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WanderlusT
Corporate banking is definitely not a field that encourages much adventure. Of course, when it's millions and billions at stake, caution is the byword and prudence rules. With a job that demands discretion at all times, little wonder that Ajay Bhandoola, head of corporate banking, HSBC Bank Middle East, opts for the unstructured when he's off work. During vacations, he and wife Hima, an ex-HSBC professional, never plan to the last detail. Destination decided, planning ends with flight tickets and visas.

This August we had one of our most wonderful vacations in Corpus Christi, a quaint beach town on the southeast tip of Texas. For me a perfect vacation is one when the family can get together in some scenic locale, where we can have a lot of family activities along with sightseeing. The original plan was for a get-together in Muscat in June. But Gonu washed away that plan. The Corpus Christi plan was cobbled together by my sister Anmol, when the Muscat trip fell through.

We rented a beachfront villa for a week and all of us – my sister's family, my brother's family, Hima and I and my mother – had a wonderful time. Unfortunately my father couldn't make it as he was unable to reschedule his appointments as the original plan was for June. It was just a week but such occasions help us bond as a family. All of us live very far apart geographically but we make sure we have one family holiday each year.

Apart from sightseeing and spending many hours in the sea, we spent endless hours fishing – sometimes even till two in the morning. Sometimes we got lucky, but mostly it was about sitting in a tranquil place by moonlight, watching fish outwit you.

Hima and I proceeded to Europe from Corpus Christi. We spent a day in London before flying to Amsterdam where we hired a car and drove around for a week exploring various places in France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Interestingly, our original plan was a trip around the UK. But three days before we left for Corpus Christi we met the Dutch Ambassador at a function. She told us how beautiful Netherlands was and Hima said 'let's go there'.

Our holidays are never very structured. We make no bookings and randomly travel, stopping at places that catch our fancy. Our typical holiday is to identify a beautiful place, rent a car and drive around. In Amsterdam we hired a car and started off. With a Schengen visa we were flitting in and out of various countries. After a couple of days in Amsterdam, we drove to Luxembourg, found it a very beautiful place and decided to stay overnight. The next day we stopped at the Austrian-Swiss-German border, another day in the Black Forest. We drove high into the mountains and found the town of Bollschweil – St Ulrich. A wonderful lady Frau Schneider ran a small B&B and we had the most amazing time exploring the countryside and chatting with local families.

This kind of holiday gives you a spirit of adventure, a feeling of testing the unknown. When you don’t preplan to the last detail you can explore a place at your pace. We often steer clear of the metros and head out into the countryside, experiencing local culture and food. There is a great sense of flexibility and freedom in this and that's what makes us do it all over again. The best part is we discover little hidden treasures of beautiful places that no tourist guide will cover.