The Dharamshala Weekend
I spent the Dusshera weekend in Dharamshala. It was only after booking the tickets did I realize that the India-New Zealand World Cup match was also happening there at the same time. With the...
View ArticleSaint Helena and its two iconic residents
St. Helena is an island in the middle of nowhere. Being situated in the direct line of the South East Trade Winds, it was just a matter of time for it to be discovered in the 16th century. For that was...
View ArticleLucknow’s Shiite Influence
Last year, I spent a long weekend in Lucknow. While the cuisine was the main draw, the Shiite influence over the city is unmissable. Large and small Imambaras dot the city and remind us of the...
View ArticleDay trip to Patna
I did a day trip to Patna which was also my maiden trip to this historical city. The little that I saw of the city from the airport to the Sardar Patel Bhavan looked very much like Ranchi and Rourkela....
View ArticleOn Horses
Last year, I spent half a day riding a horse in Pahalgam. Though it was a typical touristy thing to do when in Kashmir, the experience was exhilarating. To get a sense of a horse’s power, its...
View ArticleAmsterdam Notes
I spent a few days in Amsterdam earlier this month. Being my second visit to the city, I wasn’t overawed. (Awe has diminishing returns which is one of the key criticisms of travel). The Netherlands is...
View ArticleBelgium Notes
I took the train from Amsterdam to Brussels and the change in the economies of the two countries is visible as soon as you reach Belgium. The Brussels metro looked run down and the streets had a...
View ArticleParis Notes
My next stop after Brussels was Paris, which I expected to be overrated. But boy, was I wrong. The city lived up to its reputation and for the history and literature buff that I am, it kept throwing up...
View ArticleSwitzerland Notes
My last stop was Switzerland. Traveling through the country, one can’t be faulted for imagining this to be paradise. Panoramic views, lakes that stretch for miles, looming mountains, cows with bells...
View ArticleJakarta Notes
I spent a week in Jakarta last month. The short ride from the airport to the hotel was enough to understand how broken and shambolic India’s urban infrastructure systems are. Not a single Indian city...
View ArticleShahnaz Habib’s ‘Airplane Mode’
The only thing I knew about Shahnaz Habib’s ‘Airplane Mode’ was that it was a book on travel that had garnered a decent amount of attention. Within a few pages, to my delight, I discovered that the...
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