The Wanderlust Tag

The Wanderlust Tag has been quite popular in the blogosphere and my friend Dolon of Poutprettty wrote a post on it a couple of weeks ago. Since I have insatiable wanderlust and loooooove travelling, I decided to do this post as well but then forgot all about it. Well, better late than never. So here are my answers…..

 

* Where have you travelled to that you would love to visit again?

I would love to revisit ALL the places I have been to but if I had to choose just one, I would say AUSTRALIA. That was my honeymoon destination and hubby and I had decided that we would surely go back…with kids. Well, now the kids are old enough to enjoy all the theme parks and beaches and the Great Barrier Reef, it is certainly high on our travel list. (read about my ideal Australian road trip here).

Now that elder son is a big sports fan (and the younger one parrots his Bhai), especially cricket, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is a must visit for us once again. In fact, he really wanted to go to Australia for the World Cup to catch at least one match but then, he can’t miss school….

* Where was your first plane to?

To Rajkot, where my grandparents used to live. I think I was around 6-7 and was so excited to be flying 🙂

* You’re leaving tomorrow and money is no object. Where are you going?

The whole beautiful world! Starting with Italy, Spain, Greece, moving on to USA, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean islands, Brazil, South Africa…..I would love to travel the whole world. My last destination before heading back home, would be Antarctica, a place I’ve wanted to visit since I was 12.

* Preferred mode of travel: planes, trains or cars?

All three please. And you can add a cruise ship in there as well, thank you very much. As much as I love flying (and duty-free shopping), I enjoy road trips too. And travelling by train has it’s own different charm. Perhaps if I had to take a ship as a means of transport to a really far place, like a trans-Atlantic journey, I might get bored but a few days on a cruise ship, sailing the high seas and visiting different ports is really fun.

 

* Top three travel items:

I’m presuming this means besides all the necessary documents, tickets, money etc. In that case, it would be a good book (I never travel anywhere without a book), camera with extra memory card and a little medicine kit. The last one was from the mommy part of me; never travel without basic medicines for cough, cold, fever, tummy ache, loose motions, nausea etc.

* Where would you travel to just eat the food?

Internationally, it would have to be Italy (but vegetarian only, grazie mille). Within India, it would be the northern part, Punjab, Himachal and Delhi, as well as the western part, Rajasthan and Gujarat since even the small dhabas along the way would have delicious vegetarian food.

If I had to recommend a city in India that people should visit for food, it would have to be my own city, Bombay (Mumbai now). Name the cuisine and you will get it here, and authentic too. And of course, we have our very own street food that I crave towards the end of every international trip, the bhel and sev puri, pani puri, sandwich, wada pav……yummmm!

* Can you recite your passport number from memory if asked?

Hahaha…you’re joking right?

* Are you a repeat visitor or do you explore new places?

Both. Like I said, I would love to visit all the places that I’ve been to again. We did that with Thailand; went on our babymoon and then again with the boys. For short weekend trips too, we like visiting new destinations and resorts but there are some that we visit at least once a year and that feel like second home.

* Do you read up on your destination (culture, history, safety) or do you wing it?

Of course I read up on it. I like to have a general idea of the place, what I would want to see and do. But I’m not stringent with my planning or itinerary and take things leisurely depending on the mood. Like in Paris, we didn’t visit the Palace of Versailles and the Sacre Coeur because my son was exhausted and bored (he was just 3).

* Where would you recommend a friend to visit? Why?

SWITZERLAND! Beautiful, verdant snow-clad mountains, quaint cobblestoned cities with super efficient  public transport, the best brands in the world, amazing weather, beautiful lakes……and fondue! And CHOCOLATES! I guess you’ve realised that Switzerland is my favourite travel destination in the world. Wouldn’t I just love to have a beautiful little chalet in Gstaad or Les Diablerets….sigh.

 

I hope you enjoyed reading my post. I tag all of you do this fun Wanderlust Tag; it would be fun to read all your answers. And have you started planning your summer vacations? Do let me know your holiday destination……

PS – All the pictures in this post are my own, please do not copy.