South India Travels!

View of the Backwaters

Kochi! Kerala! Backwaters! 

It might seem The southern part of India is my favourite. But, even I am not sure, what influences me to travel to that part of the country! 

It was work for one part of it, It was sightseeing the Other Time and it was food and rejuvenation for this time. 

All the sides of the South have so much to offer! Just like the other states of India! But, the flavours in the South are all so different. 

While the common element remains the coconut in the flavours, Pepper and Masala in each of these states enhance the taste of the food. 

South Indian Food

Kochi! Was such a food experience. The freshness of seafood, The softness of meat & Pork.  The sharpness of Pepper and Rice and fullness of Appams was a treat every meal

Backwaters Calmness and quietness through the journey in the boat was an experience of Stillness in a world of technology. 

The Night at the Allepy snoozed us at 10 after another meal of Fish & Vegetable Stews! 

The next morning we were back from the shores, not sure if we were ready to travel back into reality! 

The heritage property where we stayed for another day in the city, was a museum with Vintage Cars, Camera, Projectors and an antique Radio system! 

The whole Kochi experience wouldn’t have been complete without exploring Art Galleries & Independent stores that had so much to offer! 

In terms of coffee, the Monsoon Malabar Roast is something you would enjoy the most. The Saltiness coming from the moisture in the air is what makes the coffee flavourful with the spice & nutty notes.  

Stay:

Bloom Boutique hotel

Kumarakom Lake Resort & Boat

Eat:

Kashi Art Cafe: Asian Food & Eggs

Pandhal Cafe : Pizza, Tacos, Desserts, Coffee and Berry lemonade.

Brunton Boatyard: For South India food

Jew Town Cafe : Cold Coffee

French Toast : Coffee & Desserts

Shop:

David Hall

Pepper House

Jew Town

Hampi

Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

Another city in the South was more about architecture and History with beautiful historic temples like Virupaksha Temple, Hemakuta Hill and Hazara Rama Temple are a must-visit on your visit to Hampi. 

The Eco-friendly hotel at Hampi, felt like a restored heritage hotel, but in fact, was designed from scratch. 

At Hampi, we were truly a tourist in our incredible India. 

Hampi, had suddenly seen a spike of interest globally even the G20 was hosted in the city in 2023. 

Stay:

Evolve Back Hotel

Bangalore

Bangalore Palace

The IT hub! The widest roads in a metro city! 

Where the joke for the city is.

IT professionals travel for about an hour on average to make apps and work for companies that promise delivery within 10 min. 

The City, that’s clean & Green! A metro you would like to stay in if you have a choice! 

The food options are many to choose from

Andra-style south Indian food being our favourite. 

But, the dessert and baking goods are one of the best in the city! 

The city has a palace, whose architectural structure is like a British-style castle. 

Eat:

Beema’s for Andra Food

Nagarjuna for Andra Food

Airlines for Dosa

Milano for Ice Cream

Corner House For Ice Cream Sundaes

Fia’s for Parsi Food

Lazy Suzy – for Cocktails

One 8 Commune – Rooftop Bar

UK Flashback 2023!

The Memories, come flashing back!

The vivid details, the signages, The bustling streets, the hop on and hop off buses,

The Lego store, Leicester Square and Times Square coming together in my memory!

The M&M World! Piccadilly Circle written faintly!

And the huge square, Trafalgar Square with the lion roaring.

The London Bridge! All that meets the London eye!

The erratic weather changing, like mood swings for humans in the city!

Brexit has happened from the last time we visited,

Still trying to figure things out here! 

UK! LONDON! Seems …

Can’t get over it it’s been a decade since I visited London!

The memories seem crystal clear, walking up the bridge and witnessing the Thames…

Felt like a Lord! After taking them through the cricket ring that has so much history in the sport and St.John Woods Brownish, Beige rooftops and homes with a little redness never felt the same again!

Walking through the dining room and changing room of the Lord’s Stadium was a Kodak tour in so many ways! The sport that I couldn’t breathe & sleep without in childhood is a distant reality in my adulthood!

The Marketspace CAMDEN! IN Yellowish brown BOLD Font, was an interesting space of shops and cafes!

The London Tube and the Big Red Bus! Through Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Notting Hill!

The Tourist’s ness was rubbing on our shoulders, Afternoon tea and scones at Claridge’s was one splurge we did on our trip!

Oh! The now famous Pret A Manager that has India sipping and eating was one of our hangout spots after we strolled through Oxford Street!

Oh! We passed through Covent Garden which years later became a hub for Contemporary interiors and places to eat! Like the BKC In Mumbai.

London, The UK! Hadn’t seemed to have changed much! But, what had changed was it had become expensive to live and holiday here! Transport fares had doubled, and the pricing of basic goods & services too had doubled. And on the other side, Ireland was thriving with tourism, and had seemed a better bet for the UK Locals to move there! Irish Cream was a nice country with beautiful bookstores and odd-looking people with colourful hair. The Vibe & energy in Ireland felt more for youngsters and youth. With Good food options and not just 90 minutes by Air from London City Ireland indeed became a good option for UK residents to shift.

Galway & Cork were two small towns, each having their charm & differences.

The Bars were hangout spots to enjoy the Guinness Beer or have a cup of Irish coffee.

A pizzeria in Galway was also not just in Ireland but had been accoladed with the 16th best pizzeria in Europe in 2022 and 37th best in the world in 2022.

Well! Ireland is also well known for Bailey’s liqueur – A popular coffee-based alcohol and Butlers chocolates. A bar of chocolate that melts away!

And last but not least the Jameson whiskey outlet – The Secret ingredient behind the Irish Coffee.

The last highlight, An 18th-century Century Church that was restored over seven years in the late nineties until mid two thousands was opened in 2005 and still has the rustiness and architecture of the 18th Century.
Information:

Ireland 

Cities: Galway, Cork, Dublin and Belfast. 

Enter through Dublin and travel through trains to the other cities.

 Stay: 

Ashkings Hotel Dublin

Buy a leap card from the station. You could use this across public transport (Trams, Trains, Buses)

Some Thoughts Running on My Mind.

The Rain drizzling and fading away the view, making it blur for the eyes to see what comes across next.

In the midst of the joy! You look back and remember it was just summer now!

And now here monsoon has arrived.

The honking on the streets have subdued,

The rejection of not finding any public transport is dearly missed.

The argument over, not having any change and deciding who will forge the “change”

Every day was a new day! Yet every day some of the battles were same.

Whether it was what to order today

or whether it was were to begin today?

The frustrations and anxiety to explain the delivery boys the address was the same every day,

Google occasionally on some applications was stubborn to get it accurate.

Some Days – We ate out one meal where we looked at the menu to decide what to eat, unlike the struggle of making a menu every day at home for three meals.

While some filtered and cancelled

the outdoor sound with their earphones, Others got used to the terrific traffic sound that nearly deafened them until they reached their destinations.

The Bumper to Bumper traffic has been out of sight, yet is still in the mind.

The sound of the crowds at crowded places, the fight to squeeze yourself in and find a place is long forgotten.

The sound of the coffee machine pouring out some freshly brewed coffee with some eggs & desserts is occasionally remembered.

PRAHA !

IMG_7416

Travelling is something that makes you relate to places you have visited before, So on my recent vacation to Prague the moment I started exploring the city of Czech republic, I was reminded of Edinburgh in Scotland ,the particular setting of that place ,the statue near the Charles bridge,And the tram line towards the old town going through the architecture gave me the feeling of me being in Florence in Italy.To the extent ,the panoramic view of the city made me relate to Capri in Italy  from Petrîn hill , when I could endlessly only see red roof tops from the viewing point as compared to the White House of Capri.No,I am not boasting of being a globetrotter,But only getting you to notice how travelling to so many places has made me observe and believe,that Prague is a place having something like every European country.

The cathedrals name Being the same with only the beauty of the stained glasses around being  different.

The traditional food “goulash”  soup like curry with the option of beef,Pork and chicken and bread is popular cuisine here.That was something different since all over Europe there are only a few dishes that are wet.The “Tredlink” Pronouced Tredlin was another tasty sweet cone with sugar coated on the sides, And if you wanted to have some guilty pleasure you could add the Nutella and vanilla ice cream to go for the kill.

This trip to Prague has been one of those trips that makes you wonder Europe has everything alike,Yet is so different.