Agra - Lot More Than Just Taj Mahal

Agra - The moment someone utters the word Agra, the first thing that comes to one's mind is Taj Mahal. Agra has almost become synonym to Taj Mahal. But Agra is much more than just the Taj Mahal. Agra fort, Fathepur Sikri, Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah (baby Taj), Mehtab Bag etc are all in Agra and are beautiful and have lots of history behind them. Of course, Taj Mahal is the jewel in the crown, but these place are equally beautiful and have rich architecture.

Taj Mahal - Truly a Masterpiece

Typically people cover Delhi, Agra and Jaipur in one trip. We planned an exclusive 3 day trip to Agra. We have been planning for Agra trip from a very long time. Every time we ended up scrapping the plan because of over analysis. Either it would be because summers are hot or winters are very cold or kids exams, holiday/vacation season etc. This Christmas holidays, we took a risk and decided lets do it no matter what. We were prepared for the fact that the famous Delhi winter fog will jeopardise the whole trip.

Plan was to take a early morning flight to Delhi on Mon 26th, hire a self driven rental car from Zoomcar at Delhi Airport, take the Yamuna Express Highway to Agra and return back to Bangalore on 28th night. So it was going to be a 3 day  trip - exclusively for Agra. After doing some research, we decided to book a 8am flight to reduce the risk of flight delay due to fog. Instead of hiring a cab, planned to try the self-driven cars from Zoomcar. So everything was booked well in advance - our return flight tickets, Zoomcar from Delhi airport for 3 days and hotel booking at Hotel Taj resorts (http://www.hoteltajresorts.com).

Hotel Taj Resort is at an ideal location (20 min walk) from eastern gate of Taj Mahal. It is at a very convenient location from the ticket booking counter and to the east gate of Taj Mahal. The hotel is pretty good in all aspects. Has two good restaurants (one roof top and one inside the hotel), good views of Taj Mahal from the roof-top restaurant, swimming pool (we did not use it as it was very cold) and a shop in the basement - which has some beautiful stuff for sale and at reasonable price. Don't miss checking this out before buying anything in Agra.

We went with a twin-rooms (rooms that are attached). This is ideal for families with grown up kids. The rooms were very good, with good bathrooms, hot water, A/C, TV and very spacious.

On 26th morning, we boarded the flight to Delhi. Thankfully the flight was on time. We reached Delhi by 11:30am. It took some time for the Zoomcar to handover our car at the terminal. We completed the formalities, set the GPS and we were all set to drive to Agra. Soon we realized the car that we rented was not that great. It was an old Honda City and the windshield had lot of scratches. We knew, it would be painful driving in the dark with this kind of windshield - especially if it's on a highway.

After navigating through the multiple flyovers, we hit the Noida expressway. Delhi has very good road network. All roads are divided and most of the traffic is 4-wheel (which is very different from the Bangalore traffic - which is lot more 2 wheel). However driving through Delhi traffic was a challenge. There are so many roads, and GPS sometimes does not clearly specify which road to take - on the flyover or below or service road :( We were at ease once we entered the Yamuna Expressway to Agra. Now it was lunch time and we were hungry. Surprisingly there aren't many sign boards on the highway which guide you on how much more time/distance for the next exit for refreshments. We exited the first exit we hit, as we did not know when and where the next one would be. The place was good. The complex had Gas Filling Station, restaurants, wash rooms, parking etc. We had some Rajma & Chawal and some chats. North Indian dishes tastes best in North India :)

After some food and relaxation, it was time to head back on the highway. We planned to stop at Mathura and visit the Krishna Janma Bhoomi temple and then visit Vrindavan and then head to Agra. Little did we know, what it is like to visit Mathura and Vrindavan... Many of our friends from North India had warned us. We thought we were prepared, but I think we under-estimated the touts and cheating. We just didn't realize how we fell for it :(

As we exited the high and entered Mathura, every few minutes we had people stopping us. They were claiming as poojaris, guides and promising different things. The GPS is also very unreliable here. We tried our best to stick to GPS, but unfortunately the directions were unclear or incorrect. So at one circle we decided to stop and enquire and that’s the blunder we made. A guy here, tells us he can show the Janam Bhoomi temple and other temples too for 100Rs. He made some stories on one-ways etc and we fell for it. Since the GPS was not giving us correct direction, we took the risk of agreeing to this guide. Now he calls a 10year kid and asks him to take us around. When questioned, he says the kid is local and knows everything. Now we tell this kid to take us to Janma Bhoomi temple and he takes us in some other direction. After driving about 30min, we stop as we suspect something fishy. We reconfirm which temple is he taking us to and he says Janma Bhoomi. We say, but the sign boards are in the other direction. He says first I will take you to another temple and then to Janma Bhoomi temple. We loose our cool. We drop the kid back at the point where we took him as guide and go on our own following the boards.


I don't understand why most temple towns are crowded, dirty, very noisy and very very corrupt. People are pushing each other, their is garbage everywhere, people are shouting. The whole feel good factor of visiting a place of worship is defeated. Unfortunately there is nothing nice about the place :(

Atlast we reach the temple complex. Its mad rush here. Everybody on the road is trying to guide to a parking place which actually is somewhere far. After ignoring a few, we find a policeman and ask him where we could pay and park. He directs us to a place. We park our car and enter the complex. New drama enfolds here. You cannot carry any Phones, Cameras etc. inside the temple. You need to deposit it at the entrance. This was not mentioned on their offical website. Thats it - we loose our patience. Its not that we are religious. We wanted to visit the temple more for been there done it and for mythological significance. Decide to not go to the temple. We purchase some Mathura pedas (very tasty) and enjoyed the sweet.

Prem Mandir - Vrindavan

By now we have are already delayed by couple of hours from our scheduled plan. We decide to quickly visit Vrindavan - especially the "Prem Mandir" which everybody is talking about. We are at Prem Mandir by 6PM - just as the lights come on. I will call this a "Mythological Theme Park". Everything is done keeping the tourists in mind and gives a tough competition to the famous ISKON Temple.


TIP - I would not recommend anybody to visit Mathura and Vrindavan. There is absolutely nothing that one can like about these two place other than of-course the yummy Mathura Pedha :)


Agra is about 1 1/2 hour drive from Vrindavan. We had hard luck with GPS in Vrindavan. We lost lot of time because of incorrect directions. At one point the GPS directed us to take what was supposed to be a highway - but unfortunately it was a mud road, pitch dark not a soul in site. The road was so bad, had we encountered any problem, we would have not got any help. Very scary too. This particular patch seemed like never ending. It was a big relief when we came and joined a proper highway. We just hate driving at night :(

It was close to 9PM, when we reached our hotel "Hotel Taj Resorts" at Agra. We were hungry, sleepy, tired and irritated. Checked in our room. Luckily the hotel was better than we expected and rooms were pretty good too. This, kind of eased our mood. We freshened up and went straight to their restaurant for dinner. Gladly the food was yum. Our order was served quickly and was very tasty. Its funny how all problems/tiredness seem to dissolve the moment you have something good to eat. We had a lovely dinner and crashed to sleep.


After a good night sleep, we planned for a full day outing. Plan was to visit the Fatepur Sikri in the morning, then do the Agra fort in the afternoon and be at Mehtab Bagh around sunset to view the colors of Taj Mahal at dusk. Hotel Taj Resorts had a good spread on their buffet breakfast. We had our breakfast and drove to Fatepur Sikri.

Darga - Fathepur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri is about 60 KMs (around 1 1/2 hour drive) from Agra. A must visit place when visiting Agra. Private vehicles are not allowed on the top. One need to park at a parking area, and take a shuttle to the spot. There are lot of touts here who claim they are guides and tourists get fooled. We were one of them. As soon as we parked our car, lot of guys came to us claiming as guide. One of them offered a deal which we thought was very good - little did we realize that we were fooled :(. Here is the deal he offered and we fell for it - deal included to-and-fro auto charges and guide to Fatehpur Sikri. we bargained and reduced the price and happily sat in the auto only to realize later that we were actually taken for a ride :( - more on this trap in the later paragraph and Tips section.

Darga is about a kilometer from the parking place, can be easily walked. There are also CNG operated buses/shuttles which go up to the point or even an auto to avoid the up hill climb and you can decide to walk back one way. Plan to reach Fatehpur Sikri before 9AM, if you want to avoid the crowd and see the place peacefully. Also it requires a minimum of 2 hours to cover the entire place. So starting early is good idea, as it gets very hot in the afternoon.

Fathepur Sikri

We boarded the auto and our first stop was Durga. The guide gave some gyan on the place and then started persuading us to buy the Chaddar. We kept refusing and he kept pushing us to buy. We did not give in. It is important to keep saying a firm NO if you don't want to fall for this. We checked the tombs and Durga. The durga is made of white marble and stands out among the red-stoned walls. It is beautiful. I only wished people did not push tourists to buy stuff. Most of time goes is getting rid/away from these guys then actually appreciating the beauty of the place. After showing us the Durga, Buland Darwaza and Jama Masjid the guide told us the tour is completed. We were shocked. From whatever research we had done, we knew there were lot more places to see in Fathepur Sikri. When we questioned the guide, he said he is not authorized to guide us for those monuments. Only the government approved guides are allowed. That is when it hit us that we were deceived.

Since there were lot more monuments to be seen, we purchased the tickets and also took a Government approved guide at the ASI tourist center which was at the entrance of the monument. We had not seen this earlier as our guide had got us through another route so that he will not be questioned. The new guide showed us all the monuments and also gave a good peek into the history. The monuments are beautiful and are also well kept. The area is very clean and well maintained. For tourists who want to explore the place at their own pace, there are audio guides available too - at the tourist centre. Jodha's palace, Khass Mahal, Shahi-Bazar, Mina-Bazar, the Panch-Mahal, Khwabgah, Diwan-i-Khass, Anup-Talao and Diwan-i-Am are some of the important and beautiful monuments at Fatehpur Sikri. All monuments are built in red sand stone with some of them decorated with designs made from different colored marbles - primarily white and black.

We spent around 3 hours at Fatehpur Sikri. As we were leaving, we saw bus load of tourists arriving. The parking place, where we had parked our car was now full with vehicles. We had difficulty getting our car out. From here we headed to Agra fort. On our way to the fort, we stopped for a quick lunch.

TIP - At Fathepur Sikri don't take the guide at the car parking place. Hire a government approved guide at the ASI Tourist Centre at the top. Try to reach the monuments by 8am to avoid the crowd and sun.

Visiting Agra fort is another half day event. We reached the fort around 2:30 PM. There was already enough crowd. The parking area close to the fort was full. We had to park a little further. Nevertheless, this is a must visit place in Agra. It is beautiful and majestic. As soon as we enter the main gate of the fort after crossing the moat, there is the ticket counter. There are separate counters for Indian Nationals and Foreign Nationals. There is a separate line for ladies. We purchased our tickets here. After the security check (which is meaningless for the amount of crowd), we climbed the ramp which takes to the main area of the fort. It is useful to hire a guide as they will explain the history and significance of each monument. Make sure you check the ID card and hire only the official guides. Also bargain - whatever price is quoted, start bargaining from half that price. We hired a guide after some bargaining.

Jahangir Palace - Agra Fort

As we started our tour, we were spellbound with the red sand stone structures and the structures with marbles. Each king of Mughal dynasty has added structures to this fort and one can see the change is style, stone used, intricacies etc. during the reign of different Mughal kings. First we see the Jahangir Palace, which is a huge palace made of red sand stone with arches. The guide gives us some details of the palace and also tells the history. From here we move to the monuments added by Shah Jhan. Here the structures change from red sand stone to marble. One can see the Diwani Khas, Sheesh Mahal, the royal gardens, the marble palace of Shah Jhan etc. From here one gets the view of river Yamuna and the Taj Mahal. History mentions that this was done intentionally so that Shah Jahan can view his beloved wife's tomb from his palace until his death. He had plans to build another Taj Mahal with black marble on the other side of river Yamuna. The foundation for this was laid. However this never got started. It was great to hear from the guide on the amount of money spent by these kings and the kind of wealth they possessed. One actually can imagine the richness and glamour of India then - which eventually got destroyed and is now left as a poor country with rich history.

View of Taj Mahal from Agra Fort

It takes about a minimum of 2 hours to explore the Agra fort. They also have a Light and Sound Shows in English and Hindi. These are scheduled in the evening after sunset. We were not keen on watching the show. We wanted to be at Mehtab Bagh at sunset time to see the changing shades of Taj Mahal.

Itimad-ud-Daulab - Baby Taj

Since we have few more hours for sunset time, from Agra fort we went to see "Itimad-ud-Daulab" - popularly known as Baby-Taj. This is in the shape of Jewel Box and started the era of white marble monuments in India. This was built by Noor Jahan for her father. This was tried as a prototype for the construction of Taj mahal. This monument is very small and is located on the banks of river Yamuna. It is very beautiful and the artistic work on the marble can be viewed very easily as it is not as large as Taj Mahal. Though river Yamuna is all dried up here and the surrounding views are not great or clean, one can easily imagine how beautiful this place would have been few centuries ago when the population of Agra was not so much. Definitely a must see place when visiting Agra.

Taj Mahal at Sunset from Mehtab Bagh

It was almost sunset time and we headed straight to Mehtab Bagh. After a short walk through the orchids, one gets a view of Taj Mahal. It is here, we got a shock and feel of how big Taj Mahal is. It is gigantic and piece of marvel. With the setting sun in the background the marble had hues of yellow, orange and red. It was mind blowing. We just sat here quietly watching Taj with sunset colors, birds returning to their nests and long queues around Taj. People in the queues looked like match sticks - that's when we realised how big Taj was. Mehtab Bagh is not very popular with tourist. There isn't any place to actually sit or a view point. We sat on some mud wall and immersed ourselves in the beauty of Taj Mahal.

After we were fully satisfied watching Taj at sunset, we returned to our hotel. Next day's plan was to start early to visit the Taj at sunrise. There are multiple benefits of visiting Taj at sunrise - the crowd is lesser, hence lesser time in queue. One can get to view the monument with peace without people pushing you. Pictures can be taken peacefully and of course the beautiful colors of sunrise on the white marble.

We started from our hotel at 6am. Shilpgram, the place where entry tickets are given was right across our hotel. There was a huge queue even at 6am in the morning. However they have separate line for ladies. You need to carry a government approved ID card for all visitors to get tickets and to enter Taj. We bought the tickets and took a cycle rikshaw from Shilpgram to east gate. Try to buy the disposable shoe covers here. This will be required to walk on the marble at Taj. Taj Mahal is about 1.5Kms from Shilpagram. Since it was very cold we avoided walking.

Taj Mahal at Sunrise

Security checks at Taj Mahal can be very intense. To avoid security check hassles, don't carry bags, eatables, water, electronic items. Check the website for dos and don'ts at Taj. There are separate lines for Men and Women at the entrance. So to avoid confusion, its better if each carries their ID cards.

Eastern gate is the best gate to enter. This gate has comparatively less crowd. Most tourist buses start arriving by 8:30AM at western gate. This is when the crowd increases and the queue to see the Taj Mahal gets longer. So to have a peaceful experience, be at Easter gate by 6:30AM. 

We were at the eastern gate by 6:30am. After the security check, we hired a guide. It is recommended to hire a guide. The sun was still to rise and the crowd was minimal. As we entered the gate, the sight of Taj Mahal was mind boggling. Never expected it to be so huge. It was a mammoth structure shining in the rays of sun. The view was spectacular. Seeing this monument we realised the amount of effort, material and money spent in those times. One also gets a glimpse of how life must have been 400-500 years back. The whole campus of Taj Mahal is picturesque and very well maintained. Because of lesser crowd, we had enough time to enjoy the beauty of Taj Mahal and click pictures. The carving/designs embedded with different colored marbles look very beautiful on the white marble.

At Taj Mahal - Early Morning

We put on the plastic covers on our shoes, before we stepped on the marble platform of Taj Mahal. We slowly explored all the parts. The whole visit from the gate can easily take 2-3 hours. The time can increase based on the queue. There is also a small museum inside the campus. Nothing great about the museum. But since you are there, it is recommended to visit it. There are few drawings of the architecture of Taj Mahal which helps one get an insight into the making of Taj Mahal.

It was 9am and slowly the crowd was increasing. By the time we finished seeing the museum, there was enough crowd and people had to queue up for taking pictures. We had our heart full of Taj and started walking back to our hotel. We were very hungry. Our hotel had a good spread for breakfast. We ate to our heart content and started back to Delhi.

We were all impressed by the this whole new experience of renting car from Airport and driving on the super cool Yamuna Express. Little did we know what was awaiting us. All through our drive on the highway we were very careful not to cross the speed limit and we had never crossed 80Kmph. But we were given a ticket for speeding when we stopped at a toll. When we questioned, the cops got really offended and one lesson we learnt - never argue /question with cops in north India. We paid the fine and then we hit a bigger problem. As we exited Yamuna Express into Noida highway, we were stopped by the UP police. They asked us to produce the road tax papers. We were totally clueless. Zoomcar had not updated us on purchase of road tax. We thought all the paper work was taken care by Zoomcar. We were getting delayed for the flight and there was no solution. We again had to pay fine. We realised that all this was a well planned scam to get hold of tourists. We gave a stinky feedback to Zoomcar. This is where India fails as a tourist destination. Being a citizen of India and just coming from a different region, we faced such problems, wonder how will a international traveller can travel hassle free in India. A very long way to go indeed...

At last we reached Delhi airport in time, only to realize our flight was delayed. Our flight back was delayed by 3hours. By the time we reached Bangalore we were dead tired.

Except for the drive back to Delhi and our experience with UP police, we had a great trip and memories carved in our brain on the richness and grandeur of Mughals.

Mauritius - A Paradise on Earth

Mauritius - A Paradise On Earth. This is one country which is blessed with abundant natural beauty. It has beautiful beaches with white sand that are very clean, pristine blue coloured waters which makes one just keep staring at them, the lush sugarcane farms – wherever the eyes can scan, the adventure activities (swim with dolphins, snorkeling, diving, water skiing, sea walk, submarine ride...) will make every one forget their age and ofcourse nothing can beat the beautiful lush green hikes at Black River gorges, the water falls and the trek to Le Morne. A minimum of one week is required to get a glimpse of this beautiful country.

Private Beach at our Villa

For us, the debate was on whether we should do Nepal or Mauritius. Once we looked at the various activities that would make it a fun family trip - Mauritius won hands down. Once the destination was selected, next was accommodation. There are different options to choose from - resorts, hotels, vacation home, vacation beach villas, guest houses etc. Searching on the internet was overwhelming. Hence we got a lonely planet book. This really helped us to decide which part of the country to stay. Though we were ready with all the details, we could not finalize our bookings early. Shree's grade X class dates were not out yet and we could not do any booking until the dates were finalized. We did our booking only by Mid March and the vacation was finalized for April 14 – 20, 2015. Air Mauritius provides the best travel option – both from number of stops, hours of journey and overall time convenience. The onward journey was for 8 hrs (starts at 5AM from Bangalore and reaches Mauritius at 12PM) and return was 5 1/2 hours (Starts at 9PM from Mauritius and reaches Bangalore at 4:15AM – the next day).

Sunset - Les Lataniers Bleus

We wanted a peaceful vacation, hence went in for a Vacation Home - Beach Villa in Tamarin, West Coast of Mauritius. Les Lataniers Bleus was the chosen place (http://www.leslataniersbleus.com/). They have 3 villas and we booked the entire "Villa Filaos". This is the best villa as it opens into the private beach. The entire villa comes with a Hall, Dining, 2 bedrooms, 2 equipped kitchen and huge sit out facing the beach. The location is superb - nothing can beat it. Lots of room for the entire family.

Day 1 – April 14th 

Villa Filaos - Les Lataniers Bleus

We reached Mauritius at 12:30PM. We had to wait for few minutes at the airport before the OLA Car Rental person could deliver the car to us. We had booked an economic car and we were given Toyota ALS. We put all the luggage, set the GPS to Les Lataniers Bleus and off we went. The roads are great, not much traffic compared to Bangalore and people adhere to traffic rules. It is left hand drive (same as India). The biggest difference was the use of “Round About”. We had earlier experienced them in UAE, but there we weren't driving. Mauritius has round-about everywhere. I guess with the amount of traffic they have, round-abouts work better than signals. Don't know when India will adopt any of such cool features and bring some traffic semblance.

It was about 1 1/2 hour drive from airport to our villa. The drive was beautiful. Mauritius is full of sugarcane farms. It is unimaginable – the lush green sugarcane farms are everywhere. All through the drive, it was the sugarcane farms, green mountains and blue water of the Indian Ocean. What a mesmerizing experience! On the way we stopped at Mc Donalds for some quick bites and straight to the Beach Villa. By the time we checked-in, it was 4PM and our villa was very inviting. Villa Filoas of Les Lataniers Bleus is bang on the beach and is huge. The attendants showed us around as Josette (the owner) was out. We unpacked and freshen up and headed straight to the beach. The water here is very shallow. We got to know that the depth of water is different at different times of the day and depends on tide. The beach was quiet and clean and we were the only people at the beach apart from a couple of people who were guests at Les Lataniers Blues. We played in the waters until the sunset. This actually became almost an everyday affair. After sunset we had an early dinner. The stay included bed and breakfast. Dinner was optional. We had requested dinner only for the 1st day. The dinner here is a community dinner where all the guests gather for a drink and dinner at a common dining area. Apart from us there were 2 ladies from Switzerland. This is the best part of home stays where we get to meet and talk to other guests and in the process we get to know a lot of information about other countries and their cultures. Josette does a good job on making everybody comfortable and she can discuss on any topic. The option for Vegetarians are few. Nothing exotic for dinner. However for non-vegetarians it was a feast. I wish I ate meat :(. Oliver (Josette's husband) gave a nice drink – rum and sugarcane juice. It was epic. We also had some cheese samosas. Dinner was Shu-Shu salad and some rice and curry. The meal ended with a nice dessert of Caramelized Banana with Vanilla Ice Cream. Shrishti was very tired and slept on the sofa half way through the dinner. It was a long day and we crashed after dinner.

Day 2 – Apr 15th

Eureka

Day starts and ends very early here. We were up by 7am, had our tea and went for a walk on the beach. The kids were still sleeping though. Breakfast is served from 8AM – 10AM and tables are set on the beach adjoining the garden. This used be our best time. Breakfast typically included – fresh fruit juices, fresh fruits, different types of yogurts, fresh baked bread, muffins, cakes, pan cakes, fresh home-made jams (there was guava, banana, passion fruit etc). We enjoyed our breakfast watching the different boats on the sea and different birds in the garden. Breakfast on the beach was one of the best parts of the stay. We really loved it!

After breakfast we drove to Eureka. This is a colonial building, built in 1870s and is now converted into a small museum. The building has a beautiful backdrop of a mountain. It has a small museum, but very well kept. The lady at the reception also doubled up as a guide and explained to us the history and the artefacts in the museum. The kitchen was very similar to the kitchens in India. A small trail about 1KMs leads to a waterfalls. The falls was pretty good. Eureka also has a restaurant which serves very good dishes of local cuisine - Carole and Mauritian. It wasn't lunch time for us, hence we decided to eat at the next stop – L' Aventure Du Sucre.

L' Aventure Du Sucre (http://www.aventuredusucre.com/en) is about 20 min from Eureka and is an old sugarcane factory (established in 1875) which has been now converted to a Museum. This is definitely a must visit place at Mauritius. It has beautiful landscapes and also a very good restaurant. We first had lunch at the restaurant. There is lot of open space with lots of trees and well maintained lawns around the restaurant. It was raining and this added to the beauty. We had a relaxed lunch. There was limited Veg options as they were setting up the venue for an evening party and hence the lunch menu was kept very limited. After lunch we went to check out the museum. It will take a minimum of 1-1 1/2 hour to check out the museum. Since an old sugar factory has been converted as museum, one can see the boilers, crushers, filters etc. At the end of the museum, one gets to tastes different kinds of Rum and also 12 types of Sugar. This was an amazing experience. We had no clue that there could be 12 varieties of Sugar and each has it's own taste and purpose. Just be careful with the Rum tasting though.  They have some awesome flavours, and one can go overboard :) Unlike other drinks, Rum kicks in after some hours and it can be really strong...

Giant Lilies at SSR Botanical Garden

From here we went to Sri Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden (Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden). This is a must visit place and please take a guide. Otherwise it will be like visiting any other garden around the corner. They have wide variety of Palm Trees, huge lily ponds, giant tortoises and some rare spices. Definitely worth the visit. You will need atleast 2 hours to explore this garden. Eureka, L'Adventure Du Surce and SSR Botanical Garden are all in the same area (very close to each other) and can be easily covered in a day.

After this we headed back to our villa. If one is not staying in North Mauritius, then it is best to get out of Port Loius before 5PM as the traffic is at it's peak between 5-7PM and getting in and out of Port Louis can be very tough. We reached our villa by 5:45PM and immediately got into the water. It is very relaxing to watch the sunset on a low tide beach. By now, the Rum had kicked in :). We just had some maggi noodles for dinner and slept early.

Day 3 – April 16th 

Giant Tortoise @ La Venille

First place was to visit “La Venille” (http://www.lavanille-reserve.com/index.php/en/). There are 2 routes from the place we stayed. One of the route is “The Scenic” route. Can't find enough words to describe this beautiful route. This route runs along the south-west coast. On one side is emerald-blue sea and on the other side of the highway is lush green mountains. In between there are short routes full of teak wood tress, followed by sugarcane plantations. The route is just mind blowing. We did not feel like blinking our eyes – what if we miss something. And to add to this, not a soul on the highway. This route was as epic as the route from Khardungla – Nubra Valley in Leh Ladak.

We reached La Venille around 10:30AM. This is a park famous of Giant Tortoises (you can feed the tortoises) and it is also the breeding centre, there are a lot of crocodiles, the insect museum is beautiful – didn't know there were these many colourful insects and some of the rare species found in Mauritius like the fruit eating bats. Other important point to note is – the restaurant at the park called “La Crocodile” serves “Crocodile Meat” as a delicacy. Pankaj had a crocodile meat burger. He said it was ok and not that great. Anyways for people like me (who are vegetarians) there is no difference.

The giant tortoises were really huge and were many in number. We had a great time feeding them and posing with them for some pics. The breeding centre was very informative. The insect museum is a must. The collection is very colourful and varied. 

Kids Snorkeling @ Blue Bay Marine Park

From here we went to the Blue Bay Marine Park. This is a public beach famous for corals. There are glass bottom boat rides which take the tourists to the corals and we can snorkel to get a close look at the corals and marine life. Unlike the private beaches, there was huge crowd here as it's a public beach. We booked our glass bottom boat ride which was leaving immediately (TOTO agency – there are quite a few agencies providing the service who all have a make-shift shops on the beach). Luckily the boat rides limits the number of passengers. We got into the boat which was leaving and it had another group of 8 people. The corals are very close to the beach and the glass bottom gives a very clear view. The boat anchors at a point where there are a lot of corals and fishes and then whoever is interested can wear the snorkeling gear (provided by the agency) and get into the water. Kids got into the water and had a gala time swimming in the ocean. This was their first snorkeling experience. They love it. Pankaj and I don't know to swim :( However Pankaj dared to get in with a life jacket and stayed close to the boat. I chickened out   :( The fear of water was too much for me to get in. I have promised myself to learn swimming. Hope - I will keep up my promise. We spent about an hour here and then headed back to the beach.

Since it was almost 5pm and it gets dark very early here, we decided to take the highway which runs along the airport and is busy (instead of the scenic route). By the time we reached our villa, the sun was just setting. Each evening the sunset was different. It was amazing to see the different hues. It was just magical!

Day 4 – April 17th

Swim with Dolphins

Today, we had to get up early as our first activity for the day was - “Swim with the Dolphins”. Prior booking is required for this. This activity is available only in the Tamarin area (west coast of Mauritius). Luckily we were staying in this area and the starting point for this activity was just a 500m from where we stayed. Yan, was the person who was taking us for this activity and he had confirmed he would be picking us up by 6:30AM and there he was on dot at 6:30AM. The Swiss friends who were staying at Le Lataier Blues were also joining for this activity. Yan picked all of us and we went to the Tamarin Water Sports Club (which was the starting point). Here we got into a speed boat and off we were into the ocean. We had hardly gone for 25 min (about 2-3Kms from the shore) and there Yan spotted 2 dolphins. Kids got ready in their snorkeling gear ready to jump into the ocean to swim with the dolphins. They were very excited. This activity is to be taken up only if one knows good swimming. Pankaj and I had to just sit and watch the dolphins from the boat while the kids jumped into the ocean on the signal from Yan. I hid my anxiety, didn't want to scare the kids from the activity. These are wild dolphins and they swim very fast. It is very difficult to spot them and once spotted it is more difficult to keep pace with them. The dolphins are also smart, they swim afloat for some time and then go deep and when they re-emerge they are far from where they were spotted earlier.

Soon Yan got a radio signal from his mate, that there is a huge group of dolphins (15-20) around 3Kms from where we were. Then soon all the boats were speeding in that direction. Within few minutes we reached the spot and there we see the huge group of dolphins. It was madness. As soon as they were seen, a signal from the guide and everybody jumps in. Shree and Shrishti had a once in life time experience. They were so excited and did not stop talking about how it felt, how the dolphins looked and how cool it was to swim alongside the dolphins. I really felt, I wish I could swim. After multiple rounds of swimming with dolphins, Yan took us to a spot which was very good for snorkelling to see the corals and beautiful fishes. From here we went to a beautiful spot where a small rock is in the ocean and the water around it is crystal clear and not very deep. One can jump here and swim around the rock. Shree was tired and she opted out. Shrishti jumped in with her gear and off she was swimming around the rock.

It was around 9:30AM and sky suddenly appeared grey and we could sense the rain coming. It was also time to return back to the shore. We just made it in time and then there was huge thunderstorm. The ocean and the mountains looked beautiful in the rain. We got back to the villa and had breakfast watching the downpour on the ocean. We could see few catamarans out there which had just started for a day trip. We pitted the passengers on them as the forecast was for heavy rains. 

7 Colored Earth @ Chamarel

After relaxing for some time, we planned to drive through the Black River Gorge National Park. This is one of the must visit places in Mauritius and is on the west coast. The rains made the drive through the national park even more beautiful. It was lush green everywhere, deep valleys on one side and the grey ocean (because of thunderstorm the ocean looked grey) on the other side. There are some points to visit in the National park like Chamarel Rum Factory, 7 coloured earth – this has a waterfalls and also some volcanic eruptions which are now visible as different colours, Alexander Water falls, George view point, Grand Shiva Temple and Grand Basin – A basin formed by the craters. All this can be completed in 5-6 hours. We planned to have lunch at Chamarel. Unfortunately there are very limited options for vegetarians. We went to a restaurant high recommended by Lonely Planet for Creole Veg Food, only to realize this means food which has meat with vegetables :( Glad the restaurant owner told us the details.

We had fresh sugarcane juice at George View Point. There are lot of berry trees along the roadside throughout the Black River Gorge. We saw lot of local people picking the berries. We were recommended not to visit the Black River Gorge on weekend as lot of local crowd visits this place on weekend and they also pick the berries. All the spots are worth visiting. If one has more time, then a hike through the national forest is also great. Since we had planned a trek to Le Morne the next day, we did not plan for any hike in the forest.

It was late (by Mauritian standards – though it was around 6:30PM) by the time we returned back. It was pitch dark and rain had just stopped. Next day early morning (5:30AM) we were supposed to leave for a trek to Le Morne and with the rains, we were wondering if we could make it. Luckily the forecast for next day was bright and sunny and our guide Yan (yes this is a different Yan) confirmed that the trek is ON.

Day 5 - April 18th

Yan is the only official guide in Mauritius who organizes trek to Le Morne (http://www.trekkingmauritius.com/). The trek needs to be planned and booked in advance as he does not organize the treks everyday. The last part of the trek is very difficult and requires one to literally climb using all the four limbs (hands and legs). The trek is not recommended for small children and old people. Le Morne has been declared as the UNESCO World Heritage site. Yan and his team will brief on the history of this site during the trek.

 

Views from Le Morne

The trek in itself is very adventurous and will take about 3-4 hours to climb up and return back. We started the trek around 6AM and were back by 9:30AM to the starting point. The trek requires one to be physically fit. We were recommended to go lite – only water and some mints/candies and that really helped. The trek starts off with a well laid path. The views are spectacular. I thought I was fit, but this trek really tested my fitness. Had it not been for Henri, I would have given up. Shree and Shrishti went ahead with the others in the group. I was the slow poke :) To add to this, something stung me on the thigh and this further slowed me. I was able to walk after few minutes of break but the pain continued for couple of days. After the 2nd milestone which is about 350m altitude, the trek gets difficult. At points we had use ropes to climb, for most part we were climbing the steep rock with all four limbs. The group had reached the summit with Yan. Pankaj, Henri and I were the last ones to reach the top. All the time I was wondering, how we would trek back on such rocky steep slopes. Shree and Shrishti were almost in tears when they saw us. They thought we would not make it. They were overwhelmed by the difficulty of the trek. By far this has been our toughest trek and we had no idea on the difficulty.

At the summit, Yan briefed us about the history, we took pictures and rested for some time. The views here are breath-taking! The colours of the ocean were spectacular. Experiencing the 360 degree view of the island, one tends to forget all the difficulties we went through. It was now time to return. Tips from Yan made the descend very easy. We had to just sit and slide with our hand firmly pressed. This really helped us. I used this tip the most. My pant was really in bad shape after the descend. After reaching the starting point, we could not believe we had actually completed this trek. This was one trek, which we will never forget in the years to come.

We were back in the villa by 10AM and were very hungry for breakfast. All of us were very tired and had a long quite breakfast by the beach. After a hot bath we were fresh and recharged, and were all ready to explore more of Mauritius.

We decided to visit Port Louis and checkout the capital city. We parked our car at La Caudan Water Front and went straight to the food court to grab some quick lunch. From here our first stop was Blue Penny Museum which is bang opposite the food court. The museum is pretty small but very informative and well maintained. Here we saw the various ship models of France, British and some middle-eastern ships and the various routes they took. The key exhibit here is the first Penny Stamp which is blue in colour – known as Blue Penny Stamp. To save the original colours of the stamp, the lights to view this stamp are lit only for 10min every hour (check their website for the timings). We were just finishing our visit when the lights came on.

From here we went shopping at Craft Market and MAST. We bought a small ship model at MAST. They have some beautiful ship models here – wish we had a huge house to keep a big model. We then picked some Gelatos at the food court and enjoyed at the waterfront.

Day 6 – April 19th

Our day used to start pretty early in Mauritius. This could be because we would sleep early. Today the tide was very low. We could walk about a kilometre into the ocean with water below our knees. We took advantage of the low tide and started walking into the ocean. It was fun. We collected lot of shells, saw some fishes and crabs and also saw a small sea snake.

After breakfast we drove to Port Louis for “Submarine Ride”. Blue Safari at Grand Baie (http://www.blue-safari.com/en) is the only agency who organized Submarine Ride. The ride itself is expensive, but it is worth the money. The experience is worth every penny. Earlier we were planning to do the sea-walk too. But it seemed very scary to go down into the sea. Hence skipped the plan.

Lush Green Sugarcane Farms

 
We reached Blue Safari office and took the ferry to the main submarine. We were all very excited. We were guided into the submarine. Because of a technical issue (there was very tiny leakage), the captain decided it was not safe to go into the water. We came back to office disappointed. Luckily we had another day at Mauritius and we had no major activities planned. Our ride was re-scheduled to next day. There were few tourists who were given a refund as they were either leaving Mauritius on the same day or had other activities planned. This was lesson for us – anytime in future such activities should never be planned on the last day of vacation.

Grand Baie is known for water sports and lot of cool cafes. We had our lunch at “Cafe 1974”. Lovely joint very close to the public beach. Food was really delicious. Since we had lot of time, after lunch we visited “Chateau Labourdonnais” (http://chateaulabourdonnais.com/en/). This is a beautiful Chateau amidst fruit orchards. The chateau is very well maintained. At the end of the tour they had some rum tasting. We got to taste some awesome RUM. They had different flavoured Rum. We liked it so much, we ended up buying few bottles at Mauritius Airport – duty free :)

Chateau Labourdonnais

From here we visited Apravasi Ghat,which is right opposite the La Caudan Waterfront. This is the place where all the bounded labourers and immigrants entered this island. Apravasi Ghat has a very informative museum. Unfortunately we were not aware of this as it has opened up only few months back. We reached the place just few minutes before closing. However on request, the officials there allowed us to explore the museum. We are very thankful to them. If it was not for them, we would have missed a wonderful museum and all the details it provided. Most touching part of the museum was the place where the immigrants had to stay before they could get the clearance/visa to work on the island. The immigrants (90% of whom where Indians) had to go through lot of hardship.

After spending some time here, we went back to the waterfront for some frozen yogurts. It was a Sunday and there was some cultural activities on at the Waterfront and the theme was Indian. We enjoyed our frozen yogurts and drove back to the Villa.

Day 7 – April 20th

Our earlier plan was to visit Chelsa a newly opened theme park which was very close the place we stayed and then go to the airport directly. But since our submarine ride was postponed to today, we rescheduled our plan. We were staying in south-west, submarine ride was in the North and airport was in the South-East. So the best deal was to check-out after breakfast, drive to the North, finish with the submarine ride, have lunch at Grand Baie, drive south and check out some places around the airport.

After breakfast we settled our bill and bid goodbye to Josette. We drove straight to Grand Baie as our submarine ride was scheduled for 10:30AM. We reached Blue Safari office by 10:15AM. We were taken to the submarine boarding point. We hoped there would not be any issue today. Each of these submarines vessels can take up to 8 passengers and a captain. The vessel itself goes down 35 meters and the total trip would take about 2 hours of which 45min-1hr is under water. We were anticipating that we will experience sea sickness or some kind of nausea. But it was absolutely amazing. It was as good as sitting in a bus. The experience is great and worth the trip. We saw lot of fishes – colourful, we saw a turtle (which is very rare) and also a ship wreck. It was once in a life time experience. This is best way to explore marine life without out getting wet :) Ofcourse people who do scuba diving will not agree with me.

Inside Submarine

After the submarine ride, we were given some soft drinks before we were dropped by a boat to the blue safari office. It was an incredible experience and worth all the hardships. It was now time for lunch. We had lunch at a restaurant in Grand Baie. There are a lot of good cafes around Grand baie's public beach. We had a lazy lunch as we had lots of time to kill before we board our flight to Bangalore. After lunch we drove to Mahebourg. This is a sleepy beautiful village on the South East coast of Mauritius and very close to Mauritius. We spent some time at National History Museum. I would not say this as a must visit place. But if one has time, then it is worth a visit. The museum would take about an hour to explore. From here we walked around the market or Mahebourg. Apparently Monday is supposed to be a market day at Mahebourg. We did not find the market day any different from the market day in Bangalore. We also tried some local snacks, which are very similar to Indian snacks, but with a Mauritian touch. We did not want to spend more time at airport, hence we went to Blue Bay Marine beach. We thought we will watch the sunset and then go to the airport. However we missed the information that Blue Bay Marine beach is on the east coast and there will be no sunset. We had some cheese samosas at the beach and spent about 1 hour reading books. Its weird - when you are all set to return, you don't feel like doing anything. Your mind is already in the mood to go back home and all the thoughts revolve around things/tasks at Home.

After the sunset time, we started our drive back to the airport. We stopped to fill gas as we were supposed to fill the tank half full and then return the car. The car agency person was waiting at the designated spot. We returned the car and got into the airport. Our return flight was with Air Mauritius and was for 5 1/2 hours. We had a good flight and returned home with lots of amazing experiences and memories of Mauritius – Truly the Paradise on Earth.

London 

Never imagined, I would be visiting London. Like Paris, London has a lot of history and no better place to get to know this better than the Museums. London is a city of Museums. There are a lots of museums, very well maintained and up to date and best part is all most all are free and with easy access by Tube (underground rail system of London).

We planned our stay in a service apartment. London has certain strict policies on stay. Hotel/Service apartments are very strict on how many beds/bedrooms you can book based on the size of the family. Since we were 2 Adults and 2 kids, we had to minimum book at 2 bedroom service apartment. Also while booking, we ensured the place is within city limits and closer to a tube station. This saved a lot of time and money and we also had easy access to super markets, places to eat etc.

We had booked our service apartment with Chelsea Cloisters, few min walk from south Kensington - tube station. This was a professional/business service apartment. This was recommended by my cousin, who has stayed her for couple of months when she was travelling on business.

After spending 9 days in Paris, where there was a dread for English Language, felt great that we could communicate to people in English and could easily shop and place an order in the restaurant. We traveled from Paris to London by Euro Star. We had started from Paris in the morning and we were in our London Service apartment by lunch time. We checked-in and stepped out as we weren't tired at all. Had a good Italian food at a small joint close to Kensington station. How much ever we try to convince ourselves not to do currency conversion - it is just inevitable :( Eating out in London is pretty expensive.

After lunch, we walk to the Kensignton station, and purchased the tube pass for the family. It is best to buy the pass based on the duration of the stay. From here we walked to National History Museum (this is right behind the tube station).

Fri 11th May 2012

Museum of Natural History

Museum of Natural History

This museum is a huge stone building and very kids friendly. Entry is free. Atleast 4-5 hours is required to cover the important sections in the museum. Such places are filled with so much of information and in so many ways - even if you just glance through each section, you would have gathered much more knowledge than any book can provide.

Victoria and Albert Museum, is 0.2 miles from Natural History Museum

This is another huge museum and very close to Museum of Natural History. We did not spend much time here. We were a little tired. There was an exhibition of Royal Gowns at the museum. This showcased the richness of royal family. It was superb. From here we walked back to our service apartment and called it end of the day.

Sat 12th May 2012

British Library

This is a must visit. It is s huge library and very old. During our visit, there was an exhibition of ancient scripts - some of them very very old. This library is almost like a museum. We spent about an hour and then took tube to

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace

This is definitely worth visiting. It is a whole day trip and must visit. There are trains from Waterloo station and it would take about 30-45 min. Get down at Hampton Court Place station and it is a short walk to the place. Entrance to the palace is covered by London Pass. 

This palace is built of stone and is huge. The palace is surrounded by huge gardens which are very well maintained. Don't miss the maze in the garden - kids will love it.There are lot of activities, exhibitions running at any point. These will keep changing from time-to-time. You can get a broucher at the entrance and then plan your day. The palace also has a good cafe. It gets crowded at lunch time and could increase your wait time. It is better to plan the lunch slightly earlier if you don't want to waste time waiting for a table. If you have seen Bangalore Palace, you will realize how much influence the Tudor style has on it architecture. More details http://www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/

We spent the whole day at this palace. By the time we reached our room, it was late evening.

Sun 13th May 2012

We had planned for an entire day at Greenwich. There are lot of attractions here and an entire day can be spent. This to see are

• Greenwich park
• Astronomy Center (must see)
• Planetarium 
• Royal Observatory (must see. Even now, every day at 1pm, red time ball at Royal Observatory continues to drop) 
• Flamstead house and Meridian Courtyard
• Queen's house
• Maritime museum

Mon 14th May 2012

 St Paul’s Cathedral

A must see. The visit will take about 2 hours. There are about 250 steps to reach the dome and it is worth climbing these steps. Best is to reach the cathedral as early as possible, so that you can beat the queue if you wish to climb to the dome. The views are fantastic. Timings are form 8:30 AM to 4:30pm and it is closed on Sunday. The architecture of the cathedral is beautiful. The painting on the dome are magnificent.

Monument (0.6 miles from St. Pauls, can walk)

Next we walked to the monument, which is about 0.6 miles from St. Pauls cathedral. We explored it from outside. we skipped climbing 300+ steps to the top. This was covered by London pass

London Bridge Experience (0.4 miles from monument)

We saw ads to this everywhere and many travel portals also mentioned this as must see for kids. Trusting all this, we decided to visit this place. The kids however were very skeptical from the time we entered the place and waiting in the queue. It was very spooky. We kept telling kids, it will be ok. However as soon as we entered, the kids were very scared. The whole experience is not meant for kids and can leave them shattered for long time. We requested to staff to show us the first possible exit. The kids were really scared. I don't think this place should be visited by kids below 15 years and if you are a person who does not like spooky, haunted experience - please avoid this.

Tower of London 

Must see place. This place is about 2 miles from St. Paul’s Cathedral. This was covered by London Pass. This will take 3-4 hours to see the entire place. Tower of London is right across river Thames. The whole place is built of stone and can be easily spotted. Must see places here are The Crown Jewels - which has the exhibits of all the royal jewels including the Kohinoor diamond, the Tower Torture, White Tower and Medieval Palace. More details http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/ 

Tower Bridge

Opening of Bridge - Tower Bridge

from Tower of London, we walked to Tower Bridge. We waited to see the bridge open and worth the experience. Opening of Bridge to let the ships through may not be everyday. You will need to check the schedule and plan your visit. The schedules are on display in many resturants, supermarkets and also on the web. Visit to the Tower Bridge museum is also good. We got to see the working of hydrolic pumps and how the engines work.

Tue 15th May 2012

Shakespeare’s globe

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/exhibition

Good tour, if you are interested in the history. Guides will take you on a tour of the iconic Globe Theatre, bringing the space to life with colourful stories of the 1599 Globe, of the reconstruction process in the 1990s, and of how the ‘wooden O’ works today as an imaginative and experimental theatrical space.

Tours begin every 30 minutes, and are in English.

Kensington Palace

This Covered by London Pass. Everyday 10am to 6:00pm. It would take an hour to cover the palace.

http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/

Hyde Park/Kensington gardens

If you get time nice place to visit this park. 

Later in the evening we went to the city to check out if there were tickets available for the Lion King Musical. We bought 4 tickets (which costed us a bomb) and enjoyed the musical. This is something which should not be missed in London. It was mind blowing and icing on the cake was it was Lion King Musical - which is our all time favorite. The whole experience was amazing and the kids were awed as this was their first musical experience.

Wed 16th May 2012

Parliament Building

Queen’s Gallery @ Buckingham Palace

This is covered by London pass. 10am to 5:30pm. 10 to 11 finish this. Then go to change of guard @ 11:30

Change of Royal Guard @ 11:30am

This is more for been there - done it. There is lot of crowd to see the parade. It is worth a watch.

Royal Mews @ Buckingham Palace

This is covered by London pass. 10am to 5pm.

West Minister Abbey

A must see. It is beautiful and has lot of interesting stuff. It requires atleast 3-4 hours to see the whole place. This is covered  by  London pass.  9:30am to 7pm (last entry 6pm)

Big Ben and Parliament buildings

Tourists aren't allowed inside. It can be seen from outside. You can see it while walking towards West Minister Abbey.

London Eye/Thames River Cruise

We skipped the London Eye as we had got a good view of London from the top of St. Pauls Church. We  however took the cruise on Thames River. The cruise was relaxing as we had been on our foot for the whole day.

Free all day hop-on-hop-off ticket - The Red Rover Ticket
Normal ticket price: Adult: £13.50 Child: £6.50

From London Eye, the last boat is at 18:55.

Thu 17th May 2012

British Museum

This museum is free. Actually all museums in London are free. This is huge and would require atleast a day to do justice Free. 10am to 5:30pm.

Harry Potter Studio Tour

Harry Potter Studio

Must see for Harry Potter Fans.  http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/en/your-visit/getting-here

Remember you cannot buy tickets at the attraction. All tickets must be bought in advance. 

Plan to arrive at the Studio Tour 20 minutes before your tour time. If you have an email booking confirmation you will need to pick up your tickets from the kiosks outside of the attraction.

The tour is estimated to take approximately three hours, however, as the tour is mostly self guided, you are free to explore the attraction at your own pace.

Fri 18th May 2012

Science Museum

Must see if you are travelling with kids. Minimum of one full day is required to explore. Check out for the special events and plan accordingly.

Everyday 10am to 6:00pm

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Trafalgar Square and National Gallery

In the evening we visited the Trafalgar Square. Nothing much to see here, except it is landmark and right across this is the National Gallery. Most of these buildings are a monument in itself. We skipped going into the National Gallery as we were pretty tired. By now we were exhausted with lots of information across different museums. Europe has lot of history and best part is they have been successful in preserving it and making it interesting for tourists to visit and appreciate it.

Sat 19th May 2012

 Oxford

Oxford Campus

Visit to London is incomplete without a visit to one of the prestigious universities. According to me, a visit to either Oxford or Cambridge should be included in everybody's itenanry. Given enough time, we would have visited both. But since we had only one more day, we planned to visit Oxford.

There are trains available for Oxford (and this is the best mode to travel). It takes about an hour from downtown London.Travel Card does not work for the Oxford train. You can use it to get to the station in London to board the Oxford train. Minimum of one full day is required to cover the campus. Once we reached oxford, we choose to go with the hop-on-hop-off bus facility for the oxford tour. This option is best as the tour covers all the important landmarks and also the audio guide on the bus helps identify important monuments, buildings and events.

The visit here brings lot of inspiration - hopefully the kids will get inspired and strive to study in such universities.

Sun 20th May 2012

It was time to pack our bags and bid good bye. It was a wonderful trip and every moment cherished. We were also looking forward to getting back home to some indian spicy-tangy food - especially Rasam/Rice. We did carry a lot of MTR read to eat packets, gongura pickle, rice, noodles and soups. But nothing like a full meal at home. It felt good to be back after almost 20 days of trip.