India, Aug. 28 -- The college bus stop was facing the tourism information centre in Thiruvananthapuram. In the sweltering afternoon sun, I often looked with bewilderment at the backpackers who stopped to ask for directions or pick up pamphlets in an era preceding smartphones. What was there to see here? The places worth visiting seemed to be where they came from - 'the first world.' Not in our tiny state overrun by paddy fields and coconut trees. Where tourism was a big reality, I harboured a silent skepticism towards anything tourist-oriented.

From Skepticism To Seeking Since then, I have myself chased travel with a vengeance. In foreign subways and weekend markets, I strove to be a model visitor, polite, respectful and scrupulous, crav...