Sip tea, admire the splendid view and share the story of your journeys. By Ankita Jain
My friend Aisha has a long list. It is of places where she wants her ashes scattered. It ranges from under a jacaranda tree, in the shade of a morning glory, by the duck pond, in a spice forest… and so it goes. She loves sharing her travel stories and hearing the experiences of random travellers. Well, with a mug of coffee lying cosily on the hammock, she does the barter of travel stories. like this combinationIJ That’s the basic concept of a travel café. You may enter into a Café full of unknown people like Aisha does, but you’ll surely leave with at least a few new friends and some awesome travel experiences floating on your mind. Here’s for you, though a few, but some cool travel cafés in the city:
Kunzum Travel Cafe
Nestling in the narrow, convoluted lanes of the Capital’s Hauz Khas Village, Kunzum Travel Café is not just a coffee shop but a space for like-minded people to gather. Started by travel photographer and writer Ajay Jain in June 2010, the cafe operates on a “pay what you like” business model. Its limited menu of tea, coffee and whole-grain biscuits is uncomplicated, and once you’re done you decide how much you want to spend.
Ajay, an avid traveller himself, aimed to create a community for fellow travellers to get together. “Initially it was just a gallery for my photography and books for a few months. Then we added the cafe component to it, to both get footfalls as well as to create an offline community. We call it the face-to-Facebook of travel,” he says. “We thought, let us create an environment where people can exchange stories. It’s not just me telling my stories, but a chance for them to tell theirs.” The cafe seats 25-30 people comfortably and about 40 can be squeezed in during special events. Kunzum holds regular film screenings, workshops, heritage walks and photography tours. “Since the café runs on ‘pay what you like’ mode, these special events help us to survive. Besides visitors also buy my book and travel photographs,” he explains about the business potential of the café. “It is also a meeting place for various travellers, who are passionate about exploring new places or discovering new spots in known places. I know a girl, who travelled solo to Iran and South America, and many others in the list,” he smiles.
The Hippie Trail
A 28-year-old Urvashi always wanted to run a café in her second innings. But when a lake viewing space came up in Hauz Khas, she couldn’t say no. The Hippie Trail is a bagpacker cafe for travellers across the world. They say it is an attempt to re-create and re-live the “Hippie way of life.” The cafe plans to organise travel meet-ups and travel talks, along with yoga and breakfast combos and movie nights. Together with free WiFi, the cafe has been successfully designed with travel-inspired interiors to give the feels of a mountain cafe. The favorite corner for most of the people is the window spot, which gives a beautiful view of the Hauz Khas lake, alongwith enjoy the lazy afternoons, listening lounge music and making new friends. “Since there is no hard-and-fast rule that one has to order food to sit in the café, this policy at times also hits back as a negative point. But we manage to survive through special events,” quips Urvashi.
“We also have one seasonal café in Kasol and planning one in Hrishikesh,” she adds.
Café wanderlust
When you go to places like Cafe Wanderlust it’s not just about the food, but, the connection you make with the surroundings. May be a little hard to find, Cafe Wanderlust is at the back side of the Galleria Market, DlF Phase 4, Gurugram. As one enters the place, he is lured by the walls that are decorated with pictures of places visited by the people loyal to this cafe from Kashmir to Almora and places far beyond. Sometimes you may find paper and colour pens to draw and write not just about the cafe but anything. They even have a glass cardboard to do the same. Apart from the ambience and the theme, the range of Indian delicacies is from Kashmir to Tamil Nadu and from Sikkim to Maharashtra. The owners of the cafe have picked one item from each of these states and added to their la carte. “We have everything in our menu from Banarsi kachori to French cuisines,” says Disha Saxena, the founder of the café. “People can order a coffee and rest on the hammock, the entire day,” chuckles Disha. They also have a club for likeminded people named ‘Wandering Belly’. It is for those who want to share their travel stories.
Fursat Se
Going by the name, one can easily anticipate the laidback vibe of the place. located in Dada Jhungi house in Shahpurjat, this place is one of its kinds, in the Capital. Fursat Se definitely seems popular and has a loyal set of people walking in almost every day. A brainchild of Amrita Bhasin, this place provides a platform to all those with a creative streak. The place has an area, which is provided to various artists for practicing their art, be it painting, music, theatre or photography. Although, there aren’t too many books to choose from, one can carry his/her your own book and spend the whole day reading at one of the quaint corners of Fursat Se. Though it’s not a conventional eatstory place, the amiable people at Fursat Se do make it a special one. They offer Tea/Coffee with biscuits on request and you can pay, as you like. In fact, the coolest part is that you can order food from any nearby café or restaurant and get it delivered at Fursat Se. “We merely work on individual donations and are planning to relocate the place in couple of months. For now Fursat Se in Shahpurjat is not functional but will soon be,” smiles Amrita.
Sakley's The Mountain Café
As we step at Sakley’s The Mountain Café, we can feel like standing tall on a road taking deep breathes like a tourist at a mountain resort. The cafe’s seemingly altruistic motives make it a warm and inviting place. It is not pretentious like some of the high-end cafes in the city. It offers comfort and conviviality in a charming atmosphere. “Our café is 50-years-old and it runs by its name,” says Amit Rekhi, founder of the place. About the name Sakley, he further adds, “We bought the concept of mountain café from the chef named Sakley and hence decided to move forward with the same name.” The café has shelved many travel books and recipes all the way from the mountain regions.