dump in places. I particularly liked the chapters where she travelled with another visitor, I felt these held the most details of interactions, as well as showing the contrast between people from India and the other continents
November 30, 2012
I got this as a free Kindle download and read it just after reading "Backpacked".........to compare the two, I enjoyed Backpacked much more because of the humourous slant...a true "fish out of water" experience....where Bindi Girl was more focused on the spiritual journey. Which is fine, just less enjoyable reading. Her book did leave me with an appreciation for Indian and the culture, and since I'm just living vicariously, with no hopes to ever backpack a country myself, I did feel like I got a good feel for the country.
May 14, 2013
Not really a bad read, and as it was a free Amazon Kindle read, it was about what I expected. A nice book to have stored on the iPad when I didn't have anything better to read. (btw, I always have a lifetime's worth of books as backup! This was said facetiously.)
The author does paint a vivid picture of India as seen with an open heart. Her brief chapters - emails home? - are a bit disjointed but it's like getting travelog emails from a former work buddy. Sometimes fascinating, and other times...just ok.
If you can get it for free, it's worth it.
The author does paint a vivid picture of India as seen with an open heart. Her brief chapters - emails home? - are a bit disjointed but it's like getting travelog emails from a former work buddy. Sometimes fascinating, and other times...just ok.
If you can get it for free, it's worth it.
August 25, 2013
This book is not really a travelogue it is more about the author who is on a journey of self disovery. Unfortunately this rather comes across as being self obsessed in respect that very little is said about the indigenous people. It is almost like she is co existing in a parallel universe in the countries that she visits. Considering that the author is into peace and meditation, the book's pace is frantic and left me feeling dizzy.Not interesting enough for me I'm afraid.
November 25, 2015
Personal travelogue
This personal travelogue does not bring as much to the table as I was hoping for. But I do think there is some merit to the stories and experiences. Book could definitely use an editor. All in all, am glad I read it, did not consider it a waste of time. Just a bit shallow. But since this is somewhat of a travel diary, I was not expecting too much either. Good job done on giving us the colors of India.
This personal travelogue does not bring as much to the table as I was hoping for. But I do think there is some merit to the stories and experiences. Book could definitely use an editor. All in all, am glad I read it, did not consider it a waste of time. Just a bit shallow. But since this is somewhat of a travel diary, I was not expecting too much either. Good job done on giving us the colors of India.
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