Khandala etched in the Western Ghats

The beautiful and scenic Khandala, a hill station in the Western Ghats, has been a popular destination for cinema.

 

 

 

 

At the Business centre of Phillipines - Makati City

I was at the Makati City in September, 2007 on a business trip, of course.  We took a flight from Hyderabad, transit through Singapore, to Manila.  Here's a view from my window en flight.

Makati is a part of the 'Metro Manila' - National Capital Region of Philippines and is the financial centre of the country.  It is home to many international financial institutions.  The skyline of the city is dotted with skyscrapers which give a magnificent view of the city.

  

Not only is it the financial hub, Makati city is also a very well known shopping centre and has some of the largest malls of Asia here.  It is a delight of shoppers offering from a wide range of street shopping, branded outlets and international shops, restaurants, entertainment.

The Filipino are fun loving and adorable people and I had a wonderful experience working with them.

Shokran Bahrain!

I had visited Bahrain in 2009 but haven't yet got around to writing about it.  So here it is.....

The Kingdom may have undergone many a changes over these five years but I would nonetheless want to put down those wonderful memories and experiences etched in my heart.

Manama is the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain, an archipelago, with Bahrain island the largest covering 55 kilometers. Yeah you saw it right......it is a little island country with Iran to the North, Saudi Arabia to the West and Qatar to the south-east.

It is one of the gulf countries which has developed financial services and tourism as it major sources of revenue and you will be invited to an endless lineup of high rise, sophisticated, financial structures as you enter the country.

Bahrain high rise

Another of the high rise views

The airport is about 7 kilometers away from Manama and it is a thoroughly enticing drive to the city.

Way to airport

Each of the arabic countries I have visited, Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE, compete in the abundance of man-made marvels, excellent infrastructure and the sophisticated way of life that they have.

Most of Bahrain is concentrated in Manama and Al Muharraq.  I was staying at Al Muharraq which is home to  large souqs (markets) and had to go to work at the Diplomatic area.  

The country is a shoppers delight with the Dana mall, Bahrain mall and the City Centre Mall being most sought after.  One can find all the top brands and shopping was a significant pass time for me.  It is also the favored by tourists who come from other middle eastern countries to Bahrain on weekends.

Taxis are available at major areas and on call to go around Bahrain.  One can pick up a conversation with the cabbie to know more about the country, its heritage et al.  

Being an island, Bahrain coast is another of those places where one can spend beautiful evenings just being there and it is a hangout of Bahraini people. 

The King Fahd Causeway is a man made marvel that is a series of bridges and causeways connecting Bahrain to Saudi Arabia.  It was unveiled in 1982 and is 25 kilometer long, four-lane road.

The causeway is divided in three parts and we traversed it from the Bahrain side that is connected to the border island with Saudi Arabia.  Right from the beginning of the causeway you get this feeling of a mighty sword cutting the Gulf of Bahrain.  A watch tower on the Border island (aka Passport Island) gives a breathtaking view of the miles and miles of the Gulf.  

Partial view of the causeway - Bahrain side

Bridge to causeway

 

At the Border Island

   

This trip to the causeway was kind of a wrap up to the excellent hospitality of the Bahraini people.  They are adorable, simple and a delight to talk to.  Bahrain being a home to many immigrants from South and South East Asia gives a feel of familiar atmosphere around it.  When you visit the bazaar or the delightful eateries in there there is this sense of belonging in the air.  

Places near the souk

Places near the souk

- December 2008, January 2009

Welcome to my blog!

Hello there!

You may have browsed through the immense number of travel sites and have chanced to come here.

In this vast expanse of land and oceans, there are great civilizations, enriched cultures, breathtaking views and immense experiences hidden.  Once you start exploring them you will be slowly entranced into this wonderful experience called TRAVEL.

Right from taking a train or a flight to reach a place, exploring its multitudinous aspects, meeting wonderful people and tasting the varied flavor of cuisines would make you another person by the end of it.

This has been my experience with travel.  And I hope that this blog inspires and invigorates you to traverse the heights of mountainous towns, summers in tropical regions, sparkling waters of coastal areas to the inner realms of countries and cultures.

Here's wishing you happy traveling...... 

A weekend trip to Ootacamund!!

There are places which have forever been tourist attractions, widely talked about and given indelible names.  Ooty is one of them.

Udhagamandalam, as it is originally called, is the district capital of the sleepy Nilgiris district of Tamilnadu, a southern state of India.

In December 2014, we took the road from Bangalore, travelling through the historic city of Mysore, onto the Bandipur National park and the Nilgiri forest.  The entire journey from thereon is an unending stretch of green lush forests with caution notices to trespassers about the wild inhabitants of the forests - elephants, deer, tigers.....

If you are lucky you can spot herds of deer grazing near the road thoroughly oblivious of the vehicles passing by.  It is a beautiful drive and the scent of eucalyptus trees invites you into Ooty.  Acres and acres of tea gardens are sprawled over the villages on both sides of the road.

Stepping into Ooty is like going into any other part of Tamilnadu but less populated.  Several tourist attractions of Ooty are near to each other and you can hire an autorickshaw to visit these while taxis can be hired for nearby places.  The 'hill station' was and is a popular weekend and summer getaway and has plenty of picnic spots.

We were staying at the Fortune Sullivan Court very near to the Rose Garden.  The hotel is built in the name of the founder of Ooty - John Sullivan.  It is a beautiful hotel built amidst the lush green slopes of Selbourne Road as a resort and adorned with a scenic garden of itself.  There are breathtaking views from rooms of the morning sunrise from Nilgiri hills.

For photos of Fortune Sullivan Court Hotel

Within the town, the Government rose garden has over 26,000 varieties of roses and you can see them in full bloom in season.  Consider the names of roses there and they can be real tongue twisters.  I didn't realise they could have real complicated names too.....have now really begun to appreciate rose breeding....the pictures below may not best represent the quality roses at the garden as they were not in season.

 

We then went to Ooty lake which is very near to the bus and train station.  It is flanked by a beautiful boat house (It was constructed in 1824 by John Sullivan, the first collector of Ooty - Source Wikipedia) and a railway line running alongside one end.  One can take a pedal or motor boat to the lake from the boat house.  The lake was built by damming the mountain streams flowing down the Ooty valley and boat races are held here in summer.  Rose seeds and plants are up for sale by the government outlet just at the entrance.

  
 

And then we have our own indigenous Wax museum which has the most famous Indian historical personalities carved in wax (Shivaji, Mahatma Gandhi et al)....The statues are really near real and one comes to appreciate the artist who has been able to replicate a very rare art.

The Botanical Gardens of Ooty are spread over 22 acres and were set up in 1847.  They are sprawled by old trees and unique flowers.  With beautiful landscaping and people busy working on its maintenance all around, it definitely seems an immense establishment on its own.  The gardens have their own fern glasshouse and orchids park.  Here are a few snaps from the gardens.

 
   

Pykara is a river located near Ooty and has been in high regard by the original inhabitants of Ooty. On the way to Pykara one comes across the Pykara dam which is a hydel power project and very beautiful. The river cascades through a stretch at the end of which are the Pykara waterfalls.

  

The pine forest situated between Ooty and Pykara has been featured in many a movies including Roja...A small lake sits in the middle of this forest and one can take horse rides along the banks of the lake.

 

The experience until now was one in a million - of the breathtaking views from the winding roads of Nilgiri hills, acres and acres of tea plantation, surrounded by the waft of eucalyptus trees, serene lakes.

The best was yet to come though.  A ride in the Nilgiri mountain railway steam train from Mettupalyam to Coonor.

View from the train

 

 
The train moves at a stready pace through the mountains and you get an incredible view of the villages at the foothills down the valley and the eucalyptus trees sprawling the mountains, tea plantations and vegetable gardens.

Any visit to Ooty will be incomplete without going to the tea gardens.  As we took the factory tour, we were invited to a strong aroma of fresh tea leaves being crushed and sorted to make tea at the Doddabetta Tea factory.  Look up the Tea museum at Doddabetta. They have all kinds of tea - simple, flavored, green and you can sample the tea as well to know what to buy.  One can buy tea to take home with a wide variety of options available.

Ooty chocolates are another take home product from here including differnet kinds of oils produced from herbs that grow in the Nilgiri hills (eucalyptus, citriodora, rosemary etc.)

The Doddabetta peak is another important destination and is one of the highest mountains at Ooty from which one has an incredible view of the valley beneath.  We couldn't go there as the roads were closed on civil work.