After travelling continuously for close to a day, I took a shower to freshen up and re-energise myself. As I came out, all I could see were tea plantations covering every inch of the earth surrounding me. I tried to see the farthest I could to spot something different, but the scenery was monotonous. I was in the middle of a gigantic tea plantation spread across hundreds of acres of land and surrounded by tall, intimidating mountains. It is one of the many experiences you will have while staying in…

After visiting Malpe beach in Udupi in the evening, it was time to take a bus to Mangalore. It was the final leg of my one-week solo trip across coastal Karnataka. Being a spontaneous trip, I didn’t make any hotel bookings in advance. And so, while I was on the bus, I decided to try my luck and found a host in Mangalore. He was renting his apartment for free on Couchsurfing. After spending two days with my host, it was time to leave Mangalore. I got emotional because my…

The show turned out to be excellent. All the circus entertainers shone through with their acrobatic and fire-handling skills. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The European circus show was a sweet reward for our efforts to ensure it went as planned. Together with my fellow volunteers, we were instrumental in cleaning the area, setting up the stage and organising the circus show. We worked daily for close to a month to make the circus show a reality. My time in Goa had also come to a…

After taking some time off for a week, I returned to my office. However, this time, something felt weird. I was not able to focus on work. For the first time, I had an existential crisis at my workplace and kept asking myself questions like these: “Where am I? “What am I doing here? “Was I in a dream last week?” It took me almost a week to familiarise myself with my workplace surrounding. As my first-ever Himalayan expedition, the Brahmatal trek profoundly impacted me, unlike any other trip that…

We woke up at 3 am. It was pitch dark and cold. We got ready as we had black tea and layered ourselves for the trek’s highest point. With nightlamps across our foreheads, we started walking towards our destination in a line. A trek leader led us at the front and another at the back. It wasn’t easy as cold winds were blowing against our faces. But we kept going because all of us signed up for this trek to witness this mesmerising sight that lay ahead in front of…

Would you like to challenge yourself as a trekker in the Himalayas but without actually going to the Himalayas? If so, Kumara Parvatha is a trek in South India that you shouldn’t miss out. In fact, if you plan to trek in the Himalayas, do this trek before to prepare yourself physically and mentally. Standing at 5,617 ft, Kumara Parvatha (also known as Pushpagiri) is the fourth highest peak in Karnataka and probably the most challenging trek I’ve undertaken as a trekker in the Western Ghats. Thick forests, open grasslands…