As you might know, the LPMI office is in Mumbai, where ‘winter’, as the world knows it, is almost non-existent. A slight drop in temperature towards the end of the year offers a chance to wear lighter versions of the sweaters, pullovers and mufflers that the rest of India absolutely needs. As I write this in sultry September, the snow-drenched image on our cover this month is exhilarating in its promise of the cold that awaits in other parts of our planet.
Indians have long been cautious about approaching holidays in the snow. We worry that we would be too cold to enjoy the destination, to explore, to do justice to the weather. That is slowly changing, as more travellers gear up to take on the whiteness of a wintry world, as European Christmas markets make their way onto Indian bucket lists, and as snow takes its place on the same lists. The world over, ski lessons for beginners are becoming part of destinations’ essential offerings; the apres-ski traditions of wining and dining need no teaching! This issue, Vermont in the USA beckons with a wassailing tradition that embraces all visitors, and we have nightlife in Barcelona in Spain that will keep you warm even in the cold. And, if you’d rather escape the winter altogether, Australia in the Southern Hemisphere is in the throes of full summer. I thoroughly enjoyed eating and drinking my way through the Margaret River region, and would drop everything to return to the sunshine Down Under if I could. Uganda, too, seems to offer perpetual summer through the year, and December to February is the dry season when our ape cousins will be in particularly fine fettle.
As the weather gets cooler, we think it’s the best time to go a-driving across India. Enjoy the 10 road-trip ideas put together by Samarpan, who’s joined us from our sister magazine, BBC TopGear India. We’re always happy to bring you more ways to explore this wonderful country of ours, and this petrol-head knows his roads – so it’s a win-win situation. As travel usually is.
– Primrose Monteiro-D’Souza
from
via Lonely Planet India
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