Lucky Sahani

Travel

Where I have been, and where I am going next.

India and the United States, mostly — ten years of one built around a job in the other. Below is the record, and the two trips still ahead of it.

Gurgaon — HomeSeattle — 2021–2026Bengaluru — 2016–2021Alaska — EarlierNew York — Dec 2024Las Vegas — Jan 2025Portland — Aug 2025Dallas — Jun 2026Houston — Jun 2026San Francisco — EarlierLos Angeles — EarlierSan Diego — EarlierDenver — EarlierOrlando — EarlierNew Orleans — EarlierVaranasi — Jan 2026Patna — OftenJaipur — Sep 2026Jodhpur — Feb 2025Chandigarh — Mar 2025Triund & Kheerganga — EarlierBir Billing — EarlierSikkim — EarlierCherrapunjee — EarlierAlleppey — Jan 2026Varkala & Paravur — Jan 2026Munnar — EarlierWayanad — EarlierOoty — EarlierCoorg — EarlierGoa — EarlierMysuru — EarlierAgra — EarlierKanpur — 2012–2016Indore — EarlierChennai — EarlierYercaud — EarlierVaishno Devi — Oct 2026Maldives — Nov 2026Sri Lanka — Dec 2026
beenaheadCoastline — Natural Earth, public domain

Ahead

  1. Late October 2026Jammu & Kashmir

    Vaishno Devi

    A family pilgrimage, and a large one — the climb from Katra to the Bhawan, then on to Bhairon. Months of train bookings to get everyone moving at once.

  2. November 2026Indian Ocean

    Maldives

    Honeymoon. A water villa, and no plans beyond that, deliberately.

  3. December 2026Colombo & onward

    Sri Lanka

    Ten days with eight of us. This one replaced an Andaman plan — the islands are still on the list below.


Been

  1. Until July 2026United States

    Seattle

    Five years of it, and the last of ten at Amazon. Left in July and flew home for good — the kind of move you only make once.

  2. EarlierPalmer & Delta Junction

    Alaska

    An ATV run out of Palmer, and the Castner Glacier ice cave up near Delta Junction — you walk into a river of blue that is very obviously older than anything you have ever touched.

  3. EarlierMeghalaya

    Cherrapunjee

    Ten days across the North East, and this was the anchor — one of the wettest inhabited places on the planet, which it spends the whole time proving.

  4. June 2026Texas

    Dallas & Houston

    Went for the football. Messi and Ronaldo on the same pitch at a World Cup held in your adopted country is not a fixture you talk yourself out of.

  5. Through 2026Bihar

    Patna

    Back repeatedly this year, for the reasons families go back. The Ganga is wider than photographs make it look.

  6. September 2026Rajasthan

    Jaipur & Kishangarh

    Drove down for the pre-wedding shoot. Patrika Gate at first light, then the marble dunes at Kishangarh — an industrial by-product that photographs like a salt flat, and the strangest landscape I have stood in.


Everywhere else

The rest of the record, without the commentary. Anything from December 2024 onward carries a real month, because a location history backs it. The earlier ones are reconstructed from map activity and memory, so they are dated loosely on purpose rather than precisely and wrongly.

India

  • GurgaonHomeHaryana
  • Bengaluru2016–2021Karnataka
  • VaranasiJan 2026Uttar Pradesh
  • JodhpurFeb 2025Rajasthan
  • ChandigarhMar 2025Punjab
  • Triund & KheergangaEarlierHimachal Pradesh
  • Bir BillingEarlierHimachal Pradesh
  • SikkimEarlierNorth East
  • AlleppeyJan 2026Kerala
  • Varkala & ParavurJan 2026Kerala
  • MunnarEarlierKerala
  • WayanadEarlierKerala
  • OotyEarlierTamil Nadu
  • CoorgEarlierKarnataka
  • GoaEarlierGoa
  • MysuruEarlierKarnataka
  • AgraEarlierUttar Pradesh
  • Kanpur2012–2016Uttar Pradesh
  • IndoreEarlierMadhya Pradesh
  • ChennaiEarlierTamil Nadu
  • YercaudEarlierTamil Nadu

United States

  • New YorkDec 2024New York
  • Las VegasJan 2025Nevada
  • PortlandAug 2025Oregon
  • HoustonJun 2026Texas
  • San FranciscoEarlierCalifornia
  • Los AngelesEarlierCalifornia
  • San DiegoEarlierCalifornia
  • DenverEarlierColorado
  • OrlandoEarlierFlorida
  • New OrleansEarlierLouisiana

Someday

A running list, kept honest by a season column — half the mistakes in Indian travel are going to the right place in the wrong month.

Hills

  • Darjeeling & GangtokMar–May, Oct–NovToy train, Tsomgo Lake
  • MunnarSep–MarTea estates, mist
  • CoorgOct–MarCoffee estates
  • TawangApr–OctOffbeat, monasteries
  • Uttarakhand circuitOct–JunHaridwar to Mussoorie, by road

Coast & islands

  • AndamanOct–MayHavelock and Neil — still open
  • GokarnaOct–MarThe quiet answer to Goa
  • LakshadweepOct–MayPermit-only, pristine
  • South GoaNov–FebSunsets and shacks

Heritage

  • UdaipurOct–MarCity of lakes
  • JaisalmerOct–MarForts, desert camp
  • VaranasiOct–MarThe Ganga aarti
  • HampiOct–FebRuins among boulders
  • Khajuraho & OrchhaOct–MarTemples, riverside

The ambitious ones

  • LadakhJun–SepLeh, Pangong, Nubra
  • Spiti ValleyJun–SepRugged, genuinely remote
  • Valley of FlowersJul–AugA monsoon trek
  • Panch KedarMay–Jun, Sep–OctFive temples, strenuous