Over 22 years of experience, with 15 years in
the Tourism Industry as a Marketing Professional promoting Destinations and
Travel and Tourism Events, Meenakshi Gupta is now a freelance travel writer,
blogger, digital marketer, amateur trekker and of course a foodie.
She recently decided to get with the times
and started blogging on her travel, food and experiences. As a beginner, it
also inspired her to share her trekking stories with fellow trekkers.
Her articles/stories have been published in
Spice Route (Spice Jet Airlines In-flight magazine), The Hindu, Outlook
Traveller, Deccan Herald, Women’s Web, Safari Plus, Corporate Outbound and
Travel Mail.
Browse on to read what makes this avid and compulsive
traveller tick.
The Interview:
How
many cities and countries have you travelled so?
I have completed travelling to 44 major
cities. They are Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chanthaburi, Ranong, Pattaya,
Krabi, Hua Hin, Ko Chang, Singapore, Colombo, Kathmandu, St John’s, Halifax,
Toronto, Niagara, Montreal, Quebec, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Shimla, Jaipur, Amritsar,
Chandigarh, Dehradun, Agra, Ajmer, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Puri, Goa,
Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Bangalore, Munnar, Wayanad, Mysore,
Ooty, Kodaikanal, Pondicherry, Hampi, Chennai.
Countries which have been visited by me are 8
- Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Dubai, Canada, Abu Dhabi and India.
Which
has been the most memorable travel vacation? What made it special?
The most memorable travel was not a vacation
but was a Snow Himalayan Trek to Kedarkantha. Despite my high blood pressure, asthma
and joints pain, I challenged myself to trek 12500 feet of Kedarkantha and I
successfully did it. Against all odds, I wanted to gift myself this trek for my
50th Birthday. I want to inspire and motivate others especially
women who think trekking is not their cup of tea. I have to tell them if I can
do it anyone can do it. Just go for it. I am also a Bollywood Buff.
Wherever possible I try to get my pictures in Bollywood style.
What are the 5 spots one must visit at your memorable travel destination?
As I mentioned earlier, I am a hard-core Bollywood Buff. Wherever possible I try to
get my pictures in Bollywood style. On my 50th Birthday, I did
a photoshoot in Kufri, Himachal Pradesh in the snow. However, my most
memorable travel destinations are St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador in
Canada and Chiang Mai in Thailand.
5 Spots one must visit in St John’s are:
1.
Visit
Icebergs
2.
Hike
at Signal Hill National Historic site where you can see a panoramic view of the
city and The Atlantic Ocean.
3.
Cape
Spear - Remains of World War lies here.
4.
Petty
Harbour- a small village with approximately 1000 population. You get the best
seafood here.
5.
Nightlife
and Food - Being the most easterly city in Canada, St John’s has an Irish
flavour of food, music and nightlife. Trust me you will not come back
disappointed. Even if you are a vegetarian or a teetotaller, you must spend
some time there.
5 Spots one must visit in Chiang
Mai, Thailand
1.
The
Elephant Care Centre where you can indulge in playing, bathing and feeding
elephants.
2.
Doi
Suthep
3.
Wat
Suan Dok
4.
Wat
Chedi Luang
5.
Museum
of Contemporary Art (MAIIAM)
Can you
offer budding travelers 5 tips to travel smart and save on money?
There are various ways where you can
travel smart and save on money.
Choose your destination wisely - Based on your areas of
interest check for the countries where your currency is comparatively stronger,
easily accessible and has lots of staying options at affordable prices. Plan
your trip during the off-season. This way you will get discounted prices on
stay and flights both. Anyways you don’t want to see the crowd right?
Flights - As far as possible, make sure you travel with one airline and its codeshare airlines all the times to earn mileage points. This will help you to earn some complimentary tickets. Book your tickets well in advance and check for shortest routes even if you have to change 2-3 flights. Do check for layover timings.
Accommodation - Choose Air BnB, youth
hostels, dorms, etc. on sharing basis. In any case, you need
accommodation only for sleep and bath, these options help you save loads of
Euros.
The commute in the city - Make Metro/Rail/ Bus passes
for the period you plan to stay. This works out cheaper. Walk! Walk! Walk!
That’s the best way to explore any destination.
Eat Local - Don’t look for your soul
food. Eat local. The local food is always cheaper, easily available and you get
to taste the local flavours and save some pennies.
Now with
the Coronavirus outbreak, which travels spots do you regret not
having visited?
Italy! But I am sure we will learn to
start living with safety norms and soon I shall visit Italy.
Your
viewpoints (safe, unsafe, safety measures) about the future of travel post this
pandemic.
I always believe in the saying, “Once
a Traveller always a Traveller”. As we have learnt to travel taking
precautionary measures for other viruses like Zika, Yellow Fever etc., this too
shall pass soon. Self-safety should be the topmost priority at any given point
of time. Avoid going to the places where the chances of infection are at high
risk, avoid crowded places. Try to explore local, wildlife, Rural Tourism,
Heritage walks etc.
Being a
travel blogger/writer/photographer / YouTuber, how do you plan your trip?
I incline
offbeat trekking/hiking and lesser-explored destinations. I want to spread the
message to all those women out there who want to trek and go to the
destinations without any inhibition that it's not rocket science. Even to the
men that these unexplored destinations can be your memorable ones. Most of the
time I travel solo, and I do my research well in advance, contact local
authorities, look for trustworthy accommodations, and ensure the travel time so
that I reach the destination before it’s too dark.
Do you make money as a travel
blogger? What are the other ways to make money being a travel writer?
Well, I do
not make enough money. Blogging is like my Diary. However, getting my articles
published in various newspapers and magazines, affiliates, collaborations and
content writing does give me some money.
