Hello everyone!

As part of Blogchatter’s Ebook Carnival I’m happy to share a travel book review for one of my dear blogger friend, Vartika Mehrotra Gakhar.

About the book

This book is a collection of personal travel tales of the author. It includes experiences that range from fun and romantic to at times dark and terrifying. She has written about some beautiful but relatively unknown places in India and also some wonderful bucket list ones in Europe. This book can be easily used as a reference point to plan a trip with the helpful tips she has given.

About the author

Vartika is an ex-HR professional who is a travel enthusiast, nature lover, foodie, painter, author and most of all a twin-mom. She is a genuine, simple and loving person who likes to make friends and hates fakes. Hailing from the royal city of Lucknow, she is now exploring life and making new memories in Poland.

She writes about parenting, relationships, food, short stories etc on her blog. Also, she has contributed to different platforms, leading parenting sites and an eminent newspaper in India. This is her first book.

What I liked about the book

The best part about this book is that it’s a travelogue with a heart. Vartika has travelled extensively with her family and the deep bond she shares with them stands out. She has kept it authentic and not tried to sugar coat anything to make it a better read.

I belong to a spiritual family and all our trips essentially revolved around religious places. It was a pleasant surprise for me to read about places like Naimisharanya, Kedarnath, Rudra Prayag, Vaishno Devi and Sadhna Ashram. I almost had a small pilgrimage myself and am thankful for it.

The chapters on Chandigarh, Alleppey, Jaisalmer, Barcelona, Prague, Budapest and Amsterdam virtually transported me there. I liked how she included zoos and other fun activities for kids in the itinerary while visiting historical places too. Although she has added other ones, the awesome pictures of the tulip gardens in Keukenhof will remain my favourite.

I loved how thoroughly Vartika has captured the essence and significance of every place and added the dos and don’ts there. The last few chapters on tips and travel information while travelling with kids and in Europe are a great reference point.

Points to ponder

I’m a foodie and love collecting souvenirs. I feel that any place can be felt in its entirety when we see the local markets. With chapters on Lucknow and many European cities, I wish Vartika had included few pictures of them. I missed seeing our Indian flag flying high in the sky in the Wagah border chapter. Also, as a Marwari I wish there was more of Rajasthan to read about.

My thoughts:

Travel stories are often about tourist places and bland monotonous accounts. I felt a connection with the author through this refreshing read. She has researched intricate details about every place and included them for the reader’s benefit. Her writing is engaging with cute Hindi lines and phrases adding a dash of humour at places. If you’re looking for a light read with loads of nostalgia and beautiful places thrown in, this book is perfect for you.

I hope my book review has made you curious about the book! You can download a free copy of her book here for limited time.

This review has been written as part of the Blogchatter Book Review Program.