Category: Books

Phuket It!


This was a very sudden trip! Wasn’t even sure, if my passport would come in time, and the next thing I knew, I was to fly to Phuket in 2 Days. 


Thailand is like the Goa of India. Warm, Humid and sticky weather with a very good taste for the foodies and Views of the Beaches and the sea that you can’t get enough of! 


Thailand has come back in the Radar of Americans, With White lotus making it A travel destination you can’t miss in 2025. 
The moment, we arrived at the Laem Sai Pier This part of Thailand was very different, it had the feels of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and Brazil, well! Had never seen Thailand like a luxury destination until this trip, it was always like a tourist destination. 


The next week, travelling around Phuket City including Phi Phi Island, was just the beginning of the  Peak tourism in the city, with Queues everywhere, and a short distance by the Car would be similar to a walk to the same place. 
Phuket is a big city, Every neighbourhood we travelled to would not take less than 20-25 minutes. Batong Beach, was the quietest part of the city, only the beach clubs were buzzing. 
Kata Beach, seemed like a new space that was coming up with hotel property and stores. 
Patong Beach, Had all the Bangkok vibes. 
Music, Clubs, Karaoke and A lot of massage centres. 


Patong made you feel that you are in Thailand. 
In terms of food, Thai food did standout in most of the places we ate, the Italian food it wasn’t that good. 
The Japanese & Asian foods had good  quality of meat and freshness of the vegetables. 
Which I wasn’t sure about Phuket City, since Phuket isn’t considered a travel destination or Foodie Destination. 
The old Phuket town, Seemed like Singapore Koon Seng Road with Colourful Shophouses where boutique stores, Cafes and tourist souvenir shops.
The Old Phuket town had an interesting Ice Cream Shop” Torry” that offered unique ice cream combinations. One of them we tried was Caramel Ice Cream with Fish Sauce. 

The short trip to Phuket, Thailand felt we needed more time in the city, with 4 days too, weren’t enough.

With Bangkok, Phuket too should be on your travel list. 

Stay:
@kohyaoyaivillage
@hotelindigophuket

Cafes:
@campuscoffeeroasters
@graphcoffee.co

Ice Cream:
@torrysicecream

Nightlife:
@nomadbeachclubphuket

Eat:

bluetamarind

galarestaurant

lavista

@bonpanasiantapas

Sightseeing:

wanchalongtemple

bigbuddha

Phuketoldtown

phiphiislansds

Abu Dhabi!

The Middle East city of United Arab of Emirates has been an interesting connection. 

On my 18th Birthday, I had visited the newly opened Ferrari Theme Park and Experienced the fastest rollercoaster in the world Formula Rosso.

That visit to the city was all about Yas Island – The popular F1 Track. 

After Thirteen Years.  I visited Abu Dhabi yet again for a family friend wedding, this also happened to be my 31st Birthday weekend. 

The city has transformed so much, The city felt so big. Each of the landmarks we wanted to visit would take us between fifteen-to Thirty Minutes. And the distances were about Twenty Kilometre maximum 

The Roads were so smooth, you hardly realised the time flew by driving 

The Corniche, an upcoming beach front space was too calm for a middle east city that buzzes during the night. 

The Al-Qana a space that was like the Marina Dubai had Cafes, Restaurants with water front view and bridges to connect the either sides of the space. 

Visited  The Sheikh Zayed Mosque after a thirteen Years wait, A Beautiful white mosque with detailing kept in mind of the florals inside were nicely em-bedded. 

The Walk in & out of the sheikh Zayed Mosque is a long one. 

But, Golf Cart as an option for senior citizen available and and travelator to walk without any movement. 

We visited Al- Watan a fairly newly promoted sight of Abu Dhabi.

It had the structure of the palace hotel from the outside. 

But, inside the dome and the walls stole the show. 

The seating outside during the exit, highlights soothing sit-down space with a view overlooking Palm trees. 

You must definitely visit the site on your next visit to Abu Dhabi. 

The visit to Emirates Palace, was a visit with mixed emotions. 

Since we initially planned  to visit the palace for lunch, but only ended with touring the property around the whole palace, a grandeur hotel with large spaces spread across for restaurants and shopping. 

We ended up at an Art House Cafe, for a meal that had the Arabic flavours and good coffee 

With Art Pieces from artist and a vibe that had creativity flowing around the space. 

Abu Dhabi, has become one of the top tourist destinations with Global popstars and bands too making it a destination for their tours. The Recent opening of Warner Brother Theme park has Abu Dhabi becoming more of a family destination. 

The new BAPS Temple too is a beautiful sight a Hindu Radha swami temple on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi that has become a landmark for all tourists and locals alike.

Gwalior 2025!

India as a country has so much to offer, that you feel you are going to be running out of time. 
Rajasthan has palaces and hotels like Palaces. 
Karnataka has coffee plantations and interesting food to offer. 
Himachal has mountains 
North India has its winter. 
Gujrat has its history. 
But, have you wondered what Madhya Pradesh has? 
Madhya Pradesh has temples and fort that have the detailing like no other temples across India and has a terrain region like the Grand Canyon of the USA. 
A few structures of the temples were similar to the ones in Hampi, Karnataka. Yet so different in history. 
Then why is it still unexplored and the least travelled region of India? 
On our recent visit to Gwalior a city in Madhya Pradesh, We came across temples and structures that were so beautiful and intricate in detail, that we questioned ourselves, what made us delay our plans for the last two years? 
As soon we began sharing our tourist exploration on social media. Many asked, where is the place? It was quite a surprise not many knew the beauty of this side of the country. India is always known for cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Jaipur. The other cities are less explored and undiscovered by the local citizens. 
The food in the city was both vegetarian & non-vegetarian, with a lot of Indian food available. 
In street Food, the Kachori and chaats were the most popular snacks of the region. 

Do Books have a shelf life? 

Not exactly from the time they have been published until they hit the stores and are ready to witness the books flying off the shelf. 

But, from the time they are published until the time, the reader figures this is a book he/she would like to read at a certain time of their life if not now. 

Does the book hold the same relevance to the reader it had when it was released in the market? 

Some bestsellers no matter when you read them. They still are relevant, They fall in the bracket of classics, classics that become the reference points for other authors and readers to compare that work with the current ones written in a similar style. 

But, years later when you recommend them to someone would the book have the same impression and effect on the reader too? 

Or would the reader wonder what was special about the book or would have outgrown the subject if they had already experienced something similar in real life or in another, a book that wasn’t necessarily a bestseller but a book worth reading or investing your time in it? 

And with social media, content flows all across a range of channels, what happens to books that become the source of content, Does the reader still enjoy reading the book as a whole? 

Or do social media opinions play on the minds of the reader to read classics/Bestsellers? 

iOS vs Google!

What’s stopping me from switching from

iPhone to Google! 

iOS apps: Music, Face Time, iMessage , Notes, App Store , Airdrop and iCloud  are some of the application that make their system! 

But, thinking how many of these do I actually use regularly. 

AirDrop and Notes besides the camera come to my mind within seconds. 

The other apps might not  be used so frequently by me. 

I also have a MacBook Air, And both my devices act like family. But, Will changing one make a lot of different? 

And oh! My AirPods will they be as good on the Google than they were on the iPhone and Apple devices? 

For transferring images and videos from

Apple to Apple. We had Airdrop! 

Well, Android has an application known as Airdroid for the instant transfer between the two OS. 

Well for sound for music and videos – I am not sure how good Google would be. 

But, as far as the reviews I have read – The common problem on Google phones is the clarity and muffled sound when having conversations over phone. How much will this  impact? 

The other Tech Specs: like Ram, Battery size and size are minor worries since Google have been a notch higher on that end compared to Apple phones. 

The only hitch is It’s Android and It’s Google. 

And not like I have never used Google. 

Google sheets and Gmail was one of the first few applications used from the organisation. 

And no I wasn’t born with an Apple device, like many who are born today! 

I had Sony Ercison as an android device for about 2 years… And then I bought a Micromax phone an Indian phone maker for a year and a half until I got my first iPhone 5s and since then it’s been 10 Years and 4 iPhones I have used ( 5s, 7, Xs, 13) each spanning 2 And  a half to 3 Years. 

I have been very comfortable with the device, 

But of late Android devices have been more innovative with technology and design, With minor plus and minus from their end. 

On the other hand, Apple has been offering the best features for their devices that are on the higher end. The Pro’s and even in those there are huge difference of sizes and specifications that you wonder after spending $1000+ you still aren’t getting the best. Since there is a difference between a Pro, Pro Max and the base model. 

Where as Android and Google have the same offering within their range of $1000 + with  each model with the same features, just different sizes of screen and Pro and base model  series, Pro has another camera. 

So which one should you go ahead with?