Travel Contests
Published on 12th February 2013
Comments 47

“Travel Out of Your Comfort Zone” Contest!

written by

As I pack my bags for Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry and Punjab for the next couple of weeks, I am delighted to announce that it is (almost) raining contests on The Shooting Star! This time, it’s thanks to the kind folks at CupONation, an online retail website that offers discounts and deals for a whole range of products, including Make My Trip, Clear Trip, Expedia and Yatra in the travel category.

What do you win?

A few weeks ago, I asked you through a Facebook poll, what you would most like to win – and those of you that did vote, picked a Flipkart voucher worth INR 8,000 as your top choice. And that’s exactly what you’re winning this month!

Awesome things you could buy with an INR 8,000 Flipkart voucher:

  • A Sony Cybershot camera (of which I’m a proud owner)
  • A Wildcraft backpack for your next trip
  • A non-iPhone smart phone
  • A whole bunch of books and travel goodies

How do you win? 

  • In 300-500 words on your own blog, introduce us to a travel experience that took you completely out of your comfort zone.
  • At the end of your post, include the following to declare your contest entry:

This post is an entry for a contest by CupONation, an online retailer of discount coupons, and The Shooting Star travel blog.  

  • Please leave a link to your blog post in the comments section of this post, so we have all the entries in one place.

The winner will be judged by me and the folks at Cuponation, based on how creative and inspirational your entry is.

paragliding bir, bir billing

Flying out of any comfort zones, in Bir!

Brownie Points:

The more you share this contest on your social networks and help me spread the word, the more leverage I get to source more of such awesome prizes for you!

Dates to Note:

The last date to enter the contest is 4th March, 2013 Sunday, 10th March 2013. The contest will close by midnight. THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Winners will be announced through my blog. The best way to stay posted on whether you’ve won is to subscribe to my email updates (on the top right corner of the blog). The winner must contact me by email within a week of the announcement to receive the victory voucher.

So go on, put on your thinking hats, and start writing your way to victory! Good luck!

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Full disclosure: Cuponation will sponsor a Flipkart voucher for me in exchange for running this contest on my blog.

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UPDATE: 8th April, 2013

Contest Winner Announcement: From losing your way to a monastery in Arunachal Pradesh to skydiving in Mexico, from paragliding to discovering the boundaries of your own state, your entries for this contest have taken me out of my comfort zone; it’s been quite a task picking a single winner for this contest! And so, I have picked two, not one winner. Mini drumroll please…

THE WINNERS:

Dev, whose impromptu adventure took him to the last railway station of India before Pakistan. Read his entry here.

Yash, who lost his way riding his bike in Ladakh, without connectivity or directions. Read his entry here.

Dev and Yash win a Flipkart voucher worth INR 4,000 each!

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

There were some posts that I wish we had additional prizes for. All I can offer this time is a special mention though, to:

Audrin, who had a close encounter with the Indian military in Tripura. Read his entry here.

Anisha, who fought her fear of heights and touched the sky, literally. Read her entry here.

Luxdeluxtravel, who lost his way to a monastery in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh. Read his entry here.

Surya, who navigated the ocean without knowing how to swim, and despite being over age 65! Read his entry here.

Thanks everyone for participating in this contest. And join The Shooting Star on Facebook and Twitter to stay posted on future travel contests. Adios!

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47 Comments

  3. Jenny Shetty says

    Hello Shivya,

    Had visited the golden temple 2 years back, but the fog never allowed us to capture some good shots. Stayed in Vizaq(AP) for 10 years, but yes yet to visit Pondicherry. Avid reader of the blog(sorry dont comment often), inspired, and hence am off on my first solo trip to Kolkata for four days. Hoping to go there to just roam about and savor the awesome bengali cuisine, instead of the actual touristy stuff.

    My out of comfort travel was to the RLD in Amsterdam. This is an old post, even if it doesn’t qualify please do read. It was one great experience!
    http://jennyshetty.blogspot.com/2012/01/amsterdam-rld_12.html

    Reply
  4. Girdhar Singh Sodha says

    Hi Shivya,

    About travelling out of comfort zone, this is my story.

    We were on the bikes for 4 days covered 1500 kms in monsoon, witnessed beautiful countryside of North Karnataka, beaches of Goa, explored green & wet forest in Western Ghats and long walk on railway track of Dhudhsagar.
    Most hoorible part of journey was riding bike for continously for 12 hours from 7pm to 7am. We covered more than 600 kms that night on bikes. My face took 3 days for coming in original colour after that ride.

    so here is my entry. It is in a series of Day1, 2 & 3. I am giving link of last day of journey, if u want to check out other days you can follow the links at the bottom of the post.

    http://voyageadiaryoftraveller.blogspot.in/2012/11/Goa-Castlerock.html

    Reply
    • Shivya says

      Mayank, you need to include that message “This post is an entry for…” at the end of your blog post. Not in the comments here 🙂

      Reply
      • Mayank says

        Hahaha…I guess when i saw the contest while travelling, you literally put me “out of my comfort zone” and the excitement level ensured i dont read it correctly..:P ..

        Reply
  8. Mayank says

    Hi shivya,

    Here is another entry for the blog..Trek to Dhak Bahiri..which totally took me out of my comfort zone

    http://trektodhakbahri.blogspot.in

    This post is an entrybfor a contest of CupONation which is an online discount for online stoees and The shooting star blog
    CupONation which oddwrs

    Reply
  22. Brig A.N. Suryanarayanan says

    Hi Shavya,
    Why does every one imagine that travel- fun is only meant for the ‘young’. After retirement and in the last 9 years (now 71 ), I have travelled alone around, Western Europe, Thailand, Singapore and Australia. This one for the competition is a short piece from one of my experiences in 7 weeks down under.

    It is titled : ” SNORKELLING BY A NON-SWIMMER” and posted on my Blogsite at:-
    http://surya-musings.blogspot.in

    The necessary entry that it is for a contest by CupONation, an online retailer of discount coupons, and The Shooting Star travel blog, has been made at the end of that Post.
    Best,
    Brig Surya

    Reply
  34. anishajayadevan says

    Thanks for the special mention!!

    Congrats to Dev and Yash.

    Reply

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