Travel Well - Share your Travel Experience

Sharmeen Hussain

“You want a masaaaaaaaaaaaage?”

For those who’ve never been, Thailand conjures up many an image. Some think of wild nights out on the town with ‘interesting’ company, others think of relaxing Thai massages followed by a round of spicy peanut-flavoured curry, and others still, think of biscuit-crumb beaches and water so clear and blue it looks like glass. What’s great though, is that Thailand is all that. But it’s also so much more.

Thailand is a place that exudes tranquillity. It demands that you unwind and have a good time, and soon, you will find yourself succumbing to its charm. Whether it’s the soothing effect of some good old retail therapy at the makeshift shops along the sidewalks, an adventurous trek to ridiculously pretty waterfalls in

Kanchanaburi, or some genuine R and R on an island called KohSamet, that’ll make you want to miss your flight back home, Thailand will make sure you fall in love with it.

Pattaya and Phukhet are usually the first places that come to mind when anyone mentions Thailand. Though those are pretty neat places to visit, we found some other options that are very close to Bangkok and are easy to plan trips to whether it’s family travel you’re looking for, or just something that’s fun and stress-free.

For more on why Thailand’s a place for everyone, check out No Tourist Traps Here in the November 2011 issue of Lonely Planet Magazine India.

Cheryl-Ann Couto

The Andamans are pretty neat, in a strange sort of way

The thing about the Andamans is it offers itself upto every kind of traveller. You have a feel for the macabre, there are enough stories of the islands' indigenous tribes, some of the world's oldest, who will still murder in cold blood, anyone attempting to make contact. If you like pretty Nicobarese cottages, vegetating in hammocks, putting away unholy amounts of beer and fish (dear God, the fish) and then dozing off to screensaver sunsets, Havelock island is your answer. Or maybe you care about the environment and feel fascinated by mangrove ecosystems, find your heart thumps wildly at the thought of close proximity to creepy crawlies, or take unexpected pleasure in the dramatic retelling of grizzly man-saltwater crocodile conflicts (what is wrong with you) –

visit the young, hip Andaman & Nicobar Islands Team (ANIT) near Port Blair. And finally, in the event that you’re one half of a soon-to-be honeymoon couple bent on making beautiful memories in an otherworldly holiday destination, maybe take a moment to think about whether you want the Cellular Jail's bare cells, where our freedom fighters were regularly tortured, to be part of your 'Happy Times!' Just a suggestion. Have fun!

For more than one reason why you should visit the Andamans, read Next door, but far away in the November 2011 issue of Lonely Planet Magazine India.

Runa Jog

Been there, dune that

What elsedo you do in a city that serves up huge shopping malls as tourist attractions and even boasts a festivaldesigned to make people spend money?Plenty.Here’re a few things that you should try:

1. It’s hot outside. But inside, it’scold. So cold you find yourself longing for an artificially heatedcabin and some hot chocolate to cheer you up. But not before you’ve had a fun run.

2. If that extra pound you’ve put on is eating at you, you might want to take this up as a hobby. Theinstructors know just the trick to make your guilt (and your weight) fall away from your weighed-downshoulders.

3. It weaves in and out of water, its menacing smile exposing a row of mean, pointed teeth. Shark alert! Arerun of Jaws, a nightmare or something else?

4. Everything looks tiny from this perspective, like you were stuck in Lilliput-land. Seems like your turnto play Gulliver.

5. This trip will churn sand as much as your insides, even threatening to topple you and bury you in thedesert. Can you stomach this adventure?

6. Narrow, winding lanes hark back to a bygone era; it’s a whiff of the past that lingers in the present.

Time travelling sure comes up with surprises.

For more on how to make the most of your desert getaway, check out Flash in the Sand in the November 2011 issue of Lonely Planet Magazine India.

Samsul Huda Patgiri

Festivals galore

Nagaland is a land of festivals. The tribes here celebrate their distinct seasonal festivals with a riot of colour and a feast of music. One festival that seems to encompass the many tribes that inhabit this region is the Hornbill Festival. Set in the Heritage Village on Kisama hills, beyond Kohima, the seven-day fest showcases the Naga way of life and overflows with pungent rice beer, the ambrosia of all celebrations in a state where alcohol is prohibited (but available). Throw in zardapaan, a few smokes, snail masala and sticky rice cakes, and you have a happy, languid crowd. Kohimaseems to have lucked out in terms of nature’s bounties. The fauna here give the flora tough competition. With a number of wildlife sanctuaries, each boasting of a variety of plants and animals, Kohima really is a green paradise.

For more on how to make the most of your North-eastern travels, have a look atphoto featureNorth by Northeast in the November 2011 issue of Lonely Planet Magazine India.

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