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yogeshblogs · 1 year

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Top 10 Luxury Resorts in Rajasthan in 2022

Rajasthan is the best spot for nature sweethearts. In the event that you are anticipating a stay in Rajasthan, check out these astounding top 10 extravagant resorts in Rajasthan for a rich stay with your friends and family.

List of Luxury Resorts in Rajasthan\

Taj Aravali Resort & Spa

As the name proposes Taj is an extremely popular and recognizable lavish inn on the planet. This Taj Aravali Resort and Spa is located in the regal province of Mewar, Udaipur Rajasthan. This is one of the sumptuous hotels in Udaipur that unfurl north of 27 sections of land. A place to get away regardless of anyone else's opinion, it has 176 very much named rooms, suites and furthermore solace tents. They also have an entire day cafe, a specialized topic regular veggie lover café and an astonishing bar, pool, and manicured gardens.

You can likewise look at the best fascination close to this retreat. Here comes the Pichwai painting masterclass studio at Udaipur which is 10 minute drive from Taj Aravali Resort and Spa. Likewise checkout the Phad painting masterclass studio which is 30 30-minute drive from Taj Aravali Resort and Spa. This Rajasthan studio is led by Pradeep Mukherjee, he is India's most memorable Small-scale Phad Craftsman and beneficiary of the lofty Shilp Master Grant. Submerge yourself in this exceptional workmanship experience as a combination of Small-scale Painting and Phad Painting. Subsequently, bring back home a gift and recollections that could only be described as epic.

2. Six Senses Fort Barwara

The Six Detects Post Barwara is situated in Sawāi Mādhopur. It is one of the best 10 extravagant resorts in Rajasthan. It is a fourteenth-century post, which has been safeguarded and changed over into an all-suite motel fixated on prosperity. The hotel has a Six Detects Spa and wellbeing focus, a flying yoga structure, a hydrotherapy region, and an open-air pool.

It furthermore comprises true castles and sanctuaries inside the post. For the entire day, it serves Mediterranean combo, container Asian, Indian comfort food, and restorative plates of mixed greens and that's only the tip of the iceberg. The suites are planned in state-of-the-art Rajasthani design with Shekhawati craftsmanship on the walls. They include weaved goods, lumber flooring, latticework, current innovation, hand-made sleeping cushions, baths, and furthermore gigantic dwelling regions with the decision of interior nurseries, individual porches, and patios with warm baths or pools.

3. Jaisalmer Marriott Spa and Resort

Jaisalmer Marriott Resort and Spa offer a shocking background on your go-to the "Brilliant City". Besides, step into our in-vogue stop room or suite; our housing is spilling over with lavish advantages, including rich sheet material, a masterful marble restroom, limitless Wi-Fi access, 24-hour room supplier, and furthermore a level presentation screen television. Fulfill each longing at our hotel's palatable on-website online cafés, take a dip in our warmed pool, or spoil yourself at Quan Spa.

At last, have your business undertake an event or get-together at our hotel to exploit adaptable, cutting-edge scene space. Likewise, it incorporates a dance hall and a manicured garden place. You'll have no issue investigating the neighborhood while you are remaining at our cabin.

4. Lohagarh Fort Resort

Do you wish to remain in an alternate style resort - take photographs and put them via web-based entertainment? Then pick this Lohagarh Stronghold Resort in a post model. It is situated in Pink City Jaipur close to the Delhi Jaipur thruway. This Lohagarh Stronghold Resort and Spa can have the least complex and particular facilities in Houses with individual pools and white Quartz and Stone Suites. The rooms are exceptionally sumptuous and novel. Anyway, it is recorded with stones and handiwork work exhibiting the marvel of the pink city.

Lohagarh Post Resort is an eco-accommodating retreat, in an exceptionally 13-section of land with very much kept up with unpracticed nurseries, AC gathering corridor, exercise center, 2 cafés with bar offices and ocean side vogue pool. In this manner the region that gives unending pool games thoughts like pool volleyball and pool soccer. Lohagarh Post Resort, Jaipur has Ayurvedic Spa to revive and restore guests with the exceptional oil knead.

The delightful fascination close to this retreat is Little Painting masterclass studio - lose yourself in the subtleties with Padam Shri S Shakir Ali. It is 22 mins drive from the Lohagarh Post resort.

Lohagarh Stronghold Resort is an eco-accommodating hotel, in an extremely 13-section of land with very much kept up with unpracticed nurseries, AC gathering lobby, exercise center, 2 cafés with bar offices and ocean side vogue pool. Hence the region that gives interminable pool games thoughts like pool volleyball and pool soccer. Lohagarh Stronghold Resort, Jaipur has Ayurvedic Spa to invigorate and restore guests with the remarkable oil rub.

The delightful fascination close to this hotel is Little Painting masterclass studio - lose yourself in the subtleties with Padam Shri S Shakir Ali. It is 22 mins drive from the Lohagarh Stronghold resort.

Likewise look at the masterclass studio of playing with wooden block making in Ramgarh street Jaipur which is 27 mins drive from the hotel. Join the honor winning craftsman Mr. Gayyur Ahmed for an involved studio on wooden block making in his veranda. Gain the complexity of the fine art from the expert and bring back home a gift and recollections forever.

5. RAAS Jodhpur

RAAS is situated at Jodhpur Rajasthan. Jodhpur is the primary extravagance shop inn with an unmistakable look made from a combination of present day and classic styles. The patio is a quiet desert garden in the midst of the rushing about of Jodhpur's old town.

Inside the walls of the retreat, there are phenomenal spas and warmed pools. Besides, our focal area implies large numbers of Jodhpur's best attractions are inside strolling distance or a short tuk ride. At RAAS Jodhpur you have five one of a kind cafés to look over, the vast majority of which likewise offers sublime perspectives on Mehrangarh Post.

Submerge yourself in the studio of the craftsmen with a masterclass studio to fit in eminence shoes, which faces extreme contest from machine-made footwear. Drench yourself in this exceptional workmanship experience that inhales custom and furthermore it has a verifiable polish. Finally, you can bring back home a keepsake and recollections that could only be described as epic. Thus, take a 10 mins drive from the hotel and experience the studio.

6. Shiv Vilas Resort

Shiv Vilas is a castle model Hotel situated at the Delhi Jaipur expressway street in Pink City of Jaipur. Set in the midst of exquisite nurseries with astonishing entertainment and furthermore business undertaking offices. Nonetheless, the Retreat is encircled through the sumptuous unpracticed Aravalli Reach providing beautiful viewpoints overall round Illustrious revel in lavish Jaipur.

They have wonderful insides with 2 pools, incredible oriental food eating Indian cafés, a nursery and furthermore games room and so forth. Remember to visit the renowned attractions - City Royal residence and Wind Castle which are close by this hotel.

The 2 phenomenal activities close to the Shiv Vilas resort are Jaipur's masterclass studios. In the event that you take a drive of 25 mins, you can encounter studios - how to make wooden blocks with Gayyur Ahmed and lose yourself in the subtleties of Little Composition with Padam Shri S Shakir Ali.

7. The Royal Retreat Resort & Spa

This is 5 5-star office Resort and is found inside the primary city of Udaipur. The Illustrious Retreat Resort and Spa is arranged near the Sajjangarh Rainstorm Royal residence on Badi Hawala Street. The Hotel is a living exemplification of Regal Rajasthan and furthermore has remained at the phases of Aravali. The Illustrious Retreat Resort and Spa unfurls over sections of land of natural climate and give more than 100 all-around selected rooms, and connected across walkways across the pools. Our cafés can take you on a cooking venture with its true Indian, World, and Combination kind of food. We tend to deliver a beguiling climate for yourself and furthermore your number one ones with the sky of light lighting your valuable minutes.

You can likewise look at the best fascination close to this hotel. In this way, here comes the Pichwai painting masterclass studio at Udaipur which is 10 mins drive from Imperial Retreat Resort and Spa.

Additionally checkout the phad painting masterclass studio which is 20 mins drive from the hotel. This Rajasthan studio is led by Pradeep Mukherjee, he is India's most memorable Little Phad Craftsman and beneficiary of the esteemed Shilp Master Grant. Likewise bring back home a keepsake and recollections that could only be described as epic.

8. Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Village Resort

Chokhi Dhani Resort is one of the renowned hotels in Jaipur Rajasthan. It is a 5-star resort and built in the model of town style. Exclusive hotel with regular and beautiful homes set in a rich unpracticed scene. Along these lines, it has Imperial Cabins, Extravagant Suites, and Gathering Lobbies for all of your venture gatherings. Additionally they have the best Rajasthani Multi Cooking Café Bindola, Open air Grill, Bar, Spa, Meal Yards and Pool.

The convenience at the Chokhi Dhani resort has ethnic Cabins, Illustrious Houses, Regal Suites, Haveli Suites, Chief bungalows, Dhola Maru Suites, Family Imperial Suites and furthermore Official Suites to fulfill all your needs for a decent stay.

On the off chance that you take a 16 mins drive from the hotel, you can encounter the Rajasthan Studio's masterclass studio. Close to Chokhi Dhani Resort, go to the well known blue earthenware studio with the incredible craftsman Gopal Saini. First and foremost, plan it in whichever way you like and watch the oxides bring forth lovely turquoise colors on your material. In spite of the fact that bring it back home with you, alongside a recently procured dominance during a time old fine art and a few permanent recollections.

9. Rajasthali Resort & Spa

Rajasthali Resort and Spa will give you an amazing and sumptuous experience during your visit. It is arranged on the Delhi-Jaipur Thruway Kukas Rajasthan. The Rajasthali Resort and Spa is the way of life and royal practices of Rajasthan and furthermore it has popular cordiality.

Around 90 extravagantly planned visitor rooms, as well as an official suite, terrific extravagance tents, illustrious extravagance tents, exclusive castle rooms and, premium royal residence room, Rajasthali Resort and Spa tries to supply a cushty and premium keep insight, whether or not or not you're hanging around for business or relaxation. Moreover, consequently an overplus of intricate and special offices. The Rajasthali Resort group is given to giving pleasant solace to our visitors.

10. The Amargarh Resort

The Amargarh Resort is situated at Udaipur city, Rajasthan. It is the best exotic marriage scene and a legacy place. The hotel includes an outside pool, free breakfast, indoor bar with relax seating and furthermore they have high end food region. In this manner, the room offices are forced air system, hairdryer, shower and with a gallery.

Despite the fact that take a culinary excursion all over the planet at their multi-food café, serving an organized menu of heavenly dishes. Our group of cooks guarantee each chomp is a healthy encounter that will make you want more and more. Look over various scrumptious neighborhood dishes as well as global dishes and we will guarantee you have an extraordinary eating experience.If you are looking for a visit to this temple then, I recommend you the best Taxi Service in Jodhpur named Jodhpur Cab Service. Jodhpur Cab Service Makes Your Ride, Considerably More, More Joyful. While You Arrive at Your Objective On Ideal Opportunity.

#travel #tourism #jodhpur #jodhpur taxi booking #jodhpur cab service

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anjuseervi · 2 years

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Honeymoon Destinations in India

India is one of teh most extraordinary objections in teh entire world and is a spot dat is visited by explorers consistently of teh year. India is a country dat is wealthy in history and culture and there are excellent route choices dat sightseers can use in all teh significant urban communities, in teh type of rental vehicles and vacationer transports. Convenience choices are likewise accessible in a lot for travelers of each and every conceivable spending plan. Teh environment in India is favorable for touring in both summer and winter. There are various tips dat one should remember, while investigating teh different pieces of dis wonderful country.

20 Various India travel Tips to follow while traveling in India

1 One of teh most significant hints dat one TEMPhas to remember, while going in India, especially individuals who come from Europe and America is to convey their own bubbled water with them. Standard water in India is sullied and one can cause oneself extreme damage by turning to teh utilization of even mineral water here, on the off chance that one is visiting from an European or American objective.

2 Ladies voyagers from abroad specifically should know about how they dress. India is a moderate nation and it is generally smart to wear long and free streaming garments to abstain from standing out and keeping oneself safe.

3 Sightseers should convey their identifications consistently with them, and this is the sort of thing dat is relevant for even homegrown vacationers. Frequently, particularly at teh air terminals and train stations, travelers perhaps mentioned to outfit a substantial photograph personality.

4 While selecting rental vehicle administrations for movement in teh nation of India, it is consistently really smart to reserve a spot ahead of time. Simply thusly, could one at any point really have the option to utilize these. Rental vehicle booking should be possible through teh travel locales that are their on the web.

5 One needs to stay away from the groups at the vacationer locations to have the option to investigate them in the most ideal way. Regions like the Jaganath Sanctuary in Orissa and the Belur region down South are continuously clamoring with travelers, so one ought to dare to these spots in the early hours of the morning or the late hours of the night to partake in some quiet touring.

6 Courses while heading out in India must be picked astutely. Pick bundle visits dat take you to explicit spots, for example, the Gloden Triangle visit, which takes explorers to Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

7 One ought to attempt to investigate the different objections in the nation of India at a sluggish speed. There is such a great amount to see and do and one ought to abstain from being eager to see everything at one go. A casual demeanor is very basic.

8 It is additionally essential to remain sound while going in India. Taking response to teh utilization of road food isn't prudent and one ought to decide to eat at rumored cafés or make food at one's own convenience to remain fit and fine.

9 There are promotes and tricks at every one of the Indian air terminals as well as railroad stations. It is crucial for explorers subsequently to stay calm and composed and try not to get into a fight with these individuals or surrendering to their requests.

10 While going via train, one ought to attempt to hold a compartment for oneself as teh trains in India are ordinarily extremely swarmed and sharing a compartment wif others can welcome alot of unsettling influence which can ruin a generally magnificent occasion insight for a vacationer.

11 Ladies ought to try not to take part in discussions wif outsiders. Thusly, they can keep away from inconveniences of eve prodding and assault which are sadly non to be very normal in India.

12 One should remain quiet about one's wallet close consistently. their are a lot of pickpockets in teh roads, transports and metros who can squeeze it covertly.

13 Ladies ought to particularly be certain when they are moving about starting with one spot then onto the next in India. Inconvenience is welcomed frequently when ladies travelers are shocked and confounded about where they need to proceed to can succumb to hazardous individuals therefore.

14 Ladies explorers in India ought to ideally has a buddy going alongside them. Moving about alone in this country isn't protected.

15 Ladies vacationers ought to likewise cease from getting cash from local people. Provocation is multiple times more when this occurs and frequently brings about wrongdoing occurring against the borrower.

16 It is critical to go with light gear while moving about in the nation of India. Weighty baggage can end up being oppressive and can likewise bring about getting lost, given the groups dat win here.

17 It is additionally basic to watch out for one's assets while going around the nation of India. One ought to make it a highlight count every single piece of baggage to guarantee that nothing has taken. Read More….

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globalplatter · 3 years

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Global Platter - Best Food Photographer in India

Food photography is a profession whose demand is rapidly increasing. Global Platter is India’s one of the leading food photography and styling platform based in New Delhi with a huge clientele from all over the world. They are specialized for their still life photographic shots which entail food, drinks, beverages and the packaged products.

They have a terrific eye for catching details, and their drool-worthy shots are guaranteed to make you feel hungry. The team has also worked as a Professional Food Photographers in Delhi for various restaurants, cafés, and cookbooks which has leveled up their businesses and proved to be a great boon. To guide the budding food photographers and stylists, they also provide various courses and workshops designed as per their requirements.

We also use a lot of texture and close-up shots in our food photography to make it look more appealing. We always aim to outdo our prior project's work by experimenting with different lighting settings, angles, backdrops and most importantly by instilling the on-going latest trends.

We believe in conveying the actual spirit of what we capture by thoroughly researching it beforehand because food photographs are as important as the food itself. So, save our number right away and in case of any requirements we are always here for the service.

Global Platter is one of the Food Stylist and Best food photographer in Delhi and NCR area. She specializes in Food, Product and Commercial Photography.

#best photography #photographer in delhi #professional photographer #product photographer

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living-with-abhi · 3 years

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Facts about Lodhi Garden- Heritage Site To Visit In Delhi 😃

Lodhi garden in New Delhi is interesting. It does not just convey a couple of times of Delhi's set of experiences in its folds yet additionally is one of the uncommon authentic spots, which are living. This isn't where just vacationers come, stroll around, click pictures, and return. The Garden is a lot of an indispensable piece of the existence of Delhi's kin.

The individuals who are lucky to be living in its area presumably use it as their regular strolling garden. Youthful couples use it to hobnob, and other Dilliwallahs make an oddball visit to sit and inhale the outside air here. History buffs come here to see the Lodi time burial places and mosques. Planners come to consider the design of that time.

Lodhi Garden

Nowadays the nurseries are the most loved frequent of photographic artists. They come here to tap the beautiful areas, trees, and birds. Producers use it to portray the scenery of Delhi. Expert narrators like Khushwant Singh stayed here and composed books as The Sunset Club set totally in these nurseries. Regularly called the lungs of Delhi, a great many people come here to invest some energy with nature. Arranged unbelievably between the Khan Market and Lodhi Road, it is effectively available from the two sides.

Passing by the atmosphere around Lodhi Garden, I anticipated that it should be large, however, it is a moderate-sized park spread in around 90 sections of land. Two towns existed around the landmarks till the mid-twentieth century, one of them was called Khairpur.

History of Lodhi Garden

In 1936, the spot was finished and the nursery was made. It was named Lady Willingdon Garden, after the spouse of the then lead representative general of India. After autonomy, gardens were named after the administration whose stays enhance it.

The Garden was re-finished in 1968 and a glasshouse was added to it. It has a characteristic territory that goes all over at places of all shapes and sizes landmarks interspersing the bountiful nature. It has little and not-so-little lakes with blossoms and birds and a Bonsai garden.

Lodhi Garden Walking Trail

My walk began from the Khan market side. As you enter from the stopping, the Athpula Bridge would be directly before you.

Athpula Bridge

Athpula in a real sense implies 8 extensions. It was called so as it remained on 8 columns framing 7 curves. The focal curve is the greatest one with ensuing curves decreasing, giving a sunken shape to the scaffold.

The way things are today, you wonder where is the waterway over which this was constructed. The water encompassing the scaffold is a fake water body. All things considered, however, the most youthful landmark this scaffold is as yet 400 years of age, worked during Akbar's time by Nawab Bahadur over a channel that associated with the Yamuna. What is vital about this extension is that this is one of the uncommon engravings in Delhi from Akbar's time.

Sikandar Lodhi Tomb

Pursue the cleared way around the Athpula and you would see a stronghold like a divider. You need to circumvent it to arrive at the doors of Sikandar Lodi's burial chamber. Implicit the mid-sixteenth century by his child Ibrahim Lodi, this burial chamber is in the average octagonal state of the Lodi time. This burial chamber has an uncanny likeness to Adham Khan's burial place in Mehrauli, with three entrances opening on every one of the eight sides.

Within the burial chamber has a high vault, with a painted roof and shaft and lintel passages in red sandstone. Curves inside have mathematical plans in blue and green. The western divider gives an impression of being a mosque with a Mihrab like a downturn. The dividers encase tremendous nurseries that encompass the primary burial chamber building. The stage outside the passageway divider has two coverings.

Legend of Octagonal Tombs

A legend says that Mughals considered Lodi's swindlers. In their period, the swindler's burial places were made in the Octagonal style like that of Adham Khan's. Another fascinating point is that Sikandar Lodi decided to be covered in Delhi while he used to control Agra.

Sheesh Gumbad

Push somewhat forward and you would see Sheesh Gumbad and bang inverse it Bara Gumbad. Presently, these are square burial places from the Lodi time. Sheesh-Gumbad was purported because its external get done with blue plated tiles gave the impression of being a mirror. Not very many of these tiles endure now and the vault conveys an exposed look. A family is by all accounts covered in this burial chamber, which is genuinely all-around protected from an external perspective however is completely disregarded inside.

Bada Gumbad or the Big Dome

Bara Gumbad has a mosque on one side and a Mehman Khana or guesthouse on the other. As you enter Bara Gumbad, you out of nowhere are hit by the sheer tallness of the arch. In the stage between the arch, mosque and guesthouse are a few graves that most likely have a place with a later period. The Bara Gumbad mosque was the most lovely disclosure of this walk.

This mosque with three vaults and five curves has a wonderful etching of mathematical plans and Arabic sections in grayish shading. It is an uproar of etched plasterwork. It additionally has probably the best Squinches that I have found in Delhi landmarks. The inside of this mosque is genuinely saved making it worth visiting.

Nobody realizes who is covered in these two burial places. In any case, I get it is protected to expect that these should be aristocrats, passing by the glory of these burial places. It is contended that Bara Gumbad isn't at all a burial place, yet a door to the mosque. However, the graves have been found inside building up to it as a burial chamber.

Mohammad Shah Tomb

As you stroll towards Lodi street, you would see another lofty octagonal construction, with exceptional and lavish Chhatris or shades all around the octagon. These Chhatris make the particular component of this burial chamber, with all the other things commonplace of the burial chambers of that period. This is the Sayyid line's Mohammad Shah burial place. It is the greatest construction in these nurseries. The roof again has some intricate round painting in blue and red encased in a star-like arrangement. It makes an exceptionally photogenic burial chamber, for what it's worth on a higher hill and is balanced.

To a great extent, you would see some grave stage in the nurseries. It would nearly feel as though you have come to meet each one of the individuals who lay covered here. The dead address you, not in a real sense, however through the pieces, they left for the people in the future, cast in stone conveying an engraving of their occasions. The landmarks show the significance given to individuals after they kicked the bucket, not certain if in the course of their lives that were path more modest than the existence of their burial chambers, on the off chance that they got a similar adoration and appreciation. I don't know whether they met, however, many individuals in their lives as they meet from their graves.

Birds

While engrossing history, don't miss the present. An assortment of birds lives here and significantly more visit during winters. If you don't think a lot about the birds, there are intricate sheets to clarify the different assortments of the birds that you can see here. The trees and plants are there to appreciate for what it's worth.

I missed the Kos Minar worked during Sher Shah Suri's time. You discover them up and down the Grand Trunk street that runs from Amritsar to Kolkata.

Travel Tips

* The passage is free.

* The guest's timings are 5:00 AM to 8:00 PM from April to September. Throughout the cold weather a very long time from October to March, the circumstance is 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Open on throughout the times of the week.

* You need in any event an hour to see the nursery appropriately. If engineering and birding interests you, you can undoubtedly go through a large portion of a day there.

* The nearest Metro Station is Jor Bagh on Yellow Line. You need to stroll for around 5 minutes or take an auto from that point.

* Lodhi The Garden Restaurant on the nursery premises serves European and Mediterranian food. It is a top-of-the-line café. You can generally bounce over to Khan Market for a chomp.

* Shoot the birds with your camera however, don't take care of them.

#blogging #blogger #different #facts #heritage #monumentalsite #adventure #indispensable #authentic #clickpics #intrestingplace #Delhi #Lodhidynasty #Garden #place #tomb #lodhigarden #Lodhi #lodhiroad #delhincr #monument #delhiblogger

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travelpushblog · 5 years

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BIR BILLINGThis tiny hamlet in the Kangra Valley is an absolutely blissful place for a weekend getaway or a go-to destination for a long weekend.Package Delhi to Delhi ( 20th -24th feb 2020 ) Booking Amount INR 5000/-, Balance to be paid before commencement of the trip Package Cost INR 5,999/- Only Pick Up Time/ Location Around 7:30 – 8 PM from Majnu Ka Tila Delhi on 16th Jan 2020 Drop Time/Location Around 6AM – 7 AM to Majnu ka Tila / Kashmere Gate on Delhi 20th Feb 2020 Inclusions • Travel to and from Delhi in Semi-Sleeper Volvo Bus (Quilt & water bottle is provided in the bus) • Accommodation – For 2 nights in Bir on sharing basis • Meals – Proper veg/non veg meals ; Brunch, Evening Snacks & Dinner on Day 1, B/L/Evening Snacks/D on Day 2, and Breakfast on Day 3 • Evening tea/coffee • Bonfire on both the nights • Local sightseeing as per itinerary • All permits & taxes • Experienced guide for local hike • Fun Activities & Surprises • Medical Kit • Photographer/Videographer for the entire trip • Goodies from our sponsors • Dance Workshop by Blank Delhi Productions • Team captain throughout the trip • Female Support staffExclusions • Any other Food and Beverage charges that are not included in the package (e.g. meals during interstate travel) • Any other costing involved due to any kind of natural calamity or forced circumstances beyond our control. This would also include expenses on any medical exigencies • Any hiking equipment (Shoes, trekking pole etc) • Paragliding charges • Alcoholic Beverage or Cigarettes • Tips for the local guides and support staff. This is as per your discretion and will be collected by the team captain towards the end of the trip • Any other items not specifically mentioned in InclusionsDay 0: 20th Feb 2020 (Thursday) -Departure from Delhi (7:30-8 PM) by Semi Sleeper Volvo busDay1: 21st Feb 2020 - Reach Tibetan Market, Bir by 8AM- Hostel check in & freshen up- Warm Ice breaking session over Brunch- Exploration walk into the wild- Chaugan Village- Visit Chokling Monastery- Walk down the streets of famous Tibetan Market & explore the surroundings- Café Hopping- Take a break for Lunch & fill up your stomachs for the day ahead- Watch the sunset from famous paragliding landing site- Walk back to our hostel for evening supper- Chindi welcome shots to start the night right- Music jamming session over bonfire & DinnerDay 2: 22nd Feb 2020 - Wake up for an early morning breakfast- Experience morning prayers at the famous buddhist monastery called “Palpung Sherabling Monastery” @ 10:30 AM- Drive through tea estates and forest area to reach Eight Stupas and soak some sunshine with breath- taking views- Have local Himachali lunch at one of the Dhabas- Hike to Gunehar River Pool & Waterfalls- Enjoy sunset from the famous sunset point on Bir Billing Road- Get back to hostel by late evening for our Tipsy Gypsy Chindi Style gala night- Enjoy the bonfire bonanza with evening snacks- Brace yourself for some amazing group bonding activities over music & dinner- Star GazingDay 3: 23rd Feb 2020 - Breakfast & Check-Out- Day tour to Billing- take-off site for Paragliding adventures- From here on, you can either quench your thirst of Paragliding (@ an additional cost) or walk around Billing and play with snow- Get back to hostel to pick your luggage & bid a warm GOODBYE to Bir- Evening Bus to Delhi @ 6PMDay 4: 24th feb2020 -Reach Delhi by 7 AM

Interested people can leave their id or phone number in the comments section below or http://bit.ly/2T8KhSE

#birbillingparagliding paraglidingbirbilling birbillingtrip adventure paragliding travelpush travel joinus booknow limited birbillingdiaries

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altughuner-blog · 5 years

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Sao Paulo is best known for being the most populous city of Brazil & among the most populated in the world. It has more population than Mumbai, although a tad bit less than Delhi. River Pinheiros runs through the city.

Sao Paulo Skyline, Stock Photos – Shutterstock

Now, If you plan to visit Brazil, you will find no shortage of incredible places to explore. From Rio de Janeiro to the Iguazu falls, Brazil boasts incredible, world-famous attractions. But Brazil’s biggest city – Sao Paulo remains an often-unexplored tourist destination. It is seen more as a financial hub.

Things to do in Sao Paulo

However, once you get here, you’ll find so many things to do in Sao Paulo that you might just want to stay for weeks! To help you narrow down your options we put together our favorite list of things to do in Sao Paulo. Incidentally, most of these things can be done free of cost, if you plan well.

1. Discover Priceless Works of Art at MASP – Museum of Art of Sao Paulo

The entire city of Sao Paulo is a great place for the art lover to explore, but it’s crowning jewel is no doubt the MASP art museum, situated in the center of downtown.

Museum of Art of Sao Paulo

On the first floor of MASP, you will find several rotating collections. The temporary exhibits here tend to focus on Brazilian art and artists, especially modern art. After you visit the first floor, work your way up to the second.

On the top floor of MASP, you’ll walk into a large open space – and hundreds of years of artwork on display. Situated in unique plexiglass installations, it almost looks as though the art is floating in midair. As you walk through the exhibit, you’ll be passing literally in the midst of this priceless, floating art. The exhibit starts with the oldest pieces in the front of the room. As you walk towards the back the art gets more modern.

The MASP museum is free all-day Tuesdays, which is its busiest day. If you wish to come on Tuesday, you might need to wait in line before you can enter.

2. Check Out All the Superheroes and Other Murals at Beco do Batman

Beco Do Batman – Sao Paulo

Of all the beautiful streets in the world, Beco do Batman might be the most unique. “The Avenue of Batman”, can be found in a neighborhood also called “Beco Do Batman.” The living art project you’ll find here is created – and re-created – by dozens of artists every year. Densely decorated with murals, (many superhero-themed) Beco Do Batman is the next incredible stop on the list of things to do in Sao Paulo.

Read More – Things to do in Brazil

It all started in the 1980s when just one image of Batman appeared on a wall, overnight. Soon, local art students showed up, and within just a few weeks every inch of the alley’s walls was covered with murals. The neighborhood that surrounds the street is now a tourist focal point. After you stroll the Beco do Batman Avenue, be sure to check out the many boutiques, coffee shops, and restaurants located on adjoining streets.

3. Taste Incredible Fruit at Mercado Municipal de Sao Paulo

The large municipal market housed in a historically important building is an essential stop on your list of things to do in Sao Paulo. Originally constructed in 1933, the interior feels more like a museum than a market. When you glance up, it’s hard not to be impressed by the enormous windows and detailed ceiling. However, there, is more to do here than just gawk at the architecture.

Colorful fruits at Mercado Municipal De Sao Paulo

First, stroll over to the fruit stands. Here you’ll see many fruits you won’t recognize – and for good reasons. Some of them only grow in Brazil and some are so rare that many Brazilians have never seen them either. If you love fruit this is a great place to experience the different varieties. The sellers will be happy to offer you samples – but only if you commit to buying something. And be wary, the prices they charge are very high. For just four pieces of fruit, you might pay $35. However, the fruit you can taste here is so unique that the experience is worth it.

Read More – Pink & Purple Summer Fruits of Goa

After you finish shopping in the market, proceed upstairs. Here you’ll find a variety of great restaurants. Many offer traditional Brazilian dishes – with plenty of delicious vegan options. And since the supplies are delivered every morning, everything is fresh. Just be aware – the prices are still set up for tourists, so you’ll likely pay more for the same meal than you do outside the market.

4. Delight at a Flower Market

CEAGESP Flower Market – Sao Paulo

One of Sao Paulo’s most original attractions is the CEAGESP flower market. Located on the outskirts of the city, few outsiders come here. But at this large outdoor warehouse, on every Tuesday and Friday morning starting at about 5 am (and finishing by 8) you will discover the largest flower market in the world. At CEAGESP endless stalls of orchids, roses, and tulips, as well and exotic flowers only found in Brazil, create incredible smells and sights.

Read More – Night Flower Market in Bangkok, Thailand

Entry is free but getting here is a trip. Although inside of the market is very safe, the area around can be a little sketchy, so you probably want to avoid public transportation (especially in the early hours of the morning). The best way to get to CEAGESP is by Uber and leave yourself extra time to allow for morning traffic. However, the incredible sights and views of the flower market are worth the early wake-up call.

5. Observe the City from Above at SESC Sao Paulo

Completed less than two years ago, this is no doubt the newest addition to our list of things to do in Sao Paulo. You won’t find the SESC building on many tourist guides but if you know where to go you can find an incredible – and totally free Sao Paulo attraction here.

SESC Street View – Sao Paulo

SESC is located the downtown area on Avenida Paulista. Once you’ll get to the building you won’t notice anything special – just a new, very large office building. But walk inside (entry is free) and take either the elevator or the stairs to the top floor. Here, you’ll find a rooftop open to visitors and locals alike – and one of the best views of Sao Paulo. Especially beautiful in the late afternoon be sure to bring your camera for a few great snaps.

Read More – Best Things To Do in downtown Vancouver BC, Canada

Afterward, enjoy a delicious cup of fresh juice or tea in the roof café – very reasonably priced even for Brazil. If you need to relax, the lounge on the second floor is open to everyone and provides free Wi-Fi.

6. Get a Taste of Japanese-Brazilian Culture in Liberdade

Sao Paulo is often called a city of immigrants, and one of the largest immigrant populations here is the Japanese Brazilians. Many of them still live in the historic neighborhood of Liberdade, which is our next item on this list of things to do in Sao Paulo.

Read More – Indian Deities and Culture in Japan

Liberdade is the largest Japanese neighborhood outside of Japan. The beautiful area is lined with authentic Japanese restaurants, shops, and even a Japanese garden. Although many residents here are fourth generation Japanese, they continue to maintain many traditions and their native language. Liberdade is also a great place to find unique souvenirs of your trip to Sao Paulo.

7. Explore Ibirapuera Park

Named one of the best 10 urban parks in the world, Sao Paulo’s Ibirapuera Park spans over 390 acres. There are plenty of things to do inside the park, but most people just stroll the manicured grounds. However, once you are here be sure not to miss a few important attractions.

First, stop by the Afro museum where you will get to explore Brazil’s Afro culture and history. Next, make your way over to Ibirapuera Park Footbridge. From here lookout towards Sao Paulo’s skyline, an especially impressive sight during the sunset.

And finally, make your way to Oca do Ibirapuera. Here you’ll find an exhibit by Chinese artist and activist Wei Wei. Inside, knowledgeable guides offer fascinating tours of the exhibit. The building – designed by world-famous Brazilian Architect Oscar Niemeyer is also a work of art that stands on its own.

8. Stroll the Tony District of Vila Madalena

Vila Madalena – Sao Paulo

Another great Sao Paulo neighborhood to check out is Vila Madalena. San Francisco like hills, unique murals, tiny boutiques, and restaurants, it all conspires to create an upscale area worth exploring. This safe neighborhood is located close to downtown but offers an almost suburban feel. Much greener than downtown, Vila Madalena is a great area to explore in the early afternoon, when downtown gets unbearably hot.

Here you can stroll the streets and look for murals, and later have a cup of something iced in one of the tiny restaurants lining the streets.

Sao Paulo Travel Tips

Free Things to Do in Sao Paulo. Stock Photos – Shutterstock

Getting around Sao Paulo is very easy with the use of public transportation and uber. Metro is safe and reliable. Uber is even safer and is very inexpensive. If you are pressed for time, Uber will probably be your best bet.

Many major attractions are closed on Mondays.

Traditional Brazilian cuisine does contain lots of meat but if you are a vegan you can certainly find many great food options. In Sao Paulo you’ll find an amazing variety of fresh fruit, much of it not available anywhere else in the world. Acai bowls are popular and healthy – and will keep you full. In addition, the trendier areas such as Vila Maddalena and Vila Mariana offer several high-quality vegan restaurants.

This is a guest post by Viktoria Altman

Bio: Viktoria Altman is a travel writer, blogger, and photographer. Her website http://www.gotraveltipster.com focuses on family, luxury and adventure travel. She is based in Brooklyn and travels every month to places as close as upstate New York and as far as Antarctica. She is sponsored by Vero Social Network. Before becoming a travel writer Viktoria was a director of a Montessori preschool. You can follow her on Vero and Instagram at @Traveltipster.

The post 8 Amazing & Free Things to do in Sao Paulo, Brazil appeared first on Inditales.

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theghumakkads · 6 years

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Get Set Go!!! Top 11 Destinations to hit off with your Bike this Season

Do bold bike trips across long distances get the adrenaline pumping through your veins? If you are an avid biker and have a biking group, or if not so, a companion who would accompany you to these exciting lands on a bike, you must explore these places in India on your motorcycle. The thrill of biking is combined with exceptional landscape views and breathtaking beauty that the Indian subcontinent promises. Some of these exotic locations are discussed below covering north to south of India that should not be missed. 1. Manali to Leh This is one of the most popular destinations when you want to go for a bike tour. The breathtaking landscapes and the exciting passageways of Rohtang pass and Khardung pass will leave you with memorable experiences. It is approximate of 1360 km and the best season to take this expedition would be in the months of July, August, and September.

Waterlogged enroute Srinagar 2. Chennai to Munnar For all those Chennai workaholics who really need a break after a worked out weekend can get slaying with this refreshing tour from Chennai to Munnar. It is a 10- hour long drive covering around 600 km, but the greenery in Munnar can trick you into staying there a night. A total recommendation for a short bike trip.

The scenic roadways to Munnar 3. Delhi – Jaipur- Ranthambore This route is known as the golden triangle tour of India. It's a bikers thrill to explore the mini bylanes of Chandni Chowk and ride through the pink city of Jaipur exploring historic forts and monuments. While Ranthambore has a rich wildlife park and known for its wildlife adventure. Bikers can have thrilling nature experiences up quite close and it can be a photographer's heaven. It is an 8- day tour covering 464 km and counted upon as one of the best bike rides in the country.

Village scenes between Ranthambore 4. Sikkim- Darjeeling Again, one of the more hill station type areas, covering tiny hamlets and villager who are super friendly. This trip will refresh you with its pleasant winds and a breezy atmosphere. You may even spot tiny fields growing sweet potato or carrots. The best time to visit Darjeeling in its full beauty is in the month of October, just before the harsh winter sets off.

Mountain Biking in Sikkim 5. Ahmedabad to Rann of Kutch This five- day tour of the Rann of Kutch on the west side of India is a very traditional and enriching biking experience. It is best advised to visit this region in the full moon period to get a breathtaking and spectacular view of the full moon over the Salt Lake. Do not forget to stay overnight in the Kutchi mud houses called "bhunga" It can leave you with starry midnight memories.

Bike decor amidst white salt at Kutch 6. Manali to Spiti Valley One of the best bike tours in the Himachal Pradesh valley. It is a 568 km stretch and filled with spectacular views of the Himalayan range. One of the attractions includes camping at the Chandratal lake. The most beautiful time to visit it would be from May to July.

Langza Village, Spiti 7. Mumbai to Pune This most famous 93 km stretch is a second home to most Mumbaikars and Punekars. A totally recommended bike trip as the Mumbai- Pune expressway lies on the western ghats covering picturesque Lonavala. Just buy your stash of food and loads of ‘chikki’ and sit back and enjoy the long ride.

Pune-Lonavala Stretch 8. Bangalore to Bandipur Forest This is a forest route stretching around 235 km and takes around 5 hours to cover. It is a beautiful highway trip with lush greenery to the Bandipur forest area. The developed road is lined with modern eating out options like McDonald's as well as Café Coffee Day. Besides the common bike routes, this one is another small adventure beauty.

Bandipur Forest 9. Jaipur- Jodhpur- Jaisalmer Coming on to this desert trip, it would be best to visit this place from November to February. It is a very long trip covering the forts and palaces across the desert region in 1723 km. Be prepared for a very dry and hot climate and be ready with your tanning lotions, whereas biking in the winters would also be pleasant and much more bearable.

Desert Bike Trip 10. Gangtok to Lake Tsomgo The North -Eastern region of India, with its exquisitely pristine landscapes, lies largely untravelled and unexplored. A road trip from Gangtok to lake Tsomgo is in a very hilly area. But, the mountainous trek will leave you asking for more with its adventure filed terrains. It is short and recommended road trip at 55 km long, to be taken in the winters.

Tsomgo Lake 11. Vishakhapatnam to Araku Valley Lying in the southern region, this road stretch is a wonderful ride for bikers. The pristine beauty of the Bay of Bengal and the eastern ghats will leave you with a refreshing experience. It is 116 km long and recommended to visit between the months of March and October. The must visit locations here are the Borra Caves and the Tatipudi reservoir. Biking in these regions can get pretty fun and it can be a totally different experience from other modes of transport. Biking allows you to visit nature quite closely and explore the surroundings at your own freedom.

Araku Valley So what are you waiting for? Pick up a location and get set going on your Yamaha! Read the full article

#biketours #Delhi #Lehladakh #MountainBiking #Munnar #Rajasthan #Sikkim

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manishrajputphotography · 2 years

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India's Best Food Photographer | Manish Rajput

We are doing food photography at the lowest rate in Delhi NCR, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad. We know that food photography is the backbone of a restaurant, shop, and café. As you heard, we're offering a 10% discount on your food shoot. Manish Rajput has 5 years of experience and thousands of customers trust us. We know how to click attractive pictures of your food. As you know, there is nothing more than experience.Manish Rajput is one of the best food photographer. So why are you waiting for?

Just visit us for more information:- https://manishrajput.com/

#Top Food Photographer in Delhi #Restaurant Food Photographer #Indian Food Photographer #Creative Indian Food Photography #Food Photographer India #food photographer near me

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savetopnow · 6 years

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2018-04-05 13 TRAVEL now

TRAVEL

Carnets de Traverse

Notre sélection de livres dédiés à l’art, la littérature et la belle photographie de voyage

Road trip aux Etats-Unis — Instants d’Amérique

New York, Carnets de Villes

Notre sélection de livres dédiés aux road trips, slow-travels et belle photographie de voyage

Kyoto — Inspiration photographique, belles adresses et guide pratique

Culinary Backstreets

Corn Again

Art Chopp

Shanghai

Spoiled for Choice in Copacabana

Dose & Istos Café

Fresh Off the Grid

Dutch Oven Enchiladas

Pineapple Chicken Kabobs

Chili-Spiced Fruit Leathers (L.A. Fruit Cart Style!)

38 Vegan Camping Food Ideas for Plant-Based Adventurers

One Pot Pasta Primavera

Landcruising Adventure

Schedules, Maps, and Guidebooks for Central Asia, Russia and Mongolia

Travel Information on South Korea – Documentation, Money Matters, Roads, Guidebooks, Fuel, Accommodation & More

Our Favorite Hiking Gear – the list after 2 thru-hikes

Legal Nomads

Spinal Taps, a Burglary, and a Legal Nomads Hiatus

Thrillable Hours: Karen Walrond, Speaker, Photographer & Bestselling Author

The Cow Head Taco Philosopher King of Oaxaca

9 Years of Legal Nomads

Thrillable Hours: Matt Levine, Financial Journalist

Melting Butter

Restaurant Find: Kisumé Melbourne

Boutique Hotel Find: Hotel Habituel

Restaurant Find: Bessou NYC

SLY 5TH AVE’S ORCHESTRAL TRIBUTE TO DR DRE | FEBRUARY SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

Hotel Find: The Upper House Hong Kong

Meraviglia Paper

Le Polveri

SanBrite

Moorea Beach Lodge

Niedermairhof

Nomadic Matt

19 Things I Learned From 10 Years Blogging

How I Built This (Or What I Learned from Being a Scammy Marketer)

Ko Lipe: The Greatest Month in All my Travels

TravelCon Update!

The RTW Trip Giveaway: A Winner’s Update (Part 1)

Reddit Travel

What Island is this? Somewhere near Bahamas and southern tip of Florida.

Visited St Agnes Church today in Rome....incredible building!

Hello from Bariloche Argentina (Refugio San Martin, Lago Jakob)

Bucharest, Romania surpassed my expectations

Guanajuato, Gto, Mexico. Overlooking the city center. (Summer 2017)

Rick Steves

Video: Easter Celebrations Across Europe

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Roads and Kingdoms

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22 Things to Know Before You Go to Calabria

Roam Magazine

City of Spirits | A Guide to Kathmandu, Nepal

An accidental encounter with Semana Santa | Easter in Antigua, Guatemala

The Streets of Amman | Jordan

A Practical Guide to Havana | Cuba

BLOOM | A Film by Julian Lucas

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Six Things to Do in Trondheim, Norway

What’s On in Stockholm: April 2018

The Best Pieces from the UNIQLO x Marimekko Collaboration

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Danish Recipe Remix: 19th Century Nine-Cabbage Soup

Travels of Adam

A Night Out at Asia’s Biggest Gay Circuit Party: gCircuit during Songkran

45 Unexpected Things To Do in Paris

I’m moving back to America. Here’s why…

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17 Best Things to Do in Mumbai

#travel

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locomote04 · 8 years

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A Journey to Himalayas (Dev Bhumi)

Hii !! Friends here I am with my First destination. This trip was beyond travelling, happiness & enjoyment. I have started to see this world from a different and polished sight after finishing this & that’s how i realized that how travelling can bring huge difference in anyone’ life.

Anu & Shruti was my partners for this amazing journey. We spend the most magnificent 15 days together and explored the most beautiful places of India.

So we started our journey from ISBT Kashmiri Gate Delhi. We got our way from Delhi to Chandigarh by Volvo. We were heading towards Chandigarh with excitement, so many questions, joy and so on.

Chandigarh to Shimla :

It was a comfortable journey and we reached to our first stop Chandigarh. Chandigarh is a beautiful & green city. We did not get a chance to stay there for long as another 1000 Kms. were waiting for us. So after a stay of 1 hour we started our journey for Shimla – the most known hill station of India. Almost 4 hours of beautiful drive with mesmerizing sight scenes we reached Shimla .It was not very late in evening but because it is a hill station it get dark early .

Shimla -A short round up:

Shimla was looking beautiful, the mountains were filled with thousands of lights, and there was a fragrance in the air which made us to stay there for one night. We found a good hotel surrounded by hills and natural beauty for our night stay. Though we were tired but we actually got high on the air of Shimla and we decided to roam around and had the delicious food of Shimla from the local street vendors. We had the most delicious Momos here served with hot chili chutney, pudina chutney and white sauce, and serving was enough to keep us full in just Rs. 30. After visiting the main street of Shimla which is well known as Mall road we got our way back to hotel with beautiful memories of Shimla. We slept with a desire to wake up early to witness the sun rise of Shimla.

Shimla – Sangla- Rakcham- Chitkul- Kalpa- Kinaur-Spiti - Tabo- Naco- Kaza- Key Monestry-Kibber .

As I told we wanted to witness the sunrise, but we got late by 00:30 minutes but still the city was having the beauty of that red sunlight which left us satisfied. We packed and started our journey with local Roadways bus to Reckong Peo (district headquarters of Kinnaur Valley) .Along the highway is the natural beauty of Satluj River, its valley and towering hills. High way was in a fair condition, except some bad patches due to the landslides that may occur anytime. Sometimes, when our bus was passing through a narrow section of the road and when we looked below, down to hundreds of feet, the fierce flow of Satluj can shiver your spine with thrill and excitement. Some snaps are here from our way :

The beauty and Vibrations of those places were making us to change our plans every next hour and finally we changed our decision and we three got down in the middle of our way and hired a local taxi driver for Chitkul .

This place where we got down was actually near The Kailash , unexplored, away from the crowd of developed towns so pure and beautiful. We were stopping our cab almost every 100 meters,just to witness God’s beautiful creations !! And I don’t know why it just came in my mind that why we all are after world tours, oversea trips ? It does not mean that I am against of the idea World Travel!! I just I mean why people want to pay a crock of gold when they can see something equally beautiful in their own country.

So let’s just continue and suddenly for 5 minutes all our excitement got down , when we saw a long queue of vehicles , standing and waiting for their turn to pass from hilly way which was half destroyed because of a recent land slide. We were thrilled and we started to talk to some local workers there with our never ending queries about the place.

The local people there were so simple and honest, we actually found an Old lady working there and we started to call her Nani Ji !! She was very much interested to click photographs with us and on this cost she provided us a number of useful information about the area, which actually helped us a lot during our stay. After a struggle of almost 2 hours workers there opened the way and we passed from that deadly road , by the time we crossed Sangla it was completely dark and the roads were looking quite horrified but we continue to head towards Rakcham.

Rakcham & Chitkul :

Rakcham is relatively unknown place, located midway between two lesser unknown places, Sangla and Chitkul. The beauty of this small village with a population of 800 defies words – so I have tried using more of snaps than words.

The Village lies of left side of the main road and on the right gloriously flows the Baspa river. The force of water is not as menacing. At places, we could easily walk across to the other side, but as it was dark so we postponed the idea for our return way.

Since it was a spontaneous decision to halt at Rakcham, we approached the first logical shelter located at Chitkul end of the main road. It was seems an ok stay until we wake up in the morning and witness the extraordinarily fantastic view across our room window , which I want you to watch in updated video and this picture clicked at 4 A.M here and you can realize the joy we had.

As we were the first arrivals of the season, hotels were empty and we got really a good discount and from the owner of hotel we have arranged one Scorpio with Driver named Mr. Ballu which we used to call Ballu Bhaiya for rest of our journey. We had a great dinner as hotel owner offered food from his own kitchen.

Next day, the first agenda on our schedule was to visit the village, which was just across the road from the hotel. We have visited Kali and Shiva temples, are marvelous structure built by the local people.

Villagers were extremely friendly .Ballu Bhaiya was a local from Rakcham ,he took us to his home and his wife given us some fresh Aple from their backyard garden with a local Himachali cap and according to Ballu Bhaiya I was looking like a Upri kinour ki Chokri ( snap I have put down ) we were overwhelmed receive those beautiful gifts. Here i am with the local Himachali cap:

Then We started for Chitkul , at a drive time of about 45 min, at noon. Chitkul was very enjoyable and had abundant snow, Anu and Shruti indulged in their mad monkey acts with thick layers of snow, some snaps of chitkul are here:

We spend almost 3 hours which gave me a lot of time to feel the valley and its charm. We all three were as quite as we were so astonished to see the creation of god!! With beautiful memories, silence, peace and an amazing feeling we started for Kalpa.

Kalpa :

Kalpa is a small town (rather village) surrounded by Apple orchards and beautiful landscapes. Two main paved roads cover the upper and lower part of this town. The major portion of this town is situated along the lower road. But all the good hotels are situated on the upper road And Since, it’s not a very famous destination in the conventional tourist circuit, the shortage of the rooms are not a problem in Kalpa so we decided to find a hotel later and started to visit the local temples and main market.

There are no particular sightseeing spots in Kalpa. You have to just walk along the upper road or on the lower road passing through the middle of apple orchards to enjoy the beauty of nature and solace of Kalpa. And we spent some time like this roaming arround and decided not to check in, instead we started our journey towards kaza from Kalpa.

Kalpa- Reckong peo- Nako

So we headed our way towards Kaza, we decided to stop at Poo and continue the journey for a night stay in Nako, but the locals told us that roads are blocked due to landslide and we couldn’t be able to make it today hence we chose to spend the night in Reckong Peo and decided to go to Poo and Nako next day.

So we wake up early morning had our breakfast from the little chef restaurant (it was good) amazing breakfast and started the journey for Poo & Nako. On our way we saw JCB machines were cleaning the roads which made us more excited and adventures for the upcoming journey.

The journey was so beautiful, it seemed like Satluj have joined us for the trip , it was flowing with us off the road, Iron and wooden Bridges, bumpy and destructed roads were making the scenes out of the world. On first sight it was looking like a different planet we are running on.

Suddenly we guys were seemed lost, we were not talking to each other, scared of blinking even so we can’t miss the inch of this beauty .

The roads were too bumpy and suddenly we saw this funny sign board -Sorry for Ooh Ahh Ouch Inconvenience regretted!! That can make you smile after such a driving .

By the time we reached village names Dubling , the view of the valley got much better , we were able to see the snow on the peaks of the mountains .

It was like we entered to Planet no. 2. The roads turned better and the mountain color , stone , sand was different here, But Satluj River remained the same .I still remember Shruti said “ Kya pagal Nadi hai yaar , look at the flow man !!” Give it a look:

Finally we reached Nako , It was looking like a beautiful slot of green farms are welcoming us .

As we get down we three was hearing our heartbeat so clear in our ears , it may be because of the air pressure on height . And we were keep on saying “Yaar, kuch to ho raha hai !!” So according to Shruti Madam it’s happening because I am hungry, So she took me to a local small café and we had yak milk tea and yak milk cheese Masala Omelet !! And it was not bad. Try this for sure on your visit to Nako.

So we started to explore the Village, It has a natural lake and a small Monastery.

So we spend almost 3 hours in the monastery, watching the new monastery and old as well. It was not allowed to capture the images of old monastery.

Local People of Nako were amused to see us that you three girls came here alone!! I don’t know why but everyone is saying this to us including Ballu bhaiya. So we were treated slight different and people were behaving so nice with us , they offered us the most delicious peas , sweet as sugar . So Don’t forget to take your bunch when you visit this place next time .

After visiting all the places in Nako, we started to look for a guest house, and easily we found one. We were lucky enough to had our balcony room . That Balcony just gave us so many beautiful memories!! The hotel owner gave us an iron tub for the bonfire and then what we just drank , danced , ate and enjoyed the every bit of It .

Nako – Tabo :

So next day we woke up early as it was so usual practice during this trip , Nako to Tabo is around another 2-2.5 hours and through the lovely valley with the Spiti river gorging through with huge flow, we just kept moving ahead.

Again the view was fantastic and we enjoyed the adventure, drive ,air, peace and what not . We just loved this journey completely. See the enclosed and you can guess the level of our excitement.

Here is the another one

Moving this way, we reached to Tabo, by around 5:30PM. Oh my God!! What a beautiful village it is. I was just too excited to visit this so we found a guest house, and we checked in quickly and put the luggage in the room. Without a small delay, we just rushed out of the room to have a view of the village.

The Tabo monastery considered to be one of the oldest and most important, was close and was to be opened next morning. So we decided to walk through the village.

We were just roaming around and we saw Far off in a mountain something is written in big big letters of some other language, after talking to Local people there got to know these are Tibetan letters, the name of the village Tabo. Oh it’s just awesome.

It was freezing there, but still the entire evening and during late night, we ended up roaming, gossiping with each other There were so many foreigners around our hotel .And because our hotel was having a small café , they all were there till late in the night , so we just sat together with born fire , Guitar , Books and other musical instruments in café and enjoyed talked , danced , had delicious warm food .

Finally It was time for some sound sleep and way to go ahead the next day, so we three returned to our room and slept with so many plans in eyes for the next day.

The next day we got up early in the morning, Because morning time is very beautiful in Himachal we did not want to slip on that so immediately after waking up we left to explore some more places but within one hour we came back took bath , got ready and had a lovely and heavy breakfast from the hotel.

Our first target was to visit Tabo Monastery, So till the time the monastery temples were open, we saw the entire monastery.

Tabo Monastery is the oldest and the best monasteries in the entire spiti valley, It is huge with around 9 small temples and in a huge area. It was established more than 1000 years back.

Went back to the monastery, One of an old Monk helped us showed us all the 9 temples. Photography was not allowed inside. He showed us the different prayer halls, the different avatars of The Buddha, and also the next avatar of Buddha. Inside the temples it’s really dark. He showed us the different Buddhist gods and calligraphy of gods fighting the daemons in the walls.

We went to every inch of the Monastery and Shruti was just gone mad with the Holy gongs , running every time behind those gongs :

We went to few more places in the village, before around 10:00 AM it was time to leave for the next destination.

Tabo- Kaza

Our next destination was Kaza. Kaza is on height of 12000 ft.. Our Plan was to cover Kibber, Key Monastery the lovely town of Kaza. As we move towards, Kaza, the road becomes more beautiful, the valley becomes more adventurous and beautiful and we reach up more height. So we were stopping and capturing the selfies and pictures.

Normally it is not recommended to go at such heights if you have breathing problem or heart problem.

So around 11 O’clock we reached Kaza. Kaza is a lovely small city in the Spiti valley we checked in into a beautiful hotel, located at a nice location right beside the Kaza monastery. The Kaza Monastery was so beautiful and colorful. We almost spend 2 hours there. As we entered we hear a strange amazing sound coming right from the Monastery. These were monks who were praying and playing music trough their traditional instruments. Unfortunately I have missed the video clip of this moment but here Is a beautiful picture of the Monastery.

The view in front of the monastery was nowhere less than breathtaking. So Anu & Shruti started to pose and I became the photographer.

As we were visiting the places nearby we saw a very beautiful and cute old lady, she was saying something to us but we didn’t understand the local language so we ended up clicking one picture:

We continued to visit the several places, right beside the monastery there were seven holy gongs were in a line which was looking fantastic and I did not let this chance to go and clicked another snap of the journey, you can see the background , how clouds were playing hide & seek with us .

You can see the stones near gongs , it was not usual ,There was something holy in Tibetan language was written on those stones take a clear look here :

Time was stretching, as we had to cover Kibber also the same day. We started for Kibber around 14 KM from Kaza but because of height, it takes time to reach.

The plan was to cover Kibber and then Key Monastery (which is around 7 KM from Kaza). Key monastery was on way and sideways, so accordingly Ballu Bhaiya took us first to Kibber, while coming back we were to visit Key monastery.

Kaza to Kibber and Keylong Monastery and Kaza return :

On our way from Kaza to Kibber , we found some snow near the road and after seeing those the monkeys inside us again woke up and we enjoyed there for 30 minutes with snow ,some of the moments are captured by Ballu Bhaiya.

We reached Kibber, as we touched the milestone we realized it’s a trip of lifetime, we hugged each other opened our beer bottles and made a toast for this wonderful journey, as this was our highest destination and no other place can be better for this celebration.

Kibber is almost at a height of around 14500 ft and a very beautiful village. I was surprised to see that how these small villages are fully developed. They have schools, developed houses, govt. offices even internet cafes also.

The overall view of Kibber was awesome.

We had our lunch here in a local café, which Shruti did not like much and anyone can guess this by watching this picture. She ordered thungpa :P !!

So after relaxing we started our journey again and our next destination was Key Monastery which is on way back to Kaza, but situated on slightly different direction. Situated at a height of around 13500 ft., Key Monastery is the largest monastery at such a hill top and is a tourist’s paradise.

The route to these monasteries are on the edges and quite dangerous. But it didn’t make much difference on us as we were too excited as The Key monastery at such a height provides another gorgeous view of the Spiti River. Apart from that, it is the biggest monastery at a hill top, and beautiful inside.

The monastery was looking like a king’s crown from far:

And as we entered the main gate of the Key Gompa , I literally goose bumps with the serenity of that place:

We spend some good time here with the monks here, they offered us a special kind of tea , but after watching this snap everyone was teasing s we had shorts of Rum:

We captured some more pictures here with the monks and the beauty of this place.

The entire coverage of Key monastery was done by around 6.00 PM and we were back on cab for Kaza. We moved back to our hotel room, where we celebrated completion of this trip. We have opened our special Chardeni which we bought for the moment, enjoyed and took a promise that every year we’ll plan something like this trip and will steel our escape from the routine things .Next day our journey was next day’s journey for Manali via Rohtang Pass and from Manali to Delhi back. And like this we have finished our trip on a good note.

And now after 2 years of this trip still we see pictures and got that feeling back. And I highly recommend all the girls and boys out there to just go and enjoy the breathtaking beauty and adventure of The Himalayas.

It’s worth going once in entire life. So go and write me all your stories , make them interesting by let yourself free and never forget to share these delights with me

Waiting for all the stories. Thanks & Regards Richa Gujaria

#locomote04

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rahulrevne · 6 years

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Meet 40 Young Business Leaders Selected by BW Businessworld for Its 2nd Edition of 40 Under 40 Awards and Summit

All the selected Young Business Leaders below the age 40, have demonstrated exceptional contribution in their work and personal growth.

Businessworld has announced the final 40 winners of the 2nd Edition of 40 Under 40 Awards and Summit on September 27, 2018 at The Leela Ambience, Gurugram. All the selected Young Business Leaders below the age 40, have demonstrated exceptional contribution in their work and personal growth. They have built new businesses or are making a difference in the success of their companies. They are benefitting and influencing a large section of businesses, communities (in which they live), and the overall economy with their disruptive innovation in this world.

The selected winners were facilitated by Mr. Ramanan Ramanathan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission : Government of India; Mr. T.V. Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Global Education; Dr. Annurag Batra, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld; Mr. Suman K Jha, Chief Editor, BW Businessworld; and Mr. Vinesh Menon, CEO—Education and Skilling, VIBGYOR Group of Schools.

Below is the brief description about each of the winners:

Aakash Chaudhry is the Co-Promoter and CEO at Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL). The company is synonymous to being a leader in the test prep industry catering to the Education Sector. With an onboard employee strength of 4300+, it has created a landmark in Coaching industry.

Abhijeet Kumar is the co-founder of ah! Ventures, a Mumbai-based early stage fund raising platform with 55,000-plus entrepreneurs, 2,000 plus investors, Rs 130-plus crore invested in 35 startups and three profitable exits.

Abhishek Bansal is the co-founder and CEO of Shadowfax, a three-year old venture, already India’s market leader in the Online-2-Offline (O2O) logistics segment. Abhishek aims to make Shadowfax the largest last mile logistics provider in the country, not too far in the future.

Amit Wadhwani is founder of Sai Estates Consultants Chembur Pvt Ltd (SCCPL), a shining name on real estate’s sky. They hope to float public issue, grow to a 500-member team and have an office each in 30 countries.

As a sustainable livelihood lead Amruta Bahulekar is a prime pillar in the ‘Pune City Connect’. She is head of a program which is Lighthouse project. It is a collaborative initiative of Pune City Connect and Pune Municipal Corporation for skills development and sustainable livelihood.

Ananya Birla is the founder at Svatantra Microfin that was conceived out of a desire to help the unbanked, is the fastest growing mid size MFI today. She has always believed in giving back to people but in a sustainable way and micro-finance was perfect for it.

Anirudh Pandita is founder at Pocket Aces, one of India's fastest growing digital entertainment companies. The company is actively leveraging data and technology to create and distribute engaging content for the mobile-first consumer.

Arjun Zacharia is the founder of Wooplr, India’s first and largest Social Commerce Company which has about 100 employees with offices in Bangalore, India and Hangzhou, China.

Azhar Iqubal is Co-founder and CEO at Inshorts that aims to become a global content unicorn out of India with a billion users in the next 5 years.

Chiranjiv Patel, MD of PC Snehal Group of companies which is well established in government infrastructure sector by rising big structures like sports complexes, hospitals, flyovers, underpasses, water distribution networks, drainage systems and power projects.

Dheeraj Jain is an Investor turned Entrepreneur. He initiated Redcliffe Capital which is a venture capital and special situation investment firm, with investments in more than 45 early-stage companies who directly employ more than 5000 talent. He expanded Redcliffe across consumer brands, B2B, Big data, healthcare, urban commute, F&B, Travel.

Dhruv Lakra is the Founder & CEO at Mirakle Couriers, a for-profit enterprise with especially abled employees! It was founded in 2009 with an idea to support a social cause.

Divya Jain is a social entrepreneur who has worked to disrupt the supply chain & logistics industry through innovative and nationwide skill development programs. She is the Founder & CEO of Safeducate, India’s largest supply chain skilling company.

Harsh Shah is the Co-Founder of ‘Fynd’ an emerging name in Fashion trend setters over retails. ‘Affinity for fashion and high quality merchandise’ and this is what makes fynd, the online shopping experience different from other similar sites.

Jatin Ahuja is the Founder of Big Boys Toyz (BBT) who dared to start a specialty site that deals in pre-owned super luxury automobiles in India.

Karan Kumar Gupta is the Co-founder/Managing Director of Zirca Digital, a company that provides cutting-edge digital advertising and branded content solutions to several brands. Gupta also manages Aidem Ventures, a broadcast advertising solutions company and Inez Terra, a real-estate development company based in Mumbai and Pune.

Karan Mohla is Partner at IDG Ventures India as well as the Head of Consumer Technology & Media. He is now responsible for getting investors and partners for the fund as the Lead or fundraising from Asia, as well as the Lead for developing relationships for the fund and portfolio companies.

Kranti Gada is the COO at Shemaroo which is disrupting the dynamics of the entertainment industry every day. More than 700 media and entertainment professionals are involved with Shemaroo’s vast media empire.

Krishna Kumar is founder & CEO at Cropin Technology, a funded startup that has made phenomenal contributions in cutting-edge technologies such as Big Data analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Geo-tagging and Satellite monitoring to interconnect all the stakeholders at different levels of the agriculture ecosystem.

Kumar Abhishek, in 2013, conceptualized the idea of ToneTag, a unique concept that harnesses the power of sound to enable payments and proximity customer engagement, eliminating any hardware dependency. Kumar aspired to bridge the last mile in financial inclusion, thereby delivering a payment experience that envelopes the critical masses irrespective of geography, internet connectivity and hardware dependency.

Manu Kumar Jain, a leading Indian entrepreneur who co-founded Jabong.com, a fashion and lifestyle e-commerce portal in India and served as its Managing Director from February 2012 to January 2014. Currently, he is the Global Vice President of Xiaomi as well as the Managing Director of Xiaomi India.

Nagendra Nagaraja, CEO and Founder at AlphaICs, actualised his dream by inventing an agent-based Real AI Processor (RAP), which is creating disruptions in AI applications. In other words, its product lines are used in Drones, Robots, Autonomous Vehicles, UAV, IOT Analytics, Cloud Computing and even supercomputers.

Neeraj Biyani is the co-founder & COO at Paper Boat, India’s fastest growing consumer brand. The company currently employs over 530 people distributes their products in over 50,000 outlets and exports to over 10 countries.

Nibhrant Shah is the founder and CEO of Isprava which represents the luxury real estate sector and has over 120 employees working within it.

Nitin Pandey, Founder and CEO of Parentune, a pro-parent community and a technology startup in the space of Babytech & Parenting.

Nitin Saluja, Founder and CEO of Chaayos, India’s largest and most loved chai café chain. In a short span of five years, he has created India’s most loved chai café chain with 53 cafes across seven cities Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Ambala and Karnal, and 800-member team.

Nitish Mittersain is the Founder and Managing Director at Nazara Technologies. Incubated in the year 2000, with its headquarter in Mumbai, Nazara Technologies is a global mobile gaming company that caters to large mobile consumer base in India and emerging markets including the Middle East and Africa.

Paramdeep Singh is Co-founder and Executive Vice Chairman of Saavn, India's leading digital music streaming service, transforming how people around the world access and experience music on a daily basis.

Prashant Parameswaran is a founder and managing director of Kottaram Agro Foods Pvt Ltd, brand owner of Soulfull. Soulfull is now present in categories of Breakfast Cereals, Muesli, Millet based Snacks & Millet Health Drinks. The range of products is presently in 5000 stores across 12 cities and will scale this year to 20,000 stores.

Rana Daggubati, is an Indian actor, producer, visual effects co-ordinator and photographer.

Raviteja Dodda is Founder & CEO at MoEngage, a next-generation marketing cloud, built for the Mobile-first world. MoEngage works with consumer businesses across the world including Fortune 500 brands like Samsung, Deutsche Telekom (T Mobile), Vodafone, Hearst and Prudential.

Rishika Lulla is CEO at Eros Now is Eros International Plc’s On-Demand South Asian Entertainment Video Service accessible worldwide to viewers across internet enabled devices including mobile, web and TV.

Rohit Chennamaneni is co-founder at Darwinbox, a new-age cloud-based HR Technology which takes care of all HR needs across the employee life-cycle like recruitment, onboarding, core HR, time & attendance, expense management, payroll, employee engagement, Talent management and HR.

Rohit MA is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, India’s leading maternity and child care network of hospitals. Cloudnine as a group employs over 3000 people and as a primary employer obligation is responsible for over 4500 people across 20 locations in 7 cities.

Sahil Vachani is the Managing Director and CEO of Max Ventures and Industries Limited (MaxVIL). He joined the Max Group in 2016 with a focus on creating a powerful Real Estate brand – Max Estates Limited, and steering MaxVIL’s other businesses towards growth.

Satyam Darmora is an entrepreneur and founded i2e1 (Information To Every One). There are more than 60 employees that work at i2e1. i2e1 is working on a Free-Internet model for masses and is currently serving One million+ free internet sessions every month across multiple locations.

Tushar Mittal is Founder at Studiokon Ventures Pvt Ltd. In a rapidly advancing global marketplace, where businesses are focused on building empires, what sets StudioKon Ventures apart is its focus on defining relationships rather than contracts. StudioKon Ventures has grown into a $20 million corporate infrastructure company.

Ujjwal Munjal is the Managing Director of Rockman Industries, a leading auto-components company in India, and the Founder of Hero Electronix, Hero Group’s venture into the technology space. He leads a team of over 7,000 employees at both the businesses.

Vivek Gupta is the co-founder of Licious, India’s fastest growing fresh meat and seafood brand with an employee strength of 650+ members across different disciplines and functions.

Zishaan Hayath is the co-founder and CEO of Toppr.com, an edtech company on a mission to make learning personalised. The company has an employee strength of over 1400, with its headquarters in Mumbai, and regional offices in 25 Indian cities.

Source: http://bit.ly/2AlDM4t

via Blogger http://bit.ly/2SrEOms

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globalplatter · 3 years

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Why is Food Photography Important? Global Platter

Someone rightly said that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and it works perfectly well when it comes to professional food photography. It has the power to uplift the ordinary to awesome by directly appealing and alternating the consumer’s emotions which ultimately increases the trust towards the brand.

Professional food photography always adds vitality and a distinctive personality to the business as per the owner’s imagination leading to wider footfall into the business. Initially, it might sound as an extra investment to deal with but in the longer run it is certainly proven to be the best marketing strategy to generate greater revenue. Either it’s for website landing pages, food catalogues or for increasing social media presence of various applications, food photography is the quickest medium of attraction.

Also Read for Best Food Photographer in Delhi

But, choosing the right food photographer is as crucial as the work itself. Professional photographers like Global Platter are a choice of a lot of brands and places these days because of their imaginative and creative thinking to execute the work. Because food photography should never be merely focused on clicking the shot with the best photographic tools but also by adding life to the food by dealing with all the nitty gritties involved.

The team has also worked as a Professional Food Photographers in Delhi for various restaurants, cafés, and cookbooks which has leveled up their businesses and proved to be a great boon. To guide the budding food photographers and stylists, they also provide various courses and workshops designed as per their requirements.

#Food Photography Cost #best photography #photographer in delhi #professional photographer

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its-muffins-on-style-blog · 7 years

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#friday a small walk for lunch to my favourite place @bigchillcafe #khanmarket always a great place to enjoy food and celebrate friendship #salad love with #bakedpotato with #cheese and stuffed #veggies with my favourite #gingerfizz #muffinsonstyle #fashionstylist #fashionpost #photographer #food #foodies #delhi (at The Big Chill Café)

#photographer #bakedpotato #delhi #khanmarket #fashionstylist #friday #foodies #fashionpost #cheese #muffinsonstyle #food #veggies #salad #gingerfizz

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joshanethailand · 7 years

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Week Two: Phuket Town

18/04/2017: Heading to town

It was our last morning at the resort. We took our last opportunity for a swim in the pool and hung out the swimmers to dry. After packing most of our things, it was down to reception to confirm our departure and transport to Casa Blanca in Old Phuket Town.

We followed a reasonable breakfast of omelettes and juice etc., the first breakfast for Shane for several days, with a final swim in the bay. Whereas previously there was ample water for a decent swim if one swam out a distance, this was our first low tide swim and six inches of mud oozed between our toes all the way out. Shane swam out one hundred metres hoping to find some depth but it was only four-foot deep. We gave up.

Not to be deterred, a short dip in the main pool amid the sour Ruskies ended up a precursor to the bar and a couple of cocktails of the day. The drink was something with coconut milk and tasted ok. It was before 11 and too early for freebies so we had to pay half price for them. The Ruskies were hanging around the bar like a bad smell and as soon as the clock struck eleven and drinks were free, the barmen were inundated with orders and the day had begun. We however had bigger fish to fry.

Leaving the bar behind, it was back for a shower and to put the finishing touches on the luggage. It was just as well as the "bellboys" were knocking on the door for our bags by a quarter to twelve and we weren't ready. Our bags were pretty well done though so we told them to take the suit cases and we would walk to the reception where we checked out, filled out questionnaire and paid a bill of just over ฿500. Pretty good we thought.

We gave the resort our full tick of approval. Excellent for most. Food good, maid good (even though at one point we had seven rolls of hand towels and one of toilet paper which at that point we needed the most), everything good. The salient point came in the last question. How could we make your experience better? We had no answer as we couldn't really criticise the place. Plenty had, but were mostly whingers. Jo put that a bucket of water at the door would be good to rinse our feet.

We headed straight down to the boat and left the jetty at 12.15 on the dot after a late influx of Chinese and Aussies.

Departure boat

Within no time, we were at the Laem Hin pier, in a taxi and heading for Phuket town where, after being dropped off at the front of Casa Blanca and directly across from the Rasta Café, we found ourselves in a déjà vu moment. We were unknowingly on the front steps of the Casa Blanca and across from the Rasta Café during Songkran, a few days earlier.

Casa Blanca Boutique Hotel

Casa Blanca was an impressive old hotel from another era. We had a choice of a room with a balcony at the front which was the noisy rooms (traffic and Rasta Café until one) or inward facing quieter rooms. We chose the latter. Following check-in, we were shown to our room via the lift, and hit a snag. We were both in the lift with Jo's carryon bag and big handbag packed to bursting point. The overload siren went off, too much weight. The girl asked for Jo's carryon bag and we were ok, the lift worked. That could have been embarrassing.

Our neighbours, the Rasta Café

We sort of settled in for a bit and after spending half an hour putting our clothes in the cupboard and setting up for music and chargers etc., headed out to look around the streets. The concierge produced a rudimentary map, rattled off the sites worth visiting nearby and suggested a local massage joint that for only a few dollars would sort out all of our problems. As soon as we hit the footpath we headed toward Kim's massage to see what was on offer before turning back and heading straight to the chemist for some Delhi Belly pills. We ended up with antibiotics.

The chemist was on the corner of Thalang Road so as soon as we got our drugs we headed along the footpath looking mainly at fabrics and clothing as well as trinkets and other rubbish. Obviously, we were in the tourist area as nothing was cheap (not expensive neither). A short distance on we passed a guy selling old wares and found some Thai number plates. Jo reckoned that they were fake as there were two plates with the same number. Strange that. One for each end of the car maybe?? We let it go and moved on.

Let the shopping begin

After a few hundred metres of walking down Thalang Road, we turned left and left again ending up in Phang Nga Road. A short distance on was the magnificent Phuket Post Office, a commanding white structure whose grandeur represented its once prosperous past. Here, we again turned and found a side street that terminated with a mall which from a distance looked interesting so we headed in. On closer inspection it was not. Two shops, one selling tourist clothes on one side and a small supermarket on the other was all that was there so we bought a few provisions and headed back.

Not before Jo seen a “Creative” 24hr tailor and wanted to price a dress for the wedding. It was run by Indians and looked expensive. Jo asked some unanswerable questions like how much will it cost for a dress? "I don’t know madame unless you choose a fabric", and how much will it cost with this fabric? "I don’t know madame unless you choose a style". By this time Shane had moved on and Jo soon joined him with an estimate of seven to fifteen thousand Baht. Sounds reasonable she said. Do the math Jo. That’s almost $600.

Right next door were a couple of local tailors working with a treadle Singer under a canvas canopy. Shane had a look and suggested that Jo try these people. The lady, although with absolutely no English, could communicate enough to get her message across, drew the design of a dress on paper. Vee or round neck, sleeves or no sleeves basic shape and length. We looked through the fabric samples and chose a grey. ฿1300 and ready in two days. Fine, we'll go with that. If it didn't work we were not much out of pocket. We offered ฿500 as good will and everyone was happy.

Measuring up

Back onto Ratsada Road and straight back to Casa Blanca was the intention, but before we could reach there, Jo diverted to the Rasta Café. Shane dropped off the day's goodies and joined her shortly after. The place had interesting prices, ฿150 for a beer and ฿150 for all cocktails, so after one beer we were onto the cocktails.

First beer at the Rasta Café

The café dinner menu didn’t interest us too much leading Jo to look for a place not far for dinner, Club No.43 which her phone told us was close, so she picked it up on Google Maps and we headed there. Back down where we had walked earlier in the day. Upon walking into the place and asking for food, a rather tall Kazakh that identified as a Russian (Kazakhs like to fight) said that this was a cocktail bar and served cocktails only. Ok then we'll have a cocktail. They were more expensive here, Aussie prices but they were pretty good, firstly a Japanese slipper for Jo and an Old Fashioned for Shane followed up but a Jup Jup and a Rusty Nail. The search then resumed for food.

Club No.43

We headed back to a Japanese restaurant that we had passed earlier, entered and were shown to a table with a hole in the middle, not unlike a Korean barbeque. We ordered Miso soup, a couple of plates of Japanese vegetables, some fried rice and plates of lamb and beef along with a 300ml bottle of sake. Shortly after, the coals turned up in a mesh based container, carried by a rather short but muscular character whose sole task seemed to be to ensure that the tables were readily supplied with ample heat to cook. Then the food appeared and we were off and running. Excellent meal with not much left but we probably could have done with only half of the vegetables. When we were finally finished, the bill came to ฿1185, or a bit over $40. The Yakiniku Koku was cheap as and a good feed.

Forty bucks worth

Upon leaving the restaurant we ended back at the Rasta Café again, tempted across from the return to our room and recommenced cocktails again. Heaps cheaper than Club No.43 but nowhere near as good. Still, you get what you pay for. Soon after we got there a guitarist started singing classic hits reggae style. He was very good and took requests. Jo asked for Cats in the Cradle of which he obliged. About an hour into his routine he was joined by a female and they played together singing great music.

The Cat’s in the Cradle

By 10 pm it was time to hit the sack so we left to get some sleep.

Tomorrow, who knows?

19/04/2017: Gently, gently

We both struggled to get up this morning due to sickness from lingering Deli Belly overnight. Little sleep and another hard bed saw us both sleeping in but with Jo up first, pottering around until Shane arose. It was eleven before we left the hotel for a look around, with no breakfast, and no hunger.

The first port of call was the chemist again but this time for pills that would supress vomiting and the runs. For $12 it was more than value. The anti-spewing pills cost $50 back home.

Next step was to head down Thalang Road again for another look around. The first step was to buy a cheap shirt to save ironing and plenty were available after Songkran. Everybody wore Hawaiian shirts and there were plenty left. Following that come the second-hand guy where Shane bought a number plate to go out the back. ฿300 bought a red plate from a province to the north. He didn’t say which one but emphasised that it was not Phuket. A bit of Google Translate later determined that พังงา was Thai for Phang Nga, where we were headed in a few days to the elephant sanctuary.

The colourful shophouses of Thalang Rd

Further down the road saw a bit of a commotion with a van parked at the kerb and the footpath blocked with people and photographers. It ended up being a few young women dressed to the nines and contesting the Miss Grand Phuket competition. They were all lovely and sucking up the attention on Thalang Road and just around the corner in Soi Rommanee, the once red light district for the many Chinese labourers who came to work the tin mines.

Miss Grand Phuket contestants

Since we were in Soi Rommanee we kept walking through to Dibuk Road, put about and promptly headed back. Partially along the lane we happened across an interesting ice cream shop which was pretty full. Not bad we commented so we stuck our heads in and luckily found the last table in Torry’s Ice Cream Shop. Crammed into a corner with menu in hand didn’t bother us as we were in air conditioning rather than the sweat shop outside. We hunkered down for a cool break, both externally and after we ordered a Banoffee and an Apple Crumbles, cool within.

Apple Crumbles and a new shirt

The next stop was a local museum further down Thalang Road (which turned into Krabi Road) which was once the local Chinese-language school. The Thai Hua Museum gave the history of the island from when the Chinese started to arrive after the mining of tin commenced. It never really gave the history beforehand. It also extolled the virtues and work ethic of the Chinese and their descendants, particularly the business leaders that shaped the future of the island through trade and education. It seemed that the progression of society only happened if you were Chinese or part Chinese. There was not much mention of Thai if there was no Chinese blood in them so it would have been a little skewed in its interpretation of the islands history. At least that is how we saw it.

Thai Hua Museum

After the museum, we returned to the room. Jo was feeling the bug taking hold and the humidity was taking effects. Upon arrival she rested while Shane went shopping to stock up on water and tea bags. We tried our first cup of tea this morning and only green tea was available.

A wander around the streets before heading to the market fortunately revealed a little gem of an area. Drawn by an ornate archway into an elaborate narrow entryway (it used to be narrower) Shane was led to Sang Tham Shrine a recently refurbished shrine that was full of warriors and carvings that had been affected by years of incense burning. The signs said no photos and no shoes. He did neither as he was closely watched by the monks or minders or whoever they were. No donation neither.

Sang Tham Shrine off Phang Nga Road

Upon return to the hotel, it was time to head out to look around a bit more and have a feed. The first for the day and in the opposite direction along Thalang Road we strode until we hit the Golden Dragon and veered left into 72nd Anniversary Queen Sirikit Park.

Statue of the Golden Dragon

It must have been seniors’ day as there were oldies everywhere. Kicking this plastic ball in the air, tai chi type stuff, some sort of yoga-ish exercise and some slow, slow dancing. Quite interesting though as we commented that some of the old darlings (or probably most) are probably in better shape than us. No hip replacements needed in their group.

No hip replacements here

We moved amongst them until we got to the end of the park, crossed the road and entered the Indy Markets. Not much here though unless you’re a younger person looking for clothes, watches, jewellery etc. At the end there was a pretty good food markets full of stalls offering a great variety of food. We had to leave there though as the smells didn't agree with Jo.

Market entrance

Escaping the odours, we headed back down Thalang Road where Jo bought a couple of sarong type things. We ended up finding ourselves at Bar No.43 again with our Kazakh barman, Alexey. No names for the cocktails this time, he just invented them as he went. All was good but after a couple we had to leave. It was dinner time.

We ended back at the Japanese joint again for a similar feed as last night but prawns involved. Again good, ฿850 but we need a change for tomorrow night.

On the return to Casa Blanca we stopped for another shirt and picked up a couple of travel brochures for Phi Phi Islands and James Bond Island. As soon as Jo reckons she's up to it we'll book them in. Time is running out though.

Thalang Road at night

Tomorrow, who knows (again).

20/04/2017: More culture than a jar of yoghurt

We were both feeling a lot better this morning. The drugs must be working. So much so that we were confident enough to book some day tours to Phi Phi Islands and Phang Nga Bay, the home of James Bond Island. Checking out the internet revealed some good tours still. This was important as we effectively have only two days left available considering we're booked into the elephants on Sunday. Over a good breakfast of eggs, tea and coffee, we decided that the Phi Phi Islands was the go and that the James Bond Islands would be next. Bellies full we climbed the stairs to the corridor that led to our room to book the tour.

The open corridor of Casa Blanca

The best tour seemed to be a Siam Adventure Tours one day trip. It was too late to book online so we phoned to see if there was still room but got no reply. Just a message promising to phone us back within half an hour. We had no luck with the James Bond Island tour as well. We had left it too late.

With time ticking away we found ourselves leaving the room earlier than anticipated as the driver we had booked at breakfast had turned up to take us around to some of the landmarks. We had asked the girl at the desk how to get around as it was a good opportunity to visit the Big Buddha somewhere to the south and a temple or two. She recommended that their driver take us around for half a day to some of the sites nearby.

First stop Wat Chalong, a Buddhist temple complex at Chalong. The driver dropped us off just inside the entrance and gave us an hour to look around. The place was considerable, both in architecture and size.

Formerly named Wat Chaiyathararam, Wat Chalong is the largest and most popular of Phuket’s Buddhist temples. Built during the nineteenth century, the temple was founded by, amongst others, two monks named Luang Pho Cham and Luang Pho Chuang. These characters famously led and patched up locals who were fighting the Chinese rebellion that occurred almost a century and a half ago.

Entrance to Wat Chalong

Where to start? The first impression was how noisy the place was. Every few minutes a series of fire crackers were let off, echoing off of the buildings and through the streets.

We headed towards the racket for a few metres and had a quick look at the façade of the ubosot immediately before us, the most revered of all buildings on site and closed to the public.

The ubosot

After avoiding a few vehicles, we veered left to a bell tower which could be climbed for a better overall view. Further on found us outside the wat’s main hall containing three statues of monks with plenty of people before them kneeling to pray and sticking gold leaf on them. To the front was the source of the noise overseen by a number of elephant statues, two large named Jumpee and Plykaew and plenty of small. The source was a kiln where the crackers were thrown by a couple of locals who had the sidecar of their motor scooter stocked with supplies. The kiln was continually in use whether it be a spiritual ritual or just grabbing attention we did not know.

Fire cracker kiln

Plykaew, one of the Temple Elephant Couple

Moving onto the next building found us in the mondop which displayed antique Thai cabinets with glassware inside. Overseeing the cabinets were life size statues of Luang Pho Cham, Luang Pho Chuang plus others. There were also images of the Queen paying tribute to the shrines.

One of the monks in the mondop

Competition from the neighbours

The next building was the Phra Mahathat Chedi but in getting there we happened across Reverend Father Abbot temple. A small but interesting temple containing a Buddha flanked by a couple of characters who seemed to like a durry. Strange but people were praying before them.

Old smoky

The sixty-metre-high Phra Mahathat Chedi (short for Phramahathatchedi-Jomthaibarameepragat) was the Grand Pagoda that contained a bone fragment from Lord Buddha encased in a glass cabinet, just a few steps up from the top viewing deck.

Grand Pagoda (Phramahathatchedi-Jomthaibarameepragat)

Upon entering the temple (after shoes were removed) we were confronted with the life story of Buddha around the walls and a multitude of golden statues, both kneeling and on their side, placed around a central shrine. Further up via a magnificent marble staircase with a balustrade topped by a Nāga handrail, we were again amongst resplendent golden statues where people took time to pray. One more effort and we were on the terrace overlooking the entire complex and surrounding area. A couple of steps further and we were in a small, busy room atop the Chedi where the bone fragment was within a glass globe, surrounded by white flowers and held within the larger glass cabinet. The crematorium, and other closed off buildings, plus where we had already covered, were flanked to the north and south by a couple of small lakes or dams of which one looked a lot more natural than the other. In the distance was our next stop, the Big Buddha.

First floor shrine room

Stairway to Heaven (and the fragment)

Big Buddha from Phra Mahathat Chedi

A short distance from Wat Chalong and a few turns through small villages saw us heading up steep, damaged and winding roads that led to the car park at the Big Buddha only a few kilometres away. Again, the driver gave us an hour to look around and said would meet us where we had separated. It was pretty hot and the forecourt below the Buddha was lined to the side with traders selling refreshments and souvenirs. The other side displayed relics, statues and signs both explaining the culture, some quotations from the famous as well as warning against offensive behaviour, including appropriate dress for women, which many managed to ignore.

Welcoming sign at the Big Buddha

The most noticeable thing of all was the amount of unfinished building work. It was everywhere and reminded one of the massive and expensive task at hand.

One of the most revered landmarks in Phuket, the statue sits on top of Mount Nagakerd and overlooks the entire south of the island. The white jade marble, sourced from Myanmar, clad the concrete icon which was started some fifteen years ago and although there still seemed plenty to do, it is nearing completion.

Once at the bottom of the grand staircase, we stopped to take in the views over Chalong and a distant Phuket Town to the north and Rawai, the Anderman Sea and Straits of Malacca to the south, before climbing the bare concrete steps to the top.

Big Buddha

The area surrounding the base of the Buddha displayed shrines and statues as well as donation stands. Once under and inside of the Buddha, its concrete skeleton was all too apparent, covering the entire space overhead. The area at ground level seemed to be a storage area for the yet to be re-exhibited religious statues (or they were in the too hard basket). Either way it felt like walking through a construction zone.

Another stairway to heaven

To the rear of Buddha was no different except the view was over the island and sea to the west. Bricks on pallets, bare reinforcement and construction machinery reminded us that this was a work in progress.

Unfinished construction at the rear

As we exited and turned left we were impressed by another large but much smaller Buddha made of brass. Apparently, this Buddha, perched upon two Nāgas was representative of the Queen, the larger Big Buddha perched upon Lotus panels of the King.

Brass Buddha at the rear

It was time to return via a path to the side that not only allowed us to walk through the gift shop but also to get close (but not too close) to some locals. Before we hit the path we walked past quite a number of Buddhas with their hands out, surrounded by crude brass nameplates with donors names in ink, jingling in the breeze.

A couple of locals

At the bottom of the path and into the exit area were some interesting relics and shrines amongst the souvenirs. To the left was the major donation centre where we could by a metre of concrete for ฿2000 while to the right was a monk, sitting and sweating while blessing those who patiently queued.

Rubbing his belly for good luck

Walking past the donation centre

Not long after we were back with the driver and heading to our next destination.

First elephant sighted so far

Our driver heaed along Rawai Beach which looked ok but he noted that it was nothing when compared to before the 2004 tsunami. Not long after we at the Promthep Cape shopping area car park. From here we walked up the hill to a paved viewpoint. There were several impressive tributes to the King showing his family and a history in pictures. Just above the tribute was a park with an elephant shrine and hundreds of elephants of all sizes.

Local memorial for King Bhumibol Adulyadej

To the southern end of the park was a monument to Prince of JuBorn, son of King Rama V (28th child of) who ran the Thai Navy for a while.

Promthep Cape elephant shrine

Hundreds and hundreds of elephants

We next ventured on to Windmill Viewpoint where we could look back at Yanui Beach, across to Ko Man and on to get a glimpse of Nai Harn Beach. Before long we were at Karon Viewpoint overlooking Kata Noi Beach and playing with a couple of rather large birds.

Overlooking Phuket’s ocean beaches

Sea Eagles?

Lucky its claws were covered

That was it. We headed back to the Casa Blanca and further on down Ratsada Road to collect Jo’s dress that should have been finished. As we rounded the corner where the Indians and their “Creative” designs were located, we could see it hanging up and the couple keeping their eyes out for us. Jo was stoked, it looked good, made well and fit nicely. So much so that we handed over the money and ordered a couple more with slight differences. A blue and a green one for ฿2100 and again ready in a couple of days. This time we left ฿1000 and wandered off to the Novatel where our host, Gorgei at the Casa Blanca recommended we visit.

Jo and her seamstress

With the dress in a carry bag we headed back along Ratsada Road and on, eventually due to some wrong turns, to the Novatel. After enquiring at reception, we caught the lift to the top floor and the rooftop bar. Here we were fortunate enough to have a couple of beers on the shady side overlooking the harbour and city to the east and watch the afternoon’s fishing fleet head to sea to catch tomorrow’s seafood. Very relaxing and we were all alone as the bar had just opened.

After a short rest period of recuperation we were back down at street level and heading back to our room to prepare for the evenings activities, namely food and a few drinks.

The harbour from the Novatel bar

Gone fishing

First stop, Club No.43 again to sample a couple more of Alexey’s concoctions, drinks created after discussing flavours that we liked. Tailor made, beautiful and delicious. From there it was dinner at a restaurant next door to Memory at On On, another hotel not dissimilar to Casa Blanca with much history and the Sino-Portuguese architecture.

Downing another one

Fish salad for dinner

The Osha restaurant was pretty full when we turned up. There were tourists and plenty of locals tucking in and keeping the staff busy. The menu was good and varied but looking at the people beside us the choice was clear, whole fish with an excellent salad. The service was prompt with our meals coming out sooner rather than later so we tucked in with a bottle of wine for support. Following an excellent dinner, it was back down the road, past the post office and off to bed. After a short detour via the Rasta Café.

The grand Phuket Post Office

Tomorrow, it’s off to the Phi Phi Islands and looking forward to it.

21/04/2017: Phi Phi Islands

We were up at ten to six for a twenty to seven pick up for the Phi Phi Island Tour. We tried to book a Phang Na Bay Tour to see the James Bond Island and the Muslim floating village but the Newcastle Perm wouldn’t release our money and asked us to phone them. No phone and no time meant that we missed out at this stage.

The minibus picked us up at a quarter to seven and dropped us off at Phuket Royal Marina about half hour later. Here we entered a mustering type room where we paid the balance and waited with many others, all heading off into different directions for their tours. We thought we were running late as we were supposed to be at Phi Phi Islands by eight thirty to beat the crowds. The islands are about forty kilometres to the south east so there was still a bit of work to do. Twenty minutes after arriving, everybody with orange wrist bands were shepherded out of the side door and led to our boat, a reasonably large vessel with twin 250hp Hondas. There were twelve passengers and four crew. The boat probably could have carried a half dozen more.

Preparing for the worst, hoping for the best

The confines of the harbour in our wake found us heading into the Andaman Sea at about thirty-three miles per hour. Once we were outside of the island's protection, the sea produced a bit of swell, bouncing the boat about. It hardly mattered to the captain as he pressed ahead at effectively full speed, only slowing to manoeuvre the tricky troughs.

Khai Nok (Egg Island) to the left and its smaller neighbour Khai Nui. They're not surrounded by clear, turquoise water today.

It wasn't long before the overcast skies of Phuket turned to darkened and low hanging, full of precipitation and ready drench us. Although initially only slight, as the serious showers approached, and as a precaution, the crew gave us raincoats to wear under our vests. On we pressed. Twenty minutes of downpour brought us to within sight of the islands and miraculously, as the crew predicted, the rain cleared. Still overcast but improving. More showers in the afternoon they said.

Welcoming party

We would start the day with the northern most and largest island, Phi Phi Don. A bit of everything here, swimming, snorkelling hiking and eating. First stop, Monkey Beach where once on the beach, monkeys apparently come out of the vegetation to try and scab food. There were plenty of signs advising against feeding them as when the food runs out they get the shits and attack. We did not have any food and did not have to worry, there were no monkeys to be seen. It was the first dip of the day though, however short. Twenty minutes and we were gone.

Monkeyless Beach

Not today

Once we headed off shore we were only a stone's throw from our next stop, Loh Dalum, a bay where we again stopped off at the beach. Our guide offered to escort us up to the view point, overlooking the beaches of both Loh Dalum Bay, and Ton Sai Bay, the main bay only a hundred odd metres behind. Most went up to the view point but we walked the beach until we found an interesting bar and restaurant, the PP Beach Bar another with a Rasta feel, but nowhere near the Rasta Café. We must have been a bit early as while looking around we were asked what we were doing. When we said we were looking for a beer, the manager unlocked the fridge, got a couple of beers out, and locked it again. There was an hour to kill here and as the beer went down, the sun started to show itself. A little at first but by the time we were finished, we could feel ourselves burning. Time for sun screen. We found a bit of shade under a palm tree a short stroll away and took the opportunity to lube up, along with the opportunity to play with a few very young kittens using the kayaks and rental signs to hide.

Although we didn't make it to the top, we walked the beach, had a beer, got the warm and fuzzies from a few cats and looked at the lingering damage and recovery from the tsunami all those years ago. Time well spent.

View from the lookout

PP Beach Bar

Back to Monkey Beach, this time for snorkelling at the eastern end. There was basic coral there but nothing spectacular. The seabed was littered with the remnants of dead coral, tsunami related? There were plenty of yellow and black striped fish around, quite willing to slowly move aside to allow us to swim amongst them. Next stop, lunch on an island to the north.

Looking back at Hat Noppharat Thara National Park

We powered out of the bay and headed north to Bamboo Island where the crew set up a few tables on the beach and fed everyone a pretty reasonable lunch. Plenty of food, mostly curries and rice with fruit and soft drinks. A couple of hours for lunch and a swim was scheduled and although the swimming was awkward as the water was too shallow, it was still acceptable.

Lunch on the beach

There were a lot of people on the beach by the time we had eaten and an interesting situation developed when three of them, who obviously hadn't turned up at the longtail boat on time to return to their boat (a fairly large and old cruiser) were subsequently left behind. They seemed to be just ignored. The longtail dropped off everyone else on the cruiser which in turn weighed anchor, put about and sped off. All the time while the three still on shore were jumping up and down, waving their orange life vests madly, but to no avail. Who knows how they got back to where ever they came from.

Tardiness means you miss the boat

The next island was Mosquito Island but that wasn't on today's programme, thank god. Although we went to Monkey Beach and there were no monkeys so mozzies might not have been an issue.

Lunch and swimming behind us, we boarded our speed boat and left Bamboo Beach (and the three stragglers) behind us. It was about one thirty and this time we headed down the eastern side of Phi Phi Don to the southernmost and smaller, Phi Phi Leh. The first stop was to be our next snorkelling site, Viking Cave. Who knows why it was named so but the caves were formed in the limestone cliffs a few metres above ground level so they were only to view. The caves at sea level seemed to be more of a recess formed by the constant battering of the sea over time. The coral here was much better than Monkey Beach. More variety of coral and fish as well as clams. They were trying to repair damaged coral with seeding the barer areas around this spot.

Viking Cave snorkelling area void of tourists

A half an hour snorkelling and we were moving on to Phi Leh Lagoon.

Phi Leh Lagoon

Entering the lagoon was quite impressive although it must be said that to access the lagoon itself involved a long procession of boats slowly cruising Indian file, looking for a mooring. The lagoon was quite large when inside so we pulled up alongside a couple of other boats and dropped the anchor. We jumped off of the boat here as little shore line was available. Jo didn't go in here but Shane dived off the bow and tread water for twenty minutes.

The Lonergans are out here somewhere

The deep aqua blue water, coloured by the limestone canyon was a departure from the other sites and welcomed. Twenty minutes wasn't long enough but we had to keep going, To our final destination and pinnacle of our day, Maya Bay and its famous beach.

This place was horrendous. For no other reason than the amount of people and boats that were swarming along the sands (not including us). As we approached it was not apparent where we were going to go ashore. The beach was wall to wall speed boats with silhouettes of tourists everywhere like ants atop their nest. How dare they choose the same day as we arrived.

Reverse parking

Just another day in paradise

The beach itself is a pristine piece of paradise. So much so that the movie "The Beach", starring Leonardo de Caprio was filmed there some years earlier. It looked less than pristine and a little less for ware today.

Anyway, we, contributing to the mayhem, walked off of the back of the boat and started to explore. The last thing that we wanted here was to swim. Walking to the southern end of the beach and heading along the path led us to a camping type area where there were what looked like tents, a toilet and some other buildings. We were in Mo Ku Phi Phi National Park so the tents must have been for rent as a sign further on said a ฿400 fee was payable on entry. The fee was already part of our costs.

Welcome to Maya Bay

The path led through the camping area and into a basin of sharp shells. The basin would have taken a few feet of water at high tide and halfway across, a jetty, which would have cleared the water led to a crevice in the rocks. This in turn allowed access to a platform where one could look upon Loh Somah Bay, and an island sitting a hundred odd metres away. There was a rope net hanging from the timber platform into the sea so that swimmers could climb up the rock face to safety if needed. It seemed pointless at low tide as there was a cave that provided access to the basin of shells but would be invaluable at high tide. We had passed the rock at distance earlier and wondered about the rope net.

Loh Somah

We had an hour at Maya Beach but were back in the boat a lot earlier than that. So were several others. We all seemed to be "beached out" and were ready for the return journey. The remainder returned soon after and we were on our way. Belting through the swells on our way back to the Royal Phuket Marina. Nowhere near as rough as this morning but care still needed to be taken. The guide summed up the day and then he hit us with the spoiler, one of the crew had been taking photos and videos all day and they were for sale for ฿1600. This would be delivered to us via an email with a 6mb attachment. We said that we would take one but it came at a cost to the crew. The ฿500 tip we were going to give them went toward the video. When the tip jar came around we didn't contribute, although the crew were excellent. By five o'clock we were back at the marina and on the minibus to Casa Blanca.

No road safety here

A quick turnaround found us doing the usual. We were late though this time at Bar No.43 and when we walked in the immediate comment was that we were late. Anyhow, we started where we had left off last night. Not knowing what we were drinking and leaving our welfare, and our tastebud's welfare to the Kazakh. He mentioned what we had finished with the night before and told us what to expect for the next cocktail. Jo's was still fruity and Shane's following the fragrant line (whatever that means). This time we had three cocktails before dinner, a couple of thousand Baht, before looking for something simpler for dinner. We had passed numerous smaller restaurants/ cafés on our journeys and wanted to try one. Walking back toward Memory at On On we passed a small Thai restaurant where the gent that owned it served, his daughter cooked and his son ran the blended fruit juice stall on the footpath. We went in and ordered a couple of simple meals with rice and a couple of glasses of Thai red and white wine. We had a good feed for less than ฿600.

The fruit juice maker

From there we ended up over the road at the Rasta Café where the place was buzzing. A long line of tables ran through the middle of the joint to accommodate the Phuket Harley Davidson club. A few beers were enjoyed as the live duet, a Rasta guy singing classics, and a Bob Marley look alike who could belt out a good tune kept the place pumping along. They sang different styles of music and took turns in doing so. When it was one's turn the other would be accompaniment.

Good entertainment

We got home about one from the café and on top of the big day on the water were glad that we could not book in for James Bond Island. We've heard it’s a must see so we'll have to see it next time we're in Phuket.

Still busy when we left

Tomorrow will be recovery day.

22/04/2017: The Night Markets

No James Bond Island today but that’s OK as we were stuffed. Late start, late breakfast and late departure. We might have not been too mobile early but with the intermittent outage of power throughout the morning, something was amiss. Once on the street and with the footpath blocked, we found ourselves walking in the middle of the road and skirting closely to the local power authority’s workmen changing out a transformer or such straight out front.

Power issues out front

Avoiding being run over was our immediate goal but we were not on the footpath long when we had to manoeuvre around the local road authority’s tools that were lying around under foot. These guys had been chewing up the old asphalt and were about to lay new stuff. All by hand and utilising some antiquated tar seal maker which made the immediate surrounds both hot and smelly.

Roadworks ahead

Old faithful

With the workers behind us we headed down the side street just to look around and buy a few things before returning to our room. For we had one mission today, visit the night markets.

Local shops

We set out for the night ahead both wanting to buy a few things but hindered by what we could fit in our luggage heading home. There were plenty of drivers wanting to take us there but we walked to near the post office and grabbed a tuk tuk from the rank out to the side. The trip was not too long and before we knew it we were dropped off near the markets as the traffic was so heavy that walking was much faster than our stationary transport.

Post office tuk tuk rank

Family on a scooter

At first we had a look around. All the fakeness we could want. After all, if we buy the original item and its made in China, why not cut out the middle man and buy direct for a fraction of the price. It’s probably made by the same people. Or their cousins.

A half an hour of looking around only half of the stalls, due to the power being out on the other half, our appetites got the better of us. Rather than eat at the food stalls at the other side, we walked straight across the street to a large roadside restaurant for a feed.

Roadside restaurant

The food was cheap, tasty and served quickly. All that we wanted. Once the bill was paid we headed back over the road to buy a few things. Some kids stuff, Calvin Klein, Quicksilver and some Ralf Lauren all genuine-fake, and all for a few dollars. With our arms full we proceeded to the street to look for transport back to the old town.

Shrine at the markets

One of the market aisles

Not remembering exactly where we wanted to go, fumbling our directions led to a couple of tuk tuk drivers ignoring us and moving on. We wanted to go back to Bar No.43 but didn’t know the street name. Finally, we jumped in a taxi and asked for Memory On On Hotel which was just around the corner.

The smell of barbeque greeted us this time and as tempting as it was we turned another meal down as we were expanding quickly enough on this holiday.

No.43 staff ordering dinner

We planned for this to be the last night that we visited Club No.43 as we had the Siam Niramit show the following night and Alexey had the night off as well. The other cocktail waiters were nowhere near as good. Two or three more cocktails and we were finished for the holiday. We thanked him, gave him a decent tip, (which his Chinese boss was all over us like a rash as I slid it into his palm. She might of wanted a cut) and headed back to Casa Blanca.

Last cocktail with Alexey

But not before dropping our goodies back to our room and heading across the road for a couple.

A familiar ending

Tomorrow, the elephants.

23/04/2017: Phang Nga Elephant Park & Siam Niramit

The morning started off badly. We were at the hotel lobby at ten to seven, ten minutes early, waiting to be picked up for the Phang Nga Elephant Park as an email had come through last night from the park advising us of the pickup time. By twenty past seven we were getting worried so we had the night manager phone the contact number to see what was going on. When no one pick up on the other end we became more concerned. A couple of more calls were made but to no avail and we were a half an hour behind. About seven thirty the phone rang and the manager of the park told us that the pickup vehicle was broken down or pranged or something and a replacement vehicle was on its way. At least we had certainty and by a quarter to eight we were in transit.

A nervous wait ensued

The driver was in a bit of a panic and mumbled something incoherent. He drove us through back streets to the outskirts of town, pulled up and said he had other things to attend to. At this point he handed over to a guy standing on the side of the road and gave instructions. He had one more pickup somewhere near Patong Beach and then to the park. The new driver must have also been told not to spare the horses as he weaved in and out of traffic, scooters and taxis alike, until he had picked up the next lot, three American lads, and was heading north to the mainland.

Roadside broom seller

It was a trip of two halves and interesting to say the least. The first half was as earlier described, weaving in and out of traffic, tooting at anyone who deserved it and travelling at time at twice the speed limit and constantly at forty kilometres over. By the time he had reached the top of Phuket and crossed Prak Pah Strait into Phang Nga, fatigue must have set in as he slowed right down and was constantly nodding off. Shane was sitting behind and when he nodded off would talk to him or just watch him. Jo was blissfully unaware of our sleepy driver and just as well as she would have been in a panic. Anyway, we made it three quarters of an hour late and all was fine.

Strangely, we were not greeted when we removed ourselves from the vehicle and were a little lost. We wandered up a path that may have led somewhere but didn't know where. It ended up being the right way and we soon joined the other people who had been waiting for us so that the day could start. A welcoming drink that tasted ordinary but with a dash of lime squeezed in vastly improved (it was still ordinary though), preceded a twenty minute talk on elephants and the park's objectives.

The park was founded several years ago and takes in elephants in need, whether they be from logging camps or tourist ventures etc. This park considers itself a sanctuary but still allows the bare back riding of its nine elephants. It considers that riding the elephants is essential for the people to get to know them and for the park to justify the charging of five thousand Baht each to do so. When comparing their park to elephant trekking, Phang Nga elephants are ridden for one hour twice a day. The rest of the day is spent resting and being cared for by their mahouts. Elephant trekking costs about eight hundred Baht and the elephants are worked all day. They eat ten percent of their body weight daily so it costs a fortune to feed them. The investment must be recouped.

Welcoming drink at the info session

After the pleasantries, we moved to a covered elevated platform where we were introduced to our mahout, Po. The group consisted of nine people, a German couple, a British woman and boy, the three Americans and us. We all climbed the steps waiting in anticipation for our turn to get on board. Luckily, we ended up last and after Jo watched the others mount the elephants and was wary of their size, she chickened out and told Shane to go alone. We were lucky here in two ways, firstly we got the biggest elephant in the group. A beautiful big female in her thirties, named Duongjai. Four and a half tonne and half a tonne over weight. Secondly, when Jo pulled the pin we thought it was over but to their credit Po and the supervisor escorted her so she could walk alongside Duongjai for the entire length of the track.

Po and Duongjai waiting patiently

Sitting on her shoulders was hairy to say the least. Get your legs behind her ears and both hands flat on top of her head was the instructions motioned by Po. And keep forward. This was done but it was still awkward. Especially since Duongjai kept deviating to forage for food as we went. The trip was slow and leisurely and although the first leg was only a couple of hundred metres up the hill, the casual approach meant that it still took twenty minutes. Once at the top we dismounted and fed the elephants bucket loads of bananas. They all loved them and we had to stop feeding as they wouldn't have, especially ours.

Couldn’t keep the bananas up to her

After the bananas were gone they were given a break. We then remounted for the trip back down. On the way up we were last but on the return journey we were leading. Po and the supervisor done a great job helping Jo, helping her over the uneven path and telling her where to and where not to stand as Duongjai moved from side to side. An hour and a quarter after it started it was all over.

A few bananas left for the trip down

Once dismounted, the elephants were taken away, rested and while everyone was changing, moved up to the elephant pond. This is what they loved. Getting wet and scrubbed. Again, we were first. Duongjai walked into the water and sat down near the side of the pond. At this point Jo joined in and we both climbed into the pool and started to wash and scrub her. She loved the attention but on a couple of occasions stood up. This got a bit scary as the side of the pond was angled so it was a challenge not to slide under her. It was alright when she was sitting as we could just lean against her. Another anxious moment came when she almost stood on Shane's foot when getting up. Po yelled a few instructions and she sat down again giving us the opportunity to keep washing her.

Scrubbing in the elephant pool

When it was all over we grabbed our gear, and headed over to wash the "organic" material from the pond off and get some clean clothes on. The supervisor then escorted us up the hill for a good lunch of several curries with rice, a soft drink and fruit. A storm was brewing and as the thunder became closer and louder he recommended that we head down to see their baby elephant (15 months old) still under the protection of its mother. We just got it in when the heavens opened. With rain absolutely pouring down we sheltered under a nearby hut and tried to work our way back to the minibus. By the time we had made it we had no driver. One of the ladies ended up finding him asleep somewhere so he was fresh for the trip back.

A good spread for lunch

Mother and child

The trip back was not as eventful as getting there and we were lucky to be dropped off before the Americans on return. We were booked in for a night of entertainment at Siam Niramit, a local theatrical production outlining the history and culture of Thailand. We were getting picked up at a quarter to six so had time for a shower before fronting back up at the lobby. Being ready a half hour early allowed us to have a quick look at the local markets down the street but when we arrived at reception the driver was already waiting for us. It must even out, late in the morning and early at night.

It wasn't too far to the Siam Niramit complex. Just out of town. We were met with entertainers in fantastic looking period and ceremonial dress with a photographer to boot. Strange thing was that she was taking photos to try and flog to us later and also taking the same photo with our cameras. We don't think she'd sell too many of hers. The programme consisted of a show in the theatre preceded by an hour of displays in the courtyard consisting of kick boxing, traditional dancing and war elephant parade.

Welcoming committee

As soon as we were inside we looked around briefly and headed to the buffet dinner as it opened and not too many people were around. We may have been at the Silver Dolphin at Cardiff RSL as the food was the same variety and quality. All you could eat mediocrity.

It wasn't long before the pre-show activities were to commence so we left the buffet, walked through the courtyard and into a very interesting replica of a Thai village. The display represented different village styles from all parts of the land. Not long after arrival the activities started and we had to move on. Thai boxing was the starting point with a couple of boxers fighting in the ring and hamming it up for the crowds. This was followed by dancing, a light show, more dancing and finished off with an impressive Thai war parade containing many performers in battle or period costume with drums, weapons, shields and of course the elephant.

Thai boxing circus

At the conclusion of the courtyard displays, a half an hour was left to get to the theatre. Another quick look around the village and we were tailing up the crowd for the long walk to see the show. Signs were up at the entrance about no filming of the show but to make doubly sure that this didn't happen, they took everyone's cameras off them before entering. We moved in to the platinum seating which was an excellent spot, right in the middle and far enough back so we didn't kink our necks. The crowd was then asked to stand to respect the King and national anthem.

The show started off impressively with drummers on film and live but quickly evolved into telling the development of cultural diversity over the last seven hundred years. This was portrayed with scenes from the Ancient Kingdom of Lanna (the north) where the King and Queen worship Buddha and release a lantern followed by sword fighting, the South Seas (traders from abroad) where Thai Buddhist and Muslim cultures blend and Chinese merchants arrive, trade goods and intermarry, the Heritage of the Khmers (the Northeast Issan) where villagers celebrate a religious festival and a revered Khmer temple appears and the capital Ayutthaya (Central Plains) where peasants attend their rice paddies and are compared to the grandiose life in a palace. All four scenes were excellent. They told an interesting story effectively portrayed across all languages and cultures.

The second act represented the three realms of Thai beliefs and the religious principle of Karma, both good and bad deeds in the current life leading to merit or suffering in the next. The first scene shows Phrayom in his Kingdom of Hell where the flames are fuelled by people's sins and the condemned souls receive punishments reflective of their crimes. Tear out the tongues of liars, alcoholics forced to drink boiling water and adulterers being forced to climb a tree of painful thorns etc. The second represents a mystical forest located between heaven and earth populated by kinaree and nareepon, mystical creatures that are half woman half bird and beautiful girls born from trees as fruit. Demi-gods Mekhala and Ramasoon also make an appearance. The final act depicted the Journey through Joyous Festivals where Thai Buddhists, believing that to go to heaven they need to gather merit on earth partake in meritorious festivals combining religious, colourful and joyful celebration.

Scene from the internet

That was it. After the grand parade where they all walked along the aisle between the rows of seats, we gathered our cameras and headed for the exit. It was our last night in Phuket and as we had already said our goodbyes to the Russian, we headed to the Rasta Café for a couple of late drinks before bed and to again listen to the live music.

Last night

Tomorrow a late checkout before leaving for home.

24-25/04/2017: Getting Home

The time was near and we were having such a great time that we didn't want it to end. Our flight was scheduled for 10:20pm so we almost had another day before we had to leave, not that we did much. The extra six hours that we paid for for a late checkout was handy as there was a large void in our day that would have had to be otherwise filled.

We started to count our money, ensuring that we had enough cash, but not too much so that we could make the airport and use the Visa card. We had a couple of thousand Baht left and didn't want to visit the auto teller again. Jo spent some of it on a neck and shoulder massage down the road and ฿650 was needed for the taxi to the airport.

Breakfast was at nine, so due to the poor and expensive Jetstar meal choices on the way over, we planned have a decent breakfast and to eat locally about five, check out and head off. Breakfast was again good with eggs, bacon, toast tomato, sausage, fruit ….. All for ฿200.

Whilst Jo was at the masseurs, Shane started the packing, dirty in one suit case, clean and whatever was left in the other, carefully measuring to keep under the 20kg Jetstar limit. Once the limits were reached, the rest was carry on. Jo's carry on luggage consisted of anything that we needed to declare at Quarantine in Sydney, the marionette and the mahjong set. Hopefully we wouldn't have to open our larger suitcases with this approach. Shane's carry on was the electronics and any heavy stuff that overloaded the suit cases.

Facebooking & similtaneous strategic packing

With the packing and massage behind us we headed out for one last walk around the streets, but a different direction this time. One last walk along Thepkasattri Road, but keeping on straight ahead along Phuket Road, past the Surin Circle Clock Tower (in the middle of a round-a-bout) and a few hundred metres further on, all via the now accustomed four-foot-wide footpath, obstructed by motor scooters and shrouded by the usual umpteen overhead powerlines, all the while passing the usual vendors, mechanics, hardware stores, appliances and so on until we turned right into Kra Road.

Shampooed and blown. All for ฿100

Kra Road gave nothing more than we had previously experienced other than a good picture of how local businesses and residents live in the old town. Although the Sino-Portuguese shophouse design was everywhere, many were empty or turned wholly into a residence. Not unlike the empty shops back home. It was not long before we crossed the stormwater channel and again turned, but this time for the return journey which was, as with Phuket Road, more of the same. Still interesting though. One last right turn into Bangkok Road and we were surprisingly, according to Jo, back near where we started. Again a final turn right saw us walking down Phang Nga Road and to the Casa Blanca, but via a final stop at the Rasta Café. A few last beers and our last heavy downpour and it was back to pack up and check out.

Birds can get the flu in Asia

Water views in a downpour

We had plenty of time to get to the airport but after arriving back to the hotel from across the road again found that our taxi driver was waiting for us at reception, a half hour early. Not needing to be pressured, but still feeling so, we headed upstairs to pack, checkout and head to the airport a bit early. Not such a bad idea.

An uneventful trip turned out to be an eventful and forgettable experience at the airport. Firstly, we needed a feed as we didn't feel hungry earlier but knew that there would be slim pickings on the plane. Before heading upstairs to the food area, we eased our burden by checking our luggage on the ground floor. This was another interesting experience. Not unlike the slight nuances we have experienced in other countries. Thailand wouldn't allow anything with a battery on check-in luggage. It had to be in our carryon. No problems except that they checked everyone's bag which added time and to the stress levels of everyone involved. Old mate behind us had to remove his flashing rabbit ears and take them through security. This done we headed upstairs to the food area. First stop, Burger King. About ฿400 for a basic burger alone (~$15) so we gave them a miss and found the café next door. These guys sold good looking food on the menu but subsequently served rubbish. A couple of Turkish bread sangers and a juice each ended up at over fifty bucks. Typical airports.

Once through an effortless security (although they did take Jo's marionette out and have a good look), we looked for our departure gate and the nearest bar. There was bugger all around but we did find one. The only problem was that we had to spend ฿400 to use a credit card and since we didn't have enough cash we bought a couple of bottles of water for the plane. All was good. Until we started to board and the Jetstar staff wouldn't let anyone on with water. Almost everyone had to throw their water into a bin before boarding the plane. The good thing was that they sold it to us for $4.50 a bottle once we were on board (or could have waited a half an hour for the steward to bring a plastic cup full).

Apart from the water episode, after settling in to our seats and eventually taking to the skies, the stewardesses came around with food and drinks to purchase, as before. Since we had food before we boarded, we asked for the same as on the way over. A small bottle of wine, olives and four crackers and four slithers of cheese. Within a half an hour of taking off we were told that there was no food left as the people on the trip over ate it all. Shane, heatedly asked as to whether they forgot to restock or didn't pack enough. Jo told him to shut up and we suffered olive and cheese deprivation for the next eight hours. We don't know if Jetstar are the worst airline in the world as we haven’t traveled on them all. It is the worst that we have been on. It was like catching a government bus all the way.

Patiently waiting to disembark

Enough said, we landed and headed straight to the area to declare our timber products. A lovely Quarantine officer opened our packages carefully as they had been wrapped very securely in Phuket and examined them closely for borers and other bugs that we don't want out here. Following inspection, an enjoyable discussion about the lifespan of borers and a couple of her experiences, we packed back up and looked for the train. Straight past the biosecurity dog sniffing the non-declarers we found a spot on the train to Central and then to Newcastle. We had just missed a train so settled down on the next. The almost an hour wait for its departure was good as we have found that NSW trains don't have a lot of room for luggage and it can be quite awkward at times if you just make a train. As usual, people take a seat each and won't sit next to anyone. If this is the case, which it almost always is, there is no room for luggage on the trains. By mid-afternoon our trip was over and it was time to prepare for back to work the next day.

Last selfie of the trip (nice tan)

Next trip? Not with Jetstar we hope.

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