Interview
Gustasp: I’m particularly fond of the Maldives stamp and my
week-long scuba adventure on a nomadic
dive boat.
And then there are the many luxury cruise ships (including the
inaugural voyage of the Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in
the world) that we have been on and these are not reflected on our
passports.
Of course there are many other places where the stamps are in
our memory rather than on our passports: The Char Dham circuit
and the Valley of Flowers in Uttaranchal; the far reaches of
Arunachal Pradesh; houseboats and Ayurveda Spa resorts on the
backwaters of Kerala; Sonar Kila and the desert dunes
of Jaisalmer...
4. Top on your wish list now:
Jeroo: The Norwegian fjords, Brazil, the Galapagos...
Gustasp: Cruising down the Amazon has been my dream ever
since I learned about the river in my geography class, way back in
his schooling days.
5. Most heart-stopping sight you’ve set your
eyes on:
Kayaking down the fjords of New Zealand where mountains draped
in thick rain forests and streaked with waterfalls surge out of the sea
and thrust their snow peaks at the heavens.
The icy-blue waters of Lake Louise in the folds of the Rocky
Mountains in Canada.
The fortified citadel of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, washed
in the warm glow of the setting sun as buskers rent the air with
flamenco music...
6. Favourite meal memory:
The meal itself was simple: three cold salads – greens, pasta and
sprouts – a platter of cheese and choice of red and white wine. But
it was the setting that blew us away: Rugs on a flower-strewn floor,
a full service table for two, crystal and silver included, set up for us
in the ruins of an abandoned watchtower in Mandu, MP. When
Prince Richard of the Holkar family of Indore, who owns and runs
Ahilya Fort, a boutique resort in neighbouring Maheshwar, said he
would arrange our picnic lunch, he sure did so in royal style.
The wait staff, in crisp uniforms, served us with quiet efficiency
and then withdrew to let us share the wow together and with
nature that poured in from the archways of the ancient ruin. Later,
we relaxed on a mattress strewn with plump silk cushions as mist
rolled across the forested hills that surround this monumentstudded resort town. That day we got to play at being Maharaja and
Maharani and understand royal indulgence, which spares no effort
to make a brief moment truly special.
Then there was also a romantic dinner in a tree house at the
Kurumba Village Resort, near Coonoor, a champagne breakfast
at Bentota Beach in Sri Lanka and many
many more...
7. A packing tip/secret you have learned along
the way:
Always carry a spare set of spectacles, a good painkiller and your
essential medication in your hand luggage (airlines are known to
28 Travel Secrets March-April 2015