Editor’s note: The Travel section of the Advisory will bring you wonderful and trustworthy (lord knows we need them!) recommendations from our partner Urbanaut once a month. FYI: Urbanaut is a travel tech start-up that curates experiences with the help of creative locals in different cities.
Long Weekend Lovin’
It may feel decadent to plan travel so early in January, after a heady December. But there aren’t too many long weekends in a year and nor do we have great weather for many more months. Republic Day is a Thursday—a 4-day weekend for the clever traveller. So make sure you make the most of the time-off you get—and we’re always on hand with clever suggestions, of course.
A feast in Goa
Judging by the sold out hotels all over Goa on Republic Day weekend, we wouldn’t be surprised if many of you are heading there as well. We’ve written about Goa a lot so we won’t repeat ourselves, but if you do just one thing that weekend, make it our glorious Feast in the Fields experience happening only on the 28th and 29th of Jan (pick your day) in Cansaulim, South Goa.
Imagine being seated under the shade of coconut trees on a long table in between two rice paddy fields. Light music in the air, free flowing feni cocktails, a delicious seasonal spread with some of the food harvested from the very fields you’re seated at, fantastic company and conversation and the always wonderful Hansel Vaz to host you at his family’s private property. Experiences like this don’t happen often, trust us.
Book your tickets here and use code URBN10 for a 10% discount (only for Splainer readers ;).
PS: We last hosted this Landlord’s feast in November and way too many people wrote in asking when our next one would be. So don’t miss out this time around (we really don’t know when the next one will be!). It’s absolutely perfect for groups (so long as tickets last) and great for all ages. The meal has plenty of vegetarian options as well.
Coffee in Coorg
For those in Bangalore, if we could recommend one experience to try for when you’re not lazing in your homestay this long weekend, it’s the Estate Walk and Coffee Tasting experience.
Led by the co-founder of an extremely popular coffee brand and café in Bangalore, this walk takes place in an estate in Kodagu (Coorg) that has been with the family for over 4 generations. It was initially founded by a Scotsman in 1890 and some Arabica plants on this estate are over 156 years old!
The estate experience begins with a chat and a coffee at the bungalow followed by a guided walk through the estate and conversations about coffee, cultivation and coffee processing where you learn about the farm, Coorg and Coorg culture. You also have the option of indulging in a delicious Kodava meal under a canopy of trees in a thickly wooded part of the coffee farm.
Book here, ideally well in advance of your trip for a truly unforgettable experience in Coorg.
Biennale walks in Kochi
If the wonderful advisories from the splainer team about Kochi haven't already got you packing your bags, then you might just be impossible to convince, but we’ll try anyway.
From the 26-29th of Jan, the peerless ladies from Art and Wonderment will be conducting four different, carefully curated, guided walks of the Biennale. We can assure you there’s no better way to navigate the multitude of art works or understand the varying but interconnected themes at the Biennale than with a walkthrough by the experienced and wonderful duo Alisha and Nishita. If you’d like the whole shabang—then book all 4 walks on the 26th & 27th OR 28th & 29th (the walks on the 26th and 28th are repeated, as are the walks on the 27th and 29th). Alternatively, cherry pick the walks you’d like to go on.
Tickets available (and selling fast) here. We can’t recommend it enough and the likelihood of meeting interesting, like-minded people on these walks is very high—even better for those who want to while away a lazy Kochi afternoon with new friends.
We’ve always got recommendations for places to eat and drink and visit in Kochi—newly added to the app (viewable on web too for app-averse readers).
That’s all for this edition, folks. Happy and safe travels. For the next advisory, we’ll have bookable itineraries to some wonderful destinations. That’s right—hand-picked boutique stays, just the right number of experiences to give you the most authentic taste of the destination, and other Urbanaut-only perks.
A little bit about Urbanaut: Ok, it’s time for introductions—so you know who we are. Urbanaut curates bookable experiences and authentic recommendations from those who know best—creative, discerning locals in different cities. 35,000+ travellers use our app just in case you were wondering! We’re a travel tech startup (fancy lingo for the win!), female-founded, and with dreams of being in cities and countries around the world. The discerning traveller is having their moment, and we’re here for it—and we sure as hell plan to be a part of it!
Download Urbanaut on the App Store or Play Store to get started. Or visit our website (we’re better on the app, but we get it) to view our experiences and recommendations!
