Vancouver Highlights We visited Vancouver a long time ago, and now my recollection about it has become slightly foggy. But after all, that is the biggest advantage of writing blogs. When you start writing a blog, you willi-nilly find old photos, discuss with your travel partners and research the Net. This process automatically refreshes your memory of those happy moments, and once again you get the pleasure of the vacation that you have taken a long time ago. It is like remembering the smell of the Jasmine flowers in your hair and the sweet notes of the ‘shehnai’ music, on your wedding day when you take out your wedding sari to wear again. That is why Avi insists that I should write about our travels. He has practically forgotten most of them and wants to ... read more

Chitwan National Park - Part I We had a wonderful stay of two days at the Chitwan National Park marred only by the perfidy of the Royal Nepal Travel Company (RNTC) through which we had booked the tour. We had booked an independent unit of two bedrooms because our daughter Bunny was also with us and we did not want to treat her as a child and make her sleep in our bedroom. She was past her teens at that time. However, we were forced to do so, because in the evening a very big group from Mumbai arrived and the managers of the resort found that they were short of accommodation. They “requested” us that we make do with a single room while they allotted the bedroom upstairs to the people in the group. ... read more

Nepal Trip 1999 (Kathmandu) At several places, God has created paradises on earth and practically every paradise has been turned into Hell by the mankind. Whether it is Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kashmir or Cambodia or Bali, these beautiful spots have been ‘war zones’ or terrorist targets of late. However, there is still hope. Peace has returned to Cambodia. Hopefully, all the other regions also will return to normalcy sooner or later. The Maoists were still active in Nepal in 1999, but they were high up in their camps on the Himalayan Mountains, where we did not plan to visit. So, we decided to take a chance and visit the country. The horrifying palace massacre of 1 June 2001, in which nine members of the royal family were slaughtered, was very much in future and so ... read more

Java Sojourn - Part III (Indonesian volcanoes and cities) Why the center of power in the Indonesian history was always on the island of Java and not on Sumatra, which is a much bigger island? This has led to the result that most of the tourist attractions are also on Java, which is fortunate for the tourist. Saves them some money and body aches. There are more than 13000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago. (Some figures approach 17000) I do not know exactly how many volcanoes the country has, but the following map may help. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Indonesia/Maps/map_indonesia_volcanoes.html You can find more information on: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Indonesia/description_indonesia_volcanics.html At least people get some forewarning if a volcano is about to erupt because the volcanoes are being monitored, but what can you... read more

Borobudur, Indonesia (JavaScript in Stone) Don’t be scared, my friends. Though languages like Javascript, SQL, PERL are my bread and butter, I am not going to serve the same fare to you. I mean, why you should be tortured by statements like these? While (In Java, Indonesia) {See Borobudur ; See Prambanan; } If (Time permits) {See Ramayana Ballet; } Else {Take the flight to Bali; } End if; End; So, rest assured. I will try to tell you about Borobudur in dear old plain English language, hoping that she i.e. the English language, cooperates. The way she floors me, which is often, I suspect that I may not be dear to her. Maybe, it is my fault. I should not have called her ‘old’ and ‘plain’. Borobudur, on the Indonesian island of Java, is ... read more