Five Destinations I Would Love to Revisit

I was just about getting done being nostalgic about Wellington, when Msz Knowitall challenged me to go for another trip down memory lane. Her post about the five places she would like to return to had my brain on overdrive thinking about the places I would love to return to. It was such a cruel task narrowing it down to just five. There is so much beauty in the world yet to be explored, even in the places you have been to. The magic of these places has left such a lasting impression on me and has me craving to visit them again.

Here we go!

  1. London

London

What do I say about London other than it is my extended home. Although I spend just about a year in the city, it couldn’t be closer to my heart. Even an entire lifetime would not be enough to explore, or ‘get enough of’ London. I think I was destined to go there. When I had decided to do my masters, Bartlett in London was a school that I hadn’t really given much thought to. I was enamoured by the American universities and wanted to go there. But then, it was a twist of fate and London it was. From going to being completely lost to finding my little space in the city, it was quite a journey.

Being an architect and a student of Urban Design at the time, London has so much to offer. It is a multicultural hub and a haven for people of all fields. It’s history, culture, architecture play such an important role in making London what it is. Every suburb in the city has a different story to tell. There is always something happening in the city and that makes it so exciting to me. The days that I had a creative block, I would take a walk down South Bank and was suddenly inspired by everything happening around me.

I really wish someday I get to go back to London, not just visit it, but live there for a few years.

PS – Shruti from Msz Knowitall and I have had many a fun days and drunken nights in London together. I believe that is were we really became good friends. What say Shruti?

  1. Paris
Photo Credit - Viraj Mitra
Paris 

 Pairs.. The city of Lights. The city of artists and history. The city where all the major art movements originated. The city where the likes of Piccaso and Van Gogh came to study art and be inspired. The city which houses all styles of architecture from Renaissance to Post Modern. The fashion capital of the world. How can you not be inspired by a city like that?

I have always wanted to go to Paris. My husband, however, always felt that Paris was overhyped. He is now a Paris convert. You feel like you are walking through history when you walk down the streets of Paris. This is especially so when you walk around the streets of Montmartre where all the great artists lived. Every corner of the hill has been captured by some artist in his paintings, sculptures, poetry or literature.

We started our European holiday this year with Paris. It was late afternoon by the time we head out to see the city and we decided that we would head up to the Eiffel Tower. Our walk to the tower took us through many beautiful streets of the city, across the Seine and finally when we got there, after a reallllllyyyyyy long walk might I add, we plonked ourselves on the lawn and opened the bottle of wine that we had bought earlier. As the clock struck ten and the tower started glittering, I knew I was in love. I never knew how beautiful a tower made of iron could look. Yes, Paris has its flaws, major flaws, but there is still so much left to see in this beautiful city. If not London, then I don’t mind living in Paris for a few years. 🙂

  1. Formenterra
Formenterra
Formenterra

I had never heard of Formenterra until our host in Barcelona suggested we visit the island when in Ibiza. We agreed politely, never thinking that we would visit a place neither of us had even heard of. Unfortunately and fortunately we visited Ibiza when the party season had not yet begun. Unfortunately because we never got to visit the famous clubs and fortunately because we got to experience Ibiza as a small Spanish island with beautiful beaches. Everyone we met insisted that we spent a day in Formenterra. We finally gave in and checked it out on Google, and what we saw took our breath away! We knew we had to make a trip.

As we got on the ferry to the island, our excitement grew by the minute. There was a little chill in the air, but the sky was clear and we knew that it would be a beautiful day. We got off the ferry and hired a bike, (such a Goa feeling!) and went to the first beach – Platja De Ses Illetes. The approach to the beach was from a bit of a height. You really could not see where the beach was while climbing up, and then when the line of sight cleared up and what welcomed us was the entire extent of the crescent shaped beach with the bluest water. I had to stop for a moment and pinch myself. Yes, this is not a dream. I REALLY am here. I have never seen water so clear in my life.

We went to several beaches that day, one better than the other. I don’t think I need to explain why I want to go back to this gorgeous island. Let the pictures do all the talking.

Formenterra
Formenterra
  1. Leh
Leh

I had visited Leh in May 2010. I had gone with my family and another three families. Needless to say, it was a crazy trip! We had so  much fun hanging out with each other while seeing the stunning landscape of Ladakh. As I add pictures to this post, I know that the pictures do no justice to the beauty of the place. The dramatic landscape and the hospitality of the people is something to be experienced.

With all the fun and frolic onthe trip, we also had a misadventure. We were on our way to Pangong Tso, which is the largest lake in Asia. To get to the lake, you have to drive up to Changla pass, which is the third highest motorable road in the world. On our drive to the pass, we got caught in an unexpected blizzard. With the roads blocked, we had nowhere to go. We stopped for almost an hour and a half waiting for the weather to change, but it didn’t look like the weather Gods were on our side that day. There were a series of vehicles that had stopped on the side of the mountainous road hoping for the same. Suddenly, we got the news that there had been a bit of a landslide up ahead on the road which caused two casualties, and with the high altitude, one of my aunts started developing altitude sickness and all of us started feeling extremely uncomfortable. We knew at that point that we needed to head back, and so we did. Pangong Tso remained unvisited. We did go to Tso Moriri though, which people say is beautiful too, and I agree completely, but I hear Pangong Tso is vision incomparable.

There is still so much left to experience in Leh. Hopefully the next time I go I would  have learnt how to ride a bike and experience it like a true biker! *Bucket List Alert*

Leh
Leh

 5. Hindon

My father was posted to Hindon when I was in Class 5. I was not really happy to move to the place as I was leaving my friends back in Gorakhpur. However, my brother and I were accustomed to moving every few years, and I guess we were also looking forward to the next adventure. Hindon was not one of the typical Air Force Stations that my father was posted to before. It was much so much bigger. For the first time ever we lived in a duplex house. For the first time ever, I studied in a fancy school in Delhi. I felt that it was the best of both worlds. We lived in an AF Station whilst having all the fanciness Delhi just an hour’s drive away.

We spent almost five and a half years in Hindon, the longest we had ever stayed at any place before. Once you stay in a place that long, especially in your teen years, you have a certain attachment to the place. I made so many friends there, I picked up so many types of sports there, from  Badminton to Basket Ball and also Golf! I learnt how to swim there. We had such a fantastic array of facilities available for us. Such were the perks of being in a larger station. Unfortunately I could not continue with the sports after we moved out.

By the end of my father’s stint there, I knew every nook and corner of this large station. Although I have been to Delhi several times after we moved out, I have not been able to go Hindon and see the house we stayed at. It would be such a pleasure to go back there.

Whoozzaa!!! That was a long post. I guess these places really mean a lot to for me to go on and on like that. I don’t know if I will ever go back to these places again, but they will always be in my heart. I have to add here that I am cheating a little bit. Had I not been to Wellington earlier this year, that too would be on my list. Wellington is fortunate to get its own little feature which you can check out here.

It is your turn now. Where would you like to go back to? What do these places mean to you? Feel free to tell me all about it in the comments.

This post was part of a campaign created by Booked.netTop Destinations to Go There, for a contest they have been hosting the past few months. I’d like to nominate all of you to write a little about the places you would like to revisit. 

6 Replies to “Five Destinations I Would Love to Revisit”

  1. London London London…. Aah, the fun… And yes, I am so glad you were around, otherwise I wouldn’t have had this much fun at all… And we would have never ever discovered the reclusive Smurf shots… haha 🙂

    1. Haha!!! The smurf shots were THE best!! Let’s try to recreate them and post it… What say?

      1. Whattay Idea, Poozaaaa! Done.. 🙂

  2. I was brought up in London and although I keep going all over the place, it’s still the best place in the world! I just wrote about the same thing: http://leatherandabel.com/five-places-i-want-to-return-to/ check it out 🙂 xx

  3. I love your eye for photography, from what I have seen so far. Some great images. Some of your choices look amazing. I may have to look into writing a post like this as well. 🙂

    1. You should!! It was tonnes of fun writing this post… got me very nostalgic 🙂

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