Winter Break in 'His' own Country- Kerala

If Kashmir is heaven on Earth then God probably takes his winter breaks in 'His own Country.’

Lush green forests, carved tea estates, gurgling cascades, chirping insects, coconut trails, herds of elephants and fragrance of spices- welcome to Kerala!

Memorable Mentions (in addition to the nature’s bountiful experience): 

The hospitality- which was over the top with warmth and cheerful grins and Spices- that still bring flavours afresh- every bite of food in any dish talks about each spice that has been put in heartily. 

Do not miss: Uphill walk around tea plantations (estates) amongst trails of spices and coffee bean plants in Munnar, elephant rides in Thekkady (also available at other places), Elephant Camp near Guruvayoor Temple in Thrissur (houses more than 50 elephants), Athirappilly Waterfalls in Thrissur, overnight stay in house boat in Alleppey and Kathakali dance performance in Fort Kochi.

Places visited: Kochi, Munnar, Alleppey, Kumarakom, Thekkady and Thrissur

A Spanish Tale

"Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." - Ibn Battuta

While some claim Ibn Battuta never travelled to Spain (and I am no historian...), the others google and believe that he probably did visit Grenada and Gibraltar (not Spain..but well kinda Spain). And when he saw Magnífica España, he may have said to his inner-self, "¿vale la pena?" Is Spain actually worth a visit? I am pretty sure it is!

Mumbai-Istanbul(transit)-Madrid

Barcelona-Istanbul(transit)-Madrid

Day 1

Welcome to the capital. We relaxed a bit, were tired but still went on to see the traditional folkloric dance- Flamenco (with complimentary Sangria).

Day 2

We left for a day tour to the old towns of Toledo and Segovia (UNESCO World Hritage Sites). In Toledo, you will see some old houses, super narrow streets, and one of largest Cathedrals in the world. Segovia has the most amazing castle called Alcazar which is restored sever times.

Day 3

Madrid to Seville

We reached Seville from Madrid by train. Lots of walking needed for visiting the Seville Cathedral and the Royal Alcazar Palace. The Cathedral was built on a mosque but most of the parts were left unaltered. The tomb of Christopher Columbus is also placed in the Cathedral and has various stories connected to it. One can also hike up to the top of clock tower in the Cathedral. Seville is also called the orange city, and one can take a stroll on the sidewalks of oranges.

Day 4

Seville to Malaga

We took a train from Seville to Malaga. We then headed towards the port side and had the most amazing time. We walked along the shore and took a ride in the ferris wheel.

Day 5

Day trip to Gibraltar. Heard of the rock of Gibraltar? As your enter Gibraltar, you will se all things British (as it is part of UK). Very small city and all you find here are shops, restaurants and cafes. Apart from the rock, there is a cave that attracts a lot of tourists. A pretty port city.

Day 6

Malaga to Barcelona

The fastest train I have taken so far. After reaching Barcelona, we headed to explore the city- Barcelona beach, Placa Reial, Jewish quarters and Fountain of three Graces.

Day 7

Day trip to Montserrat. Feel the temperature falling as you climb up the mountain of Montserrat. It houses the Royal Basilica which holds the very famous Black Madonna. After the walking tour of the Basilica, you can check out the audio-visual exhibition and later move towards the liquor tasting.

The evening tour:

Barcelona has the most incredible structures built by the famous architect Antoni Gaudi. His works are spread all over the city - Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, Park Guell, Casa Mila and many more.

Day 8: Adios

You see it all- old fold buddies-Toledo and Segovia, cultural history- Grenada, architectural marvels of Gaudi-Barcelona, breezy gorgeous beaches- Malaga, orange city-Seville, capital city- Madrid and you must cross the border and sneak a peek into Gibraltar. And do not forget to refuel yourselves with Tapas- Churros with Hot Chocolate, Croquettas, sumptuous Pizzas (yes they make them heavenly too..) and ever refreshing Sangrias.

Ladakh Diaries

'Gar firdaus bar ru-e zamin ast, hamin ast, hamin ast, hamin ast' literally translates to 'if there is heaven on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here. 

The 'fact' above was quoted for Kashmir but I found my heaven in 'the land of passes- Ladakh.' Same state of course- Jammu and Kashmir- my state indeed.

Packed our bags, forgot about the world, there we were, the three souls and the heaven.

We saw it all from fighting each breath to climbing those 10 steps to mountain biking to travelers to bikers to boiling eggs in hot springs to melting snow to cascading water to dogs, camels, sheep, horses, yaks to sand dunes to peace to serenity to tranquility to heaven!

Ladakh can't be explained in words so as usual with the help of some shots, here is my version of the land of gods-

This trip is recommended to all. Please do visit Ladakh for its spellbinding, splendid experience. A voyage which can never ever be forgotten and memories which will never ever fade.

Goa Went Gone

As expected the red eye bus journey was a total disaster and we finally managed to reach Mapusa later in the afternoon- four of us sipping on a litre of water and 500 ml softdrink in the entire jouney- no prizes for guessing why! But as they say, there is something in the air- all our fatigue and exhaustion flew away just as we stepped on the divine land.

This was my fourth visit and still felt like the first one. So much to explore and indulge in. It also happened to be my arithmetic progression of visiting Goa in a cycle of once in three years!

Note: this happened to be our first ever trip in the season time, never ever saw/imagined these many people in Goa before.

DAY 1
Dinner @Infantaria, what else! And actually nothing else. That’s all we did.

DAY 2
After a terrible unfriendly and pathetic brunch, our long jinxed voyage to Arambore finally took place. Pretty beach with crabs or star fish or something else. We couldn’t really figure out with the marks on the sand until we finally saw a crab swimming and crawling on the shore. Just as we were coming back, we had to stop by a medical store- here cometh the flu (conjunctivitis) and I was the victim this time. This is an important information as I was affected throughout the journey and wore sunglasses all day and all night long. Hence, my pretty feet are the only watchable feature!

Hunger struck and super upset with the food and unfriendly environment we reached the Tito’s lane and had a late but refreshing lunch at sunset. Thumbs up for the food and service!
We shopped for some snacks etc. and went back to our room just to be back in time for DJ Nikhil @Mambo’s. Girl’s entry: FREE!!!
All dressed up and decked up- not us- men and women came rushing to Mambo’s. Music was okay but ambiance was great! I was mostly busy in observing the bizarre moves. It’s really funny to see people dance..when you’re not dancing! Just as we were coming out, we heard slurry speeches, saw strange behaviour and happy people (both before and after the puke).

DAY 3
In search of food we began our journey like any other day- this time to Panjim! After a not so decent lunch we went to the Church Square, a wedding had just taken place-paparazzi and ceremonially dressed beautiful people, beautiful Church and a beautiful view.

On our way back, we started our ride in search of Thalassa- the goddess of sea (indeed the place was like Thalassa). After a lot of rights and lefts and straights and U-turns we reached the place- stuffed with people. Unwillingly we decided to come the next day in the day time.
So we headed for dinner and post dinner, we finally went to LPK- Love Passion Karma- a current hyped place to be. It did not take us long to mingle in. Music was great and people were going ecstatic on the open bar. Just after a couple of hours, the place was over flowing with humans, drinks spilling on the floors and people dancing like crazy and slipping their way into each other. Fun site to watch!
End of day, back to our apartment.

DAY 4

As decided, we reached Thalassa which was a hundred times prettier in the day light than the previous night. We were so awestruck and overwhelmed with the place that we did not for a fairly long time realise that our food had not come in the last one, one and a half hour. It is a must visit around dawn!

Candolim beach- what a view at sunset, clean water, whitish sand and a calm filled the place with joy. The best beach by far.
We then drove to the airport and dropped one of us. For dinner we went to this barbeque, live music place- super friendly place for a change with great food.

DAY 5
Just the two of us left now. First time in 5 days we went out for breakfast at Café Lila- serene and beautiful place with delightful food. Then we went shopping at Anjuna and re-discovered the art of bargaining. We then decided to go to Candolim again, and just as we left our room, it started to rain..crazy. We had to skip the beach and had our last meal of the trip.
It was over, like a dream is shattered every morning reminding us of our real ‘office’ lives…the destination arrived and our little voyage ended.

A Walk to Walkeshwar

It’s not easy to wake up and gather a pack of morons on a lazy Sunday morning and promises made on Saturday night are not necessarily kept. It was a tough task but nonetheless we fought with our beloved beds and made it to the photowalk just in time.

We started to stroll down the road near teen batti and the inertia was transforming into kinetic energy. We approached the Ban Ganga Pond and the site was splendid!

As we moved ahead, we could see ducks fluttering their wings, water splashing and clothes getting smashed - here we were at the Dhobi Ghat!

These little models caught my eye

We walked upto the boot house and hanging garden and came the time to say goodbye, to come again…and walk to Walkeshwar.