I am a Traveler. A Wanderlust. The Wandering Buddha…

Or at least I try to be one! Whenever possible, I take a break from my regular work-life routine, check my bank balance, pack my bags and just go. I am always busy planning my next grand trip in my head when I can take a break from the mundane existence of corporate life and be myself again. Should it be a short jaunt to the coffee plantations of nearby Karnataka or a backpacking trip through exotic Turkey? I open Google Maps (it is bookmarked in my browser and also in Most Visited tabs) and start researching. I start checking on flight itineraries and possible travel routes. Should I revisit heavenly Ladakh or should I instead go for our affordable and accessible Southern neighbor, Srilanka? I check how much savings I have in my account, and then I calculate the costs and fix budgets for hopefully soon-to-be trips. This happens every day. It is the story of my life.

It all started pretty early in my childhood. When I was still in school, we used to go to the beautiful hill stations of Southern India during my summer vacation to escape the scathing heat. It was pretty much a ritual for us every year. To have a father who loves travel helps a lot indeed. But the epiphany came during my MBA, it was when I set foot on foreign soil for the first time. As part of a student exchange program, I travelled to Europe to study a term in Paris in the latter half of 2008. During those three and a half months, I was out traveling for more than one and a half month. I crisscrossed the whole continent sleeping in overnight trains, staying in cheap youth hostels and surviving on Doner Kebabs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it was easily one of the best times I had in my life. That is when I realized that travelling was not just a hobby for me. It was a passion.

This wanderlust has taken me to many places since, made me visit many different countries and experience varied cultures. My motto in life is now ‘Around the World in 80 Years’ – travel to every nook and corner of the world in my lifetime. This blog is an attempt to reminiscence about the places I have been to, to chronicle the fantastic experiences I have had (and will be having), and also to just experience the pure pleasure of writing.