Where will you be travelling to in 2014?
the first post for the year and I thought I’d set the tone for 2014 with a
bunch of ideas that will inspire you to get going – weekend getaways, road
trips, destination ideas, experiential travel – you will find all of these
here.
making some travel resolutions that you will actually look forward to keeping?
This list
from Boots n All is a fantastic one; I particularly like the 1st one
– take your travel in any portion you can. Be it a weekend trip or a short
holiday, you can always find a few days every month (or every other month) to
take a quick break.
Living in Delhi? How about a quick trip to the mountains
of Kumaon? Ranikhet is an underrated gem. The “Queen’s Meadow” is a quiet,
army cantonment town with some stunning views of the Himalayas. Or try Amritsar
– the peaceful Golden Temple is a stark contrast to the noisy old town – yet
both are equally worth visiting. And to help you along, Conde Nast Traveller
has compiled a list of long weekends in 2014. Now, you have no excuse NOT to
travel!
irresistible to you, stock up your car, load up your music system and take off
on a road trip. Remember to bring along your sense of humour though 🙂
If you’re based in Bangalore or Mysore, the coffee country of Coorg
is the best getaway; check out the ‘Golden temple of the South’ on the way. You will find more road trip ideas here.
many memories to cherish.
Venice,
with its pink buildings, pretty bridges and winding canals, stole my heart and
its eerie cemetery island of San Michele was quite an experience. Romeo and
Juliet’s Verona was much more than ‘that balcony’. Bologna’s reputation of
being the food capital of Italy was spot on and we found the best gelato at
Carpigiani Gelato Museum (yes, a gelato museum!) just outside of the city.
Gorgeous Florence
showed us why it was the birthplace of the Renaissance, with its beautiful art and
architecture. The heart of Italy, Tuscany, is perhaps the most
breathtaking region – the medieval town of Volterra was quite a discovery. They
say all roads lead to Rome; the Italian capital was a mix of ancient sights and
charming neighbourhoods. And considering the current exchange rate for the Euro, here are a
few free things you can do in Rome!
Paris
is truly the city for lovers – romantic cruises down the Seine, quiet walks in
its many gardens and sharing good food! As Bogart said in the classic film “Casablanca”, “we’ll always have Paris”…
If there’s only one place you can visit this year, make it Austria. Experience the cafe culture of Vienna and be sure to
take in the opera at Staatsoper – you can find standing room tickets for 3-4 Euros. Hop on a bicycle for a Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg
and then pay homage to one of the greatest composers, Mozart. Hallsttat, the oldest still-inhabited village in Europe, is a must-do day trip from Salzburg. And in Innsbruck,
wander around the Altstadt, grab some strudels and people-watch in the old town
square.
should hopefully blow over soon), Thailand will continue to remain a favourite
with Indians! Take a look at some must-do activities in Bangkok.
Next time you visit a new city, look for
experiences that give you a more authentic feel of the place. Whether it’s
learning something new or volunteering for a cause, the activity will give you
a completely different taste of the place. Take a cooking class (or two) in
Italy or try your hand at some Muay Thai (kick-boxing) in Bangkok!
travel, the more you realise just how much there is to still see and
experience. So here’s my wish list for 2014. I don’t know how many I will
eventually tick off or whether I will go in a whole different direction, but
these are the places that are firmly on my radar.
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Asia collide… Istanbul has been so vividly portrayed in books and film – the
narrow alleys of Sultanahmet (the Old City), the Blue Mosque, cruising the
Bosphorous and of course the Grand Bazaar (and James Bond zipping through it on a bike!). The other place I really long to see is the UNESCO World Heritage
Site of Cappadocia and its quirky cave dwellings. But more than these somewhat
clichéd images of Turkey, it is Robyn Eckhart’s blog Eating Asia that has made
me put Turkey on the top of my wish list. Her latest post is truly inspiring –
on her obsession with the place and the new book that has arisen out of it.
second husband was an archaeologist so she spent a fair amount of time
travelling through the region, so this novel and her memoir – “Come tell me how
you live” – contains several references to this remarkable ‘lost city’. It’s
also home to the Dead Sea, located at the lowest point on earth, and the
virtually untouched Wadi Desert.
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Last year, I explored a fair bit of Italy north of
Rome. But the ‘heel’ of Italy has some true gems such as Puglia, Calabria and
of course Sicily. Southern Italy is more laid-back and takes dolce far niente (pleasure of doing
nothing) more seriously! Also, you’re less likely to break the bank as Lonely
Planet points out in their list of Best Value Destinations for 2014.
(Varanasi) is on my list not for religious reasons, but just for the experience
of it. The temples by the ghat, the Ganga aarti, the countless images of the
sadhus, and of course the famed street food… I came across an interesting 3-day
curated trip to the city towards the end of this month. Check out ‘Banarasiya’;
it looks like fun.
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India’s northeast is an unexplored terrain for me,
so I hope this year changes that. The incredibly green tea gardens of Assam
look so inviting as does the idea of cruising down the Brahmaputra. Chasing
rhinos in Kaziranga and immersing myself in the village life of Majuli are the
other must-dos on my list.
long bucket list! So which places make it to your travel wish list this year?
Leave me a comment below. Here’s to an exciting travel-filled 2014!
Really great places to visit, you shared such an astounding information to your visitors. really useful to read. thanks for sharing.