Travel: what makes it fun
Traveling, I must say, is beautiful. Would like to focus on tourist traveling, as haven’t done much of business travel. I am not a fervent traveler who drives 200 miles every weekend.
As a kid growing up in India, our family used to take (govt. sponsored) trips to someplace in the country every four years. We went south and saw Mysore, Bangalore, Ooty, all the way to Kanya Kumari. The heritage and temples stood out. We went east, to the Calcutta, Darjeeling, Shillong, Guwahati. The natural, idyllic beauty stood out. We went to Rajasthan, to Pilani, Jaipur, Udaipur, Mount Abu. The unique and rich culture stood out. I especially liked Udaipur, with the lakes, and palaces.
I stayed in Mysore for four years, and the vicinity has a plethora of places to visit. Tipu Sultan did his bit and there are many palaces, and prisons. Tal Kaveri, where the river originates was another splendid place. Brindavan gardens deserve a mention.
I spend a few months in Trivandrum, Kerala. The beaches were awesome. Still remember the soothing sound of the sea at Kovalam and beautiful evenings at Vakala. The hill station, Munnar was a peaceful place, with the tea plantations and the Tahrs. The Vivekananda rock gave an opportunity to meditate, but the mind wouldn’t stay calm.
I took a trip with friends to Goa which was all about the sun, sand, playing frisbee on the beach and sitting back again on the beach at 2:00 AM. Will restrict myself to the travel related experiences.
Mumbai is an experience in itself, but the travel is more to work or to a friends place. Some places Murud, Alibaug, Raigad, Roha, Poona, Nashik, Silvassa are worth visiting.
My family roots go back to Uttaranchal; UP and I have been to Haridwar almost every year since I was a kid. Have visited Varanasi, Hrishikesh, Kanpur, Lucknow and a lot of small unheard of towns.
In the US, I went to San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Phoenix, Reno, Lake Tahoe. Each places with a different story to tell. The organization, and the planning stand out about United States. Environmental issues apart, for once it seems that humans planned and got it right.
I have always felt that traveling is a rich, enhancing, and an enormous learning experience. It teaches you stuff in an unconventional way. However what I have not been able to completely figure out how. Hence will attempt to approach it analytically. Some factors, which come to mind, are
1. New people
2. New cultures
3. Lack of comfort factor of home, and consequent insecurity
4. New laws, rules
5. New experiences
6. Travel companion
Hope the fact that I am blogging on a flight to NY adds credibility. Running low on battery, and world around me asleep, I will end this entry. I plan to elaborate on the factors and home in on the most important one. Your two cents on this are invited.
As a kid growing up in India, our family used to take (govt. sponsored) trips to someplace in the country every four years. We went south and saw Mysore, Bangalore, Ooty, all the way to Kanya Kumari. The heritage and temples stood out. We went east, to the Calcutta, Darjeeling, Shillong, Guwahati. The natural, idyllic beauty stood out. We went to Rajasthan, to Pilani, Jaipur, Udaipur, Mount Abu. The unique and rich culture stood out. I especially liked Udaipur, with the lakes, and palaces.
I stayed in Mysore for four years, and the vicinity has a plethora of places to visit. Tipu Sultan did his bit and there are many palaces, and prisons. Tal Kaveri, where the river originates was another splendid place. Brindavan gardens deserve a mention.
I spend a few months in Trivandrum, Kerala. The beaches were awesome. Still remember the soothing sound of the sea at Kovalam and beautiful evenings at Vakala. The hill station, Munnar was a peaceful place, with the tea plantations and the Tahrs. The Vivekananda rock gave an opportunity to meditate, but the mind wouldn’t stay calm.
I took a trip with friends to Goa which was all about the sun, sand, playing frisbee on the beach and sitting back again on the beach at 2:00 AM. Will restrict myself to the travel related experiences.
Mumbai is an experience in itself, but the travel is more to work or to a friends place. Some places Murud, Alibaug, Raigad, Roha, Poona, Nashik, Silvassa are worth visiting.
My family roots go back to Uttaranchal; UP and I have been to Haridwar almost every year since I was a kid. Have visited Varanasi, Hrishikesh, Kanpur, Lucknow and a lot of small unheard of towns.
In the US, I went to San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Phoenix, Reno, Lake Tahoe. Each places with a different story to tell. The organization, and the planning stand out about United States. Environmental issues apart, for once it seems that humans planned and got it right.
I have always felt that traveling is a rich, enhancing, and an enormous learning experience. It teaches you stuff in an unconventional way. However what I have not been able to completely figure out how. Hence will attempt to approach it analytically. Some factors, which come to mind, are
1. New people
2. New cultures
3. Lack of comfort factor of home, and consequent insecurity
4. New laws, rules
5. New experiences
6. Travel companion
Hope the fact that I am blogging on a flight to NY adds credibility. Running low on battery, and world around me asleep, I will end this entry. I plan to elaborate on the factors and home in on the most important one. Your two cents on this are invited.
posted by Mohit Gupta at 5:21 PM
1 comments
