Never Stop Exploring

Kotland ( Scotland in Kerala -> Kotland ;) )

2011-11-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

Why would anyone have a crane and hen sculpted and jutting out of their balcony? Not to forget that the house including the balcony is colored a very dark obnoxious pink...Come a bit further down the road and you will see a hoarding of a jewel store with a lady and her constipated expression trying to sell you a gaudy looking bangle…please ignore the hairy elbows of the model in full bloom…

Well!!!so was the hilarious journey to Ponmudi…a nice, picturesque hill station 2 hours from TRV. Our friends - A & P picked us up and after a quick lunch at Café Mojo (the lunch was quick, once we ordered.. but I will not go into the ordering bit…it will get as long as the menu there…hmm…the pain of ordering when you have too much to choose from), we left for our destination.

As is all Kerala, the drive was scenic and within an hour, we were in the midst of rubber plantations and thick forests. There are 22 hair pin bends which take you to the hill top. Once at the top, it was very windy but quite a sight. It is interesting how high a few hairpin bends can take you…meadows interspersed with rocks and plenty of pathways you could choose from to take a walk.

Barring a few men peeing by the road, the view is serene and refreshing…what with being at so different a place within 2 hours of driving from the city. We spent an hour taking pictures and enjoying the cool breeze. The KTDC hotel provided us with a nice cup of tea and fries and some more pictures later, we drove back to Trivandrum.

Can’t ask for more from an outing considering the minimal effort it took to reach Ponmudi. I am sure, it will continue to be a good getaway for us while we are at TRV.

- Sudhir

Zoobi doobi Zoobi doobi ZOOOO..:)

2011-11-15T02:48:00.000-08:00

What color animals have you seen? The monkeys are brown & the crocodile is green.. Zebra & Panda are black & white.. the yellow giraffes are a beautiful sight..

This is the song from R's fav choo choo train.. In order to figure out if R really liked animals yet, we headed to the zoo.

As we entered the zoo, we were reminded of London…thanks to the street artist singing outside…don't remember hearing Malayalam melodies at London though ;) ..

The colorful birds were most fascinating, especially the ones that were hanging out in pairs. While the African grey parrot addressed all the visitors with its loud voice, the storks were, true to their style, standing still on one leg…I did ask Archana 3 times whether they were for real :). We did wildlife photography in not so wild a surrounding and managed to get some good shots. The hippos were completely immersed in water for their noon siesta and all we could make out were their backs barely peeping out…plenty of deers, buffalos, barking deer (with a new hairdo :)) and our very own desi langoor…oh!! also, to be fair, we did hear the KING roar.

I think R liked the animals outside the cage more (those who had paid tickets to go in…) than those inside…guess, in a year from now, he would know the bark, the roar and the tweet better :)…fun day out in nature's lap.

An awesome lunch followed at a small restaurant named Flavours…the best Broccoli soup (the best any soup) we have ever had…jalapeno + cheese dollops, mexican wraps and appam…quite impressive…

The first holiday with our prince!

2011-11-02T04:46:00.000-07:00

The first holiday with our prince…we were keen to get it right…not too far, not too packed…nothing much to do and so Alleppey was selected. A drive of 4 hours from Trivandrum brought us to the offices of the resort in the town of Alleppey.

The Lake Palace Resort is scenically located in the middle of Vembanad lake, (which happens to be the longest lake in India) with their offices and parking space conveniently located in the city at the jetty. We could park our vehicle and get into the boat which then ferried us to the resort. It took us just 15 minutes to reach the resort passing by numerous house boats of all shapes and sizes.

The resort lived up well to our expectations with us having a choice of 3 kinds of rooms to select from. Nice lake view room with a hammock right outside our room…the boat comes to our door for pick up and drop…a luxury house boat anchored right next to us…awesome setting for a holiday.

Unlike most of our holidays in the past, we just took time to unwind and relax. There are not many things to do either so chilling out is the name of the game.

The food was swell as well…the biriyani was the best we have had ever and the chef was kind enough to share the recipe.

We did the sunset cruise on one day and a canoe ride on the next. The 2 hour canoe ride was truly relaxing…we could take the canoe through narrow canals and all the way to the shop sides…had tender coconuts and biscuits while enjoying the ride.

These were R's first boat rides and he enjoyed thoroughly. All in all, an extremely relaxing holiday – quite memorable especially considering the long gap after which it had come.

Romancing Rome..

2011-06-29T00:25:00.000-07:00

Rome is timeless with it's ancient history, art and architecture containg more treasures per square foot than any other city in the world.

Our walking tour took us through the treasures of the city such as the Colloseum, Roman Forum, Trevi fountain, The Spanish Steps and The Pantheon.

Our visit to the Vatican included the Museum containing Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and such other jaw dropping art and antiquities collections.

Our trip ended at St.Peter's Basilica, which is the largest church in the world.

We left Italy for London the next day. Italy is a feast for the senses and intellect. The 10 days there, helped us absorb the rich treasury of art & architecture while enjoying the cuisine, countryside and Italian lifestyle.

As we leaned over Pisa and Florence...

2010-09-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

We had gotten so used to not seeing vehicles around us in Venice that seeing them after 3 days on our way to Florence hit us with quite a disappointment…felt like coming out of a dream into the real world. Passing through some really pretty landscape, we reached Florence…city of over 100 palaces and 70 museums. The Renaissance began here. It is said by UNESCO that more than 50% of the world's great art is found in Italy and half of Italy's great art is found in Florence!

After settling in to our Victorian residence (a bed & breakfast in a cosy ancestral house), we headed to Pisa. The leaning Tower of Pisa was true to it's past of being a wonder of the world – one of the most instantly recognisable buildings. The fact that the tower is leaning sinks in, when you enter it expecting the floor to be flat but find it to be inclined. The view of the town from the top was picture perfect with the houses and landscape spaced symmetrically.

The next morning, our day started with the walking tour through the markets lined with leather goods. Walking through the cobbled streets, we got to see some grand palaces and churches, highlighted by Michelangelo's distinct architecture. The Duomo, Campanile and Baptisteryat Florence is the crowning glory of the city, breathtaking with geometrically patterned bands of white, pink and green marble. The tour ended at the Petite palace where we were amazed to see the splendid porcelain, gold and silver collections. Behind the palace are the Boboli gardens filled with fountains, which are supposed to be the inspiration for the Versailles gardens in France. From top of the Boboli gardens, we could get a dazzling view of Florence. Next on the agenda was the world's oldest museum – containing some of the world's finest art collection - the Uffizi Gallery. Our extraordinary tour guide had been a teacher for 9 years and took us through the marvellous journey of the evolution of art. Developments such as humanising of God, 2D to 3D with geometrical calculations coming into play; shadows etc (something which we take for granted today) were explained.

The next morning, we took a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. Siena is surrounded by olive groves and the vineyards of Chianti, and is one of the most beautiful cities of Tuscany. Set on three hills, the city is drawn together by winding alleyways and steep steps. It is famed for the "Palio", the annual historic *horse-races.

San Gimignano – the golden lily of middle ages is called the Manhattan of Tuscany since it preserves 13 of it's noble towers giving it a sky scraper skyline. We left for Rome the next morning.

*Catch a glimpse of horse races in Siena in the first few shots of the movie Quantum of Solace!

Dream anniversary in Venice!

2010-06-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

Someone asked us the other day, ‘Is Venice as romantic as people make it out to be?’ and we answered, ‘Well, Venice is a dream, except that in this case, the dream has come true.’ This unique masterpiece was built entirely on water and managed to survive the 21st century without cars. It has canals instead of streets, boats instead of buses (even the police and ambulances) and ornate bridges instead of subways. No city in the world possesses such an awesome line up of sights for visitors.

We arrived at the Venice airport on May 2nd and a 10-minute walk took us to the waterfront where we got into a vaperetto (waterbus) heading to St.Angelo – our bus (water) stop. We managed to find our way to the hotel after winding through narrow alleyways and bridges. It was a pleasant hotel with helpful staff and most importantly just few minutes away from most of the popular spots. We headed out for a pizza. And for all those who think Pizza Hut and Dominoes rule, you really haven’t had a pizza if you haven’t had it in Italy. The crust was so thin, the cheese so tasty, the olive oil flavouring so tantalising, ummmm…….it was unbelievably good.

We lazed around the colourful neighbourhood markets and quiet backwaters before heading to Shri Ganesh – the only Indian restaurant in Venice. We were seated alongside a small canal and could see gondolas (Venetian wooden boats) passing next to us while having tasty Indian khaana.

We had the next day to ourselves and went to the Jewish Ghetto…old time Venice…with many small shops selling masks, flowers and bakery items. Also lined were a number of coffee shops. We bought a blue feathered, stone lined mask and got back in time for our walking tour, which took us through St. Marks Basilica, Doges palace, Bridge of Sighs, Casanova and Amerigo Vespucci’s homes. It was an informative walk lasting for 2 hours after which we went up the tower of St. Marks Basilica and saw some stunning views of Venice from high up…came down to St. Mark’s square for an experience which can’t be described in words. Couples, pigeons, ice cream, live music…all set amidst the beautifully symmetrical St. Mark’s square.

The next day took us first to Murano, famous for it’s glass. Glass blowers have for centuries performed oral gymnastics to turn out those fantastic chandeliers & glassware that Victorian ladies used to prize so highly – ruby red, indigo blue – colours you name it, you have it. We saw some of the best jewellery, photo frames, and souvenirs – all made in glass - and could not resist buying a gold film embedded bright red glass frame. Next was Burano, famous as a centre of lace making, a craft that reached its pinnacle in the 18th century. We were rewarded with a charming little fishing village, far removed in spirit from the grandeur of Venice. Houses were in varied colours – sienna, robin’s-egg or cobalt blue, barn red, butterscotch, grass green…I bought a red, hand made, glass bead work, velvety shawl with peacocks on it. On our return to Venice, we undertook the most eagerly awaited journey of our holiday – a grand Gondola ride. An hour’s ride through the Grand and narrow channels of Venice listening to the sweet whistling music of our Gondolier, transported us to a different world from which we just did not want to return – a perfect way to celebrate our second anniversary.

We left for Florence the next morning. We will share our journey there and to Rome in the coming days…

3 Evenings in Paris!

2010-03-07T20:23:00.000-08:00

Bonjour Madame, Monsieur – any more French and we won’t know what we are writing so we will stick to English. Welcome to our journey to Paris!

It started really well with us getting into a cab at home to reach the station and realising a few minutes later that we had forgotten our scarves, gloves and caps. It was already late and we could not go back to get them. Looking forward to the brighter things awaiting us, we headed to St Pancras to get on our train to Paris. In 2 hours and 20 minutes at a speed of 240 kmph, on the Eurostar, we switched countries passing under English Channel and were at Gare De Nord station where we had a cab waiting to take us to our hotel. The City Tour was our first agenda item and it was an exciting hour of seeing all the major attractions at a quick glance giving us a good idea of how to manage the rest of our stay. This tour finished at the Eiffel Tower. However much you have heard and seen this marvel, it still manages to amaze you. We were disappointed to know that visitors were being allowed only to the second floor and that the top floor was closed due to strong winds. However, once on the second floor, the top floor was opened and we had the privilege of watching the fascinating city of Paris from a height of 986 ft. The pictures will tell you what a marvellous sight it was!

We then came down and waited for the Eiffel tower to be lit. And it was breathtaking. We just could not stop taking pictures till finally we could not stand the cold wind any more and took a cab back to the hotel. We were pleasantly surprised to find an Indian restaurant just next door to our hotel. A tasty hot dinner later, we crashed out after a fairly long but satisfying day.

Day two began with a visit to the Louvre museum. We were expecting a typical museum environment and were prepared to get bored for a few hours. But it turned out to be pretty interesting. The life size paintings were exceptionally beautiful. The artistic carvings and paintings on the ceiling were something we had never seen before. Mona Lisa as expected did not live up to its hype. In fact, we can confidently say that there are other more impressive paintings to the layman’s eyes than the Mona Lisa.

We then went to Montmatre – the old arty Paris. The highlights of this area, which used to be the artists locality are the cobbled narrow streets and roadside cafes. Also popular is the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur, which is a very old Cathedral. Once we saw the cathedral, we were all set for a very different ride – on a bus, which resembled a train, complete with an engine and carriages. It took us through the alleyways of Montmatre and dropped off us at the Metro station. By then we were already comfortable with the Metro system and headed straight for the hotel to take some rest and get ready for the night life offered by Paris.

Dinner was followed by an hours cruise on the river Seine and although it was raining and extremely cold, we managed to catch good sights and take some photographs. We then went to see the cabaret at Lido. The Lido has been a venue for the finest shows with the most famous names since 1946. The Lido is the stuff that amazement and dreams are made of. Its technical daring contributes to a ceaseless search for perfection. The show we attended was “Bonheur”- A magical one and a half hour show with extraordinary special effects, 600 lavish costumes, real ice skating rink on the stage, 70 artists, water effects and lasers.

On Day three, we started late with a trip to the Versailles palace. The palace was in all its glory and the ornate paintings inside, gardens and fountains outside were better than what we had read and heard. There was just so much to be photographed and we could barely manage to cover the gardens. It is no surprise that the maximum photographs in the album are from the palace. We got dropped off at the Eiffel again (we just did not feel like leaving it). A few more photographs and we were off to Arc de Triomphe. A flight of ‘not few’ stairs saw a panting Sudhir and Archana on top of this historical monument looking over the Champs Elysees. From there, bearing the rain, we went back to Louvre as we did not want to miss taking night shots of the museum from the outside. You will see that we managed to get some really nice pictures of the glass pyramid. By the time we reached the hotel, we were almost drenched and tired.

Day four was Notre Dame and it is an imposing structure as well. The river alongside is lined with small shops with souvenirs, sketches, paintings, books etc. We picked up a cartoon painting of a happy couple (imagining them to be us :) ). We saw some people getting their sketches made…very impressive…we just did not have enough time to get one made of ours, else that was certain.

We managed to grab a sandwich at Subway before making our way to the Opera House. We had been informed earlier that the Opera house opens only in summer so were thrilled to find it open. Again, breathtaking place as the pictures will tell you. We were back at the hotel in time to pick our luggage and get into a cab to head for the station. Really tired and exhausted, we got into our coach and rested.

Portugal - The land of Vasco da Gama!

2010-02-11T03:47:00.000-08:00

There is something about exploring a new city; a new country…just is beyond words. So, off we were to Lisbon, the smallest capital in Europe. After getting up at 4:45 am, could not help but to sleep on the 2 hr 10 minutes flight. Lisbon was different from other European cities; there were still TV antennas on rooftops, and electric poles above ground. We checked in at the hotel and headed straight out to St Jorge castle. Lisbon is well connected by underground rail network, trams and buses. We used the underground rail…bright coloured carriages and well maintained.

The castle is on top of a hill and once out of the underground, we took the tram up the hill. It was an exciting 10 minutes…we were rattled by the end of it…very much like the tram. The castle is brilliant and the day was wonderful, 14 degrees and a bright sun. After taking in the view of the city from the castle (hilltop), we took a walk through the narrow lanes of Baixa and Alfama…nice pretty shops and a good feel of the city.

It was raining the next day and we switched our plans of outdoor sightseeing to see the Ocenarium instead. It is the biggest aquarium in Europe. A couple of hours later, it was a hot ‘desi’ lunch at an Indian restaurant nearby. We then went to Vasco Da Gama mall. It was all lit up and sparkling for Christmas and New Year. Bits of shopping here and there and the only way to spend time indoors was to watch a movie at the theatre. We watched Jim Carrey’s ‘Yes Man’ with Portuguese sub titles.

The next day was scheduled for Sintra…a petite, beautiful town near Lisbon. It is known for Pena Palace, nestled on top of a hill. Although it was fairly bright in Sintra town, at the top of the hill, we were walking through clouds…visibility was extremely poor. It was obviously bad for photography but it was fun walking in near zero visibility. We then took a bus to another town called Cascais. As we get down to sea level from Sintra, we passed through a small town called Cabo da Roca. The view of the ocean and cliffs was spectacular. Cascais is a resort town with some popular beaches. We took a train from there to Lisbon with most of the journey along the coast. The setting sun at the horizon made the sky look brilliant. We closed the day visiting Belem from where Vasco Da Gama had set sail and found India.

A nice short trip…back in London from the pleasant 10+ degrees to sub zero temperatures.

Turquoise Turkey!

2010-01-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

We did have an idea of how important a position Turkey holds in world history…however, what we had a good exposure to was the use of Istanbul as a backdrop for many spy novels and movies and I guess that is what prompted us to go there. It is not the best time of year to visit Istanbul but considering our limited choices due to the cold weather elsewhere in Europe, we still went ahead. We were very excited this time because this was our 15th country together :).

Longish flight via Zurich (you do have direct flights from London) took us to Istanbul in the afternoon and using the hotel cab, we arrived at Sultanahamat suites. Right in the midst of Old Istanbul, stones throw away from the city’s main attractions, we had a one bed apartment for ourselves (upgraded thanks to offseason).

As was expected it was raining when we arrived and this weather continued for the first 2 days of our stay. However, since it was just a drizzle, not very cold and the fact that we were well equipped, we managed our travel comfortably.

By the time we settled in on day 1 and had our lunch, it was already evening. We took a walk around the Sultanahamet area (within a km of the apartment) and figured out what’s where. There were quite a few appealing shops and looking at those, we were certain that adequate time had to be allotted to shopping.

We started day 2 with a visit to the Haji Sophya…originally built as a church and then converted to a mosque. This is probably the only mosque (now a museum) which has paintings depicting Christ. The structure, ornate walls inside, coloured mosaic are all very impressive and there is no doubt that even those who are well travelled will be in awe on seeing this. We then went to the Blue Mosque – which is just across from Haji Sophya. Fortunately the drizzle had stopped and we could take some pictures from the outside. There is a different entrance for those going into the mosque as tourists (those not intending to pray). True to its word, the blue mosaic in the museum leaves you spellbound. The painted domes are a marvel and give you plenty of opportunity for pictures. After some parathas for lunch at the apartment, we walked over to the Topkapi palace. The ‘must see’ things there include the 83-carat diamond, bejewelled thrones and other palatial wear and ceramics – a few ‘wows’ and ‘amazing’ later, we were in the market place appreciating the many artefacts.

We planned to do a tour on the Bosphorus the next day. For once, we went ahead without much of a plan expecting to be able to make it without a hassle. However, on reaching the port, we saw a boat leaving for the trip. The trip was for 2 hours and would have taken us on a ride through the Bosphorus and back where in we could have viewed a few key monuments along the cost and seen the Asia side of Turkey. It did not allow the passengers to get off anywhere. There were no other boats we could see and had to take a quick decision on whether or not to take this trip. We decided against it, as we were keen to see some of the places en-route. We took a cab to take us to the spot which marked the end of the boat trip. On the way we did the Dolmabache palace, Bosphorus bridge, Sultan Ahamet bridge and reached well in time to take the boat back to Istanbul port. It was interesting to see another continent just across the water…we all know that borders to countries and continents are imaginary lines…but when you physically see them, the realisation does sink in. We went to the spice bazaar on the way back and had our first glimpse of Turkish indoor markets. Colourful spices, ceramics, sweets and souvenirs were laid out to give a truly exotic feel.

The last day was dedicated for the Grand Bazaar…4000+ shops, 60 streets…all under one roof. You can haggle like in India, the shopkeepers are out in full force to pull you inside their shops, errand boys running around supplying Turkish coffee to shop owners, prayers in the nearby mosque…the setting is perfect to shop at leisure.

After a hot lunch, we were back at the airport to catch our flight to Zurich and onwards to London.

Turkey was all and more than what we expected. People say you can spend months here, still with a lot more left to see. There are numerous places outside Istanbul as well which are worth visiting, although we could not manage any in the limited time we had.
Istanbul is exclusive and awesome…although it is in Europe, there is little to compare it to the other European cities. A must-see for anyone interested in the EXOTIC!!!!

Pretty Prague!!

2009-11-29T14:31:00.000-08:00

Just when we thought all European cities were the same, we came across Prague. We had heard it to be very pretty, and it well exceeded our expectations. The castle was distinctly beautiful, especially after dark when it was brightly lit, all the more accentuated by it’s sparkling reflection in the river Vltava. Then there was the Charles bridge…felt very Parisian, in the sense numerous artists drawing portraits and caricatures, a few musicians performing, handmade crafts – all along the bridge while you enjoy the sunset and see the city roof tops bathed in golden twilight.

We chose to stay a bit differently this time. We had heard that vegetarian food was difficult to find in Prague and so had decided to cook on our own. Ms. Sophie’s was a hostel but had self-catering apartments as well. The word ‘Hostel’ doesn’t do justice to the standards this place offers. The apartments were very spacious with a well-equipped kitchen. Chic fittings and stylish interiors…we were pleasantly surprised at the quality. The upma mix that I had prepared came in handy and so did the pasta sauce, maggi and some home made snacks…definitely recommended for anyone visiting Prague. The apartment was centrally located in the new town. A 3 day pass allowed us to use all public transport including the brightly coloured trams which are a must experience.

We indulged in getting our portrait made – over a year after we had first thought of getting one made…we had thought of it when visiting Paris in March 2008. On the first day, we had walked through Charles Bridge looking at the various artists drawing portraits. We had liked one in particular and came in early the next day to get one done for us. It was a bit awkward having people walking past look at you while you sat with a smile on the face…very supportive though; as was evident with the thumbs up sign from many of them. Our efforts (the artist also did put in lots of efforts J) showed well in the end output though.

We were there for 2 nights and 3 days and felt Prague was an ideal getaway for such a trip. It is said, ‘Good girls go to heaven and bad girls go to Prague…’ – still wanna go? :)

Gorgeous GREECE!!

2009-10-31T12:31:00.001-07:00

I guess the biggest challenge Santorini faces is to live up to it's high expectations of being one of the prettiest places. Images of the white houses against the splendid blue of the Aegean Sea are pretty much etched in every one’s mind.

After an extensive debate on whether to do only Santorini or more of Greece, we settled down to do only Santorini in the interest of time. An evening flight took us from London to Athens and an early morning flight took us further onto Santorini. A small airport (reminded us of airport at Leh) - it was much what you would expect from an island.

Heliotopos – Our hotel was 15 minutes from the airport, on the top of the hill in Imerovigli village. A nice, split level studio apartment with the bed on the first floor, and the kitchenette and the sitting area on the ground floor. We had our own private balcony, overlooking the Caldera...a splendid view of the sea, with the island forming a crescent, with Fira, the capital of Santorini on one end and Oia, and another pretty village on the other end.

Imerovigli, the village where we were staying, was effectively at the centre of the crescent. Our short trip of three days comprised a walk of Fira (an hour) and a walk to Oia (3 hours). Both these walks are on established hiking trails, which run through the top of the mountains. So through the walk, you continue to savour the marvellous views of the sea. At one point on our walk to Oia, the trail was so narrow, that we could see the Aegean Sea on both sides. Both Oia and Fira are outstanding – don’t think there are other places like them – as in, the white washed houses, blue roofed churches, all laid beautifully along the hill top and slopes contrasting against the dark blue sea. So, if you ever want to enjoy this view in particular, the only place you can go to is Santorini. On the third day in the afternoon, we took a boat trip to the volcano and walked up to the crater.

The weather kept steady through most of our trip with some rain on the second day. A warm 25 degrees was very welcome from the steadily getting colder London. October is the end of season for Santorini with most of the island and services closing by November.

So, did Santorini live up to our expectations? Well, it almost did – A relaxed holiday, where you can lie back and enjoy how quiet and beautiful the world can be. The only exertion though is for your finger, which doesn’t stop clicking away on the camera.

Our shopping tips – flavoured olive oil, Sesame coated nuts, Linen clothing, Greek mythology dolls.

Scenic Scotland!!

2009-09-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know?
It feels awesome to cook Maggi in a duplex cottage overlooking the sea. So, on our trip to Scotland, we took the Bridle cottage at Cockburnspath, 35 miles from Edinburgh. It was extraordinary as we headed off the motorway and drove through farmlands to reach the cottage.

Picture perfect views, rainbow rising from the sea, novels to read, games to play, music to listen to and a hot cup of tea to sip from…welcome to Scotland.
Edinburgh was all colour and activities as the festival was in full swing. There were numerous street performers, enthralling the audience with their brilliant acts. Edinburgh castle was impressive as the Scottish symbol of power, protection and majesty. It stands high on an extinct volcano with panoramic views of Edinburgh. We soaked in the festivals spirit as we walked through the Royal Mile and Princes Street. Following up on a recommendation, we climbed up Arthur’s seat in the afternoon, from where all of Edinburgh looked even more majestic. Standing tall at 800 feet, Arthur’s seat is a must do for anyone visiting Edinburgh.

We drove through Forth Road Bridge, until recently the longest cantilever bridge in the world. We crossed the Highland boundary fault line and the scenery changed from the rolling farmland of the Lowlands to the forested hills and mountains of the Scottish Highlands. We walked for 6 miles through a wooded area named the Hermitage. Here, surrounded by thick forest, the River Braan crashes over spectacular waterfalls. This is a migratory route for Salmon, and they can often be seen trying to leap the falls, although we were not fortunate enough. We then followed the wide valley of the River Tay, the longest river in Scotland with the greatest flow of water of any river in Britain. We reached Loch Tay and headed along it’s shores to reach Killin and saw the wonderful falls of Dochart in the heart of the town.

On the last day, we stopped at the Pease Bay beach before heading back to London. We were the sole wanderers on the picturesque beach. My mom-in-law and I had a good time picking up shells and playing in the water. The camera had a field day capturing some breathtaking pictures. The vast expanse of the beach contrasted well with the blue sky, mountains with green cover and the red rocks.

With it’s stunning lakes and lush green mountains, Scotland is on par with Switzerland in terms of scenic beauty.

Leh - Roof of the world!

2009-08-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

While I find words to describe most of the places I have been to, Leh is one place, which left me absolutely speechless.

The ‘roof of the world’ as it is popularly known, makes you wonder if it is part of the ‘real’ world we live in.

The terrain is rugged, there is hardly any greenery, barren lands till your eyes can see…and yet…it is pretty in a strange sense.

I can assure you, irrespective of whichever place you have been to, Leh will not fail to amaze you…do travel to this incredible destination in Incredible India.

Mesmerizing Egypt!!

2009-07-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

30th June 09 - It is a week since we came back from Egypt but you know what…we are still there and I guess it will be a few more weeks (or probably another holiday) before we come out of it. Egypt was magical, exotic…7 days of wonderment and getting lost in a different world…the world of a beautiful Nile river, the mighty Saharan desert, majestic pyramids, massive temples, eerie tombs…a realisation that there didn’t exist an older civilisation than this. This is what man created first…what happened on the shores of the Nile was unprecedented and unique, an adventure which evolved at dizzying speed, creating works of art and science way beyond the prospects of the time.

We had to put that paragraph there before we start from the beginning – that is how amazing it was. We were sceptical of organised tours…privacy, pace of the tour, comfort of people around etc…but all of this was proven misplaced when we arrived in Cairo at 11:30 pm on Jan 17th, 2009. We were met by a representative from the tour company and escorted to the waiting group at the baggage claim. There were 4 to 5 couples already there and after quick introductions, we picked up our bags and were comfortably seated in the bus. After listening to the do’s and don’ts from our tour manager on the bus, we arrived at the Sonesta hotel 20 minutes later.

The hotel was comfortable but we hardly had any time to enjoy it as at 8am the next day we checked out and headed to Giza to see the pyramids. They appeared more colossal and magnificent than we had thought them to be. Out came the camera and we started with the pictures. There was of course a detailed history provided by our tour guide which we will let you read on the internet else this will become a never ending travelogue considering the Egyptian civilisation spans over 3000 years.

After the pyramids we were taken to a Papyrus shop. Papyrus as you may know is the oldest form of paper and used by the Egyptians to record history. This material has lasted thousands of years. We were given a demonstration of how Papyrus paper is made and then there were hand drawn sheets we could buy personalising them with our names. We bought an Egyptian wedding card (what they used thousands of years back to depict a wedding) and got our names written in Hieroglyphics.
This was followed by lunch at an Indian restaurant. While it is very easy to find a few thousand year old mummies in Egypt, vegetarian food is not that easy to find. This happened to be the strongest motivator for us to take an organised trip. Tasty desi food and we then left for some museums followed by the Khan el Khaleeli bazaar. We then boarded an overnight train to Aswan. While the train was reasonably comfortable, the bland pasta and tomato ketchup, the so called dinner on train was far from interesting. We had been alerted to this by our tour manager in advance and had armed ourselves with Falafal and some fruits on our way to the station.

Arriving at Aswan early in the morning, we went to the Nubian museum there and then to a perfume shop. We were educated on the various types available…perfumes which make you smell fresh at the start of a day to those with medicinal values.

Then the best part of the tour began…we checked into our cruise on the Nile. We were pleasantly surprised to see the luxury on board…the rooms were amazing and overlooked the river. A tastefully done lobby and a wonderful sun deck made the cruise really impressive. We were to visit places around Aswan for the next 2 days while the cruise stayed docked on the river.

On the day we checked in on to the cruise, we were spared any more sight seeing and allowed to rest for a couple of hours. A relaxing Felucca ride on the Nile (local sail boat) was planned for the evening. The setting sun, Sahara desert spread across the bank of the Nile and a cool breeze…this was a perfect evening. Because the train journey had not been that comfortable and we had to be up by 4 am the next day to visit the magnificent temple of Abu Simbel, it was an early night for us.

After a cup of coffee at 4am, we left for the temple. It was to be a 3 hour drive through the Sahara in a convoy of vehicles. Apparently, there had been a terrorist strike in the late 90s, where in many tourists were killed. After that incident, vehicles are only allowed in a convoy through the desert and all vehicles are escorted by armed guards. It has been over a decade after that incident…the security measures are more of a second nature now and not an indication of actual threat.

Anyways, as you would imagine, everyone in the bus slept of once we hit the road. At about 5:45am, we opened our eyes to see one of the most spectacular sights we have ever experienced. The sun was just about rising to our left and the light made the desert expanse on either side of the road look magical. But for the stretch of road ahead of us in black, on either side it was just sand till the horizon, faintly glowing in the early sunlight.

We reached Abu Simbel just before 7am and true to our expectations, the temple was splendid. The sheer size of the structure captivated us. After a brief on its history, we were allowed to go inside the temple and were given time to indulge in our ‘Japanese hobby’ as our tour guide chose to refer to photography. We got back by noon to the cruise for lunch and then visited the Edfu temple. A couple of hours there and we got back to the cruise.

The entire next day was idyllic. The itinerary was easy with the Kom Ombo temple prior to lunch and the Philae temple in the evening. We set sail on the cruise after breakfast and were at Kom Ombo by noon. The temple is just on the banks of Nile. As impressive as the rest of the temples, Kom Ombo also has a mummy of a crocodile.
We reached the Philae temple at dusk and with our tripod walked into the exquisitely lit temple premises. This was the first Egyptian temple we were seeing after dark and that made it special. While the structure is similar to the other temples, this one is spread over a far larger area. We got some good night shots and headed back to the cruise.

We could barely sleep that night in anticipation of the hot air balloon ride the next day. Like a drill, we were up at 5am and after a short boat ride crossing to the west bank, we were in open fields where we saw close to 8 hot air balloons being prepared for take off. Each of the balloons had baskets which could carry 25 people. These baskets had been split into compartments to hold 5 people each with an additional central compartment for the Pilot (guess this would best describe the person flying the balloon). We were quickly given information on how to position ourselves on landing should we experience either the American or British landing (American landing representing a bumpy landing with the balloon hopping a few times before stopping and the British landing referring to a sliding stop). We were fortunate to have an Egyptian landing which was just one touch and a stop on the ground.

We went up to a height of over 1500 feet and watching the sun rise while suspended in air was a whole new experience. The view of the desert and the city of Luxor from up there was spell-binding. We got back to the cruise by 8am and checked out after breakfast. We then went to the Valley of the kings where the tombs of various Egyptian kings are present…including Ramses and Tut an Khamun. The pilgrimage continued with the temple of Hatshepsut (hot chick soup – an easy way to remember as suggested by our tour guide J) before lunch followed by the Karnak and Luxor temple after that before heading to the station for an overnight train journey back to Cairo. This time it was some salads and garlic bread from Pizza Hut which rescued us from the scary spaghetti in the train.

Checking into our hotel in Cairo, we were already feeling a bit low since it was the last day of the trip. We visited the Pharonic village which orchestrates the Egyptian way of life and history from early days. It was time for lunch then and all of us assembled in the hotel lobby for the sound and light show at the pyramids. It is a spectacular laser show with the pyramids and Sphinx lit in all their glory with the history being told in the background. The day and our tour ended with a good dinner at an Indian restaurant.
We were all back at the airport at 6am the next day for our flights back to London.

Queen of England waved at me today!

2009-07-02T01:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday 18th June afternoon - witnessed the Ascot week in all its glory, when I saw Queen Elizabeth. Today was "lady's day" and got to see English ladies with their lovely hats and grand dresses. It was long procession with many horse carriages, several cars, a police van and an ambulance.

Between Heaven & Earth - Switzerland

2009-05-21T13:11:00.001-07:00

There was only one disappointment from our Switzerland trip – bada dhoonda lekin Raj nahin mila – Yash Raj films ko kitne saare mile…anyways, other than that, it was as dreamlike as any Hindi film dream sequence shot there. From the outset we had wanted this trip to include more than the standard itinerary of Interlaken and around. That’s where Zermatt and St.Moritz came in – let’s take a step back and start where we started…Interlaken.

Plenty of advice ensured we were armed with the Swiss pass when we landed in Zurich. The train station (one of the two in Zurich as we got to know later) is right opposite the airport. We landed at 9:45am local time (GMT + 1hr) after taking off from London at 7am. From the airport we walked across to the train station and took the first available train to Interlaken via Bern – the capital of Switzerland. The last 30 minutes of the 2-hour journey made us realise just how picture perfect Switzerland could be…the train travelled right along the Thun lake. A lake as large as Thun in itself was a marvel. Our hotel was a 7-minute walk from the Interlaken west station.

By then we had already come to experience the hospitality of the people there and this stayed with us throughout the trip. It was a nice small hotel with its very own Mexican restaurant on the ground floor. We grabbed lunch at a nearby Indian restaurant and took a nap – a luxury which normally we could not have afforded on our other trips – after all a Swiss holiday is not supposed to be hectic. We took a bus that evening and visited Lake Brienz. The beauty of this was; there was not a tourist there at 5 pm. A lake as pretty as this and no one around – strange but true to our good fortune. We spent an hour and came back to Interlaken. We strolled around the streets and headed back to our hotel.

Jungfrau was scheduled for the next day and after a familiar early morning preparation, we started on the 3-hour journey to the mountain top. It required a couple of changes in between (a place called Grindalwald while going and Lauterbrunnen while coming). Just when we were getting tired of the journey (a good part of this is within the tunnel so there is nothing to see around except for anxious faces of fellow tourists), we arrived at Jungfrau. The Ice Palace and observatory are the highlights at Jungfrau in addition to the plateau itself. Plenty of snow as expected and sub zero temperatures. Before stepping out into the open, we got on our woollen layers. Indians were all around and so much so; you have a Bollywood restaurant at the summit. India truly has arrived. We took a lot of pictures and did enjoy – well, as much as sub zero temperatures would allow. We were back in Interlaken by evening.

Weather on the next day was bad – it was raining and was not expected to improve till evening. The safest option was ‘Trummelbach’ with 10 glacier falls, inside the mountain, made accessible by tunnel-lift and illuminated. It was a 45 minutes journey from Interlaken. 20,000 litres of water gushing out per second makes it a sight to see and a sound to hear. It is the only glacier-waterfalls in Europe inside the mountain and still accessible. Fortunately, it had stopped raining by the time we stepped out allowing us to appreciate the scenery around. We were back at Interlaken for lunch, and took the cruise on Lake Thun in the afternoon. The Swiss rail pass made this a free cruise for us. Clouds and rain kept us company off and on through the 3-hour cruise but none the less, it was an exceptionally scenic ride. The ride ended in Thun and we took a bus back to Interlaken.

The popular Mt. Titlis found itself on our agenda on day 4. It is a longish train journey from Interlaken to Elgelberg and ends with a 40-minute cable car journey up the mountain. The initial part of the cable car ride was as expected. The last segment is on ‘Rotair’ – apparently the only rotating cable car in the world. On being told about this, we were expecting the cable car itself to rotate. However, interestingly, the cable car does not rotate on its way up, it is just the floor on which you are standing which rotates. This essentially means, you can not hold on to the railing on the walls of the cable car as the walls stay where they are where as you would be rotating. Within the car, there is the inner circle, which rotates anticlockwise, and the outer circle, which rotates clockwise. We realised this when we gave our camera to someone for taking our picture. It so happened that the moment we gave them the camera, they started moving away from us – they were on the inner circle and moving in an opposite direction to us. Fortunately, they did manage to take a picture before we moved out of the frame. That is enough going round in circles for now – lets move on.

The climb up Mt. Titlis was breathtaking – I mean literally - you do need to take deep breaths due to the high altitude. Once we reached the top, it was zero visibility and terribly cold.

We took the ride on the Ice flier – open chair lift which takes you from the mountain top to somewhere – we are not sure where as we could not see anything. Thankfully our chair on which we sat was visible else it would have been a scary 20 minutes. On the other side, we had the option of taking the snow scooter – a small plastic scooter shaped ‘toy’ which can be used to slide down at high speed on the slope. We were sceptical as nothing was visible around us. The attendant there tried to convince us that there was nothing to worry as on the other side of the slope there was a wall and that would stop us from going beyond – the only million dollar question was – were we happy crashing into a wall – I mean, it is all nice to know that you won’t fall off the cliff, but zipping into a wall of ice at –6 degrees did not seem inviting – some other day perhaps. The pizza and soup at the restaurant were welcoming and after the ritual of taking our pictures in the local costume, we headed down the mountain.

It was a bright and clear day on May 6th. We had to check out of Interlaken and make our way to the ski resort of Zermatt – a travel of about 3 hours. Since the day was good, we went out to the Thun lake again after breakfast and walked for a couple of miles around the lake enjoying the morning serenity…needless to say, it was a great day for photographs.

We had a delicious Indian lunch and headed to Zermatt. The journey was uneventful and in fact the terrain was fairly barren as we approached Zermatt. This was understandable owing to the altitude. We reached the car free resort by evening and walked to the hotel. Zermatt had a different feel to it…it was much smaller and quieter compared to Interlaken, plenty of shops though and had a more relaxed ambience to it. Checked into our room on the 3rd floor and for the first time saw the mighty Matterhorn. Once we had known that we would be going to Zermatt, we had seen quite a few images of the Matterhorn but seeing it in person was quite a sight. The absence of any peaks around it gives it such a majestic look. It was a quiet evening walking through the market following which we retired to our rooms.

May 7th, 9:00am and we are at the Gornergrat railway – all set to take the train to Gornergrat, which is the best place you could see the Matterhorn from. The journey up the mountains was far more impressive than what we had experienced going up Jungfrau or Mt. Titlis – partly because it was a much shorter journey, the snow and terrain more accessible and also because it was a very pleasant 6 degrees made much warmer by the brightly shining Sun. 45 minutes later, we got off the train and what a sight…the Matterhorn was unbelievable – it looked awesome against the clear blue sky and the best part of it was that we were not freezing. Lots of pictures later, we got back to Zermatt. We were wondering how to spend the afternoon when someone suggested we could take the cable car from near our hotel to the some villages up the hills. We were however late to go all the way to the top, so got off at the first stop (15 minutes) and then decided to walk back to Zermatt through the wooded road. Although we were unsure if it was a wise decision considering the lonely route back, the scenery around kept us occupied and within the next hour and a half, we were back in Zermatt.

The next day was for the Glacier Express. We were doing the entire route from Zermatt to St. Moritz – all of 8 hours through some of the most scenic routes a train could pass through. Even the train was a showpiece in itself. Nowhere else will you be able to dine at your seat, against a backdrop of changing panoramas as on the Glacier Express. The journey had plenty of ‘wows’ and you cover quite a bit of varied terrain which otherwise would not be possible. We reached St. Moritz at 6 pm and our hotel was ideally located just across the station opposite the lake.

A night in St. Moritz was purely for transit and for us to leave for Zurich the next day to catch our evening flight back to London. It is a 3 hour journey to Zurich so we had the morning to ourselves at St. Moritz. This happens to be the earliest winter holiday destination in Europe and hosts the rich and famous. You have every designer label present there – most of which were closed for the season and were to reopen in June. There again, it worked in our favour as the town was quiet and allowed us to take pictures at ease. There are quite a few lakes as you travel out of St. Moritz and we took a bus to the one that was the farthest – 45 minutes from where we stayed.

Nothing had prepared us for the beauty of these lakes, some of them still partly frozen. The reflection of the graceful mountains on the lake provided us with some of the best memories of this trip. You will notice how exquisite this place is from the pictures…we just did not feel like leaving from there. An idyllic walk half way back and a bus journey transported us back to St. Moritz It was evident that our trip had progressively become better and better as we had travelled from Interlaken to Zermatt to St. Moritz. We had a nice hot lunch, bought the famous nut cake of the region and headed back to Zurich to catch our flight to London.

The punctuality and organisation of Switzerland was not a surprise for us but what was pleasant to watch was the hospitality – there were numerous instances where in the bus driver got down to assist old people into the bus and the bus only moved ahead once these people were seated. It still made its next destination right on dot. Amazing isn’t it….