Think of Bali and the images that pop up in one’s mind are those of beaches and of waves crashing on those sands. Of travellers making their way to the beaches. Some of these people have come on their honeymoons. Some have come alone. Some have met an interesting person in a hostel,on a tour or on a cruise. Maybe one of these boys first saw that girl drawing outside a temple, and they started talking. Maybe they will become closer over the trip, and maybe they shall never see each other again.
Think of Bali and you imagine pubs, and loud songs and laughter and orders for drinks being placed across the busy bar. Delve deeper and let your mind take you to the countryside, to the temples, to the villages, to bicycling through those villages, to smiling kids that wave at you as you breeze past, to peace and to tranquillity.
On such a trip we now embark, to the island that became so
immortalized in Julia Roberts’ ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. Come December 9, and Cap’n
Nero (yes I have started calling myself that, and stop rolling your eyes) will
lead a group of boys and girls to a few of the world’s most beautiful tropical places
– Bali and Gili Islands.
And here is why you should join us on this 6 day trip (@Rs
24,000 per person not incl. flights)
1) We are climbing a
volcano.
How many of you have actually climbed an active volcano. We
all have our travel bucket lists, and I always wanted to swim with dolphins,
stay for a few days at an elephant camp, go to Antarctica, visit Madagascar, do
the Tango in Argentina.
And climb an active volcano.
And climb an active volcano.
In the middle of the night, we shall set out on our
adventure, my hearties, to climb Mount Batur – Indonesia’s active volcano. An
approximate two hour hike from the base, we first hike through a
forest,and then walk up on cliffs, and on volcanic ash that
scatters under your boots. Look up to see the whole sky lit up with stars. We shall
reach the summit just before dawn. And then the sky will erupt, into an orange
golden pink haze. And the sun will come slowly, and what a sight it shall be,
the sky a plethora of colours and foamy white clouds shrouding the mountains. We
shall look down the crater, at the smoke spewing out from the depths of this extraordinary
piece of formation.
The views of the mountains and the lake while going back are
even more spectacular (since its daylight and arguably this trek is one of the
main highlights of any trip to Bali.
2) We are
going to the Gili Islands.
Do you have a fascination for smaller islands in the middle of nowhere? For less frequented places? I read about the Gili Islands a few years back, these small three islands about two hours away from the coast of Bali and immediately fell in love with them.
Do you have a fascination for smaller islands in the middle of nowhere? For less frequented places? I read about the Gili Islands a few years back, these small three islands about two hours away from the coast of Bali and immediately fell in love with them.
For the Gili Islands have
no motor transport. We shall spend our days there riding bicycles across the
countryside. We shall take moonlit night walks on the beach, with the water
lapping at our feet. I plan to lie on the beach for an entire night.
We shall have lazy breakfasts, and on one of the days, we shall take a glass bottom boat ride into the middle of the ocean and watch the colourful coral formations and marine life. And then we shall snorkel in the water, and watch Nemo and his friends - fishes of all shapes and sizes and colours scuttle across us.
Maybe a few hours after our boat has docked back at its resting place, somewhere in the middle of the ocean a little fish will be telling his mother, “Mom, I saw humans today. Isn’t that the coolest?”
3) I always have a great set of people signing up for the trips
Because I am not just a regular travel agency, am I?
A standout (and maybe deliberate) feature of my group trips is that they attract a certain audience. People often ask me what type of people come on the trips. In all the trips I have conducted so far, I have got some really nice, likeminded people.
Because I am not just a regular travel agency, am I?
A standout (and maybe deliberate) feature of my group trips is that they attract a certain audience. People often ask me what type of people come on the trips. In all the trips I have conducted so far, I have got some really nice, likeminded people.
Not everybody is of
course adventurous or athletic. Mostly no one is a mountaineer or a rock
climber. But what is common in all the people who have come so far is that
these are all people who are excited by the thought of travel, people who want
to explore, who want to get fascinated and who love nature.
A lot of them come solo,
by themselves. Some of them are nervous, before a trip, about whether they
would be able to gel with the rest of the group.
But then it all changes. For everyone here is excited by good conversations. And they find these conversations, sometimes when we are travelling together in a bus, sometimes when we are sitting on the banks of a river, and sometimes when we are sitting in our own little mini pairs or groups.
Everyone fits in beautifully. At the end of it all, I am yet to meet anyone who wants to go back home.
But then it all changes. For everyone here is excited by good conversations. And they find these conversations, sometimes when we are travelling together in a bus, sometimes when we are sitting on the banks of a river, and sometimes when we are sitting in our own little mini pairs or groups.
Everyone fits in beautifully. At the end of it all, I am yet to meet anyone who wants to go back home.
There are already five
people who have signed on for the trip. And I already like them.
Hah, so if you are interested in coming to Bali, get some pairs of shorts, get those summer cotton dresses, get a lot of tanning lotion, those beach hats and sunglasses and have the trip of your life!
4) We are going on a sunset cruise
Hah, so if you are interested in coming to Bali, get some pairs of shorts, get those summer cotton dresses, get a lot of tanning lotion, those beach hats and sunglasses and have the trip of your life!
4) We are going on a sunset cruise
A trip can’t be only about adventure, no? Must bring in some romance as
well.
In Bali, one evening we
shall dress up and go on a cruise boat into the middle of the ocean. There is
music on board and dancing, performances by Balinese dancers and fire eaters. But
the best bit, according to me, is catching the sunset with nothing but the
ocean all around you.
Few things have the power
to silence as much as nature does.
After a magnificent dinner
on the cruise, the boat will take us back to the dock.
5) Eat, Pray, Love
It has been 17 months since I quit my job and started travelling full time. And there have been several adventures that I have fallen headlong into.
But travelling is not just about that. Some of my favourite travel moments have been just walking in a new country, or striking up a conversation in a café, drinking with strangers in bars and sometimes liking someone enough to change my own plans and join theirs’. At the end of it all, travel will be as much about the people you meet along the journey, as much about the places you see.
And hence, I absolutely want to encourage people to not just stick to a schedule, but also do their own thing. If you want, just pick up a bicycle and go find and see that temple that you had read about. No one’s stopping you here.
It has been 17 months since I quit my job and started travelling full time. And there have been several adventures that I have fallen headlong into.
But travelling is not just about that. Some of my favourite travel moments have been just walking in a new country, or striking up a conversation in a café, drinking with strangers in bars and sometimes liking someone enough to change my own plans and join theirs’. At the end of it all, travel will be as much about the people you meet along the journey, as much about the places you see.
And hence, I absolutely want to encourage people to not just stick to a schedule, but also do their own thing. If you want, just pick up a bicycle and go find and see that temple that you had read about. No one’s stopping you here.
Don’t only try to eat
Indian or Western food but try the local cuisine as well. Be sensitive to the
local customs and know that a country’s rules were made to suit its own people,
not you.
In our regular lives,
there is so much we do not explore about ourselves. And that is the special bit
about travel. It gives us the opportunity to wander and discover, to learn and
unlearn, to accept and even love, and to get inspired.
These trips are about all of that.
These trips are about all of that.
And if all these things appeal to you, or make sense, come join us on boys and girls on this trip to Bali with This Guy’s On His Own Trip.
Contact: narayanan.neeraj@gmail.com
Trip Dates: December 9 – 15
Group Size: 10 - 12 people
Total Cost: Rs 25,000 (not incl. flights)
Fb Event Page:Here
Last date to Book : Nov 13, 2014 (5 bookings done already)
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Now Read:
1) Five Reasons Why You Should Go To Meghalaya With This Guy's On His Own Trip
2) Nero's group trip to Bhutan
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