Himanshu Nagpal of New Delhi INDIA

35. Featured Traveller 

Himanshu Nagpal

Senior Business Analyst : Traveller 

(New Delhi, INDIA)

                               

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” 

― Gustave Flaubert

We are, indeed, lucky to have the opportunity to feature Himanshu from New Delhi. He works in a corporate world and spend Monday to Friday at his desk working to earn enough to live his travel dreams. You won't believe it. It took months for us to finalize this interview and publish his story. Understandably, my invitation came in time for his trip to the United Kingdom.

Flag of India

Being a traveller, he is keen on keeping his travel budget intact. "Budget and planning are the most important part of any trip and plays a very important role", he says. "It is necessary and quite helpful to keep an eye on the travel fares months before so you can capture the best deal. Also, it is best to plan so that money is not wasted on places which you do not want to visit or are over-hyped", he adds. Himanshu still believes that most of the beautiful places are natural and free to visit, so much so that one can reduce travel expenses.

Himanshu has been travelling to cities and towns of his country. Outside of India, he has travelled to Thailand and very recently explored England. It is his first time away from family during the Diwali festival. He spends most of the holiday season, including Christmas in the United Kingdom wandering the beautiful places in England.

Beach Shack in Goa INDIA

Just like most travellers, he believes that the beauty and happiness in travelling is just around his backyard. There are many places in India that is waiting to be discovered. Himanshu invites his fellow travellers and readers of this blog to re-discover India. He can tell you many stories about India in his own travel blog, Being Traveler.

Continue reading his story.....

Cescille Tuazon of Glasgow SCOTLAND

19. Featured Traveller 

Cescille Tuazon

Singer : Traveller  

(Glasgow, Scotland)

                               

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page”

~ Saint Augustine 

Ces as she is fondly called,  is a native of Pampanga in the Philippines. She has been residing permanently in Scotland with her family for more than fifteen years now.

I am so thankful that she agreed to be featured in our blog to highlight some of her travels and to give tips that will be of help to fellow travellers. Ces is not new to travelling as she has been to Dubai, Muscat, Bahrain, Rome, United Kingdom, Spain, Gibraltar, France, United States, Canada, and Thailand. Her future travel line up are Japan, South Africa, Greece and Australia to name a few.

Enjoying 'chocolat chaud' in Nice

Scotland Flag

I will let Ces tell her story as I believe she can give justice to her travelling spree in spite of the fact that she is going through a lot of personal issues lately.

Well, that is a story that I cannot share with you in this column. If you insist and you are still interested to know more about her life story and what she is going through, I will be giving you a hint at the end of this blog on where to find more information about her. In the meantime, here is her travel story....

* * * * *

Gibraltar

I do a lot of research before I head off to a foreign country especially if my destination is of different culture than where I am at.

I've lived in the Middle East for many years so I am aware how conservative the people of these countries are, and how they strictly follow the laws of the land.

It is here where I learned to practice the old sayings, "When in Rome, do what the Romans do". Oh yes, my life in Saudi Arabia is the total opposite of my life here in Scotland.

Apart from essentials like shoes and clothes, I always carry sufficient medicines when I am on a journey. Do not be stingy with your travel insurance; make sure you always have one, because you do not know what can possibly happen. I always purchase insurance; an advice that I believe is very important when you travel.

My passion in travelling started when I joined a musical band as a singer.  I go with the group of musician to cities and towns and from one country to another. This is one thing that I always like to do - entertaining people through music and at the same time travelling for free.

Waiting for the train in Bangkok

Being a single parent and a working mom, I am saving some cash to go on holiday after an exhausting, but very rewarding job.

I recently went on a 7-day Mediterranean Medley cruise via Thomson Dream Liner where I had the chance to explore Italy's Corsica, Livorno, Pisa, Nice and Antibes, after which our cruise ship headed to France's Toulon and Barcelona, Spain.

Mediterranean Cruiseship

Mediterranean Medley ~ Is it my Dream Cruise?  This is the question I asked in my blog. Whether it is a dream come true, or not, I still can say that going solo on a trip  is all I want to do in my present situation.

Did I enjoy the cruise? Yes, I did!  I am trying my best to move on with my personal life. It is not easy to ignore those jolly Filipino crews on the ship.  They are a bunch of very respectful hosts and good singers in their own right.  These young men serenaded me with beautiful Philippine music that brought back memories of my happy days in the Philippines.  

Aboard the Thomson Liner Cruiseship

I had a hard time communicating while in Nice, France.

Though I attempted to talk clearly in English, not even one staff in the snack bar understood what I was trying to say.

There is a serious language barrier here. All of them don't speak English. The only French words that I could speak and understand are Bonjour, merci, au revoir and je' taime.  Not even one of these words could be used in ordering what I wanted.  I almost gave up.

But wait, a customer close by who understood both languages came to my rescue.  He told them, "this lady want the chocolat chaud". So, I got my chocolat chaud.  Very easy!

I should learn how to use my fingers to do the talking.  I think it would help.  It was truly a learning experience.

For details of my Mediterranean cruise, I invite you to visit my blog, FliPinay Wee Blether. It is not only my journey that you will be reading here. I also shared my thoughts as a single parent and how I struggle to raise my two kids.  I've tried my best to put some humour on the personal side of my story to make it lighter and easier to accept the realities.

Below you will see some of my photos during my recent trip. I'd been alone and cannot pose to have my pictures taken but managed to shoot some beautiful views by myself.

Comment if you like. That will make me feel better! To connect with me, you may also visit my Facebook page, KwentongSingleMom.

From the desk of: 

Freddie Miranda

A blogger and a Canada-based freelance writer. He shares the value of his travel experiences and discoveries with his friends and fellow travellers. Share your passion, join and visit him. Send a message @ fromatravellersdesk(at)gmail(dot)com.

Seaside in Corsica ITALY

Ancient town of Antibes FRANCE

Taken from my cruiseship ~ Toulon FRANCE

Spanish Village ~ Barcelona SPAIN

Costa del Sol ~ Barcelona SPAIN

 

Cathedral ~ Barcelona SPAIN

Leaning Tower ~ Pisa ITALY

Are you a traveller who would like to share your travel story with our blog and our readers?  Then, I'd love to hear from you! 
Please email me at fromatravellersdesk@gmail.com

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Featured Traveller #35 Himanshu from New Delhi INDIA

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Watch for these blogs! 
They all have been travelling for many years and I can guarantee that all of them have travel tips that all of us can learn and benefit from.  I have to thank all other fellow travellers who have responded to my invite.  I will definitely publish your stories as soon as I have completed the details.

 

The Incident in Paris that Touched our Lives

A lot has been said about Paris and what I am sharing about this beautiful place is the good feeling when my aircraft smoothly touches the tarmac of the Charles De Gaulle International Airport. It is a little over an hour flight from Copenhagen Airport (formerly Kastrup Airport) to CDG Airport in Paris.
  

I am not new to travelling when I decided to visit Paris. To my mind, coming here is an accomplishment that I consider a dream come true.  It is my longest stay in a city (next to Rome) on a 17-day tour of Europe.  Understandably, I make sure that I am not missing any of those well publicised famous attractions.

Avenue des Champs-Élysées  and Arc de Triomphe in Paris FRANCE Photo Credit: Freefoto

I already have a good impression of France right at the airport.

My taxi driver is such a humble, polite and patient human being. He is not in a rush on our way to Hotel Harvey close to Palais des Congres and Champs Elysees.

I recommend this hotel to my fellow budget-conscious traveller as it is cheaper than other hotels around with the same class and is a walking distance to Arc de Triomphe and other must-see places.

The Front Desk staff are so helpful and very professional. It doesn't matter how early in the day and late at night that I come to their rescue, there is always one who will make us really feel important. To think that I always make my reservation online, I do not have the slightest idea on how this will go.

Hotel Harvey is not even a 4-star hotel but the services that they are showing are far beyond my expectation. This hotel is just one of the many that offers excellent service.