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Forest Stay Near Kolkata: I Stayed Three Days & Three Nights in the Neora Jungle Camp
In early 2023, I stayed with my family in the Neora Jungle Camp Resort, located deep within the Gorumara Forest near Kolkata, West Bengal for three days and three nights. Read till the end of this blog to discover my forest stay experience filled with two unexpected wild elephant encounters, hikes to the Neora river and experiences at Chapramari jungle safari. I also talk about slowing down in Nature. Please note, this is not a conventional Gorumara Forest guide. It’s my personal experience of staying at the Neora Jungle Camp Resort and how I spent my three days there. Neora Jungle Camp: Our Forest Stay Near Kolkata at a Glance…
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Darjeeling Couple Trip: The Story of My Love Affair With Darjeeling
This is not a conventional Darjeeling itinerary. This is my personal experience exploring Darjeeling as a couple. You will get to know about our quiet, slow walks and wonderful discoveries along the way. Experiencing Darjeeling as a Couple: What Made Us Fall in Love With Darjeeling This was our second visit to Darjeeling. The first time we went with family and this time, we went to Darjeeling as a couple. Since we had covered the top spots in our last visit, we weren’t interested in ticking places off a list this time. We wanted to wander, get a little lost, stop when something caught our attention and let the day…
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A Family Picnic by the River
Sorry I’ve been AWOL here for some time now. There has been a lot going on the last couple of weeks. Pending bank work, family medical troubles, delayed appointments and so on. You know the drill. Outstanding responsibilities, anyone? I’ve been feeling all sorts of burnouts from that. Mental exhaustion is a bugger, guys. While that’s no excuse for my absence here, I decided to temporarily switch off my low priority engagements to keep my sanity intact. Now that things are beginning to fall into place, I found this short pocket of time to write a long-pending blog post. Many of you who follow me on Instagram or Facebook know…
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Sundarban – A Breather in the Mysterious Mangroves
I get asked this question a lot – what do you want to remember a year by? For the last two years, my answer thankfully, continues to be the same. Travel. Okay, so how do I count my blessings for last year? Here goes: Bali for a merry start to the year Koh Samui to ward off the summer heat Darjeeling for a Durga pujo cuppa Tajpur & Mandarmoni for a pre-Christmas jolly good time God has been kind, oh so kind. Tathagata and I had been looking forward to this year’s travel which we had planned to begin in May with bookings to commence from March. Needless to say,…
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Tajpur & Mandarmoni – Travelling With Friends
Tathagata and I have been living out of suitcases since we got married. We’ve been lucky enough to travel to more destinations than I have fingers in one hand in our almost 2 years of marriage. This video is of the last place we travelled to – Tajpur and Mandarmoni, both beach towns situated along the shoreline of the Bay of Bengal. We travelled with friends this time and it made all the difference in the world! Take a look. Thank you Arghya, Payel, Pritam and Indrani for making this trip a huge success. You are amazing!
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10 Things to Do in Darjeeling: Experiences I’ll Always Remember
Planning a trip to Darjeeling and wondering what things to do and see? In this blog, I talk about ten experiences that stayed with me from my first trip to Darjeeling. This includes riding the Darjeeling toy train, dangling in the Darjeeling ropeway hovering above a terraced tea estate, wandering around the Mall Road, enjoying breakfast and dinner at Glenary’s Darjeeling, taking in the sights at Tinchuley sunrise point and more. Some are classic attraction in Darjeeling, some are little moments that made the trip memorable. While growing up, every year when Baba brought home the new calendar from office, a set routine was followed. The calendar used to enter…
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Familiarizing with New Roots – A Visit to a Quaint Countryside
I am a god-fearing woman. I’ve been a believer for 28 years now. I believe faith is that littlest ounce of hope that pushes us to rise from the ashes of our deepest and darkest times and makes us better human beings. My faith in God has helped me find balance in life and answers in the most difficult situations. And this faith, I believe, stems from our roots. From the moment I moved into my new home, I’ve felt my in-laws’ devotion to their roots. I’ve watched them draw strength and inner peace from their belief in the God of their roots – Lord Gobindo (Krishna) and Radharani. The…
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Work Trip: Christmas in Pune – The Last 2018 Hurrah!
I couldn’t think of a better post to start 2019 with than my last travel experiences. Of the many things that 2018 has been for me, the most exciting has been travel (aside from my marriage of course). I’ve been lucky enough to go on 3 trips last year! More so because my dry spell on the travel front had been an excruciatingly long one till 2017. Come 2018 and the travel bug in me got pampered good. I welcomed the change with open arms and an open mind. May, 2018 – Thailand September, 2018 – Chandipur December, 2018 – Pune Pune was a work trip. My colleagues and I…
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A Surprise Birthday Trip to Chandipur
It was, I think, two and a half weeks before my birthday that Tathagata asked me over breakfast whether I could take a leave from work on my birthday. I was immediately excited! Of course I could. It’s my birthday after all. With a hint of smile at the corners of his mouth, he brandished his phone. On the screen were two tickets to Chandipur! I couldn’t be happier! Chandipur is a neatly nested, cozy, sort-of-a beach resort on the Bay of the Bengal. It falls under the Balasore district of Odisha and is a good 16-kilometres away from the nearest railway station. Since the monsoon hadn’t completely left the…
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Our Trip to the Botanical Garden – A Day With Nature
Weddings are normally followed by family visits. A new family member is always a person of interest. What’s s/he like? Does s/he feel comfortable and all settled in? Getting to know the new family addition shoots up to the #1 trending event in the family bulletin. Invitations start pouring in by the minute. It’s exciting – visiting new places, meeting new people and getting to know some fun stories. Perks are travel and an overload of delish dishes! So, we reserved a day of every weekend to make the rounds. On one such expedition to Notun Kaka’s place at Shibpur, we decided to visit the Botanical Garden after lunch. Oh…
