Travel

The island of Maui

June 9, 2025

Although we live in California with the year-round summer weather, Hawaii beckons us with its tropical climate to enjoy the sparkling waters of the Pacific Ocean teeming with colorful marine life. The lush green forests, home to birds of vivid colors are similarly alluring, arousing our curiosity to learn more about the world we …

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The west coast of Iceland

May 18, 2025

The golden circle is the most popular of the scenic routes in Iceland, the topmost recommendation for things to do if you are spending more than a day in the country. It starts and ends in Reykjavik and encompasses a national park, a waterfall and a geothermal area with active geysers. We naturally chose …

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The land of fire and ice

July 14, 2024

Early last year, I was making plans for what would be my only international trip of the year and as always, it turned out to be a trip that I would go on by myself. I had picked the destination a year ago – Iceland, the land of fire and ice. Some Instagram posts …

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The Canadian Rockies – 3

February 6, 2023

The unexpected snowfall on the day I arrived in Jasper had not just taken everybody by surprise but also made it that much more difficult for me to find things to fill in my itinerary. I wanted to go on the hard hikes for the breathtaking views but that was not a possibility anymore. …

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The Canadian Rockies – 2

October 23, 2022

I was back at Lake Louise early in the morning on my third day in Banff, now familiar with the area and some of the trails around. I had read a lot about the trails and was confused about choosing the right one for my abilities and the time I would be spending in …

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The Canadian Rockies – 1

August 29, 2022

At the start of 2022, I decided I would not travel much. I have not explored my beautiful home state of California as much as I would like to and I was also feeling guilty looking at the spending summary for last year on my credit card. I had splurged after a year of …

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Island of Hawai’i – The north shore

August 8, 2022

We chose to spend the four days that we would be working at an Airbnb in Hilo. We had not considered that the pandemic had changed how things were and most cafes including the ubiquitous Starbucks had turned takeout-only. A relatively quiet place to sit and work eluded us as we spent half a …

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Island of Hawai’i – Volcano and Hilo

August 15, 2021

We drove to Volcano, a small town very close to the Hawaii Volcanoes national park from Kona once we picked up a different car. It was a two-hour drive through Hilo and there was rain for the most part, something that we had not experienced so far on our trip. The east side of …

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Island of Hawai’i – The west coast

July 19, 2021

As soon as I got the Covid-19 vaccine shot, I was looking forward to make up for the nearly fifteen months of little to no traveling. I was still apprehensive of flying but decided I would be all right since I was going to Hawaii where they had restrictions right from the start of …

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Alaska: Kenai Fjords National park and Matanuska

March 8, 2021

It drizzled and sometimes poured as we drove away from Denali towards Seward, a city in the southern coast of Alaska, with a planned stop at Anchorage. We were to pick up a friend who had missed the first leg of the trip from the airport. I was quite comfortable in the driving seat …

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Alaska: Denali National Park

July 26, 2020

“What’s one thing that Texas has that Alaska does not? Texans!” The captain on our flight went on a flurry of brag jokes like this one once we touched down in Anchorage, the state’s largest city. He did not forget to mention that Alaska is indeed twice the size of Texas and has a …

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Winter in Niagara

May 11, 2020

While telling people that I am moving to the USA for my Master’s, most seemed genuinely happy that it was to California, a state with nice weather throughout the year. It is just like Bangalore, one of my professors had said, taking away some sheen from my adventure that was to be. Although the …

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A throwback to the medieval times

April 6, 2020

Toulouse, the capital city of France’s Occitanie region is called the pink city due to the color of the bricks used for most buildings in the city. It appeared on my world map owing to a friend who moved there and could not stop talking about how typically European it was. Mainland France has …

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The City of Love

March 22, 2020

As much as I love being in the woods, hiking, putting myself through hours of physical exertion to be rewarded with breathtaking views, I daresay I am intrigued by history, culture and beautiful buildings. Europe boasts of every one of these and I only had a taste of it while visiting London and Wales …

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A weekend in Barcelona

January 25, 2020

Catalonia is a region in the northeastern area of Spain, vying for independence since the last couple of centuries, revolting the imposition of Spanish language and laws on the Catalans who take pride in their language and culture. It was designated an autonomous community when Spain became a republic. The beautiful city of Barcelona …

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Peru: Lake Humantay, Rainbow mountain and Cusco

October 23, 2019

I arrived at my hotel in Cusco, greeted by a sleep deprived man who wanted to change his room in case it was possible and the bleary-eyed hotel staff. Once in my room, I fell asleep quickly, only to wake up in a few hours to head out on my day trip to the …

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Peru: Machu Picchu

August 18, 2019

The two-day Inca trail is probably the most expensive thing I have done on any trip. I would have loved to do the “classic” four-day trek (following the path that the Incas took), but it is much more popular and gets sold out almost a year in advance. In the wee hours of the …

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Peru: Sacred Valley

August 5, 2019

As a botanist’s daughter, the number of times I heard the word ‘biodiversity’ while growing up is probably what led to my fascination with South America, home to the Amazon rainforest. In the recent years, watching David Attenborough’s shows has only intensified my thirst for nature. A trip down there to experience the forest …

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The Splendid Southwest – 4

March 3, 2019

I was most excited about our first day in Zion. I was going to hike Angel’s landing, touted to be one of the most dangerous ones in the USA. It was Thanksgiving Day and the crowd was enormous. The drive to the park was splendid with the red roads only adding to the effect. …

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The splendid southwest – 3

January 21, 2019

Off we went to sleep after a dinner of some pizza and pasta in Page, Arizona. We had booked an early morning tour at 7:30 AM to see the lower Antelope canyon. I had been to the upper Antelope canyon more than a year ago and had been quite disillusioned due to the crowd, …

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The splendid southwest – 2

January 14, 2019

We were at the start of the trail to the delicate arch, the most famous natural stone arch in the world according to the National Park Service, at dawn. I was sure that we would be the only people there that early but was surprised to see a lot of cars in the parking …

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The splendid southwest – 1

January 13, 2019

Planning and preparing for trips is a rather time consuming and expensive craze of mine. I now have someone special to go far and away with, who lets my obsession get the better of me. All he had to do was to share the itinerary with me and the travel junkie in me got …

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Wilderness beckons

June 18, 2018

Once in a while, it is good to take a look back, remember all those who were part of this incredible journey that is life and recollect the times spent together. Sometimes, all we can do is remember. Sometimes, we are fortunate enough to recreate those times with the very same people. After some …

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The windy city

April 15, 2018

A city famed for its architecture, infamous for its crime rate; a city that lures millions of visitors every year in spite of the dreaded winters. I was going to spend thanksgiving last year in Chicago with a friend. My preparation started weeks in advance, reading up about how harsh the cold could be …

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Everything that could go wrong with a trip home

March 18, 2018

Call it nostalgia, call it homesickness, but I am still drawn towards India every chance I get. I have consistently made a trip home every year since I came to the USA, lasting about a month each time. I headed home this time too, with bags mostly filled with chocolates and other things I …

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