kirukkals

[kirukkals]

Ireland - "Love the place, Leave no trace"

Have you ever found yourself scrolling through social media, looking at pictures of gorgeous places, and wishing you could be there right now? Our trip happened just like that! April 2024, week long EID holidays here in UAE, and what better place than Ireland during the spring season! Ireland is the 30th country that I have visited to date and, for me, definitely falls in one of the top 5 places to visit if you are a nature lover! It was a pleasant surprise that there was no visa rush for Ireland, unlike Europe, where the wait times were long and the embassy turnaround time was quick.

Now don’t get me wrong, travelling is a privilege and it is definitely not cheap! Fortunately for us, we choose to save to spend on trips every year and give ourselves the experience to savour a new land and a new culture.

The thing that strikes us about Ireland is that the people not just love the outdoors but respect it too. They completely hate people who litter the outdoor. There were not many trash bins to be seen. Everywhere the display is put up in bold, “Love the place, leave no trace”. Yes, they want you to carry your trash with you to your home. The outdoors are so pristine that you wouldn’t want to leave a trace.

April 4th, we landed in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. We rented out a car at the airport, avoided Dublin city, and headed outside. The next 10 days, the Nissan Duke Hybrid served very well for our long drives in the Irish countryside, 1700 kms, to be precise. That evening, we strolled through the streets of Swords, had a pizza for dinner, and took a basic accommodation in Travelodge, Swords. There is so much awareness of vegetarian and vegan food here that when we ordered our pizza, the guy over the counter asked us if we preferred that our pizza was cut with a fresh wheel cutter. I nodded with a big smile.

April 5th, we did the Swords castle first. Just taking in the landscape, weather, learning to drive on the left and stay on that side of the road. The air was clean, the ground was drenched with fresh rain, and the green was at it greenest. Later, we drove to the Trim castle and sought help with an expert guide who gave us a walk through with some humorous stories about living in a castle. There was one tricky narrow spiral stairs all the way up the castle & down! Had a very good view of the entire county from the top. It was good to visit a 11th century castle in ruin, but maintained well of what is left. We drove to Donegal, which served as a mid-way halt before we headed to the northern most tip of Ireland. Interestingly, we booked ourselves at a B&B above a pub and, surprisingly, a quiet one for a Friday evening.

April 6th, we first stocked up snacks at Lidl store. Having stayed in the UK for a year, we knew Lidl or Tesco stores were the ones to go to stock up for day trips! We did a quick visit to the Donegal castle. It was more like an exhibition hall with wooden stairs & models. Each castle had something different to offer. Some were cozy, some very elaborate, some ornate. But, that’s it, we had done enough castles for the trip. Then we began our exhilarating drive up north on the Wild Atlantic Way. The next few days, our drive was all over the Wild Atlantic Way, and the scenes were breathtaking. Our first stop was at Malin Head, the northern most part of Ireland.

We stayed at Whitestrand Home. The owner, a young 70+ lady, was so friendly and helpful. She gave the map of the county and marked the places to visit nearby. The next two days, we had great homemade breakfast and a lovely chat with her! The accommodation was a triple room with a balcony, which opened to a huge backyard and with an unobstructed view of the North Atlantic Sea. We could hear the strong winds, watch the waves splashing at the far end, and sheep grazing lazily at the farm nearby. Sunset in that setting is such a serene experience. That evening, we visited the beach. And it was so windy up north that the effects of Kathleen storm that had just battered the island hadn't died down yet, and wind speeds were more than 60 kmph! We were surprised to find an Indian takeaway restaurant, Taste of India, in one remote village! And food was definitely better than the standards I expected. We helped ourselves to nice hot food after some wild, windy weather. I wonder why they don't have chai in an Indian restaurant!

One of the main reasons to have come this far up was my hope to catch sight of northern lights. But there was no activity in the next two days, and I still kept an alarm at 12.30 midnight and 2.30 a.m. to check the skies. There were no fancy lights, but it was still worth it to wake up and stare at the sky. What a magical star-studded sky it was ! Clear skies with millions of little stars twinkling and no light pollution from the village. It was definitely worth waking up to this sight.

April 7th, we covered the places in Malin head. Banba's crown - Hells hole walk - Glenevin Waterfall - Lighthouse - World War 2 lookout point. I felt the best part was the Hells Hole walk in the cliff. It was such a windy day, no one around, yet we did the walk. At one moment, a crazy rain storm drenched us. A few minutes later, it had moved north. The sight in front of us was a cloud burst over the ocean and a beautiful rainbow and us basking in bright sunlight. That’s how unpredictable the weather could be, and if you don’t complain, you could be rewarded with some sights to die for.

April 8th, we stopped at Grianan of aileach or the Greenan fort. It is a stone ringfort in the Inishowen area, and this site is protected as a national monument. We met an American tourist who chose this spot to practice her bagpiper instrument due to the natural acoustics the site offered. In fact, the music pulled us toward the centre of the ring, a lovely, serene start to the day. We then did a long drive to Doolin, almost 5 hrs with some breaks. Later in the evening was a solar eclipse. With alternating sunlight and cloud, we could not know if we drove past an eclipse moment. We reached our room, chose to stay put for the evening and take good rest.

April 9th, one of the other best days in the trip. We visited the Cliffs of Moher. The sites from the edge are breathtaking. Not even the best camera in the world could capture the magnitude and magnificence of the place. A place this spectacular brings with itself some usuals, a site filled with tourists. After about 5 days, we finally saw some crowd and obviously some Asian tourists. We walked the pathway along the edge of the cliff, along with many others. If you were a little careless in the walk, the wind is strong enough to push you over the cliff. If you are a Harry Potter fan, the part of the 6th movie where Harry goes with Dumbledore to find a horcrux was shot in these waters!

In the second half of the day, we headed to our Mountain View resort, driving through the Ring of Kerry in Southwest Ireland. The ring of Kerry Drive is considered to be one of the most scenic routes. But having driven all the way up north and then west, to south, the entire country is scenic! Our resort stay is again worth mentioning here because we got an entire 1 BHK house for us in a lush setting. The kitchen was fully equipped, and we could help ourselves to some homemade food mid-way of the tour. We had a relaxing couple of days while we still visited some places.

April 10th, we did some spots in the Ring of Kerry. I say some, coz we chose not to do it all. As mentioned earlier, if you have done up north, the scenery is almost similar. We walked through the Killarney National Park at ease. You can take the horse ride, we found it a bit expensive, so instead decided to walk the park. After all, the trip is all about walks and taking in the fresh air! This is a huge park. We just did 1/4th of it. We then visited the Torc waterfall. Expecting it to be a bit similar to the previous one, we were in for a surprise. This is a lush forest, and the spring season showed all its shades of green so vividly here. The waterfalls were a sight to behold, and we trekked up for about an hour into the dense woods.

April 11th, we did the Farran National Park in the Ring of Kerry. It had a beautiful lake, walking path, we spotted some deer’s and it seemed they were surprised too to see some humans. They went about their day job of grazing, and we walked our path. From here, we headed to Cork about an hour's drive. Cork is a major town, We found it busy than the other places we visited. It also had a very young population, something we hadn’t seen much before up north or the west side.

If one cannot do Belfast, then visit the picturesque town of Cobh (pronounced Cove), most famous for being the last port of call on the maiden voyage of the ill-fated Titanic. A short tour inside, but as captivating as the Titanic always is! Oh yes, Cork is famous for the Blarney Stone. Legend has it that if you kiss the stone, you are blessed with the gift of sweet talk. We didn't want to empty our pockets to kiss a stone hanging upside down from a castle top. I guess there is enough gift of the gab in the family!

April 12th, Cork to Dublin Drive is another long one. We stopped at the Rock of Dunamese, and it had the ruins of a fort, a perfect stop to stretch, hike, and view the beauty of the land from the top. Stopping at Junction 14 on M8 was a good fuel break for the car and the body. It had an elaborate food court and washrooms facilities.

We had exited Dublin immediately after our landing. We decided to keep it for the last days since we were flying out of Dublin. This was our first proper evening in the capital city, and I felt 90% of the population of Ireland lives here. The city centre was bustling with activity. Sunset is only around 8 p.m. in this season, so tourists and residents are out on the streets until late. We did some shopping in Penneys and walked through the streets to eat at the multiple Indian restaurants option available!

April 13th, our last day in this enthralling country. We visited the most popular and oldest, Trinity College of Dublin. The main interest is in the old library with the long room. This is too highly priced, and books removed now, they only had an immersive virtual tour. So we skipped it. The college campus was nothing impressive. Too many tourists, students, and some renovation activity happening, all in the same grounds, not really what we expected. We did a quick visit to the Dublin castle grounds and St.Patrick's cathedral.

Letz get to the best part of Dublin visit during the spring season! Cherry Blossoms ! Yes, this is not just in Japan, but here too, we saw lovely blossoms! Lined up in the streets, in front of many homes, they were on full bloom, all smiling and welcoming the visitors. The botanical gardens right in the centre of the city is a really vast, magnificent place housing different varieties of trees and plants! We walked 3 hours around the gardens and then headed to the airport. One could have a full day's picnic at the botanical gardens if you have a love for plants!

On the way to the airport, it was time to give our Nissan a good wash. We had driven highways, country roads, through slush and grasslands. Not just the outer, the inner of the car too had seen the landscape. After the auto wash, we had the vacuum station. In Dubai, we are spoilt for service. At the car wash, you are served by 3-5 attendants who completely wash, wipe, and vacuum the car. Here, it was self-service. There is no one to even tell you how to turn ON the huge vacuum monster. The Nissan smiled clean and ready to return back to Europcar.

Time to say goodbye. Some trips are about losing yourself in the wilderness, to take a breather to calm the nerves. Then, revitalizing in the greens and the blues, finding your inner self with a deeper understanding of happiness. Ultimately, vacationing is not about where you go but who you go with! I am blessed with two who enjoy and make it memorable for me every time!

[kirukkals]

Winter 2022 - Germany & more!

We had been wanting a holiday, a white christmas holiday and we got one. An unexpected work-related trip to Germany, and we grabbed the chance.

December 1st, 2022.

We boarded the Turkish airlines in Dubai and landed in Zurich. This was our second time in Switzerland, and our previous trip was in 2015 with our friend's family. We had been longing to come back. We didn't cover Zurich then, so ya, same country, but new city and this time during winter ! COLD! REALLY COLD! Ok, so it is not just Switzerland again. Our agenda was completely different. Read on…

A few days earlier...

Venkat calls mid day from work to tell me he has a business meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, during the 1st week of December. And as expected, my reaction was, yeaahhh.. I'm packing up.

We had been planning Germany for the past 4 years, and somehow it kept getting delayed - visa renewal, then we booked on a Russian airline for March 2020 & covid travel ban happened. When everything opened up, we didn't expect the Ukraine war, and Russian airlines were banned over EU airspace, so our Germany trip was far-fetched. Finally, it looked like it was time.

And I have to say, we were indeed very lucky to get a schengen visa appointment on such short notice. We quickly booked our tickets to the cheapest available option, which was Zurich, readied our papers for the visa process, and prayed a lot. It was all in a matter of 7 days, and when we received the visa sticker on our passport, we could already see snow.

We planned Switzerland & Germany, maybe the Netherlands if time permits. We never thought we would end up doing 7 countries in Europe in 13 days !

We decided to use the trains only for this trip, no self driving. Just mid the same year, we did a cross country drive in the Balkans. That goes in another blog for another day. So, let me stick to these 13 days now. We got a blast of a deal on the 10 day Global train pass over Black Friday sale, which can be used for most Schengen countries.

December 1st, 2022.

Zurich, Switzerland - Country 1.

We landed around 10.15 am. in Zurich. We were welcome to a 5 degree celsius kind of weather straight from a 25 degree in Dubai. As we stepped out of the airport to the train station, we realised the 2 layer clothing that we had would not be sufficient for the days to come. We took a train to our hotel Ibis. This is a really, really expensive country, and a triple room always costs more. A few years back, we had decided no more IBIS Budget, the room is always so small and the bathrooms… omg! Not again ! It was a transparent glass door for the shower with a translucent patch exactly where needed, not an inch higher or an inch lower. Separate toilet with proper door, but no lock. That is ok, but glass door for bath, and we travel with our girl (always!) She is 12 now! So, we pulled out the bedspread and hung it along the height of the door, creating the cover we needed, the first thing that we did after landing in Switzerland !!!

Evening, we went for a stroll to Lindenhof, and it ended up to be a hike, actually. The view from the top was spectacular. Being winter, no crowds at all. It was around 8 to 10 degrees celsius. And this time, we were prepared with jackets, gloves, snow boots, and all ready to take on the winter. So we assumed.

December 2nd, 2022.

Vaduz, Liechtenstein - Country 2.

Day 2, we decided to visit one of the smallest countries in the world, Liechtenstein. From Zurich, we took a train to Sargans and from there a bus to Vaduz, about 1.5 hrs for the total trip. Vaduz is one of the most beautiful, picture perfect little towns I would say. The castle towers over the entire place. The Prince of the country still lives there (lucky him!!), so the castle is not open for tourists. We just walked around the main town area for a few hours - castle, church, shops - beautiful & calm place. Definitely one of the richest in the world. We bought the smallest magnet to identify with the size of the country. We treated ourselves to a nice cup of Srilankan chai in the evening.

Evening we headed back to Zurich, to the Rapperswil, where the Christmas Market was put up. What a contrast to the calm Vaduz, it was buzzing with activity and lights, people laughing & drinking all the way! Zurich Lake is huge, and sunset was such a beautiful sight to watch! Temperature always starts to drop drastically after 5 p.m., and all around us, people are either smoking or holding a beer mug! We were the ones drinking hot chocolate and standing in front of the fireplace for some warmth.

Overall, it was a brilliant start to a much wanted vacation.

December 3rd, 2022.

Frankfurt, Germany - Country 3.

Here we come, Germany, finally ! Took the train from Zurich, about 4 hrs. As we entered Germany, the landscape changed visibly. You may call I am biased towards Switzerland, yes, I am, but still, I didn't find any beauty in the German landscape, not just yet. Just factories, lots of them, and more crowds everywhere.

Frankfurt, especially near the main station, where we stayed, was so crowded. You can see all kinds of people, immigrants, office goers, students, all busy running around, the place is not so clean, seemingly shady street corners, such a contrast from the neighbouring Switzerland, which was so neat, posh & calm. Frankfurt is a bustling business centre. We stayed in a place called Hotel Apollo, which had a big room, decent accommodation. The best part near where we stayed was Hotel Saravana Bhavan! What a blessing! And the train station connectivity helped us move around. We spent 6 nights in this place.

Christmas Markets in Germany are definitely quite famous and rightly so. It was ten, twenty, thirty times bigger than what we saw in Zurich! It was like a whole city in itself. The old town area was lit up in the evening, and the place was crowded like a music concert party ! We had to push through every street, like how we used to do in Ranganathan street, T.nagar during Diwali times! All Chennaiits can relate to this ! We had the famous kinderpunsch drink, tried the chocolates and pastries, so many small stalls, all handmade dolls, arty stuff and all so beautiful ! We walked and walked and that was the only day we were out late in the night I guess, for a long time despite the freezing cold ! (Temperature was 4 degrees or even less)

December 4th, 2022.

Black Forest, Germany.

My great friend from TCS days, Sara, lives in Germany. We met as a family in Baden-Baden and they took us for a drive to the Black Forest area. First, to the world famous cuckoo clocks in Triberg. What an amazing collection ! All handmade, authentic & beautiful wood art, 1000+ cuckoo clocks! Cost ranges from 50 Euros to over 1000 Euros! And yes, of course, we bought one for our home and to this day, our cuckoo coos beautifully, every hour.

We then went to the Triberg waterfalls and then the lake. Such a beautiful day, the weather was perfect, still very cold, but we did cope quite well. And we also managed to find an Indian restaurant, Rangoli, to have hot food in the middle of nowhere! An entire day spent with friends in such a lovely setting, is definitely unforgettable. Thanks to Sara & Mani for that !

December 5th, 2022.

Luxembourg - Country 4.

This country is a hidden beauty amidst Germany, Belgium & France. It takes about 5 hrs one way to reach from Frankfurt. We started early, so we could spend about 5 to 6 hrs in Luxembourg. All public transport is free here, people look cheerful & wealthy, yet another rich, well developed and maintained country. We walked to the main square, Grand palace, Notre-Dame, Christmas themes all around. We just had time to go to the town center where the mini Christmas market was warming up to welcome the crowds for the evening. We didn’t really have any agenda or particular places to cover, so we relaxed to take in the beautiful scenery around us.

Trams were crowded with university students in the evening, I in fact got left behind while boarding one, didn't have any money or mobile with me, but got into the next one quickly & I knew the stop to get down. Well, my husband's plan of leaving me behind didn't really work, haha! What a lovely place anyways to be left behind!

December 6th, 2022.

Brussels, Belgium - Country 5.

We boarded the train from Frankfurt morning, about 3 hrs to Brussels. Beautiful blue skies, amazing weather, (by this time, 7 or 8 degrees was actually pleasant for us), We indulged in Belgian chocolates, a must do thing. What a huge town square, architecture was especially notable in these buildings !!! Columns & Pillars in the Grand Palace were particularly intricate. Old style European architecture was all around, and we actually like such places. We visited the chocolate factory, but really, not worth all that hype. Think of it now, maybe we visited to escape the cold outside. Cadbury chocolate factory in the UK was actually much better and fun for kids & adults.

Unlike Luxembourg, Brussels was quite crowded and a big city, too. And yes, the most famous Mannekin Pis in Brussels! The story is that a little boy saved the city from dangerous fire by pissing on it. And so, there is this bronze statue in the city center, which shows a naked little boy pissing and creating a fountain. This is being decorated all through the year, some even worship, thousands of tourists visit to take pics, we did too. And the entire city had souvenirs showcasing this Mannekin Pis. So, later in the day, we headed back to Frankfurt after a stroll in the park.

December 7th, 2022.

Frankfurt, Germany.

Oh yes, I did tell you all that Venkat had a conference, it was today ! So, here comes our Mom & Girl day out. We went to the Christmas Market again and got some little cute stuff for the upcoming dad’s birthday. We strolled by the lake side, went to Eiserner Steg, the Iron Footbridge. And what is the obsession about hanging those lovelocks in the European bridges?!! Every place we have been to, we have seen this! May all the love flourish! We were just out a few hours without our man, it actually does get boring after a while.

December 8th, 2022.

Cologne, Germany.

Day 2 of the conference, but thankfully it got over soon. We could visit Cologne, and the most popular Cathedral there. If Frankfurt was crowded, Cologne looked nothing less, we visited in the evening, and the place was lit up totally. The Cathedral with its Gothic Architecture, alongside the Rhine River and the bridge, looks majestic in the evening lights. We were basking in the glory of the train journeys by now. All trains were neat and clean, had a coffee shop and ran nearly on time. Using the rail pass was a breeze.

December 9th, 2022.

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Country 6.

If Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof is a very huge and busy train station, Amsterdam Central is equally big and very impressive. Of course, I like Switzerland trains and stations better, but Amsterdam follows closely. About 4.5 hrs from Frankfurt and we checked into Hotel Koopermoolen. The entire trip being train journeys and mostly exploring the city center by foot, we made sure all our accommodation was very near to the main station. We headed out immediately after dropping our bags, and I have to tell you, we felt the real cold from here actually. We had headed up north from Zurich. Temperature was around 4 degrees at noon! We started wearing layered clothing, woollen, 2 jackets, gloves, scarves, exposing only our eyes!

Amsterdam is known as the “Venice of the North'' and rightly so. The city center, the picturesque canals and those vibrant buildings all around, it has a definite charm. We walked to the Anne Frank house, unfortunately, didn’t know we had to book in advance, didn’t expect such a big queue there, all slots were fully booked for the next 2 days. We had to settle looking from just outside. Having read the Anne Frank Diary, it was disappointing not to visit the house, maybe some other time. And the Netherlands is definitely worth visiting more than once.

With Christmas around the corner, nightlife was extremely radiant and festive. My cousin Pavi & family live in Amsterdam. We met them for dinner, and they took us to a lovely Indian restaurant, Pind Punjabi. Food was yumm and we all needed the hot food and the warm indoors. Thank you Pavi & Karthik!

December 10th, 2022.

Zaanse Schans, Netherlands.

What is a visit to the Netherlands worth without seeing the windmills?! I have always wondered if those windmills will look really like the ones I have read in books about. The countryside, toy town look is what all those illustrations show. We went to Zaanse Schans along with our cousin's family.

What a cold, foggy morning it was ! About 1 degree, it also started snowing lightly. This place recreates the look of an 18th/19th century village. It is a residential area, though so many tourists visit all around the year, there is a sense of calm and peace. And after a few kms walk, we could see the first of the windmills, the fans of which cut through the thick fog. What a sight ! I don’t know what attracts me to those wooden mills, but true to the stories i have read, I was indeed taken back in time. The walk across the bridge on the river Zaan while it was snowing was magical. Then we saw those colourful wooden mills, all in a row, and most of them were still running. They are used for making chocolates now, house a restaurant or coffee shop and sell souvenirs. This place is a must visit for all those going to the Netherlands.

We had a train to catch at 3 pm to go to Hamburg, so had to say bye to my cousins as well as the mesmerising Zaanse Schans.

December 11th, 2022.

Hamburg, Germany.

We reached Hamburg the previous night, around 8 pm. Stayed at Hotel Novum for a night. And this hotel was actually very good, bang on the road, right opposite the station and a spacious room too. Went to Hotel Saravana Bhavan for dinner. What a blessing that we found this place nearby wherever we went on this trip. Now, the prime reason we had been planning to visit Germany for many years was actually for this - to visit the famous Hamburg Model Railroad museum. Not many are aware of this, but here is one of the largest miniature railroad museums in the world. Model railroading is a popular hobby in Europe, US & Canada, and because we follow it too, this was a must visit place on our list. To give a brief, modellers collect model trains, build a landscape for the trains to pass through, all in reduced scale. The landscape can be imagined or recreate some city or village as a miniature model.

Morning we quickly got ready and headed out to the museum. We have to book tickets in advance and book our time slots too. Definitely the place kept up to its name and fame. Various regions around the world have been recreated on a small scale. And once into that magic, one won’t realise it is a miniature world. If the Switzerland snow mountain is the theme, it includes the scenery, the train tracks all around the mountains, people hiking, all the snow games, the lights changing to show day & night set up and so on. What precise details !!! Lots to learn from every model that was there. I won’t delve more here, we spent more than half a day there, and worth every minute.

Caught an evening train to Munich, long journey, about 6 hrs. Reached our hotel, Amba, around midnight.

December 12th, 2022.

Innsbruck, Austria.

As I mentioned earlier, when we started this journey, we thought we would go to Switzerland, Germany and maybe the Netherlands. After getting the Global train pass, from Frankfurt we quickly did the neighbouring countries. Nothing planned ahead. But this last day plan of visiting Austria came all of a sudden, and we thought, why not! Was debating whether to take Munich to Innsbruck train or to take Munich to Salzburg train. And Innsbruck it was, all for the good.

It had been snowing heavily last night, and we stepped on thick snow mid day as we got out of the train. Weather was minus 9 degrees, it was freezing and sunny at the same time. The sight of snow capped mountains with the scattered clouds across the bright blue skies stays in the memory even today. Entire city center was neatly planned, roads parallel & perpendicular, all leading to the mountains. Amazing landscapes, we had a much deserving hot lunch buffet at an Indian restaurant, Masala, roamed around more till we could no longer stand the cold. We headed back to Munich later in the evening.

December 13th, 2022.

Munich, Germany.

Our last day for this trip, we had our flight in the afternoon to Dubai. In Munich, it was Marienplatz, the town centre and the architecture is known for its centuries old buildings. Lots of history to be explored, but as tourists, time flies in Europe, we always never get enough.

At the airport, we had another no boarding episode. After covid times, this is becoming quite too often, at least for us! Turkish airlines most likely overbooked passengers, they wouldn’t admit that, would they?! We thought our web check-in was complete, they just said you cannot board, please go to the ticketing office, which was right opposite. There, they requested if we are ok to take the Emirates, direct flight to Dubai instead of Turkey layover. Oh yes, that is an upgrade and definitely a bonus for us after a lovely 13-day trip. So took the ever so comfortable Emirates and landed in Dubai the same night.

More magnets were added to our fridge and more European memories !

As we look back now, it’s amazing to realise how well the Schengen states are connected. We travelled 7 countries, 3300 km, hopped on and off 36 trains, and did not feel tired. In fact, it has only left us wanting more.

[kirukkals]

Egypt- The Gift of Nile

I guess the year 2019 for us has been vacations to ancient lands filled with rich history. It started with Georgia, followed by Bosnia & Herzegovina and finally Egypt. We have all read in our school days about Egyptian civilisation, but after visiting the country, I get the real essence of what it all means.

Our video link from the trip below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efnD2JsXDgY

Let me begin with the capital city, Cairo, our experience and impression. Later will get into the history of Egypt.

The city of Cairo

We landed in the city of Cairo early Friday morning. The first look at the airport, one feels, "Really!! It looks so old & worn out! They still live in the ages of the pyramids!” And this impression remained with us until the end of the trip. We were 2 families travelling together and had booked a guide with van for the entire trip. Initially we considered renting a car and doing the rounds on our own. Day 1 onto the roads, we were thankful we didn't do it. Peak hours are jammed with bikers, cars, buses and all vehicles on the roads. Non-peak hours, the young bikers scare you so much with the rash driving.

The capital city looks so old, so unclean, the buildings are all either unfinished, bricks exposed or finished with just cement & plaster. Couldn't really remember seeing any painted buildings. Only the main square in Cairo which had the international hotels had some glass tinted buildings. Every other place, just beyond that square, looks poor. Is it because the country is going through tough times or are they used to such living?!

We had booked 3 or 4 star hotels for our stay, just like any other place, we would expect a decent accommodation. We in fact had 4 stays at 4 different hotels, but unfortunately, none of them even met our basic expectations. Rooms were old, sofas appeared used by the Pharaohs & beds looked like they were dragged out of the Pyramids. I guess only if we book a 7 star accommodation, it might meet our basic needs.

We realized very few people speak English. Locals speak Arabic and didn't look very friendly. Throughout the country we mostly saw the men wearing their traditional clothing gallabiyah or kaftan, and the women wearing burqas. Very few, like the guides, hoteliers were in suits or pants/shirts.

Typically all tourist spots were crowded and the entry to these sites were filled with shops. The vendors are little aggressive and it is better not to engage them if you are not shopping. They force their shop cards on you when you enter any tourist site and on the way back out, ask you to visit their shop. In case you ignore on the way out, they follow and ask their card back, and if you had discarded it, expect trouble. Washrooms in the ancient sites and temples were not maintained well, better to carry lots of tissues along.

Being vegetarian, quite surprised at the variety of Egyptian food we got. Dal, beans, stuffed vegetables, salads, kushari, pita bread were all good and served a basic but fulfilling meal. Popular desserts are kunafa & baqlawa.

Now we get into the best part, Egyptian History & the actual places we visited. This write up is going to be more of history lesson that you might have forgotten, along with our experience in the country. So, feel free to skip topics that don't interest you. But anytime you plan to visit Egypt, do read up on all the history that you can, helps to appreciate the sites better.

Pyramids

The Giza complex has 3 major structures, of which the Pyramid of Khufu is the largest, Pyramid of Khafre a little smaller and the next is the Pyramid of Menkaure. The Great Pyramid of Khufu, is the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world still in existence and this place is the most visited all through the year.

Pyramids are actually tombs for the pharaohs (kings), but the Egyptians believed strongly in afterlife and spent most of their lives conquering, saving & planning for their rebirth. Construction of tombs are started when the king is in his teens, there have been many instances where the king chooses his place, structural design & specifies the materials that have to be buried along with him. The mummification process is done meticulously to preserve the body and they buried the King along with all his jewellery, gold, possessions inside the huge pyramids. The tombs are also filled with religious text to guide them through with the afterlife. In order to confuse the tomb robbers, they built multiple paths within the pyramid, like a maze.

Egyptians worshipped the sun god, Ra. They based their life and death and evolution theories from the sun. So, the shape of the pyramid represents the descending rays of the sun, meaning sunset, death, and the pyramids lie on the west bank of the River Nile. They have a polished reflective white limestone at the apex to give a shiny appearance when viewed from a distance. This is believed to be a pathway to heaven and then their next life. King Khafre's pyramid retains part of its original polished limestone casing, near its apex. This pyramid appears larger than the adjacent Khufu pyramid by virtue of its more elevated location, and the steeper angle of inclination. The fact that King Khafre wanted his tomb structure to be more grandeur is very evident, but he could not beat his father King Khufu in the structural size. The Giza complex is definitely worth a visit for its mammoth structures.

The Great Sphinx of Giza is the statue with the body of a lion and the head of a human believed to represent Pharaoh Khafre here. People believe this as the representation of the worship of sun god or as the guard for the tombs and temples. This is definitely a huge monolith structure and just like the size of the pyramids, this one will definitely amaze the visitor.

The first tomb structure which the Egyptians developed was the mastaba, or the eternal house, composed of earthen bricks made from soil along the Nile. The first Step Pyramid or the Pyramid of Djoser made of stone is in Saqqara. When we saw this, we could see that this set the stage for later pyramids of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Dynasties, including the great pyramids of Giza. Imhotep, the architect involved for all the major pyramids was first identified here. The process of building such a structure would be far more labor-intensive and one wonders how the stones were transported. It is widely accepted that ramps would have been used to raise heavy stone to construct the pyramid.

The Red Pyramid at Dahshur is the third largest Egyptian Pyramid after the Khufu & the Khafra at Giza. This was built by Pharaoh Sneferu and is open to visitors to see inside. We climbed the steep steps cut in or built over the stones of the pyramid to an entrance high on the north side. A passage about 3 feet in height and very narrow, slopes down steep leading into a chamber whose corbelled roof is quite high. From there it leads into the second chamber which lies directly beneath the apex of the pyramid. Then that leads to the third and final chamber with a corbelled high roof. Adults have to stoop low and climb up & down the narrow staircase one behind the other. The blocks of stone & rubble could be seen deep inside, and it smelled really bad because of the limited ventilation. Though it is a great feeling to go inside the pyramid, the one that has no crowd when compared to the Giza pyramid, people with claustrophobia, please don't even attempt. Of course, I have this feeling of “I did it “!!!

Valley of the Kings

We head down south from Cairo to Luxor to visit the Valley of the Kings. The pharaohs of the later dynasties decided to have their tombs in this valley rather than pyramids. Partly because they had no control over the tomb robbers and also because the cost of pyramid construction was becoming a burden. The rocky mountains were similar to the pyramids and they believed if their tombs were built there, they would still reach the gods. As of now, there are 63 tombs and chambers found in the valley and the excavation is still on. Almost all of the tombs seem to have been opened and robbed, but they still give an idea of the opulence and power of the pharaohs.

The usual tomb plan consisted of a long inclined rock-cut corridor, descending through one or more halls to the burial chamber. Depending on the lifetime of the ruler, the number of chambers in the tomb increased. The tomb of Ramesses I was empty with no sculpting due to the sudden death of the king and they had quickly completed the paintings for the sculptures in the outer chambers and buried the king. Whereas, the tomb of his son Seti I, is regarded as the finest in the valley. The tomb of Ramesses III is one of the largest in the valley, which meant he lived longer than most kings. The paints and the colours are still vivid in many parts of the tombs, even after all these years! The ancient Egyptians had created a flood control system, a deep channel in the valley that, for a time, prevented the tombs from being damaged by water from the Nile's high tides and debris. This however was not maintained well for some reason, and most of the channel is lost now.

Most of the tombs are filled with paintings of religious texts and their way of life and funerary rituals on the walls on both sides. The ceilings of the burial chambers were decorated describing the sun's journey through the twelve hours of night.

Howard Carter, the English archaeologist discovered the actual tomb of the young king Tutankhamun in November 1922. This was the first royal tomb to be discovered that was still largely intact. His tomb was charged separate tickets to visit and his mummy is on display inside. All the gold and possessions are moved to the Cairo museum. Tutankhamun is believed to have died at the young age of 18 or 19, and still his tomb had such huge possessions. So, one can imagine the opulence of the other kings during that time.

The search for the tomb of Thutmose II, Ramesses VIII and all the queens of the dynasty 18 is still on in the Valley of the Kings. This could be another era for archaeology.

And if they do find such pharaohs, they may also find their internal organs like heart, brain, etc preserved in the alabaster jar during the mummification process. Interesting, isn't it!

Memorial temple of Queen Hatshepsut

Here is where we first heard the story of Queen Hatshepsut. And from that moment, I was very impressed with her! Queen Hatshepsut was born to Thutmose I, but even before she was 20 years old, she got married to her own brother Thutmose II. This is quite common in the ancient Egyptian culture. At this point, she was also elevated to the position of God's wife of Amun, a very important honour, after the queen. They had a daughter and a stepson Thutmose III. Now, the king died while the stepson was still young, so Hatshepsut started controlling the state affairs and then crowned herself the pharaoh of Egypt. She had to dress up like a king and apart from the few courtiers, none knew she was Queen Hatshepsut. Egypt flourished during her reign, especially in trade and arts.

Hatshepsut ordered the construction of her mortuary temple, her aesthetic sense and design is evidently seen here. This is an extraordinary temple at the foot of the high rugged cliffs in Luxor. At the entrance we can still see the original ancient tree roots. The temple has layered terraces connected by long ramps. This was believed to have been surrounded by gardens with foreign plants. The statue of lions at the entrance, the reflecting pools, sphinxes lining the pathway, the relief works, the paintings all show the interest to detailing and the opulence. She was always keen to elevate her public image, she travelled a lot and she did it all beautifully in those days in a male dominated world.

But this came to an end when Thutmose III, her stepson, grew up and destroyed all evidences of her reign. Even in the mortuary temple and many other public places, he had cut her statues, erased her name, buried her monuments, probably because he wanted to eradicate any evidence of a female pharaoh, and didn't want anyone following her example.

Queen Hatshepsut was believed to have died of some illness in her late fifties. Her mummy was not found in the mortuary temple, but in the Valley of the Kings. No King except Ramesses II is said to have built such impressive monuments as Hatshepsut. Today, Egypt is talking about her as the greatest leader, even though Thutmose III tried hard to erase her from time and memory.

River Nile

As mentioned earlier, the sunset represented death, so Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile. The east is sunrise, so the east bank is full of life and agriculture, farming and settlements are seen here.

As a traveller, it will be very evident to see the change in landscape from a brown desert to green villages along the banks. We did a short 3 hour cruise in the River Nile, the one that flows from South to North. We visited the Banana Island located in the north of Luxor. As the name suggests, the farm was filled with banana, mango & orange plantations. After 2 days of just tombs & valleys, stones & sands, this was a welcome change. We didn't have much time to go on the felucca (the traditional Egyptian cruise boats), but this is a tranquil place and the kids will love it!

Papyrus, Alabaster & Oils

Our very informed guide took us to the main shops for which Egypt is famous for. Papyrus is the first paper and is made out of the papyrus plant which grows only by the River Nile. It looks similar to the sugarcane or bamboo plants, we saw the demo of the process of producing the paper from the plant. Ancient Egyptian pharaohs used Papyrus scrolls for communication and also as mats, baskets, ropes etc. were made from them. Papyrus paintings looked so beautiful in the shop, and they last a lifetime! Being an artist, I couldn't help buy plain Papyrus to create my own work of art. Expect scenes from Egyptian mythology very soon on my Papyrus! Hieroglyphs were being done with your names painted on the family tree, or any painting that you choose. It is definitely a collectible.

We then visited the Alabaster factory, where the jars are made from Alabaster stones. These stones are collected from deep into the mountains, using camels even to this day. Vehicles cannot traverse the region and so camel back is still used and takes about 5 days to collect and get back. The process was shown and again the shop looked so beautiful. Every piece of art was unique and it was equally expensive, meant for tourists to pick up their souvenirs.

We visited a lab like perfumery, selling essential oils and natural perfumes. They demonstrated how popular perfume brands like Gucci, Boss, and Versace derived their best-selling perfumes from Egyptian know how of fragrances. Almond oil, Bergamot oil, Lavender oil, Rose essence, Vanilla essence are among the few that we skin tested. And of course we ended up buying a few after a lot of bargaining!

Temples

We visited the Edfu Temple, Kom Ombo Temple, Karnak Temple and the Luxor Temple. Had no time to go further south to visit the Abu Simbel.

Temple of Edfu - It is a huge temple dedicated to Horus and most of it is still intact. Fully made of Sandstone, though it went under the desert sands for many years, it was recovered and since, maintained quite well. The relief works inside the temple shows the festivals celebrated, the rituals of pharaohs, offerings to gods, travel stories, texts of hymns and so on. There are a lot of inner chambers in the temple, believed to have been used as library, storage room, offerings chamber etc. The most interesting room is the temple laboratory, where the incense recipes were carefully brewed and the detailed inscriptions are seen on the walls. This helped them develop solutions for headaches, diarrhoea, sun strokes, stomach pains, etc.

Unfortunately many of the carved reliefs were destroyed, heads cut off, faces scratched by followers of different faith who landed there, after the Egyptians. The blackened ceiling of the main hall is still visible today.

The remains of the Nilometer, which measured the level of the river and helped predict the coming harvest is also seen in the temple.

Temple of Kom Ombo - This is an unusual temple and one of its kind in Egypt, because one half of the temple is dedicated to the Falcon god Horus and the other half to the crocodile god Sobek.

This temple also had a lot of relief works showing the various rituals and the Egyptian calendar in hieroglyphs. The inner rear side was of most interest as it had works showing surgical instruments and the methods used during those days. Every column in the Kom Ombo temple was filled with relief work, and the column tops portrayed the papyrus flower. The secret passage that allowed the priests to give the voice of 'Gods' to answer the pilgrims and the deep well once used to serve water is all seen in this temple.

The high tides of River Nile and earthquakes seem to have damaged many portions of the temple. Excavations and recovery is still under progress here. A few of the three hundred crocodile mummies discovered in the vicinity are displayed in The Crocodile Museum nearby. Oh I so hate the crocs, I would never go inside to see their mummified remains!

Karnak Temple - This one is a really huge temple with massive columns. 134 columns in the main hall, stands so tall and gigantic even today. The Opet festival was held yearly at Karnak and Luxor. It lasted for 27 days and was a celebration of the link between pharaoh and the god Amun. The procession began at Karnak and ended at Luxor Temple.

There is the obelisk of King Thutmosis inside the Karnak temple, which is about 75 feet tall and weighs about 150 tons. There is a monolith obelisk besides it, constructed by Queen Hatshepsut which is more taller and heavier. An inscription at its base reads that this was completed in 7 months. Such was the power of this queen in those days! It is believed that she constructed 4 such obelisks of which only one stands there today. All these are monolith, made out of pink granite, but how they transported such huge blocks of stones and carved out such structures remains a mystery. Hundreds of obelisks were built in Egypt during those times, but many were destroyed, many were carried away to foreign lands. If you have seen obelisks in Paris, Rome, New York, Istanbul and so on, you now know where it actually came from.

We can see the other smaller halls and temples beyond this area dedicated to the many pharaohs. The vast sacred lake was used by pilgrims. A broken obelisk top with all its inscriptions and hieroglyphs is kept for our view. The temple ceiling has mostly been destroyed, so the pillars and columns are left behind as ruins.

Temple of Luxor - This temple is right in the heart of Luxor town and we visited this one late evening to see it in the lights. It is a beautiful sight! In the front of the temple, an avenue of sphinx that went all the way to the temple of Karnak 3 kms away is almost fully excavated now. This pathway is used during the annual Opet festival. The rows of pillars and columns as we enter the temple shows the open court. One can imagine how majestic it would have been in those days.

In ancient times the temple would have been surrounded by mud-brick houses and shops, then when the temple was under the sands, a church was built on top of one of the courts. Around 14th century, a mosque was built on top of this, without realizing the existence of the church or the temple below. Even to this day, the mosque remains there.

Some of the features explained by our guide during these temple visits, reminded us of our South Indian, TamilNadu temples. The walls filled with relief works, extensive decorations, many small inner chambers within the temple, a main hall with high ceiling, the pillars and columns, the actual shrine was kept in the inner most dark chamber while the outer ones are more spacious, a smaller statue of god used to take out of the temple in procession during festive occasions, pilgrims went around the temple and many many such similarities with the Hindu temple culture. So, one wonders if they travelled across the seas and exchanged culture as well!

Museum & Mummies

We visited the Cairo Museum on the last day of our trip. Pretty impressive museum with lots of artefacts, it is more like a warehouse than a museum. More and more excavations are happening all around the country, so we heard the museum will be shifted soon to a much bigger place in Giza. The key exhibit is Tutankhamun's gold mask and all the treasures found in his tomb. His toys, jewellery, sword, pieces from his dress, amulets, the coffin boxes, everything small to big was on display. The mummy room is the next attraction which houses a lot of mummies of kings and other royal members. Apart from these, many statues, coins, papyrus, alabaster jars, furnitures from the ancient times are on display. It is definitely worth the visit. The process of mummification and the well preserved mummies is a topic by itself to elaborate, but since I am not a great fan of mummies, am skipping that !

I have covered a little of what I learnt from our guides Ibrahim and Ayman, from wikipedia and penned my observations from our trip to Egypt. There is a lot more to the ancient Egyptian history, lot to read, lot to understand, it will take more than a lifetime. This is a country definitely worth visiting atleast once, but having said that, will be better to avoid the roads and go for a Cruise on Nile from South to North. This will take you directly to the ancient sites and avoid the chaos of the city. Because I believe the country had flourished long back, had been the start for all other civilisations, but now, it is in a very poor condition. Wish Queen Hatshepsut was there now to revive Egypt.

[kirukkals]

BiH - War-torn yet enigmatic

Sometimes we happen to end up on a holiday to a never 'on the bucket list' country and still feel 'Wow! What a holiday!'. When my husband mentioned the name Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH), I had to ask twice, repeat thrice to get the name right and then run to the world map on our wall to check out where this place was hidden. An European country, no visa required if we have a valid US visa on our passport and direct flight from UAE, made the travel look very tempting.

Before you read further, a 360 degree tour of Bosnia and Herzegovina made by us during the trip is here below.

We were all set for a 5 day holiday, but what we didn't expect was that heat wave in Europe would strike even BiH. August 2nd week and it was scorching hot (lesser than back home in Dubai), thankfully we rented a car to drive around and we hit the mountains. But global warming and heat wave in Europe is real for sure, let us all keep that in mind and do our part for this Earth. On that note, let me start writing about the trip.

The most important thing to note while reading further, Bosnian English requires us to pronounce 'J' as 'Y' in all nouns, as in, the capital city Sarajevo is actually called Sarayevo. So gear up for some tongue twisters.

We had 5 full days and did 5 main cities. Day 1 begins with a trip to Jajce (remember to say 'Yayce'). A beautiful drive up hill and we reached Pliva waterfalls. We can't really stand under the falls, but the spray is good enough to make you completely wet. A lovely view and walk it was, easily one can spend a few hours in the place. Close by are the wooden watermills, a collection of about 20 little huts that once served as watermills for local farmers, dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They give the impression of a little storybook village. And the evening ended with a visit to the Verlo-Bosne park in Sarajevo. A perfect picnic spot with all the greenery. We spent the night at Sarajevo.

Day 2 started with the "Tunnel of Hope" at Sarajevo. The tunnel built during the '93 Serbian seige, a very small part of it is still maintained by a Bosnian family, while most of the tunnel has been lost without proper restoration after the war. Just 3 feet wide, when we walked through it, I felt claustrophobic. Couldn't imagine how they used this long, narrow tunnel to transport goods and humans during the war, how much life would have been lost, Bosnians have really had a terrible 3 years. With a heavy heart and some history, left the place and headed to the next city Jablanica.

On the way, we stopped at Konjic, a small town around the lovely old stone bridge. As goes with the tradition, we could see the lovelocks covering the bridge. Wonder if tourists carry locks along just for this, or is it the locals all the time?!

At Jablanica, it is a city of a huge lake with aqua emerald sparkling waters. We also took a detour and did Rama lake, just for its views and location. Blidinje National park was our next stop, another preserved national reserve that could easily serve as a picnic spot on a nice weekend noon. Then we reached Mostar to spend the night there.

As I have mentioned in my previous blogs, we are vegetarians, no eggs, no fish and no meat (yes, some nationals think fish and meat are part of veggie food). So, food options are too less and we carry our own stuff to cook a quick meal wherever we go. Exploring local food and restaurants are not part of our trip. We love to taste all the gelatos and fresh fruits and smoothies though. All through our 5 day trip we were not disappointed with the choices on gelatos, smoothies and local pastries.

Day 3 was Mostar city. The Stari-Most bridge and the old town around it are the main attractions. It is traditional for the young men of the town to leap from the bridge into the Neretva river. It is a steep dive and we got to see one such jump, which was truly scary. The old town shopping was lined with handmade art and craft works. Turkey lights, Mosaic art, knitted bags were all colourful and beautiful. But mostly the monuments and memorials in the country are all abstract art. It is ok for a structure to be abstract, but definitely not the symbols in restrooms. I saw in a couple of places, shoe for men's room and smaller shoe with little heels symbol for ladies room. Not exactly pointed narrow heels. And then, a suit for men, just a simple shirt, pant would suffice, why a long suit which almost looks like a skirt with a flair! So if you don't look twice, you are likely to make a mistake. And even if you do, like I did when I took my girl along, just walk out with your head high and let your girl know, mistakes happen, it is ok, after all we are humans to err !

Next, to the little town of Blagaj which has a monastery on the river Buna. The walk was covered with cafes and I felt it could have had a few less. Mid day at Policej fort was too hot and humid, we gave up the climb till the top and headed to Kravice waterfalls, the biggest in BiH. One of the beautiful locations in BiH definitely. Here swimming is allowed and the only place where we saw huge crowds this summer. Yet, there is enough space for all to swim, boat, picnic and relax. From there, we started our drive up the mountains to the Sutjeska Camp.

Sutjeska Camp is located high up and the drive was extraordinary. But mid way, we took an offroad for 3 kms to join M20 highway and am thankful we didn't do that offroad ride at night. A lonely stony path deep into the forest, with no google to assist, no sounds from any side except for our car, the path seemed unending. Thankfully our car behaved well and no break downs anywhere, and a big thank you to Tantu Maps which worked offline and showed the route. We reached the camp a little after dusk. To stay overnight in a camp was always on the list, though this wasn't a tent, the small wooden huts surrounded by the forest was enough to give the real camp feel. There was no fan, no AC and just dim lights inside. Outside had colourful butterflies, buzzing bees, noisy crickets, barking dogs which sounded more like wolves in the dark! Music at the bar a little further away made us feel better and we got a good night's sleep.

Day 4 morning we wanted to do some trekking, but the weather again was too hot, so we didn't risk losing all our energy. We climbed up the small hill to the Tjentiste War Memorial, which in itself was a trek for me. It is built in the Sutjeska National Park. The War Memorial was built in remembrance of the 3301 soldiers who went to war from Sutjeska. When we went up, there were so many birds circling over and around the monument, it just felt like they represented the liberated souls rising out of the mass graves beneath. The majestic structure is really stunning and can be seen even from the highway. One not to be missed if you are enroute. We started back to the capital city Sarajevo, this time ensuring no offroads.

We had enough time in the evening to walk around the city centre. The city hall building is one of the big structures, which had a huge library and was all engulfed in flames during the war. The restored building looks worn out definitely. The iconic Latin bridge where the WW1 is believed to have begun with the assassination of Archduke Franz of Austria, is a disappointment for tourists. The bridge and the river beneath has not been maintained and it just looks like an old bridge to cross the road. The climb up the Yellow Fortress is definitely worthy for the sunset view from top. We get a bird's eye view of entire Sarajevo and all the cemeteries in the city cannot be missed from this view.

Day 5 began with a short drive to the Bijambare caves. Most parts of the cave is not accessible as they are too narrow or steep. But the climb to the top cave, chill breeze in the mid cave and the springs in the lower cave were enough for us to have a good time. Back to the city, we did find an Indian restaurant Tajmahal, food was pretty decent. The city center mall is an active place for youngsters. Bascarsija is Sarajevo's old bazaar and for anyone interested in shopping, an ideal stop. Locally made honey is quite popular in the country and we did buy one jar. Sebilj Fountain is a symbol of Sarajevo standing at the center of Bascarsija. From there, it spreads into a lot of alleys, scattered houses and tiny gardens.

The '93 war during the Serbian seige has costed a lot to BiH and the country is still trying to come out of it all and improve its economy. This is reflected in the condition of houses, people, cost of living and so on. Tourist places are still being developed and it isn't a typical expensive, well maintained European tourist spot. The city, the mountains, wherever you turn to, you ll find a cemetery. We also saw many signboards, stone carvings stating "Don't forget '93". So, the country is ensuring that the youngsters will not forget the war and their misfortunes. History is important to their people and we get pulled into it too to dig further and know what actually happened. A lesser known place this is, atleast for Indian travellers, but definitely a place to be explored for its beauty and serenity.

[kirukkals]

Palace of Illusions by Chithra Divakaruni

#Bookreview

A lot has already been said about this book. Because I read this one after Karna's Wife by Kavita Kane, I should say I like Chitra Divakaruni much better.

Combining myth, history, ancient and modern is not an easy task and she definitely scores there. From the beginning till the end of the book, she never went into depths of details that all of us already know from The Mahabharata. Full scores to the editing there. Simple titles like lotus, boon, secrets, avalanche and so on are more than eye catchers, they made a difference to the page turner. Crisp writing is what I felt as I read through the chapters.

An epic from Panchali's point of view is definitely a writer's dream and reader's intrigue. From the ancient scriptures, we know Panchali was quite different from Sita of Ramayana. In fact, when my grandparents told me the story of Mahabharata, they told me because of a woman's laughter, the great war took place. From that day, I used to wonder why always blame the lady when it is a completely man's world. This I feel has been beautifully captured in this book. No, you don't have to sympathize her. No, you don't feel she is the arrogant lady. You will realize she was bold, confident, compassionate, confused, scared, just like any other woman, be it as early as those days or as modern as today.

She has been surrounded by men all through her life, her father, brother, Krishna, 5 husbands, Karna, King, Grandfather, Cousins and so on. Yet she had a voice and brain of her own, and emerged as a queen stronger than Kunti or Gandhari. Knowing all the powerful men from a female point of view is interesting and the author scores well.

We grew up to the stories that Krishna was Vishnu's avatar and he played a major role in The Mahabharata. And that, he was the life saver for Panchaali. But beyond that, the finer details of their relationship was beautifully captured here. Their strong friendship, her love beyond love and trust in him makes one wonder if this is what one ll feel when truly met with God.

Panchaali and Karna's secret love for each other was never a secret I guess even in Vyasa's Mahabharata. Thankfully Chitra Divakaruni hasn't devoted all her pages to this. The feelings go deep and the writer has definitely taken more freedom, but again the editing is crisp and the reader moves along.

Another thing that captivated me was her humour in the first half of the book. Some may call it dry, some sarcasm, still the humour between the lines was not lost.

This is a modern day fiction based on the epic, but if you ask me, the magic of the great epic is not lost. We have heard about powerful astras, magical mantras, miracles happening in humans and yes, most of those are left untouched in this book. Sometimes, not all events require a scientific explanation. Only the retelling from a woman's mind is being highlighted here, which will satisfy most readers like me.

As long as you don't get into if rewriting epics is right or wrong, you can enjoy this book.

[kirukkals]

I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

"The only thriller you need to read this year". Am going by the same words on the cover of this book. This book was an impulse buy during my Bahrain visit. Because it is such a fat book, it had been lying in my shelf unread for more than a year. Finally last month I took it out to give it a try. What a read !

A murder mystery and a plot to destroy America is combined here. The kind of detailing and depth given to the two main characters, the good guy and the bad guy just pulls you in, right from the beginning of the book.

Maybe, for people who like a fast read, non stop thriller, this isn't one. But people who like a fast read, yet a thriller with details, depth, description of places and people's culture, this book is definitely worth it.

Pilgrim is portrayed as a very smart, independent, confident and even slightly boastful character. And the justifications are given rightly, so you could allow this narrator to be proud of himself. The gruesome murders, the intense thought process and the complicated weaving takes you so deep that you tend to pause and look back, how did he ever come to this stage! There is so much information to be absorbed and analyzed, and that in itself is fulfilling.

After many years, I am reading a really good thriller which completely satisfied me. I think I remember feeling this way about 'The Day of the Jackal', but again that was more than 20 years back and if my memory serves me right, I was full of admiration for the Jackal in that book. Later came 'Angels and Demons' which got me thrilled with all those coding and symbols. But, now I feel 'I am Pilgrim' has surpassed all those books for me. Definitely going to look for more from this author.

It is one thing to read while in school and college, it is a different story when you read now, in mid 30s. You don't feel like putting a book down, but with so much responsibilities, end up reading very few hours every day, sometimes only few minutes. Still, I feel reading helps! Happy reading to you all too !

[kirukkals]

The Rule Breakers by Preeti Shenoy

Book 2 in Jan 2019 was "The Rule Breakers". For the love of Preeti Shenoy's writing, I just bought the book long back and finally found time to read this. As always, I fell for her writing. It is amazing that her books always revolves around relationships, yet each book, every scenerio is different. It maybe the simple, candid style, or the breezy flow of the narrative, or maybe the way I relate with the characters, something always touches the right chord and captures me into her world.

The story is in the 90s and so the father of the protagonist Veda is concerned only about marrying off his daughter as quickly as possible. Conversations between Veda & her sis Vidya were funny, emotional and all that actual sisters have. Veda's mom is shown to be timid while her mother-in-law has the final say in all matters. Her husband isn't the typical villian nor does Veda have a boyfriend. Yet, her dreams were shattered and she gets into a monotonous routine. So, how she slowly paves her way and discovers a lot more about the world around her is what is beautifully said in this book.

The letters back and forth between the sisters and friend takes the book quickly forward. The initial fear of her mother-in-law and then the slow yet steady change in attitude is visible but very well underplayed sticking only to the main story. Never felt this in her previous books, but in this one, you could skip a few mid pages and still finish the book without missing much. The shocking realities doesn't really come as a surprise, as the author would have expected it to be. Maybe, that was where I felt it could have come in a little earlier. That aside, this is still a good light read like her any other previous titles.

[kirukkals]

Karna's Wife by Kavita Kane

The first book that I finished reading in 2019 Jan was Karna's Wife by Kavita Kane. For all the hype and good reviews about the book, I started with high hopes. But frankly was quite disappointed with this book.

And I had just finished Anand Neelakantan's 2 volumes of Ajaya - Duryodhana's Mahabharata. It was such an interesting, intriguing read, made me rethink a lot of what we have heard and read about our epics. So naturally I should say I was looking forward to reading more from different perspectives.

Karna's Wife starts off well with proper introductions to all characters, Karna's nature and character has been dealt with in detail. His second wife Uruvi is the protagonist here, and she has been portrayed as a strong, independent, self willed, cheerful etc etc woman. But as I progressed with the book, I felt there was no research done, just plain narration, long dialogues and scripts of what we already know. As for the narration, it was quite plain, and tends to drag mid way. Towards the end, it catches some fire again and manages to end well.

We all know Mahabharata story is the same and cannot be changed. The story told from different individual perspective will only give us an overall picture of what could have happened and why. So when this book tries to tell the story from Uruvi's perspective, the expectation was different. But I only got the feeling of a 19th or 20th century woman venting out her frustrations, narrating about her love and married life. It didn't take me back to those days and that is where I think this book failed to impress me. It never once made me think, "oh, it could have happened this way, why not!", "oh, why didn't they do it that way, things would have been different!". No, not once. And again, this where it failed to impress me.

For this classic epic, the author has not done justice. Maybe I can give a try to an other book by her before I call it quits.

[kirukkals]

GEORGIA - The little Europe!

When I mention Georgia, not many people living outside the middle east have even heard of this tiny beautiful country. It borders Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and just about 3 hrs flying from UAE. This was on the cards right from 2016 as a quick getaway holiday place. It happened now in Jan 2019 and we never imagined it would be another different experience all together.

Two reasons we chose Georgia - small country close to UAE which meant 3 to 4 days would do, and this time of the season would mean experiencing snow. We did a 3 day trip but I wish I had another couple of days to explore all parts of the country. Our friends had just been to the place for over a week, so we took their advice, booked ourselves the same guide for the entire 3 days.

We landed early morning in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. We headed west to Bakuriani, in search of some snow and were not let down. It was my first time to see an entire city covered with snow. Houses, fir trees, cars buried in snow, white roads and it felt like we were a part of a Christmas fairy tale movie. Our hotel apartment had a beautiful mountain view where all the Christmas trees were covered with snow.

Then of course, we did all the things that someone who has barely seen snow does, throwing snow ball at each other and attempting a snow man but what came out was infact a snow witch. We even tried sledging in steep slopes. Skipped the skiing, partly coz we were already tired after these games. It was freezing and though we had jackets and caps, it was too windy and cold. We weren't prepared with the right footwear, thought we could rent them, there was no such option and had to manage with ours. The first night we stayed in Bakuriani and experienced heavy snowfall. The entire night it rained snow. And WOW! The next morning, I couldn't take my eyes off the mesmerising mountain view. Nature is truly wonderful.

The next morning we wanted to do the Bakuriani to Borjomi train journey. So when our guide dropped us at a place, it didn't look a bit like station and all of a sudden a real sized train emerged from the corner. Only after the train arrived, did we notice that the place had tracks, had a platform that was hidden and a station exists and it was covered with a blanket of fresh snow. This train, with just 3 coaches, lazily covers 37kms in 2.5 hrs, just the right thing to do first up on a holiday morning. The train journey was absolutely snow scenic. We passed through snow forests, villages with colourful huts covered with snow, distant snow capped mountains and I could go on & on about the snow! If you have watched The Polar Express movie, you will know what I am talking about. Borjomi is yet another beautiful little town which is popular for its mineral rich water. We did a quadro bike ride in the Borjomi park which took us deep into the snow forest, middle of nowhere and white and blue were the only covers. That evening we moved to Tbilisi, the town centre.

Now, our guide Sukho is a Georgian, a proud native and he thoroughly enjoys explaining the richness of his country. All the 3 days that he showed us around, he made sure we appreciated the history behind the place. He was very helpful, open, good natured, friendly, humorous and all that. But what I could not stop noticing was that how much he enjoyed portraying his country and its culture to all other people. He is a good singer, a guitarist, worked earlier in media and quit his regular job to do what he likes the most.

Now you might even wonder why I am writing so much about him in my travel blog. We felt good to have had a guide who is a local. That way, we got to learn a lot about their way of life, food, festivities, history, culture, languages, their music, and so on. Can you imagine that Georgian music recorded on a golden disc and sent on the Voyager into space?! UNESCO has termed one of their writings as an ancient one?! Pagan was their religion and Christianity came in much later?! Their territory is still unstable and they had a war as recent as 2008?! They have been invaded over and over that they are always ready for a war?! Well, this and a lot more inside info is possible only with a native guide. That too a proud one! I definitely don't regret being an Indian, but at the same time I might not be a proud one. But looking at such people, I feel I should try to be more appreciative of my own culture and country and propagate it better to people around me. So, I started with Sukho himself and told him to visit India someday soon!

Getting back to the places, we visited the Uplistshike cave town which lies near the Gori city. The cave town is an amazing place to visit if you like to see and hear about ancient history. Made out of sandstone many centuries back, it still stands out as a massive structure on that mountain. We got some climbing to do and it was a windy place. The hill town has seen many great rulers, influencial queens, successful clay pot wine making, pagan worship, sun god worship, back to back invasions, it has been burnt down a few times and reconstructed, Christianity started taking form, and so on. The prison, fireplaces of common people, rulers main hall, pharmacy and many such spots are still seen. It takes us back to that age to imagine people would have lived there and walked the sandstone steps. The highlight was the secret tunnel through which they escaped during war. Easy steps are now built for us to pass through, but to think that people used that way to get out to the fast flowing river and escape, it is all quite incredible. What an easy, comfortable, modern life we live in today!

Gori in itself looked like a city that has been in and out of war many times. Burnt down structures, isolated houses, and the winter trees gave an eerie war feel to it. When mentioning this to our guide, he briefed us about the prevailing unstable conditions and the war that took place in 2008 between Georgia and the separatists with Russian backing. It is terrible to hear about such war in the 21st century. Joseph Stalin the great communist leader was born here in Gori. And on the way, we saw a few refugee camps, neatly built row houses with basic amenities given by the Georgian government. And to mention again, felt the sincere patriotism in our guide who said every Georgian will fight till his last breath to save his territory and culture.

Mtskheta is a beautiful old town with shops lined up showcasing the artisans work. Local sweets made out of walnuts, hazelnuts, honey, apples, pomegranates etc are mouth watering delicacies. Georgian salt and pepper tastes unique, similar to our Indian spices and could make a good seasoning for salads and soups. Honey is also a popular product being sold there. Georgia's main export is wine. Woollen clothes and art on clay wine pots are not to be missed. The cathedral in Mtskheta and Jvari Monastery are historical buildings. The belief is that the sacred robe of Jesus, the one that covered him during his crucifixion, is buried there. The winding roads up the hill to Jvari is a beautiful drive.

In Tbilisi, we stayed right at the city centre. Freedom Square is a popular happening place in the city and Hotel Marriott stands facing this. Well, being a budget trip (always!), we stayed in a small hotel apartment just behind the Marriott. All Seasons Hotel had a spacious comfortable room, neatly done. For the location, room, and breakfast, the rent was very less. Just like in the European cities, we saw cobblestone streets, freelance music bands, people wining and dining merrily. Because Romans & Greeks lived there ages back, we see a lot of their influence in the architecture.

The other attractions in the heart of the Tbilisi city are the Bridge of Peace, Roman bath, waterfalls, Narikala fortress, river cruise and the St. Trinity church which is the modern day construction. Georgians celebrate Christmas on Jan 7th and walking around on the eve helped to see the colourful city. The city was lit up and it was a festive mood all around.

For the very short time that we had, we could only cover so much. Still, it is a very memorable holiday which will be cherished.

[kirukkals]

A trip to the Arctic

For some, it is lazing in the beaches, for some others, it is the adrenaline jump in the adventure sports. For us, it is the simple losing ourselves in the vast mountains.

Back from the most scenic holidays ever, this time the destination being Norway. Europe has always been enchanting & we wanted to do it yet another time. But didn't want it to be just another schengen country off the list. When my husband read about the fjords, there was no point convincing him of any other place. So came the decision of Norway and this will definitely be one trip in my memories for a long long time to come.

Some were amused at our choice and wondered if there was anything to do for 10 days in Norway alone. For most, ticking off many schengen countries at one go seems to be the right thing to do. It is the less expensive way to do, I agree, not economic, but yes, definitely less expensive. But for us, we always feel we haven't seen enough. And so, this blog is going to be quite long, in an attempt to inspire people to travel far and long to less visited places.

To start with, we landed in Copenhagen, Denmark. Frankly because of our last minute planning & flight tickets were affordable to that place. We visited the most popular Tivoli Gardens in the city and to spend one evening, it was a really good place. The rides and parade for kids, the lawns and gardens to relax, fireworks at night, was all worth the visit. So we breathed in the fresh pleasant cool air happily after the scorching hot days in the UAE, telling ourselves, welcome to Europe.

The next day we did a lot of walking around, 19000 steps says the fitbit, roaming the streets, visiting the palace, climbing the spiral tower, eating in the royal gardens, window shopping in the alleys etc. The one notable difference in Denmark was the use of Bicycle. We could see kids & teens cycling to their schools, men & women wearing formals cycling to their work, grannies cycling to shops to buy their wool to knit the Christmas shawls. The happy 2 wheeling with carriers and baskets, took me back to my school days when I used to cycle with my friends and stay on the roads for a long time. Cycles were lined up across every street in Copenhagen, and that gave a pleasant outlook to the city.

The next day evening we took a cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo, Norway. This was our first cruise experience and as in the movies, it felt so thrilling and cool and amazing and exciting. The feeling is just inexplicable. To be in the high seas, to walk in the decks watching the sky is all so romantic and peaceful. Inside, it was just like being in a mall, with restaurants, shops, play areas, pools, spa etc. The deck was in the 12th floor, our room in the 5th. It was a small room with a window facing out to the sea. So we could enjoy the midnight sun from within our cabin lying in the bed. Oh of course, after a few hours, I felt a slight stomach churning, but very slight and I dozed off. I could manage well until the next morning. So, in a way, I was thankful we took the 17 hrs cruise and not more.

We spent 2 days in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. At the outset, this wasn't much different from Copenhagen and not what I expected of Norway. I was wondering where were the fjords! My husband reminded, that was in the west and I had to wait. We visited the sculpture park, Viking museum, walked around the city, hiked in the Ekebergparken, relaxed in the royal gardens. We saw shops proudly portraying their Norwegian products. Most of them display they are handmade in Norway, speciality Norwegian cuisines, designed in Norway and so on. It was refreshing to not see a 'Made in China' product.

The one thing we noticed quite different were the tourist crowd, rather the absence of it. We hardly saw any Chinese & Indian tourists. And this was quite surprising. But at the end of the 2 days, we happened to pass by an elephant structure all decorated, a truck colourfully painted and a few posters. Intrigued that it could mean only India, we went in and found a grand mela happening. Sufi singers, the elephant colour decoration, food style, to me mostly represented Pakistan rather than India. But we did find Indians in the area enjoying the evening and the locals taking in the music and the aroma of the biriyanis. We had our share of chaai & jelabis too. So, wherever we go, be assured, there are Indians and North Indian restaurants.

We also left the Oslo city and went to the suburbs when we took the wrong train. The rail track was surrounded by such a plush countryside and it was so serene. We are used to carrying a city map and roaming the places on our own using public transport. So, we tend to lose our routes, more than once in every trip. Having said that, there is no regret, because getting lost in a beautiful town helps us explore more of the surroundings.

From Oslo, we took the 'Norway in a Nutshell' day trip package to goto the second largest city, Bergen, in the west coast. First we took a train from Oslo to Flam. The train journey was about 5 1/2 hours and was so scenic, we felt guilty about dozing off even for a few minutes. We got down in Flam to take another train, the Flam scenic railway, to Gudvangen. As to their claim that this was the most scenic rail route, I think I should agree. There was a short stop at a waterfall, where all of a sudden music was played and we saw a lady dancing in the far corner of the falls. It definitely was a photo shoot moment. This train stops after an hour and we are asked to board a cruise boat. On the dot, the cruise moves through the second largest fjord of Norway, the narrowest fjord in the world, Naerøyfjord. The number of waterfalls, the different shades of green, the high steep mountains on both sides, it was a different world altogether. The 2 hour cruise wasn't enough to take in the beauty of the fjords. We now get off to board a bus to Voss. This bus takes us through 13+ sharp hair pin curves, which also includes the steepest bend in Norway. The driver explains that the roads were built for horse carriages in those days, and is still strong enough to accomodate buses today. It did look steep and dangerous for a bus to turn, but our driver did it effortlessly while entertaining us. After about 1.5 hrs, he dropped us at the train station. The last leg of our journey to reach Bergen was one hour train from Voss.

Initially when we booked the package, I thought it was a guided tour. Then realised that we just get the tickets and we are on our own. Let me tell you, I got a little apprehensive first as we are checking out of Oslo and carrying all our luggages during this day trip. But, this whole package was so neatly timed and coordinated, there was no delay in any place, no necessity to ask questions in search of anything, ample place to store our luggages in bus, boat and trains, and most importantly no long walks from one point to another carrying our luggages. We had enough time to have a snack or use the washrooms during every break in journey. It was all so smooth, that we could really enjoy the scenery and one of the best days in the trip for me.

Also, on this day, I met an American tourist who is an artist too. She was sketching the fjords with such passion during the train journey and we shared our common passion with each other. She even gave me her drawing pen. We didn't exchange names or numbers, but art made us converse for quite sometime and that feeling is always special.

We spent the next 2 1/2 days in Bergen. The Bryggen area was bustling with activity, pleasant weather helped us hike up the Mt.Floyen. View from above is simply awesome. The science museum that we visited in the city was quite different from the ones we had seen in any other place. It was more interactive, more specific to the concepts and definitely fun & learning for kids and adults. The 18th century Stave church was located inside a forest and I felt it would have looked like the ones in fairy tales had it been snowing. Violinist Ole Bulls Villa and Island smelled rich of the herbal trees. It was fascinating to know that the musician's wife was Swami Vivekananda's follower and she preached yoga to the Norwegians after her visit to India. This was in the early 18th century. It was unimaginable that the lake around the island freezes during winter and there is no connectivity.

The waterfalls in Steinsdalsfossen was another unforgettable experience. We took the bus from the city and though the bus was full, no one got off at our stop. Wondering if we were in the right place, we got off the bus. First we heard the loud waters, and then saw it gushing down right opposite us. We could climb up and walk behind the falls. With hardly any tourists around, we could take in the clean, fresh surroundings. Frankly, when I was leaving the city, I didn't want to go. One can easily spend over a week in Bergen and you would still feel you haven't had enough. The only factor that pushed me to pack my bags was the next stop - The Arctic Zone.

We took the flight to Tromso, the city in the Arctic Circle. Though there were other popular places like the Lofoten islands in the northern Norway, we wanted to touch the Arctic zone and chose to travel up north. Another reason we avoided Lofoten was, it was famous for fisheries, something we vegetarians can't relate to much. During my school days, I have read the Arctic and the Antarctic were so cold, people cannot live, animals cannot survive etc. I thought the city would be very less populated and covered with ice even during summer. But here we landed in a city which looked just like Bergen or any other place in Norway. We walked across a long bridge to the Arctic Cathedral. We saw college kids walking around and all excited about the music festival the next day. We walked through the University campus and the botanical gardens nearby. Having been in a tropical place all my life, I felt graduating from the Arctic University of Norway would sound too cool.

It was our 11th wedding anniversary and I was so thrilled to go up the Mt.Floya to watch the midnight sun. I would say that I have never seen such a beautiful sky, with all those shades of yellow, red, orange, streak of green & purple among those clouds. We happened to meet a local who was plucking blueberries in the mountains. She lives in Oslo and travels here on work. She agrees that Tromso is the most beautiful city in Norway with those mystic and magical mountains all around. We plucked berries too and it tasted like god's own fruit, dropped from heaven. The evening setting might have had an additional effect on me, but yes, I was mesmerized.

Days without sunset can be ok, specially if the weather is going to be around 10 deg celcius. But having only nights without sunrise, is unthinkable. More than 2 months of harsh winter, with just the dancing lights and no sun, with just the snow and no vegetation is beyond my wildest dreams. Arctic seems to be a romantic spot for a holiday, but to live your entire life there might be a different story.

We could see the glacier mountains from where we stood, but didn't have the time to do those glacier walks, maybe a few years later after our daughter grows up. We didn't see the polar bears or the reindeers, but did see them on the menu card of every restaurant. I hoped to catch a glimpse of the northern lights after the sunset, but the sky was too bright and we went too early in the year. Maybe another trip, another time, just to chase those lights. The Bukta beach that we visited was another magical spot. A few kindergarten kids had come on their field trip visit, a few walkers with their dogs and the weather was just right to be out the whole day. Again, end of the 2 days, it was really hard to say goodbye to Tromso.

My husband and girl tease me the last day of the trip, so, would you now say Switzerland or Norway? How can I disown my first love? I haven't explored Switzerland as well as I did Norway. My first love remains to be the most romantic and beautiful country in my books. So, Switzerland, I ll be back someday to love you more and write about you.

[kirukkals]

Icons of TN

I have never been interested in political happenings in India or TamilNadu. "Was Indira Gandhi shot dead?" would go perfectly with me, that much was my knowledge or involvement in politics. But a person like me is tempted to write this today.

Two major icons in TN who ruled the state for over 60 years are no more. Be it both former CM Jayalalitha or former CM Karunanidhi, they were the two pillars of TN. They brought in a lot of reforms, introduced a lot of policies which did serve the needy. They of course looted the state, but that taught some lessons to the people. Still, after this day, I don't think anyone will be remembered so much for their political life in TN. Both have ruled for an era and that I feel is irreplaceable. They never left behind a proper successor, and in today's fast paced world, I don't think anyone will last so long in politics. The void will be felt in TN.

Look at the news channels today, it is full of former CMs death visuals and talks about his earlier life. Tomorrow, the breaking headlines would be something else completely. And they keep pushing and posting the headlines so much the entire day, that you will forget only yesterday Kalaignar passed away. Every second the news changes, debates changes. If a leader today does something good or bad, it will be headlines for half a day at the max. Then, something else comes up in another part of the world, so that grabs our attention. At this pace, I don't think any leader can create such mass appeal anymore. Even before a reform or policy is announced, it will be all over the social media and the news will be old. Was the reform implemented, no one will be bothered. No one is going to give credits to one leader for any good done, such is the pace of this world.

I would only say both the former leaders were very lucky to have been in that era, and to have people loyal to them flowing in such large numbers to give their last respects. As to me, I am lucky to have born in the 80s to have atleast witnessed such strong leaders. Wondering what will take over TamilNadu in the next few years. Until then, let us all be in peace.

[kirukkals]

Italy - From a Tam-Brahm woman

Am an Indian Tam-Brahm woman in my mid thirties and married for 9 years with a girl who is 6 years old. I keep changing my profession, so let me just say currently i take art classes for kids and adults. Am feeling blessed and proud to say I have travelled to more than 10 countries in these 9 years with my hubby. We both love to travel around the world and fortunate that we are able to do so. I used to maintain a journal, lost the writing habit somewhere midway I guess. Here is my attempt at writing a few things about the latest country we travelled to - Italy. This is purely Italy from my point of view. I might have missed out many details, might have elaborated on few needless details. Again, this is my writing and so i choose what to write. We went during September for a 14 day trip to Italy. We travelled across the country mainly by train. We landed in Rome from Riyadh and flew out of Milan. By the way, we live in Riyadh for the past two years and that helps us to travel to Europe, a little more comfortably! Am going to start my blabber about the hotels, trains, food, dress, culture etc. and finally give a quick view of the places we saw, coz i know you can read about the places and landmarks in any internet search. Happy time pass to you all :) here i go.... Trains ------ Trains in Italy is the most convenient & best way to travel from one city to another. The brochures, timetable boards, counters, ticket machines, and so on...everywhere there is information and help, which makes your travel fast and easy. The most important thing i noted was, even the smallest train stations are wheelchair friendly. So, be it aged people travelling, or people like me with strollers, or just people with big suitcases, you don't feel the stress of travel. The platforms and the tracks are always clean, whatever the size of station be. In case of any repair work, the area is blocked neatly on all sides so that public cannot enter it. Inside the train, there are separate spaces to keep strollers or wheelchairs, clean toilets and trash bins for every 4 seats. We also noted in one station, the cleaners don't just clear the bins, they were wiping every seat clean and getting the train ready for its next trip. Hotels ------- We were on a budget trip this time. We wanted to travel to as many places as possible in this country and utilize our 2 weeks to the fullest, so decided to spend more on travel and less on the stay. We looked at 2 star hotels near the train station in most cities. Even these hotels give us a comfortable room, clean stay. Basic toiletries are provided and the front desk people are always friendly. We didn't need anything more. We were disappointed only with the stay in Venice, it was the most expensive and yet such a small room on the 2nd floor with no lift. The most visited city can give you only so much i guess. Tourists --------- Looks like Italy is the most popular country in the whole of Europe. Lots of tourists all around the place and Venice seems to be the most populated. We saw a lot of old couples holding hands and enjoying the scenic beauty of Italy. There were these Chinese travellers, specially the women obsessed with selfies. We couldn't see any Indians in the Sorrento and the islands, but lots and lots of them in Venice. And you can spot lots of Arab women without their abayas only in this country. All these tourists are so disciplined that they mostly don't throw trash around and walk away like in our country. I say mostly, coz there are exceptions here too, we did see a few of them, but they might be one in a hundred. Even if their pets, dogs, pee on the roads, they remove it and put in the bins nearby. Dress ------ Now, talking about people, i have to talk about the dress. Being a south Indian woman, i wear jeans mostly only during trips. And if you notice 'my kind of' women, we wear kurthis with jeans, which usually covers your bum. Deciding to become the more fashioned lady, since am visiting the fashion capital, I chose shirts and short tops (none sleeveless though), a few long skirts for the trip. I avoid t.shirts coz I have a 'slight' tummy and I don't want people to give me seats in tubes and buses thinking am pregnant! Now, with these clothes, i thought i could blend in with the crowd, and no one will take a second glance coz am not wearing a salwar. Well, as u guessed, i was wrong, completely wrong. Of course, no one took a second glance at me, but i did not blend with the crowd. The cities like Rome, Florence, Venice had young girls in shorts, t.shirts, sleeveless tops. If you spot jeans, they are torn in many places. When my hubby tells my little one, 'poor girls, some rats bit their jeans', she immediately responds, 'Appa! Don't u know that is the style?!' Not sure how she came to know! The kind of jeans i wore, only grandmas wore! Again, they were in sleeveless low neck tops, and gave me a curious look as to why i was wearing a full sleeve collared shirt in that hot weather! This was in the cities. Now in the beaches and the islands we visited, you can imagine the scene. Anything more than a swim wear is sure to get you many stares. I slightly improved my dressing, moved into capris instead of jeans. I learnt a couple of things though. It is absolutely ok to wear any kind of dress even if you have a slight tummy, as long as you carry yourself confidently. It is ok to get a few stares if you are fully clothed and stare back as a proud Tam-Brahm Indian woman. Food ------ My hubby and me are not fussy eaters, but we are pure vegetarians. I say pure, coz we don't eat eggs, chicken or fish (these are considered veggie food in some parts of the world!). The last trip we went to Switzerland and France, I had taken some rice, dal, rice cooker with me. We never used it during the trip, for two reasons. One, we got up early, started out and returned back tired late night. Two, we found Indian restaurants and managed a few days with North Indian food. So, for this trip, we travelled light. Our typical breakfast would be each one banana, one croissant, cappuccino for my hubby, hot chocolate for me and my girl. I don't drink coffee. I was tempted to try the pastry varieties and the doughnuts, but after a day, it all got too sweet for me, i just stuck to plain croissant. We couldn't find veg sandwich in any place, quite surprising. Our lunch would be cheese pizza from take away shops and a juice or gelato (icecream). If we go to a restaurant, our order of margarita pizza will not be enough (for the restaurant). The waitress keeps asking you to order drinks, everyone around our table will be sitting and chatting with a glass of wine, we ll be the only ones ordering just pizza. So to increase the bill amount, we end up ordering soup, pasta and water bottle. Veg pizza has a combination of any of these 3 veggies - tomato, brinjal, olives, mushroom, leaves. You should show these guys the options we have in Domino's and pizza corner outlets in India! What is a veg pizza without onions, capsicums, jalapenos, pineapples! Italy is supposed to be 'The place' for pizzas and pastas. Agreed cheese pizzas were great, but to have them everyday is not my cup of tea! Tea!!! How much I missed my masala chaai! 4 pm everyday I have to have my chaai! It has become a routine right from my working days. If you ask these cafes in Italy for tea, they give you green tea which tastes like flavored hot water. If you ask them if they make tea with milk, they roll their eyes and wonder if we are in our senses. Thankfully the Indian restaurants in the major cities understand the plight of people like me and have chaai in their menus. The Indian restaurants are all North Indian, veg food is again types of naan, side dishes and veg biriyani. The few starters and chaat options tingle our taste buds. Wonder why there are no South Indian restaurants in Italy! Indian food in Italy is very very expensive. One course a day everyday for 2 weeks would end up more expensive than your accommodation expenses. So, good to be on a diet during trips, even if it is a forced diet, it is good for your waistline and your wallet. Gelato - Icecreams are definitely popular in Italy. Every street has atleast two gelato shops, tempting you to have one everyday. The varieties, the colours, the flavours, the display all makes your mouth water. Culture shock -------------- While travelling to these western countries, we are always prepared to face some culture shocks. Now that our girl is growing up, we are getting ourselves ready to answer some tricky questions. Number one, we ll find a lot of lip locks on the streets, in front of popular landmarks, in shops, in pubs, in train stations, everywhere around us. Our little one said one day, 'Amma, I saw a girl and a boy kissing on the lips, isn't it wrong?!' You see, we've taught her bad touch, good touch concepts and so she has this doubt. We tell her its ok if it is husband and wife, and I insist only after marriage. This is how we were brought up, this is our culture. She nods now, am not so sure when she grows up! Number two, we saw a lot of condom dispensers in public places. And in India, condom ads used to be 'pyaar kiya' song (an old hindi number) with a couple under an umbrella walking in the rain. That is all. Then the name of the condom brand. Only when I grew up, I understood what ad that was. So, here looking at those machines, I wonder if the kids wouldn't question and what the reply would be. Luckily for us, our little one never noticed it. Number three, smoking and drinking. We keep seeing messages those are injurious to health, causes cancer and so on. In this country, be it the teenagers, girls and boys, the young couples with small kids, the old couples, all of them smoke and drink throughout the day. Kids watch them and grow, i guess they start when they are in the teens. Number four, use of only tissues in toilets. We are so used to washing and water, this is really the toughest part to adjust to. After a week, my girl asks me, does no one ever washes in this country? Why are only tissues kept? I tell her, yes darling, they don't know about cleanliness, we ll go back to our hotel room and wash well. There used to be days when i carried water bottles to the toilets! Shops ------- Italy, the fashion capital for women, is named rightly for two things. Leather bags and leather shoes. The kind of varieties is just mind blowing. Bags in no two cities are the same. I can even dare to say no two shops in the same city. The colours, the models are just awesome. And needless to say, they are all in Euros, so they are expensive for a traveller like me. If you are from the US, maybe you ll be ok to shell a few dollars on these bags and shoes. Maybe you should! Every city that we went to, had unique souvenir shops showcasing only whats famous in that particular city. Rome had souvenirs with all its historical buildings, and the Pope himself. I never came across a vatican or the Pope souvenir anywhere elase in Italy, surprisingly. Vespa scooter is a popular mode of transport and that is made as a souvenir. Imagine having a fridge magnet or a plate with Bajaj scooter in India. People will laugh at it. But that is the difference. Small things are displayed and portrayed so well that we think it is so beautiful. Sorrento had lemons in all its souvenirs, be it magnets or kitchen sets, or towels, or t.shirts. Lemon grows everywhere there, just like our coconut trees. So they have lemon soaps, lemon fresheners, why even, lemon flavoured wines. Florence souvenirs are mostly about its own cathedrals and bridges. Then the leaning tower of Pisa souvenirs, Siena, Milan cathedrals are all unique. Then there are these artists and street performers in every city, in front of every landmark. We saw some lovely caricatures, water colours, oil paintings on canvas, pencil sketches. They all looked so realistic and as I mentioned earlier, it is always great to see people buying and appreciating such handwork. We bought one oil on canvas too! The street performers are too good, be it musicians or stunt experts, they all do a great job and people just stand, watch the show and move on. Of course, you can give them a few euros if you enjoyed. At Rome, the men played us the famous 'Churaliya' hindi number as soon as they saw us! Guess its written on our faces we are Indians. And for all these people, Indians are either from Mumbai or New Delhi. They sure don't know any other state in India! Rome ------ As Chetan Bhagat says in one of his books, the first thing one would notice as we land in any European country is the sky. The clear blue skies. Wonder why it is not the same colour in India. The blue sky and the white clouds is picture perfect and i just feel like staring at them until dark. We stayed near the Vatican. The place is full of tourists and busy at all times. The St.Peter's square and the basilica layouts are beautiful, looks enormous and overwhelming. So are the Pantheon, all the popular fountains around, the Colosseum and the ruins. During the day, the souvenir shops and the pizza, cafe outlets are all buzzing with tourists. Late evening, all the pubs are lit up and we see happy tourists having the time of their lives laughing and enjoying with drinks and music. Makes one wonder if this place is on an eternal holiday! My personal favourite place in Rome is the ruins. Sorrento, Amalfi coast & Capri Islands --------------------------------------- We saw a lot of lemon trees in Sorrento and this is a small beautiful city too. Night stroll in the streets of Sorrento was very colourful and fun. The Amalfi coast drive is very beautiful if you are ok with the winding roads. It was quite a long drive and i was happy i made it in one piece. Of course, the beach was great and my girl enjoyed the waters. And the Capri islands are worth the visit, the boat ride in the sea, the different coloured grottos, the chair lift to the view point, it is all a beautiful package. My personal favourite was the Capri boat ride. Florence, Siena ---------------- The open parks, the bridges on a cloudy evening looks awesome in Florence. We saw the world famous Michelangelo's David. Being science students, made it a point to visit the Galileo Museum and definitely it was worth the visit. The instruments used in 15th century and the world map when people thought earth was flat is all present in the museum. Those huge pendulums and globes and telescopes never stops to amaze me. We just did a quick stop at Siena, and the main cathedral with its wide open square in the front was a scenic setup for the place. My personal favourite place in Florence was Piazza Michelangelo viewpoint. San Gimignano --------------- I found the little town of San Gimignano the most artistic and unique. No wonder it is marked the unesco heritage town. Drive uphill from Florence was so scenic with vineyards all around. A tiny town above the hills, narrow lanes, high stone walls, thick wooden doors, artistic shops all around. Looked like the Hobbit's Shire or the home town of Santa Claus. Be it ceramic art, or mask shops, or leather shops, or lace shops, everything was handmade. For an art lover like me, it is a treat to watch people showcase and appreciate handmade work. The kind of intricate work, the creativity and the hard-work that goes into making, really makes us go speechless. This town had the longest queue at the shop claiming to make the world's best gelato! People laughing merrily, kids running around happily, this fairy town will be etched in my memories for a long time to come. Pisa ----- We landed at the Pisa train station thinking we could spot the tower and walk towards it. But, the leaning tower of Pisa came as a big surprise and slight disappointment to me. Just 100m in front of the tower, did i notice it. All the while i was imagining it to be a massive tall tower. The imperfections of this building has been marketed so well and people travel from all parts of the world to see it. The cathedral right next to the Pisa tower is built so well and there is so much intricate art in that. No one seems to notice that, it is the Pisa which people are trying to lift up straight (This is the one photo no one wants to miss). The lawns are beautiful and we spent a couple of hours lying in the green grass. Anyone i talk to, Italy strikes only two cords - Pisa tower & Venice. And both these places disappointed me. I feel there are far more beautiful cities in that country. Venice ------- The land built on water, the beautiful canals between streets, the gondolas are all what i have read about Venice. Well, Venice is beautiful, but from a distance, by boat. Venice by walk is no fun. The place was swarming with tourists, the narrow streets are just not enough to accommodate both the tourists and the variety of shops. Gondolas are way too expensive for a traveller like me. Restaurants are priced high. We walked from the station through all the narrow streets, all the way to the Mark's square, and finally got some breathing space. Next day, we took the ferry to the 3 islands, Murano, Burano & Torcello. Murano for its glass making, Burano for the colourful fishermen houses and lace making. Torcello is a quiet green island with one of the ancient churches. The islands were more scenic than the mainland of Venice. Milan ------ Our last stop was Milan, the fashion capital. High streets were lined up with the Italian branded shops like Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Ferrari, Prada, Versace, Louis Vuitton and so on. There was the 200 year old shopping mall and all these brands are there too. But we found only the cafes and pubs crowded. Wonder how these shops survive having their presence in all important malls, prices high, yet no customers to be seen. We visited the Milan cathedral and true to the pictures, it was a massive structure with intricate work. The needle like tips of the tall cathedral makes it look elegant. No two cathedrals look the same in this country. Every structure has its own architecture and design. Truly artists of those times were exceptionally talented! To end with, I would say I had a lovely time in Italy, feeling refreshed and inspired by all the art I saw. Ready to try some new art myself and for my class kids!