Popular travel planning websites and blogs had thrown up names like Bodrum, Izmir, Antalya, Fethiye, Marmaris on the Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea Coastline in Turkey. Akin to how I travel in India, we had decided to keep the Turkey trip flexible with no fixed itinerary. After spending a few days in Istanbul and Cappadocia,…
Category: JOMO
Slow Travel in Corbett, with V Resorts Kotabagh
The map showed it would take around 6 hours to cover the 300 km distance to reach Kotabagh from Delhi. It was a forgettable drive through dusty and lawless Uttar Pradesh, which made me reiterate in my mind that if Uttarakhand has to really progress – they must have a different road to themselves that…
The Charms of Ranikhet : A Handy Travel Guide
It had been an uncharacteristically indecisive day on the road. I was somewhere in the middle of my long summer in Kumaon and had randomly landed in Ranikhet. After wandering to an ancient temple and water source in Someshwar, I’d hopped into a shared taxi to Ranikhet with no plan at all. It was that…
Alternative Living in Kasar Devi, Almora
In hindsight, I can say it must have been a fortuitous moment when I revisited Kasar Devi near Almora. It was the long Holi weekend in March 2018 and the trip had began with great difficulty from Delhi. It is a well known fact that migrating workers from across India go back home for celebrating…
Pang Lhabsol Festival in Gangtok, Sikkim
The rapturous crowd had just been silenced. The warrior looked fierce and scary in the red mask ringed by five human skulls; he twisted and twirled as he danced. My hair stood on end in anticipation; there was pin drop silence even amid the chaos around. I instantly knew I was witnessing something special while…
Samode Village : A Day Trip from Jaipur
It was as unplanned as something could be. Arvind Bhai of (Jaipurthrumylens) had an invite for Dal Baati Choorma at a function in Samode and since we had discussed visiting Samode Village numerous times, I instantly said yes when he asked if I was interested in going! Not that Dal Baati Choorma wasn’t reason enough…
Must Have Experiences in India : Loktak Lake
Manipur was turning out to be a destination that would change my perception of the North-East. Exploring Imphal was a breeze; also because the weather was perfect after a downpour. I had a day and a half to spend at Loktak Lake and was totally clueless about it. As the shared taxi rolled into Moirang,…
Life on Loktak Lake, Manipur : A Photo Story
If I ever made a list : Top 10 Experiences in India; it would have to include Loktak Lake in it. It is a unique eco-system with floating phumdis (land mass) on the lake housing moving homes. I know it sounds superficial or too good to be true; but thats exactly what this jewel in…
Backpacking in Wayanad : Top Offbeat Experiences
After detailed explorations of the mountains in North India, I’d set my sights on slow travelling in South India. It was by pure chance that I started off with visiting the most popular state tourism-wise that side, Kerala. I’d arrived in Kochi and the need for some cold weather had automatically led me to the…
Mateura Jari : Timeless Village in Parvati Valley
It had been a strange sort of a day in Parvati Valley. After having enjoyed solitude in Grahan, we had made our way to far away Kutla. The descent from Kutla and the subsequent arrival in Tosh, waiting in the rain in Barshaini and then wasting time in Kasol (in the dust and diesel fumes) had left…
Going Offbeat : Kutla in Parvati Valley
There are places that you make elaborate plans to visit and then end up visiting. And then there are places you rarely think about but destiny takes you there, and you can’t help but thank your stars for the random decisions and the twists and turns. Well, Kutla was one such place where we ended…
Photo Story : Snapshots from Tawang Festival
An icy breeze blew as we reached Sela Pass (Se La) and the words ‘Welcome to Tawang’ dangled on the signboard. The prayer flags made a vociferous sound with the dramatic landscapes and little snowflakes fell from the clouds as we wandered around Sela lake. The lake was a sizeable waterbody just after crossing the…