Srinagar to Pahalgam – A day trip

Day 3 was a trip to the beauty that is Pahalgam. Pahalgam is situated at an altitude of 8900ft and is a 2 to 2.5hr drive from Srinagar. It is also the other starting point for the Amarnath yatra. Its not just in Pahalgam, but there are some amazing things to experience en-route.

Don’t miss on the Highway – We started around 9:30 am (we were late, recommend starting earlier) and an hour away drove past Saffron fields. Kashmir is known for its saffron and if you are visiting around end october/november you will see the purple bloom of the saffron flowers on either side of the highway NH1. This is the main highway that Our Ex-PM Mr Atal Vajpayee had built to connect Kashmir to Kanyakumari. You will also see the highway near Pulwama dotted with multiple shops selling dry fruits and saffron. We stopped here on our way back to make some purchases.

Saffron fields

As we sped further away from Srinagar and towards Anantnag district, you will notice a lot of Cricket Bat Shops and Factories on either side of the highway. Another specialty of Kashmir is the Willow Cricket Bat made from the willow tree wood. These bats are manufactured at these factories.

Cricket Bat Factory

Apple Valley – the thing you must-do at Anantnag is visiting the Apple Orchards and having the freshest apple juice ever. The entire place is called Apple Valley and we were delighted just at the sight of the apples hanging from the trees. We spent a sometime in the orchard, managing to pluck an apple from the tree and eat it – so fresh, so juicy! Most orchards have a small stall making fresh juice and selling apples. Highly recommend trying the apple juice – its delicious – very sweet and refreshing.

Apple Orchards

Fresh Apple juice being made

Pahalgam – We left from the apple orchards and an hour later reached the main Pahalgam market and parked at the tourist taxi stand. There are a number of things to do at Pahalgam and you can cover it in a day (provided you reach Pahalgam at 11am) or even spend a night at a hotel on the side of the Lidder river, giving you 2 days to take it all in.

Pahalgam

Here is what all you can do at Pahalgam –

Baisaran – This is a beautiful meadow situated at the top of a hill. You can hire a horse near the tourist taxi stand and go there; takes about 2-2.5hrs round trip. Remember to bargain hard with the guides. The climb up to Baisaran is VERY steep and it had rained the previous two nights so the pathway was extremely slushy. The incline that the horse has to climb is also very steep … honestly, it was quite scary. The horse slipped a number of times in the slush and loose gravel. If I had known this earlier, I wouldn’t have signed up to do this. Bharath decided to walk instead and the slush wasn’t helping. He slipped and his foot went into the slush and he lost his shoes! Returned bare foot down the hill while I continued up the hill with the help of the guide. After a lot of heart stopping escapades and prayers, reached the meadow of Baisaran to be greeted by some gorgeous views! Lush green meadows, pine and deodar trees dotting the mountains, simply breathtaking. Also, this was one of the sights where the movie Bajrangi Bhaijaan was shot. I spent some time absorbing the views, clicking pictures and then started the even more scarier descent. If that guide (Prince bhai) didn’t help me down all the way, couldn’t have made it. Finally reached the base to find Bharath waiting without shoes and half his trousers covered in mud; but overall he was okay. Thank God! What an adventure this was! Tip: No one tells you how the path is – its quite a steep climb and if it has rained the previous night, wouldn’t recommend the climb.

Ride a horse to Baisaran

Baisaran

We came back to the taxi stand to grab lunch and calm ourselves down after that adventure. The Punjabi Rasoi is a popular place and even at 2:45pm had a long queue outside the restaurant. We waited for 15mins, but still weren’t close to getting a seat. We were famished and went to another place called Hotel Palestine. The food was good and the quantity was a LOT. Two of us couldn’t finish the Veg Biryani. By the time we wrapped lunch it was a little past 4pm; leaving us almost no time to explore other places. We chose to give it a miss and decided to start back to Srinagar.

Other sites to explore in Pahalgam – Aru Valley, Betaab valley and Chandanwari – At the tourist taxi stand of Pahalgam market you can hire a taxi to see all these places starting at 1800 Rs. There are set rates for the various sights irrespective of the time duration for which you take the taxi. Aru and Betaab valley would have taken us about 2hrs to cover and hence we gave it a miss. Aru valley is the starting point of many treks and said to offer some views as you drive across. Betaab valley’s name comes from the movie Betaab which was shot there. Going to the valley is a 12km trek, however the view is from the top! Ask the driver to stop at the Betaab valley view point; you can skip going to the valley itself. Chandanwari also offers some great views.

Since we decided to start back to Srinagar giving Aru valley etc a miss, we stopped at multiple places along the Lidder river to get some great pics of the mountains and the landscapes. You can ask the driver to stop at the view points you want to see or he would also know spots which are good. It was a 3hr drive back to Srinagar along with the pit-stop to buy dry fruits and saffron at Pulwama highway, leaving us exhausted but carrying some great memories of the adventurous day!

Tomorrow, we got to take it light at DoodhPathri!

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Srinagar to Gulmarg – A day trip

Day 2 was a day trip to the most awaited town of Gulmarg. While I had just planned to ride the gondola and back, we were in for an awesome surprise ahead.

Gulmarg is a 1.5hr drive from Srinagar and we left around 9am. Our houseboat owner has recommended to take a guide (their own person) at the tourist taxi stand and we were hesitant given our experience with the horses in Sonmarg turned out to be expensive. He also mentioned to ask the guide to take us to a lake, if we were okay to trek. Being the curious us, we spent the previous night reading up about the famous lake of Alphatar (that he was mentioning) but we couldn’t go there. Read on and you will know why.

Gulmarg

Things to do in Gulmarg –

1. TREK – We reached Gulmarg around 10:30 am and met our guide Mansoor bhai at the stand. He quoted 900 Rs for the entire day, to take us to places around Gulmarg and we agreed. (Also being conscious that Kashmir runs only on tourism and all their livelihoods had been impacted with covid). At the entry point of Gulmarg, we were asked to take a covid test, but with the help of our driver Tahir bhai and Mansoor bhai, we showed our RTPCR reports and we were good to do. Mansoor bhai then got into the car, turned to us and said, “ Ajaz bhai (The Houseboat owner) told me you guys can trek”. We said yes and 10 mins later he stopped the car and told us we would be trekking from there to the ticketing office of the Gondola. I looked up at the rudimentary path and steep incline and wondered.. how??

The view of the road from where we climbed

We started the steep climb, slipping a bit, catching my breathe due to the altitude and lack of fitness and finally reached a point where there was a flat path. We walked on it, climbing around fallen trees, with some amazing views of the valley, and about an hour and a half or so later reached the ticketing office. We were the only ones on that path and it felt so serene.. so peaceful.. just the trees and us.

Trekking views

Trekking views

Tip – this trek wasn’t a known trail. We would have never found it on our own if it wasn’t for a local. We were the only ones on that path and hence this truly was the off-beaten route. Wouldn’t recommend it if you suffer from breathing difficulties. This needs some level of fitness since the distance is almost 3-4kms.

2. BUTA PHATRI We reached the gondola ticket centre around 12:30pm to find it highly crowded and long queues to ride it. Mansoor bhai then recommended visiting Buta Phatri which was another site. We hadn’t planned for this but it did sound quite cool and decided to see it. One thing to note – all the taxis from Srinagar or anywhere else only go to the entry point of the town eg: Gulmarg. To sightsee within Gulmarg you need to hire their local taxi. All the taxi drivers have a union and quote rates of 4000-5000Rs for the 15mins drive to Buta Phatri. We bargained with our guide and kept a final price of 3000 Rs. He got us a cab and we set off.

Why visit Buta Phatri? Buta Phatri is the last village on the India side situated about 3kms from the LOC. This is completely controlled by the Army and was closed for tourists for almost 22+yrs. It has recently opened up and invites a lot of tourists coming to Gulmarg. You will continue to see heavy army presence through the hair pin turns unto the entry point. You need to deposit a Govt ID proof at the entry point and collect it on your return.

Buta Phatri

When we reached Buta Phatri, the view that meets the eye is indescribable! Stand aside Switzerland, this place this sheer, untouched beauty. To go around Buta Phatri you can hire a horse; they will tell you it’s 3km etc; but we just decided to walk and its hardly 1or 2kms round about. The natural beauty of Kashmir is here – the green meadows, the pine trees on the mountains, simply magical. You will see the landscapes dotted with huts of the Gujjar tribes. Across the mountain is Pakistan and we could see a station on a mountain and were told Pakistan starts from there. Given Buta Phatri is an army training area you can also hear the firing of gunshots echoing through the valley. Pictures are prohibited close to the army base. Any Mobile network does not work in Buta Phatri.

Buta Phatri

Buta Phatri

We spent some time walking around, clicking pics and then started back to the gondola rocker centre. En-route we stopped to climb a small hill to find a lake on top of it. No one knows how the water got there.

Lake

3. Gondola ride – The gondola is a cable car which connects two mountains in phase 1 and phase 2. This 10-15mins ride to each phase provides some stunning views of Gulmarg. Unfortunately the Phase 2 was under repair and was closed. This meant we couldn’t go to Alphatar lake either. But that was okay! We now purchased our gondola ticket (740 Rs ) for Phase 1, got into the queue and into the car – and man are the views amazing! The Phase 2 tickets can be bought at the same ticket center and cost an additional 950 Rs.

We reached the end of phase 1 which is the top of Kondgori mountain and that opens into a lush meadow. I ran around the meadow like a cat finding an open area and made Bharath (the husband) click an abundance of pics. We were famished at the end of it and were happy to walk to the tents there serving hot maggi, tea, kahwa, pulav, chinese and what not. We had a kashmiri pulav, maggi and kahwa and it was divine! Especially with the view it came with! There is no mobile network on the top of Phase 1.

View from the gondola

At Phase 1

At phase 1

Maggi with a view

View from the gondola

We caught the gondola back to base feeling very content with how the day had panned out. We thanked Mansoor bhai profusely, including giving him more than the guide fee he quoted and he happily accepted the money without even counting it! We bid goodbye to the glorious landscape of Gulmarg and started back to Srinagar, taking back with us memories of one amazing day!

Tomorrow .. Pahalgam!

Tips – I would recommend taking a guide. Seeing a place from the eye of a local, is something altogether. Check if your houseboat has a tie-up; its the best way to ensure you get a good price. The Gondola ride is usually crowded in the morning and by afternoon the crowds reduce. Weather can change at any time and carry a jacket.

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Happy in Hampi!

After many months of lockdown, we mustered the courage to venture out on a road trip and decided to cover the famous Karnataka Heritage Route – Bengaluru – Hampi – Badami – Pattadakal – Aihole- Bijapur – Bengaluru. This cultural immersion spanning 1300+ kms in 5 days takes you across the glory of the Vijayanagara and Chalukya dynasties and adding in a dash of the Mughals as well!

Given we were travelling during covid times, the paranoid me had taken extra precautions. We booked our stay at 2 cities and decided to do day trips from there. At Hampi we chose the Heritage Resort, since it had individual cottages minimizing the chance of usage of lifts etc. We chose Grand Clarks Inn, Badami as the other place to stay given the options to stay at Pattadakal and Aihole are minimal and staying at Bijapur would have been very far off.

We started our day early around 7am, with all food (including my Chai flask) packed for the journey, and set off on the 5hr drive from Bengaluru to Hampi. Post a smooth, minimal contact check-in at the resort and a quick lunch we set out to explore Hampi!

Hampi, a UNESCO Heritage site, was the crown jewel of the Vijayanagara Dynasty. The ruins of Hampi situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra rives, is one of the world’s largest open air museums, after Rome. Every nook and corner of Hampi has history associated with it, from the boulders to the intricately carved temples. This archaeological site has a number of tourist attractions and we spent close to 2 days exploring the same. Hampi has 2 parts – the temple/archaeological town on one side of the river and the Hippie Island on the other side. We restricted ourselves to the temple town, given a lot of places on Hippie island was shut due to lack of tourists.

I fell in love with Hampi from the minute we set foot there! Most of the touristy sights are located quite close to each other and hence can be covered together. Here are my top picks of places to see in 2 days in Hampi..

Vijaya Vittala temple

Stone Chariot

This temple is a non functioning temple, and the highlight of Hampi. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Shiva this is an architectural marvel. We reached the temple in the morning to be able to avoid crowds and have the temple to ourselves. This temple needs a ticket to enter and the ASI team have installed QR codes to scan and pay and download the e-ticket ( contactless tickets). The temple is situated at a 10mins walk from the car park and we decided to hire a guide to explain to us the history. All the temples have a Pushkarni/step well at their entrances, allowing people to cleanse themselves before they enter. The main highlight of the temple is the Stone Chariot situated at the center of it. This is one of three stone chariots in India, the other two being at Mahabalipuram and Konark temple. This intricately designed and carved magnificent chariot is a piece of art, symbolizing the glory of this dynasty. The temple also has multiple other nuances which tell us that our ancestors were very skilled. Eg: there is an area which use to have dancers give performances. The columns on the stage used to serve as musical instruments emitting the sounds of the tabla, mridangam etc. Just Wow!

Pushkarni

Vijaya Vittala temple

Also, once you see the temple, take a walk towards the rear of this complex to see the King’s balance and a very serene view of the tungabhadra river. The banks of the river was a site where the famous poet Purandaradasa wrote his songs which Bharatnatyam dancers perform on.

Tungabhadra river behind Vijaya Vittala temple

The entire temple complex takes close to 2hrs to see and its located a little away from the Virupaksha temple and other tourist sights around it. Recommend you either start or end your day at this temple.

Entry to Vijayanagara empire – Behind Vijaya Vittala temple

Virupaksha Temple and Hemakuta Hill Complex

Virupaksha temple

The Virupaksha temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is one of the main pilgrimage sites here. This temple is said to be the place where Lord Shiva and Parvati got married and hence is very auspicious. The main feature of the temple is the tall gopura which you can see from miles away. The temple boasts a number of intricate carvings and you can visit for a quick darshan. Overlooking the temple and that’s what you will see first as you Virupaksha temple is the Hemakuta hill complex which offers some stunning views of the temple itself and also is a great spot to view the sunset across Hampi. This complex also houses the monolith statue of Lord Ganesha Saasivekalu and Kadalukalu.

View from Hemkuta Hill

Royal Enclosure – Dasara Dibba, Step Well, Hazara Rama Temple

Dasara Dibba

This is the open air section of Hampi near the Queen’s bath, which is situated en-route to the Virupaksha temple. The Dasara dibba is an elevated platform which served as the Royal seating area for the King and his family to witness the flamboyant Dusshera celebrations which happened below. Climb up the platform to see the never ending sight of the ruins. Dont miss out on the delicate carvings along it depicting daily life. You will also see carvings of scenes of women in war, hunting etc – gender equality at an ancestral level indeed!

A few steps from the Dasara Dibba is the Stepwell. This is one of the few stepwells in the South, the majority of them being in Rajasthan. The Vijayanagara empire had a very through irrigation/pumping system. You can see stone canals coming from the vicinity emptying into the step well. The area around the step well also served as a dining area with plates made of iron permanently fixed in the ground.

Stepwell

On the other side of Dasara Dibba is the Hazara Rama temple. Dedicated to Lord Rama, this was a private temple for the King. As you walk through this temple and encircle it you will see multiple carvings all depicting scenes from the Ramayana.

The entry to the entire Royal enclosure is Free.

Hazara Rama Temple

Zenana Enclosure – Lotus Mahal, Elephant Stables

Lotus Mahal

The Zenana enclosure is a fortified place built to protect the privacy of the royal women. Its structures have an Indo-Islamic architecture adding to the uniqueness of this place. The main structure here is the Lotus Mahal. This was built amidst gardens so that the royal women could spend their leisure time. The Lotus Mahal has architecture inspired by Islamic architecture with many patterns and carvings and has been designed to resemble a lotus bud.

A few steps away is the Elephant Stables and the Guards Quarters.

If you look towards the corners of the enclosure you will see watch towers built for security purposes.

The entry to Zenana enclosure is ticketed. You can use the same ticket used at the Vijaya Vittala temple. ASI has a QR code scanner at this site too which allows you to buy 1 E-ticket to see all the ticketed monuments together on 1 day.

Elephant Stables

There are also multiple other smaller temples like Urga Narasimha etc which you can stop and visit.

Urga Narasimha

Matanga Hill Sunset/Sunrise point , Anjanadri Hills etc

Matanga is another spot to capture the sun rise or sun set. The hill complex also houses a temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman. Anjanadri Hill is another place to visit for some great views of Hampi.

Tungabhadra Dam

There are a number of places around Hampi to see as well. Tungabhadra dam was something we had read about in school and were eager to go see it. A 20mins drive from the resort we reached the entrance, parked and started the 2-3km walk up to the view point of the dam. There is a bus which takes you, but we wanted to avoid public transport. A 20mins walk later we reached the view point – what you see is the massive dam gates and power plant on one side and the river against the dam, with the setting sun on the other… Amazing!

Tungabhadra Dam

Tungabhadra Dam

Food in Hampi

There are a number of local options for food, but given the situation we were extremely careful to avoid going to crowded places. Mango Tree is one of the most famous restaurants frequented by tourists. Its situated right next to Virupaksha temple and hence serves only Vegeterian food and No alcohol. The entry road was a bit unusual and you need to park at the temple parking and walk to the restaurant. Its situated next to some small homes and you do wonder where are you going! However, inside is a completely hippie set up with some good music and good food.

With that wrapped our 2 days in Hampi, getting mesmerized and being transported into a different world altogether!

Next up .. destination Badami – Pattadakal – Aihole

Tips for travel during covid

• Avoid crowds and wear masks at all times
• Check the covid guidelines of the hotel. Most hotels offer food packages as well.
• Carry sanitizer wipes and clean surfaces
• Avoid cash exchange and have all the payment wallets topped up. Almost all places have a QR code to scan and e-pay.
• Minimize interactions with people and avoid contact
• Recommend eating or staying in outdoor spaces
• Carry your food for road trips. If you plan to stop on the highway, recommend take-away and eat in your vehicle

Hope you found this useful and discover these places in your next visit to Hampi

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Beijing & the Great Wall

This month of August marks two years since our epic trip to China and given the lockdown, time to travel down this memory lane.

A work friend and I had visited Shanghai in Aug 2018 and then decided to travel to Beijing over the weekend, to ofcourse see the Great Wall and other sights. We were to leave from Shanghai on Friday evening, but had the opportunity to advance this and with in-numerous permutations and combinations we had advanced our flight from Shanghai to Beijing by a few hours thinking we would get more time in Beijing. Where did we know that Murphy’s law decided that it was their day, infact their Trip!

Day 1: Woke up in the morning to a typhoon in Shanghai, hence heavy rains. Unsure if our flight would take off, we still proceeded to the airport. Checked in, boarded and 20 mins past ETD we hadn’t taken off. 😦 Again, everything in China happens in Chinese including flight announcements. The head purser then made an announcement which sent some irritation across the plane. On asking him, he responded in broken English – “Mechanical error, change flight”. Oh god! 1.5hrs of waiting, shifting to a new aircraft, and a 1hr wait at the baggage belt, irritated, we checked into the hotel at Beijing finally at 3pm!! We now had only 1.5 days in Beijing and we were determined to do the 2 main highlights – The Great Wall and Forbidden City and few other places.

Quirky things on a conveyor belt

Our first thoughts as we rode our taxi from the airport, Beijing is far more touristy than Shanghai and it looks like the capital city – huge, wide roads, maybe more populous as well. Beijing also has much more to offer from a tourist sight standpoint. But, in China, most tourist sights close by 5pm and the last entry is at 4pm = we barely entered our hotel, dumped luggage and sprinted hoping to reach Forbidden City before 4pm. This included, getting a metro map, understanding the stations to go to, buying tickets at the kiosk, running crazily across the station, using google picture translate to find our exit (yes even these are in Chinese!) , pushing and shoving our way through the queues to enter Tiannenmen square, sprinting for almost 1.5km; Phew! it was too close.

We did reach Tiannenmen square a little before 4pm and were blown away by the sheer size of the square. Everything in Beijing is huge and far apart! #PlanWell. We then started hunting for the entrance to Forbidden City – but we couldn’t find it – no sign boards, and no one to help. Misery loves company and there was this Turkish couple who were equally lost. After multiple futile attempts at getting directions, arguing with a Chinese guard who got sick of us and let us enter into one of the gardens, and playing google translate with another guard, we got to the entrance- but alas, we were late and it was shut! Damn Murphy! Disappointed and tired, but determined that tomorrow we will definitely make it!

Forbidden city gates

We then spent some time walking around the Tienanmen area, admiring the vast expanses, gardens etc and then left to visit Hongqiao market. This is one of the top places for shopping especially pearls. Go to the 3rd floor and you feel like you are in pearl heaven! An entire floor lined with multiple stalls selling many many designs, one is spoilt for choice! #Tip – bargain hard! The Hongqiao market sells anything from watches, to stoles, bags, tailored clothes, some silk etc. One really could spend an entire day wandering and shopping here. After spending about 2hrs there we came back to the hotel to plan our next day – The great wall of China, Ming tomb and Forbidden city. Phew! What a day it was!

Day 2: Next day dawned and as Murphy would like it we woke up to rains!! But we were determined come rain or sun we will see what we set out to see.

There are 2 modes to get to the Great Wall – You could book yourself onto a day tour which would take you to the Wall and Ming tombs including lunch and  a tour guide OR you hire a private car for the day. It isn’t recommended that you hail any taxi to go there as its fairly on the outskirts and stretches for the entire day. After a bit of dilemma, we chose the private taxi since it gave us the flexibility of times and we could spend as much time as wanted; anyway we were travelling and behaving like locals. He hired a private taxi from the hotel, yes negotiated for rates and set off to the portion of the Great Wall at Badaling. There are 2 popular sections of the Wall – Badaling and Mutiyano. We chose to go to the more popular and bigger section of the great wall, which is in Badaling. The Turkish couple we met the previous day had taken the tour to Mutiyano and weren’t happy at all and they recommended we do it on our own.

The Badaling section of the Wall is one of the longest sections open to public and is also quite crowded with Chinese locals. You will hardly see any foreigners (I guess they all go to Mutiyano – would recommend Mutiyano for a quieter experience). An early start at 6:00am and a 2hr drive from Beijing, there is a process to go up to the wall – long queue to board the bus to go to the cable car ticket counter, purchase cable car ticket, even longer queue to get to the cable car (includes pushing and shoving to jump ahead in the line), a 7mins ride up the mountain – all totally worth it!

From the initial views from the cable car to the time when you set foot on the wall, its marvelous. We initially wanted to climb up to the wall, but again, no one is willing to help with directions and no signboards, makes it difficult. Once up on the Great Wall you see why it has the name. Its an immensely majestic structure running across the mountains and a great sight to see. You can climb up the wall to any of the watch towers but be careful! The climb is steep and did I mention crowded! The Great Wall was meant to fortify China against the Mongolian and other invaders. Stretching across the country, there are only few sections of the wall accessible to public. Many sections of the wall has been destroyed in the past, some pieces been picked up by locals to construct homes etc. Hence only certain portions have been restored.

The Great Wall

View from the cable car

We spent a good few hours climbing up and down the wall and then decided to begin our descent. there are 2 ways to get down – back through the cable car or walk down. We wanted to walk down but couldn’t figure out the path. We just decided to follow some signs and finally found one English speaking local who confirmed the path to us. It took us about 30mins to descend, however we ended up at a different place from where we started #Facepalm. Retracing our steps, we were finally able to reach back to the spot where we bought our cable car tickets – though 45mins behind schedule!

We then quickly hurried to our next spot – Ming Tombs. This is where the last emperor and his wives were buried and this has been constructed bang in the middle of nowhere, amongst nature and yes its the only underground palace in the world. Its worth a visit purely to absorb the nature and admire the location. After spending a short while there we then headed back to our final spot which was Forbidden City again. It was 1:45pm by the time we left Ming tombs and it takes about 1.5hrs to reach Beijing. But it took us a bit longer given that Beijing’s traffic situation is worse than Bangalore!! It was 3:30pm and we were still 2.5km from Tianenmen square.

Ming Tombs

The underground tomb museum

View from the top of Ming Tombs

We decided to then rely on our feet – hence raced a bit of the distance, hailed a tuk-tuk for some portion of it, even got conned by the tuk-tuk driver who extracted more money from us and reached the beginning of Tianenmen square around 3:45pm. To enter the square and further towards Forbidden City you need to navigate the crowds, go through security clearance and walk close to 1-1.5km to the entry gate – we were so late, we sprinted – me ahead and my friend close behind. Sprinting, I could see the gate of Forbidden city ahead of me, turned around and my friend wasn’t there! I rushed and entered the gate at 3:55pm, still no friend in sight. I then spotted her running towards the gate, and while I tried explaining to guard to give it a minute he started closing the entrance. With an extra boost and a long jump, my friend leapt and made it to the other side, while the guard closed the gate behind her! Woah! That was close!

The garden and path to Forbidden City

We caught our breath and then proceeded to the ticket counter, bought the tickets to enter into this magical Forbidden City. The Forbidden city is the palace complex housing the Palace Museum and was the former Chinese Imperial palace and state residence of the Chinese emperors from the Ming to Qing dynasty. This HUGE complex has about 980 buildings spanning 180+ acres. It looks exactly like in the movies, with all the grandeur, impeccable architecture and intricate designs. We were completely awestruck, not knowing where to start. We had a little over an hour and realised we wont be able to see the entire place – it really is a city! We picked a few highlights of the Museum like the Hall of Supreme Harmony, portions of Front Court, Meridian Gate etc and spent the rest of the time just walking through the complex – from the north gate to the south gate exit. I was particularly intrigued by the design of the roofs – just amazing!

Hall of Supreme Harmony

The roofs

You can easily spend an entire day in the Forbidden City and still have places left to see! The complex is very over-whelming by its sheer size and expanse and could be quite tiring to walk across – so plan well and stock up on some water and food.

It was around 5:30-6pm when we exited the Forbidden City, tired but exhilarated that we could accomplish what we set out to do. We spent a bit of time walking back and figuring out how to get back to our hotel to crash after a long, exciting and adventurous day!

China is a very different country to visit as a tourist. Beijing has so much more to offer and you can easily spend more than a week in this city. Yes, getting around as a tourist can be difficult, but this trip definitely builds a lot of confidence in yourself – in a country with a major language barrier, being able to navigate and start surviving the way they do, getting into the Chinese way of life..

Finally, some Tips to survive a trip in China –

• NO ONE speaks English – People are very hesitant to even try and help you, give you directions. All signboards are in Chinese too – Have all your apps in place – Maps, Translate, Search etc.
• Commute within city – traffic is usually high and that would mean negotiating (trying to) with a taxi driver. We ONLY used the Metro – the kiosks have English as an option, very easy to use and NO human interaction.
• Bargain – Chinese vendors quote really high prices and they know you will bargain. We have in some cases bought things at a price 60-70% reduced from the quoted price.
• Navigating crowds – concept of queues, waiting in line, patience – not so much – its a survival of the fittest -so be ready to push and make your way through crowds.
• Food – if you are a vegetarian, please carry enough food for the trip – adding the complexity of language barrier, finding veg food is very difficult.
• Cash – its largely a cash economy (or Chinese e-wallet) and ensure you have cash on you – withdraw from ATMs at your hotel.
• Check Closing Times – Plan well and check opening and closing times of all sights. Many places shut early.

Hope you enjoyed the Read.. Do drop in a comment, appreciate it!

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5 Hidden Gems of Singapore

Singapore was the first country I visited, making it very close to my heart. My eyes twinkle every-time someone talks about SG. During this lock-down, I caught up with an old friend who had made my stay in SG a lot of fun and we got to reminiscing our good ol’ days.. Thus getting me all nostalgic and turning to wordpress 🙂

When ever I travel to a city, I try and ensure I learn to navigate and make my way around independently. I used to spend many weekends simply walking around or riding the bus or metro to many parts of this city, discovering the nuances and the multiple small joys this city has to offer.

SG has a LOT of touristy things to offer – Sentosa, Marina Bay Sands, the zoo, chilling/partying at Clarke Quay, Universal studios, luxury shopping and so on.. But apart from these SG has a few hidden gems! Having lived there a bit, here are my top 5 things to do, apart from the popular ones… Discover them on your next visit to SG!

1. Shopping @ BUGIS STREET! Any visit to SG is not without a trip to the famous Orchard Street – hub of all the Louis Vuittons of the world. SG can be a bit expensive, especially when you do the conversion to INR. But don’t fret! You can manage to do the Indian equivalent of Janpath and Commercial Street shopping right in the heart of SG. Head to BUGIS STREET. Bugis Street is an arcade of multitude shops selling everything from socks, to t-shirts to souvenirs to dresses, bags, shoes and many quirky things. Very easy on the pocket, you can shop for some great dresses, tops, shoes for 20$ each! Bugis Street also has some good food option, for those who get peckish while they shop.

Top buy reco at Bugis Street: I found these toe socks – like gloves, socks with a covering for each toe.. so cool! Tiny umbrellas, which can fit into any hand bag.. a great purchase, been using them for years now! Bottle Jackets – Cuz even your wine bottles feel cold 🙂

The most popular reco one will get is “Visit Musatafa in Little India” for cheap shopping. However, I have found Bugis to be much more appealing. But if you are looking for some cheap perfumes, and electronics, head to Mustafa.

Did you know the brand Charles & Keith originated in SG.. That means it is way cheaper here than in India. I happened to discover the factory outlet of Charles & Keith 😀 Located in Anchorpoint Shopping Centre on Alexandra road, it has a fairly decent collection and some Discounts and Sale too! The shopping centre is the factory outlet for a few other brands as well. But a visit to the C&K store, worth the while!

2. FOOD! – SG offers a lot of options in terms of cuisines – entire South East Asian to Indian to continental etc. I do have a few favourites which I keep turning back to on my visit there..

Zenso – located near Bugis, this small, quaint restaurant offers some great choices in SEA and European cuisine. I highly recommend the Thai green curry here – one of the best I have had. Also there was this person who used to sing Shah Rukh Khan songs when he meets someone from India 🙂

Madurai Idli Shop – I know what you are thinking. Indian in a foreign land.. But trust me when the stomach craves for some home cooked food, head to Little India to this restaurant for their cottony soft idlis with the myriad colour chutneys and finish off your meal with their signature Jigarthanda!

Annalakshmi – I found the concept of this place very interesting. Established with the intent to provide food for everyone this restaurant provides great home-cooked Indian food without a PRICE on the menu. Run on the concept of “Eat how much ever you want, Pay how much ever you can” one can eat to their heart’s content and pay whatever the amount they feel is worthy at the end. This restaurant has all the cooks and keepers on a voluntary basis and people work here with the intent of “Seva”. Be mindful of 2 things – Do Not Waste food – serve as much as you can eat – the buffet is un-limited; Ensure you have a Reservation since the waiting times can be quite long.

3. Indulge in some Middle East! SG has an entire area dedicated to the Middle East. Spend an evening at Arab Street. Enjoy the delicious cuisines from Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey along side Turkish coffee. There are a number of small street markets selling a myriad of items. Shop for the famous middle-eastern lamps and light-shades, they are gorgeous! For those who love quirky things, head to Haji Lane, right next to Arab Street. A small lane, lined on both sides with boutiques, cafes, and other eateries has a lot to offer in terms of clothes, souvenirs, small quirky items and some great food options. I did pick up some fab designer dresses here!

4. An Evening at East Coast Park! East Coast Park is a popular area to do some outdoorsy activities – frequented by numerous cyclists, roller bladders etc, its a great place if you would like to spend an evening cycling around or just sit back, relax and enjoy the beach view with some good food and drinks. The park is on a beach front giving you the required dosage of sun, sand and sea. Head out there, rent a bicycle and cycle around, with the occasional pitstop at the vendors and grab some munchies. Its a great spot to catch up with friends, just sit around, chatting.. almost a mini picnic 🙂

5. Hiking Trails in the heart of SG!

Tree Top Walk – SG is known to be a city but, you can get the experience of hiking through a mini-forest right in the middle of this city. The Tree Top Walk is a suspension bridge situated in MacRitchie Park. The Park itself is a large Natural Reserve governed by the Singapore Botanical Gardens offering Singaporeans and tourists the green lung in the city. MacRitchie Park has a lot of natural hiking trails and you can easily spend a day amidst nature. You can also do some bird watching and observe the biodiversity in this Park. #Tip: Do check the weather and opening/closing timings before you head out there!

Henderson Waves Bridge – Another green lung in SG is the Southern Ridges which comprises of multiple trails and elevated walkways connecting parks, teeming with flora and fauna. One such elevated pedestrian walkway is the Henderson Waves Bridge – a wave shaped, undulating bridge connecting two hills, is Singapore’s highest pedestrian bridge. A great space to spend an afternoon or get there early in the morning, to avoid crowds; walk around, absorb the nature and ofcourse great spot for some beautiful Insta shots!

Hope you found this useful and discover these places in your next visit to SG.

If you have already been here, drop in a comment and tell me your experience.

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A drive to one of the corners of India, Dhanushkodi!

A long weekend is a very inviting option to go somewhere and 15th August, Independence day was approaching soon (not this year, last year,#StayhomeStaysafe in 2020). Bharath (The Husband) had been on a boys trip to Rameswaram and Kanyakumari the previous year and I had seen pics of Dhanushkodi and was itching to go there. So when we were looking for options in the middle of monsoon season, this popped up with him saying, “Let’s go to Dhanushkodi.. I want to eat fish (making the fish symbol with his hands)”. I am a vegetarian, so with a facepalm (and concealed excitement) we set about planning.

We had about 4 days in hand and hence decided to just visit Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi. Why these two places? The temple town of Rameswaram is situated on Pamban island connected to Indian mainland by the famous Pamban bridge. As per Ramayan, a bridge was built by Hanuman to Srilanka to rescue Sita. Rameswaram is one of the Char Dhams (holy pilgrimage sites) and the Ramanathanswamy Temple is considered to be very sacred. 30 kms from Rameswaram and the closest point to Srilanka is Dhanushkodi – an abandoned ghost town, at the tip of Pamban island, destroyed by a cyclone in 1964 post which the Govt. had declared it as un-inhabitable.

Planning this was simple –

• Transport – our little Ferrari aka VW Polo and we were the drivers
• Hotel – we scouted a few on Trivago, Booking.com etc and settled on Hyatt Place, Rameswaram. By the way, Hyatt Place and many other such hotels in Rameswaram offer only Vegetarian options since Rameswaram is a Holy place. You may want to check the cuisines offered prior to booking.

Travel is never without some surprises and unfortunately the twist came in late-July when I fell quite ill and we were advised against any form of travel. We immediately called the hotel to cancel and since it was non-refundable we were quite sure nothing could be done. Thankfully, the hotel offered us the option to move the travel to end of August/early-September at the same rate.. There are some silver linings after all!

It took me a month to recover from what I had contracted and had a number of restrictions/advisories on food and water.. Sigh! We had thought of cancelling the trip multiple times, but then felt we needed a break after all the hospital and doctor visits. So one last check with the doctor and she said the golden words.. go ahead, but be careful! Yay! #SoExcited

Day 1:

We were to leave on a Thursday morning and return Sunday night. Bangalore to Rameswaram is a 10.5 hr drive through Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Since I had been recommended only home-cooked food, that meant nothing from the myriad of restaurants on the highways.. Double Sigh! I love the food in Tamilnadu and usually look forward to the sponge like soft idlis, sambar, pongal, vada.. drool!

so plan B – call cook at 5am to make me some upma which I would consume for breakfast and lunch, packed a huge picnic basket of fruits, coconut water, biscuits and other healthy munchies and we were ready to depart by 6am. We quickly got out of Bangalore and headed towards Krishnagri – first stop breakfast (for Bharath) at Murugan Idli shop. He munched on, while I watched him with a frown. #SoJealous.

Murugan Idli’s offerings

We picked up our pace, taking turns driving, with some stops for lunch and tea, we made it to Rameswaram by 4pm in the evening. A smooth check-in, a bit of rest and then stepped out in search for sea-food for YOU KNOW WHO. He wanted to visit some places where he had eaten on his last visit, but we couldn’t find them. Chose another small restaurant and according to him, the fish was finger licking good! Content, we headed back to Hyatt Place, had dinner and settled in for the night.

Day 2:

The next morning, post breakfast, we headed first to Dhanushkodi.. One straight road, with not a hint of civilization, with sand on either side, Bay of Bengal on one and Indian Ocean on the other.. a view like never before – so serene, so un-touched. Such a beautiful drive towards the end of one of India’s corners, from where, with clear, un-polluted skies, one can see Srilanka. You know, the radio signals of stations in Srilanka are picked up at Dhanushkodi and we could hear it for the 10 km drive in the middle of the sea. Amazing! On our return, we stopped at the entrance of Dhanushkodi village, where Bharath found himself some lip-smacking fish with rice for just about 120 INR!! Whoa! #Tip: There is a lot of checking done by the local police enroute to Dhanushkodi. Ensure you have all the car documents on you at all times.

We then headed back to the city to visit some other sights. Rameswaram is also the birthplace of our ex-President Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and this is where he grew up. His old house has been preserved and converted into a  museum of sorts to inspire generations to come and celebrate this scientific journey. A quick tour of House of Kalam and we the proceeded to the Kalam Memorial, which was built in his honor post his death. Rameswaram is fairly hot and humid and we were getting quite exhausted. Late Lunch at the hotel and a siesta later, we were ready for Sunset overlooking Pamban bridge. The rail and roadway constructed, serves as the main connection to this island. The rail-tracks laid pass through the sea and used to terminate at Dhanushkodi, until the cyclone destroyed it. Sunset overlooking the bridge is beautiful! #Tip, wait for one of the trains to pass and it calls for an Insta moment!

Day 3:

We woke up early, hoping to catch sun-rise at Dhanushkodi. We drove up-till the entrance to the town to find it closed. It turns out that Dhanushkodi closes everyday from 6 pm to 7 am due to high tide and gusty winds which cause a number of accidents. While we waited for the barricade to open, wandered around on the beach for a bit and at 7 am sharp, they opened the gate.. The vastness, the colour of the sea, the gusty winds, just adds to eeriness of this place – spooky yet serene. We did a quick drive around, captured a few photos then headed back. Rameswaram also has a number of other smaller temples and we visited a few on them in the morning saving the best for the last.

In the afternoon, hoping for lesser crowds, we visited the famous Ramanathaswamy temple. Considered as one of the holiest places for Hindus, this temple is an architectural marvel – the never-ending colourful corridors, the number of pillars providing an illusion of a curve, simply marvelous. #Tip – photography is not allowed inside the temple and one needs to leave their mobile phones outside. Hence no photos. Also dress modestly. Parking is a challenge given the small, crowded roads and that the entire periphery of the temple is a No-Parking zone. We then parked our car a little far away and walked to the temple.

We spent close to two hours marveling at the architecture, along with a darshan of the main deity and walking the entire round of the temple – its huge! It has 4 main entrances, that should tell you the size.

Post the temple visit, Bharath now wanted his last dosage of fish before we departed to Bangalore the next day. finding him his love, we crashed for the night, ready for another 10+hour drive back.

Day 4:

Madurai Meenakshi Temple

Early start to the day as we were heading back home. Got my breakfast packed by the hotel (5-star service for someone who was recovering) and we set off enjoying the sunrise across Pamban bridge. for our return journey we had planned a pit-stop at Madurai to visit the famous Meenakshi temple, a temple with a 1000 pillars. The entrance (gopuram tower) of the temple is colorful, curvy and leads into the immense temple complex where there is a small temple pool. Further is a hallway leading to the main deity goddess Meenakshi. After standing in the long queue and getting a darshan we moved to visit a few more shrines in the complex and then proceeded to see the hall with a 1000 pillars. It is definitely a sight to behold, all the pillars stand strong with intricate carvings, leaving us awestruck.

Post a quick lunch, Bharath ate, I stared at him, we then began our journey back to Bangalore.. Tired but happy faces..

India has a lot of hidden gems, Rameswaram and more particularly, Dhanushkodi is definitely one of them. The feeling of standing on a an empty stretch of road and sand, two differently colored ocean and sea on either side, the vastness all around, the sound of the wind blowing and waves crashing, you wonder.. is this really India?

Here’s to exploring more such gems of Incredible India!

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