I went home to Delhi for a week over Holi and, in a fashion familiar from when my brother and I were younger; my parents bundled us into the car and took off on a holiday into the hills. We went to quaint Bhimtal, the lesser-known but far more beautiful spot on the seven-lake circuit that Nainital presides over. [Read more]

This week, I’m going to interrupt regular programming to talk about maps. I have nothing against the tried and tested Indian way of navigating – asking for directions. Stopping to ask a passerby doesn’t deal body blows to my ego and, more often than not, tapping the ‘local talent’ has yielded advantages like traffic tips and shortcuts. But start talking about a road trip and I run to nearest map. [Read more]

“Woke up in the morning to some serious excitement and credible evidence that we’re in fact living in the middle of a jungle. There was a small snake – an Andaman Keel back – in the empty water tank right next to the breakfast table. [Read more]

The first time I ever snorkelled was a bit more adventurous than snorkelling normally is. Usually, it’s a pretty sedate activity that I’d recommend to everyone, and it’s something even non-swimmers can try. I even wrote about that here. [Read more]

The next day was very energetic.

“Whoever thinks adventure is about a white bikini, a sailboat, sea spray and some breeze, should never come to the Andamans. Adventure here is about getting nastily scratched by pointy coral and sweating so much that beads of it slide down your face and drip off the point of your nose, but you still can’t lift a finger to wipe them because you need your hands to grab onto a branch or grasp the edge of a rock as you leap from one to another. [Read more]