Guestblog, Travel

Bitten by the travel bug [ #Guestpost ]

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I don’t think I have come across anyone with such an intense love for travel, that they seemed to have dedicated their lifestyle to it. My guest today is Esha Mookerjee Datta who blogs from Bangalore about life and her experiences. A management trainer/consultant by profession, she seems to delve into the depths of life to bring out gems of wisdom – all of which she puts into her writing. A much-loved hobby of hers is to take stunning pics of the rising/setting sun which have me in a mesmeric hold since long.


From a Traveller’s Diary

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I think I’ve been bitten by that dreaded bug ages back that have nudged me to pick my bags and set off to new destinations ever so frequently! My better half, J is also like me— forever on the lookout for great deals, every time he checks flight prices. And, of course, all the time, hoping that we might just get lucky, who knows?!

Ever since we met, we’ve both been blaming it on this itch to leave the known and the predictable for something more interesting and exciting. That’ s perhaps why, in our initial years together, we decided to travel, when most of our friends were busy in settling down and starting a family. I quit my job and took a leap of faith to follow him when he took up an exciting assignment to leave the shores of our homeland as the turquoise blue waters of Mauritius beckoned to us 20 years ago.

I mean who can forget the serious withdrawal symptoms I’ve suffered from, a few years back, when I had been holed up at home, house-bound, with no travel, for a few months, Seriously! J, on the other hand, has had occasions when he’s turned up at work, even when sick because the hard-earned leaves were kept aside for travelling, not for being sick! For me, especially, this has also meant constantly keeping a check on our expenses, all the while comparing it on the basis of trips. Oh, the number of times one has had to say—Hang on, your next tickets come handy for that price!

Travel is us

As hardcore travellers, we’ve always been led by the belief that anybody who came into our lives would have to appreciate what travel means to us. Travel has been the ideal litmus test for our relationship to thrive. I mean, we are both very stubborn, obstinate people who’ve stuck to our grounds unwaveringly, but every time an exciting new trip has sprung up before us, we’ve smoothly put aside our differences to make peace and enjoy our trip. And, thus, over the years, we’ve piled up our home with plenty of bric-a-brac from every place we’ve visited – ranging from Tibetan prayer flags to mirror-work goodies, wooden masks to souvenirs of every kind, shape and size—each bearing a story, that we’ve loved to share with our families and friends.

Planning & plotting

On many a rainy evening, when work has been intense, our spare moments have seen us get hooked onto travel blogs, poring into a copy of the Conde Nast and making rough itineraries for our next. And, likewise, every time we’ve met a fellow travel addict, we’ve been glued to them for hours, exchanging notes and of course, sharing our own travel stories, that once, even inspired us to work on writing a book together. That it hasn’t seen the light of the day yet, is another story altogether, best saved for later!

Of all the things that we share in common, travel is undoubtedly that one thing that has always brought us unparalleled happiness. Every couple of months we make travel plans. Even when we know, we won’t be able to make it. Because wanderlust can be very overpowering— the feverishness of planning and exploring known and unknown places, the compulsive need to block dates on the calendar, the desire to start dreaming at the drop of a hat and begin to count down the hours even when weeks away from any signs of travel—it is something that many of us are not conscious about, until we’ve fallen victim to it. Totally and irrevocably.

Wandering souls

And now, this mind-altering bug has metamorphosed our heart, mind, and soul into that of wanderers, who are forever on the lookout for travel destinations to set foot into and begin the explorations! Except that now we are dictated by school terms and vacations, nothing much has changed. In our mind, that is. Although reality now dictates most of our choices, really, in our minds, we remain wanderers who long for unknown shores, white sand beaches, towering mountains and a new life! One that we’d love to trade any day for this life of predictability.

If you, like us, are bitten by the travel-bug, let me assure you there is no cure for this and all you got to do is keep travelling, have fun and make the most of it. Once you’ve set your destination, all you got to do is pack your bags and make your path.

It is often said, that after every trip, people seem to come back more confident as individuals, more charismatic as storytellers, and humbled souls that know that the journey toward knowledge is one that never ends. Travel. Discover. Write your own story. No matter which road you take, the journey will definitely be a memorable one!


This guest post has been written for the month-long birthday celebrations on my blog.

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22 thoughts on “Bitten by the travel bug [ #Guestpost ]

    1. Thank you so much, Vasantha. Travel continues to spur me on against every odd and becomes an inspiration for me as I step ahead, the joy lying in the plotting and the planning and of course, the actual experience of travel as it comes, one day at a time! Thanks to Shalz for this opportunity to share this love with you here, today.

  1. Thanks Shalz for feature Esha for she is one of the favorites and her love for travel shows in this amazingly awesome post. I long to travel, too and hope I can in the near future, from London to New York, Egypt and closer home, places like Uttarakhand, UP and so many places 🙂

    1. Thanks, Vishal for your appreciation and I always wish and pray that your dreams of travel will come true some day very soon. Trust me nothing else brings greater thrill and joy than leaving the comforts of your home and setting forth into the unknown!

  2. How beautifully you write Esha. I could see myself when you wrote about reading travel blogs and making itineries which I hope would someday see the light. I can so relate to the feeling of wanderlust that you described here. Always a pleasure to read your thoughtful words.

    1. Thank you so much, Rajlakshmi, for your warm appreciation! I’ve been inspired by so many people in my quest for uncovering the little known joys of travelling and every one has left something special in me to realise much later what travel has meant to me, and to us in the larger scheme of things. You’d best know, having lived so far away from home and having travelled so much yourself, the joy it brings and the learning that comes with it. Here’s to more, I’d say!

  3. You couldn’t have picked a better guest to write about travel, Shalz. Another lovely piece from you, Esha. I wish my husband and I were more adventurous. We do like to travel – but spend too much time planning, methinks!

    1. Thank you so much, Corinne! I am so honoured by your warm words of appreciation! Travel has brought us joy, wisdom, life lessons and learning in ways than we would ever comprehend. It has altered our lives and shaped our minds beyond what we’d have ever experienced in the comforts of our home and the best part is, when life gets in the way and travel becomes less frequent, it can let you bask in the memories. We love that too!

  4. I love Esha’s pictures and stories but never knew about the travel bug. VT and I are close. Though we don’t check flight tickets so often, we keep planning so many trips and end up taking few every year 🙂

    1. Thank you, Parul. 🙂 One of the things that has still remained with us after all these years is the joy and the love for travel. I’ve been following your pics about your trip to Ladakh and have been so inspired. You know, we’ve made at least three plans for Zanskar in the past and it still hasn’t happened! And even as I write this, we’ve just booked our tickets for a holiday in Oct, if all goes well.

  5. Beautifully crafted post ! Trust Esha to lend her brand of magic to those under the spell of wanderlust ! Its like standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon , arms outstretched and feeling the wind in your hair !
    “Travel as much as you can , as far as you can and for as long as you can . Life is not meant to be lived in one place”… this quote in a nutshell describes Esha ! You continue to inspire !!
    Thank you Shalz for sharing !

    1. Oh My Arundathi thats such a beautiful comment – it made me envious of Esha’s writing for a moment 😉
      This is very high praise and its exactly what every writer yearns for – a deep connect with their reader and for them to feel why something has been written!!
      [Psssst: Did you know that there is a prize for the most cherished comment this month? Looks like you are in the running….] 🙂

      1. Shalini, there you go! This is definitely one of the most cherished comments I’ve ever had from anyone, and coming from Arundathi who wields her magic so well in each of her posts, this means so very much to me! <3

    2. Oh, Aru’di! What can I say in response to your wonderful appreciation?! You absolutely made my day. You will not believe this—I’ve never really wanted to grow roots anywhere, even after traveling for years and looking for that one perfect place to settle down! Guess, it was never meant for the likes of us. But, necessity forces us to rethink our options and then, one fine day we realise we’ve actually grown roots! And, thats how it has been over the past ten years in Bangalore, and more (hopefully!) Just back from an amazing trip to a beautiful place, I’m yearning for my next already! 😀

  6. Beautiful post, Esha! I can so relate to the feelings of wanderlust. Travel is such a high, no? I love planning itineraries and then when we are actually reach the destination I love to wander about and get lost! 🙂

    1. Thank you so much, Aditi! I do agree with you on this—for many like us, there will be very few things that will ever give as much joy as planning a trip/traveling/exploring! The fun lies in getting lost, as you say!

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