Lonely Planet writers share their travel wish-list for 2021

2020 applied breaks on travel like nothing else could have. 2021 however brings new hope – with vaccine approvals, travel bubbles, and easing restrictions travel lovers are looking forward to getting back on the road like never before. We asked Lonely Planet travel writers to share their travel wish-list for 2021. Here’s what they are looking forward to.

Berlin Calling - Ananya Bahl

For someone who spent a leisurely week in Germany, I somehow was left bereft of the pleasures of its capital city, Berlin. Historic events, walls that came tumbling down, the tug-of-war between capitalism and communism, gawk-worthy architecture, and a veritable Mecca for all kinds of artists—the city has always topped my travel wish list. As if the aforementioned list doesn’t already suffice, here are a few more reasons: the chance to see some of the world’s best DJs in some of the world’s best nightclubs to make my musical gypsy heart dance with joy, juicy doner kebabs, great beer, art, and its many ‘sees’ (lakes) with beaches—I want all this and more. And though I am not like Esty, the protagonist of Unorthodox, who is running away from her cocooned life in New York City’s religious neighborhoods, I do get why she chose Berlin—just like her own mother did—for her escape. I will do the same, the minute I get the chance.

Paris je t'aime - Anubhuti Krishna

For 2021 I do not have lofty plans. Plans you see have a way of failing you. So, all I wish is to go back to my tiny home-town-in-law, Jamshedpur, indulge in street food and shop at the weekly markets without worrying about getting sick. But if the universe is listening, I’d like it to send me back to Paris this year. My past visit to the City of Lights was a quick 48-hr stopover with two babies in tow. Now I want to go alone for a long languorous fortnight. Want to sit in its cafés for hours watching people and sipping. I want to lie in the soft green grass at the Tuileries Gardens and gaze at the artwork in the Louvre. I want to spend days at Montmartre, watch cabaret at Moulin Rouge in the evenings and climb the Eiffel. Clichéd much? Well some clichés are too good to forgo.

A letter to mother - Ayandrali Dutta

Leap year 2020 actually made us take a leap of faith in a lot of ways. Being stuffed in our homes locked away literally the whole world shut and so did travel. It was a year full of uncertainties and unexpected events. Just like everyone else I too had my tentative travel calendar in place and one place that I was really looking forward to visit was- SPITI. Reason? I wanted to write a letter to my mom from the world’s highest post office in Hikkim and the other being able to spend a night at the Komic Monastery, the highest monastery in the world. May sound weird but I have always done that whenever I visited any off beat location. Spiti for me was not just another destination, but I knew it was going to be an experience of lifetime. The aura of this valley is nothing less than enchanting. The valley is pure wilderness and the road are known to be the ‘most treacherous road in the world! Also traveling through Spiti is the closest one could get to Shangri-La. Incredible altitudes, stunning landscape, the simplicity of Tibetan people, Spiti in my imagination is just that perfect postcard beauty.

Autumn Chinar - Pallavi Pasricha

I’ve seen the mountains, valleys and pine trees all white, I’ve seen them a glorious green and now I want to see them orange. Kashmir is undoubtedly one of the prettiest places in India where every season arrives in a different hue. This gorgeous destination is very close to my heart because it was here that I first experienced a white Christmas. And I will never forget spending a month in Gulmarg in summer with my family when it was a verdant green. But this year I want to head there in autumn to experience first-hand the umpteen pictures I have seen of Chinar trees turning orange and walk on these leaves in Nishat Bagh. Whenever I imagine this, I can almost hear the leaves rustling in the wind and crunching when I step on them. I want to go beyond Srinagar to Gulmarg and Pahalgam. This is our very own fall season and I am dying to visit Kashmir once again, which many call the 'Warmest place on Earth.' I cannot agree more.

In Budha's footsteps - Pratishtha Singh

In pre-2020 times, I wished to travel to new, unexplored destinations but during this year, I’ve only dreamt of revisiting a few of those places where I’ve been many times and therefore, I carry a version of them within my mind. I have secretly begged for another opportunity to revisit a few such places. The first place is Gaya because I must have fresh anarsa, a sweet which when brought to Delhi, loses its charm and even flavor. It is a humble sweet with sesame seeds shining on a crispy exterior hiding a silky interior of reduced milk. Yes! I need this if I want to feel like there is still hope out there. The other place is Venice: evenings, walking with friends, you go cicchettare or having rushed drinks while nibbling snacks in bars: Fried calamari, baccalà, arancini balls, artichoke hearts. Those walks and that feeling of having had a dinner standing up in crowded bars; that feeling which transcended the need to return home, I crave that. Newness, for me, is incomplete if it lacks an element of familiarity and nostalgia.

Exploring Gond Art in Madhya Pradesh - Priyadarshini Chatterjee

For a long time now I have traveled primarily, often exclusively, for food - a prolific medium for conversations around places and its people. In 2021 I would like to experience travel from a new vantage point, explore a new frame of reference for fresh cultural experiences: Indigenous arts. I would like to start with the land or Gond Art. While I have always had a proclivity for folk art forms and have dabbled in a few over the years, strictly as a hobbyist, I have never quite engaged with an art form in a way I have in the last year when I discovered the magical world of Gond art and was fascinated by its vibrant colors, layered tapestry, detailed narrative and fantastical fluidity. I feel a strong urge to engage in a more meaningful conversation around the art form: the people behind it, their environment, history, and culture. So, in 2021, I want travel to places like Patangarh in Madhya Pradesh to see Gond artists at work, learn about their lives and perhaps learn from them. The gorgeous wilderness of the region that so inspires the art would be an added bonus. And while I am at it I hope I get a chance to sample some Gondi food too. As of now, it is only a wish. I am yet to work out the details. Hopefully soon.

Tokyo Ramen - Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu

I’ve got my sights trained unwaveringly on the Land of the Rising Sun this year. It has been on the wish list for years together and was to be the place I was going to ring in my fiftieth birthday. Then again, nothing brings to a grinding halt the best-laid travel plans quite like a global pandemic. What the inertia did not prevent, thankfully, was vicarious travel. I’ve been reading up and following newsy, knowledgeable Japan-centric profiles and social media handles that delve beyond the obvious. One of which–Tall Girl in Japan–has me wanting to experience the country in all its crimson autumnal splendor. An agreeable time for outdoorsy activities I’m told, the fall of 2021 can’t come soon enough for me to acquaint myself with Japan’s intriguing culture and time-held traditions, including its countless festivals and myriad flavors. Till such time I can slurp through that topnotch Tokyo ramen, however, the Himalayas will continue to receive my undiminished affection.

Homeward Bound - Ruth Dsouza Prabhu

Coming into 2021, I am still wary of travelling. But, I hope things will change soon. This year, I want to travel to the small coastal town of Mangalore – my hometown on the Western coast of India. True, I go there multiple times a year – 2020 being the exception. But, like most travelers, exploring the place I call home never really happened. This year, I want to explore it as I would any new place. I want to delve into its cuisine – a delicious smorgasbord of Catholic, GSB, Bunt, Beary, and Tuluva micro-cuisines. I want to explore its beaches more. I want to see a Yakshagana performance, or stand amidst the crowd during the Kambala races. I want to visit its many chapels and churches, most over a century old. I want to wander around the Market area looking for treasures and end all the exploration with the famed Gadbad ice cream of Ideals.