Few have benefitted from the rise of social media as much as travel bloggers who have been zipping around the world, often on invitation by destinations and hotels. Over the past decade or so, it had become the norm for the bloggers’ social media timelines to be full of images from around the world as they travelled to one exotic destination after another. Hence, when the Covid-19 pandemic began and stopped travel, especially international travel in its tracks, few would have been left more dejected than the bloggers, who perhaps have had to make do with musings over their past travel experiences. Now, as travel resumes, India Outbound reaches out to some of the Indian bloggers to find out how they spent the time when they were ‘grounded’ and also to find out their wish lists for travel and the dream destination that they would like to visit first.

Devesh Joshi: Surfing in Queensland

I visited Queensland, in Australia, during a blog trip with Queensland Tourism back in 2017. And since then, I have been in absolute love with the place. Two of the biggest reasons are the diversity of the region and the watersports.

Queensland is amazing for those who travel for adventure, pristine beauty, hidden surprises and laid back beach culture and lifestyle. For me, it was a complete package.

There are over 1,000 World Heritage-listed sites around the world, and five of them can be found in Queensland. We are talking about a small region in Australia. Now imagine the amount of beauty and diversity it may have.

It was in Queensland that I tried surfing for the first time. The idea of riding a wave standing up is an awesome feeling. I would love to revisit Queensland to try more surfing and make myself a master of the sport.

The best time to visit Queensland for surfing is autumn and winter. Most of the surfing beaches can be pretty crowded when the surf is right and early morning is an excellent time to get out there.

My first introduction to Queensland happened at the Gold Coast and I can totally recommend the place to newbies.

I have had quite a few experiences since the last year and a half. As soon as the first lockdown was lifted, I planned an all-India motorcycle trip. For about three months, I travelled from Delhi to Kerala and back. Since international travel was on a halt and I knew I wouldn’t be getting any media trips, it was a perfect time for me to plan my own grand adventure. Over three months I explored my own country like I never did before.

I started from Delhi, spent about two weeks exploring Rajasthan, before finally entering Gujarat and discovered Rann Utsav, a popular winter event organised every year for about three months by Gujarat Tourism. It’s a perfect event to experience Gujarati life and culture in just a few days. From Gujarat, I entered Maharashtra and followed the coastal route to Goa. For those who enjoy road trips, coastal Maharashtra is a holy grail. I spent about two weeks in Goa before finally moving further south. I concluded my trip in Kerala before heading back to New Delhi following the Eastern Coast this time.

After that trip, I decided to shift my base to Manali in Himachal Pradesh, and start a backpacker hostel here. Again, since travel, especially international travel, was on a standstill mode, it was a perfect time for me to begin something new.

Since January 2021, I have been living in Manali, travelling locally and handling operations at my backpacker hostel called Footloose Camps. The idea was to start a place for long stays. We are particularly targeting, and constantly transforming this place, for those on a Work From Home tenure.

Soon, now that international travel is reopening again, I am planning an international trip. Queensland in my foreseeable international travel-destinations-list.

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Meenakshi J: Serendipity in Sri Lanka

Jittery nod, first international trip in aeons, unmasked from the mundane yet masked. Destination reached. Indulgence in the luxurious and pristine, scrumptious local fare and intoxicating sites of historical ruins. Roadtrips, temples and sombre war memorials. And, a heartbreaking adios to a destination that shall remain etched in my memory for long.

My recent trip to Sri Lanka was all this and more.

Welcome to Serendib, as this island nation, Sri Lanka is fondly known as! A country where people’s vibrant attires get accentuated by the varied shades of nature, where white sand beaches live in harmony with lush greenery, whose mountain slopes are famous for producing flavoursome Ceylon Tea, and where ancient realms live in harmony with the new.

Add to this, the warmth of hospitality, affable people and a home away from home, and Sri Lanka is thy word. Located just a few kilometers from mainland India, I found Sri Lanka as a serene south-Asian country blessed with a rich heritage and culture, and ample open spaces – a much needed luxury in these turbulent times of the pandemic, which acted as balm to someone like me recovering from long illness due to Covid-19.

On a blissful road-trip across this tear-shaped island in the month of October 2021, as part of the Visiting Travel Blogger and Journalist Programme, courtesy Sri Lanka Tourism Board, I discovered Sri Lanka’s bountiful paths-colourful ancient kovils and their entangled history with the Ramayana all along, ethereal Buddhist stupas and rock-cut caves adorning its hamlets, colourful churches along its shores, a mix of precious rocky cliffs and lotusladen ponds flanking highways, vast areas off its Northern Province frequented by myriad avian species and rare wildlife, and islands off the Jaffna Peninsula seeped in bygones and lore.

Sri Lanka is abundantly blessed with nature’s beauty. The Central Province of the isle is home to gurgling streams, splendid water cascades and endless acres of tea-plantation, kissed by fluffy clouds and misty air. And, it is this part of the country, of course apart from Jaffna, that has my heart, especially Nuwara Eliya — a colonial town with postcard perfect landscapes and vintage structures, home to a large Tamil population working as tea-plantation workers.

Closely resembling the Queen of the Hills, Nilgiris, back in India, the Central Province also has ample heritage sites and experiences to explore and indulge in. From the sacred city of Anuradhapura, in North Central Province, to the rocky cliffs with ancient frescoes of Sigiriya, and from the stunning paintings of the Dambulla caves to the spectacular Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, this province is a treat for culture enthusiasts and spiritual seekers, apart from trekkers, nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts.

Owing to the pandemic restrictions, I could not explore much of the island especially its Central Province by train on this trip of mine. And, I hope to undo this, by visiting Sri Lanka again in this new year of 2022! Because, what better way to explore a country than by the rail-road offering spectacular vistas and a slice of local flavour, isn’t it?

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Nisha & Vasu: Chasing a White Christmas in Europe

International travel for leisure and probably for work came to a grinding halt almost two years back. Things are far from normal when it comes to vacations abroad. However, we always say “hope for the best, because hope is the main thing that can help us tide over the darkest of the hour”. So keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best!

Having said that, domestic travels open up off and on and we did a few short jaunts in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Delhi, mixing work with leisure and being apprehensive all the while, knowing fully well the dangers lurking around the corner. Apart from that we were gearing up for a long duration visit to South America by learning Spanish and Portuguese amongst other things.

Well, before the pandemic started we had planned and booked our tickets to go to Europe in the winter of 2020 but after waiting for a few months into the pandemic and knowing things were not going to improve, we postponed it to 2021 and now to the winter of 2022.

We have spent winters in Europe in the past, that too during Christmas, which is always special. Experiencing White Christmas is our all-time favourite activity. Having lived in Europe, one of the things we missed doing was a Christmas circuit with a difference. And that’s what we had and have planned to do.

Our plans are to visit those areas of Europe, mostly in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France, where apart from the traditional Santa Claus with his red robe and flowing beard there are many female gift givers also, who make rounds. No, we are not talking about Mrs Santa!

We talk about some of them here.

Tante Arie (Aunt Arie) who rides her donkey, Marion, from the mountains of Franche-Comté region of France and the adjoining Jura mountains of Switzerland. She brings cakes and cookies to all good children and the children in return leave vegetables for the donkey. How thoughtful!

La Befana, dressed as a hag on a broom, she brings sweets and gifts to good children and lumps of coal to the bad ones. The village folks leave her small treats and drinks in case she is hungry or thirsty.

Frau Gaudeis from Mecklenburg, a historical region in northern Germany. During the Christmas period she travels through streets riding a cart drawn by a pack of spirit-dogs.

Then there is Frau Holle, who is probably the inspiration for the Old Mother Frostfairy-tale. Frau Perchta brings money to hard working children of higher Alpine villages of Austria, Germany and Switzerland and many others.

These Christmas traditions are indeed interesting to watch, experience and learn about. We think they are worth experiencing first-hand.

We don’t know if this will be our first international visit this year but looking at the pandemic situation, this well might be and we hope our plans fructify this winter!

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Manjulika Pramod: Dream called Japan

No matter how many restrictions may be laid down, a wanderlust never stops dreaming of amazing, awe-inspiring and world-famous places on Earth. I may not be the one who makes bucket lists and ticks off fancy places, but I am always on a lookout for destinations that are fun, dreamy, artsy and technologically fascinating. I travel for stories and I am hopeful that year 2022 will be the year when we will make up for all our lost holidays and vacations.

Japan has been on my mind for the longest of times. Before the pandemic, I was planning to go here and even now, my plan remains unchanged. I have been intrigued about Japan ever since I heard a friend’s dad say, “If you wish to be transported to the future, Japan is the place to go.

All that I have heard and read so far, Japan has impressed me with its great culture, history, food and incredible modernisation. It is a country that thrives on technology and when it comes to bullet trains, we all wish to experience it someday. I have scoured some of the blogs on Japan and they have not only helped me plan my itinerary but have also enhanced my curiosity for this unique country.

I am quite in awe of Japan for its technological advances and wish to experience it for myself. I am itching to catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji and the scenic ambiance around it. While the temples, Zen gardens and National Parks are already on the to-do list, my eyes are set for the heritage trails and street art tours. While I would love to discover the popular cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima, the lesser-known places like Okinawa, Kyushu Island, Takamatsu and Iya valley are also in my itinerary.

The Sakura season (augment of spring season) would be my season to go to Japan. It is a dream to be romanticised by the beautiful cherry blossom flowers all around me. Also, attending the traditional Japanese events (matsuri) is high on my list. I will stay in a ryokan for at least a night to bring back an authentic cultural experience. I have also heard a lot about Matsumoto Castle, Japan’s oldest wooden castle, which I would love to see for myself. No trip to Japan would be complete without indulging in its authentic Japanese food and some shopping on Takeshita Street. I know it is going to be tough to find vegetarian delicacies, but I am up for this challenge.

The moment I realised that travelling is not going to happen for the longest time, I started using my time in reading, writing, painting and finishing my pending travel blogs. I also revisited my hobbies and did lots of art and craft work. I made illustrations about life during lockdown and published my book, Kaleidoscope of Cheer and Hope in 2020 on Kindle.

The last one and a half years have also given me a lot of time to sit back and do things that were close to my heart. In the past one year, I have been working on my initiative called ‘Repurposed Art Studio’. The aim is to repurpose and upcycle old and trash and turn them into something useful. The aim is to get rid of the concept of one-time use and prevent some of the waste from ending up in the landfills. In this, I have been using my crafting skills, taking online classes and keeping myself busy decorating my house. I have been very particular about not travelling until the situation becomes better and thus, I have not done many domestic travels as well.