Jet Airways New One Stop Travel Shop And More

I bought myself a range of things on the 8th of July - my birthday. What things you might ask? Well, tickets of course! And the best part Jet Airways announced an up to 50% off on 7th night; it was a sign.

What is Canada's New Glacier Skywalk All About

High up in the Canadian Rockies an uber cool sight awaits, a curved stretch of glass suspended from the glacial facade; almost like a stage set up for a cosmic show. That is the Glacier Skywalk about to open tomorrow - May 1st, 2014.

Canada's Glacier Skywalk in Jasper National Park (Image: Brewster Travel Canada)

Standing, no no - floating at the edge of that Skywalk with a sheer glass facade separating you from the Athabasca glacier around enveloped in the gorgeous Sunwapta Valley below; for thrill seekers it qualifies for a must do on your next visit to Canada.  
Fact File: 

- It is a fully-accessible, cliff-edge walkway that leads to a glass-floored observation platform 280 metres (918 feet) above the Sunwapta Valley.
- The walk is accessed via Brewster’s nearby icefield centre. Public parking at the Skywalk is closed, but the company will provide no-charge return-trip shuttles every 15 minutes from the centre to a free viewpoint or an interpretive walk and Skywalk platform which costs $24.95 for an adult $12.50 for a child. Children five and under are free.

- Open from: 1st May - 19th October, 2014.
- From ice-capped mountain peaks to vast glacier-formed valleys, the Glacier Skywalk is your front row seat to nature’s most grand performance.” Now that’s something!

Not Just a Skywalk
Years ago a drive around the road side pullout at Jasper National Park on the highway at Tangle Ridge would pretty much give you a view of the valley. But the construction of this Glacier Skywalk promises to enhance that experience by giving you the impression of being suspended right in the middle of the valley and glaciers via walking across that sheer glass surface.

If that was not enough, there are facilities for visitors to enhance their knowledge about the regions history, ecological culture and locals; making it a wholesome day trip for the independent traveller and families alike.

Of course there is the intrepid traveller adventurous enough in search of that fleeting moment of magic and would rather head out for a one to one with the valley. But there are others who come too; students, environmentalists, fresh minds both young and old to whom it is importance to convey the message of ecological travel. For example - there is a specific species of mountain goat that live high up in those glaciers; the only few species that can access that fragile landscape without negative impact. Humans can spot them and study them from a distance at this glacier skywalk, without endangering their environment.

There are concerns that question a privately owned tourist attraction in a national park and its existence itself having an impact of the sensitive ecology of the glacial landscape. It will attract more visitors who limit their visits to the Banff Lake. Yet it is difficult to deny its architectural and design genius.

I sure am intrigued.

Reference Links:
www.explorerockies.com
glacierskywalk.ca/

Calling All Digital Nomads, Head to Ghoomakad

Quitting a day job and running away to the hills seems like a romantic idea? We entertain it over a cuppa and conversations with friends, but leave it at that. And then I met a group of people who went ahead and did it. This is their story.

The welcoming party, Team Ghoomakad 

Digital Nomads

Fine things churn out of debauchery, so say the likes of those who have tasted extremes. Ayush Ghai and Pratyush, founders of mindgrep.com and Metataste, a personalised movie discovery engine perhaps experienced an epiphany, a calling on one of those traffic ridden commutes from their Delhi city existence. “I just want to go to the hills and never come back, are you in?” Ayush asks his long standing footloose friend Pratyush. And the story begins.  

(l-r) Pratyush, Jubin and Ayush

They set out to Himachal, lived out of their rucksacks, digital nomads pruning the city air out of their systems. “I am not going back, I don’t know about you” said Pratyush, smitten by the mountain air. Yes, I’d like that too, but we need to look for a place to set base,” replied Ayush. Now both the young lads, digital nomads, entrepreneurs in their right, yet still they needed a base, an anchor, not a hotel, something they could make their home in the hills. A quest for such an anchor thus began, they travelled through the villages, knocked on every door, explained their purpose. The stars aligned in a little village called Rakkar, 12 kms away from the popular tourist town of Dharamshala.

From the Founder

Our host Mohinder with Guddi

Meet Mohinder Sharma, resident of Rakkar, visionary among his people, and the first in his family to receive an education. He is well aware of concepts like sustainable development, eco tourism and was looking to connect with like-minds to help him kick-start his ideas. He said, “We are shepherds by profession; our ancestors led a nomadic existence travelling from one pasture to the other. Our homes were simple, made of mud and stone. They kept us warm in winters and kept out the heat in summers. Besides they looked so beautiful. And when we moved on, the people after us could use all that natural building material for their farms. Now with everyone building fixed ugly dabba cement homes, it only pollutes the environment. So I decided to build my home in a sustainable way just like my ancestors and invite travellers into my home for an authentic Himachali home stay experience.”

“I found it difficult to reach out to travellers, to share the idea of Ghoomakad with travellers and when Pratyush and Ayush landed at my door step, it was exactly what I needed.”

With a home base, wifi in the hills, these tech boys were all set to live their dream. Waking up to the sight of the Dhauladhar maintain range, a game of soccer with the village kids and then off to work by the stream flowing nearby, a work space and home stay with all the amenities of a city and the picturesque mountain-scapes was all set up. Jubin Mehta, a writer and story teller who joined the two tech boys a year back shares, “Once on a trek to Triund, I was travelling solo so had carried all my tech bags along, tech gadgets included and when I reach the top of the hill I was surprised to find amazing data connectivity at the top too. What more could I have asked for!” Moving to the mountains followed suit.  

Ayush notes suggestions during a brainstorming session with villagers, in the midst of a weave   

Glocalisation & Collaboration

My preference of stay to each destination I travel has always steered towards student hostels or home stays as opposed to hotels. I have found the experience of living with a local and exploring its flavours that much more wholesome than the objective hotel experience. And with online platforms like Airbnb connecting people, it is just a matter of time when hotels will cease to be the first choice for accommodations.    

Ghoomakad I’d say, it is an ideal experience for digital nomads, entrepreneurs and travellers alike. At Ghoomakad I experienced glocalisation in its truest form; with an evening spent watching live webcasts from Germany about the future of computing and the next spent with locals discussing organic farming initiatives and sustainable infrastructure in the village. It was amazing to see the openness with which the city bred tech brains aligned their thought processes with that of the simple, practical farmer and house maid, the toughest problems being solved with the simple collaborative ideas. This element of involvement is what was endearing.

Travel, yes; but if while travelling you’d like to do something, contribute to a sustainable goal, head to Ghoomakad, a work space, a home stay in the hills for wanderers and thinkers alike.

Website: http://ghoomakad.im/

Email: ghoomakad.im@gmail.com

Call: 09882226638 (Mohinder)

Frequent Flier Via Germany

Do you travel to a destination often with work? If yes, do you make time out from meetings and conferences to explore? Here’s a story about Germany, shared with me by Priyo Patra, an entrepreneur and avid traveller who manages to make time for the sights and sounds he is travelling to on his work trips.

Around the World

Having travelled to 200 towns and cities within 30 countries, Priyo tells me about his first independent international trip to Germany. "In 2005 I was interning at the German Parliament. After the internship, I met up with friends and went on a month long Eurail, one of the best memories of my life." He recently revisited those memories on a road trip across the country having clocked 10,000 kms along a route that took him from Munich, Stuttgart, Bonn, Cologn, Leipzig, Berlin, Dresden, Nuremberg and back to Munich.

Priyo’s work in the air cargo industry has taken him to the blackforest country quite often and it is practically second home to him. “I had an issue conversing with locals in English on my first trip. Germans by nature are not very patient, especially with a few Indians not knowing the difference between tap water and still. This is why it was a very different place to travel to. I saw barely two or three Indians in the four months that I spent there.” 

Road Trip Through Germany 

Over the years though, the country’s perception of India has changed thanks to travellers like Priyo, “You are not like the Indians we know from earlier years,” is a line he gets quite often after befriending locals. “Germans have adapted, when they meet well spoken, well informed Indians they become more friendly and tolerant. The face of the Indian traveller is changing.”

Business Travel

When asked about the pleasures and pains of business travel he says, “When you travel with work you don’t get time to see the place around. I try to extend my trip by a day, and I go on one of the city tours, which is a quick and easy way to explore the city’s sights and sounds. But you cannot soak in the culture, after a while it all looks the same. It is the people I meet that make all the difference. I have made some of my best pals travelling there over the years."

When you travel with work, you know more about it than the average tourist. You don't just want to do touristy things. Another interesting way to explore is through a concept called 'Open Hours,' which is where a person working in a company in Germany invites his friends to work and shows them around. "I was invited to an air conditioning factory where all the guests where shown around the facility, we got to see the insider bits about the industry as well as enjoy a party after! I wonder why we don’t have this in India," he says. 

Top Picks

Berlin: Artists, singers, history, modern history.

Munich: Okoberfest, place where Hitler started his career, Hoffbrau's Pub, HB Beer 

Stuttgart: haven for car enthusiasts, micro breweries, Euro trash music, old disco music. Mills converted to party destinations.

Pilot in making

Travel Mantra

“If in the middle of the night I want to go to Goa, I just go. Today, with the kind of technology and information we have access to, it is only your mind that is stopping you from going where you want to go.”

As if his work travels were not enough, Priyo is just a few levels away from securing a private pilot license. Priyo has his bag full with travel plans to last him a while. With Australia, New Zealand and Japan still on his bucket list, I am sure he will use the license to good measure! 

Countries Priyo has travelled to

(Images courtesy Priyo Patra)