It was around late monsoon or early winter when I and few of my friends had planned a trip to Gujrat and specifically to Bhuj & Banni Grasslands. Being from Wildlife and Nature photography field we knew what to expect from the region and we, in fact, were very specific of what kind of species we were keen on looking. Our checklists were ready and so was all the planning which we had done to cover the places. Though we were there on a specific mission to photograph certain things our mind was open to ideas and suggestions from our local contacts where we were staying.
Half way through our trip is when our friend and fellow wildlife photographer and naturalist Mr Jugal Tiwari asked us if we were keen on exploring some local flavour of Banni? When the question on what to expect his reply was that Banni and Bhuj were rich in art and culture and he could show some very unique things to this place. All that was required from us was a Yes and it leads to a discovery of different perspective of this place. The set of videos below will give a sneak peek into some of the hidden talent and unseen aspect of a place which is erstwhile famous for wildlife photography.
I have always been open and welcoming to exploring newer and different aspects of the place when am travelling either for photography or when out with the family on vacation. But when it specifically comes to vacation with family I tend to play safe on the planning aspect and keep the travel very easy. Things can get really hectic when it comes to holiday planning with all the flight/travel/accommodation booking and added to it if we want to detour a bit from the “touristy places” then it calls for a lot of researching work when all that you want to do is have a relaxed holiday. Eventually ending up making a mandatory stop at all “Patel points” only. So how do we actually make our holidays different from usual?
Fast forward to 2017-18 things have changed up a lot and more so for the benefit of tourists who would like to make the best of their vacation with family. As a matter of fact, the perspectives and approaches of the people are also changing with most opting for multiple short trips at regular intervals during the course of the year to something like one big tiring one at the end of the year. Even after these India is still ranked 5th in the most vacation deprived country in the world. Even things like social media meetups are happening at offbeat locations outside of the city grind which is very welcoming.
This is exactly where folks like Sterling Holidays are really good at what they are doing. They have a handcrafted set of places that one can visit based on the type of genre the person is interested in – be it food, culture, nature, wildlife or adventure. They have 30+ resorts spread across the country and pretty sure they are adding more in the coming days. Most or each of their resort comes with a unique and a signature experience associated with it. Be it the Sterling Ooty where they take you on something like a Heritage trail where meeting and getting to understand the local Toda tribe or the Sterling Darjeeling where the visitors are taken on a Tea trail ( and as many of you know Darjeeling tea is known as the Champagne of teas ). Even the newer Sterling Dindi which is located right on the banks or river Godavari near Vijaywada is a unique in its own aspect that it makes your experience the food and culture trail. I personally have my eyes on Sterling Corbet which has Star gazing and dinner under the stars as an experiential activity.
Safety and wellbeing of self and the family when we are travelling is a key aspect of any holiday or vacation and that’s where Sterling Holidays have even introduced what is known as “Holiday Insurance”. An, unlike other travel insurance which covers the travellers while on the trip, this is something which is unique that it has a door2door coverage and you know you are covered right from the moment you step out on the adventure from the comfort of your home.
In fact most of their new experiential stuff is captured as visuals and words over on the blog at > http://blog.sterlingholidays.com/ < where people have described their #joyoftravelling with Sterling Holiday.
All in all its an assurance of being in the able hands of Sterling Holidays which makes us urge to enjoy our # HolidayDifferently. I am definitely looking forward to my next vacation with Sterling Holidays and explore something different – how about you? Let me know about your experiences of your recent travel where you explored the off-beaten path and got to learn and do something new?