I love stories and I love travelling. So in this post, I’d like to share with you the stories behind some of my travel pictures.
Now I must mention that none of these pictures are a work of art and the quality of some of them are terrible, but I share them here to convey the fun and adventure of travelling.
A photo from my very first trek, during my first year of college (2014). The trek was to Rohida Fort, closeby to Pune. The fort is known as the windy fort because of the raging winds in the area. It was without a doubt the windiest conditions I’ve ever experienced in my life.
The scenic views, strong winds and rainfall made my first trek a thrilling experience and made me fond of trekking. (Little did I know this fondness for trekking could have got me killed one day. But more on that below.)
The one week I spent in Udaipur in 2018 was the most enjoyable week of my life. I stayed in four different hostels, met so many people, experienced the rich culture of Rajasthan and had so many interesting conversations.
Here's me celebrating my 23rd Birthday in Udaipur with five other solo travellers from around the world. It was spending time with them I realised you can have profound connections with anyone, irrespective of which part of the world you are from.
In Berlin with my buddy Ronal
It may seem like my friend and I are quite acrobatic, but let me assure you that doing this was much easier than it looks.
This was taken in Illuseum Berlin a really enjoyable place that has lot of interesting optical illusions. If you are seeing this in mobile trying looking at the photo upside down and then you will understand how easy it was to pull this off.
In Hampi
Of all the places I’ve travelled, Hampi remains one of the places that has wowed me the most!
Being in certain parts of Hampi felt like being transported to an ancient time period. The big boulders in Hampi and the ruins of the old Vijayanagara Empire are a sight to behold!
Unfortunately, I could only spend a couple of days in Hampi before I had to leave. I was on the road for around 3 months by the time I was in Hampi when I got a call from my mother saying enough with all of your travelling, if you ever want to step foot in the house again you better come back home now. Well, I guess you can imagine what happened next. 😂
With my Italian friend, Andrea in his hometown Busalla, whom I had first met in Udaipur over five years ago.
Andrea was a fantastic host, showed me around his town and cooked me the best pasta I had during my time in Italy.
In Udaipur and in Busalla, I felt a deep brotherly vibe with him, and we entertained the notion of having perhaps known each other in a previous life.
In this picture you can see me about to have my first taste of alcohol after five years. Something about being in Europe makes you want to have wine.
Paragliding in Bir, Himachal
Hearing about a fellow travellers’ exhilarating experience paragliding was one of the main reasons I wanted to travel to Himachal Pradesh.
Paragliding is something you need to do in tandem with an experienced paraglider who steers you.
As I was paragliding, I was thinking this felt too peaceful for my liking. However, about 15 minutes into the whole thing, my co-pilot did a backflip in the air, which felt amazing and gave me an incredible adrenaline rush.
After that I nudged the co-pilot to do more backflips. But to my disappointment he stopped after that and wouldn’t budge. In hindsight though it was probably good he didn’t do more. Well guess what?
My co-pilot was drunk!!!
Despite the strong smell of alcohol on him, I didn’t realise it until I interacted with him after we landed, at which point it became obvious he was not completely in his senses. I guess all I can say is that I’m lucky to have come out of it in one piece.
Back in 2016, two of my friends who resided at Qatar, had invited me to watch the Football World Cup and stay with them.
But then again, back then we didn’t really have a clue then where all of us would be in six years’ time. Well thankfully, our fates aligned and it was possible for all of us to watch it together.
This picture was taken outside the football stadium during Qatar World Cup 2022 with my best friends Richy & Paul Sam. Taken an hour before the start of the World Cup game between Switzerland & Serbia which turned out to be a thrilling contest that ended 2-2.
A picture from my very first solo trip. Here’s me standing in the cliff all set to dive into the Ganga in Rishikesh.
I wouldn’t have normally tried doing something like this, but before taking my trip, I had read a blog about a solo traveller’s experience in Rishikesh who had ended up doing this. So, I drew inspiration from her and decided to go for it!
This was shortly after doing white water rafting in the Ganga which was really enjoyable and something I’d highly recommend.
(In this picture, you can find me third from the top/bottom.)
Climbing the Indrahara Pass (4,342 metres /14,245 ft) a part of the Himalayan Mountain range, has been the most challenging physical activity I have undertaken in my life.
Trekking the Indrahara was a journey of many “firsts” for me. It was my first time seeing snow, experiencing sub-zero temperatures, trekking a mountain and sleeping in a tent.
Descending the mountain was really scary and there were multiple times during the trek when I could have easily died.
On a couple of occasions as I was descending the snow-covered mountain and lost my footing. I slipped and went sliding down. But luckily for me the guide caught hold of me on both occasions.
In Milan
Before I took my trip to Europe, the picture of the Duomo was my wallpaper for quite some time.
I believe vision boards can be powerful so I decided to set a picture of Duomo as my wallpaper to manifest the trip into existence.
When I saw Duomo with my own eyes, I was amazed by its beauty. It was enchanting to hear the sound of the organ reverberating when I spent time inside the church.
I feel many buildings look much better in pictures than in reality, but with Duomo I would say the pictures don't do it justice.
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