Yo, Let’s go and visit yogoyo.com

For avid travel blogger Prakash Bang, writing about his travelogues has become the second favourite pastime for him, says Barnalee Handique I am passionate about travelling and exploring new places. Travel is important to me because it allows my family and myself to broaden our horizons – to experience different cultures, enjoy a variety of experiences and have a lot of fun in the process,” explains city businessman Prakash R Bang.Bang is the managing director of WebSource Technologies Limited which designs, develops, and deploys Internet and e-commerce solutions for the travel and tourism industry. An avid traveller since 1984, Bang launched his travel blog yogoyo.com in 2009. The title fashioned out of American slang (Yo! Let’s Go!), struck him after a conversation with his young sons Ruchir and Anuj. He is happy that around 700 people visit his site daily.Bang shares his experiences, stories and tips with fellow travellers. The Limca Book of Records awarded him with a national record certificate of having started a first-person blog/travelogue running for the longest duration. “As of June 30, 2013, he had covered 254 destinations within 34 countries, from Antartica to Slovakia. His blog on www.YoGoYo.com had 2,25,672 words and 7,932 images of the places he has visited,” the certificate states. The Bang’s first trip was to Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and Hong Kong in 1984. Thereafter, he has been travelling every year. There was so much to explore, see and experience in these destinations. Every place offered him something new. For instance, Hong Kong is a place for foodies, with a rich variety of street and gourmet cuisine.The ‘Symphony of Lights’ in Hong Kong was another lifetime experience for him. Every evening, at the stroke of 8, lights, music and commentary take over. Around 40 buildings are brightly lit up and some have lasers beaming out making various patterns and throwing light on the boats passing the bay. The show goes on for about 13 minutes. What he loved most about Bali was the rich colours of the sea, forests, black volcanic ash, red fertile soil, fiery Balinese cuisine and the warm hearted people. In Thailand, what left an indelible mark on his mind was Kanchabari, just 130km from Bangkok, a land of waterfalls and home to majestic tigers. Not to forget the bridge on the river Kwae Yai, that later became the theme of an English movie. There are seven waterfalls in the area and tigers abound in the reserve. These tigers are chained and visitors can click pictures of them from a distance. As Bang loves capturing every moment in camera, he decided to write about his travels and share it with other travellers. Asked whether he is a backpacker, Bang said, “Earlier I used to be a backpacker, but my trips are well-planned now. Even now when I am on business trips and realise that there is ample time on hand, I go backpacking. For instance, on my business trips to Europe and Australia, I went backpacking to Mont Blanc once and to the Blue Mountains when I was visiting Sydney.” Before embarking on a journey, Bang does not do much of background research, because then the element of surprise is lost. Each place he visited was unique in its own way in terms of culture, people, food and traditions.Bang plans to travel to the North Pole soon. He will be travelling in a Russian warship for 14 days. Next will be Galapagos near Ecuador in December. In July 2015, he has plans to undertake a cruise from St Petersburg to Volga. Don’t go with expectations...enjoy each moment as it comes is Bang’s advice to travelers. He is clear that his blog is not for commercial purposes. “If you check the travel sites and magazines, they always write in the third person. They always tend to paint a rosy picture, which is not the case. The various blogs on different destinations are my first impression as a genuine traveller and what I have experienced. The pictures which I have uploaded substantiate my account,” he said.