Last year this time, I was packing my bags to explore the Christmas Markets in Saxony, Germany. My third and last destination within the state was a town called Seiffen. Seiffen sits on the border of Czech and Germany, in the region of Erzgebirgskreis. Historically, Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) was a silver mining region. Over the…
As I packed my bags for my initiatory visit to Sri Lanka, in May, I promised myself that I would relax. It was four days after a hectic trip across Uttarakhand and between heaps of work. What I didn’t realise is that AVANI Kalutara Resort—where I would be staying—had a switch ready to turn my…
As a child, I fell often. The outdoors was my space and earth, my ally. Whether it was arbitrary running around with friends, or pretending to climb a mountain on a three-feet incline, or learning the life-changing skill of cycling, each scar on my body tells a different story. And each of these, I wear…
After my session at a panel discussion last year, a number of women came up to me and asked what motivated me to travel by myself. I found myself giving various reasons why travelling solo works for me—it is liberating, I can wake up early, it helps me fish out personal stories of locals and…
Many versus in poetry and references in literature had led me to believe that winter is probably the most desolate and monochromatic season. Between Virginia Woolf’s ‘Melancholy were the sounds on a winter’s night’ and PB Shelley’s ‘If winter comes, can spring be far behind?’ I was convinced that winter was made of sorrow and…
Essentially a summer destination, Switzerland is rare inclusion in our travel winter list. However, travelling to Interlaken in January introduced me to its winter adventures. Known for its scenic Swiss Alps and popularised by Yash Chopra’s films, there is more to this Swiss town than just picturesque landscapes and romantic rendezvous of summers. Sledging On…