JOURNAL:INYOURWORDSWhen my partner and I landed in Vancouver, Canada, after a 20-hour
flight from Mumbai, it was raining quite hard. In fact, it had been raining
for two days, so we decided to sleep off our jetlag. When we woke up
and drew the curtains open, it was snowing! For some, that might be no
big deal, but we were popping our snow cherry. We looked at each
other, eyes wide, and snapped out of our jet-lagged stupor. Like a pair
of excited children, we put on our winter clothes as fast as we could and
ran outside, giggling and jumping in the snow. The neighbours were first
surprised, and then began to smile, as they watched two grown adults
indulge in a snowball fight. I looked away for a second, and, as I turned
back to look at my partner, a snowball came flying towards me,
splattering snow all over my face! I couldn’t help but laugh, it was
a really good day. We had both experienced life as children again.- Winter mornings by Akanksha Jaiswal
Travellingwhenyou’rein collegeisn’teasy– myfriends
andI wereona verytightbudget.That’showwefound
ourselvesin theunionterritoryof Chandigarh,readyto get
ona busto Manaliin HimachalPradesh.Weboarded
the bus in the evening, excited to wake up to Manali’s
beautiful landscape. Only thing is: we didn’t sleep a wink.
I had read that the road to Manali isn’t the best one out
there, but we figured it couldn’t be that bad. We were so,
so wrong. After a long, restless night of jostling around,
our bus came to a screeching halt – we had arrived.
We got off the bus and immediately looked for a cab
to take us to our hotel. We heard a few excited voices
around us, suggesting that we look up. When we did,
we realised it was snowing! We were mesmerised,
we were seeing snowfall for the very first time. We slept
extremely peacefully that night, all the while anticipating
an epic snowball fight in the morning. And, sure enough,
the next day, we had the time of our lives!
Worth the wait by Evita MendoncaBreak the Ice
From a city all decked out in festive lights
to endless snowball fights, Lonely Planet
Magazine India readers talk about their
unique winter experiences
When I visited Sydney, Australia, in 2018, the weather was around 15 degrees
Celsius – warm enough for me to wear my newly-purchased-just-for-this-trip outfit
and cool enough to spend the day outdoors. As luck would have it, my family
and I happened to chance upon a festival hosted by the city. Vivid Sydney featured
installations by the city’s art students and international artists, all lit up, transforming
what would have been a dark winter’s night into a spiral of merriment and laughter.
THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, TOO, WAS LIT UP, ITS WHITE
FACADE COVERED IN BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS, EACH MORE
OUTLANDISH THAN THE NEXT. The Sydney Harbour was home to water
shows, fireworks and laser beams, all synchronised with music so loud that my bones
throbbed. And, amid all the celebration, there were food trucks galore. I found a few
selling doughnuts stuffed with every ingredient imaginable. There were glowing
doughnuts too! It was a feast for my stomach and eyes. As evening turned to night,
the festivities continued, and, even though it was dark, the city was still wide awake.
We walked back content to our hotel, completely in awe. After taking in the wonder of it
all, we were excited to wake up the next day, bright and early, to explore the city again.
- Winter nights, city lights by Namrata Ashok
Australia is an absolute wonder to visit.
And in the land down under, the city
of Melbourne is definitely one of the
highlights. My parents and I landed
in Melbourne on a cold morning,
completely unprepared. We hadn’t
expected the weather to be so chilly
and windy; it literally blew us away.
The first stop on our itinerary was the
Eureka Tower. The observation deck
offers a 360-degree view of the city,
and, with a cup of hot chocolate in hand,
it was a sweet experience. We later
drove the Great Ocean Road to the
TWELVE APOSTLES.
I ENJOY DRIVING, AND
IT WAS HANDS DOWN THE
BEST ROAD I HAVE EVER
DRIVEN ON. WE DECIDED
TO STOP FOR LUNCH AT
A BEACH NEARBY. The only
problem was that we just couldn’t keep
our paper plates from flying away, thanks
to the wind! While trying to get our
plates to stay put, we also had to protect
ourselves from the freezing cold and our
jackets weren’t of much help. We finally
made it to the Twelve Apostles, but, as we
headed out to explore, it began to pour.
Despite the howling wind, we managed
to reach the fascinating rocks. Mustering
up all my energy, I trudged on, and got
to the edge of the deck. The only picture
my dad managed to click was one of me
holding onto my beanie for dear life,
which captures our windy struggle
perfectly. Still, biting cold included,
it was a trip we will never forget.- Windy drives by Radhika Sanghvi