With the firm belief that ALL of Switzerland would be as beautiful, serene and nature-oriented as ‘Heidi Land’, we packed our bags to go check what inspired Johanna Spyri to write such a wonderful fiction. We felt we should first see the “Global hub for Diplomacy”, also called the “City of Peace”. Our Lufthansa flight…
A perfect weekend getaway in winters, Jaipur, the capital of the state of Rajasthan, is just a 5-hour drive from New Delhi. It is well connected by rail and air and boasts of an international airport. Its rich history attracts school excursions, the majestic beauty fascinates foreigners, it’s a paradise for handicrafts, heaven for shopping,…
After having expressed a deep desire (innumerable times) to spend a night in a real palace, one day my husband finally surprised me by booking the Royal Suite at The Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan — his one-night anniversary gift to me. Wow! Was I excited! The Rambagh Palace was built in 1835 for the…
London is to Europe what Dubai is to the Middle East — you can visit all other cities in Middle East but if you don’t visit Dubai, you would have kind of not visited the Middle East in the real sense. The same principle applies to Europe. Opting to keep our trip to London not…
There comes a time in your life when a tiny voice in your head urges you to look beyond the pleasures of life and beckons you to the abode of the Almighty to say a small prayer of thanks. A very favorite and preferred (because the trek to the shrine is not very tedious, has…
The year 2017 marks the end of 156 years of British colonial rule and the British empire in Asia, when Hong Kong’s sovereignty shifted from the UK to China. A visit to this subtropical archipelago this year; seemed just the correct thing to do. Our Jet Airways plane seemed to be landing in the middle…
While, on the one hand it is possible to describe the beauty of Taj Mahal in just one word and on the other, an entire page may yet not be sufficient. Poets, writers, film-makers, lyricists, painters have all tried to capture the emotion behind this famed monument, but hardly anyone has been able to do…
Gujarat, the western-most state of India has its own history to tell. While it invites the most spiritual lot to its lap, with timeless temples like Somnath and Beyt Dwarka, it also calls out to the patriot to pay obeisance to the memory of the man — Mahatma Gandhi — who helped fellow Indians, finally…
Not many flights make a bee-line for this tiny island near Gujarat (Most popular Hindu pilgrimage places in Gujarat are Beyt Dwarka, Nageshvara Jyotirlinga and Somnath temple) and most that do are hopping ones. The island that was earlier ruled by Bahadur Shah, was given access to the Portuguese in return for help in warding…
What could be a better way to spend a weekend than an impromptu trip to the Queen of Hills with your daughter on a manageable budget, to catch a glimpse of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, witty, down to earth, loveable author for children’s books — Ruskin Bond! We booked our New Delhi-Dehradun tickets…