Confucius says, “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” The problem is, you might leave it behind. The wave of wanderlust has awakened a desire to see and explore the unknown; there are a few souls who strive for the higher, search for the exclusive and seek something out of the ordinary in their sojourns. Be it taking a peek at the Northern Lights, or walking on a pilgrimage from a village in France to a town in Spain — Camino de Santiago — or plunging into the Polar cold in Antarctica, walking gingerly on the famed Zanskar River or just taking a leap of faith. These are soul seeking travellers who don’t want a tourist trail, they want more and come back enthused beyond imagination.
Actor Purab Kohli, after a spectacular performance in the recently released film Jal, continues to seek the wild side. The actor was recently on a different kind of holiday on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Closer home, it was Nepal’s gorges and valleys that beckoned this kindred soul. “I went bungee jumping over this gorge in Nepal, it’s called the Last Resort. Four to five hours from Kathmandu towards the China border. When I leapt off a shaky bridge, I felt like all my fears were left behind and there was only excitement. In those seven to eight seconds, the free fall was clear in my memory, it helped me deal with other fears too.” He now has his heart set on more “strange holidays” — “Mysore for a month of Yoga and twirling in Turkey,” says the actor.
Model turned actress Puja Gupta of Shortcut Romeo, Go Goa Gone and Faltu Fame, says, “I was in Masai Mara earlier this year and saw the beauty of living with the wild. The Masai dance of the tribals was amazing. They even gifted me a lovely piece of jewellery made by them.”
The Northern Lights are also beckoning many to their twinkling aura. Seema Jaising, entrepreneur, travel expert and blogger is the founder of Che’ Experiences, a hospitality and destination management company, who organises trips to Norway, Finland and Sweden, especially for a view of the Northern Lights. “End of June to mid-July is the best time to see the Northern Lights. Many people are also doing self-drive trips to New Zealand, from Auckland to Wellington and Scotland too. An international driving licence can be got within two days,” Seema explains.
But there are those who ache for the extreme. Couple Monisha Kejriwal and Ramesh Athihalli are such seasoned trekkers. The architect and businessman duo went on a trek on the Zanskar River, which has been voted amongst the top treks in the world (with Aqua Terra). “This has to be done in January (in the winter) when Zanskar is frozen. It becomes a highway of ice — while walking on snow is easy, walking on ice is slippery and quite scary. People fall 30 to 40 times and since it is -20ºC to -30ºC, everything freezes, so it’s quite a task, be it drinking water or just using wet wipes. Due to global warming, there are chances that the lake won’t freeze in a decade or more. Since it’s so extreme, we even made a will, as this terrain is treacherous and it’s a six to seven days walk, depending on your pace. We saw a 30 foot frozen waterfall and it was the most spectacular sight I have ever seen,” says Monisha.
Priya Joseph Chittilappilly, executive director, Wondela Holidays recently went to Antarctica. “Antarctica wasn’t one of those usual trips — it was exclusive as we booked through the National Geographic site that lists adventure cruises. We walked with penguins, spotted minke and killer whales, many species of seals and also did underwater diving. We were up close to icebergs and also went kayaking in the Antarctica waters, and hiked on glaciers. One of the challenges was the polar plunge, where you jump into ice cold water. It was a trip I will always cherish,” Priya says.
Neena Jhanjee, who runs Diva Odysseys, organises high-end holidays for travel seekers too and has had her own unique experiences, “Curated from personal experiences, there are trips to Dubai involving hi-tea at the most expensive restaurant and partying at the elite Cavalli Club. A trip to Bali for cleansing rituals at the Tirtha Empul, the holiest spring, by a priest who takes one inside the sanctums of temples not usually allowed to tourists, or meet Ketut Liyer of Eat, Pray, Love fame,” Neena reveals. On her trip to Bali, she tried the Kopi Luwak, the most expensive coffee in the world and went to Pink Beach near Komodo Island, one of the seven pink beaches in the world.
“On my trip to Seychelles, I discovered the Moyenne Island (middle island) where Brendon Grimshaw, a modern day Robinson Crusoe lived alone with his helper (man Friday) and hundreds of giant sea turtles. I also enjoyed the local bat curry (made of fruit bats),” adds Neena.
An interaction with wildlife is always on the cards for many, Kannada actor Sri Murali of Ugramm fame is an adventure freak and the next thing to cross off his list was cage diving with sharks. “A boat leaves from Bluff to waters infested with sharks around Stewart Island. It costs about $1,500 and you don’t need to be an experienced or certified diver as the cage is a surface cage with air delivered into your regulator via a hose on the deck. The sharks aren’t really jaw-clenching fish you see in Jaws. They are cautious and curious and tend to spend long periods near the surface to investigate activities that are taking place on board, they will even lift their head above water to get a better view,” explains Sri Murali.
Seema opines that tourists have become unique with their holiday trysts and it’s these spectacular experiences that can make a painter or poet out of you. Quality of creation notwithstanding.
