Scandinavia has been an elite destination on my mind for a long time, mainly due to remoteness and idea of expensive travel. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth with fjords, arctic ice, northern lights. Only after travelling, I realized that it is possible to do it in a budget effective way… Read More »Scandinavia: Wrong turns, right memories
Temples have a close relation with humans and animals alike. One such example Ananthapura temple crocodile Babiya, near Kasargod in Kerala, on the border region with Karnataka I have always been fond of South Indian temples, particular the Kerala style ones. There is so much richness in architecture, showing clearly how ancient kings dedicated their… Read More »Divine interaction with Ananthapura temple crocodile Babiya
Udupi is aptly called temple town. You can find one temple every 500 metres. In addition to temples, there are shrines dedicated to demigods/ Daivas, made famous by the movie Kantara. The Udupi Paryaya (meaning change) is one of the grandest biennial festivities in South India, with Shiroor mutt taking over in 2026 There are… Read More »Grand festivities of Udupi Paryaya in temple town
Uzbekistan was unknown to us, like a black box before we landed up there. The inspiration to go came from one of my colleagues who had travelled to 75+ countries and called out this one among all the countries in Central Asia. My colleague described Khiva as walking in history, which I didn’t really fathom… Read More »Warmth of Uzbeks
As you start frequent or international travel, it becomes beneficial to enroll in loyalty programs. While the savings might not be huge, it does cut ~10% of your bills on average and about 50%+ if you utilize accumulated points over years at once. It takes effort, time to enroll, keep track of and optimize loyalty… Read More »How to optimize loyalty programs
The idea of visiting Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan was an adventure to begin with. Kazakhstan got added last minute as I realized distance between Tashkent and Almaty was not long. My colleague who had visited 75+countries had referred to nothing much beyond endless steppes while describing Kazakhstan, unlike raving reviews of Uzbekistan. As I started reading… Read More »Adventures in Almaty
While travel planning is one of my favorite activities, it might feel overwhelming for most of us. I plan my own travel for multiple reasons- saving money, getting familiar with geography/ cities, having the ability to customize basis preference, and coming up with backup options if some places are closed. Travel research for a good… Read More »Travel research for a good itinerary
Visas can be overwhelming when planning travel, with most people handing it over to agents for support. What we realized over multiple trips is that it is best done by yourself. The rejection rates when left to agents can be high in case you don’t go to reliable ones, in addition to inflated costs. We… Read More »Managing visas on travel
The opportunity Travel has always been a family ritual for us, taking opportunities to go around every place my dad was transferred to. We didn’t have the predictability or leaves during school and peak years of my dad’s career to venture outside India, probably even money for that matter. We were awed when our relatives… Read More »A month’s dream stay in Switzerland
Mumbai, the city of dreams, was home for my uncle who had settled in the city since early 1990s. We visited the city only few times in a decade for important events like naming ceremony of my cousin, and his housewarming ceremony Childhood memories of Mumbai My uncle had a love marriage the first time… Read More »Mumbai, the city of dreams