Book Review: Travel My Way By Vartika Mehrotra Gakhar – #BlogchatterEbook #EbookCarnival #Review

Book Review: Travel My Way By Vartika Mehrotra Gakhar – #BlogchatterEbook #EbookCarnival

Title: Travel My Way

Author: Vartika Mehrotra Gakhar

Genre: Non-Fiction, Travelogue

No of Pages: 88

Download link: Travel My Way

Synopsis:

Being a travel enthusiast, I chose to write on travel theme and have shared many anecdotes through my debut book. This book is a collection of my personal travel tales, I revisited those trips while writing this book and came up with many travel experiences and memories, right from my childhood when I travelled as a kid with my parents till now, when I travel with my kids. I have included many Indian destinations and there is a slice of Europe as well. You will get a flavour of humour, dark, romance, adventure and affection in all my stories. Also, there are a few tips and tricks which would help you plan your vacation in a better way.

My Take:

Pros: The author starts off by describing the city of Lucknow in the first chapter giving us a wonderful account of its cultural ethos. I loved her descriptions of the Bada Imambra, Chota Imambra and the various parks of Lucknow. She describes the places to eat in Lucknow and when I read these descriptions, I felt that I was actually in Lucknow sampling the delicacies. The second chapter describes Naimisharanya, which is a religious destination situated on the banks of the river Gomti in Sithapur. I have often heard my parents speak about the mighty Gomti and the time they went boating in the river. It seems that they asked the boatman how deep the river was and they were told that it was at least a 100 feet deep in some places.

Vartika’s description of Naimisharanya conjured up an image in my mind; an image of a beautiful temple in ancient India with a gurukul nearby. As we move from chapter to chapter, the author gives us exhaustive details of the various places she had the good fortune to visit. At the end of each chapter, Vartika also gives the reader tips on how to prepare for a trip to the destination. These tips would definitely be useful to avid travellers. She describes the time she had in Vaishno Devi when her car broke down and how frightened she felt. It is so vividly described that I could feel a tinge of fear myself as I read about it.

Her description of her visit to the Hggenekkal falls is captivating. She tells us about how frightened she felt when the small circular boat she was travelling in was in the middle of whirlpools. She describes other places she visited like Bengaluru and the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The golden temple is one place I have always wanted to visit and Vartika’s description of her experience piques my interest even more. The image of the brick wall in Jalianwala Bagh she has put up, showing the scratch marks made by people as they tried to escape the bullets is a stark reminder of the atrocities committed by the British. It makes one’s blood boil.

After dealing with her experiences in India the author writes about her travels abroad. She describes the attractions of Krakow, Poland where she currently lives. She goes on to tell us about her visits to Prague, Amsterdam and a number of other places. The chapter I really enjoyed is the one on her visit to The Camp Nou – Barcelona.

There is a dedicated Messi Space in The Camp Nou and after I read Vartika’s description of it, I solemnly vowed that I would visit Barcelona at least once in my lifetime. She describes Budapest which sounds very interesting. In the final portion of the book, Vartika has devoted a section to how people ought to prepare for travelling. She has given several tips on planning a vacation without stress. She has also provided tips on how to visit international destinations without too much of a financial burden. The book is definitely a very absorbing read.

Cons: Well, there is nothing much that can really be called a defect in the book. The only thing I can think of is perhaps the last portion of the book where a lot of travel tips are given could be made slightly shorter and crisp. Other than that the book really does justice to the title and is a great read.

Conclusion: I would definitely recommend this book for people who are fond of travel. It is written beautifully and the author has described her personal adventures in every chapter. This holds the reader spellbound.

Rating: I am going with a 4.5/5 for Vartika’s Travel My Way. Go get it immediately.

This book review is written as part of the Blogchatter Ebook Review Program

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