Paris in just one day!

Solo.
Solo for the first time.
Paris.
Paris for the first time.
A day in a new country.
A day trip in a new country for the first time.

Paris the city of love, Paris the city of love and Paris - the city of many of my wishlists was finally going to be ticked off this summer. The plan was to start a euro trip from Paris with one of my friends and then meet another one in Prague. However, the universe had other plans and my Paris itinerary was shortened from 3 days to just 1 day. Essentially it acted like a stopover to Prague as there are no direct flights to Prague from Mumbai and I had to anyways flight via Paris.

But I was determined to not let this dampen my spirits and make the most of what i can see and do in Paris in that one day that I had. Also, like i mentioned earlier, this was a trip of many firsts for me so I was really excited to make it a memorable one. And I am glad I did not cut this part of my trip because it was so much fun doing things all by myself, chalking my own itinerary without anyone else's preferences interfering mine and finding my way through the Paris lanes and public transport. Made me feel more independent, confident and was liberating at the same time. Seriously, even if it for a short while just try a solo trip and you'll know what am I talking about. And Europe with it's accessible transport everywhere is a great place to start out! 

So that's about travelling solo, now going back to the Paris itinerary. Since it was my first time in Paris and I had just a day I wanted to ensure I atleast cover the key sights and here are some tips:

A)List down the key sights you want to visit

B) Shortlist the ones that are close to each other so that you dont waste too much time in commute

C) Plan this before the trip so that you dont waste time on that day and chalk it out on a map. 

D) The above will also help you choose your accomodation. Plan your stay closest to the first spot you marked in your route map.

E) Choose a hotel close to a metro station

F) Pre-research on how to reach the hotel from the airport so that again, you do not waste time on that day. Youve got just some hours right?

So that's how I went about chalking down sights and I knew Eiffel obviously had to be a part of the plan I also wanted to have the best view of the city because so many blogs spoke about it, and yes also not miss out on some Parisian shopping and eating. So here's sharing what all I did there -

First stop --> Hotel Elysees Bassano -

The airport has direct shuttle buses that take you to various parts of the city. I chose Elysees bassano as it is close to the famous champs de elysees and that is where i wanted to start my day. The bus dropped me at a stop that was 5 minute walk away from the hotel. The hotel was small like most in Paris but had all amenities one would require. And a lift and a great bed!

Next stop --> Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees

After a quick nap and a nice shower I stepped out to the nearest site. Arc de Triomph which faces the most famous street of paris champs elysees

Arc de Triomphe

Next stop--> Laduree

How can a trip to Paris be complete without indulging in some french wine and macaroons. And which better place than the iconic Laduree to indulge in some. A walk at champs elysees has to include a visit to Laduree there.

Next stop--> The Eiffel Tower, River Seine, Trocadero gardens

From Champs Elysees take a quick uber ride to be dropped at the Eiffel just facing the Trocadero. Now Eiffel has two sides - one facing Champs de Mar gardens and the other Trocadero gardens an station. I got off at the side facing Trocadero so that I could take the train then to my next stop.

Also, while at the Eiffel you can skip going on top to get the city view. there are lesser commonly known places to get the city view and a city view that has Eiffel in it too. Besides not going up the Eiffel will save you hours of waiting in queue when you are time pressed. 

While I am making this sound so functional I completely forgot to tell you how the first sighting of this monument gave me the feels! Once i was done drooling i just went click click click.

Ticking off bucket list

Captured from Trocadero

River Seine

Tip: Cross the road and then click your pics to get the whole of the Eiffel and avoid being photobombed by hordes of tourists. While you are here do not forget to take home some eiffel keychains and magnets as souveneirs from the trinket shops. The walk from the Eiffel to Trocadero also covers the river seine. Trocadero gardens is a great spot to take some pretty pictures of Eiffel and just sit and admire its beauty. The metro station too is just a walk down the stairs. One can choose to come back here in the night to get an evening view of the Eiffel sparkling with lights.

Next stop --> Palais Royal and Louvre
From trocadero walk a few steps down to enter the station. I didn't really know the route but there machines that help you plan the route map. The destination stop was Palais Royale Louvre Musuem and checked the fare and bought the ticket. think it was not more than 20 minutes to the destination station and the Museum Palace is just bang opposite the stop once you come out. Now since I was time pressed I didnt enter the musuem just marvelled at the beauty of the Louvre, the palace and the fountains from outside. It was a pretty place.

Next stop --> Perfume shopping at Fragonard
Like I mentioned earlier, Besides trinkets I also wanted to buy something parisian for my loved ones back home. So i had researched on original french perfumeries and came across Fragonard on one of the websites. They have a wide variety of perfumes that will not pinch your pocket. I bought lots of them to give as gifts. They came for around EUR 17 each. The shop was in a galleria mall right next to the louvre that houses a lot of other french stores and cafes.

Bought from Fragonard

Next stop --> City view from Montparnasse tower
Now I didnt want to lose sunlight before my next stop. So i grabbed a quick snack and started out for Montparnasse tower. I chose this place to get the entire city view just before the sun sets. There wasn't much queue hence unlike going on top of the Eiffel this really didnt take any time. Sat here for a good hour just admiring the beauty of the city and Eiffel against the sun setting.

Eiffel from Montparnasse tower

Next stop --> dinner and back to the hotel
After Montparnasse, i wouldve ideally liked to go back and see the eiffel by night with lights twinkling however, I was really dead with the jet lag and all the walking around and I knew I was going to come back to Paris someday with my husband and wanted to reserve that sight for that time. So I decided to call it a day with some good warm dinner and a glass of wine that I grabbed at a place called Sophia's just next to my hotel. Summer having longer hours of daylight really helped me cover whatever I wanted to. And I retired pleased as a punch looking forward to my flight next day for Prague.

A 3 day trip to Amsterdam - Day 1

"Whatt? 3 days? That's too less for Europe!"

"This is like a trip to Lonavla.."

"Are you sure you don't want to extend the trip?"

This pretty much sums up the reactions I got from everyone who knew I was travelling from Mumbai to Amsterdam for just 3 days. But believe me 3 days (excluding the travel time) is enough to cover this cute small city. And also this was going to be my first trip to Europe ever.. I didn't care how long or short it is. All that mattered is that I am finally making a vacation to my dream destination. And while Amsterdam may not be the best or the most scenic town to kick off one's European journey it is easily reachable (read non stop flight from Jet Airways), easily accessible (by just walking or tram-ming) and to all those who are money-wise just like me the 3 day trip will not cost you more than what you would spend in Dubai if you choose a budget stay.

So here goes how I spent my 3 days in Amsterdam:

Travel Date - May first week. The weather was a little cloudy, breezy and definitely cold for a person coming from Mumbai (average temperature in the day 12 degrees and dropped to around 6 in the nights). the good part though was that the sunset was at 9:30 everyday which allowed us to enjoy daylight for long.

Air Travel - Non stop flight from Jet Airways - Mumbai to Amsterdam, 9 hours of travel

Visa - Schengen Visa applicable for all Indians. All details here.

Hotel - The Times Hotel - A cute boutique hotel (most of the hotels are like this) which had canal facing rooms and big windows that made our tiny room look bigger and brighter with all the sunshine. All the sun light also helped us in getting up early to make the most of the day. 

View from the hotel

This is located in one of the residential, more peaceful and non touristy area of the city Herengracht. (all the streets that have the canal bridge are called gracht). And hence, was a litttle expensive. But if you like me are keen on the view then this was pretty worth it. The free wifi worked well and helped us with our free whatsapp calls to our families to give them our daily updates. Breakfast was not a part of our package, so will not be able to comment on how good or bad it was.

Day 1 

Landed in the morning, the train station is right outside the airport. Collected the 3 day Amsterdam pass  for EUR 25 that allowed unlimited rides within the city through trains, trams, buses and ferries. I then took a train ride from the Airport station to Central Station and then a taxi ride from there to the hotel ( on the instructions of my hotel staff). It sounds smooth but it wasn't the first time. Had to ask a few people at the airport for guidance. But the Dutch unlike some of their snooty neighbours are very friendly and sweet.

Post check in in hotel took a short two hour nap to catch up with sleep till my friend arrived from London. Once she did we went out to grab a quick lunch and explore the area outside and cover our days agenda. Our first meal in the city was at The Pancake Bakery. We ordered savoury and sweet pancakes and finished them in no time. 

Tulips everywhere

Pizza caprese pancake

Dutch pancake with chocolate icecream - soo good

Post which we took our first tram ride and landed at Rembrandt - the tourist hub. We walked to the Museum of Bags and purses (forgot to mention but Amsterdam we felt could be easily called the city of museums. They have museums for everything and anything. It would be safe to say they have a museum every 5 blocks). But it was shut. Most of the museums shut by 5 and have long queues. So do try to cover them in the morning.

Rembrandt Square - This is 9pm!! no sign of sunset

Take home some classic Dutch Truffle cheese from here

Picked up some treats on the way

Since I was catching up with my friend after long ( she stays n London post marriage) we thought of stopping by a pub. We had two glasses of red wine each ( to battle the weather). Damages for 4 wines - EUR 15 which is cheaper even by Indian standards. We then decided to visit the world famous Red light district. Turns out it was walking distance from Rembrandt at Dam Sqaure. But not before stopping at these attractive shops for some cheese and treats. Bought the gouda truffle cheese that is made there locally. 

The Red Light district is just like what they show in the movies however not sleazy. The whole street was lit up with red and other colourful lights with women dressed in their sexiest best standing like mannequins on display while people window shop and stare. We also went for one of the shows for the experience of it. The show basically has multiple mini shows. We saw around 3-4 and then got bored. it runs through the night and EUR 40 once you walk in you can stay there till 3 am. For those interested there is also a Museum of Sex and a Museum of prostitution ( see I wasn't exaggerating about the "city of museums" bit after all!) to know how it all started.

Blurry but beautiful!

Once the stroll through the district got over we headed for dinner back to Rembrandt square. We found a small place that sold vegetarian falafels (EUR 5 onwards). pretty yummy and filling and decided to end the long day we had.

Will put up more on day 2 & 3 soon.

My Hong Kong & Macau travel diary - Overview

My posts are slowly becoming a once in a month phenomenon, and because of that a post that I thought I'll write in Jan is seeing the light of day now. 

Having been to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Dubai I was really looking towards travelling outside of Asia and in Europe last year. However, the husband couldn't make a trip between July- September (which is the best time to travel to Europe) due to work commitments, hence it was back to good ol Asia again. Since, we were making this trip in December I thought why not coincide it with the New Years & my 30th birthday and make it a nice 7 day trip. That's how we started planning for Hongkong & Macau.

As mentioned in my earlier travel blog I like planning and booking for my trips on my own. That way I can ensure that I'v researched enough to know what I like and where would I like to go. It also helps in cutting down places that do not personally interest me. So with least interference from my husband I planned my trip with lots of help from tripadvisor and some other bloggers.

Airfare:

Since, our trip was in the peak period we booked our tickets well in advance to get them at a good price. We flew by Cathay Pacific and our Mum - HK non stop flight tickets were INR 28,000 per person. It is a 6 hour journey.

Visa:

Indians get a free visa on arrival to both HK and Macau. Hence no paperwork! Enjoy!

Accommodation:

Our 6 nights there were divided as follows:

• 2 nights - The Metropark Wanchai, Hongkong - Great location, 2 mins walk to MTR
• 2 nights - The Venetian, Macau - Houses world's biggest Casino
• 2 nights - The Holiday Inn Express, Sheun Wan, Soho, Hongkong - Not so great location, avoidable

We decided to split our stay in two in HK as we wanted to explore two different areas. - Bad decision! Wanchai - Although a little sleazy, is full of life and vibrant with host of food options around however, Sheaun Wan (atleast the part we stayed in)  is very dull after 7 with hardly any options for food. The whole area becomes deserted in the evening and in general felt very gloomy. Also we decided to spend the new years in Macau and hence we had to keep that part of the trip in between our HK trip. Bad decision again! When it comes to space HK is worse than Mumbai.On an average hotels in this densely populated country has rooms that are big enough to occupy just a double bed. even a 5 foot person like me could hardly fit into the bathroom. Imagine our state of mind, when we were transferred from  a palatial Venetian suite to a  less than 30 sq m room.

Metropark Wanchai Hotel Room

The Venetian suite - Love it!

Tip 1: Always plan your Macau trip at the end. And no worries about transfers to HK airport there is a direct shuttle is what I hear.

Itinerary:

Tip 2: Keep the HK Map and the MTR map handy when exploring the city on your own.

HK Day 1: Arrive at HK. The Peak, Madame Tussauds, Sky Terrace

HK Day 2: Disneyland

Macau Day 1: Arrive and check in at Venetian Macau. Roamed around the Galleria in duty free shops, Casino Visit (supposedly the biggest in the world)

Macau Day 2: More shopping at Cotai central, Sands Cotai, Visit Hard Rock hotel,visit to City of Dreams. Celebrated New years at Venetian with  a countdown and a live band

HK Day 3: Back to HK. Rest out the new year's hangover. Followed by a night at LKF (HK's most lively strip of pubs)

HK Day 4: Visit to Stanley Repulse Bay, Victoria Harbour - Avenue of Stars/Symphony of Lights, Ozone Bar at Ritz Carlton (the second highest bar after Atmosphere in Dubai), Ladies market at Mongkok (phew!! yes it was tiring but it can all be easily covered in a day)

HK Day 5: Leave for Mumbai

Watch out for my detailed follow up posts on each of these days 

Restaurants and Bars:

While it's difficult for vegetarians to explore street food and local cusisines here. The cafes and restaurants in every part of HK have plenty of options for vegetarians like me :) Here are the places where we ate and enjoyed our food.

Places where we ate

HK:

• Coyote Bar & Grill - Wanchai - Lovely mexican food
• Mes Amis - Wanchai
• The Spaghetti House - Wanchai
• Burger King - The peak
• Main Street Corner cafe - Disneyland
• Beirut - LKF - Lebanese food,one of the few places that serve sheesha
• Ebeneezer's Kebab & Pizzeria - LKF - owned by an Indian, both the pizzas and the biryani were yum

Macau:

• Golden Peacock - Venetian - Indian food
• McSorley's Ale House - Venetian - American Food
• Hard rock Cafe - Hard Rock Hotel
• Venetian food court - avoid the Indian food here instead go for the pizzas and falafel they are yum!

Shop:

Shopping in general in HK is slightly expensive. Tip 3: Ditch the regular malls and try going to small boutiques and street markets instead

• Street markets - Temple street, ladies market, night markets - for mobile accessories, souvenirs, bargains on clothing, shoes and bags
• Jonhston Road - There were lot of small clothing and accessory shops on this street with bargain deals
• Sasa - Chain of beauty of local beauty store in HK. Take back home some hand creams and lip balms in cute packaging for your self and as gifts for friends
• Duty free shops in Venetian Macau - If you want to buy a premium or a luxury item at a discount do check these shops out. Every designer brand that you can think of from Michael Kors to tory Burch to Bottega Venetta is available here. Not to forget the popular street brands like Zara and Mango are here too

This sums up my trip! Watch out for my more detailed posts on each of the days, incase you are planning a trip there.

Monsoon Getaway to Goa! Busting all the Myths

I had started writing this post and had saved it in my drafts when I was half done. On a long drive from Pilani to Jaipur, I realized I should get back to my long abandoned blog. I’m back with lot of travel stories (some trips within India and some International) to tell. Let’s first finish the Goa one.

It is kind of an annual ritual for me to make a trip to Goa. I just love the place besides every time I go there, there's something new to explore.  However, I have always been to Goa during the winter or the onset of summer. But never during monsoon. I was always under the impression that Goa shuts during monsoon. And there's not much to do ,the only attraction being getting off season discounts in five star hotels. But on the insistence of a friend we decided to go there in the peak of monsoons - during the end of June and no, it didn't feel like a bad decision not even once.

Goa in the monsoons

Myth 1 – Goa in monsoons is shut

While you may not be allowed to swim or do water rides, the beaches are open for people to take a stroll, Most of the restaurants and bars too are open.Everything that is super crowded and expensive during season time is available at steep discounts during monsoons in Goa be it hotels, flight tickets or even club entries. Let's not forget extended happy hours at every restaurant you go to :) Besides Goa does not receive that heavy a rainfall during June. It showers for 5 minutes and then stays dry  and cool for an hour or so followed again by a 5 minute shower and so on. We hired bikes through out and wasn't difficult to travel on them in spite of the rains. Do carry a windcheater though to save you from the occasional showers

My Goa Outfits

Myth 2 – Stay at a five star as there is no activity outside in the Monsoons

This holds true only if you go to South Goa. North Goa on the other hand is pleasantly buzzing especially the Baga - Anjuna stretch. We wanted to stay in a boutique-y place by the sea side that was not very expensive and yet was semi luxurious. After looking for ages on trip advisor, we finally hit the nail through good 'ol Google search. Surprisingly this place is not that famous as yet.  It felt like finding a hidden treasure - The Aryan's cottages is right on the Little Vagator beach. A resort can't get any closer than this to the sea and all at an affordable price of just Rs 3000 per night (after some bargaining by yours truly). This place is beautiful (you have to see the pictures to believe me) and both service and the food are excellent as well. Infact we hired our bikes also from here again at a very affordable rate. 

Aryan Cottages Goa - Best discovery so far

Myth 3 – A vegetarian can’t enjoy Goan food

You know the first reaction I get when I tell people about how excited I am about my Goa trip is “But what do vegetarians eat there?”  So this bit is to all my carnivorous friends. This is what we eat. Honestly, it is not so difficult to find vegetarian food anywhere in India and Goa is no exception. Although, the local cuisine mainly caters to sea food lovers, the restaurants would be more than willing to cook up some veggie food with the local gravy. 

Out of the four of us one is a sea food lover, the other a chicken eater, and the two of us vegetarians who also eat eggs. So whenever, we would go to any place, we would end up ordering almost everything from the menu.

We went to a good mix of shacks and restaurants for all our meals. This trip has been all about hogging.

Enough choices for veggies like me

Places we went to:

·         Infantaria

·         Sunny side up

·         Brittos

·         Cavala

Wishlist

·         Suza lobo

·         Thalassa (this is open only during season time)

Myth 4 – All shacks and party places are shut in Goa

While this may be true to a certain extent but all the popular shacks in the Baga stretch (Baga- Candolim- Calangute) are open all year round. Order your beer, with a hookah and some small bites and enjoy the myriad colours of the sky while the sun sets. While we were not keen to party in the two days that we were there, all the bars that we know of were open.

Curlies & Sunny Side up

Places we went to:

·         Curlies

·         Andy’s (This place has Karaoke every night)

Wishlist:

·         Sinq

·         LPK

·         Club Cabana

 If a nice quiet holiday with some bursts of music and partying is what you want then June is an ideal time to visit Goa.

Postcards from my Instagram feed - June 2013

Hello folks! Im visiting my blog after looong.. and the number of visitors to my blog has significantly dropped :((. Serves me right for not being active. But I've been busy with work and some other things including a short holiday to Goa!! And Ill be writing about this monsoon getaway of mine very soon. But before that I have to share my Instagram pictures from June that talk about the things and places I explored last month. Here you go:

This super blurry picture was taken from my car while my brother was driving in one of South Mumbai's rainy lanes.How can any post in June/July not talk about the monsoons. Some may find the Mumbai rains romantic and some may love the weather. But me - I just think they cause a lot of inconvenience, especially if you rely on public transport like autos/taxis and generally add to the whole mess around. I can go on cribbing. But I shall not. I know our Eco system needs them. So rain gods please do the needful! 

There's new bar in Bandra, Mumbai called The Daily that is slowly becoming my favourite. I have already been there 4 times in the last 2 months. Its small, hip, with good music and yes expensive drinks. Pictured here is my favourite drink of the moment Sangria accompanied by some cheesy Jalapeno poppers. Yum!

Talking of bars here is a picture I took in Ladies' room of Irish house. The place is full of these posters and coasters with these quirky one liners and some good music too.

I am a foodie! I love my food and I love trying new cuisines, new restaurants. Not just because I get to eat something new but also because I get to talk about it with people and then I like asking "Oh have you been here?" Delhi's Mamagoto has finally opened in Mumbai in Bandra. My first visit there left me quite happy with their twist in South Asian food. And yes a picture for me to talk about :)

Here's a glimpse of my Goa trip. this picture was taken during sunset at Curlies, Anjuna Beach. While the beauty of sunset was majorly covered by the gloomy clouds.. the entire feel of being at a beach in Goa just made up for it. Shall talk about my trip in detail in my next post.

Are you on Instagram. Do share your handle would love to follow you. Mine is http://instagram.com/rajvibhow

Truly God's Own Country - Munnar, Kerala

Before I start writing about this place, here soothe your eyes with some green..

BEAUTIFUL pictures right?? Believe me my camera has not done half as justice to the actual beauty of this place. Probably cos these pictures were taken on cloudy and rainy September days. We took this trip last year in September. After considering places like Udaipur, Kashmir and Kumarakaom within Kerala itself, we zeroed in on Munnar, as my dad who is a member of Club Mahindra offered us some free stay vouchers for this resort. Although, we would have preferred to have explored more of Kerala by visiting Kumarakom/Allepey (backwaters) and Kovalam (beach) too, we did not do so as we had keep our vacation as short as just 3 days. Reason being, we just wanted a short relaxing vacation that would'nt be too heavy on the pocket. This was more like a break for me before I joined my new job.

About the place

Munnar, is Kerala's tea country. Apart from the beaches and the backwaters, Kerala is also known for it's hilly regions like Wayanand and Munnar. Munnar just like it's Tamil Nadu counterpart is lush green, and a tea growing region. The weather throughout the year remains chilly and is one of the highest rainfall receiving regions of India.

Travel

Munnar is a good six hour drive from Cochin. We flew from Mumbai to Cochin and then booked a cab (prepaid online) through www.TaxiCarKerala.com for our entire stay which included the travel to and from the Cochin airport.

Our flight tickets cost us a BOMB- Rs 10k per person. Actually we didn't realise that our travel dates clashed with Onam (the Malayalam New year). No wonder the tickets rates were so steep.

Accomodation

As mentioned earlier, we stayed at the Club Mahindra resort in Munnar. My taxi driver mentioned that it is the best resort Munnar has, and it was originally a part of the Taj group of hotels later taken over by Mahindra. Since, we are members, the stay for us was for free. Again because of Onam, the studio apartments and the cottages were full and thus, we had to stay in a ground floor hotel room, which had absolutely no view. (A lesson learnt. Must check for local holidays before making travel plans). From whatever hotels I could see from outside, Mahindra did look the biggest and the best.

Club Mahindra Munnar

View from the resort

Since, we did not get to stay in the cottages/studio apartment. We were slightly disappointed. Our room was like any other other hotel room. Not very small but not very spacious also. Forgot to take pictures of the room. But you can take a look at all the different rooms on tripadvisor.

The resort is huge and has an in house club house, spa, 2 restaurants and a coffee house. There is no swimming pool as the weather in Munnar does not permit to have one outdoor pool. During our stay there we did avail the services of the Kerala spa there, and must say it was quite relaxing. The staff is extremely hospitable and friendly.The food is good if you stick to Indian, can't really experiment here although they serve all cuisines. They have buffet during lunch as well as dinner. One can opt for either buffet or a la carte. The buffet for members was around Rs 650 per person per meal. We had the best time enjoying their filter coffees and pakodas during evening overlooking the rain. They were yummm. 

Things to do

There's not much to do in Munnar except for some R&R (relaxing and rejuvenating). However, we did do a couple of things there:

Visit the town and watch a Kathakali show

Kathakali Dance show

We are all for encouraging local art forms. Also, I've never seen a live Kahthakali performance. So on one one of the rainy evenings we decided to check out the market and the Kathakali show. The ticket prices are nominal (around Rs 250). There's also one martial arts performance (name can't recollect). which my driver said is also an interesting watch.

Shopping

After the Kathakali show we went to the market to buy Kerala's famous banana chips fried in coconut oil. They are yellow in colour and yumm. We were also told to buy these various handmade choclates. And we bought lot of packets as gifts for our family. Also, worth checking out our sandalwood collectibles and the handmade massage oils and soaps.

Visit the highest tea plantation in the world - Kollukumalai

Kollukumalai Tea plantation - Munnar

You know what they say that it's not the destination but the journey that matters. Well, this place is one of those places. Once you reach there you'll feel no different than being in any other part of Munnar but the journey is one helluva ride!! It's nothing less than sitting on a roller coaster, only this one is more scary. Being the highest tea plantation this lace is 7500 km above sea level and one needs to hire a jeep and trained driver to take you here, as the roads are very narrow and rough. the views on the way are spectacular, reminded me of some Scotland landscape pictures I have seen. But if you have a back problem or a heart problem , this journey is definitely not meant for you. This tour was arranged by my driver. (he didn't drive ofcourse). the jeep driver took Rs 1100 for a return journey. But it was well worth it.

Inside the Tea factory

Other things that we missed out on but can be done:

• Visit the Matupetty Dams - there's also boating there
• Visit the Rose gardens
• Waterfalls
• Anaimudi National park

The info for all these can be availed at here

Have you been to Munnar? How did you find it? Do share your stories and feel free to ask me details in case you are planning a trip there.

Eat Pray and Shop - 2 day trip to Amritsar

Remember when I had mentioned here that the reason why I was a little inactive was because I was travelling. Recently I had gone on a small holiday which almost turned into a pilgrimage tour. Reason being we went to Vaishnovdevi - Amritsar - Delhi.  As most you must be aware Vaishnodevi is a place of great importance in Hindu religion and the pilgrimage is considered to be one of the toughest to accomplish. So in the entire trip we did a lot of praying and a lot of eating. It was after all North India, the land of lassis and hot paranthas. Here's the Amritsar part of my trip:

Travel
Amritsar has an airport and a railway station. So getting into the city  is pretty easy.

Accommodation
We stayed at the Radisson Blu. There are many budget stay options in the city which are very close to the city centre and the Golden Temple. However, since Radisson Blu is a new property in Amritsar the rooms were reasonably priced at Rs 5500 + taxes, thus we didn't mind spending. The hotel is very close to the airport but a good 30km away from the city. The property though is beautiful and the rooms definitely match up to the Radisson tag. On arrival we were served a welcome drink. The rep at their service desk was sweet enough to offer a late check out even without us asking for one. They offered us a 2 hour extension on the check out time, which was really helpful.

Our room

42" TV

Love a bathroom that has a bath tub and gives me space

Big bathroom

The toiletries in the bathroom

Since, the hotel is newly built, the gym and spa are not fully functional. It has a lounge and a restaurant.The room rates are inclusive of breakfast. The buffet breakfast spread was huge and everything was delicious and filling. The staff was very courteous, polite and always smiling. They all greet you with "Sasriyakal!"

Things to do 

There was only one reason for our visit to Amritsar - The Golden Temple!

There is something about these heritage structures of India that no picture no matter how well taken can capture their true beauty. I was advised to visit the temple twice, once during the day and once to check out the night view. And it looks different both the times. We were lucky enough to have gone there on a full moon night. The temple was shining or was it glowing in full glory.

If you have time on your hands please do not miss the langar ( Meal offered inside the temple). Unfortunately we couldn't make it at both the times.

Wagah Border - The border that separates Amritsar and Lahore, India and Pakistan is a must visit. The ceremony starts just before sunset where the flags of both the nations are lowered and where the army men from across the borders shake hands. The ceremony is an hour long but please please ensure that you do not go on a public holiday or the weekend. Since, there are no entry fees, this place gets crowded easily and since we went on a public holiday we had abosultely no place to sit.

Jalianwala Baug - The place where hundreds of Indians were fired at by a British officer and his team. Their fault being that they had gathered here to plan a revolt. The Indian government has turned this plot into a memorial for these Indians who lost their lives here. One can still see the bullet marks all over the walls. The number of bullets fired were in thousands. This bit of revisiting history outside the textbook really unnerved me.

Shop for Phulkaris and Amritsari Jootis - There are lots and lots of markets in Amritsar selling local garments and jootis. I wanted to buy a phulkari since a long time and I fulfilled my wish in Amritsar. A short walk away from the golden temple is Katra Jaimal Singh Bazaar which has lots of phulkari dupatta shops. One can easily bargain and the dupattas range anything from 300 to 3000 depending on how heavy the embroidery is.
I don't have a picture of the one I bought but it looks exactly like the one in the picture below. I am planning to pair it with a fuschia salwar. what say?

Image Source

Where to eat

When in Punjab, stop counting calories!

Just stop thinking about how oily, buttery sugary your food is. Just let go and binge binge binge! Kesar da Dhaba is the must go is what I have heard. We figured out where the place is, left for the place, reached there only to see there was waiting for an hour or so. Yes! this place is that popular! so we left from there Yes trip is about a lot of unfortunate incidences :( We went to the neighbouring Bharwan da dhaba, which was not such a good decision. The food was all of the above but not tasty. So I wouldnt recommend it to any one. 

But before reaching Amritsar, we had a stopover at a Dhaba on the highway. It was an actual one. And the food was so warm and fresh. Really enjoyed eating there. Here's something to tempt you while I go burn some calories!

Makki di roti nd sarson da saag

Parathas served with oodles of butter

Have you been to Amritsar? How did you find the city?