Author: wanderfulweekendz

Traveler. Photographer. Storyteller. I believe that travelling is not just about the destination but also the journey, the people, the experiences, the food, the culture and most importantly a good story to tell when you return.

Beach OK Please!

Published on by wanderfulweekendz2 Comments
Summer is here and with the rising mercury, a visit to the beach is just what the doctor prescribed.
Ah the breezy palms, the sandy beaches and the cool blue waters!
But in India, a visit to the beach is not just A Visit To The Beach. It is like a visit to a town fair that has made the beach it’s permanent abode. From food stalls selling lip-smacking snacks, ice creams and coconut water to professional photographers who will click and print your photo on the spot to men offering rides on horses, camels and even quad bikes; there is no dearth of distractions for the average Indian beach-goer.
A recent visit to our very own Juhu beach in Mumbai had me sifting through the pictures of some of our other beach visits around India in mild amusement.

Continue reading “Beach OK Please!” →

Exploring Madness in the Silence of Spiti

Published on by wanderfulweekendz6 Comments

When I woke up in the morning, I was in two minds. Should I go? Should I wait for a ride? Should I just stay on in Batal instead? Save both money and effort? The choice was simple. All I had to do was say yes or no. So, I stopped thinking. I tuned out and went about my duty, focusing on the next task alone.

The plan is to walk to Chandratal. Google told me its 14 kilometers and the board in Batal agreed. Continue reading “Exploring Madness in the Silence of Spiti” →

Down the Konkan coast to re-discover Maharashtra’s naval forts

Published on by wanderfulweekendz3 Comments

The coasts and hills of Maharashtra are dotted with forts. 236 to be exact. Don’t believe me. Check here.

That’s the highest among all the states in India. But unlike the lavish fort-palaces of Rajasthan, the forts of this state are rugged military bastions from which the generations of fierce warriors; the Marathas, the Peshwas, the Siddhis; watched over and guarded their territories from enemies and invaders.

Continue reading “Down the Konkan coast to re-discover Maharashtra’s naval forts” →

Ready Steady Po(ndicherry)

Published on by wanderfulweekendz4 Comments

Travel is never a matter of money but of courage. -Paulo Coelho

And if you are an Indian (especially a girl), travel is a matter of your parents’ permission too. Fear of safety and their inability to believe that their children are grown ups stop them from letting us go. And then there is “Log kya Kahenge?” (What will people say?). Luckily for me, my parents never paid attention to what others had to say. The poor souls were only traumatized by the thought of sending their daughter for a solo trip. Continue reading “Ready Steady Po(ndicherry)” →

A weekend in Daman

Published on by wanderfulweekendz3 Comments

Our trip to Daman was planned in an hour. It was after a short siesta on a hot May afternoon that our visiting clan from Kolkata hatched the plan to drop into Daman in order break the monotony of the better part of their vacation spent in a sleepy industrial town of Gujarat. The excitement of all but the one who had previously visited the place could only be termed as “irrational exuberance”. Go, we did, and came back with mixed feelings about the place. Continue reading “A weekend in Daman” →