New Travel Memoir Follows One Family’s Adventure While Vacationing in India

New York, NY, July 04, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Imagine touring a different foreign country each year and bringing your two sons along with you. It’s a tradition for author Mariann Margulis to decide with her children where their annual travel spot will be.

In 2008, they jointly agreed to tour India for seventeen days. The choice thrilled Margulis, since India had always intrigued her as a child, with its alluring jewels, opulent fabrics, images of the Taj Mahal, and a host of exotic culinary flavors. In her memory, Benares, later renamed Varanasi, was a magical place full of rituals, sacred traditions, and Hindu holy men, or Sadhus. She could hardly wait for the experience.

Bats, Rats and Holy Cows or Seventeen Days in India: One Family’s Adventure is a memoir recounting the trio’s unforgettable trip to this very different land, as she travels with her two sons, ages twelve and ten, throughout the exotic country of India.

The shared insights and personal perspectives of the places visited by the family make this travel guide personal, exciting, and engaging. The light-hearted depiction of their encounters in charming India provide an informative, enjoyable read for anyone who is fascinated by diverse cultures with authentic, often humorous, reactions to the unfamiliar curiosities of a life far from Western culture.

Traveling with young people adds unexpected viewpoints to the experience, its rewards, and the numerous learning opportunities. Not only is this type of travel exciting and informative, the introduction of drastically different cultures to novice travelers is priceless for readers of all ages and backgrounds.

“… the charms of India win over the family, and readers will be engrossed in the trio’s experiences in Varanasi, Agra, Jaipur and especially the Thar Desert. Margulis offers information about each place they visit… Her writing is strong (she has contributed to Fodor’s) and readers may come to see her as something of a parental role model because she allows her sons to experience India on their own terms, not necessarily hers. By turns amusing (and) touching, this travelogue colorfully portrays India, perhaps convincingly enough for readers to want to visit with their own children.” - Kirkus Reviews

Book Information:
Bats, Rats and Holy Cows or Seventeen Days in India
Author: Mariann Margulis
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 978-1468168396
Pages: 214
Published: April 2012

About The Author
Mariann Margulis has a degree in Middle Eastern studies and archaeology. Since her first solo trip to the Middle East at the age of eighteen, she has developed a love of travel and has imparted that passion to her children. Over the last six years, she and her sons have made it a tradition to travel to places few people have seen. Their annual trips have brought them to the most remote corners of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. She hopes to encourage others to travel with children since it has proven to be a rewarding learning experience for parents and children alike. She lives in New York with her husband, Tony, their two sons, Julian and Fillip, and Zizu, her devoted black chow-chow.

For more information, review copies, or interviews please contact the author at:

Mariann Margulis
Email: mariann@usanyc.net
Website: http://batsratsandholycows-com.webs.com

Bats, Rats and Holy Cows or Seventeen Days in India is available for purchase online through the author’s website, from the publishers, Amazon.com, BN.com and other online retailers. Bookstores should contact Ingram for wholesale orders.