All posts filed under: Places Travelled

My First Hospitality Venture FootlooseCamps: A Campsite In Sethan

Published by Dev

From being a full-time nomad to starting my first hospitality venture: A Campsite In Sethan When in 2015 I was facing a lost battle with my corporate life, unsatisfied and wanting more my myself, I had no idea that in just a couple of years I would be exploring countries on media trips. I’d no idea that tourism boards would be inviting me for experiencing what their country has to offer in return for promoting them on my digital channel(s). In short, I didn’t know that I would become a travel influencer! And what I certainly didn’t know, after quitting my job to travel and facing more financial problems than I could ever imagine, during the initial year of travel blogging, that very soon I’ll have my own hospitality business. FootlooseCamps, as I now tell the world with a proud look and a confident face, is my first hospitality venture — a brainchild, a chef-d’œuvre! Long-Term Travelling Made Me A Risk Taker Before I started travelling, I was one of those people who would never take risks …

9 Tips For Planning Any Motorcycle Trip

Published by Dev

Motorcycles were invented for the same reason roads were – to travel and tell stories. When I started backpacking full-time, one of my biggest fantasies was going on a long solo motorbiking trip in the Himalayas. And there was a time when I was totally hooked on it, resulting in many motorbiking trips across New Delhi, particularly in the Himalayas. I think people who own a two-wheeler but don’t go on road-trips are unlucky and are definitely missing out a lot. So if you’ve always wanted to do the same and experience a motorcycle road-trip, make 2018 your year and go on that fantasy road-trip across India. But before anything, here are a few tips you need to keep in mind before you hit the road. These are the tips that I learned from my experiences of riding in India. Get yourself a proper luggage system If you think investing in a proper luggage for a trip is a wastage of money, you’re mistaken. A proper luggage system not only improves on your luggage carrying …

Patola & Tangaliya: Two Indigenous Handicrafts of Gujarat You Cannot Afford To Miss

Published by Dev

I had already fallen in love with the misunderstood state that is Gujarat last year as I travelled to Kutch and Saurashtra region last year for almost a month. Misunderstood, because you’re often a bit sceptical while planning your trip to Gujarat — due to a limited information available online. But as soon you get there and start exploring the state you fall in love with it — almost hopelessly. From a rich culture to beautiful art & crafts to some of the mind-boggling natural phenomenon Gujarat has something for everyone. During my recent blog trip with Gujarat Tourism, we explored a few more highlights in and around Ahmedabad, other than what I covered the last time. There were centuries old temples, local art forms and some architectural marvels on the list. While all of them were equally beautiful, the two highlights of the trip that I loved the most and recommend to anyone visiting Gujarat, and around Ahmedabad in particular, are the indigenous craft forms of Patola weaving and Tangaliya. Patola Weaving in Patan If ancient art forms are …

Hallan Valley

4 Best Places for Camping in Manali

Published by Dev

I remember when I first visited Manali, it was some 5 years ago. Dreading the summer heat in Delhi and wanting a quick escape, Manali, at 2800m above the sea level, seemed like a perfect option. Here, in Manali, I had heard, it’s not just the weather that stays pleasant throughout the year (below 30 degrees even during the warm summer days) but the experiences are always great too, for there are enough local tourist attractions in Manali. In about 30 or 40 km of radius from Manali, you have Buddhist monasteries to visit, adventure activities like camping and paragliding and river-rafting to try, some of the highest motorable passes to conquer, and nature parks to explore. And if you’re still not sure, you always have an impressive Himachali hospitality to make your experience better. But if you just happen to be a nature’s lover and the reason for you to be visiting the Himalayas is unwinding your daily life in the city, then I can’t suggest going for camping in Manali more. There are various …

A Road Trip Across The Coastal Maharashtra: The beauty Unexplored  

Published by Dev

“We think of travel and we look to far-flung places. We don’t think of stopping to view what’s on offer in our own streets, or neighbouring towns” I never expected this statement being valid on me until very recently, as I explored the beauty of coastal Maharashtra on a four-day road trip. So far I believed that India has everything to offer but a scenic coastal ride, and to get the best of a road trip in India your options are limited to the Himalayas, with Spiti Valley and Leh Ladakh topping the list. To make it even ironic, every time someone asked me about my favourite coastal route the first thing that came to my mind was the Great Indian Ocean Drive in Western Australia, or someplace in Italy. Though I am certainly not comparing the coastal roads of Australia or Italy with those of Maharashtra, in India, the fact that I never explored my own backyard that I didn’t know what beauty it had to offer. 4 Days | 600km | Unbounded Beauty For …

Experiencing Luxury Train Travel In India: With The Golden Chariot

Published by Dev

The Golden Chariot — an absolute luxury train travel in India! For a country like India that is so diverse and distinct, train-travel remains a beautiful highlight. Hopping from one place to the other while noticing small differences in the culture, traditions and landscapes, is a delight of a different kind. And when you get to do it under the luxury of having your own private room, some world-class food and a whole lot of other perks that came along with you — say a gym or a spa — things become even more interesting. Yes, I am talking about one of the five Maharaja Trains that run across India: The Golden Chariot. I happened to experience The Golden Chariot during a blog trip with the Ministry of Tourism in India. A part of 15 other bloggers, representing 6 different continents from across the world, we travelled across the parts of Karnataka and Goa, visiting some of the highlighted gems in the region. Despite personally repeating most of the places (as I’d visited them in the previous years) …

camping near manali

Planning Camping In Manali? Try Footloose Camps!

Published by Dev

After exploring three continents and much of India in the previous two years when the idea of starting a new venture — of opening a tourist facility — struck my mind, the Himalayas felt like the best option. But where in the Himalayas was the question! From the vainglorious far-out valleys in the East to some of the most splendid and frequent in the West, the Indian Himalayas offer a great deal of natural bounty and experiences and basis on where you end up staying (unless you’ve spent years exploring it, just like I did) you shape a picture of your own version of the Himalayas, and its people. Imagine if you stayed at only one place in the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, and that happened to be Darma Valley in the Pithoragarh district — you’d consider Uttarakhand as a land of meat-eaters, and a place where animal sacrifice is still blatantly practised. Now those who are familiar with Uttarakhand, very well know that Uttarakhand is majorly a dry district, where in most parts serving any meat and …

snowboarding india

Buying A Snowboard In India & Becoming A Pro In Under 30,000 Rupees

Published by Dev

Ever since I visited Sethan last year, in the winter of 2017, for learning snowboarding for the first time in life, I’ve been hooked to the sport. I was, in fact, so hooked that you would have found me watching tutorials about snowboarding on youtube, had you suddenly popped into my life a few months ago. From how to correctly stand on a snowboard to how and why to wax it — I’ve seen them all. So as winter approached this year, one thing was clear: I was going to buy my own snowboard and become a pro — but all in a bargain. Buying A Snowboard In India: The Reality To cut things short, let me tell you… buying a snowboard in India is a challenge, just like buying other sport equipment. Even the most popular locations for skiing like Auli and Gulmarg or someplace in Himachal Pradesh have no stores to quickly grab one. Though you may easily find one to rent, buying is, unfortunately, pretty impossible. Most online retailers moreover don’t sell one. …

backcountry snowboarding india

Where To Backcountry Snowboard In The Himalayas

Published by Dev

Before anything, let me be clear… I am not a snowboard or a ski expert. I haven’t cleared any professional certifications, and neither have I been practising the sport since years. I am, in fact, so new to snowboarding that anyone would only call me a beginner. But mastering a sport is one thing, and knowing where to best do it, is the other — and speaking of backcountry snowboarding in the Himalayas, the Pir Panjal range near Sethan is perhaps one of the best options. I first visited Sethan, during the winter of 2017 where I met a group of North Americans who just wouldn’t stop bragging about the nearby ski-slopes. It was their third consecutive winter there. During the entire week I stayed in Sethan, and between all those chilling winter nights conversations, I found them constantly boasting about how exciting the slopes in Pir Panjal can be. “The thrill in snowboarding in the wilderness of the Himalayas is unparalleled, and this place is just so perfect,” one would repeat every two hours. …

snowboarding india

Backcountry Snowboarding In The Himalayas

Published by Dev

Located only 25 km from the town of Manali, in the Himalayan Pir Panjal range, Sethan offers some of the best slopes in the world for backcountry snowboarding/skiing. According to an Australia based ski expert and the author of many books, C.R. Spooner, Pir Panjal is the Mecca backcountry skiing/boarding locale in the Indian Himalayas. I happened to visit Sethan during the winter months of 2017 and was flabbergasted by seeing how much it actually snowed there. Always wanting to return, as winter hit in 2018, I bought my own snowboard from Delhi and made my way to Manali, and further to Sethan. Bringing to you my week-long backcountry snowboarding adventure in Sethan, here’s a quick 3-minute video: You can also read more about My First Snowboarding Experience In Sethan last year. Subscribe to my Youtube channel, for more travel videos.