Hyderabad : Ultimate Travel Guide
The city of Hyderabad is a lovely exhibit of the cutting edge and conventional living next to each other in sweet amicability. This guide covers... Read More
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai with Asus ZenFone 2 Laser
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus still continues to be called Victoria Terminus aka VT by a lot of locals. The site is one of the three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Mumbai (Elephanta Caves and the Victorian Art Deco buildings in Fort being the other two) and serves as the head quarters of the Central Railways in India. CST/VT is a fully functioning station and has a footfall of over 600,000 people per day, making it one of the busiest station in Mumbai.
Chai pe Charcha: History with a Cuppa!
Way back in history, in 1534, the islands of present day Mumbai were given by Sultan Bahadur Shah to the Portuguese via the Treaty of Bassein. Bombay continued to be a Portuguese colony until 1662. It was in May 1662 that King Charles II of England married Catherine of Braganza, whose family gave a huge dowry to the groom. A part of this gift was the Portuguese territory of Bombay.
Flashback 2016
2016 has been a super busy year in terms of exploring the globe. We did an average of one trip a month, whether in India or overseas. Here are highlights of the past twelve months...
Where should you go in November?
Almost the entire year has gone by and its time to recharge your batteries before home run towards the year end. 'Sweet November' is here. Plan a little break in November, before airlines and resorts hike their prices for Christmas and New Year. If you can't decide where should you go in November, read on for some ideas....
Goa: Monsoon Magic
In August this year, I spent a week in Goa during the peak monsoons. When I headed out, I wasn't expecting much out of the trip. It was a solo trip...a trip without Ankur after quite a while. However, the monsoons made me fall in love with Goa and I am sure that I will revisit this state next year in either July or August.
Ganpati Bappa, Morya
The festive season is right here. Ticking the Bucketlist is ready to welcome Bappa with a guest post from a friend, who is an explorer at heart, a photographer by passion and a finance personnel by profession. Read on to track Ganpati's first journey - from the artist’s mind to the ‘pandal’ as expressed by Unmesh Sharma.
Planning a trip to Nainital
After our recent trip to Austria, Ankur and I have been wanting on plan a trip to a hill station in North India. Somehow, Austria has made us fall in love with the mountains once again, after almost five years of having loved only beaches. We have been discussing where to go next and there are many names that we have researched. Nainital is one name that always pops up when hill stations in India are discussed. While Ankur has been to towns near Nainital, he has never been to Nainital. Thus, starts the process of figuring out the doability of a trip to Nainital in the months to come.
Review: JW Marriott, Mumbai
Ankur and I are not full time bloggers and travellers. We would love it to be so, but we still have regular 9-5 jobs. Now,... Read More
What not to do on a Safari?
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I love the wild regardless of where the jungle is ...South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Brazil, Thailand or India! Being on a safari is an adventure that I truly enjoy.
To all those who share my liking for the wild, here are things that should not be done on a safari ...
Pench Tiger Reserve: Costs and Budget
We just got back home after spending a long weekend at the Pench National Park. We spent three days at the tiger reserve, breathing in crisp morning air, listening to the birds chirp and watching the sun go down behind branches of dried Sangwan trees. We sighted herds of spotted deer, monkeys, langurs, tigers and leopards. Definitely, a weekend well spent!
Here is what three days and two nights at the Pench National Park costs us...
Planning a trip to Pench Tiger Reserve?
Pench Tiger Reserve is an ideal getaway for a long weekend from any city that is connected to Nagpur by a direct flight. The reserve is about 2 hours away from Nagpur. This forest is teeming with wildlife...langurs, deer, bisons and of course tigers and leopards. The forest is Mowgli's home in the ever famous Jungle Book written by Rudyard Kipling.If wildlife does excite you and you have decided to visit Pench, read on to know a little more about Mowgli's world...
Enchanted Valley Carnival: Review
After quite some contemplation on whether we would enjoy EDM or not, Ankur and I went to the Bacardi Enchanted Valley Carnival at Aamby Valley last month. We had decided to 'feel young'...go ahead and live amongst thousands of EDM fans just to experience what camping at a music festival would be like. We enjoyed the weekend a lot and met some really cool people! Besides being high on energy at Tiesto's event, we attended one of Hariharan's live performances, made dream catchers, watched a magical sunset and feasted on delightful food and cocktails.
Enchanted Valley Carnival: Reasons to go…
I love festivals... and Ankur loves music. A music festival is possibly one event that both of us would enjoy... and its time we experience one! Attending the electronic music festival of Tomorrowland in Belgium is on our bucketlist. However, bobbing with the crowds at Tomorrowland means another trip to Europe in peak tourist season, which means budgeting for the air tickets, visa, accommodation, food, etc... all of which is expensive! No... can't do in 2016! But the Bacardi Enchanted Valley Carnival at Aamby Valley... can do!
Top 10 Things to Do in Fort Kochi
We went to Kochi for a long weekend last year. While we would have loved to spend at least a week travelling around the state of Kerala, three days is all we had to explore Kochi, a city that represents this state on many accounts. We made Fort Kochi our home and explored most of it on foot.
Three days well spent! Here are our top 10 picks in Fort Kochi...
Roopkund: Photoblog
The last trek that I did was to Roopkund, the mystery lake. Situated at a height of almost 5000 meters, in the lap of the Trishul massif, Roopkund is also called the 'Skeleton Lake' on account of skeletal remains that are were found around the water body in 1942. These skeletons date back to the 9th century and belong to a group of about 300 people.
Hilton Shillim: Review
For Mumbaikars and Puneris who want a quick break, Hilton Shillim is perfectly located. It's a 2.5 hour long drive from either of these cities.The closest railhead is Lonavala. It takes about 1 hour to get to the property from Lonavala town. Its is best to have your own wheels to get here. The drive is beautiful and you will want to stop umpteen number of times to click the landscape.
Janamashtmi – Dahi Handi and Human Pyramids: Photoblog
Janamashtmi marks the day when Lord Krishna was born and is celebrated with great fervour across India.
The next day after Janamashtmi, the Western part of the country celebrates Dahi Handi. Earthen pots full of butter milk and butter, that are dear to baby Krishna, are hung at a height of over 10 meters. Youngsters form pyramids and try to reach the earthen pot, smash it and stake claim to a bumper prize.
Hyderabad: Bangles in Technicolor!
The past few months have taken me to cities that continue to reflect the glorious past of the Nizams and the Nawabs. We were in... Read More
Lucknow: Highlights from a 24 hour trip
We spent three days Lucknow in the chilly month of December. We were there to attend Ankur’s 10 year reunion at the Indian Institute of... Read More
Places to Visit (India) in 2015: Part 2
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Places to Visit (India) in 2015- Part 1 was a blog on what I want to do during the year- a monologue from my perspective. I... Read More
Places to Visit (India) in 2015: Part 1
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Recapping 2014 through the flashback posts, Flashback 2014: Part 1 and Flashback 2014: Part 2, made us realize that we had averaged at least one... Read More
Monday Musings: Colourful Palette
Our last vacation was in Croatia during August, a country that has made us fall in love with rocky beaches. However, today’s picture, which captures... Read More
South Mumbai: Tourism in our own city!
Often, we do not lend the touristy sight to our very own city. Those living in Mumbai might understand what I am saying – we... Read More