Tag: travel

Hampiness – An adventure in the waiting!

Virupaksha Temple

A journey that had been on the bucket list for the last few years.

And having explored India from the north and west.

South had a been little unexplored and was waiting to be explored.

Hampi is a city full of temples that have references not just mythology ( Ramayan) Hanuman’s Birthplace. But, also with Shiva- A single monolith statue that’s one of the most visited sights of the city. To the Dynasties battles Kilji, Chanayaka and later the British coming to existence.

No Wonder a city filled with so much history and mythology feels like one place with many world heritage references that the The Ministry of Tourism, on 29th September, declared Karnataka’s iconic destination as the Best Tourism Village of India-2023.

Hampi was selected one among the 795 applications received from 31 states and UTs.

Some bits of Hampi feel like you are in Macchi- Picchu to some feel like you are in Greece. While some truly belong to India.

The city has many world heritage sites.Think your ₹50 currency and you will observe the chariot stone. Hampi is also referred to as India’s Rome with so many ruins and history to the sights.

The historians at Hampi, also mentioned to explore the whole of Hampi that has 80 monuments worth exploring would take you an ideal 45 days here! So much history!

And if you would like to travel to Hampi some of the most important sites are Vitthala temple, that’s full of interpretations of history and the home to the stone Chariot. To the Virupaksha temple an active temple that has rituals performed daily including feeding of elephants as an experience of lifetime.

Elephant Stables a monument that was built for the kings elephant many centuries ago is another site worth visiting.

At times Hampi makes you believe you are In Stonehenge with the rocks here beautifully placed naturally or makes you believe you are In Grand Canyon with trekking around on rocks that are placed with boulders for support.

The sunset and sunrise view points of the city, give you an overview of the lush green landscapes covered with sugarcane’s and Banana plantations.

With so much to offer for history & nature buffs.Hampi still has the rawness and beauty of India.

Hampi is still not considered a tourist destination, with only one flight to Mumbai! And limited advertising for tourism in Hampi.

Stay: Evolve Back Resort

Did You Know?

Karnataka once served as the capital of one of the largest kingdoms of India the Vijayanagara Empire around the 1500 AD. And during that time it was known to be one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world.

The Virupaksha temple dates back to 7th-century, which makes it one of the oldest functional temple in the country is dedicated to Virupaksha, an incarnation of Lord Shiva, built with a pillared hall, three.

One of the must things to do before you leave the temple take blessings from Lakshmi elephant

The pillars in the Vittahla temple would also be used as musical instruments by the locals. Each pillar would have a different sound and rhythm.

Elephant Stables
Vitthala temple

Aeropress championship India!

I had been wanting an Aeropress. And for my 27th Birthday got it as a gift. Ever since then, I have been thinking of participating in the Indian edition and last year! It was my first time.

Aeropress is so versatile you can use the ratio of coffee to water the way you would like to have your cup of coffee. Espresso Style, French Press or a Pour over style.

Aeropress was founded by Alan Adler in 2005 in the united states who was a toy manufacturer.

It wasn’t until 2008 when A friendly competition of who can brew the best Cup of Aeropress Coffee Began as a joke in 2008 in Oslo, Norway.

Three Friends competed and two of them then founded the Tim Wendelboe by Tim Varney & Tim Williams.

It became a global phenomenon with more than 60 Countries hosting the Aeropress Championship.

In 2017 Mithlesh from Nagpur who owns a cafe Now “Corridor Seven” Became the 1st Aeropress Champion from India.

The championship begins with A country hosting regional rounds in a state or city.

Each State/City will have participants who would be participating in four rounds.

First would be like an Elimination round, then a Quater, Semi-Final and Final. Depending on the number of participants.

Each Participant gets 3 minutes for preparation. Where one can heat water, Weigh the coffee beans maximum of 18 gms, and setup the Aeropress.

Each participant then gets 5 minutes to brew his cup of Coffee on the day of the competition. You could preferably carry your own Aeropress. Or could borrow another competitor at the venue. Other equipment is available and provided by the organisers at the venue

As a Participant, you would also get the coffee as part of the registration that would be used on the day of the competition to try your recipes at your residence, a couple of days before the main day!

On the day of the competition, there were 100+ participants each competing against 3 brewers and each time one winner would be chosen to compete in the next round.

So I was competing with one home brewer & a barista from a popular cafe in Bombay. And couldn’t qualify for any of the rounds.

Cut to a year later 2023!

I participated again this year! And hadn’t tried the coffee that would be used for the championship even once! But, having Practised for over a year, With a lot of different coffees from India and my travels around I figured out the coffee recipe and participated and Qualified 3 Rounds #Top13

It was a huge improvement from the past year! Hopefully, 2024 Will be better!!!

Just keep brewing & explore the equipment.

A fun experience for coffee enthusiasts and professionals.

Morocco 2023!

If you can travel to someplace once it’s a privilege and if you travel to the same place again, you should be lucky!

Five Years ago, when I visited Marrakesh for the 1st time, I wasn’t sure! How the place would be. But, today! It was different!

I could notice what had changed in the last few years. Some of the restaurants we dined at were no more, rather a fine dining restaurant and hotel had now opened at the same spot!

The hotel that was our wedding venue for the event, had now renovated its bar and the Classic vintage feel was replaced by the modern bar design that in some way lost the vibe of the place. The other rooftop space too had another modern bar that was set up in what looked like the banquet space the last time I visited.

The City otherwise hadn’t really changed much! It was the neighbourhood that had a few changes.

Morocco: 

A country in northern Africa, that’s very close to Spain. A country that you wouldn’t think about travelling to!

But, having explored most of Europe, America, India and Asia. Africa was something we had not explored.

A nearly seventeen hour journey to reach our destination. 

Marrakech: 

Driving through the mountains in shades of green to browns, and visiting the sight of black and white mosaic tiles to colourful pillars of the medrasa and detailed work on the walls and in the roofs. This was a city that’s seemed like the most popular tourist city with luxurious hotels. 

The most beautiful sights were the hotel’s La Mamounia & Royal Mansour the gardens with orange and olive trees and cactus and coconut trees on the sides.

Bacha Coffee shop. Right in the Bacha palace is a sight on it’s own, with over 200 varieties of coffee from around the world! This is a coffee heaven for all the coffee lovers with aesthetics you wouldn’t get enough of.

And if driving through the mountains is something you enjoy. You should drive the atlas mountains. An hour and a half journey from the city.

Tangier

A small town two hours away from Casablanca is worth a visit to catch the beauty of the two seas meeting each other Meditteran and Atlantic sea from the Kasbah view point where you would notice the two shades of blue. To be closer to the sea you can visit Cafe Hafa to enjoy the view with a glass of tangerine juice.

Visit salon Bleu for a Moroccan meal overlooking the Mediterranean sea. 

Casablanca

The film “Casablanca” made not just the city popular but the cafe Ricks too!

Which was recreated after the success of the Hollywood film in Casablanca and opened in 2004 by an American.

The film too was entirely shot in a Hollywood studio and released in 1940.

A film that was based on a play “Everybody goes to Ricks. “

The Hasan II Mosque is one of the largest and most beautiful mosque in the world.

The Granduer is visible from a distance, but only when you are at the mosques you can enjoy the detailing done in the early 1800s 

Fes 

An old city charm!

An old city with one of the oldest running library in the world  al-Qarawiyyinin thats part of a university Since 859 AD.

A city, that lies right in the centre of the Medina. With lanes reminding of the Grand bazaar of Turkey.

The luggage here is carried in a lorry between the hotels. 

Our hotel Riad Fes was right within the Medina, a palace setting overlooking the whole city of Fes.

Here the trains tracks require crossing over the bridge to go to the other sides of the tracks.

It’s here in Fes, you can visit the tannery’s and witness how the leather is soaked and dried that create your handbags, Wallets, Shoes and a lot more! 

Each of the cities that we visited in Morocco was different from one another.

While Marrakesh had the views of the atlas mountains, Fes had the old town charm. Tangier felt like Europe and Casablanca had the view and vibes of a modern city like LA.

Information:

Marrakech to Casablanca (2Hrs 30 Min by train and 3 Hrs by Road)
Casablanca to Fes ( 4 Hrs by train. It’s better to stay overnight at fes)
Casablanca to Tanger ( 2 Hrs by train. You can do a day trip)
Fly to Casablanca with @emirates @etihad and then drive to #marrakech

Visa: E- Visa within two days for the US Visa holders.

Marrakech:
Cafés: @bachacoffee #grandcafedelaposte
Stay: @essaadimarrakech
Visit: @royalmansour @lamamouniamarrakech @groupeladresse for medinaview #madrasayoussef

Casablanca
Stay: @fscasablanca
Eat: @rickscafe_Casablanca @lasqala
Cafe : @theespressolab @arabica.journal @arabicamorocco @lesquatrecerises
Visit: #hasaniimosque @rickscafe_casablanca

Tanger:
Eat: @salonbleu.tanger #moroccanfood
View: @cafehafa
Visit : #Kasabhsquare #tangerport

Fes:
Stay @riadfes
Eat @cinemacafefez
Visit #chouaratannery

Benelux 2022!!!

This trip to Europe! Was long overdue!
Not because it was another trip to Europe.
But, because of the countries, we were visiting. We have been planning this route for the last 3 years as I remember. Two years of travel were taken away by corona and the only thing we missed was travelling.
So, before we could plan a trip to any other European country. This had to be struck off my bucket list.
This trip was very unlike the trips we have taken before.
Starting with Antwerp we had a friend, Ambassador, An Artist and our local tour guide that was added into his profile as the day concluded since the way he showcased Antwerp. The cobbled streets, the Parks, the cafés and visiting Caffenation. Caffeination is a speciality coffee pioneer in Belgium.
Jeff Vervellen a barista from Caffenation has won the world championship a couple of times.
by giving us insights into the landmarks we were passing by walking around towards the centre of Antwerp by the end of the day our legs were crushed walking 30K steps on the 1st Day of our trip!
Little did we know it was just the beginning of the warm hospitality from the locals we were going to be meeting ahead of our trip.
Bruges & Gent felt light on the feet.
Exploring the canals and small stores while we walked around to get a feel of the place.
Bruges was beautiful the free shuttle service from the station to the centre of the city is another way of looking around the city before you start to explore on your own.
While gent had interesting graffiti street art and cafés it also had an interesting book store. Booze & Books! With some of the finest alcohol and Designer bottles, you wouldn’t have come across until you visited the store. It was also good to notice Paul John a whiskey from India that has gained an international recognition.
Gent & Bruges reminded me a lot about Scotland a lot with so many castles around.
One looked like the younger side of Scotland while the other seemed like the older side of Scotland.
Brussels on Sunday! Was zooming in with the Ferrari which was on display at the central square for the start of a perfect Sunday!
Sun & Ferraris!
Meeting the local person who we have known for a decade now and for someone who we make sure to visit Brussels. It was nice walking around the Sunday markets, Eating Belgium fries, and having Coffee & Waffles at the Galleria from Aksum Coffee house. Had some local Belgium food.
Luxembourg! We had initially planned to stay here for two days! But ended up doing a day trip from Antwerp.
Luxembourg’s view of the bridge from the centre was breathtaking. Two days would have been more than enough to enjoy the country.
The Netherlands journey began with a lot of delays & going in the wrong direction for us because of a train accident on the other tracks. So, we did explore Delft a small town in the Netherlands close to Antwerp & Amsterdam and known for its blue pottery. And tasted a lot of handmade cheese from the Netherlands while we explored Utrecht too on the same day having hot chocolate from Hop & Stork a popular Chocolate cafe in the Netherlands.
The next destination was Amsterdam!
We had a few local guides here! Giving us a tour of the city!
While we explored one thing with each of the guides!
One day! We took the canal cruise from Amsterdam central with one local guide,
Amsterdam is known as the North of Venice. As the water connects you to the other side of the city too. Quite a few people have started renting out boats since there isn’t enough housing space available.
And had local Dutch food in a restaurant while this day it had poured all day long.
With the other guide, we explored the Straat Museum. It’s a street art museum showcasing about 150 artists from the world and Europe.
We also visited Tony’s chocolate cafe a chocolate brand that’s popular in Amsterdam. While the United States have Hershey’s, Germany has Riter Sport, the UK has Cadbury’s. Amsterdam has Tony’s. Chocolate flowing on the taps at the cafés, chandelier made is tony chocolate wrappers and a store, where you can see the process of chocolate making, this was the sugar rush we needed with the variety of homemade fries we had on our trip! We were the typical tourist!
While walking the streets to get some coffee beans from screaming beans one of the popular speciality coffee that is gaining popularity across the globe!
While purchasing my beans I had an interesting conversation with James who was preparing a cup of V60 of the Guatemala beans I was planning to purchase. While the coffee was being brewed James was speaking about the backpacking trip 14 years ago to India! And the places he visited in India one city that he mentioned! I just couldn’t get over it! Nashik! Part of his cities Of Kumbh Mela! Since I am too from Nashik!
Oh! Wait!
The last local guide we met were schoolmates & classmates with whom we walked around the red light street of Amsterdam and caught up with life in the Netherlands.
While the bicycles were all over the Netherlands. We explored most of our cities by foot and trains to get there. Since with Europe, it’s all about the centre of the city, which can be covered by foot.

Travel to Brussels, Gent & Bruges from Antwerp one-way journey.

Antwerp to Brussels : 45 Min

Antwerp to Bruges: 90 Min

Antwerp to Ghent: 1 Hr.

Antwerp to Luxembourg: 4 Hrs.

Antwerp to Hague :45 Min

Antwerp to Amsterdam: 1 Hr 50 Min

Stay:

Artotel Amasterdam

NH Hotel Antwerp

Cafés:
screamingbeans
tonyschocolonely_nl
joeandthejuice

LoetjeCentraal

Waffles :
vanwonderenstroopwafels

Fries :
houseoffries
mannekenfriet

Chocolate:
tonyschocolonely
puccinibomboni_amsterdam

Bookstore:
waterstones

Visit:
straatmuseum

Experience:
Canalcruise
Bloemenmarkt: World’s only floating flower market

Belgium:
Cities to Visit: #Antwerp #Bruges #Gent #brussels

Travelling to these cities by @eurarail is easy.

Antwerp:

Sightseeing :

AntwerpRailwayStation
Grote Market
City Hall
Het Steen

Cafés:

caffenation_coffee

Gent:
Sightseeing
gravensteencastle
graffartistreet

Cafe:
waycoffeeroasters

mokabongent

Bookstore:
bookznboozegent

Bruges : * Free Shuttle Service available from the station to the Market every 10-15 minutes.

Sightseeing :

FriesMuseum
Belfrytower
Market Square
Groeninge Museum

Cafe:
ilovecoffeebrugge

Luxembourg:
Sightseeing

ViewfromOberstadt

Cafe:
knopescoffee