Armchair travel is easy -- musing about the places you could have been to but didn't, because the task seems too daunting -- is painful. Dhvani Solani chalks out a where-to-be-when annual plan to help you travel more in 2012, to both local and international destinations. Disclaimer: we are not liable for your absence at work

January
Go fest-hopping in Jaipur

The Pink City has more to offer than palaces and precious stones. All of this January, the city is abuzz with cultural events, starting with kite wars as part of the International Kite Festival that takes place for three days, kicking off on the day of Makar Sankranti (Jan 14), at Polo Ground. Once you're done shouting, "Wo kata!", take a breather before your grey cells go on an overdrive during the 5-day Jaipur Literature Festival (Jan 20-24) that will see authors from around the world converge at the Diggi Palace and read from their books or have literary discussions, all thrown open to the public for free. Next up is the Jaipur International Film Festival (Jan 27-31) that will keep the cinephile in you glued to the screen at exotic venues including the Jal Mahal.



Where to stay:
Luxury- The Oberoi's Rajvilas (Rs 38,000 onwards; contact: 0141-2680101); Chokhi Dhani (Rs 13,999 onwards; contact: 0141-5165000)
Comfort - Fortune Park Bella Casa (Rs 3,999 onwards; contact: 0141-3988444)
Budget -RTDC Hotel Gangaur (Rs 1,800 onwards; contact: 0141-2371641)

Minimum days required: 3

Top Tip
Chuck that seedy local tout when you don your sightseeing avatar to take a trip to the iconic Jantar Mantar. Instead, log on to http://www.goplaces.in/ and download a 'picto guide' on the place that will reveal historic nuggets of information and trivia, in the form of a comic book, with speech bubbles et al (Rs 106 approx).

February
Ride the wave at Puri

The natural splendours of a religious destination in our country are easily overlooked in the quest for a higher power. Puri, however, has just been redeemed of that fate. The temple town of Orissa, most popularly known for its 11th century Jagannath temple, will see tourists of a different breed this February -- ones sporting spandex and carrying surf boards. That's because the magnificent waves of the Bay of Bengal (the Ramchandi beach along the Puri-Konark Marine Drive, to be precise) will play host to the first ever Indian Surf Festival (Feb 7-9), organised by a group that calls itself Surfing Yogis. "The idea is to also Indianise the festival, by introducing flat-water surfing that can be extremely therapeutic and done almost on any water body," says Sanjay Samantaray, head of Surfing Yogis. "We have a simple philosophy of flowing with the waters, instead of battling it," he says. To help you take to the water, there will be 16 instructors from around the world, apart from the 31 Indian surfers who will show you what they've got. And hydrophobic friends can partake of parallel events like music, movie screenings and local cultural events.



Where to stay:
Apart from guesthouses in Puri and Bhubaneshwar, you can request for accommodation at the Surfers' Village (Rs 4,000 per person onwards, for the duration of the fest) or at the festival area itself (Rs 9,000 per person). Log on to http://www.surfingyogis.com/ or http://www.highontravel.com/ to book.