This article appeared online in Outlook Traveller on December 23rd ’23. You can see the original digital print here. Festivals, known as ‘tsechus,’ are integral to Bhutanese culture. While they are great social events where entire communities come together to celebrate, they also carry tremendous spiritual significance, as the Bhutanese believe that by attending these…
This article appeared in Golf Plus on June ’23. You can see the original digital print here. I was invited to play on some of Spain’s finest golf courses on the Costa del Sol which stretches along Spain’s southern edge. This region boasts 70 of Spain’s four hundred courses the highest concentration in all of…
This article appeared in The Leela Magazine for the Winter ’23 edition. You can see the original digital print here. Spain is a fascinating country, but undoubtedly the most enthralling region is the southernmost province of Andalucía. While it is famous for its flamenco and bullfighting, the most important reason to visit Andalucía is the…
This article appeared in New Zealand Herald on February ’24. You can see the original print here. In the pantheon of great American cities, New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) occupies its own very special niche. With its diverse strands of Native American, French, West African, and Spanish cultures and languages all coming together to produce the…
Spain is a fascinating country to explore, but undoubtedly the most enthralling and exciting region is the southernmost province of Andalucía. Almost all international visitors to Andalucía land at Málaga airport and most invariably and inevitably head straight to sun themselves on the beaches of the Costa Del Sol. This is a pity because Málaga,…
This article appeared on the July ’23 issue of Travel + Leisure India. You can see the original digital print here. Georgian wine has captured the world’s attention with its explosive growth in recent years. Travel + Leisure India & South Asia’s contributor travels to the Kakheti wine region in Georgia to understand what makes the country’s…
The most famous personality to come out of the small country of Georgia in the Caucasus was Joseph Stalin who ruled the Soviet Union with an iron fist for thirty years from the death of his predecessor Vladimir Lenin as General Secretary in 1924 to his own death in 1953. As first-time visitors to Georgia,…
Fire, as an element, runs right through the heart of Azerbaijan’s very being. The name itself comes from the Persian words, azer, which means “fire” and baygan, which means “protector’’ and tongues of flame in the form of a shield are prominently displayed at the centre of the national emblem. How did fire come to be so…
For the last two years, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the travel and hospitality industry. And travel writers like I have been on the thinnest end of the wedge. So, when I got an invite to travel to Thailand in February, it was like a lifebuoy being thrown to a drowning man and I grabbed…
As Indians look at international holidays once again, Thailand beckons with its pristine, accessible shores. We spoke to Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) deputy governor for international marketing (Asia and South-Pacific), Tanes Petsuwan, about Thailand’s sustainability initiatives, health safety protocols, and plans for the Metaverse. By Ranjan Pal Thailand has always been a popular tourism destination…
