Globetrotting with Tanay

  Imagine you just finished your exams, and your birthday, and you hear some of the best news ever - you get to visit the most excessively glamourous city in the whole world - Dubai! (For the first time, I don't have to pack warm clothes as if I'm heading to Antarctica - I'm going to a hot desert!) Dubai has been depicted as a city of riches and a symbol of Arabia. So me and my family went there to experience the glam and find out whether the city is as real as it is described, or an artificial dystopia. We hopped on the midnight flight out of India, visas in hand. In the next few days, we discovered both modern and historical sides of Dubai, met the people and found out for sure the atmosphere of the city (Field note: Nights in deserts get really cold, do NOT neglect packing warm clothes!) Dashing Departure, Dazzling Destination We headed on to the airport at an ungodly hour of the morning but truth be told we all had been awake all night, in excitement. This trip was our ...

I think I found Shangri-La.  Recently, my family and I were going to Bhutan, a small country nestled in the Himalayas cut off from the rest of society - exactly what we needed to escape the dust, noise and stress of the city. So we packed all the jackets, socks and sweaters we could find (It was never enough!) and we headed outside. What we stumbled upon was one of the most spiritual, refreshing and exciting adventures ever.  Arrival and First Impressions We first arrived in the enchanting border town of Phuentsholing. As soon as we stepped out, I could feel the cold air biting my legs like a persistent animal (It was at this point, I knew, I needed more clothing). A tour guide then came to pick us up. His name was Karma Shering, and he was a kind young man who would guide us for the rest of the journey (He was very patient with our dumb doubts about Buddhism). He was wearing a weird coat where one end overlapped the other, with enough space to carry around a baby, and no pant...