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When Maharashtra Blooms: Kas Pathar Satara, Deccan India’s Valley of Flowers
“Hey, so what are you planning as your next destination?” asked our friend. “Did you say plan? Oh I am a great planner. But, the universe seems to dislike the planned version of me,” I replied. In 2013 I was trying to plan a hiking trip to the Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand. Two months prior to its execution, India saw one of its worst natural calamities. Multiday cloudbursts in Uttarakhand killed thousands of people, animals, and destroyed roads and trails. In 2016, from the Facebook group Globetrotting Girls India, I got to know about Kas Pathar, another valley, or more accurately, plateau, of flowers near Satara city of Maharashtra.…
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Food in Hyderabad, The Old City: A Foodie’s Delight
For a culinary enthusiast, Hyderabad is a treasure trove. Food in Hyderabad is not just for your tongue but for your all five senses. Influenced by the Mughals, Persians and the Telugu culture, Hyderabad evolved with a unique taste of its own. The best part about Hyderabadi food is that it satisfies the stomach without burning the pocket. Here is a quick list of seven ‘must-have’ food when in Hyderabad! Biryani – Of course no-one can imagine leaving Hyderabad without trying the famous Hyderabadi Biryani. The recipe of the yellow tinged long grained rice was passed on to India by the Mughals who ruled over the Indian subcontinent hundreds of…
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24 hours in Hyderabad : A one day itinerary for Hyderabad city tour
Hyderabad, the capital city of the newly formed state of Telengana in India is aptly known as the ‘City of Nawabs’. 24 hours is a mere nothing to explore the luxurious footprints that the Nawabs have left. But, as the world is getting more and more developed, the schedules are becoming busier. In the rat race of climbing up that professional ladder, often people are just left with 24-hours ‘free’. If you find yourself in Hyderabad with ‘free’ 24 hours and an urge to know the city better, then read up the following list for a one day Hyderabad city tour! Please note Hyderabad has been subjected to terrorism many…
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Kalavantin Durg Trek : The Unplanned Day Trek in The Sahayadris
We never venture out without doing proper research. Our love for research is so great that we may equate the happiness we get out of it with the happiness while doing the actual travel. But, our experience on the Kalavantin Durg trek was different. It was spontaneous, and we had very little idea of what to expect! Where is Kalavantin Durg? Panvel is a suburb of Mumbai, India. It is well connected with Mumbai through local trains. The trail to Kalavantin Durg starts from a village named Thakurwadi. Thakurwadi is about 45 minutes away from Panvel. Auto-rickshaws from Panvel railway station charge near about INR 300 for a one way…
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A Guide to Daulatabad Fort and The Fishy Case of The Lost Guidebook
“Put the Daulatabad Fort guidebook in the bag,” I directed Sayan. “Oh don’t worry it is safe with me,” Sayan replied back. I knew he was right. Sayan is one of the messiest persons when it comes to organising stuff but it’s no less than magic how he never loses a thing. We know each other from 2009 and he has never lost anything. “Eid- Mubarak.” We greeted our auto driver. As promised by him, he returned after performing the morning namaz in the mosque on the holy day of Eid. We had booked his vehicle, a three wheeler auto, to take us to the Daulatabad Fort and wait there…
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Bibi-ka-Maqbara —The Aurangabad Taj Mahal, a south Indian twin of the Taj
“Allah-hu-Akbar-Allah”. “Allah-hu-Akbar-Allah”. The sound blared somewhere outside. I rubbed my eyes and pulled myself out of bed. The ticking hands of the wristwatch reminded me it was our last few hours in the hotel, and in the city. We were scheduled to visit the Aurangabad Taj Mahal. My sleepy head husband looked at me with beady eyes. “Come on get ready, we can’t give in to sleep” I said. In a few minutes we were both ready to set out on the auspicious day of Eid to see with our own eyes what ‘a bad copy of Taj Mahal’ (as described by the internet) would look like. Time For History…
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Treebo Admiral Suites Aurangabad — Hotel review
When Yatra.com offered us a discount coupon, we used it as quickly as possible to book our stay at Treebo Admiral suites Aurangabad. We were aware that Aurangabad would be very demanding a place. After whole days of exploring the UNESCO World Heritage sites and absorbing loads of historical data we were sure to need a calm place to retreat in and sleep the nights away without spending a bomb. Treebo is a chain of hotels which has earned quite a name for itself in the Indian budget accommodation market. The reason behind the nomenclature ‘Treebo’ has an interesting explanation. The hotel chain derives inspiration from the ‘Bo tree’, commonly…
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Ajanta Ellora tour : A Travelogue-cum-guide to the Ellora Caves of India
The sleeper bus dropped us off at Baba Petrol Pump, a bus stop in Aurangabad at 7.15 AM for our Ajanta Ellora tour. It was an eight hours long journey but we were not complaining! For both of us it was our first tryst with a ‘sleeper bus’ and the ‘luxury service’ received in reality exceeded our expectation. Blessed by Amazon.in, we had received a couple of Yatra.com discount vouchers. Using those we booked ourselves a decent hotel in Aurangabad, but, the location turned out to be quite a distance away from both the MSRTC bus stand and the Aurangabad Railway Station. Enroute to our hotel, the auto-driver tried his…
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Elephanta Caves Ferry : Voyager In The Arabian Sea
When I relocated from Kolkata to Mumbai, I brought with me luggage weighing 49.9kg. I remember the sigh of relief that me, my husband and the lady at the ticketing counter at the airport released. The joy that we didn’t cross the 50kg prepaid threshold. Yet when we decided to visit the Elephanta caves using the Elephanta caves ferry service, I had no ‘proper clothing’ with me to suit the early March Mumbai weather for an outdoor excursion which might involve a bit of hiking. I frantically searched for something and the best outfit I found fit for the occasion was my track pants and gym wear. Ofcourse the running…
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Travelcube : Why Every Traveller Needs Packing Cubes
From the year 2014 I have been reading about the wonders of packing cube or travelcube. In every list of ‘things that travellers must own’ there was a mention of these packing cubes. Backpackers, suitcase travellers and even travellers like my husband who can literally survive on nothing raved about this. I always wanted to own a set for myself and see the difference it brings upon my travels. I found my one-stop-shop at Bagail.com. What is packing cube or travelcube? It’s completely okay if you are still not aware of the existence of these products. Rewind a few years and I was in your shoes. Packing cubes are cube…
