NEW YORK—Vipin Goyal and his wife left their jobs, sold almost all of their belongings, and bought two plane tickets. For six months they traveled around the world.
Yet after having many remarkable experiences, the pair yearned to keep the adventures coming after arriving back in New York.
“I felt like we were three-year-old kids, always curious about everything and wide-eyed, and so we got back to New York, and I didn’t want to go back to the same five bars or the same ten restaurants with the same 20 people,” said Goyal.
“We’re surrounded by all of these fascinating people who are doing crazy, interesting, remarkable things every single day,” said Goyal, “and if we could step into their shoes for an hour or two, how much would that enrich our experiences?”
So Goyal started SideTour, a website that lists different experiences experts are offering to people in the New York metro region looking for new things to do.
Offerings include dinner with the casting director of HBO’s Homeland, learning how to de-shell a live lobster with a Japanese chef, and hanging out with former rock star photographer Michael Halsband. Recent SideTour experiences have included an afternoon on a nearby farm and a night of learning about and tasting high-end chocolate.
