Interview with Mahendra Pratap – WTM2021
- December 1, 2021
It was September 2019, I was flying to Nicaragua, the largest country in Central America but it is less known to tourists. However, it has awakened to the strategic importance of tourism and aims to show its hidden beauties to the world.
We began our explorations in the north of Managua and arrived in Selva Negra Ecolodge, 12 kilometers from the town of Matagalpa. We only stayed one night at Hotel Selva Negra. My wooden cottage with a deck was set in a nature reserve environment within a forest, surrounded by a farm and coffee plantation. There were two lakes, one of them in front of the restaurant and the reception area.
I and my wife live in London and often enjoy exploring this vibrant cosmopolitan city. A city whose heritage extends beyond its city boundaries and flows into its extensive suburbs. We decided to venture beyond those boundaries and try a short staycation in Hilton London Croydon hotel.
Raja Ampat is a hidden paradise in the remote westernmost part of Indonesia with breathtaking views of Raja Ampat islands.
After a 10-hour Qatar Airways flight from London to Jakarta, a day’s rest at the Hotel Bandara International, conveniently located near the airport, I took another 6-hour flight to Sorong, but the journey wasn’t over yet. A twenty-minute drive to the harbor, where a speedboat was waiting for us to carve our way through choppy waters on the final 3-hour leg of my journey
While our world is still male dominated it might be amazing for us to find a state in India that was once ruled by women in the 19th century. However, it is true in the case of Bhopal. Only a century after the city of Bhopal was founded in 1707 by Nawab Dost Muhammad Khan, the princely power was transferred to the Begums of Bhopal in 1819. The Begum means a Muslim woman of high rank
With a significant population, India has already been facing a great task in dealing with the damages caused by the impacts of the virus and maintaining social distancing. To make matters worse, another natural disaster hit West Bengal on 20th May as the coastal areas of the states of Odisha and West Bengal suffered the heavy impacts of one of the strongest cyclones in decades. The hurricane caused by super cyclone “Amphan” destroyed fishing villages, homes, and farms, brought down the power lines, and damaged roads and highways. The high-speed winds of up to 190 Km/h caused surges in storm and heavy rainfall, raising the sea level and flooding agricultural land, farms, and towns. The poor infrastructure of Kolkata could not cope with the consequence of overflowing water in the streets. Many neighbourhoods such as Kumotuli were devastated. Homes and workshops were swamped in the flooding water. People have become both jobless and homeless
It was in October of 2019 when I was in Kolkata, India, to be a competition judge among 13 members of a jury. The International Jury Award took place during the Durga Puja festival to help review 300 hundred pandals created by local artists and artisans. The city was colourful and vibrant in the celebration of the festival, uplifted in a united spirit to bring joy and happiness to the city regardless of religion or political ideas.
