any fun things on the horizon for this weekend? i am looking forward to spending some time with priyanka and deboo while they are in town and doing some more hunting for a house. fingers crossed i find something!

my favourite photo from the week:

some things that caught my eye:

seeing the living root bridges in meghalaya was a highlight of my trip to the northeast in 2012 – and of my life, really – and timothy allen describes the experience beautifully in his piece on maptia. unlike allen, i visited the village of nongriat, but much of my experience was similar to his, and i would love to return and explore more of the surrounding area.

this list of the world’s 25 most beautiful libraries makes my book lover’s heart go crazy. what a delight it would be to be able to visit all of these in my lifetime.

loving the idea of the new ‘let girls learn’ initiative spearheaded by michelle obama. let’s get all those awesome girls around the world into school!

clemens’ witty take on ipad photographers cracked me up. i’m sorry, but i cannot handle it when i see people taking photos with their tablets. call me judgmental, but i just think it looks silly.

i have been hearing about photographer mihaela noroc’s project to photograph women around the world to showcase their natural beauty for a few months, but i only just saw some of her images in her maptia article. and they are pretty stunning. i love the idea behind this and cannot wait to see more. check out her story, and donate to her indiegogo campaign if you like what you see so she can continue on her quest.

wanderlusters uk just asked candace rardon – one of my absolute favourite travel writers – to put together a portfolio of her sketches from her trip to india last year, and they are fabulous.

morocco has always been one of those places i’ve vaguely thought about visiting, but after seeing michael’s awesome pictures and reading his stories, it has definitely moved up on my list.

this rap against rape by two ladies in bombay is something everyone needs to hear.

the one campaign put together a list of 10 reasons why girls and women are essential to ending extreme poverty. so why aren’t we investing more in womens’ and girls’ rights around the world? sign the petition, and find out how you can get involved.

i am forever hearing stories about what bangalore was like in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and artist paul fernandes has created a series of sketches depicting his favourite memories from his childhood growing up in the pensioner’s paradise. the sketches are lovely, and it’s fun to see what the city was like back then through his eyes.

in case you missed it:

making the most of your time in hyderabad.

happy weekend, friends!

xx