travelfreak

2012-01-07T20:42:00.001+05:30

This Fall, we decided to a do an upstate driving trip to Vermont to see the so-called famous 'Fall Colours'. So on a weekend in Oct, we did our research to check where the peak fall colours would be visible and off we went. We did not really have a fixed plan in mind of the places we would go to and all. Just picked up a couple of random places and the rest would be decided on the way!

The drive initially seemed quite exciting actually. The colours along the highway showed the oranges and yellows and browns that we had seen so many times earlier, in photographs, in movies and so on...

We drove from New York towards the Catskill mountains, but somehow the colours weren't as great as we had imagined. Looked like we were a week or two late. So we kept on driving, and next we reached a small town of Hudson which is located on the river Hudson itself. The colours there were a little more brighter than before.

After lunch in the sleepy (and pretty) town, onwards we drove on towards the Green Mountain National Park in Vermont which was supposed to have the best colours. But it started snowing on the way!! In October!! Anyways so most of our trip turned out to be a white snow trip rather than the red fall colours we wanted to see.

Driving was a bit tough, and we decided to stop at the Northshire Lodge at Machester in Vermont. It was a nice small lodge, with a beautiful view of the mountains in front which is apparently beautiful in Fall!

Of course all we saw was white snow all around! And thanks to the snow, the Halloween Parade for the weekend had also got cancelled! The snow was pretty though, and the Lodge looked very pretty with the just fallen snow in the morning!

Anyways, we roamed around in the town of Manchester, which at night with the snow all around looked straight out of Alpian Europe! It reminded me so much of the Swiss small towns, the same kind of wooden houses, small lanes and with ski slopes all around. The perfect ski town for the snow time! Is definitely a place to go to in the cold and dreary winters, it would looks so cheerful and bright here am sure...

Anyways, we still did not lose heart to see the fall colours and the next day while driving back to New York, we decided to drive via the Bear Mountain. Apparently that still had the Fall colours there! And a good choice it turned out to be! On the drive back, we saw a lot more of the flaming bright yellow and red colours we had imagined before. Next to lakes, with the reflection of the colours showing in the waters. Entire mountains burning in yellow! It was beautiful to finally see all we had been driving around for!

The Bear Mountain was closed that time but the area around the Hessian Lake was open and people had already started trying to ski even in the little bit of snow! Anyways we spent some time there, admiring the colours which we had been trying to find for two days! There was a lot of crowd there from New York, apparently you can take a cruise from New York along the Hudson upto the Bear Mountain. Something to remember for later on:).

Anyways after we were satisfied of having seen the Fall colours finally, we were back in New York and back to the city life. Here is a link of our drive, New York to Vermont and Vermont to New York.

Living the Caribbean life : A week in Puerto Rico

2011-12-24T16:10:00.000+05:30

Puerto Rico is one of the Caribbean Islands popular among tourists in the US for a relaxed beach vacation. It is actually a part of the US, and you do not need a visa to go there if you have a US visa (which was quite a welcome surprise for me!!). I always thought PR was a separate country, but somehow its a part of US itself. It seems a bit complicated actually, as they have their own flag and leaders but are still a part of America, but I don't mind! One less visa to take!! We went for a week in September to Puerto Rico and stayed at two places on the island: San Juan (the capital) and Vieques Island.

The weather in PR remains almost the same throughout the year! Temperatures stay mostly between 20-30 degrees always. Therefore the tourist season is in the winters when temperatures are much lower elsewhere, but it was good even in the off season: just a little bit of rain to deal with. Renting a car is also a good idea while on the island, it gives you the flexibility to go wherever and whenever, though taxis are also a good and convenient mode of transport apparently.

SAN JUAN
On to the trip, we landed in San Juan on a Saturday and stayed at a hotel in Old San Juan, El Convento. I think the hotel was also one of the highlights of our trip:).

Old San Juan was as expected, the old and rustic part of San Juan. The city was set up as a settlement by the Spanish people who inhabited the island for the initial years. Therefore, this old part of town has a very European feel to it, with cobbled and narrow roads, multi-coloured houses, numerous outside seating restaurants and lot of squares for people to get together and have a nice time. The feel of the town is marred by the cars lined everywhere on the roads as well as the overhead wires, but I guess thats what you pay for modernisation?

Our hotel El Convento was also part of this old town. It was a 300 year old convent which had been converted to a hotel some years back. It was right in the heart of the old town, with the San Juan cathedral just in front. The hotel has retained its feel of being of a different era, and that was what lent it the romantic feel its so famous for!

Just outside the hotel, in the square, a singer would sit and sing romantic songs all evening. Another great thing about the hotel was the wine and cheese they have every evening, where you come and sip on the wine, taste the cheese and enjoy the sunset and the singing below. Totally surreal!

I would advice anyone traveling to San Juan to stay in Old San Juan. The other option is the Condado region which though closeby is just a long line of modern resorts with a nice beach, and I think staying there doesn't really give you the real feel of being in a different place. We did visit the La Concha resort in the Condado region, to enjoy the beach and beachside pool, as well as the casino. But still preferred staying in Old San Juan only!!

It is so so lively and pretty, you can see people out on the roads having a good time dancing to latino music even late at night! Also, on the weekend, there were some cruise ships who were docked at the marina nearby and loud jarring music playing there for all to party hard. Guess the Caribbean weekend spirit showing itself:).

Another place we went to on Old San Juan was a cigar house, a shop which sells only cigars. But the interesting thing about the place was that ever evening people in the town gather there to smoke them! Quite an interesting thing must say! Also if you are fond of casinos, The Sheraton Old San Juan on the marina in Old San Juan does have a casino too, in case you don't want to go to the Condado region to win or lose money!!

THINGS TO SEE
Forts in Old San Juan
Old San Juan has a lot of historical buildings all over the place. The main ones of course are the two forts, Sant Christobal and El Morro. They are majestic forts on two tips of the island and surround the Old San Juan area. They have an interesting history and of course great views of the town below. A must visit.

El Yunque: the only rainforests in the US

The El Yunque forests are about an hour plus drive from San Juan, and a good trip outside of town. At the forest, they have a watch tower to get a birds eye view of the jungles around. And some trails to take in the feeling of the forest. There are a couple of waterfalls there too, like the Coca Falls and La Mina falls.

THINGS TO DO
Zipling: We went for ziplining at Toro Verde which apparently has the best zipline, even though there are a couple more places on the island where you can do it. Toro Verde is a national park located around the center of the island.

It took us about 3 hours to reach there, rather than the expected one hour! And that was because the GPS was taking us to the wrong location!! Anyways we did drive through the gallis of PR, the narrow winding roads along small hills, just after the rains, through small villages. The delay actually turned out worth it, it was a very beautiful and romantic drive through the interiors of the island.

At Toro Verde, there are couple of different ziplining options available and we did the 'Beast' one, which is 4745 feet long and at a height of 853 feet. The whole 'journey' from the top of the first hill to the second takes about 1-2 minutes, unless you are light! In which case you can get stuck in the middle and then need to be 'rescued'!! Which I did. Anyways it was a nice experience, zipping across mountains, with a view of the forests and rivers and paths below. And believe me, it WAS scary like hell! When I was stuck at the middle, I could barely move my head to take a look around! It was just like, get me out of here, till then I refuse to move, lest it make me fall:)).

Hang gliding:There is an option to do hang gliding in El Yunque which seems quite a lot of fun! We couldn't do it as it got cancelled due to rains but its something I would definitely recommend by the sounds of it!

Diving: Our diving trip also got cancelled once because of the rains, but then I guess going in the off-season has its disadvantages! The best diving locations are at the south side of the island and around Fajardo. We did our diving at two locations off Fajardo. The sea life there was good, though not the same as the Andamans (the only other place have dived). The colourful corals were very limited here. We did spot a lot of turtles though, which are a pleasure to watch swim. Also there were a lot of jellyfish there, which seem so graceful and unreal swimming around you at a very slow motion speed. Other than that we also spotted a lobster and barracuda and lots of fishes I can't name!

EATING OUT
Our first experiment with food was at one of the local restaurants in Old San Juan, think it was called La Danza. It was terrible and expensive. Thereafter we decided to go only to places with good reviews online! El Convento itself has a tapas restaurant, El Picoteo which serves tasty fare. Tantra is a restaurant near El Convento serving excellent (but expensive) Indian fusion food! A must must try, especially with the Indian music playing there!BarraChina is a garden restaurant in Old San Juan where apparently the Pina Colada was invented. It has very very tasty food, including the mofongo which is really yummy and a must try if you go to PR ever. And then there was an Italian place Al Dente (I think) next to Sheraton which was again very good.

Other than the Old SJ area, we had dinner at La Concha's tapas fusion restaurant, called Perla, which surprisingly is not at all expensive given its in a 5-star resort. The food there was really really tasty. Another recommend!

VIEQUES
Vieques is a small island just off Fajardo with a size of 6km by 34km only. Its about an hour by ferry from Fajardo and the location of the 'best bio-bay in the world'. The bio-bay is a phenomenon where there are small micro-organisms in the water which luminesce when there is movement in the water. Its an amazing phenomenon but getting to the island isn't! The ferries are highly unreliable in their timings, so taking a flight from San Juan might be a better idea. Getting back from Vieques was an adventure too, the taxi from the ferry at Fajardo to San Juan costs about $80 irrespective of the number of people . Its a good idea to talk to other tourists on the ferry to be able to share a cab.

Anyways in Vieques, we stayed at the 'Inn on the Blue Horizon' which is a beautiful property located on a cliff next to the sea and near the town of Esperanza. The Inn again is rated as a romantic resort and it surely is. With small cottages separated from each other. The pool and the cottages facing the sea. A nice seating area and a restaurant within the Inn. Wild horses grazing in its grounds. A truly isolated and relaxing feeling it gives.

As an aside, there are only two 'towns' in Vieques: Esperanza and Isabel II and both are more like villages than towns. So be prepared for the island being very remote and getting the feeling of being away from the modern and busy world as we know it!

THINGS TO DO
Snorkelling: In Vieques, you can snorkel at many if its beaches like the Red Beach, Green Beach, Black Beach etc.. They are all isolated beaches with rarely any people there, so it does pose a problem finding the right place. We snorkelled at the Red Beach which did have some interesting fishes there. Spotted tons of Sea Urchins there which was something new for me. Other than that, there were lots of colorful fishes but I don't remember their names!! You can also snorkel at the Sun Bay apparently but we didn't really see many fishes there, so not sure we were at the right spot!

Bio-Bay: The bio-bay was honestly an experience out of this world. The bay is huge and you are taken there in a boat. (There is the option of kayaking too, but frankly, its too scary to kayak at night with no lights around!). What you see there is surreal though: with any movement in the water, the water lights up! So if you put your hand in the water, its fluorescent around that. Any fishes swimming in the water, you can see the movement through the water.

Its just so difficult to explain it (and difficult to capture on camera either!). You also have the option of swimming in the bay, which apparently is good since as you swim, the water around you lights up. We did not do that either, as it seems too scary swimming in the open bay at night, with no lights around. But if you feel adventurous enough, you should try it out.

Just one warning though, the route to the bio-bay is bad, a kuccha road with huge water puddles in between, lots of ups and downs and the bushes on both sides coming on the way. So not a good idea to drive there in your own vehicle.

Horse Riding: Its organized by one of the resorts and even though we couldn't do it, by the sounds of it, 'horse riding over the cliffs with a view of the sunset over the sea' does sound fun!

EATING OUT
We did not try out too many eating places in Vieques somehow. Of those, one was the Carambola at the Inn which itself which was frankly just about ok. The other was Duffys in Esperanza itself. They serve American food which is quite tasty. Plus the place has a very fun feel about it.

So all in all, turned out to be a fun and relaxed trip, with multiple activities to do plus of course being in the water most of the time. A definite recommend!

My Travel Map

2011-08-25T02:12:00.001+05:30

A little bit of showing off:)

Canadian sojourn: Thunderbay and around

2011-08-16T04:56:00.002+05:30

This summer we took a one week vacation to the town of Thunderbay in Canada. Thunderbay is a town in the state of Ontario close to the US border, and on the banks of one of the Five Great Lakes: the Lake Superior. Our week long trip there was more a family trip, visiting relatives but we did some touristy stuff there too. And it turned out to be such a beautiful place! Was quite a welcome surprise!

Thunderbay is quite a small town, with a population of about a lakh or so. So with so few people around, you can imagine how much untouched beauty there would be, specially given how much Canada is known for its natural beauty? Huge pretty houses with well maintained lawns, just staying there is an undefinable luxury.

Just next to where we were staying was a ski trail through the jungles, which during winters is used for cross country skiing, and in the summer is good for walks in the woods. The jungle was dense, with some small wildlife like jackrabbits, bears, hedgehogs and different types of birds. The walks in those woods were the best part of the days, Quiet walks with just nature around..

Beautiful views of the jungle and around. And scary too, especially if you hear about how dangerous the bears there could be! We many times did find the bear paw prints too, but managed to avoid any encounter with them:)!

Of the places to see nearby, we visited the Kakabekka falls one evening. (A lot of the names in this area are the original Red Indian names itself, and sound quite different!). The falls were not huge, but so pretty and calm. (I think after the lack of calmness in the last falls we had seen, Niagara, this place seemed like heaven). The area around was green and the pleasant weather added to the perfect ambience! The water in the falls was yellow in colour due to the minerals flowing through them. Here are some photos.. showing the surreal ethereal beauty of this area...

Our second touristy visit was to the Ouimet Canyon. It is a 100 feet deep canyon and the interesting fact about this Canyon is that the vegetation at the bottom is Tundra vegetation which is found at much higher latitudes, in the Arctic region. This is so because the plants at the bottom of the canyon never get sunlight and so have the characteristics of those growing in the Tundra region without sunlight.

Within the canyon also is this natural rock formation, similar to a human figure and was formed over the centuries by water and wind.

We also went to see the Mount Mckay Lookout, which is one of the highest mountain in the area. It is also an Indian reserve where the Indians are allowed to stay as they want without interference from the Canadian government. It was interesting to know how the reserve functions: the Indians who stay there don't pay taxes, and are not governed by the normal laws of the state. They are even allowed to run casinos in the reserve! The view from the top of the mountain was pretty, you could see the entire city from the top, as well as the Sleeping Giant park and the Lake Superior. The Lake Superior is near the city, and apparently there are lot of water based activities to do there which we were not able to do.

Other than that we also visited a cheesefarm, which was a normal Canadian animal farm. The whole visit was very relaxing and fun. And am definitely impressed with Canada, such pristine beauty at every turn! Am sure a lot more Canadian trips are to follow soon:)

Niagara and Finger Lakes region

2011-08-15T06:49:00.003+05:30

The Niagara Falls are the largest falls in the world, and located on the border of US and Canada, on the Niagara river. The drive from New York to the Falls is about 7-8 hours, while its much closer from Toronto, about an hour or so. They are one of the most popular places visited by tourists who come to New York and we also saw the falls this summer, from the US side of the border itself.

We drove till the Falls from New York, passing through upstate New York and the state of Pennsylvania. The drive was beautiful, especially because it was summer. Lush greenery everywhere, mountains covered with a carpet of green, in varying hues and shades. If the sun is out, the drive becomes a bit too bright, but on a cloudy covered days, its just beautiful to drive through this area. You pass small lakes and drive next to rivers and so on.. The drive sometimes gets too boring and sleepy, but that I think would be true of any long highway drives in western countries. To be truly attentive and awake at all times, you need to drive on the Indian highways I guess, where you don't know when a cow or a goat or a child comes on the road, you do not know:)

Once at the town of Niagara, the place to go is the New York State Reservation on the US side or the Queen Victoria Park on the Canada side. Apparently the view from the Canada side is better, but we did not get a chance to see the Canadian side.

So once at the Reservation Center on the US side, the first realization you have it that it is a proper touristy place! People, shops, eating places, hotels, high rises everywhere! Its just all around you! And the second realisation is the number of Indian tourists there! My guess would be that more than 50% of the tourists there are Indians! Anyways the park is well maintained, green and covered with flowers: good to sit around in the park and view the falls from.

There are a couple of good view points in the park to view the two falls: the Horseshoe Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. One from the park itself, one from a viewpoint tower and another from the Goat Island. The falls look regal from each of these viewpoints and are a pleasure to see (and hear!). Here are some photographs of how majestic the falls look from these places!

There are two activities which are popular here: the Maid of the Mist and the Cave of the Winds. Maid of the Mist is a ride in a huge boat which takes you near both the Horseshoe falls as well as the Bridal Veil Falls.

Its soo surreal there, under the falls where you see the full force of the water falling from above you! The whole region is misty here, the sounds are loud and the feeling dreamy! The boat feels so small in front of the huge falls, and while there you also see multiple rainbows along the falls. Other than that, you can walk upto the bottom of the falls and in some caves there, to get a more real feel of the water falling from above: this is called the Cave of the Winds. We did not get a chance to do that though.

After the stop at the Falls, we drove towards the Finger Lakes area and stayed there for the night. This area has a couple of big and small lakes, shaped like fingers.. The area is very very pretty, with small villages here and there, holiday homes on the lakes and a true vacation spot. The whole area also has a very English countryside feel to it, with many old British bungalows in this area.

We stayed in an old Victorian house here, with gardens and flowers all around. We also drove around the Canandaigua lake, a huge elongated lake running for miles. The drive next to the lake took us through winding narrow roads, lined with summer homes of the rich and the wealthy! There was greenery around, with cattle grazing here and there, the typical idyllic beautiful English countryside... Beautiful and relaxing.. totally serene and calming..! We also visited one of the small villages around for a short stop to see a local town fair and then the pretty drive home!

Fairy tale world at Disneyland

2011-05-08T23:13:00.000+05:30

Disneyland is one place which since a kid I have had dreams of visiting, and somehow it always felt just too far away, in a different world altogether, unreachable... And even though I had the opportunity to visit the Disneyworlds in Hong Kong or Paris, it always never happened. Guess for a reason!

So that I could see the real thing, even if too late in life:). And there it was, the place we've seen in countless movies and photographs, and imagined ourselves there..Finally.. I was there! For real!! Seeing that fairy tale world in brick and the cartoon characters of those childhood days walking all around you everywhere.. What an out of this world experience it was!

Disneyland in Orlando is a world by itself. There are some five-six differently theme parks all spread out in a huge area.

And all these Disney Parks are linked with Disney's own personal rail and ferry system. There is also an area called Disney Downtown, which is the perfect place for the evenings; to spend time at the shops and restaurants relaxing after a long day at the park!

And then there are multiple Disney Resorts also located nearby, where you can stay near the parks themselves and enjoy a Disney theme based environ.

When you approach towards the Disney area, you get an idea about how huge this whole project is and why everyone who comes to the US does end up visiting this place! The Parks are just so huge, and amazing! You can spend many many days just enjoying all the different kind of fun and entertainment they offer. It makes sense to go to more than one of these parks if you have the time. And of course try to spend as much time in each as possible.

Anyways we had just one day, so we went to Magic Kingdom. So let me just start with how the experience of that day was. Disneyland is slightly out of the city. You drive there and park in a massive parking space giving you enough of an idea how many people to expect! You then take the mini train to the ticket counter. Beyond that, you have the option of taking the ferry or the overhead train to the island which is the Magic Kingdom. The first view that you get of the island is of the castle and what a beautiful view it is. The whole buildup feels so fantasy-like, you are already at a high by the time you land in the park!

One thing to remember of course when you go there, is that this is a theme park for children, not for adults! So no hair raising scary rides, just plain old-fashioned good fun! Initially we did make this mistake, expecting phenomenal rides, but slowly we got into the mood and once we were fully in the fantasy childhood they had created, we had a blast.. Like children who enjoy the small and beautiful things around, anything new is enjoyable!

Anyways, once in, you will be bombarded with different sights everywhere, with you trying to take in as much as possible. The moment we entered, a musical show was being shown on the stage in front of the castle. All the Disney characters were there, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Daisy and Donald Duck, Cinderalla and her Prince, Snow White and her Prince and Aladdin and his princess. They all sang and danced and performed, and mesmerised us. And this was just the beginning...

Thereafter we started walking around the compound, through beautifully decorated roads, as if out of a fairytale, characters walking around and rides and experiences everywhere. Most of the rides are fit for kids, so they are not really scary. And many of those rides are based on a different cartoon character.

The whole park is divided into 6 main areas, all based on different themes:

Main Street, USA : This is the first street that you walk on when you enter. They have beautiful buildings on both side, which houses shops to buy Disneyware. There are also multiple restaurants in this area, as well as the Disney rail to take you to the different parts of the park.

Adventureland: You can walk around a sample treehouse built in this area. We also went to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which takes you in a boat through scenes from the movie, and tableux of various characters of the movie. Outside, you also have a person impersonating Jack Sparrow and giving out tips on how to be a good pirate!

Frontierland: The Splash Mountain was the best of the rides we did in Disneyland. The boat takes you through Brer Rabbit's place, and then splashes you into water from a height!

In the same section is also the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, similar to a mine train through the old west. Its a rickety ride, and scary for kids probably.

Liberty Square: The haunted mansion was a bit of a let down though! There are some 999 ghosts in this mansion, and all different types. Some moving in paintings, some appearing out of thin air and then vanishing away.. This house is quite well designed, So worth a look still but not at all scary:)!!

Fantasyland is completely for kids, with Snow Whites adventures and Cinderalla's world and so on. We skipped this section entirely:) but I guess with children around, you do have an excuse to see those kiddy rides too:).

Tomorrowland: The Space Mountain was an indoor rollar coaster, where you zoom on without being able to see anything! The Spaceranger Spin was part of toy story, where you shoot some of the aliens. Both rides were just ok.

As I said, the rides were not really out of this world, but the whole experience was! Other than the rides, you have the cartoon characters walking around here and there. We saw Winnie the Pooh and also photographed ourselves with Mickey and Minnie. There was an all day party happening where Goofy and Pluto were on the stage teaching the crowds dance moves from the 40s to the 90s!

There is generally a long line for all the major attractions, but you can use the Fastpass to work out your rides more efficiently. We went on a weekday and the place was still full. So I guess whenever you go, you will always find crowds there. Filled with children and the adults trying to keep them under control!!

There are also two parades which happen within the park, one in the afternoon and a lighted one in the evening. They were both beautiful, with singing and dancing and music; and definitely not to be missed. All the characters walking past you on decorated trailers. It was just so mesmerizing to see all these childhood characters dance and walk past you all dressed up! Here are some snapshots from the two parades....

The castle in the center is the main spot of all these activities. In the evening you have the fireworks just behind the castle and the place looks like from another world. They also have a musical show where they showcase photos on the castle from all day long.

The whole Park is lighted up at night, like a dream.. By this time, the whole world around you becomes so beautiful and lovable.. Its just amazing, how this place tranports you to your childhood.. You are just dazed by this time.. in a different zone...

The whole day was so tiring but still at the end, you still want to see a little bit more, experience a little bit more! I enjoyed every bit of my time here.. What a day it was, something to remember forever.. As they say at the Park, 'Let the memories begin...'.

Florida: Sun, sand and drives...

2011-05-06T07:57:00.007+05:30

Our trip to Florida was more of a cross country driving trip than a touristy one. Miles and miles, you drive on.. passing by towns and cities and what not.. Landscapes which keep changing from dry lands to thickly forested areas.. and the roads cutting through them.. Guess now I know what American road trips would be like! Long and expanded travels, from one scenery to another...

This road trip started in Orlando,in Florida upto the Keys through Miami and then back through Florida, Georgia and North Carolina to Durham. So essentially we did cover half the east coast (I guess!).

Anyways our first stop was Orlando. There wasn't much to see in the city though, the downtown was as boring as it can get. We did walk around through their cafes and the famous Eola lake park. We also took the free hop-on hop-off bus shuttles running around the downtown area. The town just seemed so dead! I guess Orlando is just famous for the numerous theme parks it offers, some five or more Disneyland parks, Universal studios, Waterworld and so on. There isn't much else to do there other than these! Of these, we visited the Magic Kingdom of Disneyland and what an out of this world experience was that! I guess a repeat trip of Orlando is for sure, to see the other parks it has to offer!

After a day in Orlando, we drove on across Florida to the beach and party town of Miami. The best part of Miami I guess was the drive till there! South Florida is quite densely populated especially the areas next to the sea, and quite a rich population too. Looks like all the loaded people like to have a winter home in this area; away from the world, to this world of sea, sun and relaxation!

Instead of driving on the interstates, we took the smaller roads and those were all along the sea. We did get down at some beaches too on the way, all sunny and isolated, with the whole beach to yourself. Ah, what a life.. Especially when you have just landed from a cold and snowy New York! This whole route is dotted with beach houses and mansions, all reflecting the wealth of the people who stay here..You can feel it anyways..

The drive was quite enchanting, and then you reach the Palm Beach area which gets even more rich. The drive from then on is laced with huge palaces, of the rich and the famous. They were so huge, so well decorated, at night you can even see the lights and how well done they all are. Was good to drive through it all:)!!

Miami was a let down though (or guess we did not do it enough justice!). We stopped in Miami just for a couple of hours, and walked on South Beach which is the party area of the town. It surely is, but it felt too loud for our tastes. So after a round of the area, we just left the city. On the whole though, Miami feels like a commercial touristy place, rather than a nice vacation place. Do not like!

Anyways the next two days were spent in the Keys which is the southmost tip of Florida. The keys are a group of some 100 or so islands, all pretty small but connected with bridges. This whole area is geared towards a nice lazy vacation! A few beaches, lots of eating places, diving, snorkeling, swimming with the dolphins and the sea lions and such water based activities. There are umpteen types of water sports around, and the best of course would be to rent a boat and go around island hopping! And of course driving on and on over and onto island after island is something else the islands offer.

We did not do most of it though:), we were more looking to just having a nice relaxed vacation! Lazy beach time! Though the beaches were the toughest to find! Anyways, the first day we drove along the islands, and spent some time on Anne's beach (which wasn't much of a beach though!). The water was shallow though, which was nice.. And of course the emerald colour which so entices the water lover! We also stopped at a couple of haunts on the way, including at the the world's best Tiki bar. They had live music playing in the evening, which was just perfect.. Sitting next to the beach, watching the sunset and live music playing with people dancing to it. Isn't that the perfect end to a vacation day?

The next day we did some more stuff though, all inspired from the Frommers Guide! First we went snorkelling which was good. There is a lot of aquatic life to see, and we even saw a turtle swimming there! The area was better for diving though, as at some places it was too deep to see much during snorkelling.

We went to a cafe where you can see and feed the tarpons for a dollar! Was interesting, and this is how they look! Mind you though, feeding them can get a bit scary though!

The next stop for the day was the Sombrero beach, which was just beautiful! We saw the sunset there, next to the palm trees. Even saw a person catch a baby shark! and skin it!!

In the evening afterwards we finished at the Lorelai cafe (again from Frommers), and it was so pretty (and cheap!)!!! Good food, great location next to the sea, beautiful lighting, sounds of the waves coming in and awesome music to complement it all! Was another relaxing evening spent next to the sea. Sad though that places close down so early in the Keys, they all close down at 10pm itself!!

During the two days, we drove a lot also around the Keys, which was beautiful.. Driving through narrow connected islands. Sometimes you can see the sea on both sides, and sometimes you are just on a bridge connecting two islands! Both sides there are islands splattered here or there.. Might even be better to take a boat and go to all the islands. Also we could not go to Key West, so that's for next time I guess:).

Anyways the last day was just the drive back across Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. We took the interstates for faster commute. Stopped at the standard eating haunts, IHOP, Waffle Place, Subways, Taco Bells and all. The landscape wasn't as interesting with the interstates as it had been with the smaller routes, so was just a usual drive across the country, from one landscape to another.. Anyways guess we had seen and done enough, and all we wanted to do was go home and rest.. !

Paradise Islands : Maldives

2011-03-05T02:43:00.016+05:30

What can I say about the Maldives which hasn't been said or seen before?
A picture is worth a thousand words and if you've seen anything from the Maldives, you would already know what I am talking about. Still being there and living it is a different experience altogether and you have to visit these islands to know what Paradise can mean!

Maldives is a country of some thousand small coral islands in the Indian Ocean. Its quite a unique country, as its made up of so many islands all distributed over a large geographical area. (Also apparently, the country is going to disappear sometime this century due to global warming and the rising sea levels, so you must definitely visit the islands before its too late:)).

There are not many industries or agriculture in these islands, and the main revenue earner for the country is tourism. So Maldives sure is making the most of the beauty it offers and projecting itself as the luxury holiday destination around the world. Its relative closeness to India makes is a favorite destination for vacationers from India. And the fact that you get a visa on arrival is always a bonus!

There are hundreds of resorts in Maldives offering luxury tourism to all. Most of the islands in the country are small and each island is given to one resort. So once in a resort, you can walk around and explore the whole island, swim in the shallow waters around and indulge in water sports around the island as well as other activities which most of the resorts provide.

Since the islands are all coral island, the water around the islands is crystal green and shallow for long stretches. The beaches are all of white sand and clean of course, a pleasure to relax at. One thing of course you definitely need to keep in mind, the resorts are all very luxurious and so highly expensive. The fact that once on an island, getting off it is not as easy, tends to make it all the more pricier. But its all definitely worth it!

Anyways, we stayed at two resorts during our trip and I can write about those two places. Am sure most of the resorts are quite the same and offer similar facilities too.

The first resort where we stayed is the Taj Exotica, run by the Indian Taj group. Its on an island about 15 minutes by speedboat from Male, the Maldives capital. In the evenings, you can even see the lights of Male at a distance. The size of the island is just about 700 mts by 100 mts and you can cover it within 20 minutes at the most:). There are green trees covering the island with white sand all around. Everywhere on the way, there are places to sit and relax and sleep, hammocks, sunbeds and so on.

There is a spa at the resort which is quite an experience.

It offers a huge variety of treatments if you are interested! Other facilities at the resort include a diving centre, which can take you diving or snorkelling at some corals nearby, a games room with pool et al, a library, a DVD collection (with hindi movies too!), and of course a wide range of water sports, like jet skiing, kayaking and so on. The lagoon at the Taj is quite huge and shallow for the most part, with beautiful blue green crystal water till where the eyes can sea and fishes swimming everywhere. Snorkelling in this area is awesome, the variety of fishes and the colours that you see are so pretty, you can just get lost enjoying the views underwater!

In the evenings, the resort have sting ray and shark feeding for all to see. The fishes all come next to the feeding areas at the designated time and eat the food thrown into the water by the staff. The sharks are actually baby sharks, but still scary. Especially if you look at their teeth. The sting rays are big, and flappy! They swim quite gracefully actually and are a treat to watch.

The pool is located just next to the sea, where you can get a beautiful view of the ocean around. Its a good place to spend time if you don't want to get into the salty water. I for one preferred to be in the green water rather than the blue:). The waters are so shallow, and so clean, with very few waves or disturbances. And sometimes you would see fishes swimming just next to you, in different sizes and different colours. How often do you get such water to swim in? Of course it would be a good idea to beware of the sting rays or the baby sharks while in the open waters:).

Taj also has two restaurants on the island itself, one in the open while one with more varied menus, and a bar and lounge which plays live music in the evenings, a nice way to spend time in the evenings viewing the sunset!! You can have a romantic dinner in the evening at the centre of the sea with the wind blowing and not much in sight:). (A positive at the Taj is that they have a huge vegetarian menu which is a good thing for people who are vegetarian. Maybe thats one of the reasons this resort is highly popular with Indians:)).

There are different types of the rooms at the resort, the beach villa, water villa or the water bungalows each offering a different view and experience.The rooms are beautiful as expected, with complete privacy and separate from each other. From most of the huts, you can just enter into the sea from the balcony itself giving it a feel of your own private ocean space. Also while sitting in the balcony itself, you can see fishes swimming in the water most of the time. Is very relaxing and feels so completely idyllic!

On the whole, its a relaxing place to just spend time relaxing, sitting by the sea, enjoying the sunset, swimming in the warm waters, observing the fishes in the water, sleeping on the hammocks or the sunbeds jutting into the sea, swimming in the pool next to the sea. A perfect relaxing vacation or a honeymoon destination, isn't it? Its an experience not easily put into words.

Also, something I must write about is the Taj experience. One of my firsts, the experience was just awesome, especially the Taj hospitality that everyone likes to talk about. The level of service is amazing, ever present without being intrusive. You have a personal Man Friday who is available for any requests and needs you may have, making your whole stay a lot more comfortable and enjoyable.

The next resort we went to was Soneva Gili and in my mind it perfectly describes what luxury would be like. Its about 40 minutes from Male, and runs on its own 'Soneva time' which is one hour slower than Male. Quite an interesting concept, isnt it? Also there is a no news, no shoes policy on the resort, you walk around the island and the beaches without shoes and they don't deliver you newspapers. Interesting.. !

Soneva is built on the concept of isolation, the huts are bigger and farther apart, and completely private. The resort also has some Robinson Crusoe huts, which are away from the island and can only be reached by boat.

The island at Soneva is bigger than the one at Taj, and also a lot greener. Since the island is huge, you need cycles to move from one place to another. There are green gardens on the island to while away your time as well as tennis courts and all for more hectic activities.

The island has the usual activities for all to do, the pool next to the sea, the restaurant in the sea, the water sports, the spa, the relaxing sun beds strewn all around the island, enough places to rest and enjoy.... You can even swim till the hammock or the small island in the centre of the sea, and then you would definitely want to rest there!!

Their residences are huge, and this is how they look like! You can relax on the beds outside, on the roof, or even in the living rooms with glasses all around. The perfect location to see the beautiful sunsets especially during low tides. The floor of the residence has glass at some places, and you can see the fishes swimming below from the rooms itself. Just beautiful....

Here are some pics of how its like to be there, just an idyllic life...

When we were in Maldives, it rained a lot though which is not the case usually in December. Weather change I guess?

Anyways, the whole experience was so different, completely relaxing and beautiful.. A perfect place for a complete vacation. A must visit place at least once if not more in a life...!

1000 miles : Mumbai to Delhi

2011-01-09T10:21:00.011+05:30

Well its not exactly 1000 miles, it's more like 1500 kilometers between the two cities, but then it sounds more fun this way!!

Driving across the country has always been a dream for me, though more of the backpacking variety where you have a month off and

travel from one place to another with no real aim in mind, just generally experiencing the country all around. Well I did get to achieve one part of that dream, of driving from Mumbai to Delhi over three days in my Maruti Ritz:). Took me a year to learn driving enough to go driving cross-country, but then did it finally:). And what an experience it was!

Anyways, it was a three day driving trip from one corner of the country to another, driving about 25-30 hours over the three days and hitting peak speeds of 155 kmph (yes, on Indian roads, with a small car and a not so experienced driver)! Maximum average speed was 120 kmph, covering 93 kms in 45 mins, but details to come later:). The drive materialised when I was shifting my luggage from Mumbai to Delhi, where I packed all my luggage somehow into my car and off we went on the long dreamt of long drive.

Needless to say, it was an awesome time, across roads on and on, with the landscape outside changing constantly. The people, the attitudes, the colours, the roads and (even) the road sense keeps changing all the way...

The first day of the drive was from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, about 550 kms. The start from Mumbai was quite bad actually, halfway upto Baroda. The roads were being constructed at many places, work going on flyovers to avoid bottlenecks and there were many trucks blocking the road due to accidents.

There were jams every 5 mins, because of accidents on the way and the only way of getting out of those jams was to cross onto the other side of the road and drive opposite the traffic till you cross the jam and then get back to the right side of the road. People who regularly drive on this route would do this shift automatically, and you just need to follow them. For the first time though, its a bit scary initially but you learn as you drive!! And it does save you a lot of time! In fact, the first three hours of the drive, we barely covered 100 kms!

But then onwards, the traffic eased out and reaching Ahmedabad wasn't tough. The best part of the drive was Baroda to Ahmedabad on the expressway; straight road till wherever you can see with no diversions and very limited traffic! Its a drivers paradise, a dream come true. I finished the 93 kms on this stretch in 45 mins flat. And I did not even drive too fast! This part of the drive actually improves the average speed, and we had covered the 550 kms in about 7-8 hours types.

Landscape was non-descript in Maharashtra, gradually changing

while you drive into Gujarat; you get a sense of prosperity as you drive in Gujarat. People on the whole seemed richer, and the infrastructure also much better. The landscape though becomes a bit more dry while in Gujarat.

One thing you always look forward to while on such cross country drives are the meals at some dhaba on the way, tasty food for unbeleivable prices. The same was true on this drive too, lunch for a person at 100 Rupees per person!! And a full tasty meal, with dal and sabzi and lassi and what-not. It feels so unreal that such rates still do exist in India, feels more weird after staying in towns and cities of the country.

The next day we drove from Ahmedabad to Nasirabad (in Rajasthan). The distance was again some 550 kms or so, but felt a lot less this day. This was in fact the best day of the drive, awesome 4-6 laned roads most of the way, disciplined traffic, you get to drive fast and straight, with not many cars on the roads. Just perfect! Bliss! A dream come true for any driver, especially someone who more often got to drive only in Mumbai. This part of the drive, average speeds of 70 kmph were so easy to achieve on this stretch...

We also stopped at Chittorgarh on the way, we had so much time during the day! And also visited the Mayur factory in the middle of nowhere selling products at factory rates! This day of the drive was a dream, I actually don't remember much of it.. Just press the accelerator and off you fly off.. Such roads are present in India is something our parents would not have been able to imagine in their times! I finally did understand on this day what the Golden Quadrilateral project was all about..

Vegetation changes on the way too. While is was green in Maharashtra, turns slightly dry in Gujarat and completely yellow in Rajasthan with stone hills on both sides of the road.

Another thing you will notice is that, there are a lot more temples visible while in Gujarat, a lot of them being Jain temples. In Rajasthan, the colours increase with the women wearing very very bright clothes and being visible from far. Also you will see gradually, the prosperity of Gujarat vanish as you enter Rajasthan, people seem a lot poorer and undeveloped in Rajasthan than the states just crossed.

The last day of the drive was to be the shortest, about 400 or so kms from Nasirabad to Delhi. Part of the drive from Nasirabad to Jaipur we covered fast. About the same average speeds of 70 kmph, the same bare and dry desert landscape with empty roads, some mountains breaking the monotony of the landscape and the colourful dresses of the Rajasthani women. Was a pleasure again to drive through this part, and to prepare for what we were to experience thereafter!

Thereafter, Jaipur to Delhi was a nightmare! We took 7.5 hours to complete the 250 kms between the two cities. There were two major jams on the way, taking an hour each, where you barely cover 2-3 kms in one hour!! The only way out was to get onto the service roads where you try to beat the traffic. And if you are a first time driver on this road, you would not know what you need to do! Was a completely chaotic and terrible day to drive!

Also by this time as you are approaching Delhi, there are more and more truck drivers from Haryana on the road, so the discipline of the drivers also goes kaput. There are just no more rules being followed:))).

The problem in this stretch is partially the construction taking place everywhere. The other problem are the trucks parked on the road leading to multiple traffic jams. Can't they be controlled a bit? Also, the trucks dont really follow rules of driving on the left side lanes and not the fastest one. That also slows down the traffic a lot.

On the whole, the road quality is mostly good in this stretch, though hajaar constructions going on on the way.

Also, there are countless tolls on the way, you encounter some 8-10 a day! Also while driving on the highway I realised, you can learn driving but it is the experience which gives you the edge. At places with no traffic on the road, I drove fast and overtook lots of vehicles. It was more at the crowded places that I wasn't able to do that. At that point having driven for many years makes the difference, of being able to overtake maximum vehicles. Anyways I had started my learning:)

One thing I regret though is not taking photos along the way, of what I saw, maybe thats for the next time:)

Snapshots............

2010-11-22T22:55:00.003+05:30

Photos from across the world....

Tigers of Kanha

2010-11-20T17:19:00.017+05:30

Kanha National Park : what a place it is, maybe one of the best national parks I have visited in the country! One of course for its abundant tigers(comparitively that is, with parks like Sariska having
none left) and the second for its beautiful green jungles! Its a huge park, with two main gates from where tourists can get in. One of them is the Kisli/Khatiya gate and the second one is the Mukki gate. The Mukki gate is where most of the high-end resorts are located, while the Kisli gate has the not so high-end resorts. The Khatiya village is also located at the Kisli gate.

Reaching Kanha is a big challenge though, its not one of the most easily accessible places to go to! For Mukki gate, you need to fly to Jabalpur and drive a couple of hours from there. For the Kisli gate, you need to fly to Nagpur and then drive till Kanha. We went to the Kisli gate this time. The drive took us about 5-6 hours and you drive through the Pench Sancturary on the way. The roads are quite average, with lot of patches of bad roads. The landscape is quite pretty mostly, with lots of forests and shrublands on the way. The setting is rural throughout the way, passing through villages and small towns of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

At Kanha, we stayed at the Mogli resort, which is located just next to the Kisli gate and the forest guest house also located just
next to the gate. The rooms at Mogli are basic; they will have all you need and the staff is helpful. About the food there, I wouldn't know much, as we everyday ate at a dhaba next to the gate called Kamlesh Dhaba. The food at the dhaba was so amazing, a little oily but so tasty and all for 300 bucks for 4 people! We ended up eating all our meals at this restaurant itself:). The best places to stay would be the forest guest house and the bageera tourist resorts which are located inside the gate, within the jungle. I guess you can take small walks there, and feel you are closer to the tigers too:)

Anyways, we did 3 safaris in the park over two days. Two morning ones and one evening one. The morning safari starts at sunrise. The safari gypsies queue outside the gate from 5am onwards waiting for their turn
to get in when the gate opens. Apparently the earlier you get inside the park, the greater the chances of spotting the tiger (apparently!!). The day we landed at Kanha was the first day of the park opening after the monsoons and our entry was delayed by two hours because of a dispute between the park officials and the taxi union! Anyways it was quite a show in negotiations with the forest officer finally coming out to sort the issues.

Once the issues were sorted, we all rushed in, with each group trying to outdo each other to spot the tiger the first! Each
gypsy has about 5-6 tourists with one guide provided by the forest officials. The spotting of the tiger as well as the whole park experience depends a lot on your guide. There are some guides who really dont know much while some do know the forest inside out. So they
regale you with stories of the forest to entertain you while you are looking for a tiger. We were lucky to get a very good guide in the first safari itself, and we learnt a lot about the jungles from him.

Our first morning safari was all focussed on spotting the striped
one! We saw one napping in the bushes, pried on him for a long time but anyways gave up when he refused to wake up or budge (plus some 10-15 gypsies landed there, so it wasnt any fun either!). After roaming around in the other parts of the jungle, we finally came back to the same spot and what a sighting we had of the same tiger (once he managed to get out of his slumber that is).

We caught the tiger stalking his prey: a couple of chitals in the
grass. The deer caught wind of the tiger however, after the tiger has sat patiently for half an hour (and so had we!!) and ran off, making a barking sound and warning other animals in the vicinity too about the presence of the predator.

With his prey running away, the tiger then started walking on the path towards us for a minute and a half, posing and giving us all the photo time we wanted. It did get a bit

scary after a point though, as the tiger was one gypsy away from us and moving towards us, while the gypsies behind us were not backing off at all! Anyways the tiger was a friendly one, so no incident occured and we all went back happy from the safari:).

Once the sighting was over, we just roamed around in the jungles.
The weather was awesome, pleasant and a bit chilly, with no sun in sight. The jungles green and lush after the monsoons. A nice and pleasant drive away from everything else!

Our evening safari was bereft of any tiger sighting; apparently they just sleep through most of the day and walk around only at nights and
mornings. So we just drove around and enjoyed the green jungles of sal trees, the Kanha meadows and the hills and the grasslands and water bodies and the white foam covered grass.

The next morning we were again off to a 5 am safari, we spotted
the same tiger as the previous day walking towards us! There were three gypsies on the other side, with us getting the front view. The tiger kept walking towards us, leisurely, sometimes venturing into the grass but then choosing to stay on the road.

Behind us also, suddenly there were ten other gypsies all trying to get a look at the tiger, while it continuously continued to walk towards us. We backed down an incline, crossed a stream of water but I guess we were too slow for him. He just decided to go off into the shrubs.

It was again a long sighting, with the tiger continuously walking
towards us, and us again trying to back off faster than the tiger. And what a royal animal the tiger is, the leisurely ' I don't care about anything walk', the cute cat-like look, its really regal to look at and observe. And scary too, when you imagine, even a friendly slap from his paw and you are gone!

Once the tiger sighting was over, we went off for the other sights of smaller animals in the jungle. We saw wild boars and jackals and lots of very beautiful birds that day.

We also went to another part of the jungle where we saw some of the most beautiful butterflies ever. They were just everywhere.

We also saw a small brook where on three specks of grass were sitting dragonflies of three different colours, yellow, blue and red.

And the spiders! If you can manage to tolerate them, some of the webs they make are amazing!

Actually Kanha has a lot of other wildlife too, like bears, leopards
(which are very rare to spot), wild dogs, barasingha etc etc all of which would be fun to spot in the wild. The tiger however eclipses all the other wildlife as everyone is only excited to see one while all the other wildlife is forgotten. (Well I guess we were also the same category:) but still!)

We did see the usual Cheetals and Sambhars too. Two animals which we did not manage to see though were the bison and the barasingha which are quite common sightings actually.

One thing which we missed is the tiger spotting done by elephants. Mahouts on elephants try to follow the tigers pug marks into the forest and when they spot a tiger sitting somewhere/resting, they then take the tourists in groups one by one to where the tiger is sitting, on the elephant itself. Its apparently fun, we however missed it, there were no tiger spottings when we went!

An interesting thing we saw were trees with the tiger paw scrappings, that is how the tiger marks his territories as well as some trees with leopard paw markings, where a leopard had climbed the tree. Other than the safari, there are also nature trails to walk on, through the forest.

Also while in the forest, you would come across multiple forest checkposts where forest rangers stay. Its quite impressive and scary too, for these people to be staying all alone like this in the jungle. Apparently they don't even keep guns with them!

One point to note is that since we went there after the monsoons, it was colder and the weather was a lot more enjoyable and tolerable, even though the sightings of animals is not as
much as in the summers when all animals come to the water bodies in search of water. Still I'd rather enjoy the woods and the weather in the winters than the summers! Would generally suggest to visit such parks in the winters only.

A lot of the tourists who come to jungle are quite a disgrace though, I must say. They use flash to take photos of the animal and behave like kids when there is a sighting, making sounds, refusing to budge, trying to get their vehicle in front of the other one when there is a sighting. Quite irresponsible behaviour, leaves quite a bad taste.

Duke University and Durham

2010-11-18T19:58:00.008+05:30

Durham in North Carolina is the seat of the Duke University. Its quite a cute little town, like most small US towns I guess. The landscape is beautiful, with green forests and lakes and waterbodies in between, dotted with small towns very close to each other.

Durham downtown is small. We went to a mall complex as well as the mills converted to pubs and restaurants. Quite a relaxed chill environment. And there is sooo much space everywhere! Between buildings, and shops.. Everything feels so grand and spacey. Coming from Bombay, it does mean a lot:).

I also visited the Duke University in Durham and what a beautiful

place it is to study! With woods all around and nature trails within the university to spend time in. The student halls are built in stone, typical European style. The university chapel is a pretty picture as are the stadiums in the campus.

Am just posting some photos. Quite an old-style inspired university, must be a pleasure to study in:).

Culture and times of Bali

2010-11-10T21:37:00.020+05:30

Bali is one of the islands in Indonesia, popular among tourists as a beach resort, as well as providing a rich cultural experience to all. We did a short four day trip to Bali, and it turned out to be quite a complete vacation.

The capital of Bali is Denpasar Bali, where the airport is located. Thankfully, Bali offers visa on arrival for tourists which is a big plus. The Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) is the currency used in Bali and a big pain to use. Most dinner bills would run into millions of IDR irrespective of how much you eat. So you have to be very careful about using the bills:).

We landed at Denpasar and the first view of the country is enough to make you feel it has a lot to offer: and something very different from what you would have ever seen before.
Our first stop was the Hard Rock Hotel in Kuta where we stayed for the first day. Kuta is a beach resort town very near Denpasar. Nusa Dua is the more popular place for water sports, but Kuta is more popular with the surfers. It is however a small city, hence not as isolated as some people would like. Anyways, we went to the
beach which was very commercial and full of people. But the waves were really good to even body-surf. The sunset was lovely, as well as the different shaped kites flying in the air. We even saw some of the flights landing at the airport from the beach itself. The air strip almost runs into the sea, and the flight landing there is scary as well as beautiful.
The Hard Rock cafe has a beautiful pool, with sand and an artificial
beach created. Good for some lazing around. Outside the hotel, there are lot of shops to get a good meal. Indonesian food is yum, the curries, the chickens and all. In fact most of the places we ate, the food was very tasty. Also the shops in Kuta as well as elsewhere in Bali sell a lot of beautiful dresses made of batik. Very colourful and bright, they look very tempting to buy. Kuta is a nice place to chill and relax, and thats what we did!
The next day we did a full-day tour of Ubud and Kintamani and other places on the island. Our first stop was to see the traditional
Balinese dance. Since Bali is a Hindu country, a lot of the dances are based on stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharat, but are still somewhat different and unique.
We saw the Barong dance at the village, and it was a lot of fun.
The dance had characters like Devi Kunti and her son Sahdeva though in a very different context.The Balinese dancers look very graceful and dance slowly.
And the Barong (or the tiger like animal below) is a lot of fun to watch. The music is also very different, very soulful, with musicians playing different kind of instruments than the usual ones.

After the dance, we visited different local villages. Each village in Bali has a village craft, which everyone in the village learns.
So we saw the Batik painting in the village, jewellery, stone carvers as well as the wood carvers villages. The Batik paintings and jewellery pieces were pretty though quite expensive. What we loved the most though were the wood carvings, they were all masterpieces, very intricate, detailed and pretty.

Also, the villages in Bali are very pretty. There is a lot of greenery around, with rice fields and other
plantations. The houses are all very pretty and well decorated. Each house in built in a similar design, with a sloping roof and stone carvings placed outside the house. Each house also has its own temple with beautiful work decorating it. The houses on the way were a treat to look at as well as all the temples in the villages.

Apparently, each village in Bali has three temples, dedicated to the three gods: Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. (This is something very different from the Hinduism we practice in India, isnt it? ).

The temples are again very pretty and grand with beautiful carvings and sculptures.
The temples are however opened only once in six months for ceremonies,the rest of the time they are closed. We did manage
to see a temple during a ceremony actually. It looked like the entire village was there, in traditional attire, waiting for the ceremony to start. Tourists are allowed to enter the temples but you need to be dressed in the traditional sarong to be able to do that.
The same day we also visited the Batur volcano and lake, one
of the two volcanoes in the island. Apparently you can trek to the top in two hours, we however chose to just take a look at it:). Its quite a beautiful place to spend some time, and an even better place to bike!

We also visited a coffee plantation, as part of the agro-
tourism being promoted in Bali.Saw how Luwak coffee is made, uggh!! That day we stayed at Ubud which is supposed to be the cultural capital of Bali, at another beautiful resort, Kori Ubud.

The next day we visited the Ubud palace and temple. And then cycled in the city and villages around. We visited the monkey forest, which is dedicated to Hanuman.

The temple in the forest is again worth a visit. Beware of the monkeys there though. They are revered as well as very naughty. I almost lost our camera there!

And then that day we drove through the market and through
the villages with the beautiful fields. So serene and unreal it was! We also saw rice fields in the villages, very quiet and calm. Not at all like villages in India :)).

Passed by farmers...

On the way while biking, we also stopped at a place where women were sitting and making offerings for ceremonies using leaves. The version of Hinduism practised in Bali is quite different from what we follow in India. Its very interesting to see how something with the same roots could develop into something so different! The people of Bali are very simple and nice. They still seem to be untouched by commercialization, was quite a nice thing to see:). Also, they get very happy to meet people from India.
A standard line we heard was ' You Hindu? Me also Hindu (with a big smile) Nice to meet you'!! They also seem to like Hindi movies a lot, a lot of them use that to strike up conversations with Indians:).Also, here is the statue in the main square in Ubud. Its funny that in the country of its birth, I have never seen a statue of Ram in a public place like this![Update: This statue is actually of Arjun, rather than Ram as I thought. Still a surprise, have never really seen a statue of Arjun in India either!]

Firangipani is a popular flower in Bali, used everywhere,
in dances, as offerings, and even by women everyday to put in their hair. A very pretty flower. Also, balinese massage is something very popular with all, guess you can try it. I didn't find it great though.

The last day we spent in shopping in the markets of Ubud. Stone carvings and Batik dresses was the most popular selling item. Not very reasonable in prices though.
All in all, a really enjoyable trip, with relaxing on the beach, cultural tourism as well as seeing the countryside. Its a really beautiful country, still far off away from commercializations. A must do place for a nice week in the countryside.

The Pristine Andamans

2010-11-08T18:53:00.022+05:30

Andaman Islands is a group of about 500 islands in the Indian Ocean, closer to Burma than to India. And for some reason they are part of the Indian Union, don't really know why:)! Anyways the islands are not on too many tourist itineraries, maybe because of their difficult accessibility or because these islands have not really

been developed for tourists. The islands, the beaches, the national parks, all are in some way as they would be without human interference. And that may be what appeals to some of the people who do end up going there, but definitely not to all. Its too raw, too uncouth, too wild for some tastes. I loved it though, it felt like a different realm altogether!

We had a long ten day vacation there, and so got a lot of time to actually explore a lot. There was still a lot more that we would have liked to see but could not get a chance to explore, more so because of the difficult accessibility to some of the farther islands.

Anyways to start with, to get to Andamans you need to take flights either from Chennai or Calcutta or ferries from these two ports. The ships take about 2-3 days to reach, so can be a bit too much. The capital city of the Andamans is Port Blair and you will be

surprised when you land there. Its quite a usual bustling little town, at least bigger than what I expected. Its as any other town you would see on the mainland, similar buildings, similar roads, similar cars and similar people! There are lot of Bengalis and Tamils settled in these islands, so you wont really see any 'locals' in the towns (which I was expecting). The locals are anyways few in number most of which are still tribals living in the jungles away from human contact.

We spent a couple of days in and around Port Blair, visiting the

sights nearby. The local marina is a nice lighted road next to the sea with nice parks to sit and enjoy. At night with the twinkling lights, this part of the town looks very pretty. (An advice to anyone going to Andamans would be to not stay in Port Blair for long, to go on to the other islands which have a lot more to do plus are less city-like.)

One place which all Indians would definitely visit is the Cellular

Jail, located in Port Blair itself, very near the Marina. Its a national memorial now, with a couple of exhibitions inside showing the freedom struggle.

The cells in the jail are hair-raising scary and the stories even more gruesome. They also have a sound and light show held at the jail in the evening, which though not great, does give an idea to how life in the jail used to be like in those years.

The other place to visit near Port Blair is Ross Island, an island

just across a small stretch of sea from Port Blair where the British had first set up their establishment. Its just a couple of minutes ride from the Marina, and has ruins of the old British buildings, with the expected church and the rest.

The beach at Ross island is also very pretty even though its very small. Also, the same ferry which takes you to Ross Island also goes to two other islands, Viper Island and North Bay where you can apparently do some snorkelling.

Another place which is not on most tourist itineraries but I loved was the Harriet National Park, which is about an hour or so away

from Port Blair. You can also take a ferry to go till there part of the way. Thats an advantage on most of the ferries in Andaman, you can take your cars also on the ferries and cross over. There is also a trekking trail which goes to a beach and a lighthouse from the park itself. We did just part of the trek though, but should be good fun I am sure!

Harriet National Park is located on the the highest mountain of

the South Andaman islands, and gives a beautiful view of the places around.

Its a national park, with a beautiful jungle drive leading up to it and nice view points when you reach there.

Also nearby is a place called 20-Rupee point, where you can take a look at the image thatis imprinted on the 20 Rupee Note. See for yourself:)

One of the days, we also went to the Mahatma Gandhi Marine Park, also called the Wandoor national park. It is a national park comprising of a couple of islands which have corals and other

marine life. The two famous islands in this park on which tourists are allowed are Jollybuoy and Redskin Islands. Only one of these islands are open at a time. Jollybuoy is apparently supposed to be out of this world. Sadly, it was closed when we went there. So we went to Red Skin island instead.

You can take a ferry from Mahatma Gandhi Marine Park itself,

which takes you through the mangrove islands and then drops you at Red Skin island. Its a nice beach, with clean and still water where you can snorkel. There are pretty fishes and even prettier coral all along the beach.

We also went and saw some of the corals and fishes around the Grub island which is just nearby.

The Wandoor national park also has its own beach,

same isolated beaches away from all population as is there for most of the Andaman beaches.

Another must visit is the Havelock Island located nearby which is actually a bigger tourist hub than Port Blair. Its the most popular island among tourists with popular and pretty beaches like Radhanagar, Elephant Island and Vijaynagar. (Another advise would be to stay at Havelock for a couple

of days rather than doing just a day trip there.) We stayed at Havelock for four days and quite a wise decision it was.

There are regular ferries from Port Blair which take you till

Havelock, called the Havercruz. If you are feeling more adventurous, you can also take the helicopter rides that are available for tourists. You will be there in 15 mins, plus get quite a beautiful over view of the islands. Its at Havelock that you can do scuba diving at a couple of good sites. I did scuba diving at South button island, the Wall and the Aquarium. The sea life is breathtaking, the visibility great and the variety of fishes unbeleivable!

Also around Havelock, there are tons of very nice resorts to stay,

right next to the beaches! Its the perfect place for people to relax, do a couple of water sports and generally have a good time. The beaches next to the resorts are mostly average though. Not too deep, with green blue water which during low tides recedes a lot.

Our next stop was to Baratang, which is an island on the middle

Andamans. The drive till Baratang is again very pretty, through fields and villages and hills and junglesi! Its during this drive that you notice that Andamans is a lot more developed and richer than most of the Indian mainland. Most of the villages have pucca houses, light, electricity, cars and excess employment. It was quite surprising actually, I always imagined Andamans to be very backward and underdeveloped.

Also another thing you notice while driving through the islands was that at a lot of places, there were inland water bodies. Its all the remnant from the tsunami times, when water came inland and was not able to get back to the sea. Now all the trees in these areas have withered and these places are no longer suitable for cultivation.

While going to Baratang, you will have to pass through the Jarawa Reserve, which is essentially a reserve where the Jarawa tribes still stay. The government tries to minimise the interaction between the tribes and the outside world, and so there are rules regarding the the passage of people through this area. The tourists are not supposed to stop their vehicles or give the Jarawas anything or take their photographs. Of course all these rules are flouted by all!!

Till a couple of years back, the Jarawas did not interact with the outside world and used to kill the passerbys with poisoned arrows. Now that has stopped though!! Tourists passing through the reserve have been giving the Jarawas food, clothes, money etc, and now they are no more hostile! In fact the Jarawas come and meet the tourists who pass by on the roads, asking them for food and 'paan'! As the guards in the area say now, they have been corrupted by humans, as they have been introduced to money!

Anyways we came across lots of Jarawas on the way, sitting next to the road, eating, collecting fruits, or just basking in the sun. They have negroid features and live very wild lives still. Was quite interesting to see people still live like this in our own country!!

In Baratang, we visited a limestone cave, to see the stalactities and

stalacmites as well as a mud volcano. The ferry till the caves goes through mangrove forests, like the photo here.

The highlight of the trip however was the visit to the Parrot Island. Its an island slightly away from the mainland, where you can only go by ferry. Its a very small island, not even 500 mts wide I guess, and full of the mangrove forest. Thousands of parrots stay on this island and everyday at sunrise they all fly off, and during sunset all of them come back to this island.

It is a sight to behold when at sunset, hundreds of these birds fly back from all directions, chirping loudly and creating a ruckus, all of them getting together and then landing at the island! Its a sight I cannot describe, but can just be experienced. Also, the island is fully trimmed, the leaves on the top are fully cut by the parrots who live there.

I also saw the best sunset ever while going to the island. Here are some photos of this ride.

The last of what we saw in Andamans was Chidiya Tapu, a beach where apparently hundreds of birds used to come before the tsunami. Now there is just a beach, and of course a beautiful sunset to see.

On the whole, Andaman offers a complete vacation with activity, fun, relaxation, beauty and history. And not too much of it man-made.

Fort of Chittorgarh

2010-11-07T16:30:00.007+05:30

It was a short flying visit we had at the fort of Chittor, 'Chittorgarh' while on our way from Mumbai to Delhi. And what a magnificient fort it was, rightly called the greatest of all forts in Rajasthan as well as of India. Wish we had more time to explore it, but guess thats for another time...

Anyways the first look that you get of the fort if from the town

below.. And what a grand majestic view it is...Seated on top of a hill in the middle of the plains, its a sight of splendour. Its a huge fort, with an entire township settled inside, and the fort walls run all around the hill..

Chittorgarh is an epitome of the valour which the Rajputs are so famous for. The fort has been seiged and won over thrice, and each time the women of the fort committed jauhar, while the men went out to their deaths.

The road to the fort is winding and goes through multiple gates, or 'pol' as they were called. Apparently it was quite an impregnable fort, very difficult to conquer.

Once inside the fort, you can get a view of the town below, and the view extends till far away...

There are a couple of good places to visit inside the fort.

The Vijay stambh and the Kirti Stambh built to the valour of Rajputs. The Jain temples and the Meera temple (where Meera was supposed to have vanished and become one with Krishna)

and the Padmavati Mahal.

We just had a fleeting view of all these places, and read up on the fort later on. The fort has quite a long and interesting history. Wish I had more time to spend at the fort and hear of all these stories...Anyways till next time!

First Impressions : The big apple, New York

2010-11-07T12:58:00.015+05:30

My first visit to what some people say, the best city in the world. And my first impression? Well, I'll reserve my judgement till I give the city more time, have heard it grows on you:). As of now, I liked the city, and could feel there is a lot to do there. But that will be confirmed only later on:).

Anyways, since this visit was quite touristy as I had a lot of free time with myself, let me just talk about what all there is to see and do on a short trip to NY. The standard places which any tourist would go to would be Times Square, Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. I did a walk from 33rd Street onwards on Broadway till Times Square and found it one of the most liveliest streets

have ever been on. There were so many people everywhere, quite fashionably dressed and generally having a good day outside. Its a nice walk, with lot of shops and coffee places to spend time at. And of course the skyscrapers all around you, wherever you go.. quite a trademark of New York, isn't it?

Times Square is fully lighted up as you may have already seen it

on TV and movies, countless number of times! Its surprising to see this place always full of people irrespective of the time of the day! And its too crowded! But I guess anyone will give this place a visit, it being the tourist centre literally. You may go there once to visit but never again!!

You can take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty island if you are very

keen,but I would actually suggest to take the free Staten Island ferry which goes from New York to the Island and then back. It gives a good view of the statue, which I think is quite nice.

Plus its a nice ferry ride too especially when the weather is good! You get to see a different view of the famed Mahattan skyline too! As for the Empire State Building, I did not go up but supposedly its a must-do.

In downtown, you can go to the Southstreet seaport, Pier 17, a happening place with lots of eating places and with a view of Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Its a nice place to sit and have a coffee while observing

whats happening around. There is the famous 'Bodies' exhibition also here, which is apparently quite interesting. Did not get a chance to see it though.

Ground Zero in downtown, the site of the WTC is another place visited by many. As of now, its fully under construction and you can get a look at the kind of building that will come up there.

Also, there are couple of parks here and there nearby, two of them

where I went being Washington Park and Union Park. Its nice to sit there and just chill and relax, I just loved spending time there. With students all around just relaxing and having a nice time. There might be some village markets there too, with people selling foodstuff and fresh produces. You may also see some people sitting there with chess boards inviting people to play with them for money. Don't go by their lacklustre dressing, they will play with you, beat you and take your money too!

Central Park is another must visit. Its huge, beautiful and an

oasis in the city. You can even boat there, or just laze around sipping a drink next to the lake, or just attend a festival going on around it. There are couple of museums also nearby which are apparently good. Did not get a chance to visit them, or the Broadway shows either, but both are something I am really looking forward to!

Eating places abound in New York. Every few paces you will come across another eating joint, and most of them serve very tasty food. From the roadside cheaper options to the high end ones, they are all there.

I don't think I can even begin to write about the food New York has to offer. I tried a couple of places at the Village which were good. And of course, Little Italy. The Italian food there is just as it is in Italy, looks simple and tastes heavenly, just like home cooked food. Bars are in plenty too, and generally lively till late and very chill. But beware, the bartenders serve alcohol with generosity!

Transport is good and easy, with the convenient subway and the Path and of course the cheap cabs. And cabs can be even more fun if the driver is a South Asian, you can be sure of a long and interesting chat all the way:).

New Port in New Jersey is a popular place for all the desis to stay. With a view of the Manhattan skyline, living close to New York but with the comforts of a small town US city, quite an interesting place I wud say!! The go-to place for anything Indian, whether food stuff or movies:)

New York can get pretty hot in summer, I never knew that. Was quite a revelation. And of course the winters will be baddd! Lets see how it goes...

Shopping seems quite good in the city, whatever little I saw of it. One shop I was really impressed with was Macys. What a store!!! Its huge, with multiple floors and selling anything and everything at great prices. And if you land up on a sale day, a very good deal too! Would love to shop there!!

Anyways these are my first impressions about the city. On the whole, a nice experience, a lively city, very buzzed. Lets see how the real experience is like!!

Non Bohemian Goa : Leela

2010-11-02T14:02:00.006+05:30

This would be the first post about a luxury resort, but the Leela in Goa does deserve one:).. Twas my first stay at the non-bohemian Goa, away from the Bagas and the Calangutes.. The world of private beaches and saunas and casinos:) and quite a pampering experience it was...It was a little too short, just two days, as it always is in Goa but we made full use of the time we had!

The Leela in Goa is spread over a huge area.. The rooms all have

a lagoon view, with the lagoons built artificially within the resort. The landscaping at the resort is quite elaborate, with stones and waterfalls etc. The facilities for different activities within the resort are ample: you can cycle within the resort, dip in the pool with its own waterfall and caves:),

lose money at the casino, pamper yourself at the spa, try your skill at golf, party at aqua, take part in activities conducted by the resort (especially for kids), browse through their CD collection if you in the mood for indoor recreation, play tennis! And so on..

The biggest plus of course is the huge stretch of private beach

just next to the resort. With very few people and very turbulent waters, just the perfect way to relax in the sea, isn't it?

Also the casino is something which you don't really get in other towns of india. One negative though, the tables are all machine operated which isn't the same as being in a people operated casino, but what the hell! You lose money anyways!!

The resort has a couple of good eating options. The Italian

restaurant at riverside has a beautiful location with the ferries and the village on the opposite side of the river. At night with the twinkling lights, it was a sight to behold. Food was nothing much to write home about there though.

There is an Indian restaurant too, jamavar, a coffee shop, a seaside seafood grill next to the sea (its closed during monsoons though) and the poolside bar. The poolside bar has happy hours at really cheap prices and a beautiful view of the golf course and the sea beyond. A great place to just sip and relax!

All in all, a good resort, allowing you to pamper yourself, relax and have a good fun filled time...

The lost cause of Calcutta..

2010-11-02T12:55:00.011+05:30

Or Kolkata to be correct. But frankly, no one cares. Either about the name (thankfully!! unlike Mumbai!!) or about the city either (sadly!), or actually I think Calcuttans do care about the city.. Its the authorities which lack that feeling! A renowned city of old, and look at what it has become now? Surely no one cares about what its called since there are much more and bigger problems in the city to worry about.

Anyways, I had a short stay in Calcutta and am just writing about what i saw and felt about the city during this stay. Of what all the city could have had to offer, if.. Calcutta was a grand city built by the British long ago and in the typical British style. You can see the remnants of the grandeur still, wide roads, huge stone buildings, built to beauty, parks and open spaces left for leisure... Yes, that is how the British had built the Calcutta of old.

Of the places to visit in the city, the main attraction is the Victoria

Memorial of the same British times, a grand building celebrating the British empire. It sure is beautiful, with attractive gardens all around. In the evenings, lot of people gather around eating the roadside stuff and generally strolling in the gardens nearby.

In stark contrast is the Calcutta of today, a city of chaos (yes, its an exaggeration, but it is so ironic, given how the city was originally built !!). The traffic is terrible, there is a general lack of driving sense, cars are parked on roads blocking the traffic, people drive wherever they want to with no respect for rules, what else can you call it but chaos? The time it takes to reach from one place to another is always at least 1.5 hours, irrespective of the distance and the time of the day!! Crazy!!

The hand pulled rickshaws still abound in the city and that sight will hit you whenever you see them. How can something like this still exist? Well in Calcutta it can.

Another sight native to Calcutta (I have never seen it before, or

thought it possible) is of the traffic police holding people with a rope to prevent them from crossing the road! I was shocked to see but apparently this is usual!! If the police does not hold the crowd, they will continue to cross the road and the cars will not be able to pass!!! This was very funny actually:). The traffic police is present everywhere in the city though, they are essential to the working of the city. Wonder what would happen without them managing the traffic!!

The government for one does not really seem interested in the development of the city (or the state for that matter!). This is evident from the time you enter the city: at the airport itself. I would rate Calcutta airport as one of the worst in India. The toilets actually stink!! I did not know that this can happen at airports also! Its actually a shock, that this is what the state of Bengal is coming to. With Bengalis being one of the most educated people in India and since a long time, its a shame how little development happens in their own state!

Enough of the cribs now though:), time for some positives for the city! Shopping being the major one and puchke being the other one:). The puchke of Kolkata are sooo tasty, their huge size which is difficult to eat in one go, the yummy spicy water, its just heavenly!! A must-have for anyone in Calcutta even if for a short time!

Also the shopping for embroidered stuff in Calcutta is one of the best in the country. The designs, the quality of embroidery and the variety is something you may not get in other cities of the country. We did most of our shopping at Burra Bazaar which is the Chandni Chowk of Calcutta. Its tough to get there with the traffic, but once there you will be pleasantly surprised with the amount of stuff available in the market.

Shop after shop with tons of stuff, your mind will reel with what all is available there. Sarees, lehengas, suits, all kinds of work and countless designs. If you are fond of value-for-money shopping, this is the place for you.

Jewellery in Calcutta is also good, with countless designs available. And lastly, if ever in Calcutta, definitely visit Sree Leather, you can get whatever you want in leather, shoes, bags, purses, belts, jackets and so on, all at throwaway prices. For someone buying such stuff for much more in branded shops, the shop will make you go crazy. Its a must visit again.

P.S. I know a lot of people who love the city and am sure Calcutta has a lot to offer. This article is just based on my short stay in the city, and just on my experiences. I am sure its not the full picture, but its at least my picture of the city, just my view that there is so much more that the city can become, which right now it isn't. Hope I dont offend anyone:)

Dilli Darshan : Red Fort

2010-09-28T18:23:00.005+05:30

Even though we passed the Red Fort multiple times when in Delhi, we never really went in because it was just there, we could visit it whenever we wanted, isn't it? Anyways finally when I got in a Dilli Darshan mode, we made a trip to the Chandni Chowk area and the Red Fort: places we had seen and heard of in movies countless times, but never really seen in reality.

The Delhi metro has made this a lot more comfortable and feasible though, thank god for that! You sit in the metro and there you are!! Right in the middle of the dilli of old, with narrow gallis, famous shops, crowds everywhere and a lot of history hidden at every turn..

We walked on to the Red Fort through long queues and through the covered market selling touristy stuff at throwaway prices; and on towards diwan-e-am and diwan-e-khas inside the fort. The Red Fort from the outside is a sight to behold: grand, majestic and royal; from the inside though, it barely retains its original grandeur. It still has beautiful structures, and artistic paintings but a lot of it has already been lost to years. The gardens are green, the buildings have beautiful paintings and the whole place has a spacy and airy feeling about it.. Very pretty.. As for the history, we didn't really bother for a guide, so not much time was spent on that. Just admiring the works done so long ago, a lot of which we've already managed to lose.

After that we did a short trip around chandni chowk. You can buy any kind of stuff, clothes, toys, accessories etc etc at unbeleivable prices there. You bargain hard but still feel cheated as the shopkeeper still sells u stuff at that price! We also ate at the famous jalebi wala there, was a let down though.

A must visit when here would be the Gurudwara. An oasis of calmness in the chaos outside. Its a nice big structure, revered by many. One thing you would definitely notice about the place would be the cleanliness there given its in the heart of the crowdiest part of the city!

Hidden beaches of Madh and Aksa

2010-09-28T17:52:00.007+05:30

I was pleasantly surprised to see that such nice places exist in Bombay itself which I had never explored before... (Well you can debate whether Madh and Aksa are really within Bombay or not but at least they are quite close!!)

I went to Aksa beach more on a driving test on a nice monsoon day, rather than for the place, but it turned out to be quite a pleasant and enjoyable day-out in itself:).

The weather surely helped: intermittent not so heavy rains and breezy cool interludes in between. What more can you ask for, for a day spent in town?

We first went to Aksa beach (the drive from the western express to the beach being a bit of a downer though!). The beach was surprisingly clean (compared to bombay standards that is!), not too many people around, cool, wet, windy, with rocks to sit on just next to the sea, some small waves coming in once in a while,

the palm trees on the shore swaying to and fro in the wind, clean and fresh air, no buildings (save one) in sight, the open sea, roaring waves.. Just visualising it all makes me smile and feel happy and relaxed.. Imagine what being there after just an hour's ride from your home would make one feel.. ?!! Just beautiful, calming, relaxing, elevating...

There on we drove on the road that goes towards Madh Island.. Narrow winding road, with vibrant green trees covering the road, and again the fresh and cool air and the pleasant breeze..

And the road goes on and on, with some bungalows once in a while on the sides, fishing villages on the way, fishing boats moored next to it.. Is it really in Bombay? Felt more like Kerala backwaters or the goan roads. Was it for real? I felt I was in another isolated world, in a small town in the rains, in the ghats.

Was just beautiful to drive there, up and down and left and right on the winding road, just taking in the sights of rural (?) life.. We stopped at a beach on the way too.. Just difficult to describe the experience in words or even pictures.. Relaxing, far away..

Perfect for some good quality time within the city borders...

The English Countryside : Cotswold

2010-07-21T02:40:00.005+05:30

Cotswold is an area to the north west of London, about 2 hours drive from there, right into the heart of the English countryside.

Such a beautiful area existed in England, I never knew (and was unable to visit even though I tried several times!!)! It is just so unreal, so unbeleivably beautiful.. I was completely mesmerised and bewitched when I reached there!!Went there for a one day weekend driving trip and ended up staying another day!!

The drive is beautiful, and in the summer such a rich green, its very soothing too!

Once you cross Oxford, you get into the Cotswold area and you feel you are in a different world altogether.. Small narrow lanes through small villages.. strewn with cottages and sheep and cow.. just what I always visualised the 'countryside' to be like which we read in countless english novels .. you just get that feeling when you reach this area...

Anyways we drove on randomly and landed up at a village called Broughton-on-the-River.. A small cosy village next to a small stream.

Our first view of the village was of a local group playing cricket. Wouldn't you want to play in such a setting too? Then we walked to the village centre. And this is how it looked!

Isn't it unreal, a placid small stream with stone houses in brown on both sides:). And of course the English pubs and food places. And lots of people just sitting next to the river, enjoying the sun and a drink and the complete peace and calm all about.

We were to come back to London the same day, but I just couldn't. I had to stay back, I think I had no choice:). Went in to a couple of hotels round the stream

but they were all 100% occupied by old people:). [Most such places in England are almost always full with retired people enjoying their old age]

Anyways I got a place to stay at the Rose Cottage with an old English couple, and so I got another day to explore this area. There are lot of walks you can do around this area, walk through the fields up and down through villages, to enjoy the fresh air and the countryside living.

Anyways next day, I did a short walk around as I lacked time for a longer one. From Bourton to Upper Slaughter to Lower Slaughter, a 3-4 hour walk through hills and fields and villages.

Lower and Upper Slaughter were again small queer little villages, with a famous Chapel at Upper Slaughter and a mill with freshly made icecream at Lower Slaughter. With the weather being beautiful, you just feel like clicking everywhere! Here are some shots I took, on the way. Not much I can express in words, can I?

Walking through that area, the calm and peace you experience is something you miss so much in today's life.. An ideal place for a weekend away from everything...And wouldnt you just once want to spend a long week being there, just doing nothing?Am surely going back there once more...There are some more villages to visit, maybe next time:)

Mumbai Weekend Getaways : 2

2010-07-21T01:36:00.018+05:30

RAIGAD FORT : SHIVAJI'S BIRTHPLACE

In summer desperation of not being able to go out anywhere during the Great Indian Summer (and a very very long one this year!!), we did a short one day trip to Raigad, a fort near Mumbai.

Surprisingly though, the short relaxed trip turned out to be a packed one. It was HOT and sunny the whole day, but surprisingly we enjoyed:). And as with any weekend trip outside Bombay: it was short and sweet and cheap too!

The usual start, leaving early to get out of Mumbai fast, eating at dhabas on the way, driving through the Marathi countryside, yellow and dry at that time of the year..

Our first stop was river-rafting in Kolar. It was tough to find the place where river rafting happens in season as we were there in the wrong season anyways. So we just somehow landed up at the lake where the rafting ends. It was peaceful, calm and an oasis of coolness in the hot summer.

We found a deserted pump house next to the lake where we could just rest for sometime.. and then into the water!! Took a short nap also on a tree bark, it was soo quiet and cool. you could even hear people talking 100 mtrs away! Imagine anything close to that in Mumbai:))))

After that we landed up at the Raigad fort and were pleasantly surprised to see that there was a ropeway going up to the fort!!

Why are such places not marketed by the tourism department? Imagine we were living just 3 hours away from the place, and we had not even heard about it all! The ropeway up was scary though, with views of the ghats below.

The fort was interesting too with a lot of history. Spread out in a huge area, good architecture, and though mostly in ruins, there were still some structures still standing strong!

Raigad is also the birthplace of Shivaji and there is a monument within the fort erected in his honour.

On the whole, the fort was a good place to spend sometime looking at the views around. (And wonder, how did they manage to build such places ages ago!! ) There is also an MTDC resort at the top of the hill near the fort, a must-stay I would say. Anyways we spent some time at the fort, roaming around the ruins and then were back to the city life, quick enough:)

KHANDALA

Khandala and Lonavala, however much people may crib about these

places being ordinary, sometimes they end up being the only choices for escaping Mumbai. And frankly, quite beautiful escapes too (at least during the rains)! The drive on the expressway being a pleasure, driving through the clouds at high speeds, rain all around, the hills lush green all the way, what more would you want (or need) when looking for a break?

We had another a recent weekend out at the Duke's retreat

at Khandala. The resort is nice, at least the rooms. They have a beautiful view of the cliffs of Khandala and the table-top. The cottages are not that great though!

Duke's offers one of the best views of Khandala and that

is reason itself for staying at this resort! The pool, the events during the day to keep kids busy, the puppet show, the games at night, the beautiful views from the cafe and restaurant.. surely a great place for relaxation.

Rest of course, is the same at Khandala as Lonavla.

A trip to Bushy dam, stop at the lakes, eat butta and enjoy the greenery around. Totally relaxing and heavenly!

HAJI MALANG

Haji Malang is a short trek near Mumbai that you can go to [when the weather is good, that is:)]. Its located quite close to Mumbai, nearer to Kalyan and takes about 2-3 hours to reach. The road till there is quite bad in patches though.

Midway during the trek is the Haji Malang majaar. The way till there has stone steps. So its good as well as bad. Good since its easier to walk and you can't lose your way! Bad because there are lots of crowds on this trek as the majaar is well revered. Also, there are lot of vendors selling all kinds of things all the way, so that does get tiresome and irritating.

After the majaar though, the trek is good and the view from the top beautiful. There is also one part of the trek where you cross across the stones on ropes. We did not do that part of the trek, but apparently thats quite fun and dangerous too!

BHANDARDARA

Bhandardara is a huge huge lake located near Igatpuri, off about 40 kms or so from the Mumbai Nasik highway. Somehow it is not a well know tourist spot near Mumbai, but it surely is one of the most beautiful and serene places around: perfect for a weekend getaway from Mumbai.

The drive from Mumbai till Bhandardara is beautiful. First on the

Mumbai Nasik highway, beautiful three-laned roads, through hills and ghats and green fields and forests. Even though we started on a hot afternoon from Mumbai, the weather just got so much cooler on the highway. It was a very pretty drive, with green hills on both sides, , chilly cool air and of course the awesome highway.

Once you get off the highway, there is a 40 km drive across the countryside, single laned road through villages and hills, forests and plains. Its just so relaxing to drive here, it feels so fresh and pristine!!

Once at the lake, you can stay at either the MTDC resort or

Anandvan. The location for both the resorts is pretty, just next to the lake with a beautiful view. MTDC resort is reasonable but poorly maintained. Anandvan is much more expensive though.

But this place definitely needs two days to be able to enjoy yourself. Enjoy a morning walk next to the lake, trek on the Kalsubhai peak nearby (the highest peak in Maharashtra) and generally enjoy time out for youself!

The perfect place to spend a nice weekend out of Mumbai.

CHOKI DHANI

An advantage of going on treks north of Mumbai towards Kalyan is that you can get to have dinner at Choki Dhani!!

This is a Rajasthani theme based eating place where you can spend a

nice evening out. It opens from 7pm itself, and has enough of things to do to spend a couple of hours with friends here. You can see the Rajasthani dances, puppet dances, get mehendi done, sit on the camel, take photos in Rajasthani costumes, play the local games etc etc (the usual toursity experience of Rajasthani life!!) and of course have a nice tasty Rajasthani meal, all for Rs. 500!

Again a must go for Bombayites...!

Crowning Glory : Leh and Ladakh

2010-03-15T12:35:00.002+05:30

You need to be prepared for what you will encounter when you visit this remote region of India. Anything you may have heard about it before (and I am sure you would have heard a lot!!), nothing prepares you for the sight that will actually welcome you when you land there...Natural beauty at its peak: mountains, rivers, valleys and even deserts.. Its got it all and everywhere.. While driving around this region, every turn you take, you would be welcome with a new sight, a picture-perfect moment. And as hard as you may try, its very tough to gather it all in your mind and your memory, the amount of beauty this place embodies. (Its even tougher to choose which photos to post on the blog and which not!!)

Jammu & Kashmir state, where Ladakh is located is divided into three regions, and surprisingly all three are completely different: in the landscape, the religion as well as the way of life. There is the Jammu region, which is a plain region and the prevelant religion is Hinduism. Then Kashmir with the beautiful valleys and mountains is the Muslim dominated region. And the third and often neglected part of the state is Ladakh located in the north eastern part of the state with a dominant Buddhist culture.

Ladakh is the forgotten part of the state where population is scarce and development very low. The landscape there is of mountain deserts, with huge brown mountains and no vegetation at all. Just big expanses of brown land full of natural beauty and breathtaking views.

There are three ways of reaching Ladakh. By road, you can come via either Manali or Srinagar. Both routes are supposed to be very scenic and help to acclimatise better. The roads are closed though for 6 months of the year due to snow. At such times the only way to reach this area is by flying directly to Leh.

Its actually quite a nice flight, flying over the Himalayas and you can get beautiful views of the mountains below. The Leh airport is also a feat by itself, how suddenly you land into the valley and see the town emerge from the gap in the mountains! Though be prepared, more often than not, because of bad weather the Leh flights have to turn back to Delhi and then try to make a try for it again later in the day (maybe that's why they are so expensive).

Leh is the capital and main town of the Ladakh region, the biggest (and maybe only) town too. Its the seat of religious and administrative control over the city. It is also the tourist centre which is used as a base for all travels in this region. The river Indus flows through the town and there are couple of picnic spots where you can spend some time. Also, you will notice that most of the landscape there is bare with no vegetation, except next to the rivers (and Indus in this case) where you will see a lot of trees during the spring months and this would be the only green patch in the whole area!!

Leh is situated at a height of about 11,500 feet. Its a high altitude location, and oxygen levels are lower than what our body is used to on the sea level. So, you need to get your body used to such environmental conditions, and so when you fly to Leh, you need to acclimatize for at least one day in Leh itself. That means one day of no exercise at all, just eat, sleep and eat some more!

Leh does not have that much to do actually, its more like the tourist centre. The markets in Leh are full of Tibetan stuff being sold: stones, jewellery, warm clothes, handicrafts etc. You can visit the Shanti Stupa which is at the top of the mountain. Its a huge white Buddhist stupa, not very old, which has been built to spread peace in the world. Also, given that its at such a height, it gives a good view of the town below (again mostly bare, with some small patches of green somewhere). Then there is the kings palace also within the town which is in ruins, but which is open for visitors. You can visit the monasteries in Leh (as well as the countless ones which spot this whole region).

There are monasteries in Leh which are often visited, Thiksey and Shay. They are similar to any other Buddhist monasteries you may have visited. Though, if you go during the tourist season in the summer, you would see lot of activity happening at the monasteries: local dances, shows, festivities, prayers, processions etc (I din see it though!).

There are many many monasteries in this region, in the towns and away from the towns on the roads to other places as well as in many unreachable areas as on top of a hill etc. The structure of the monasteries is similar mostly, there are lot of small rooms where all the llamas stay, study,work and pray. Then each monastery will have the prayer hall, where all the llamas pray together. The Buddha statue would be in this prayer hall and it would be ornately decorated with handicrafts, paintings and sculptures in bright red and golden colours.

Other than in Leh, the other two places recommended by everyone visiting Leh are the Pangongso lake as well as the Nubra valley.

Pangongso lake is this huge 150 kms long saltwater lake about 4-5 hours drive away from Leh. Apparently, it is sea water that got stuck up in the Himalayas when the Indian subcontinent met the Asian continent and the mountains rose. Its like a blue gem in between brown and yellow mountains all around! It looks like a painting, completely unreal and out of this world. The colours are so vibrant and beautiful, its completely unbelievable that such a place can exist in this world!

The drive to the lake is again studded with beautiful views along the way, the same landscape everywhere. On the way, there are lakes where you can see clearly multiple colours as shown here. This region is so full of beauty at every turn of the road, it just awes you so much. Even the first view of the lake that you get from a gap in between the hills takes your breath away. You actually wonder, how can something like this exist!

The lake is part in India and part in China. There is army presence there which patrol the lake. You can even drive a few kms just next to it. If lucky you can even boat in the lake, though in a limited area only. There is apparently no life in the lake because of the salty water. There is also a mountain next to the lake, which is called the opal mountain. Apparently, you can find opals here and there on the mountain, you can try your luck there if you are feeling lucky:).

The other place to be visited in this regions is the Nubra valley, where you go via the Khardungla pass, "the highest motorable pass in the world":). Its again a 5-6 hours drive from Leh, and the drive being beautiful as usual. You can even spot yaks in this region.

The Khardungla pass is always cold! And snow is present there most of the year round. Its the highest motorable pass in the world and you will see a sign saying the same at the top (Sorry for no photos, all the photos with the board have us posing with the board, typical patel spot it is!!). You definitely should enjoy the hot chai at the top of the pass. You will never ever find a tea so welcome! Also, don't stay too long at the top of the pass, the wind is so strong and chill factor is so high, its not even safe to stay there for so long. The drive till Nubra is again through dangerous roads and beautiful sights. We went to Leh in October which is actually the end of the tourist season. Its the time of the year when the snow starts and roads start getting blocked. Even when we were going to Nubra, we got stuck before the Khardungla pass for a couple of hours as it had snowed the previous night and the pass was closed. Also driving through the snow seems so precarious so many times, its fun and beautiful!

Just after crossing the pass with the snow, you will enter the Nubra valley and the landscape will again change completely. Nubra valley is famous for the sand dunes, almost resembling an actual desert(complete with camels)! The drive till Nubra is next to the Zanskar river and the sand dunes and you will see patches of green in between and then bare lands and then valleys with the sand dunes and the sandstorms.

Nubra is also famous for the two humped camels which are only found here in India. Apparently these camels wandered here from Central Asia and have since been here. You can take a ride on the camel, it almost feels as if you are in Rajasthan:) ( with sand dunes, sand storms camels and completely dry air!!). From here, you can also go to the Siachen base camp, if you have the guts to:) !

The last place we visited was the Kargil and Batalik region. Its on the way to from Leh to Srinagar. The route is different, as slowly and slowly, you can see the culture changing from Buddhist to a Muslim tinge, plus you also see the vegetation en-route gradually increasing. You will see these small villages on the hillside where the whole hill is bare, but the villages are surrounded by trees. Everytime you take a turn and a beautiful sight greets you!

Somewhere on this route, if you get a chance you should stop at the 'magnetic hill'. Its this location somewhere on the way which is said to have a magnetic field from a hill nearby which pulls metal including cars, bikes etc towards itself. You stop the car of the road where the marking is made and you will see your car being pulled in the direction of the magnetic hill. Is a very weak magnetic field, but still worth seeing. Interesting, isn't it?

We also visited a village in this area which is supposed to be one of the last few pure Aryan villages left in the country. There are a couple of these villages in this region, where the features of the people are different from the rest of the populace around. Their customs are also different and their eyes are blue! According to some, these people are the original Aryans who had come to the Indian subcontinent from Central Asia and settled here rather than moving inward into the mainland. They retained their original customs and features as they never intermingled with the local populations. In fact all these villages only marry within each other and hence are a dwindling population. We saw the traditional dance being performed by the villagers complete with the traditional attire, music and all. We also interacted with them and learned a little bit about their life.

We also saw the locations which were involved in the Kargil war of 1999 (Tiger hill which was conquered back from the militants and some others). The were bare, with no tree cover, and just loose stones on all sides. Taking a look at these mountains, you would wonder how anyone could climb it, leave alone climb it knowing that the enemy on top just has to push the rocks on the top to start a landslide and finish off your whole team, without ever needing weapons! Hats off to those brave souls, takes a lot of courage to try to fight a war in such inhospitable conditions and to win it too!!

There are lot of options for adventure sports in Ladakh, you can do white water rafting or trekking in the high ranges or take part in the Tibetan marathon. Guess if you are interested in this, then Ladakh offers a lot more than to an average tourist. I of course haven't done any of this, so don't know for sure.

Caves of yore : Ajanta & Ellora

2010-03-13T16:31:00.085+05:30

Aurangabad is located in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, about an overnight train journey away from Mumbai. Its the central location used for visiting the Ajanta and Ellora caves, as well as there are some places of interest in Aurangabad itself. Ellora is about 30 kms away from Aurangabad, and takes about an hour or so to reach from Aurangabad while Ajanta is 120 kms away, taking about 2-3 hours to reach there.

The three major differences (according to me) between the two sets of caves is that the Ajanta caves are famous for their paintings, while Ellora for their sculptures The second would be that Ajanta was built about 2200 years ago from second century BC till fourth century AD, while Ellora is relatively new and built about 1600 years ago from the fifth to the eighth century AD. Lastly, Ellora caves were never lost to human civilisation, hence they are still relatively in good condition. However Ajanta had been completely lost and forgotten for centuries till in 1819, it was re-discovered by a British officer. Years of neglect and erosion have led to the Ajanta paintings being in a dilapidated condition now.

Our first day in Aurangabad, we did a day trip to the Ellora caves, as well as visited the sights of Aurangabad. Ellora is a set of 34 caves of which the main ones are mostly shown by the guides and the rest you can visit if you want. The first set of 12 caves are Buddhist caves, then 17 Hinduism based caves and then 5 Jain caves. All of them have beautiful sculptures made by sculptors, artists and Buddhist monks who stayed at this site for years to work on them. The cave constructions were sponsored by the kings, and the artists continued to work for as long as the funds came in, and when the funds dried up, the artists left, leaving some of the caves incomplete.

All the caves have been dug out of the stone, and some of the structures are difficult to imagine. One of the main temples is No. 16 which is a Shiv temple, called Kailasa temple. Look here, to the depth upto which the stone was cut to make the temple. This is the photo from a Jain cave. The sculptures in these caves are slightly different based on the religion they portray, in subtle ways but on the whole they are all dug out of stone, and involve various intricate works.

The sculptures are beautiful, intricate and would have taken years to carve. Its just amazing to walk around these beautiful caves. Some of the sculptures are geometric designs while a lot are of the gods and goddesses depicting mythological stories. Some of the caves are viharas, where monks could stay, which some are temples or monasteries to pray. All of the caves are so much cooler than the weather outside too! Its quite a relief during summers, you just dont feel like getting out of the caves!! Its just so beautiful to walk through the years of work, is difficult to put it into words actually, its just something to experience, how years ago something of this beauty could have been built. Ellora unlike Ajanta caves have never been "lost", so on the whole they are in a relatively good condition too (thankfully).

The same day, we also visited Aurangzeb's tomb as well as his wife's tomb, which is also called the mini Taj Mahal. It looks like its been built with the Taj Mahal as its inspiration, isn't it?

We also had a stop at the Daulatabad fort, but did not get time to spend time to explore it. Apparently its one of the best forts in India, with multiple levels of security at each level. Take a look there if you can.

The next day, we went to visit Ajanta caves, and it was a completely different and out of this world experience. The first view which greets you when you climb the mountain out of which these caves are carved is breathtaking. 30 caves cut out on one face of the mountain and which were lost on to civilization for ages.. As you walk through these caves, you will see the ornately decorated gates and the interiors painted in beautiful colours. Imagine, this was done like 2000 years ago! and imagine what it was when it was in perfect condition, the walls and ceilings in bright colours!!!! I could spend hours just admiring that work!

Ajanta caves are 30 in number and are all Buddhist caves. They again have some caves designed as viharas (as in the photo) and some as monasteries and prayer halls to pray. Also, a lot of the caves are incomplete as when the funds died down, the artisans stopped working on them and moved onto other locations. Also, the caves at Ajanta have both paintings, as well as some sculptures also.
Over the years when these caves were "lost:, the overgrowth from the forests destroyed the caves, plus water came in during rains and destroyed all the paintings. There is restoration work going on massively, however a lot has been already lost. What is left is amazing too though, just beautiful. The colours, the paintings, the expressions on the faces, the whole stories told in one canvas, the jatakas tales, there is so much to apprecate and absorb..

Interesting facts which I still remember are that there is one cave with dragon paintings in it. Does this mean we had contact with the Chinese even then? Also, there is this painting in one of the caves, where if you shine the torch, the necklace lights up as if it is sparkling. This is one of the most famous photo from Ajanta.

Here are some more photos from Ajanta. Just put together some good ones...

The guides at both the caves however are not good. They hurry you through, not really giving time to you to enjoy and appreciate the art there. That is one thing which really was not too positive. Flash cameras are not allowed inside the caves so as not to harm the paintings. However given how rule-following we Indians are, people continue to use it all the time!! Otherwise, the caves were just mind-blowing. Hopefully they would be preserved well for the coming generations.

A good place to stay in Aurangabad would be the Lemontree hotel. Its quite a reasonable place, with high standards and is relatively new too. The food is nothing much to write home about though! But the service at the hotel is top-class, highly flexible and helpful. Definitely would recommend it.

Bohemian Goa

2010-03-11T16:56:00.015+05:30

Goa is one of "those" places, where you end up so many times in your life (and if you have ever stayed in Mumbai, this number would be much more!). This place is just so amazing that many times I wonder what it is that is so special about it. But its just so much fun and relaxing, think can spend a long time there and still not have been able to explore all it has to offer...

Goa is mostly famous for its beaches and the night life at some of the popular beaches. Anyways have been to Goa a couple of times and each trip has been so different than the last one, that I always wonder, "What is the real Goa??"!! Not figured that out yet though but still working on it:).

Goa and its beaches are split between the north and south Goa beaches. The north Goa ones are the more crowded and hippie ones, the popular ones being Baga, Calangute, Arambol and Anjuna. They are famous for their beach parties, the night markets, the clubs and the crowds.

We stayed at Baga once, in the hotel next to the only Subway in Goa:). It was quite a happening and lively place and enough to keep you occupied for a long time! The beaches here are good with clean water. Some of the beaches are sandy while some are stony beaches but everywhere, you have a lot of crowd.

You should also definitely buy some of those brightly coloured shirts and skirts available at the beach shops. They are so Goan, you would definitely want to be seen in those when in Goa. There are lot of places on the beaches itself to eat, where the tables and chairs are put on the beach itself during dinner time, while during the day you can eat at the makeshift straw-shacks on the beach itself.

Also nearby on North Goa itself is Fort Aguada, where the movie Dil Chahta Hai was shot. Its a popular place to watch the sunset from too.

South of these beaches comes Panjim, the capital of Goa. Compared to the rest of Goa, the city is very boring. Its like any other city, with offices and some small beaches which are not really impressive. It has two famous beaches, Miramar and Dona Paula. Dona Paula is a stony beach and has some water sports apparently.

From Panjim, you can also visit old Goa, which retains its Portuguese ancestry. People dress differently, the houses and architecture is different, the air is also completely different. There are two famous churches here itself, right opposite each other. They are a must visit for all.

And South of Panjim are what are called the South Goa beaches. They are white sand beaches and much less crowded than the north Goa beaches. In fact, a lot of the famous resorts are located in the south with a lot of them having their own private beaches.

My last trip to Goa, I finally went to South Goa and absolutely loved it. We took a train from Mumbai to Mudgaon and then onwards from there to Palolem Beach. The drive till Palolem is quite beautiful, through heavily forested hills and twists and turns in the road. We stayed at Palolem itself and it was indeed my best stay in Goa!

Palolem beach has shacks running across the beach, but it is still not very crowded. There are not that many tourists visiting here, mostly people who are staying there itself. Its beautiful at night too, when its all lighted up. A good place to have meals is the Draupadi restaurant, it had such tasty food, it was heavenly...yummmm..

The water is very clean here, though very placid. Since the beach is curved inside, its surrounded by land on almost three sides and hence does not have too many waves. Its good for swimming and safe too as its quite shallow, but not good for body surfing.

We stayed at the Palolem Beach Resort which is right at the beach itself. Was a good place to stay, and given how much we paid for it, a steal!! The hotel had a restaurant right on the beach, so you can enjoy the sound of the waves while having your meals. The breakfast spread is amazing, anything you want was available!! The rooms were good too, had everything you need without any pretentions. The hotel also had a tree-house structure, where you can just sit and stare at the sea, especially during the afternoon when its too hot to go out. This was where we sat for hours and played cards and read and slept off too!

You can spend time doing a variety of things here: walk on the beach, run, cross over during low tide to the Sundowner, which is a resort slightly secluded on a hill, and approachable only sometimes during the day when the tide is low etc etc.

One of the days, we drove to Kolva beach which is the beach for watersports. We were just so shocked with the crowds there that decided not to move out of Palolem after that:))). Anyways they had para sailing, water jet scooter as well as the banana boats there. Para sailing was great, with you getting a view of the nearby beaches as well as the Vasco town. Jet scooter was a bit of a let down though, as they dont really let you drive the scooter yourself. But you can see that its got a lot of "fun" potential.

If you walk along the Kolva beach, there are a couple of shack restaurants later on which don't allow Indians at the restaurants, only foreigners are welcome!! Return of the British Raj, it sounds like, but its true!!! They allow you to eat there and use the sunbeds only if you have white skin and otherwise not. Quite a shocker it was.

Anyways, otherwise Kolva was just a fine beach. Water was good, waves were good but the crowd wasn't. So not as much fun.

At Palolem itself, there are lot of things to do. Get a tattoo at one of the shops or from the traveling artists who approach you when you are sleeping on the sunbeds. Shop. You will notice foreigners being given preference here too, when shop keepers shoo you off on seeing a foreigner approach, asking you to give way to the new guests:))). You will also see service being given to them while the Indians being asked to "self-serve". Its very sad to see this happening, what should we do about it? Can we or can't we?

From Palolem, you can also take a boat ride to butterfly island, which you can see from the island. The boatsman takes you to 2-3 small beaches on the island and leaves you there to play in the water for sometime, and then comes and takes you to somewhere in the middle of the sea where you can get the see the sunset. Its a good couple of hours of fun. There are also lot of boatsmen offering to show you dolphins in the sea, but when I had tried it years ago, all you could ever see was the tail of some black fish while it was going down into the water. Definitely not worth it!!

Otherwise most of the things about Goa would be well known. You can hire bikes or cars and drive around from beach to beach yourself. Food especially sea food is great there. Feni is the popular locally brewed alcohol, apparently quite strong and tasty.

The menu at most of the shacks offers everything, from Indian to South Indian to Thai to Italian to Mexican to Middle Eastern! Though what they finally get for you would be very different from what you expected!! Banofie Pie is a popular dessert and not to be missed.

Service is very lax, everyone is as chilled out as you should be when near a beach:). Weather is hot most of the year round, winter of course being the best weather to visit. During monsoons, Goa is beautiful though the water is not as safe to go into. Goan music is very lively if you get a chance to hear it somewhere. Karaoke's are popular and fun too.

Beautiful white churches are strewn everywhere you drive. The towns are small and old worldly type and the people completely relaxed and chilled out. There are some casinos also organised on ferries which go into international waters for you to play legally.There are also apparently some good wildlife parks there, which somehow no one seems to care about:) as well as some famous temples also.

All in all, a great place to relax and forget everything else.

Pearl of the Orient : Hong Kong

2010-02-02T17:06:00.034+05:30

Hong Kong is one of the two commercial city-countries of Asia, the other being Singapore. Both of them have become big commercial centres of Asia, and frankly, both of them don't even look like they are in Asia! Also, you get visa on arrival in Hong Kong, which really makes it an easy place to visit.

Hong Kong is located sort of on an island in China and partially on the mainland China. It retains some of its English heritage still, given that it was under their rule for 99 years, but its now slowly and gradually turning more Chinese. As of now though it's quite an interesting mix of the two. Also, even though its just a city with limited area, it has a lot to do, whether its sightseeing, adventure sports, trekking or loads of shopping! There is enough number and variety of things to do there to pass a couple of days there!

Hong Kong is composed of a couple of islands, the major ones being the Hong Kong island, Lantau island (on which the airport is located) and Kowloon. Hong Kong city is composed of three major areas where most of the people stay: central, midlands and the peak region. Central is where all the offices of Hong Kong as well as the malls and LKF are located. The midlands is located around Central, and then the peak area leading up to The Peak! In the Hong Kong island itself, there is the green and forested area you will encounter when you drive to Stanley. This is the sparsely inhabited region of Hong Kong.

Kowloon is not really an island, its in the northern part of the city and linked to mainland China. Its developing a lot recently and has a number of malls, residential complexes as well as the ICC tower being built there, which will be the tallest building in Hong Kong. To reach Kowloon from Central, you can either take the ferry or the metro, or just the road tunnel which goes from under the sea!! The Chinese are really way ahead in their technology than the rest of the world, you will see that a lot here.

Located between Kowloon and Hong Kong is the famous Hong Kong harbour and the harbour skyline. This is one of the most popular and famous sights of Hong Kong, where you can see most of the famous buildings of the skyline. One of them is the HSBC building which looks like it was built by a kid playing with blocks!!

There are many touristy things to do when in Hong Kong, Am just listing some of the main ones:

The Peak:

The Peak is the name given to this huge mountain facing the Hong Kong city (very innovative name, isn't it:)) ). You can go up the Peak in a tram which goes up a very steep incline and is a scary ride. The view from the Peak is amazing, of the sea and Kowloon beyond during the day and the lights in the city below at night. There are a couple of shopping stops and eating places on top of the peak too. Good for an evening out.

Lantau Island :

It is one of the closeby islands of Hong Kong and is mostly famous for the airport located on this island (on fully reclaimed land) as well as the grand Buddha statue which is located here.

You can go to the Buddha statue either by train and then by cable car or take a ferry and then a bus. The cable car runs over high mountains and is quite scary too. Also, there is a mountain track on these mountains too for trekking, in case you want to take the tougher route to the Buddha. If you take the ferry and then the bus ride, the bus ride is through very awesome and beautiful areas of the island, all green and forested and with lots of fresh air.

Once you get off the cable car, you will reach a small Chinese village which has been created for tourists. You just walk through this village to get to the Buddha statue.

The Buddha statue is huge and very impressive too. There is a museum there to spend some time reading about the history of the statue, as well as to learn about the Buddhas's life. Just next to the statue, there is a Buddhist monastery where you can interact with the monks and eat some traditional vegetarian food. The temple in the monastery is also a good place to visit.

LKF :

This is the party place of Hong Kong and a very famous one at that!! Its a small L shaped street, with pubs and restaurants on both sides and is lively till late hours in the morning. The street is full of expats most of the time and a good place to spend a weekend evening partying. Anyone and everyone you know would be there during the weekend for sure! There are lot of small and big events held here from time to time. My favorite place here was a Mexican restaurant, it has awesome food. Also, during lunch hours, there is a small restaurant here which provides vegetarian thali. Its yum, have forgotten the name of the place though!

Harbour, Ferry and Laser Show :

From Hong Kong Central you can take the Star ferry which charges just 2 HKD to cross the harbour and reach Kowloon. It gives a beautiful view of both sides of the harbour, especially during the evenings. Also, if you time your ferry well, in the evening at about 8 pm or so, you would be able to catch the laser show which happens every evening on the harbour. The view from the ferry is the best view you can get, and you should definitely try it. Its about 10-15 mins of the laser. with the famous buildings on the harbour lighting up in various colours and patterns. You can also take a ride in the dragon boats in the evening along the harbour, which offer touristy tours every evening.

Just on the Kowloon side of the harbour is the Promenade, a pathway next to the sea where tons of people descend in the evening for taking in the cool breeze of the sea. Its a nice walk with artists and photographers on the street providing entertainment to the people taking a walk there. You can also see Jackie Chan's statue on the promenade as well as the hall of fame of famous Hollywood stars etc. There are also a couple of theatres or galleries there to spend some time.

Tsim Sha Tsui :

It is an Indian area in Kowloon, where you can eat Indian food if you feel nostalgic. An area around here which is worth visiting is the CKM (Cheung King Mansion). The market here seems a bit shady though! It has small shops and a lot of them selling cheap electronics, smuggled stuff etc. Also in this area itself is the only theatre in Hong Kong which plays Hindi movies on Friday evenings.

Stanley :

It is an area slightly away from the Central Hong Kong and the drive till the Stanley beach is beautiful. There are beaches on the way where you can stop, hills for trekking and beautiful sceneries with houses scattered here and there. There are a couple of good treks out here too. At Stanley, there is a famous street market too where you can shop for cheap Chinese goods. Its another good day out option.

There are many other islands near Hong Kong, where you can go for a day out.

One such island that I went to was a lesser know island, Po Toi. We went to Stanley and then took a ferry from there to this island. It was completely uninhabited except the tasty sea food restaurant they had there. It looked completely shabby but had really tasty food. We trekked a bit there, went into the water for sometime and then were back. Quite an interesting trip!!

Macau :

The Macau island which is treated like Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) is located close to Hong Kong about 1 hour by ferry, or 15 mins by helicopter which is also available as an option. Like Hong Kong, you can get a visa on arrival in Macau, so that is helpful.

Macau was was also not under China but was ruled by the Portuguese for many years. It is again similar to Hong Kong in that respect that it still retains some of the architectural style of those times as well as the look and feel of place feels very international.

Macau is called the Vegas of the East, and is mostly famous for its many casinos. At night it seems like a mini Vegas and is popular among the Chinese. Its been built very grandly and you can see that in everything around the island.

The major hotels/casinos in Macau are the Venetian, Wynn, Grand etc. The Venetian was inaugurated recently and is a pleasure to visit. The theme of the hotel is Venice and it has been built on a grand scale in the Venetian style. On the outside a complete replica of the entire Piazza San Marco has been constructed.

Inside, the ambience is like the city of Venice. Grand staircases, huge paintings on the ceilings, and there is a Grand Canal within the hotel on both sides of which you have multiple shopping areas. The Canals have flowing water with gondolas and people singing in the gondolas as they do in Venice. Its just a treat to walk around the hotel and take in the beauty of the place.

The casino in the Venetian is a bit expensive though, minimum of 200 HKD per bet. Its better to play at the Wynn or Lisboa, which have a smaller bet size. Almost all the hotels in Macau have a casino, you can just walk into any of those. Play all you want, win/lose all you want and just have a good time. One point to note is that all the casinos offer free alcohol. Guess if you are losing a lot of money, you can try to make up for it from alcohol:).

Another thing to do in Macau would be to visit the Macau centre, which offers a chance to bungee jump or skywalk around the tower. The Bungee jump is a bit expensive though.

Also, at the top of the Macau Centre, is the platform which has glass on the ground. Its quite an effort to even walk there, its soo scary!

Two other places on Hong Kong which I have not gone to but have heard good reviews about are Disneyland and Waterpark. Give them a visit if you want to.

Getting Around :

Travel around Hong Kong is easy. The transfer from the airport to the city is easy, as you will directly land-up in Central or Kowloon in less than half an hour by the airport express. Once in the city, just buy the Octopus card, and it works in the buses, the trams and the metros as well as shops! The cabs are cheap too, so they are always an option. Ferries to nearby islands make for a good ride. Also you can use the escalators everywhere in the Central and Midland areas if you want to walk around a bit in the city. This is something very unique to Hong Kong that I have seen. Also most of the buildings in Central are all interconnected, so you can walk from one end to another without ever coming out in the sun! That also really helps getting around during summer.

Just try not to walk around too much around Central on a Sunday afternoon!! There are too many crowds everywhere on that day. Its the day when all the maids around the city get a day Sunday off, and they all spend their time sitting in the open and chatting and gossiping!

Shopping :

Shopping is the national pastime of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong is well endowed to cater to this hobby :). The Shenzhen area about an hour away from Hong Kong is the centre of all kind of shopping you would want to do, have heard the deals and bargains there are unheard of anywhere else. Buying clothes, shoes, bags, CDs, watches etc: everything made in China at throwaway prices. Earlier you could get a visa for Shenzhen from Hong Kong itself, but now you need to take a Chinese visa beforehand.

The famous malls of Hong Kong include the Elements in Kowloon which is a new high-end mall, recently opened. It has a lot of good brand there, as well as an ice skating rink:).

The IFC Mall in Central is another huge mall, where you can get lot of stuff to buy. Nearby only in Queens road etc, there are lot of options too.Harbour City in the Kowloon side is another good option, its one of the biggest malls in Hong Kong.

For slightly cheaper shopping, there are lot of shops near Times Square. You need to bargain a lot there though but then you can get really good deals.

In fact anywhere in Hong Kong you go, you will find a mall or some shops at least! And brands are there everywhere. In fact like most of South Asia, Hong Kong is very brand conscious, you will even notice that in the way everyone around there dresses up. Should warn you though, one problem you will face while shopping in Hong Kong is of course the size availability! Since Asian women are so petite, not getting your size can always deflate your ego:(.

General Info :

As far as weather goes, summer gets too humid in Hong Kong and its tough to go out in the afternoon. During winter it gets a bit cold and windy, but most of the times its pleasant and the best time to visit Hong Kong. Also, there is a lot of smog over Hong Kong for most of the year, which gets a bit painful and unhealthy.

Food is available in good variety across the city. If you love sea food, then Hong Kong is a haven. There are countless places offering tasty Chinese non-vegetarian food across town. Popular eating places are located mostly in Soho, LKF, Wan Chai as well as in the malls. Indian food is available at Tsim Tsha Tshui area as well as the Princes (?) street in Central.

A good place to visit would be the Aqua pub in Kowloon, it is located near the Harbour City mall. It has glass all around and gives a great view of the harbour, great ambience. Have heard it plays Bollywood music on Thursdays, not sure if it does, but you can check it out if you want. Also definitely try the French restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel. Very expensive though but it is simply superb food!!

The best hotels to stay in Hong Kong would be the Four Seasons and the W. The W is a new and very stylish hotel recently opened close to the ICC tower in Kowloon. Its an interesting stay. Also the Four Seasons is located in Central and is quite a luxury hotel. It has one of the best views of the harbour and if you can get a harbour view room, you are quite lucky. Another positive about the Four Seasons is that the swimming pool there also has a great view of the harbour. Its quite fun to spend some time there, swimming and appreciating the scenes around.

There are many cultural events also which keep happening there regularly, like the fireworks on Hong Kong's handover day, Rugby and Cricket Sixes, Dragon Boat races etc. There are lot of exhibitions held regularly, water sports like wake boarding etc, so enough to keep you busy if you spend a longer time there. All in all, a city with a lot to offer for a short or a longer trip traveller.

London : Things to Do

2010-01-21T17:54:00.010+05:30

In this article, I will just like to put together as much of my knowledge as I can in one place, to help someone who really wants to enjoy London fully get a good head start! Have spent hours exploring the city, I hope have put my time to good use:).

Shopping in London

Oxford Street and Kensington High Street are two of the popular high streets for shopping, selling all the big brands and full of people at all times. Personally though, I prefer Kensington High Street, as the crowds are always less there while Oxford Street turns out to be a bit more touristy.

There are a couple of big and famous stores like Harrods (in Knightsbridge), and Selfridges (in Oxford Street) where you can shop, or at least browse through. Primark is a new store that has opened in Oxford Street, which again sells clothes at quite a huge discount. Another shop to visit for sure, is Lush. It’s a shop selling handmade cosmetics and started by an ex-Body Shop employee.

Bond Street is another street which runs diagonally from Oxford Street, and is world famous for its tailors and other customized tailoring. I never explored it, but have heard its good.

Regent street has some big names and branded stuff which may interest some. Personally, of course, it was too expensive for me! Hamleys on Regent Street, is a must visit for people with kids, and even for adults actually. Takes you back to your childhood days:).

At Piccadilly Circus, Lilywhites is a store where you get sports stuff at throwaway prices (actually at prices difficult to imagine in London).

There are a lot of weekend markets also in different parts of London which are famous. Of them Portobello market in Notting Hill is famous for its antiques, Spitalfields market in the city, selling anything and everything and Covent Garden selling handicrafts and flowers and vegetables are good places to explore if you have some spare time and patience. Carnaby Street off Regent Street is famous for small shops selling trinkets. The Borough weekend market and Camden weekend markets also offer a lot in terms of different and cheap goods, as well as lots of good food to eat!

If you want to do Indian masala shopping, the best place to buy all you want are Southhall and Wembley outside Central London but they might be a bit far to go. Other options are Drummond Street in Central London (near Euston Square) or East Ham in East London.

Partying in London

Leicester Square and the nearby areas of Piccadilly, Soho and Green Park is where most of the partying happens in London. Haven’t been to many clubs actually, as I am not a fan of English music, but these areas are best place to hangout. Just land-up there and figure out which of the clubs to go to.

Tiger Tiger is one of the famous clubs in London and is located at Piccadilly Circus. It has three floors, each playing different music. Other famous names I have heard of are China White, Movida, Buddha Bar, Ministry of Sound etc. I don't know where these are situated though, but guess if you are a party animal, you can find these out! Notting Hill is also famous for its party places, lots of them there. Again never went there, so don’t know any particular places.

I actually prefer Hindi music to dance to and there are a decent number of options for that in London. Soho Spice in Soho plays Indian music on Friday nights. Bar Bollywood on Dover Street near the Ritz plays Hindi and Punjabi every night. Kuch Kuch nights are also held in Chancery Lane on the last Saturdays of the month and plays good Hindi music. CRY also regularly holds parties on festivals like Holi, Diwali and Independence Day every year, where lot of Indian junta turns up for cultural events, Indian food as well as desi music. Asha parties, another Indian NGOs organizing Hindi music nights to raise money for charity is also becoming popular nowadays.

Theatre in London

Plays abound in the city, from musicals (most famous of them being Phantom of the Opera, the Lion King, Les Miserables and Mamma Mia) to comedies to cult plays to innovative new theatre techniques being tried, it’s all there. You can catch some celebrities on the stage too, if you are interested in them, as once in a while in the launch of a new play, a celebrity will be performing (I never did that though heard about plays with Kevin Spacey and Daniel Radcliffe performing there). Also, there are lots of smaller plays also happening all year round if you are feeling lucky and want to try out something new.

Two comedy plays I would suggest would be Producers and 39 Steps. I was laughing throughout both of them. Another good drama was Woman in Black, based on quite a different technique of theatre, with two people playing multiple characters. The areas where most of the plays are staged is Leicester Square, Holborn and Tottenham Court Road, and around the Shaftesbury Avenue.

One Shakespearean play definitely needs to be seen at the Shakespeare Globe theatre at South Thames, though you will need to take a dictionary along:). And one play should be seen at Regents Park which are organised in the summer in the open air. These two are not to be missed.

In the Leicester Square area there are multiple options to see stand-up comedy shows. The Comedy Store is one of the more famous ones, located in the bye-lanes of the Square, where stand-up comedians perform everyday and entertain huge crowds. On Wednesdays, the theme is innovation, and it’s something on the lines of “Whose Lines is it Anyways”. It’s really fun to watch it all live. As a warning, the stand-up comedies do get slightly offensive, so watch it with caution.

Cultural activities

London is a hotbed for concerts and shows of artists of all kinds, Indian and foreign, rock or classical artists, you can see them here. Just remember that it is important to book the tickets in advance as they get sold off very fast. I saw some shows like Guns and Roses, Bryan Adams, Live Earth Concert, Birju Maharaj and Ghulam Ali there. The major venues for such performances are the Albert Hall, Wembley Stadium, Barbican centre and National Theatre. I also saw the Circus de Soleil and Africa Africa shows during the time there. They were beautiful and amazing to watch, and the experience stays with you for a long time!

If you are interested in operas and ballet, this is the best chance to see as much as you can. The Royal Opera House has regular opera and ballet performances. From my experience, if you want to enjoy the opera, you need to be able to appreciate the nuances of singing and music; somehow it did not appeal to me too much. And to enjoy ballet, you need to be able to appreciate dance. I loved it completely and miss it a lot now. I saw two ballet performances there: the Swan Lake and well as La Bayedere.

Just keep checking regularly to see the latest shows happening in the city if you don’t want to miss them. The posters on the tube also are very informative in this regard. Its imperative to book them in advance though (again)!

Sports activities

London is a hotbed for a variety of sporting events. For tennis, you have the Wimbledon in the summer every year. The tickets though difficult to get, can be bought on the day of the game by camping overnight outside the ticket office!!! Seriously!! In fact its quite popular, and lot of people do this, camp outside overnight, have a party all night and buy the tickets early in the morning.

The Oval and Lords are located within London for cricket fans, and its a pleasure to watch a cricket match in either of these stadiums. On certain days, you can also take a tour of Lords, where the guide takes you through the history of cricket at Lords; the original seat and birthplace of cricket. They take you through the museum too, with lots of history there to see and hear!

If you are a football fan, London is the place for you. You have a lot of company!! Brits are completely mad about football. You can always watch a match in a pub, where opposite team fans would be together and cheering for their own teams. Just be careful though, if you are supporting the team whose fans are in a minority, you can be in trouble!

One place you should definitely watch a game at is the newly built Arsenal Emirates stadium. It’s a huge modern looking stadium in the Arsenal county and has a huge capacity. You should definitely watch a big game there, to actually see the fervor and passion that English football fans have for teams. When you see an entire stadium singing songs supporting their players, it’s quite an experience. The Wembley Stadium is also a nice place to watch some games.

If you are lucky the Tour de France may also happen in London (it did in 2007 for sure!!) and then there was the F1 racing in Silverstone to go to. Not sure if they still have it though!

The London Marathon happens in April, and is quite an event. Thousands running, and many more cheering them. The first day I had been in London ever, the Marathon was happening outside my window, and I had gone to watch. Think I will always remember it:).

Other activities

You can learn Indian dance or music instruments at a Dance and Music centre in Earl's Court. The teacher there are apparently very traditional and very learned, just like the teachers you would have in India.

There is an artificial rock climbing centre, in North London where you can go and practice rock climbing if you are in the mood for some strenuous exercise.

During winters, you should definitely try ice skating at the multiple skating rinks that open up everywhere in the city. In front of the Natural History Museum, the Tower of London etc and supposedly the most beautiful of all, at the Somerset House. They are all beautiful locations with a Christmas fair setup there, selling all types of wares just next to the rink, hymns and Christmas carols playing out loud and everything lighted up. Its more than just ice skating, it’s the enjoyment of the entire festive air all around.

There are a couple of carnivals that keep happening regularly in London. One of the more famous ones is the Notting Hill Carnival which happens on the August long weekend. Three days of dancing and drinking and eating and having fun! Processions with music and people dressed up in weird costumes! There were a couple of more festivals we attended, South Thames being one. Just keep checking on the net, something is always on!! Also on New Years you have fireworks at the Thames, good to see once!

The libraries in every council are free, if you pay your council tax. They are very well stocked, and you should definitely get a membership card if you are fond of reading. Very close to the house mostly, so convenient too!

There are many theme based walks conducted in central London for tourists. They are good fun, like the haunted walk taking you through the haunted places in London, Jack the ripper walk taking you through the history of all his victims etc. You can browse through all the options, and decide which walk you want to take.

There are many museums in London, and most of them are free. They are good to spend hours reading about the history of England, as well as the world. Notable among these, would be the Natural History Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum (both in Kensington), the British Museum (Holborn), National Gallery (Trafalgar Square), Tate Modern and Oxo (South Thames) and the Greenwich Museums.

Festivals, Indian and foreign

There are two major temples in London, one is in Wembley: A Jain temple where Hindu festivals are celebrated and one is an ISKON temple in Oxford Street. The Wembley temple has celebrations on major festivals, like Diwali, Shivratri etc. On Diwali, they have some major fireworks near the ground. Also, the ISKON temple is quite active, and you would even see some of the Hare Rama Hare Krishna devotees singing devotional songs, and taking out small small processions in Leicester Square.

On Durga Pooja, you have “Durga ji ki sthapana” by the Bengalis somewhere near Warren Street. On Diwali, Holi etc, you may have some celebrations at Trafalgar square, some events by CRY and Asha as well as certainly celebrations in Southall.

During Christmas, the whole city is decorated. You have stalls and rides setup everywhere, the Oxford Street and Regent Street are decorated with lights on the trees, as well as the sales are on. In Leicester street itself, you will have rides and games for children and carol singing.

Eating in London

Indian :

Chelsea has a couple of good Indian restaurants, famous among them being Chutney Mary. Great food, expensive though.

For Indian food, one must-do is the Lahore Kebab House in East London. Tasty chicken and the yoghurt there is worth dying for. Its quite a favorite among all offices in the City. Also the dal makhni at East is East is something you can only get in India.

Woodlands in Leicester Square has very good chole bhature. Punjab on Holborn has authentic Indian foods. Masala Zone with multiple branches across the city has one of the best chats available in London. The main course isnt as great there though.

Tiffin Bites isn’t the best food, but freely available, and packing is good to eat for lunch at office. Chor Bizarre in Green Park and Gaylords near Oxford Street again have good tasty Indian food, but slightly expensive. Kerala in Oxford Street has tasty food from God's own country. East Ham is famous for Sarvana Bhavan, never tried it though!

Most of the places in London which supposedly sell Indian food are actually Bangladeshi restaurants and the food though ok, will not appeal to the native Indian. As a tip, a sureshot way to know whether its an Indian or a Bangladeshi place is to check whether the place serves 'motor poneer' or not! If its "matar paneer' its Indian, else Bangladeshi.

Latin:

Couple of chains in and around London which serve amazing food. For tapas, go to La Tasca. Awesome food! For spicy chicken, Nandos with the Peri Peri sauce is a must! For Mexican, would definitely suggest Las Iguanas, South of Thames on the opposite side of embankment, and also Tex Mex in Notting Hill Gate. Both have awesome ambience and good spicy food.

Junk food:

Near the City, couple of shops to pick up really tasty lunch is Wrap it Up and there is this Brazilian chicken place which serves one of the most tasty and spicy chickens ever had for lunch.

Near Bond Street, when you just come out of the station, is this waffle place serving amazing banana and choco waffles.

For ice creams you should definitely try Haagen Daaz. Amazing flavours, and there is this one Haagen Daz shop in Leicester Square, which for one is open till 1:30 am (good when you are done with partying!). Plus they have these amazing desserts there, really something worth dying for, especially the chocolates;-)!!

Other places for eating out:

Just when you get out of Bond Street, if you take a tiny street inside, there is the Christophers Place, where there are couple of good eating places in the open. For random good eating places, try out Westbourne grove, lots of places all around, and of course, Covent Garden and the nearby areas.

London Pubs are everywhere, and all look the same, the atmosphere always jolly:).

The typical English pub has the green black colouring, with a warm feeling. People crowd to pubs every evening, drinking beer and catching up on the gossip. And the only food they serve is fish and chips!

In one of the parallel roads to Leicester Squaure, is Chinatown, lined on both sides by restaurants with all Oriental cuisines, Chinese, Japanese, Korean etc. The food is terrific, of all the times I have randomly entered into any of the restaurants there, the food has always been very good. You should definitely try that sometime.

Starbucks abound everywhere in the city, and even on opposite sides of the road. English tea is a must, its really helpful in the cold English winters.

One place I would definitely suggest to visit is Aisa De Cuba, it has this amazing ambience and very very tasty food too.

The kind of cuisines available in London, its very varied. It's a good idea to keep trying out new stuff. We tried a lot of the Middle Eastern cuisines, Ethiopian, Mexican, Texan, French, Spanish, Japanese etc. Always good to experiment, and more often than not, the experiments turn out successful:)

Architecture in London

The architecture in central London is beautiful. Old Victorian huge buildings, in brown and white and all stone. The city has managed to retain the old architecture style till now. You come across parks all the way, churches, old historical sites. The roads are lined by trees, especially the smaller ones. As I said, the best way to enjoy London is on foot, explore its intricacies, and with pavements everywhere, its not too tough to do that either!

Travel in London

The moment you are in London, buy the Oyster card. That’s the way to travel the city. Buses abound in London and are a very good way to see the city if you have time. The typical famous red buses are great to travel in especially during summers, and if you can sit on the top deck of a double-decker, its even more fun and gives a better view. The tube gets a lot of brickbats for breaking down sometimes, but is very helpful to reach anywhere within time. Get the tube map when you get into the city, and use it everywhere. The Oyster works on the bus as well as the train, so that’s efficient.

Also, the tube shuts down after 1, so then you may need to take the bus or cabs after that time. The London cabs though cute are quite expensive. Try calling one of the mini cabs in the city, they are much cheaper than the London cabs. You should definitely go in the ferry on the Thames, for the view as well as the history of the city.

There are many airports in London, Heathrow being the major international airport with five terminals. The rest, Luton, Stansted and Gatwick are about an hour away, and more common for low cost airlines, mostly to nearer places within Europe. The City airport is located close to Canary Wharf, and flies to only a few places like Switzerland, Amsterdam etc. The low cost airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet are always a good steal.

Weather in London

Weather in London is highly unpredictable. Summers are beautiful and pleasant. Winters are cold, with short days. Rain is rampant throughout the year. Always have an overcoat with you, will always need it. As well as the umbrella! It did not snow much in London when I was there, though now its become part of the yearly season cycle. The summers are beautiful though, worth the long and dreary winters I guess:).