It is exotic, it is rare and above all, it is special. Every time I’ve travelled to a new place, I have hardly escaped its charms or the inviting culture and people. And I know I’m not the only one. A late-Goa-bloomer, I first travelled to the overhyped, smallest state of India in October 2011,…
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On an unexpectedly warm afternoon in Haridwar, I navigated away from Haridwar Road (also known as NH74) towards a dense forest cover. I noticed how the trees on the hilltops here were shaped differently—clear at the trunks and thinly trimmed at length. This was so stark that I assumed it was another species altogether. Gautam,…
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This wasn’t my first time to Haridwar. I have survived its oppressive and dehydrating sun previously though it got tougher this time. Haridwar was my city connect to and from the Valley of Flowers trek. My stay here was split into two sections: first for a short 24-hours before the trek and the next for…
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(Caution: This post is on my current grouse about the travel blogging industry. If you don’t want to continue reading it, I’d totally understand :) ) Late last year, I was on a phone conversation with a blogger, who gallantly boasted, ‘I have never paid for any of my travels.’ In my head, I thought,…
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On an excruciatingly hot day, I decided to walk around Rishikesh. It was not my first visit to this mystique land but things have changed much since the 2013 floods. My eyes looked for the landmark statue of Lord Shiva, facing Parmarth Niketan and not having located it, I asked a passer-by, who told me it…
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At 2:35AM the cops in Colaba stop my cab. Gufran steps out and shows them his documents. After the interrogation, he returns to his driver’s seat with a frown and in a few minutes, he calmly vents out his frustration in the matter. I am impressed by him at many levels. Firstly, even though he…
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