Every tourist brochure shouts loudly not to miss the sunrise at the world’s largest temple complex of Angkor Wat. There are thousands of pages on the internet describing how people watched the sun …
Source: The sunrise at Angkor Wat – mystical, magical or just man-made hype?
Verdant rainforest drenched by recent rains, lush and thick greenery all around, streaks of sunlight through the dense foliage playing hide and seek, well-laid roads (yes, no potholes) washed and clean by the recent showers, misty mountains at a distance keeping you company along the way with occasional drizzles of the remaining monsoon – the scenario immediately reminded me of Robert Frost’s “The woods are lovely, dark and deep” when we drove through Western Ghats to see Athirappally Falls on Chalakudy River, nicknamed as the Niagara of India.
The winding, narrow road gets darker with thick foliage of tall bamboo trees forming a canopy virtually covering up the sky, as you get nearer to the Falls. Long before we rolled down the windows of our car to enjoy the fog and the refreshing breeze loaded with mist and yes, the accompanying birdcalls of…
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Back from a short exhilarating, rejuvenating but sweaty and sultry trip from God’s own country. The God’s own country had just taken a break from the monsoon – the trees, roads and buildings …
Source: Life’s a water
The God’s own country had just taken a break from the monsoon – the trees, roads and buildings seemed to have had a clean wash leaving everything in absolute freshness.
Took a day off from the busy schedule to take a tour of the countryside from Guruvayur.
Stopped on the way at Chettuva backwaters – a lesser-known location than the over promoted Alleppy backwaters popular among foreign tourists. No tourists traps, no crowds… just a few visitors and also very few boats to take you around. The only traditional and elaborate houseboat with all its paraphernalia has already been hired so we had to settle down with a stripped down version.
An hour of tour of the serene and calm backwaters took us through some verdant mangroves, government farms and a few islets.
While the…
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Most of us would have seen churches and been inside at least a few them. There are churches plain and simple in far-flung towns and villages, there are churches known for their splendid architecture and ornate decors, and there are churches known for their world’s most precious artefacts. But ever heard or seen a church decorated with… a mind-boggling 40000 odd bones and skulls?
While looking for off-the-track places for a day trip from Prague during our recent visit, we came across the strangely titled “Bone Church” in a town called Kutna Hora. Our Lonely Planet’s Prague guide had a page on it and a simple Google search also threw in several links. So off we went to explore.
An hour’s train journey from Prague central train station, Kutna Hora is small, sleepy, laid back, typical East European town, with its own history and landmarks behind. And most important of…
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Source: SNOW STORIES… Part 4 (last)
Source: SNOW STORIES ….Part 3
Source: SNOW STORIES … Part 2
Source: SNOW STORIES…. Part 1
It’s a common sight in all major touristy cities- from London to Lisbon and beyond…. You see them at all popular attractions- in front of palaces, museums, in squares and parks. We came across a number of these street performers displaying whatever skills they are good at, to entertain and … to earn their daily bread; magicians, acrobats, guitarists, craftsmen, comedians, sopranos and tenors, dancers and actors in every imaginable and unimaginable costumes.
Most of us just stop by for a couple of minutes to watch their performances and move on throwing a Dollar or a Euro. Many take photos with them, laugh at them, make fun of them, try imitating them, tease them and sometimes even intimidate them.
You see a fat guy seemingly floating in the air while another in full Sadhu attire doing his penance in the air (obviously with the help of hidden gadgets), a magician…
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Wanderlust 