Kumbalgarh, Rajasthan, India 21st December 2013 The Great Wall of India. Yes, you heard that right. India has its very own version of the great wall in Rajasthan. This thirty-six-kilometer-long wall surrounding the Kumbalgarh fort is the second longest continuous wall in the world after its more illustrious peer in China. But unlike the Chinese …
Madulkelle, Sri Lanka 6th-8th August 2013 Do you sometimes get tired of the monotony of life? Do you want to get away from the concrete jungles to some place where you are cut off from the world? Do you crave a vacation which would allow you to completely switch off and relax in the lap …
Continue reading Travelogue: Tranquility in Hill Country (Madulkelle, Sri Lanka)
Ramanagara, Karnataka, India 22nd February 2014 Idli is undoubtedly my favorite breakfast. This traditional South India cake made of rice batter is hugely popular not only in the South but many other parts of India. I was aware of many variations of the traditional circular Idli, but stopping at a restaurant on the Bangalore-Mysore highway …
Kas, Turkey 7th October 2014 In India, we have an age-old superstition that if someone is envious of you, bad luck and misfortune will befall your friends and family unless you protect yourself from the ‘evil eye’ by following certain practices. Though superstitions are generally very culture-specific, I found it fascinating that the very same …
Kas to Patara Beach, Turkey 7th October, 2014 'Life without a beach is no life at all!' goes a saying. While I do not subscribe to a view that extreme, I do feel that any proper long vacation should have at least some time spent in sea-and-sand territory. Exactly for this reason, I had planned …
Continue reading Experience: Cruising Along the Turquoise Coast (Turkey)
Hanoi, Vietnam 27th September 2012 Anyone who has traveled to Vietnam would definitely remember the galore of scooters on its streets. I remember the hordes of two-wheelers roaring past us on the narrow roads of the Old Quarter in Hanoi. The sheer abundance of scooters on Vietnamese roads makes you wonder – where are the …
Mirissa, Sri Lanka 24th December 2015 I have never had much success with wildlife safaris. My attempts at spotting tigers or leopards in their natural habitats have ended in disappointments. So when I heard about a 'Whale Watching Safari' in the open seas off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, I was initially very skeptical …
Continue reading Experience: Whale Watching in Mirissa (Sri Lanka)
11th March 2013 Hampi, Karnataka, India Animals have traditionally been accorded a special place in Hindu mythology as vehicles of gods or deities themselves. That is the reason some animals are considered sacred even today in Hindu culture. Apart from the ‘Holy Cow’ which is considered the most sacred of all animals, elephants are a …
Antalya, Turkey (8th October 2014) In Turkey, cats are everywhere. The Turkish fascination for cats becomes apparent particularly in the cities where they are omnipresent. Whether you are wandering the cobble-stoned streets of Istanbul or taking in the sights of the magnificent mosques of Sultanahmet, whether you are exploring the old town of Antalya or …
4th January 2013 Tay Ninh, Vietnam I thought I knew my world religions. I thought I had seen all the well-known religious places of worship - a Hindu temple, a mosque, a church, a monastery, a synagogue and even a gurudwara. And then travel managed to surprise me once again! When in Vietnam, I found …
Continue reading Experience: The Religious Fusion of Cao Dai (Vietnam)
Alleppey, Kerala, India (28th January 2015) Going around the backwaters of Alleppey provides a fascinating sneak peek into the different facets of local Keralan life. One such example was when I saw a man dipping into the water repeatedly and emerging after a few moments. I thought he was taking a bath or probably swimming. …
24th December 2013 I do not believe in ghosts. But I do like ghost stories. As a child, I was brought up on a diet of spine-tingling ghost stories, and I remember feeling thrilled while listening to those, although they were meant to put us to sleep. After I grew up, I seldom got that kind of excitement when …
Continue reading Experience: The Haunting in Kuldhara (India)
The Wandering Buddha 