One of the many doorways at the Red Fort in Agra. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

While Agra is mostly known to those traveling to India for the Taj Mahal, there are other great sites to see. The Red Fort is immense and even offers a view towards the Taj Majal. I don’t have anything particularly witty or insightful to share about the Red Fort. But, I loved this picture and had to make it today’s Suh-Weet Shot.

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Doorway at Red Fort in Agra is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Making Chipati (Indian flatbread) at The Spice Box in Udaipur, India. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Focusing on your personal passions, picking up a new skill or hobby, call it what you want, but all of the above are popular with career breakers. In my case, I learned Spanish fluently, learned to ski and got to develop my photography skills. When I went to India with Gap Adventures, I saw that one of the optional activities on our Rajasthan tour was a cooking class. I jumped on the chance to film this class. The class involves food, travel and passion, the perfect combination for career breakers. Check out the video and see what we learned and more importantly, what we cooked!

What We Learned About Indian Cooking In Our Class at The Spice Box

1. Store all your spices in a traditional Indian spice box to keep them fresh and handy.
2. Cook with oil, not butter. Butter not only adds fat, but also prevents the full taste of the spices from coming out.
3. Cook your spices first to really bring out their flavors.
4. Use fresh ingredients, always. 
5. Have a good attitude in the kitchen, always

My B-Side Tips for Taking a Cooking Class During Your Career Break Travel

This video isn’t about tips. It’s about showing you an alternative way to get more out of your career break trip. Cooking classes can be found in many countries. Some are for an evening like this one, others last a full day, and others are even more formal allowing you to obtain formal certification. Here are some additional tips to finding a class wherever you’re traveling.

• Get the recipes…ALWAYS This is fairly standard and shouldn’t be a problem.
• Take a market tour, when possible. It’s not offered with all classes. But, if you can go to the local market with your chef-teacher, take advantage. You will learn even more about the local cuisine.
• Find a class that allows you to participate. There are a few courses out there that merely show you how to prepare the dishes. You will have much more fun and get more out of the class if you are the one doing the cooking.
• Here are links to some of the recipes from my cooking class in Udaipur at The Spice Box:
• How to make Indian Chai
• How to make Kadhai Paneer

Check out the other topics covered in the Gap Adventures Career Break Video Series

1. Introduction
2. Packing Tips for a Career Break
3. Money Tips for Your Career Break
4. Security 101 While Traveling
5. Discovering A Country Through Its Food
6. How to Get Around Like a Local While Traveling
7. Why Consider a Small Group Tour Operator on Your Career Break
8. Cooking Class in India: Learn Something New on Your Career Break
9. Solo Travel: How to Travel Alone Without Feeling Lonely
10. Getting to Know Our Tour Leader in India

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Disclosure: I am serving as the Gap Adventures media spokesman for career break travel. While this series is part of a broader campaign to raise awareness about career break travel, all opinions, tips and advice are mine.

Cooking Class in India. Learning Something New on Your Career Break is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Columns inside Fatehpur Sikri. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

The single biggest thing that struck me about the temples, palaces and other historic buildings while traveling in India wasn’t their grandeur, their beauty or their architecture…although those things did too. It was all the intricate details carved into them. The play with geometric patterns gave the you one illusion from afar and changed several times the closer you got. I did my best to capture these details along the way throughout my trip through Rajasthan. Case in point, the court of Fatehpur Sikri near Agra was covered with details like these columns. It’s no wonder that much of these buildings took many years, often decades, to build. The beauty of these details make it this week’s Suh-Weet Shot!

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The Detailed Architecture of Fatehpur Sikri is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Birdseye View of Kumbhalgarh Fort and Wall. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

I never really thought about the 2nd longest continuous wall in the world. After the Great Wall of China, maybe I figured that nothing else came close. On a recent trip through Rajasthan in India, outside of Udaipur, we came to the Kumbhalgarh fort. The “complex”, if I can call it that, is enclosed in a 36km wall currently under renovation. I asked if one could walk the circumference and was told not currently. But, soon (not sure what soon means), the wall will be rebuilt and restored and hikes will be possible. Inside are palaces and temples with the main palace atop the mountain protected by a series of enormous gates adorned with elephant-proof spikes. This is a place I would like to return to…simply to walk the perimeter. But, I wouldn’t recommend it during the summer. The day of our visit reached over 40 degrees Celsius. It would be much better in the spring or fall. I loved visiting this place from my trip to India and had to share this Suh-Weet Shot with this Suh-Weet view!

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Birdseye View of Kumbhalgarh Fort and Wall is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Women Walking Inside the Taj Mahal Courtyard. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

From the moment I entered the gate towards the Taj Mahal, I was transfixed in front of this legendary monument. With camera in hand, I took photos with every step I took. The memory of the beauty of the entrance gate itself almost faded when something inside told me to look back, yeah away from the Taj Mahal. As I looked at the gate, bright colors caught my eye to the left, and I saw these three women about to walk past me. I happened to be almost perfectly centered with the gate and the fountain. I quickly raised my camera, waited a few seconds for the women to cross my path. And, this photo was the result. Sometimes you’re good. And sometimes, you’re just damn lucky to get a Suh-Weet Shot like this one while traveling in India or anywhere. .

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Women Walking Inside Taj Mahal Courtyard is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures