Travels That Make Us 

April, 2025. My mum and I were in Kolkata for eight days, staying at my aunt's. And with each day that passed came more plates of home-cooked food that I would never have been able to have back in Melbourne (- sorry, Maa, this is not a criticism!). Whether it was something sweet or spicy. vegetarian or non-veg, rice or bread, it was wholesome, hearty and heavenly. Every time I finished a meal, I would only wish for the next one to come sooner. I have tried countless cuisines

The Man without a Passport Before I ever boarded a flight, I had already rehearsed my exile. Three times I had applied for a passport. Three times, rejection. Bureaucratic silence and a dead end each time. Somewhere along the line, I stopped imagining a life beyond Indian borders. Not out of contentment - resignation is its own genre of stability. And then came the call. One ordinary afternoon, I was pulled into a meeting. “We’d like you in the US office,” they said. “Just fo

...we were in Berlin, safe and secure in our first Airbnb, but tired to the core from the hassle of getting to the first city we visited on this trip! September 2024. This was our first time flying with Etihad. Rakesh was impressed when, instead of a sign, a ground staff at Melbourne Airport directed us to a counter for those who'd checked in online. The impression, however, dissipated when we discovered after boarding the first flight that the aircraft was quite cramped, mai

Kenya was always on my bucket list, and it naturally included the very ancient Masai tribe, whose past could be traced even beyond their...

Day 1 We left my uncle’s flat in Marine Terrace, Singapore, with him, and took a train and two buses to reach Johor Bahru , Malaysia’s...

As soon as we decided to visit Berlin in 2024, a guided tour of the Reichstag became top priority - and for good reason. With its...

Ah Santiniketan! The pride and paradise of Bengali art and literature, and a melting pot of diverse cultures, home to the world-famous...

Is it possible to explore a city in one and a half days? That might never be enough, but if given a choice between seeing and not seeing...

Day Two We had a full day to sightsee in Tashkent  before boarding the train to Bukhara the next day. Before we could begin our...

Time visited: October 2023 Time spent: Two nights Prologue and Politics Uzbekistan, which formed part of the Silk Road, the ancient trade...

Pick a box! The first contains fermented Greenland shark meat, the second has dry-roasted dung beetles, and in the third you'll find a...

During the final days of 2024 and the start of 2025, I had the joy of returning to my hometown, Shanghai, with my family. Living in...

A shout-out to Soma's Camps! Time visited: December 2024 Time spent: Four days Being a history enthusiast, I usually prefer to visit...

When my parents were considering flying to Bangladesh with Cathay Pacific, out of nowhere, my brain had this amazing idea that we should...

Our 'spuddiest' holiday ever!

Malaysia has always held a special place in my heart, but this trip was particularly meaningful as it marked my debut in long-distance...

Time visited: September 2022 Time spent: Three nights Day 3 We have no shame in admitting that our third and final day in Tallinn also...

Our second day in the Estonian capital...

The sights seen on the first day of our three-day stay in Tallinn, Estonia.

For our trip to South Korea, we had two layovers at Singapore Changi Airport spanning over 24 Hours. Therefore, we had plenty of time to...