Upamanyu imbibed the travel bug when he was 9 months old and accompanied his father to an international conference in Oslo chaperoned by his mother and grandmother. Every summer holiday was spent with his grandparents in Kolkata. He travelled on every school trip and as he grew up he travelled all over India with his mother visiting beaches, mountains, deserts, forests across the vast and varied landscape of this country. He spent a wonderful family holiday in Egypt where he tried his hand at restoration work and in France which he loved for its artifacts and museums. Used to the towering majestic Himalayas of his country Upamanyu was not impressed with the Swiss Alps and declared “mum these are baby mountains!” In college in Mangalore and University in Phoenix he went on many road trips with his friends. His curiosity and thirst for knowledge about people and places remained insatiable through his life. His love for India and its street food remained a constant.