Day 1: Ubud: Monkey Forest, Goa Gajah temple, Kopi Luwak places Our first stop in Ubud was a coffee shop kind of place which had Kopi Luwak on its menu. You can see civet cats in cages and excreted coffee beans that are used to make this expensive coffee. There is a tasting menu for… Read More »Places to see in Bali
The land of nature, rice and temples Indonesia is made of more than 17000 islands. Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Flores, Raja Ampat are the most prominent places to visit in Indonesia Bali has always been an enchanting land, able to retain in Hindu culture in a Muslim majority population. It seemed close to India with its… Read More »Places to visit in Indonesia
For the love of wildlife Most watched channels at our home are Sony BBC Earth, Discovery, Animal Planet, Nat Geo Wild. We are big time animal lovers! Masai Mara and Serengeti had developed an unsaid familiarity. Travel to Africa was like a dream come true after years and years on watching animals on screen. We… Read More »Places to visit in Tanzania
The heaven with wildlife Most watched channels at our home are Sony BBC Earth, Discovery, Animal Planet, Nat Geo Wild. We are big time animal lovers! Masai Mara and Serengeti had developed an unsaid familiarity. Travel to Africa was like a dream come true after years and years on watching animals on screen. We share… Read More »Places to visit in Kenya
Colombo Colombo was just a stop before our flight. We visited Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary You will see elephants of all ages here. It is maintained by the government ($2.5 entry fee). Beware of similar places run by private operators who charge a much higher entrance fee ($10+). They hardly have a few elephants and use… Read More »Places to visit in Sri Lanka
The jewel of Indian ocean Best time to visit We wanted to avoid the rains which typically run from May-September in the south and west. There are multiple monsoon seasons, so checkout weather for each place before you visit. We chose to go in December which is dry, not very hot and pleasant Visa An… Read More »Sri Lanka
Shymbulak mountains, Charyn Canyon, Altyn Emel desert, lakes of Kolsai, Kaindy, Balkash, Almaty are the most prominent places to visit around Almaty city Shymbulak mountains: Half day tour to visit around Almaty Quick 45 -60 min ride from Almaty city. One way ride costed 2k Tenge ($5, INR 400) till Medeu ring. From there we… Read More »Places to visit around Almaty
The land of nomads Almaty, Astana, Mangystan mountains are the best hubs to visit places in Kazakhstan Almaty was a last-minute addition when we were about to book flights to Uzbekistan. I did not know much about what to expect, apart from large grasslands/ deserts I had heard of. As I started looking deeper, I… Read More »Places to visit in Kazakhstan
Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Nukus near Aral sea, Ferghana valley are the most prominent places to see in Uzbekistan Tashkent Capital city and mountains of Ugam Chatkal National park including Chimgan, Charvak and Jade lake We covered the following sites in Tashkent City We arranged this day tour through Zidulay travel, a local travel company… Read More »Places to see in Uzbekistan
The silk route wonder The stans of Central Asia have always been like black box to me. It was difficult to imagine or visualize these places since you hear or see so less about them in the media. It is extremely confusing to locate each Stan on the map and know the different places in… Read More »Things to know before visiting Uzbekistan