The art of flipping a kayak We still had the whole day to us on our lodging boat. The vessel had arranged kayaking for us. Although Phuong asked two people to get into one kayak, I got a kayak to paddle on my own. I felt a bit uncomfortable carrying the camera, so I decided … [Read more…]
2 Day 1 Night at Ha Long bay Ha Long bay is a popular tourist destination in the Northern part of Vietnam. In order to avoid the hassles of permit, we decided to book a package. Every hotel / hostel / travel agency has the same brochure. It is advisable to not go with the … [Read more…]
A failed attempt at being a tourist in Ha Noi We left Winter Hostel in Ha Noi because the room was very dark and depressing. A decent suggestion by Tripadvisor was Aurora Hotel on Ma May street. En route, I came across hawkers which reminded me more of Kolkata suburbs. By the time, me and Nandy … [Read more…]
Like Tom Hanks in The Terminal I ended up taking three flights just to get from Bangalore to Ha Noi. The first of them dropped us at Singapore Changi airport. The transit areas are the only places where one can obtain some good sleep. We had about five hours to spend before our second flight. … [Read more…]
Minimalist packing Tigerair allows a carry-on allowance of max 2 pieces with a combined weight not exceeding 10 kg. Or so the tag says. I made sure that I pack the lightest stuff, eg. tracksuits that weigh no more than 100-200 g each. A test of patience The wait time is a true test of … [Read more…]
And you thought we couldn’t combine two experiences together Kolukkumalai Tea Estate is the highest organic tea garden in the world. It is also the highest tea estate in South India. In order to reach there, one must drive for about 30 kms from Munnar and then take a 4×4 vehicle and drive for another … [Read more…]
A standardised organised trip around Munnar There are four major directions one can take to visit various places in and around Munnar – namely, the Cochin direction, the Mattupetty direction, the Thekkady direction and the Coimbatore direction. Most major spots are in the Mattupetty direction. A day’s reservation of a cab for site-seeing cost us … [Read more…]
Periyar Lake boat ride was more like a bird watching expedition This limited seat boat ride is one of the most sought after activities in Thekkady. We went there quite early, so getting a ticket wasn’t an issue. The Periyar Forest Reserve operates four boats simultaneously, for one and half hours, at about two hour … [Read more…]
Alleppy to Thekkady It is not easy to get from Alleppy to Thekkady. The distance is about 170 kms. The first 70 odd kms are in plains. After that the bus ascends through thin, hilly roads. There are very few direct buses between these two points. We were fortunate (or unfortunate) to get one. There … [Read more…]
The cheapest way to reach Alleppy from Kochi is the best way The simplest way to reach Alleppy from Kochi is to take a KSRTC bus from Vyttilla Mobility Hub. For just 40 rupees, one can comfortably reach Alleppy in one and half hours. In this brief journey, I cam across two interesting things. The … [Read more…]
