by 2014 was an eventful year on Itchy Feet, with three new countries and one old favourite. The year started on a lukewarm note, with almost no travel for the first three months. There was the excitement of the book launch and a couple of work trips to Mumbai (including a workshop on freelance writing at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival) and a food-related work trip to Madurai in the blazing April heat.
In early April, we also braved the heat for a long weekend at Pench – this forest was dry and brown but beautiful at that time. My first glimpse of dhole (wild dogs) and jackals, and of course, a great tiger sighting.
May was a super busy time, with a week in South Africa – think wildlife, luxury spa, ziplining adventure and a hot air balloon ride…
South Africa (May)
Then I went to gorgeous Ireland and fell in love with the warmth of the place and people – the very beautiful Galway with a day’s drive on the Wild Atlantic way and the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland’s City of Culture Limerick and cheery Dublin.
Ireland (May)
We moved cities in June – a massive change from Bangalore to Gurgaon. And soon after, a trip to UK to see the events commemorating a hundred years of World War I. London had just perfect weather and I did what I love most in the city: took long walks (including a food tour of the East End) and spent hours at Southbank. I also went to Leeds for a couple of days to meet friends, driving to York from there to see the stunning York Minster.
UK (July)
A quick visit to Ladakh – my second – to review a couple of new properties for a travel magazine (read about the Chamba Camp at Thiksey here…)
Ladakh (September)
We also escaped to Jaipur for a weekend (see, these quick weekend breaks are one of the few good things about living in Delhi) to the opulent Taj Rambagh Palace. It was two days of lazing around, eating and sleeping, with a little bit of shopping thrown in on Sunday evening.
A long weekend in Nepal, taking in the Kathmandu valley and the stunning Durbar Squares of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur…
Nepal (October)
And then there were the smaller trips – to Thanedar in Himachal during August (peak apple season), my childhood city of Hyderabad for a lifestyle story, Satpura and Kanha National Parks in the heart of India just after Deepavali and Agra in end December (so foggy that we couldn’t see the Taj Mahal from a few feet away in the morning).
So, what was your year like? And what are your travel plans for 2015?
Here is wishing you a wonderful, wanderful year 🙂
I loved the Taj image in fog. And those tents in Thiksey look like quite a thing! Wishing you a happy and eventful 2015…
Thanks, Arun – wishing you a year filled with travels and adventures too 🙂
The Taj experience in the morning was surreal – zero visibility, even at close range. We were lucky to get this view from Mehtab Bagh across the river in the evening – else would have come back without seeing Taj!
That sounds like a wonderful year! Have a fabulous 2015 with loads of travels.
Thank you, Niranjan! Look forward to reading about your new travels too 🙂
That’s an eventful year Charu! Wishing you even more wonderful year ahead.
Thank you, Nisha. Wish you a wonderful year too – filled with fun and adventure. And may this be the year we meet in the course of some travel 🙂