Walk the walk, read the read

There is something primeval about making a small claim on the physical space you inhabit by walking amongst it . It provides a sense of legitimacy in a new place. Instead of negotiating from the bubble of a tour coach or car, you are negotiating the city at the most basic level - on foot with the locals.

Travel can often be a very alienating experience - especially if you are rushing between major tourist attractions and the city and its people are an obstacle to your daily travel schedule. Making time to be a part of the city even in the most mundane ways - walking, eating, taking some public transport and trying to engage local people in some kind of interaction - makes you feel more a part of a place and less of a spectator.

One of the best ways to foster your relationship with a city is by trying to spend an equal amount of time reading as you do on the streets and sightseeing. Even better, see if you can find a special spot to sit back and read wherever you're travelling.

I can think of no travel experience better enhanced by a book than my second visit to Delhi in 2007. William Dalrymple carried me over the line. His book The Last Mughal provided me with the most evocative fusion of history and travel I have experienced to date. I spent a good part of my time in Delhi chasing down the places that Dalrymple identifies in his captivating history of the end of Mughal rule in India.

Dalrymple's other books on India have provided great insights and substance to my India travels. In fact I would hazard a guess that no country has the combination of amazing things to see and an incredible library of literature - fiction and non fiction - to bring travel to life that does India.

It also has some of most spectacular locations from which you might pull out a book, have a read and soak up the atmosphere.