About Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones left a career in nursing and lived on the beaches of Goa, India for the five years. Now she lives in Mexico where she gives advice on the 40+ countries she’s visited in the last 10 years. She’s the author of two India travel e-books: Guide to India and Insider’s Guide to Goa. Her blog, Hippie in Heels, like its name, is a contradiction combining off-beat adventurous places with glamorous and bespoke travel. Hippie in Heels has been featured in ELLE, Marie Claire, Grazia, and Cosmopolitan magazines. She’s a writer for Bravo TV.

You Guide to Arambol: Drum Circles & New Age Hippies

This is a guest post written by Alex Wolfe and all photos are those of Alex Wolfe and Eleanor Daulby. Some have come to believe that Goa is now only for holiday makers and package holidays; a place ruined by it's own reputation for great trance parties and beautiful beaches. When I arrived in Arambol in

Somanathapura Keshava Temple & Village life

I absolutely loved checking out Somanathapura Keshava Temple- which is not something I usually say about temples. This is one of my 8 favorite day trips from Mysore. I know that the temple is the main attraction here, but even more so, I loved just walking through the small walkways between homes in this village. We

Oxygen Acres Organic Cheese Farm

I went to a cheese farm! I was pretty excited since in Goa, the only cheese I find which is edible is imported from Europe and costs about 12 bucks for a small square. In a place that reveres cows, I was curious to see what a cheese and milk farm would look like here

This is India! 32

Welcome back to This is India! I always have funny/weird stories about India to share with friends or family when I talk to them. This is just meant to be an honest portrayal about my life in India through short anecdotes. I also share here what I’ve been up to online outside Hippie in Heels.

3 FAQ About Goa, Answered: Nightlife, Beaches, Cheap Lodging

Although my website has pretty much everything I know about Goa, I get many emails a day asking me to tell them MORE. Don’t I have some secrets or something I forgot to mention that I can share? So, here are 3 most asked questions about Goa, answered. For more tips on Goa check out my

A Reality Check |I forgot how hard backpacking was

As I mentioned, living in India as an expat is much breezier than backpacking through India for a variety of reasons like budget and familiarity. Before I started my kickass goMowgli tour of Karnataka I had to get myself to Mysore from Goa. I’ve been on a bit of a I-hardly-have-an-income budget, so instead of

Melukote Temple, Khadi, & Iyengars

This small town has a few good reasons for visiting and you could spend a full day here. It's just a 90 minute drive from Mysore. The drive itself was very pretty and I was happy to be going by car with goMowgli rather than bus so I could stop to take photos or to

A Luxury Guide to Beijing

Welcome to Backpacker's Boutique. Every Sunday, this spot will feature a new travel blogger. Some weeks it will be a really fun interview about packing, fashion, and fitness so you can snoop inside their bags & lives a little bit and other weeks it'll be a detailed luxury guide to a city the featured blogger/expat knows very well. E-mail me if