tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16921794621212770262024-03-12T18:07:06.915-07:00My "Experiments" with TruthTraveler. Writer. Professional Trip Planner. Group Tour Leader. Delhi Heritage Walks Guide. neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-65422352579130279352018-04-20T04:28:00.001-07:002018-04-20T04:48:02.165-07:00Different Types of Photographers on Trips - This Guy's On His Own Trip!
As a trip leader, I
see a lot of different people coming on the trips, and it’s interesting to observe
similarities in people across trips!
Here's highlighting the different types of
trippers, based on how they use their cameras on trips
1. The Selfie Lovers :
This specie will stretch out their hands high and click away. With the other
trippers crowding in, all you see in theneerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-28728812911200229292018-04-12T05:41:00.000-07:002018-04-12T05:41:03.987-07:00How Captain Nero Lost His Bags in Belarus - This Guy's On His Own Trip
It was the August of 2017. I was midway through my fourth Europe
solo trip. From Finland, I had taken the boat to Estonia and then gone down the
road route to Latvia and Lithuania. And now I was flying to Belarus. When I
reached Minsk airport, I headed straight to immigration. They looked at my
passport and asked me for my return ticket. If you are Indian and want to go to Belarus on a neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-18179600274171218772018-04-10T02:36:00.000-07:002018-04-10T03:11:05.048-07:00Funniest Questions People ask before Joining a Trip! - This Guy's On His Own Trip
It's been close to four years of leading trips now! Can't believe the last time I posted on this blog was in November 2015. That's how busy I have gotten with the trips, I guess.
There are a lot of
questions people ask before joining in for a trip. Especially people who have
just heard of the trips and don't know me personally. The questions fall under
the category of logical, neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-59199380503219055952015-11-09T22:30:00.001-08:002015-11-09T23:18:17.779-08:00India to Australia: Without Planes or Plans!
Experience and time changes the way we look at things.
Two years ago, when I first quit my job, I wanted to step out and see the world. I had read enough about travellers who had been backpacking and living life vicariously, in the moment, and sometimes even on the edge, and now I was giving myself the chance to do that.
Two and a half years and 31 countries later, I have started viewing neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-47740743233668871142015-07-28T21:59:00.000-07:002015-07-28T21:59:47.125-07:00Nero in Bosnia: Walking in Mostar
What do I say about a
town that seems like it has just been taken out of a medieval era and placed in
today’s world. A town whose soul is a four hundred year
old bridge and every evening, people gather all around and talk the night away. A town that makes you feel as if you have come to a place
where you don’t want to do anything but go on long walks in the evenings and
sit in the balcony in neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-40353967817051708752015-07-20T18:09:00.001-07:002015-07-20T18:09:33.351-07:00Hitchhiking to Tirana: Nero in Albania
And with that one
simple gesture, she had floored me. It wasn’t love in the slightest sort,
neither was it infatuation, nor a warmth brewing from friendship. But I was
filled with affection, and I didn’t know what to do.
Let’s go back to the beginning of the story.
I was standing on the side of the road, in Berat. A few cars
had passed me already and though I put out my thumb, nobody paid anyneerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-46510539420059947732015-07-17T16:14:00.000-07:002015-07-17T23:53:32.644-07:00 The Art of Travelling & Nero in Albania
I pick up my bags
and look at the hostel garden for the last time. The owner’s wife, she must be
in her fifties, is smiling at me. It was a nice place, the Berat Backpackers
Hostel. It’s traditional, large and a beautiful old Ottoman house now converted
into a hostel. The interiors still have some of the family portraits.
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]-->
I touch the
neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-13864583516730814772015-07-09T17:47:00.002-07:002015-07-09T17:47:26.006-07:00Nero is in Albania
It is half past one in the night, and the guard takes his
own time to look at my passport. I stand nervously wondering if all is okay.
Finally, he stamps it. I heave a sigh of relief and walk back to my bus, still
groggy eyed. When I climb aboard, everyone is staring at me. There is not a
single foreigner in the bus. Besides me.
Down the road, a sign reads “Welcome to Albania”.
They are neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-36136778149909209012015-04-20T22:42:00.000-07:002015-04-20T22:42:07.857-07:00This Guy and his Mad Brand
Travel pages and blogs usually have certain words in their
names. Either they will be Nomadic in their names, or they will be Wandering.
They often have Itchy Feet or Dirty Shoes. They will be Gypsies, Adventure Junkies
and Travellers.
So when I was lying on my back and staring at the ceiling
for hours, thinking of a name (well most of the time I was just dozing away to
glory), I knew neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-8857167737091240052015-04-15T23:13:00.000-07:002015-04-15T23:13:39.362-07:00Confessions of a Travel Guide
Often I get people asking me if they can join me in what I
am doing, if I need someone to lead trips along with me.
Often I wonder, if I have to scale and get bigger, I might
need to hire a few people to lead parallel trips. Someone to lead a trip to
Bhutan when I am doing Ladakh, someone to do Vietnam if I am doing Europe.
But there is so much that goes into being a good trip leader
thatneerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-75690495054698420072015-03-08T23:56:00.002-07:002015-03-08T23:59:41.624-07:00Five Reasons You Should Go To Kashmir With This Guy's On His Own Trip
Kashmir is the fourth group tour I am doing in 2015, and it comes quickly on the heels of an Agra-Rajasthan trip I am doing for a group of Europeans in the first week of April.
By the time we leave on April 11 for Srinagar, I'd have already taken 125 people on 10 trips across Bhutan, Ladakh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Bali, Vietnam and Cambodia.
What haven't we done in the last ten months! In Bali,neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-69834588232136849692015-02-26T21:41:00.000-08:002015-02-26T22:17:23.872-08:00Wonders of the World: Christmas Island!
Photo posts have never really been my thing,but then we must always try and remain flexible.
The story is from the fascinating Christmas Islands - a tropical island lying about 36 kms south of Indonesia (Java). Two thirds of this Island is national park, and the majestic rainforests, the bountiful marine life, the stunning seascapes, and the presence of large number of endangered species neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-53742699070528261362015-02-02T22:42:00.000-08:002015-02-04T09:49:03.037-08:00Vitaliy Raskalov: World's Most Adventurous Photographer: (This Guy's On His Own Trip Series)
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
<![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-IN
X-NONE
X-NONE
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>
neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-21433521468472974962014-12-02T21:35:00.000-08:002014-12-03T21:12:58.004-08:00Five Reasons Why You Should Go To Vietnam With This Guy's On His Own Trip
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
<![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-IN
X-NONE
X-NONE
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>
neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-42254122250209152142014-11-09T21:57:00.003-08:002014-11-10T08:39:24.323-08:00Five Reasons You Should Go To Bali With This Guy's On His Own Trip
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
<![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-IN
X-NONE
X-NONE
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>
neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-92144085914083790852014-11-04T20:28:00.000-08:002014-11-05T12:49:37.326-08:00Five Reasons Why You Should Go To Meghalaya With This Guy's On His Own Trip
<!--[if !mso]>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
<![endif]-->
So after four trips to Bhutan and Ladakh, the next
destination that I am leading a group trip to is Meghalaya (See trip details here)
It has been an exhilarating ride so far. Four trips have
seen 58 people go up and neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-79723097023471565872014-05-13T04:09:00.002-07:002014-05-13T04:09:30.771-07:00Who wants to go to Bhutan: Into the Realm of Happiness
Did you hear
the news? We are going to Bhutan. This June. With a guide. That’s me. And
we have an itinerary. To which we might not stick a whole lot. Travel needs its
share of mystery too.
We
shall start in Thimpu, the only capital city in the world with no traffic
lights. And of course, we shall pant all the way up to Buddha Point, from the
top of which you can see the whole neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-1828338391234164952014-03-17T18:41:00.000-07:002014-03-18T08:03:43.502-07:00Nero's backpacking through South East Asia : The Prologue
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-IN
X-NONE
X-NONE
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
<![endif]-->A year ago when I left for my first solo trip to Europe, I
knew a few things that I wanted to do. First and foremost, I was going to run
with the bulls inneerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-43772606115618992152014-03-09T23:52:00.000-07:002014-03-11T05:15:20.365-07:00The Ganga Kayak Festival: A Racy Affair
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-IN
X-NONE
X-NONE
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
<![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-15863200245199015442014-02-24T21:58:00.000-08:002014-02-25T09:37:27.723-08:00How I Went to Sonamarg: Kashmir Tour Diaries
Disclaimer: This is the second story of the 'How I went to Kashmir' series. If you haven't read the previous one, well, in short, it is the year 2012 and Nero is in Kashmir, as tour leader of a group holiday. Having
arrived the previous day, he’s had a trying evening as they all go
shopping and in different directions. For hours. What will happen
hereafter on the trip?
There are many neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-61752459168059636422014-02-19T22:53:00.000-08:002014-02-19T23:10:03.331-08:00How I Went To Kashmir
Disclaimer: I went to Kashmir 2 years ago, for the first time as a tour guide. This is a prelude to the series of Kashmir stories I shall be sharing on my blog.
It was in the summer of 2012 when I led my first group tour to Kashmir. With me was a family of 25 people of all shapes and sizes, but mostly large and extra large. They had come to Delhi from the interiors of Tamil Nadu and not veryneerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-15593014780423403742014-02-16T22:11:00.000-08:002014-02-17T01:30:38.608-08:00One Night on the Andaman Sea
‘There is one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea,whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath.’ - Herman Melville (Moby Dick)
Once upon a 2008 March night...
“I think I need alcohol,” Sanju informed me in a manner most matter
of fact. It was quintessential Sanjay, to want alcohol in a most
matter of fact sort of way, even when we were onneerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-67455693832194111742014-01-28T21:54:00.000-08:002014-01-29T20:18:54.934-08:00It Takes Two to Tango
<!--[if !mso]>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>
Normal
0
false
false
false
false
EN-IN
X-NONE
X-NONE
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-85422958935001375072014-01-14T22:39:00.000-08:002014-01-15T22:02:30.407-08:00The man who hitchhiked 25,000 kms across the world
<!--[if !mso]>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
<![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>
Normal
0
false
false
false
false
EN-IN
X-NONE
X-NONE
neerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692179462121277026.post-76545813208922314152014-01-08T21:26:00.002-08:002014-01-15T22:08:44.852-08:00Myths and Legends from Romania: The Terrifying Truth behind Count Dracula
Slowly, a mist descends from the sky and surrounds the carriage.
The horses run faster, not because their driver is pulling harder at
the reins. They are as nervous as him. The carriage rattles
along, kicking up dust and stones in its wake, hurtling
through the only road in the forest. The traveller looks out of the
window. All he can see are the dark trees. Up in the sky, the nightneerajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16275574856128009077noreply@blogger.com20