Destinations

(Click on any image to view the album and navigate) We were greeted by an unexpected spray of snow in late March on our morning ride to Yumthang valley in North Sikkim. Everything was dusted with white sparkles that shone bright against the azure skies. These are some of the most spectacular photographs we have ever taken. Check them and fall in love with this beautiful valley at 3560 meters above sea level. We don’t believe in bucket lists, but if you have one, this place should be on it. [epa-album id=”1797″ show_title=”false” display=”full”]

Every time I hit the beach anywhere, I am boggled by the huge number of people who are so in love with sun that they lay themselves practically coverless on the sand to be baked in the heat. Well lucky those who come from the country of no sunshine. I, on the other hand was blessed to be born in India where the Sun God is merciful all year round. I have been travelling twelve months now with layers of tan all over me. It didn’t bother me enough but I finally got tired of seeing someone else in the mirror every time I looked so I decided to fight that sun. And I learnt how the likes of me can protect our perfect, if may I say so, sun kissed complexion from being sun smooched: Early mornings and late evenings – Wake up early, walk along the beach watching the sun rise. You will be first up and the privileged ones with the beach all to yourself. Switch to sun set if you are West coast. And evenings just as the sun is setting is the best time for a swim. There is still light and the sun is not scorching you as the waves wash that heavy dab of sunscreen Cover up – I have seen women in Vietnam wear socks, gloves, full arm jackets, conical hats, typical of Vietnam and face masks to keep the sun off. You don’t need to go that far but you need a light cotton jacket to cover your arms and a scarf to cover your neck and face. A Cap or wide brimmed hat is must if you are going out. Over that walk under the shade of an umbrella if you don’t want to look like a shade card at …

This panorama defining hostel is set on a mountain in a quiet village of Gimmelwald. A few steps from the Gondola station, Mountain hostel offers views like a dream. You stand up close and personal with the Mount Eiger and can sit forever in a conversation with spell binding vistas on the terrace restaurant of the hostel and watch the snow clad giants in the backdrop. In the evening their lobby is buzzing with enthusiastic resident travelers, almost all of whom are American. People talk at length about their days’ spoils, how far they walked, what trek they did and where they are headed on their round the Europe tour. Yes, this place is very popular amongst American backpackers with a Euro rail pass and almost all of them end up landing here. Although food is cheap, but it is not as great as what a little more money can bring you to the table. But hey, they have a kitchen and you could do your own cooking. Don’t forget to bring your own pasta sauces and bread because when I went last, there were no stores around. All in all, Mountain Hostel is the perfect place to compare notes and find companions. If you are an American you will at home here. It is one of the cheapest options for food and stay in the area. Given its popularity with the backpackers, you may find a few things amiss and the employees and owners may seem a little brash with their policies and paid showers, but nothing beats the views of this place. It is truly one of the most stunning places I stayed in.

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India is a country that has both amazed and intimidated travellers and at the same time. Forever, buzzing with life, magic, apathy and colours, it is a seductive concoction that you must handle with care and enjoy at your own risk. A friend asked “how is an Indian to be pissed?” I laughed. I laughed so hard it hurt my stomach. Really, we have the patience of the steel and determination of the Iron Man. We never lose our cool. It is impossible to piss us off. But I can easily think of a 100 ways an Indian can piss you off! Okay wait you can’t handle that. Let me give you just 10 reasons how an Indian can piss you and how we are a bunch of special 1.2 billion. 1.      By peeing in public and not being apologetic about it – Come on where else does one pee. If you are going from office to work or work to office. The bus stations, empty private buildings, stairways of office buildings, outside gardens, parks, public places of all sorts or just about anywhere you see a wall is where you pee. If you see a man facing the wall with his hands invisible, you should know what he is up to and don’t be pissed, just let him piss in peace. 2.      By burping – Our food is amazing and we know that the ultimate expression of appreciation of a meal cooked well is a giant loud noisy smelly burp. So if you invite me over and I leave without offending your olfactory senses that would clearly mean you need to work culinary skills. Because it was not out of politeness that I didn’t burp, I meant to offend you. 3.      By slurping …

Remember the time your mother told you never to take anything from strangers and you thought she was probably being overly suspicious but you still agreed with the advise. Better safe then sorry, right? Probably no one ever offered anything to you. Maybe you did get offered a few things and nothing wrong happened. Was mother wrong then? No, never, mothers are never wrong and you are never grown up enough for her advise to not apply. We learnt it the hard way. Well, it could have been worse. One evening, the first evening of our South East Asian odyssey, we had taken a bus to Penang from Kualalumpur and found our self in Butterworth from where we took a bus to Georgetown. As we were looking for hotels a tall, bald man approached me (Ishwinder) and said he could show us a room for 22 MYR. Now that is about INR 440! “Great!” I thought. If you are in Malaysia, you should know that there is no such thing as budget! Most rooms were upwards of 40 MYR so we were happy that this guy who though a little dubious stopped us in the street and then walked a good kilometer with us to show us this guest house which at first we thought was his but later realized was owned by a Chinese man. It was at the edge of the Love Lane and was surrounded by multiple other more upscale guest houses. Although the whole place itself was falling apart, we decided to stay just for the spirit of budget travel and the smile of the man at the reception. It must have been someone’s old bungalow built in a colonial times and obviously it received no attention in the modern day. Anyhow, we still decided to stay …

Things you know about the shy and elusive country would always be far less than what you know about it but here are nine fun things you should know about this fascinating country. 1. Gross national happiness – Bhutan measures its progress not by Gross national product but rather by Gross National Happiness. 2. Tourism Tariff for $250 per day – A visitor from countries other than India, Bangladesh or Maldives is required to pay a tariff of $250 for each day they spend in Bhutan. This covers all the expenses (such as accommodation, food, transportation and guides) that you may have as a traveler. 3. Carbon Sink – Bhutan is the only country in the world that is a carbon sink which means that it absorbs more carbon than it emits into the environment thanks to hydropower. 4. Hydroelectricity – Bhutan generates 100% of electricity from hydropower. It runs on clean energy. 5. For the love of King and Queen – Bhutan loves its king and queen. The country is enamoured by their romantic love story. Their posters and pictures are found everywhere from government offices to local shops and hotels. 6. The National dress – Bhutan requires its citizens to wear the national dress for all official purposes from visiting the dzong to when they go casting their votes during elections. 7. Smoking is illegal but they love their betel nut – You won’t see people smoking in Bhutan but you will be greeted with red mouths and smell of betel nut. The stench is quite unbearable, the only thing that doesn’t agree with your senses in Bhutan 8. Highest unconquered mountain in the world – Since mountaineering is banned in Bhutan, the highest mountain in the world with unconquered summit is in Bhutan. 9. The Indian connection – …

We cannot bring you the lovely coffee from South East Asia but we bring you four cool twists we learnt in region that can make your regular coffee new and exciting. Be sure you have ground coffee and condensed milk for this. You could try it with regular instant coffee as well. Also, scroll right down to the bottom of the post to check out the coffee filter we are giving away and how you can win it! 1.  Coffee Banana Shake – This drink was made in heaven and then sent to Laos. It combines the kick of coffee, smoothness of a banana shake, texture of a smoothie and gets you going. We had it first while hanging in the hammock in our balcony on Mekong in what is called four thousand islands and then had it twice a day everyday till we left Laos which was ten days later. But you don’t need to go to Laos for this. Here is how you can make it: You need 2 tea spoons of sugar, 1-2 tea spoons to condensed milk, a shot of strong brewed coffee, 1 chopped banana, some fresh milk (50-100ml) and 2-3 ice cubes and a good shake in the blender to prepare your perfect coffee banana shake is ready. We promise you will love it. A recent experiment at home revealed yogurt does the job better than fresh milk makes it creamier. 2. Cold Coffee Shot – Add condensed mild to a glass and brewed coffee, stir it well with a spoon, fill the glass with ice cubes. Your Malaysia style coffee is ready. Drink it slowly to let the strong, heady, sweet mixture to be diluted by the ice. 3. Coffee Lassi – It is as it sounds – a lassi with coffee. Condensed milk, …

Well, I fell in love with Saigon on the day of arrival. Was I worried? Had I heard all those things they say about Vietnam? Like hell I was. But our friends were there to pick us up and show us around, to hold our hand in the country which given the many different reviews was the most intimidating country on our South East Asia trip. With the fantastic baguettes, the possiblity to explore country’s rich past, the endless crowds of people on motobikes, the mix of colonial history with the Vietnamese values made a very fascinating mix convincing us that we may have to extend our travel and explore all that is there to see in this fascinating country. I wondered why they spoke ill of it. It seemed like India – wonderful, busy with its self and with a million smells and tastes. But the first day trip itself, followed by a trip to the war remnants museum convinced us that maybe what they say about Vietnam is, in general, perhaps a little over hyped and, in particular, is possibly not meant for us. And as we traveled to its much famed sights, our faith in Vietnam continued dropping. Hoi An was pretty everything else was a disappointment upon disappointment. Here are five reasons why I will never return to Vietnam: The country wide policy of overcharging the tourists – If you are a tourist. You must pay extra. Period. Scams – Number 1 is fine if at least you know how much extra. But, in Vietnam everybody will try to take from you as much as they can. You have to be on your guard forever. Lack of cheap budget accommodations – Every place to stay comes with a minibar, air con, television and breakfast too. What if I don’t …

Ladies and gentleman, as you know we are going around the world sampling some of the the worst bus rides to bring you the best of the worst ones. The ride from Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam to Luang Prabang, is one such fine rides that deserve a mention on our blog. This ride is the winner of our quest to find the most the torturous and traumatic experience on a night bus. We suggest discretion in reading this post, for you will often shudder to think that it could be you on the bus. This is not just the finest but definitely also the longest among all bus rides brought to us from hell so far. If you have been suicidal for a while and don’t know what to do with your life, this is just the thing for you to do. Uncertain and full of surprises, as life itself, you will keep guessing when you are leaving and where you are being taken to. Often you will find yourself sitting and waiting, watching the hours pass and wondering why both, your life and bus, are not moving forward and where the hell on Earth are you. But then you realize it is two in the night and in the epic Scarlett O’hara way you will tell yourself, I will worry about it tomorrow for tomorrow is another day. And then you will toss around in the ultra (un)comfortable seats purposely kept short to squeeze your toes (making you want to chop off your limbs) and narrow to allow more human to human contact by bringing you closer to the fellow passenger you will be practically lying down with the whole journey. As if this is not enough, you will be seated (placed) next to the aisle which will …