In a time when India sees decreasing positive year over year tourism growth,  Full Stop India has seen increased interest as it marks the three year anniversary in September 2012. Readership rose 89% from September 2011 to August 2012 when compared to the same period in 2010-2011, a healthy gain on top of the staggering 896% increase recorded from the same period recorded in 2009-2010. More readers than ever before are commenting on, “liking”, and sharing the daily posts. For that I humbly thank you.

In the effort to give maximum transparency to the readers there are expenses which go into making Full Stop India a reality. To help offset costs an Amazon.com and iTunes box have been added to the site. This is an easy way to purchase any items you were already going to buy without paying a single penny (or rupee) more. Also an ad link for personality bracelets connects you with Full Stop’s Facebook store where you can purchase a variety of comfortable, durable bracelets which go directly to supporting the website.

As always I appreciate your feedback as together we continue to explore a country we all love so much. Without further ado let’s take a look back at 10 India travel posts which shaped the last year of Full Stop India.

Most Popular Post: Rashtrapati Bhavan Annual Opening

Right from the gate this post rocketed to the top of the most read list where it stayed for weeks. Little did I know that the interest in visiting the home of India’s President would prove so overwhelming. Questions poured into my email inquiring how to reach Gate 35 and the post logged a healthy 17 comments. When all the dust cleared official numbers reported a record turn out of of more than 657,000 visitors for the 2012 Udyanotsav at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
 
 
 

Post Which Never Took Off: No Drink For You? India’s Dry States

India’s relationship with alcohol can be understated as complex or construed as corrupt. This article was written to help educate myself and the readers of where liquid indulgence can be secured and for what price. I may have underestimated the reader’s interest or discovered one of those proverbial Indian topics which are better left untouched. No need to pop the champagne. This post was a dud.
 
 
 
 

Most Helpful Post: It’s Pronounced Desi Not Desi

I’m better off listening to Hindi rather than speaking it. No word has given me more grief than the all endearing Desi. Writing an entire post on how to properly pronounce Desi finally showed me why all my friends would look at me in perplexed glances when I uttered the word. It’s Desi Dammit! Not Desi. Um, OK. There won’t be any humanitarian awards handed out for this post but it resonated with the audience.
 
 
 

Most Controversial Post: 10 Things Western Society Can Learn From India

This post took 6 months to morph into it’s final published version as I cautiously watched India’s rapid movement toward a more western looking society, contradict many of the topics I found “old school” India to be worthy of addressing. Younger India is enthralled with mimicking patterns of Europe and the United States; Patterns which we are seeing play out to disastrous results. Bigger, better, and faster is not a recipe for sustainability worldwide. Some agreed, some didn’t. Ultimately this post stayed in the top 5 most read for weeks.
 
 

Most Surprising Post: Don’t Bother an Indian Before 9AM

It’s true! I wasn’t sure what to expect when this post hit the site. What easily could have been misinterpreted as judgement was pleasantly received in the same manner it was written. Humorous with a large dose of truth, my take on when the day starts in India resonated with the audience.
 
 
 
 
 

Most Rewarding Post: Jain Bird Hospital

Visiting Old Delhi’s locally known but largely invisible bird hospital was on my to-do list for years. This selfless charity proved more than worthy of an official write up on the site shortly after I left the facility.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Most Fun to Write Post: A Guide to Indian Sweets

Researching this post was just awful. Blah. Terrible! Somehow I suffered through the task of dropping in on various sweet shops along my travels. Many of the 10 highlighted sweets are favorites while a few were new to me. Organizing the pictures, finding recipes and deciding which sugary delectables were worthy of the list cold hardly be considered work. Readers agreed with the choices by sharing on Pinterest and Facebook.
 
 
 

Most Eager to Write Post: Cinnamon Stays B & B of Gurgaon

I had forgotten what it felt like to be energized in the way Cinnamon’s owner, Manish, left me feeling after a two night stay in Gurgaon. His infectious passion set my mind into overdrive and continues to be a source of inspiration for Full Stop India. I’ve never met another property owner in India’s tourism industry that was more deserving of success.
 
 
 
 

Most “Lost in Translation” Post: India Has No Culture Part 1 & Part 2

Chalk this up to a “you had to be there” moment. Or maybe bad writing on my part. Either way, readers response to this two part series was tepid at best. What few comments did come showed the audience was confused by my choice of words.
 
 
 
 
 

Most Honest Post: Unmarried at Home, Should You Pose As Married In India?

This post was inspired after traveling twice to India with a married yet childless female friend. Were we family? What would we tell people if they asked? Did it even matter? I’ve come to find out countless other fellow male and female traveling couples struggle with the same questions. Readers too were divided on the topic as indicative in the comments and poll results received.