All posts tagged: Travel

Six reasons why you should travel in the monsoons

Published by Anita

I’m sure there are more, but let’s start with six. In fact, while many tourists shy away from travelling because it’s raining, true travellers will tell you that a place can be enjoyed despite the rain. It’s a mindset that you need to avoid a destination when it rains. Unless, it happens to be a big city. In which case I would say avoid it like plague. You don’t want to deal with clogged roads, drainage overflowing, traffic jams and all the associated issues that the rains bring to our very well planned cities. The view from a tea garden in Pozhuthana, Wayanad Anyway, this is about the monsoons. And why it’s a great time to travel. Any place takes on a different hue during the rains. I was in Goa last year for 3 weeks and had the time of my life despite the torrential downpours. It’s lush and green The valley before you spreads out like a lush carpet. The roads are framed by green trees and grass on both sides. The hills …

And here’s presenting the world richest temple!

Published by Anita

Well, we’re told the jury is yet to come in on that one. But what we’re sure is that it’s a really, really, really rich temple. So in case you thought you were visiting a poor nation, steeped in poverty, with lots of homeless people (possibly also true); the other side of the story is that we also possess not one, but two of the richest temples in the world. Between, the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple and the Tirupati temple, we could potentially have enough to feed the entire nation for a few years. The temple is located in Thiruvananthapuram, and it shot into fame when in 2010, the news broke about all the wealth it was holding, deep within it’s vaults. An NDTV 2011 report says: “Last July, the world’s attention turned to the temple when the committee unearthed what one of its members said was gold, diamonds and precious antiques worth up to $40 billion.” 40 billion dollars! Now that is no small sum. And a little ironical coming to think of it. At …

Boarding the Kerala Blog Express in Trivandrum

Published by Anita

So it’s been a rather hectic 4 days – a variety of sights, sounds, monuments, hotels, beaches, backwaters, museums and anything else you can think of – have been clicked, blogged about, tweeted by 26 bloggers, writers and photographers who have converged in Kerala from all over the world. We started our journey in Trivandrum on March 10, spent the next day in Kovalam beach and then travelled to Kollam via Varkala on March 12. On March 13, we were in Kovalam. Four days on the road, and I’m trying to get used to the “fast” pace of the trip in the meanwhile. How to follow the travellers as they continue the journey over the next 10 days: Twitter: #keralablogexpress Instagram: #keralablogexpress Website: Kerala Blog Express It’s been an experience that is a first for me. I don’t think I’ve travelled in such a big group. Usually, it’s solo (evolving as my favourite mode!) or with a smaller group (which when like-minded, makes for pleasurable travel). For example, in a large group, it takes time …

Two weeks in God’s own country!

Published by Anita

A month or so ago, I came across the Kerala Blog Express and on a whim, decided to give it a go. Why not, I thought? I have travelled quite a bit in Kerala, but a chance to go back is always welcome. So, was quite pleasantly surprised, when the results came out and I was chosen to get onboard the Express, which departs on March 10. Two weeks going around Kerala with a bunch of enthusiastic, well travelled bloggers, who will converge in Trivandrum from different parts of the world (including a few from India) and then set out together. Here’s to a different view of Kerala. More experiences, and many more pictures and stories! (This photograph taken in Munnar a few years ago, on another trip).

My top 5 picks in the south

Published by Anita

Something I wrote a while ago, published by rediff.com. The places I’ve listed (some of them are possibly pretty familiar to most of you) and yet I was surprised when a very dear friend today confessed that she has never been to Pondicherry. So there goes! I take it for granted that these are relatively popular places, but if you haven’t visited yet, now is a good time. I’ve also listed some of my favourite places to stay in each of them. My picks: Pondicherry, Tharangamvadi (though I believe even Tharangampadi is an acceptable spelling), Nersa, Goa and Havelock (in the Andamans). Not sure if the last one technically can be called south India, but it’s still the deep south. Top 5 Must Travel Places in South India Enjoy 🙂          

Bitten by the travel bug

Bitten by the travel bug

Published by Anita

Looking back, I’ve always been a bit of a wanderer and a gypsy. I’ve always had the yearning to discover, learn, journey and share. I’ve never been happy sitting in one place, one city, one country (and maybe one universe?!). I know – it doesn’t really make for a very stable and predictable career, but it does bring with it experiences that are out of the world. Jumping out of a plane was perhaps the most exciting and nail-biting thing I did last year, but I enjoyed even the mundane walk through a small town where every experience is novel. Experiencing a serene sunset, cycling through rural villages, enjoying a cup of tea by the road side, rafting down a raging river – I would have never known life’s simple pleasures if I hadn’t ventured out of my comfort zone. And I’ve managed to pack a bit in the last year. From diving into the deep blue waters of the Bay of Bengal, to experiencing a royal way of life in Jaisalmer; from a journey …