"Travel because life is too precious to be spent in one place" , one of the many quotes I like. I love traveling and a trip is something I always look forward to, no matter where I am and how long or short the trip is going to be.
I don't know how I grew this fond of traveling. May be its because I studied in different cities (Shillong, Cochin, Coimbatore, Mysore), and so I had to travel home from these places to visit my family. During these trips home, I started observing the places that came in between my city and home. By the time I was done with college, being in a single place throughout the year was really boring.
My father has been an explorer himself. He loved visiting new places, he also enjoyed photography. He encouraged me to travel and learn about new cultures. He still likes traveling.
While I was in school, we traveled from Shillong to Cochin every year. As Shillong is in the North east and Cochin is down south, this trip almost covering the entire stretch of the country and we had to halt at places in between. The first place of halt was Guwahati. I don't remember much about this place, but I have visited it many times. The next halt was Kolkata. The Howra Bridge and watching the sunset from there, the street food (Chapatis, hot and freshly made curry, misti dahi, sweets), the tram, olden buildings are some of the things I remember about this place. Some of the near by places I went to while at Shillong were Dibrugarh (tea plantations here were awesome!) and Nagaland.
Most of my trips are not planned in advance.The planned ones don't work out. I along with whichever of my friends are free, backpack away. It's more of a sudden decision..an impulse..a dream..a desire to visit a place. We spend a few days enquiring about the accommodation, bookings, and the tickets. And that is how the trip happens. The best unplanned trip was our Coorg and Mysore trip. We (me and my friend Priya) decided on a Tuesday, and left on the same Friday. We had our accommodation for the first day booked. But we had no clue of anything after that. We reached Mysore, roamed around the cute little city, and in the night booked our next day's stay at Coorg :) . Coorg welcomed us with an open heart. We covered it in two days. We stopped in between at a lovely little coffee shop to taste the authentic Coorg coffee. Every sip was worth it!
Another trip was my visit to Hyderabad. I decided on Thursday night, and left on Saturday morning :) Thankfully Shatabdi Express happened to be there and I reached Hyderabad by afternoon. I stayed at my friend's place and so didn't really have to worry about the stay or food. Yummy Hyderabadi biryani, pickle, Karachi biscuits, chutneys were some of the nice memories. I went back to Hyderabad yet again after a few months. I covered Char Minar, Birla Mandir, Laad Bazar, and some other nice places there. This time I stayed at another friend's place. Hyderabad seems to be calling me again, and I might land there the third time soon :)
Many years ago, my friend who was an explorer just like me wanted to visit Pondicherry. She asked me if I was interested. I wasn't really sure at that time. My heart yearned to visit that place, as it has a beautiful beach, and some lovely French inspired colonies. The next day I had confirmed my trip with her. Two more of our friends joined in. We left from Chennai by bus to Pondicherry and in a few hours were at Pondicherry. A lovely walk by the beach, taking photographs of the streets, walking in to lovely cafes, trying out French food, Auroville are my memories.
There have been many other trips. Each and every one is special to me.
I like going to places offbeat places. Places which are not as famous as they deserve to be. Places that are beautiful but the tourism industry hasn't made a big noise about.
Some of the places on my bucket list are Tawang monastery, Chikmagalur, Araku valley. Some more places are Kashmir, Hampi, Andamans, Rajasthan, Punjab, Singapore. Well, the list mite never end. And I have another item in my bucket list.. to travel on a truck having hay on it. This has been a wish since long :)
I don't know which other places will be included in my list; like I said I don't plan the trips in advance!
I don't know how I grew this fond of traveling. May be its because I studied in different cities (Shillong, Cochin, Coimbatore, Mysore), and so I had to travel home from these places to visit my family. During these trips home, I started observing the places that came in between my city and home. By the time I was done with college, being in a single place throughout the year was really boring.My father has been an explorer himself. He loved visiting new places, he also enjoyed photography. He encouraged me to travel and learn about new cultures. He still likes traveling.
While I was in school, we traveled from Shillong to Cochin every year. As Shillong is in the North east and Cochin is down south, this trip almost covering the entire stretch of the country and we had to halt at places in between. The first place of halt was Guwahati. I don't remember much about this place, but I have visited it many times. The next halt was Kolkata. The Howra Bridge and watching the sunset from there, the street food (Chapatis, hot and freshly made curry, misti dahi, sweets), the tram, olden buildings are some of the things I remember about this place. Some of the near by places I went to while at Shillong were Dibrugarh (tea plantations here were awesome!) and Nagaland.
Most of my trips are not planned in advance.The planned ones don't work out. I along with whichever of my friends are free, backpack away. It's more of a sudden decision..an impulse..a dream..a desire to visit a place. We spend a few days enquiring about the accommodation, bookings, and the tickets. And that is how the trip happens. The best unplanned trip was our Coorg and Mysore trip. We (me and my friend Priya) decided on a Tuesday, and left on the same Friday. We had our accommodation for the first day booked. But we had no clue of anything after that. We reached Mysore, roamed around the cute little city, and in the night booked our next day's stay at Coorg :) . Coorg welcomed us with an open heart. We covered it in two days. We stopped in between at a lovely little coffee shop to taste the authentic Coorg coffee. Every sip was worth it!
Another trip was my visit to Hyderabad. I decided on Thursday night, and left on Saturday morning :) Thankfully Shatabdi Express happened to be there and I reached Hyderabad by afternoon. I stayed at my friend's place and so didn't really have to worry about the stay or food. Yummy Hyderabadi biryani, pickle, Karachi biscuits, chutneys were some of the nice memories. I went back to Hyderabad yet again after a few months. I covered Char Minar, Birla Mandir, Laad Bazar, and some other nice places there. This time I stayed at another friend's place. Hyderabad seems to be calling me again, and I might land there the third time soon :)
Many years ago, my friend who was an explorer just like me wanted to visit Pondicherry. She asked me if I was interested. I wasn't really sure at that time. My heart yearned to visit that place, as it has a beautiful beach, and some lovely French inspired colonies. The next day I had confirmed my trip with her. Two more of our friends joined in. We left from Chennai by bus to Pondicherry and in a few hours were at Pondicherry. A lovely walk by the beach, taking photographs of the streets, walking in to lovely cafes, trying out French food, Auroville are my memories.
There have been many other trips. Each and every one is special to me.
I like going to places offbeat places. Places which are not as famous as they deserve to be. Places that are beautiful but the tourism industry hasn't made a big noise about.
Some of the places on my bucket list are Tawang monastery, Chikmagalur, Araku valley. Some more places are Kashmir, Hampi, Andamans, Rajasthan, Punjab, Singapore. Well, the list mite never end. And I have another item in my bucket list.. to travel on a truck having hay on it. This has been a wish since long :)
I don't know which other places will be included in my list; like I said I don't plan the trips in advance!
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