This post has been written by Dimple Dhalwani, a PR professional & Social Media Marketer in Pune who is a passionate foodie and an avid traveller. She is also a Meditation Coach.
Travel to me is celebration- of my freedom, emotions and life. The highs and the lows, travelling for me encompasses all of it. There’s something about exploring new places, experimenting different cuisines, meeting new people, shopping at new places and discovering new nightlife that rejuvenates me like nothing ever can. The smell of airports, queuing up for check-in and immigration; duty free shopping, window seats in airplanes…travelling is my ticket to escape, enjoy and celebrate life.
While planning a trip, I make sure I explore the best of what the place has to offer: from history & culture to modern architecture and nightlife, I ensure I cover it all! An important element of all my travels is food, and I also make sure I get the chance to experience exotic flavours at Michelin star restaurants to the comforting tastes of street food. I also like to travel with people who’re close to me. I believe it’s a great way of getting to know them well. You’ll get to see different sides of them that you’ve never been introduced to before. It’s quite an eye-opener, the good, the bad and the ugly!
One of my favourite places in the world is Hong Kong, because to me it’s a perfect mix of manmade beauty and nature. There’s an abundance in natural beauty at the beaches, and on the other side we have the buzzing, intimidating concrete jungle, and both of them exist in perfect harmony. The hustle and bustle of the city life and the quiet relaxed beach living – Hong Kong is the best of living both the worlds.
Hongkong is a big celebration for me- bars and nightlife, people walking around as early as 4am, boutiques and malls bustling with crowds, the beach life, and the food. I walk around and explore the roads and bylanes, but I have a few favoruites. Barca is one of the most popular street sea food restaurants where you go and choose your live crabs and lobsters, and if seafood is your jam I’d highly recommend a visit. The Michelin star restaurant House of Qi facing the skyline of Hongkong is another great stop for Sichuan Chinese: do try the hot and fiery yum cha if you ever visit! Other than that, you can walk down the promenade and view the skyline- one of the best in the world! There’s also the boat ride that you can hop on to, to crossover to Hong Kong from Kowloon. You can enter a bar well past midnight, dance the night away, even get a massage at 3am! For day-time activities, do hop on to the tram ride up to the hill, and take a day trip to the beach. Once you’re done with all of this, simply let go and walk around!
Some of my best memories are found in stamps between the pages of my passport. Until we can get out again, here’s hoping for safer travels, and a cleaner, more safe future for all the travellers. Stay home, stay safe.