REINVENTING SELF
It has been an effortless transition from a cosmetic dentist-school teacher couple to also being laidback travellers for Dr Rituraj Pathak and his wife Shreya. Travelling for them has been a ticket to bettering themselves and in the process also spurring fellow travellers to push new frontiers and boundaries. The couple has a travel blog and Facebook page
Travel genes that provide a wealth of information about little known destinations, food and of course, budget stay. They have also put their expertise to use in their tour company called India Though The Back Door, which caters to informal small groups or private tours with the focus on going local. To name a few places the couple have travelled to — Amsterdam, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Brussels, Paris, London, Chicago, New York, Boston, Bali, Singapore etc.
All the years of experience have converged at one point, “We realised that travelling is all about the experience and it’s in the details — the places you stay, the transport, route and the people you meet.”
There could be no apt name than Travel Genes as far as Shreya is concerned, “I inherited my love of travelling from my father who would invariably travel with family every year. After marriage, I converted my husband, who also loves travelling, into a travel freak and now there is nothing like a spot of travel to bond with family.”
She recalls a very cherished memory — their honeymoon trip to Bali. “We went scuba diving which is fairly common, but what was truly memorable was sea walking. We are taken to a spot under the sea which has railings where you can hold on and then walk under the sea. Though I knew swimming, I was a bit unsure, but the spirit of my husband who did not know swimming yet was game spurred me on to try it. I was bowled over!”
Shreya started documenting her travels in her blog as suggested by Rituraj. She says, “Travelling is a cathartic experience and writing about it a soul-fulfilling one. I love reading other blogs and feel inspired to travel, so I want people who read mine to feel the same. I wish to give people the opportunity to see the world with different eyes.”