Jambo !! (meaning 'hello' in swahili ) Have grown up watching Animal Planet and Nat-geo. Have covered more than 12 National Parks in India and smaller reserves, watching wild life flourish (or diminish !). I remember discussing the Kenya travel plan with my dad, around 15-16 years back. That was the time I had started getting a grip over his manual- Pentax to click. Dad always told me that I would go one day..but it all seemed like a dream. And here I am , back from my 12 day Kenya Safari. I have no words to say how excited (that’s [View Full Entry]

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One of the best beaches I have seen…Diveaghar. This one scores a 10/10 from me on privacy, cleanliness, zero crowd, shallow and clean waters and sunsets !! The route we take from Mumbai is Pen - wadkhal naka - kolad - Indapur - mandgao - Mhasla town- Diveaghar. Beautiful roads. Green trees and the morning mist that flows across these tiny villages along the coast. Some of the must do things here - ‘Ukadiche modak’ at Bapat kaka’s place, fish at Potnis, loads of coconut water and sand castles ! :) Very quaint houses and lanes and everything the way you [View Full Entry]

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As most of my travel plans go…this too was a customized tour package with Heritage Tours, and the itinerary included temples and ruins in Bhubaneshwar, the Jagannatha Temple of Puri and the famous Sun Temple of Konark-a UNESCO World heritage site and a marvelous piece of fine Central Indian style of Temple architecture. This was early January and the climate was superb! Temple ‘Shikharas’ arising as the fog evaporates…the ‘pandits’ dressed in their saffron robes walking out of a misty river …..and birds with some fellow languor mokeys disappearing [View Full Entry]

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Hi... As always, I happened to steal this opportunity to visit another UNESCO site near my workplace in Thailand. These were the ruins of Ayuthaya...a culturally rich kingdom once upon a time. Some history - Ayutthaya, the capital of the Thai Kingdom was found by U-Thong King in 1350. Ayutthaya as an island is formed by the gathering of three rivers, the Chao Phraya, the Pasak, and the Loburi and surrounded by rice terraces. It is easy to see why the Ayutthaya area was settled prior to this date since the site offered a variety of geographical and economic advantages. The [View Full Entry]

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The ruins of Ajanta and Ellora were on my mind since days…may be since I developed this inclination towards ruins/temples/forts and Mythology… I had written to many of these tour operators in Aurangabad (the nearest city to these sites) for a customized travel plan. Did not want any fancy sites/markets/city tour attached. The focus was very clear. It was an easy flight from Mumbai to Aurangabad…checked into the hotel, and started immediately. Couldn’t wait I guess. It took us around 2hrs and a little more to reach Ajantha - The horse shoe shaped series of Buddhi [View Full Entry]

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My third day in London was booked with PREMIUM TOURS for a day trip to Paris. Highlights: -Pickup from the nearest central point -Reserved seats on the Eurostar -Fast entry access and extended time on the Eiffel Tower -Cruise on the River Seine -Panoramic tour of Paris -Guided tour of the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa -Due to Eurostar requirements the age restrictions for children is 4-11 years We joined the representative at St Pancras International station in London, who escorted us onboard Eurostar and throughout the day in Paris. Travelling at speeds up to 186mph we were in Pa [View Full Entry]

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I had to see the hyper-famous Madam Tussauds Museum. The pass was pretty expensive (Got to be , i guess !!)...and for every additional section that you wish to see, theres a price to pay. Inside the famous Green Dome, there are rooms allocated to different feilds - Sports, Bollywood, Hollywood, Politicians, Scientists, The Royal British Family, Cultural Figures, TV starts and the 'terrible' frightening 'Hall of Horror'. I bought the 22GBP all day pass at the entrance as a que behind me grew longer...(do check their official website for opening and closing timings, they are extremely st [View Full Entry]

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I booked myself with PREMIUM TOURS in London for all 4 days. Took 4 day tours around - covering some country sude, some local sigh seeing and ofcourse exciting places....This first of my day tours around London.... and the highlights included - 1. a Visit to Christchurch where Harry Potter was filmed 2. a Visit to Warwick Castle ~ the greatest medieval site in Britain 3. Shakespeares Birthplace Museum in beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon 4. Lunch stop at 15th century inn followed by a drive through the Cotswolds (food/drink not included) 5. and Oxford and hear about life in the university t [View Full Entry]

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My next day tour with PREMIUM TOURS of London was this exciting package. My pick-up van arrived exactly at 5.30am (my point, as mentioned in their itinerary) and off we go... we started with Stonehenge, then towards Bath, Salisbury Cathedral and concluded the day with the Windsor Castle. The key element was my fascination and study of the Stonehenge. Have read extensively and studied the super natural being of this notoriously intriguing place. I had to go. Highlights: •Entrance to Stonehenge •Driving tour of Bath (had limited time to see/move around) •Entrance to [View Full Entry]

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Hi again... My office sent me to London for work ...and my itchy feet took me to some great places around london... I tood the BIG BUS tour to move around. It quite easy that way. I bought my passes online from India. The day tour passes are valid for 24 hours. When you board the bus from your closest stop, they hand over a route map to you. For eg:You can then choose to get down at the Big Ben 'Big Bus' stop - look around -come back to the same stop - catch the next Big Bus and move [View Full Entry]

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