Enchanting Dubai

Dubai is one of those countries, which has proven that they can mark their presence on the world map, even if they have no or limited natural resources. This country has proven nothing is impossible for human beings. Everything here is extravagant. If you are visiting from a developing country, you will be shocked with almost everything. From the point one lands at Dubai airport until you board your return flight, you will be amazed and dazzled by everything you see and experience in Dubai. It is truly a global country in every sense.

After lot of sepculations on whether we should go to Dubai in April or not, we decided to go for a to Dubai. Our trip to Dubai was planned for a week. Nov-Feb is considered the best time to visit this country. However it is still OK until mid-May as everything is air-conditioned. Because of the school holidays, we had no option but to plan ours in April. It was a good time. Did not find it as hot as we thought it would be. We had booked a service apartment at Winchester Deluxe Apartment – BUR Dubai and also a cab at our disposal for our entire stay.

There are a lot of Indians and Pakistanis than the local emirates. There are hardly any old people. We later got to know that non-emirates are not allowed to get citizenship in Dubai. So people from other countries can come here, work, earn money and return back to their home land. Government has provided lot of facilities to the local emirates, so that they can thrive. For our trip to Abu-Dhabi, we had an Emirati who had come as a driver (actually he was the owner of the tour agency and since the driver had not turned up, he had come). A very rich man and seemed to have lot of contacts around. He gave us a lot of insights into Dubai and Emirati’s life. At the end of the journey, got to know he had studied his high school from Islamiya High School Belgaum. That was a great connection. Now how he came to Dubai and became an Emirate is something to ponder upon.

As the plane was landing we got a bird’s eye view of Dubai. From top, we could see the golden sand of the desert, blue waters and as the plane further descended, we saw the skyscrapers and huge network of roadlines/highways. Then we experienced the airport, which is pretty huge and well maintained. The taxis here are all huge top class vehicles either Mercedes, Toyota or Land Rovers. As our cab moved on to the highway, we saw many more high brand cars – Ferrari’s , Lamborghini’s, Audi’s, Bugatti's and list is endless. Until we reached our service apartment, we were speechless – all of us were just checking the view outside. We had seen other first world countries, but this was different.

Dubai

Tips for Dubai

• Best time Nov-Feb. However it is ok until mid-May
• If traveling with small kids, book a service apartment
• Book the Desert Safari in advance
• If visiting Burj-Khalifa, then book the tickets online in advance
• For Dolphin show, book the tickets online in advance
• Burj-Al-Arab can be visited only if you dine/stay with them. Check-out the website, make reservations in advance. They have a formal dress-code for some restaurants.
• You may get cheaper rates, if you book with tours directly in Duabi. However this is risky if you don’t know anyone in Dubai
• Veg. Food will not be a problem
• If visiting mosques, you will need to wear fully cover hands and legs (especially women) and also cover the head with a scarf.

Sat - 13th April

It was lunch time by the time we reached our service apartment. We had our lunch, relaxed and went to visit Dubai Museum. It is always a good idea to start the holiday with a visit to museum (especially if it is another country or a place which is completely new to you) as this would give an idea on the history and development of a place. Dubai museum is comparatively small and can be covered in an 1 – 1 ½ hour. The museum is like a small fort and is well maintained.

After this, we walked to Grand Mosque - we could not go inside though. At the backside of this mosque there is a temple. We felt as if we were in India. There are more Indians in Dubai than the local Emirates.

The Creek is right behind this mosque. It is here the Dhow-Cruise start in the late evening. Lot of colorfully lit and decorated boats are available on the creek for cruise. These are typically dinner cruises, with good music and local cultural activities on-board. It is recommended to book the table in advance. The cruise starts around 7:30 PM and ends by 9PM. We could see the lit city from the cruise. The music and local Arabic Tandoori dance on-board was mind boggling. In this dance form a man keeps rotating continuously doing some actions. The attire of the dancer is also very colorful and full of light bulbs. It looks very beautiful in the night. The food is a buffet and not that great. But the whole atmosphere is good and the food does not matter in the end. We had a great evening. The cruise also can get noisy, if the fellow tourists are not sensitive. If possible try booking a table based on preferred location. We missed doing this and had some noisy tourists around, which initially bothered us.

Arabic Tandoori Dance on Dhow Cruise

Sun – 14^th April

Sunday we drove to Al Ain. This is about 150Kms and can be reached in 2 hours from Dubai. The roads were amazing and within no time we were in Al Ain. One interesting point we noticed was that all buildings were in the color of different shades of sand. Nothing much to see or do in Al Ain. We visited the highest point – Jebel Hafeet Mountain in Al Ain. The famous car race in the Bollywood movie "Race" was shot here. The view from here is magnificent. We could see the vastness of desert from here. From here we went to Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum. The museum looks like a fort. The house of Sheikh Zayed is converted to museum. We explored the museum. This is first time we experienced the real heat of Dubai. Museum requires walking through the gardens and lanes which are not under cooler and the afternoon heat is really hot. From here we went to see the Oasis. This was beautiful. Hundreds of date palms. We could see how the water canals were built to water the palms.

View from Jebel Hafeet Mountain in Al Ain

Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum

Walk through the Oasis

We were back in Dubai by 6PM. There are a lot of good restaurants by the Creek. We had our dinner enjoying the cool breeze by the Creek

Mon – 15^th April

We had booked the tickets for the Dolphin Show for 11AM. It is recommended to book the tickets online. There are some discounts running for different show timings. The Dolphin show was amazing. Kids had great fun. After the show, we wanted to take the Cable Car ride. Unfortunately the cable car was not operational because of some technical problems. We spent the afternoon in the Children City. Shrishti took a pony ride in the park. Dolphin show, cable car ride and Children City are all in the same campus.

Desert Safari was planned for the evening. This is must when visiting Dubai. It is nothing less than an adventure ride in any theme park. It was super. There are sand dunes everywhere. We boarded a Huge Land Rovers and in no time we were surfing the golden sand dunes. During the Safari, the vehicle is accelerated highly to achieve high speeds in the sand. This makes the ride very thrilling. We were screaming all through. Our vehicle was parked halfway in the dunes so that the engine can cool. We explored the dunes and took pictures. It was a mesmerizing experience to see the sun set on the sand dunes and the dunes change their colors. Once the engine was cooled, we started the safari again.

Kids enjoying the sand dunes - Desert Safari

There is an interesting point of this safari. The desert safari area is in Sharjah. Since Sharjah is a conservative state, alcohol is not permitted here. Hence all tours complete the safari and then take the tourist to a border of Dubai where a beautiful place/restaurant (open air) is set up in the middle of the desert for the evening. This place has camel rides, Heena painting and other local arts. We had a fabulous dinner under the stars, enjoying the belly dance and Arabic Tandoori dance. Desert Safari followed by dinner was an unforgettable experience.

Tue – 16^th April

Jumeria Mosque has a guided tour starting at 9:45 AM (only one in the morning), which gives insight into the history of Islam and Dubai. It is recommended to book the tour in advance. We had booked our tour in advance and were at the mosque by 9:30 AM. The tour seemed to be famous – there was a big queue of tourists. The tour was informative and meant for tourists coming from western countries. We got lot of information – some seemed made up, some were genuine. The tour lasted for 2 hours.

After the tour, we just crossed the road and went to Jumeria Beach. A beautiful beach in Dubai. From here we could get a glimpse of Burj – Al- Arab and other famous buildings of Dubai. We had our reservations for lunch at Burj-Al-Arab’s signature restaurant “Al Mahara”. We spent some time at the beach, but could not do much as we were dressed in formals for the lunch and the mid-afternoon sun was very very hot.

View from Jumeria Beach

From here we went straight to Burj-Al-Arab. There is lot of security here. Visitor are allowed only if they have a reservation. They have dress codes for certain restaurants. Burj-Al-Arab is really beautiful and world class. The design and it’s location has added more glamour and beauty to it. Dubai really knows how to attract tourists and provide luxury – of course at a huge price. The interiors are lavishly done. Nothing seems cheap. While we were waiting at the lobby, we could see the cars of the top brands. Al-Mahara is Burj-Al-Arab’s signature restaurant for sea-food. They do have vegetarian dishes, but very few. We had no choice but to order the veg. dishes that were available. The restaurant is beautifully done. The restaurant is in the basement and has a huge aquarium which is actually the ocean below Burj-Al-Arab. The tables are layed around this circular aquarium. It is superb! We enjoyed the whole experience. 

Lunch @ Al Mahara - Burj-Al-Arab

After having a relaxed lunch, we went to Souk Madinat. This souk is next to Burj-Al-Arab. Souk’s are basically like local market – with series of shops selling different items. Dubai being the shopping capital, the whole definition of souk has been modernized. The souk’s theme provides a rustic view, however the shops setup sell all modern stuff. One can spend hours just window shopping in these souks. At one of the points in the souk, we also get a good view of Burj-Al-Arab.

In the late evening, we went to the Shindagha Hertiage and diving villages area which is close to the creek.

Wed – 17^th April

In the morning we visited the Mall of Emirates. This mall is famous for Ski-Dubai.

In the afternoon, we went to Dubai Mall. This mall is really huge and has shops of all international brands. We saw many world class cars here. There a lot of entrainment centers in the mall – aquarium, ice skating rink, kidzania, theme park etc. One can easily spend a day doing just window shopping. Right opposite to this mall is Souk-Al-Bahar and Burj-Khalifa – the tallest building in Dubai. The bridge which connects Dubai Mall and Souk-Al-Bahar, gives a good view of Burj-Khalifa. In the evening, at Dubai Mall there is a spectacular show of musical fountains. This is definitely worth seeing. It is good to book the tickets for Burj-Khalifa around sunset time. This will allow one to get the view of Dubai in day light, when Dubai is lit with thousands of lights after sunset and also the view of musical fountain. The view from top is fantastic. We could see the man-made beaches, the multi-lane highways, skyscrapers – it left us wondering how a landscape of a country change in a decade.

View from Bhurj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa in the evening

Musical Fountains at Dubai Mall

Thur – 18^th April

It was time to visit Abu-Dabhi, the richest state of UAE and the state which has the highest % of world’s petroleum. Abu-Dabhi can be covered as a day trip from Dubai. Must see places here are

Grand Mosque (Sheik Zayed Mosque)  - No words can describe this marble marvel. It is superb! A huge mosque, which can be seen from far. The white marble shines amazingly in the hot sun. Lots of money was spent in building this mosque. The inside of the mosque is carpeted wall-to-wall and is air-conditioned. The interesting fact of the white marble is – it does not get heated even in the heat of desert. We could walk without burning our feet (barefoot) from the main gate to the entrance of the mosque. We could feel the heat only if we stepped on a colored piece of the marble.

View from Highway - Sheikh Zayed Mosque

Interiors of the mosque

Emirates Palace – This is beautiful palace hotel built in red stone. Many Bollywood movies have been shot here. The palace is open to visitors. The entrance to the palace is very picturesque. There are beautiful fountains all around. Once we entered, the extravaganza was experienced everywhere. Nothing seems cheap or low-end. At the end of the hall there are huge carpets hung on the 2 walls. These are beautiful. .

Emirates Palace - Abu Dabhi

Ferrari world – We visited the Ferrari world more to get an experience. However we did not go to the theme park. Apparently the park has the longest and fastest roller coaster.  

In the evening we walked around the old city to experience the different markets – Gold, Spices, Perfumes etc. There is a walking trail which cover these areas. It is called the Heritage Walk is best done in the evening.  

After the Heritage walk, we had a refreshing dinner in an Arabian restaurant called Bastakiya Nights. This place is by the Creek and is open air. The ambiance reminds one of the Arabian nights. The food was excellent too.

Bastaquia Nights - Restaurant by the Creek 

Fri – 19^th April

We spent the day hopping from one mall to the other. We started at Time Square mall, experience the Chillout Lounge. This lounge provides an experience of below -5 degrees where it is freezing. All the necessary gears like jackets, shoes, gloves, warm cap etc. are provided. We drank hot-chocolate and left in 15 min. We could not sit longer as it is very cold.

Chillout Lounge @ Time Square Mall

From here we went yo Ibn – Batuta mall. We took the metro to this mall. This is little away from the city. The mall has 4 themes - Indian, Chinese, Persia and Egypt and is beautifully done. We spent couple of hours exploring this mall. From here we boarded the metro to a junction where we could take the mono-rail to Palm Atlantis. The ride on mono-rail is the best way to experience and view the Palm Atlantis. At Palm Atlantis we went to the Lost Chambers of Atlantis, explored the Palm Atlantis, did some window shopping. Sometime wonder who shops in such expensive places.

View of Palm Atlantis from Monorail ride

This was our last day at Dubai and we had captured lots of beautiful memories of this amazing city which has set an example to the world that “Nothing is Impossible”. The pace at which this city is growing and attracting tourists, it is going to add many more attractions and definitely going to get more tourists and wonders.

Wonder La

Wonder La - Only theme park close to Bangalore. One of those places where every child wants to go. I am not a fan of any rides, just hate the very thought of sitting on those scary rides, but enjoy spending the day in theme parks. The whole atmosphere is very lively and colorful. Visiting such places really brings back the child in every person.

This was one place which has been in the waiting list for some years now. I was postponing it because I wanted my younger daughter Shrishti to complete 8 years so that she can go on many of the rides. Atlast the time had come. We planned for a day trip to Wonder La with another family friend - Meera and Venki. It is best to visit theme parks with a big group and ofcourse nothing can beat if the each person has a company.

We (2 families - 8 members) started after breakfast and drove to Wonder La in 2 cars. Wonder La is about 1-2 hours drive from Bangalore. The park is very well organized. They also have a resort. Though the queue for the tickets was long, it was fast moving. In no time we got our entry tickets and we were walking in. All of us were excited. The kids has been desperately waiting to visit Wonder La.

Musical Fountain in the evening

We planned to finish all the dry rides before lunch and do the water rides in the afternoon. Wonder La can get very crowded on weekends and holidays. It is best to start early and finish all the best rides so that we don't spend more time in the queue. Though I am not a big fan of rides, but one gets motivated to do them when in a group. Some of the rides, i would not have done if it was not for the group :)

We had lunch and then got ready for the water rides. Water rides for fun and we played till our heart content. It was late evening and it was closing time for the park. On our way back, we had dinner at "Kamat Lokruchi" and drove back home.

Acres Wild - Coonor

Acres Wild - Coonor (http://www.acres-wild.com/) is a good option to have a relaxed break with family and friends. This farm is owned by Mansoor Khan (uncle of Aamir Khan and the famous director/producer of QSQT, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar etc). This farm has a small family run cheese factory with cottages for experiencing farm stay. At Acres wild farm there is a main house where Mansoor and his family lives. The whole farm is at multiple levels. Level 1 has a cottage (Cheddar Cottage) which can house 2 families (2 bedroom, kitchen and hall), level 2 has the main house of Mansoor and the dining area for guests, level 3 has one cottage with a single room (Colby cottage) , another cottage Haloumi Cottage which can host 2 families, has 2 bedrooms, hall and kitchen. Haloumi has the best views. All cottages are secluded and provide complete privacy. This I found as major difference between a Farm stay and a Home Stay. The lunch is not included in the package. One can choose to go out and eat or cook in the farm. All the basic utensils and some tea powder, sugar, salt is provided in the kitchen. They also provide fresh milk from their farm.

Haloumi Cottage

The whole experience is very unique. This is not a place if you want to pack your day with lot of activities. The stay itself is for relaxing and having your personal time. The place is little far from Ooty, however if you are completely bored, then you can choose to do some sight seeing. The food is basic homely food and should not expect exotic dishes. The home made cheese at the farm's cheese factory, served at breakfast is yummy - sad they don't sell that cheese :(

The acres wild site is very well organized. One can see the availability of cottages for each date on the website itself. One needs to plan in advance. The cottages seem to booked perpetually. The number mentioned on the website is Mansoor's direct number. I was a little surprised. I did not expect Mansoor to answer when I called for booking. Unfortunately we could not meet him during our visit as he was travelling. We meet his wife Tina. They have been living here for a while now and completely enjoy it in Coonoor contrast to the hectic life of Mumbai. We spent some time chatting with Tina and she patiently answered all our questions.

Milking Activity

Since we had already done Ooty, we wanted to check out the calmer twin Coonoor and Acer's Wild Farm came as the best option. We booked both the rooms of Haloumi cottage as we were 2 families  - and this was perfect. Atleast 2N/3D is required to experience this place. We had booked the place for 2N/3D. Since the farm does not serve lunch (unless booked in advance), we stopped for lunch at Ooty and reached the farm around 4PM. The farm is around 5-6Kms from the Coonoor town and has super location. Once we reached here it felt like we were some where very far far away.

Acres Wild Cheese - Served at Breakfast

This place is for relaxing and one should not expect many activities. They do have some activities, but nothing major. Kids had fun milking and feeding the cows in the evening, in the morning we saw the cheese making process. The cheese factory is home run - small scale. It was good experience to see and understand the process of Cheese making.

Trekking at Farm

Most of our mornings were spent in Trekking through the Farms tea gardens, reading books, playing games (board games, cards, badminton - please carry your own). Have a good break fast at the farm. The Acres Wild Cheese served with breakfast was very yummy - it just melts in the mouth. Afternoon was left to explore around the farm. Evenings were magical. We asked for camp fire, which was put up in front for our cottage. Since the cottages are spread across distances, you don't have to worry about disturbing others. We played music, danced, played games at camp fire. The moon lit sky with twinkling stars, music in the background and all the laughs and chatter was real fun. Icing on this was the barbecue and wine.  The best part was the Bose Bluetooth enabled music box which Deepa had got. It was perfect and made the experience more exciting. We also got some fresh vegetables from the local market and made grilled vegetables over the campfire.

Campfire

One view from Haloumi Cottage

One day we stepped out of the farm and went to see some local view points. The drive through the acres of tea gardens was beautiful. We also went to a couple of view points. One does not need to step out as the farm itself provides very good view points especially from Haloumi Cottage. If you carry some basic cooking needs like noodles, pastas, bread - one can easily spend few days with complete relaxation.

After spending two relaxed and fun filled days, we headed back to Bangalore. On our way back, we saw a huge herd of elephants crossing the road in Bandipur forest. We also saw many deers, monkeys and couple of peacocks.

Beach Resort - Goa and Eco Friendly Resort - Chorla Ghats

It’s end of the year – Christmas and New Year Time and what better place to have the vacation than in and around Goa. So it was - a trip to Goa and an eco-friendly resort in the midst of Chorla Ghats (between Goa and Belgaum). The route planned was – Bangalore -> Hubli ->Goa -> Cholra Ghats -> Belgaum -> Bangalore. We knew we would have lots of fun as Goa is full of colors and fun during the Christmas & New year’s time.

We started from Bangalore on Thursday 20^th Dec around 3:30PM after picking the kids from school. The plan was to reach Hubli and break at my cousin’s place for the night. We reached Hubli around 10PM. The road from Bangalore to Hubli is in pretty good condition. There are quite a few diversions until you cross Chittradurga. This can cause lot of irritation - especially if you are driving after the sunset. We reached my cousins place around 10:15PM. It was fun meeting her and her family after a long time.

Next morning was relaxed. Plan was to reach Goa by lunch time. Our booking in Goa was with Dwaraka Beach Resort (http://www.dwarkagoa.com/) – Goa for 2N/3D. We had breakfast at my cousin’s place and started to Goa. The road from Hubli to Goa is also pretty good. The route passes through lot of villages which are full of farms. Enroute we saw plenty of Tamarind trees and we stopped to pluck some fresh tamarind. We also spent some time in cotton farms. As usual, gave some gyan to kids on cotton buds, flowers, seeds etc.

Dwaraka Beach Resort - Fresh water Lagoon and the beach

We were very excited to go to Goa as this time we were planning to stay in a beach resort in Goa. Though we have visited Goa many times, it has been either day visits or staying in a relative’s house. Dwaraka Beach resort looked fabulous on their website and we sincerely hoped that the experience  also would be as fabulous as it looked on website.

Clean and Quite - Cola Beach

We reached  south-Goa around 1PM and called up the resort, as Google maps was not able to trace the resort and give us directions. The resort guys gave us directions up to a point where we could meet them. At our meeting point we were directed to follow them. This path was kuccha road and no way we would have made it on our own. We actually started wondering how can a resort exist here? But at the end of this 2-3KMs kuccha road, we had to park our car and walk few step and there it was - the most amazing view. A few cottages amidst the coconut trees next to fresh water stream flowing which forms a lagoon, followed by few feet of sand which is the beach and then the ocean. We were awed with the view we saw. An artificial bridge is built to cross the stream and go to the cottages. This resort operates only during the months of Nov – Apr. Every year, they dismantle the cottages in summer and put them up again in November.

Kids enjoying the swim in Lagoon

This resort is on Cola beach (South Goa). There are only 10-12 cottages which are placed quite away from each other. There are coconut trees all around. All cottages overlook the flowing stream, lagoon, beach and the sea. The resort has power supply only in the evenings which is generated by generators. The cottages are basic, but clean with attached bath and WC. There are hammocks around the cottages.

We checked in and headed straight for lunch. The dining area is overlooking the lagoon and beach. This was beautiful. We had a good lunch. One point to remember here – we need to specify what type of food especially if vegetarian. More options are available for non-vegetarian especially if you are sea-food lover. This place was full of foreign of tourist and people from all over the world were here. In fact we were the only Indians in this resort. After a tasty meal, I crashed on one of the hammocks under the coconut tree. I had never experience Goa to be so cool (I always remember it as humid, hot and sweating). This was awesome. I guess because of the fresh water stream and plenty of trees around , it was not at all hot/humid.

After a good nap, it was time to get into the waters. And we spent the next couple of days just doing that. We were either on the beach or in the lagoon. We had never spent so much time in the water. Since this resort is so remote, you don’t bother to get out of the resort. Apart from spending time on the beach and lagoon, we went trekking, walk along the beach, kayaking in the stream. There is also option for massage, yoga and day trips to spot dolphins.

Trek to top view

One pain point of playing on beach is you are full of sand. However here it was kind of fun. Spend as much time as you want on the beach and then just come out and dip/swim in the fresh water lagoon and you are all fresh and clean. The fresh water lagoon next to the beach was the best part. Since it is private beach, the only people on the beach were the tourists staying in the resort, which was few. We could peacefully sit and experience the sun setting and kids merrily playing in sand & water. As the sun set, the resort was lit with dim lights. The night sky was clear with twinkling stars and we could see few ships far away in the sea.

Simmering lights at the resort - sunset time

At night, there was camp fire put up on the beach with soft music playing in the background. The dinner was served. I guess we were the only ones who were vegetarian J  It was pretty cold in the night - we felt good gazing at the stars sitting around the camp fire and rough waves hitting the beach.

Camp fire by the beach

Next day morning, we took a long walk along the beach. We saw the point where the fresh water stream merged into the sea. We saw couple of more resort on the beach further down. After a long walk, we had a lazy breakfast. Each of us grabbed our favorite book and headed to the beach. The day was pretty much spent reading, playing on the beach, playing in the lagoon, kayaking, hammocking etc. The resort had arranged for a table with candle light for dinner and there was also a camp fire by the beach. We met a couple at the camp fire who happened to be actor and actress from Denmark.

Kayaking in the Lagoon

Next day morning, we went for a small trek. The views from top are good. One can see the long shores full of coconut trees. At the top it reminded me of a scene in the Hindi film “Dil Chahata Hai”, where the 3 guys sit on the fort wall facing the ocean. After the trek, it was breakfast and then time to start to our next destination “Swapnagandha Resorts” in Chorla Ghats.

Sunset view from Swapnagandha Resort - Chorla Ghats

“Swapnagandha” is an eco-friendly resort (branch of Wildernest http://www.wildernest-goa.com/) in the Chorla Ghats. Since we had already experienced Wildernest couple of years back, we had booked our stay with Swapnagandha to get different views. The activities and food is common for both Swapnagandha and Wildernest. However after the stay, realized that, the rooms are better in Wildernest. The rooms at Swapnagandha are next to each other and one can hear what is being spoken in the next room. The views however are great from Swapnagandha especially the rooms facing the Vajra falls.

Coracle ride - Chorla Falls

All the activities are at wildernest, it is better to stay there – especially if you have small children. The resorts have become very popular in the last couple of years and attract lot of crowd from Goa, Belgaum and Mahrashtra. The resort has wonderful location. The views are awesome and the food (which is north Karnataka- Maharashtra style is very tasty). 2N/3D is good to spend here. The resort offers many activities like trekking, bird watching, cruise on river Mandovi, Trek to Chorla Falls, folk dance by local villagers etc. All these activities are really fun and we thoroughly enjoyed them.  River Mandovi has many fresh water crocodiles and migratory birds. The best way to experience this is with the river cruise on river Mandovi. The cruise was for 2 hours and was fun.

Trek to Chorla Falls

Next day morning, we went for a trek to Chorla falls. This is about 1-1 ½ hour trek to the falls and easy (even the kids can do). The water at the falls was very cold. We did the coracle ride at the falls and this was a nice experience – fresh cold water spraying on you from a great height after a tiring trek. Kids love the never ending pool at Wildernest. The sunset from the pool is amazing. Best time to be in pool is around sunset.

Sunset at never ending pool - Wildernest

After spending 2N/3D in Swapnagandha, it was time to return. Before we headed to Belgaum, we wanted to visit Fort Auguda in Goa - as we had read a lot about this fort and also we had some time in our hands. After checking out, we went to Fort Auguada. We were quite disappointed with what we saw. I would anytime vote for BeKkal fort near Mangalore over this fort. Fort Auguada is just hyped. It’s pretty small and is also over crowded. I did not find anything great to rev about. If one has lots of time and has nothing to do in Goa, you can visit this fort.

River cruise - Mandovi river

After fort Auguda it was time to head back to Belgaum to spend time with the family. We planned to leave to Bangalore the following day. On the way to Bangalore, we stopped at Kittur and were taken by surprise on what we saw. This is definitely a must visit place if you are driving on NH4 towards Belgaum. This is place has the Fort and Palace of Rani Channama (the great woman worrier of Karnataka). The fort has been renovated and has been made tourist friendly. We took help of a guide to know the place and its history better and he really did a good job. The ruins of Kittur fort and palace are very well maintained. There is also a small museum. One can easily spend 2-3 hours here. This was worth the stop over. From here it was straight to Bangalore and end of another beautiful holiday.

Rani Channama Palace & Fort - Kittur, Belgaum

Ladakh - Jewel In The Crown Of India

"The Jewel in the Crown of India" is an apt name for Ladakh. No words can describe the beauty of this place. It’s one of its kind in India. It is part of India, yet so different and unique. Spent a week in Leh, Ladakh and still feel, I haven't had enough of this place. The mountains, the snow, the rivers, the valleys, the pristine lakes, clear blue sky, the fall colors, the colorful and peaceful gompas, the people, the silence, no traffic, no pollution, ... there is so much to see and experience. At every moment on this trip, I felt why do I have only 2 eyes and so less time. So far this has been the best vacation of my life. Felt so peaceful and rejuvenated that we started questioning ourselves on why are we even living in Bangalore.



Clear Blue Sky - View from Leh Palace

A minimum of one week is required to get a glimpse of this region. There is huge diversity in the terrain. If you are into adventure, the options are endless. What you need is time and more time, and good health. Personally I had no clue about Ladakh, until the Bollywood movie "3 Idiots". From the time, I saw the song "Behathi Hawa sa tha wo...." and the last scene, I wanted to visit this place.

So at last this trip was planned for Oct 2nd week as the kids has their Dasheera vacations during this time. Anytime between June - mid October is good time to visit. The place gets quite crowded between July and September, because of international tourists. In hind sight, we realized that the best part of visiting in October was that all the places had very few tourists. We could sit in a place staring at the mountains, without having other tourists around us. I would not recommend taking kids (less than 12 years) if you are planning to visit only for a week. This is not a place for people suffering from asthama, high blood pressure or other breathing aliments. Almost all the places in Ladkah are at an altitude 13000 feet and above.



Mountains and Lake - Pangong Lake

We planned to drop our kids with their grandparents in Belgaum and take a flight from Goa. Our plan was to go by Train to Belgaum. Freshen up, take a bus to Goa, flight from Goa to Delhi and then another flight from Delhi to Leh. All tickets were booked. Our accommodation was booked in "Ladakh Sarai Resort" in Leh and they gave us a package which included accommodation, all meals, transport and permits. Everything was set. Since it was only me and Pankaj who were traveling, we did not do much planning. We thought let's go to Ladakh and then go with the flow.

Our train from Bangalore was to start at 9:15 PM and reach Belgaum at 8:45 PM. Because of some operational issue, the train was delayed. The train did not depart until 11:30 PM and we were worried that we would miss the flight from Goa. We planned to get back home and thought of driving to Belgaum so that we could be in time to at least catch the flight to Delhi. Luckily the train started at 11:45 PM - the first hurdle was crossed. Now the question was what time would the train reach Belgaum and would we have enough time to drop the kids and take a bus to Goa or should we just take a taxi. We said let’s have a peaceful sleep and based on what time we reach Hubli, and then take a call.




White Sand Dunes - Nubra



Snow all over - Khardung La

Its 8:30 in the morning and we have not reached Hubli yet :( We did some calculations and figured that even if the train reaches Belgaum by 1 PM, we could have lunch and take a taxi to Goa to make just in time for our Delhi flight at 8 PM. As calculated, we reached Belgaum at 1 PM, dropped the kids in my parents place, had quick lunch boarded the taxi and all set to Goa airport. We reached Goa airport by 6:30 PM. Checked-in our luggage, we were all set with security checks and getting ready to board, when an announcement was made that the flight is delayed and we now need to go to another Gate. The flight was further delayed and at last departed at 11:30 PM (3 1/2 hrs, delay from the scheduled time). Luckily our connecting flight to Leh was at 5:40 AM the next morning; else we would have missed that flight. This was too much to take in a single day. So far we never had so many hurdles during any of our trips. We boarded the Delhi flight and crashed, I don't recollect the flight taking off. We woke up to the sound of other passengers collecting their luggage and realized that we had already landed in Delhi and it was 2:30 AM. Our connecting flight to Leh was from Terminal 3 of IGI Airport. Wow! what an airport. It is world class. It is huge, very clean, well designed and well maintained. Felt like we were in the airport of some developed country.



On the way to Pangong Lake

Luckily, the flight to Leh was on time and this was a non-stop flight (about an 1hr 20m). I had heard so much about the views of different ranges one can see from the flight, did not want to miss any of this, hence kept myself awake though was feeling very tired and sleepy. The views were worth all the effort. It was spectacular. Did not feel like blinking the eyes for 1 second too. On one side we could see the ranges which are brown and desert like with no vegetation and on the other side there were snow-capped mountains. Leh airport is right in the middle of these 2 ranges. You get down from the aeroplane and all around you - you see mountains and more mountains of different sizes and colors. We were spell-bound, didn't even realize that it was freezing cold out there. Looking at the way I was appearing spell bound, the lady who was sitting next to me in the plane, asked me if this was my first visit to Ladakh. She gave us some tips on how we should keep ourselves hydrated, what we should for the first couple of days. She was a resident of Ladakh.

Leh airport is very small and has high security, as this is on the border of Pakistan and China. You can see the presence of army folks all over the place. It was freezing in the airport (it’s not well heated) and we could feel our breathing was not as easy as in the plains. While we were waiting for our baggage, our mouths started feeling very dry - first signs of dehydration. Luckily at several places in the airport they have provided hot and cold drinking water. We felt better after having a glass of warm water. We collected our luggage and boarded the taxi that was waiting to take us to resort "Ladakh Sarai".



Ladakh Sarai - Our Yurt

Ladakh Sarai resort (http://ladakhsarai.com/index.php) is one of its kind in Leh. They have 14 yurt-style bungalows (tents with attached bathroom), very well equipped and in one of the best locations. The views from the resort are superb - especially from yurts 8, 9 and 11. Each yurt has its own "Bukhari" - this is a small metal box with a chimney. Fire is lit into this box, and is used to keep the room warm. Solar heaters and boilers are used to provide hot water to the rooms which was available all through the day. Enough provision of blankets, hot water bags, are provided in every room. It's unbelievable as to how much of comfort is provided even at such a remote and small town. The food was very tasty and global too. Mr. Rigzin who owns this place is very friendly, up to date with current affairs and knows how to entertain his guests. We got to know from the manager that because they have so many international guests, the food is always a combination of international and desi cuisine. This is a superb place to spend a romantic vacation.



View from our yurt - Leh

Day 1 - After checking in we had a heavy breakfast and kept drinking plenty of warm water to avoid AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). Symptoms of AMS are headache, nausea, loss of appetite etc. One needs to drink plenty of water, take complete rest at least for 1 day and avoid any kind of excursion. Keeping this in mind, we went off to sleep after the breakfast. By lunch time we were feeling better. Small sightseeing was planned for the late afternoon. With our cameras (make sure you carry enough memory card. You will be surprised as to how many pictures you can take), water bottles and warm clothes, we set out to explore Leh.



Leh Palace

Our first visit was the Leh Palace. This is a beauty and pretty much can be spotted from anywhere in Leh market. The Palace was built in the 17th century. The name "palace", is associated with glamour, size and richness. This palace is different. It has seven floors and is made from mud and wood. It is built on the top of a hill. During our visit it was fall time. The views from the top of the palace were very beautiful and colorful. On one side we have snow peaked mountains, on the other there are ranges in brown color and around the palace, you see the trees in different fall colors. From the top, you can pretty much see the entire Leh town. You wonder, how small the town is, yet so beautiful and serene. You also see the Tsemo Gompa from here. Climb to this gompa will take at least 45 min - 1 hr. We did this short trek on our last day at Leh as we were fully acclimatized by then. One should not do any kind of trekking/climbing on the first 2 days. The trek to this gompa is worth the climb. This climb is usually given as a warm up session for trekkers who are planning for serious trekking. From Leh Palace, we went to Shanti Stupa. This is a must in the itinerary. Visit to this Stupa around sunset is very beautiful. The shades of sunset on the white stupa, look very beautiful. After the stupa, we visited the Leh Market. This is a good 30-40 min walk. We got to experience the local fruits and vegetables, tourist stalls, plenty of Tibetan shops, selling souvenirs. After Leh market, it was time to head back to the resort. It was getting cold and dark by 5:30 PM. We were back in the room, with bukhari lit, sipping hot masala tea.



Shanti Stupa - Leh

7 PM sharp, we got a call from the staff for dinner. Dinner is very interesting affair here. The resort has a very colorful Tibetan style dining area. Since the government supplied power is only between 6 PM -11 PM in Leh, the dining room was lit with candles as a backup. The candles also added a lot of color, charm and romance to the place. This was the time, where we met other fellow tourists staying in the resort. The dinner was elaborate with plenty of delicious options. Apart from the main course (which included both Indian and international dishes) soup and dessert was also served on all days for dinner. A bowl of hot soup on a cold night was just what we wanted. The sky outside looked amazing with tons of twinkling stars. We hardly get a chance to see such clear skies in the cities. Some of gompas which were lit far off could also be seen from the resort. After dinner, we were given hot ginger lime water and a hot water bag. Enough firewood was kept in the room to add to the bukhari to keep the fire going. Because of altitude, the sleep on first day was not very sound. However from day 2 we were able to sleep soundly. As advised, for first 2 days we planned to stay and visit places in Leh to avoid AMS.



Magnetic Hill - Leh

Day 2 - Our first stop was Magnetic hill. At this point, even when the car is static it starts moving. The reason why the vehicles move is because of the huge magnetic hill which is right opposite this point. It is not clear whether this is because of the magnetic power or because of optical illusion. However, it was good to see the car move on the uphill road though it was static. The terrain here is very barren. We did not see a tree, bush or even grass. Neither can we see any birds or animals. One can see just the barren land and huge mountains and then suddenly on crossing the magnetic hill, we see the Indus river flowing. Little further down there is a Sangam of Indus and Zanskar rivers. This is point worth visiting. Zanskar river has clear blue water and the water of Indus river is muddy. At the sangam, one can easily identify which is Indus and which is Zanskar.



Sangam - Indus and Zanskar river

We spent some time here and then headed to Alchi monastery. This monastery is from 11th century and is still maintained in good condition. This is one of the few monasteries where you don't have to climb steps to reach the gompa. Since this was almost end of tourist season, and start of winter, the gompas were closed. The monks opened the gompa when requested. After spending some time here, we headed to the Likir monastery. Most monasteries in ladakh are closed during lunch time 1-3 PM. By the time, we reached Likir, it was lunch time and the monastery was closed. We too took a break here for lunch. We carried packed lunch as there aren't options to eat out. It is good to carry enough water and food when heading out. Also make sure to carry enough cash and in the lower denomination like 10s, 20s, 50s, 100s. You will have very few shopkeepers who will accept 500 Rs note. Since there are only a couple of ATMs in Leh, there are longer queues. So it is recommended to carry cash when visiting Leh.



Alchi Monastery

We had our lunch and relaxed for some time. By this time the monks opened the monasteries. Likir has a huge statue of Avalokteshwar - Avatar of Buddha. From here, our next stop was Basgo palace which was built in the 15th century. The castle known as Basgo Rabtan Lhartsekhar is situated here on a hill of clay. There is a sacred copper-gilt image of the Buddha Maitreya -’Golden Maitreya,’ which is two storey in height. Basgo was once an important cultural and political center and is frequently mentioned in the Ladakhi stories. 

There are some amazing views from this place. After this our next stop was Pathar Sahib gurudwara and the Hall of Fame - a defense museum in memory of soldiers who lost their lives in different wars. Hall of Fame is a must visit. It gives insights in what kind of life the soldiers live while protecting the borders for us. One can get really emotional here.



Avaloketswera Statue - Likhir Monastery



Defense Museum - Leh

Basgo Castle



Khardung La

Day 3 - We packed our bags for a night stay in Nubra Valley, had our breakfast and set out. Little had we anticipated on how this journey would turn out to be. To reach Nubra, we had to cross the world's highest motor able road "Kardung La", which is about 18300 Feet above sea level. This is about 40 Kms from Leh. The road to Kardung La is pretty good. It was all dry and cold until we were about 15 Kms to Kardung La. After this, the whole world changed. We started seeing snow and after a few minutes’ drive, there was lot of snow on the road and surroundings. Our car (Innova) started skidding. At this point I was scared and was wondering what would happen if the car fell into the valley (which was very steep) , what will happen to kids and so on. We reached Kardung La. Our ears were popping, there was a feet of snow all around. At the top of the pass, boards are put to inform tourists not to stay here for more than 20 mins to avoid AMS. The views are worth the drive. No camera can do justice to capture what we see here. It gives us a feeling of how small and miniature human being is in comparison to these huge mountains. - sorts of puts life into perspective. At the top we spent about 10 min. There is a army camp, which serves free hot tea. This was very refreshing and much needed in the shivering cold. I wonder how army men stay and work at such high altitudes. My respect for them has increased multiple folds after this trip.






Snow at Khardung La Top

While we were busy checking out views and taking pictures with our shivering hands, our driver was busy putting some chains to the rear tyre. This is common practice to avoid skidding of vehicles in snow. Because of the cold and altitude, we hardly felt hungry. We were excited we had made it so far, but were also scared what if something happens. Until we descended to a safe height, the feeling stayed with us. After descending and driving for few kilometers, we reached Kardung village, where the terrain changed completely. It was again dry and cold and no snow. However there was some greenery. I guess this is the beauty of Ladakh - every few kilometers the terrain keeps changing. You never know how it will be after few kilometers. We took a small tea break in North Pullu which has a heavy army base. You can hardly see any civilians here. It's only the tourists - which were also very few/none during this season.



Vibrant Colors of Shyok river

After North Pullu, the drive is extremely beautiful. The valley looks colorful with small trees in their fall colors and river Shyok in its ever beautiful color. I can never forget the colors of this river. They were as vibrant and colorful as peacock feathers. Though we were tired, we did not want to close our eyes even for few minutes in the fear of missing this experience. This surrounding continued till we took a turn to Diskit-Nubra Valley. All of a sudden, the land is flat with white sand dunes and all around you mountains of different shades - some brown, some colorful with monasteries lined and some snow-capped.

Around 3 PM we reached Diskit-Nubra valley, checked into our hotel Olthong. Our initial booking was with Nubra - Sarai (sister concern of Ladakh Sarai). Nubra-Sarai also has tents. But because the winter had started and it was getting colder, they had closed down for the season. Olthang was a decent small hotel. This was a luxury in a place which is so isolated from the other parts of India. We checked in and immediately left to visit the Sand Dunes. The specialty of the dunes here is - the sand is soft and white and we can ride on Bactrian Camels (2 humped camels), which are origin of Mongolia-China. The camel rides are available only for few hours in the morning and few hours in the afternoon. We did not want to miss this, hence just finished the check-in formalities and left to check out the Sand Dunes.




Bactrian Camels - Nubra Valley

If you are visiting Ladakh, then visit to Nubra is a must. The visit to sand dunes was a life time experience. It was shivering cold at 3:30PM when we reached the dunes and luckily the camels were available. The camels are really huge and have very thick fur. There were a bunch of 50 camels, all relaxing in the cold sand dunes without any trace of shivering. We with our multiple layers of sweater/jackets were literary shivering. A ride around the dunes on these camels was amazing experience. All the tiredness of driving from Leh to Nubra was washed out after this experience.

After the sand dunes, our next stop was the Diskit Monastery and the largest statue of Maitreya Buddha which is about 32 mts tall. This monastery is largest and oldest in Nubra Valley. Views from this statue are stunning. On one side we see the white and red huge monastery on top of a hill, on the other side there are snow-capped mountains. Below we see the sand dunes and from another side we get to see the Nubra river flowing in a zig-zag fashion. Imagine all this at the time when the sun is setting. No words can describe this scene.



View of Maytreiya Statue from Diskit Monastery

Though we wanted to just sit and gaze here, it was time to head back to the room as it was getting extremely cold and also dark. Nubra is a very small village, with very few houses. There are more hotels than houses. The hotel room was decent with all basic amenities. Do not expect any fancy stuff. One thing we missed was room heating. With multiple layers of clothing and mutliple blankets, it was still very cold. Dinner was served by 7pm and with nothing much to do, we slept by 8:30 PM (there is no TV, very limited power supply). Though it was freezing cold, we had a good sleep –could be because we were very tried.





Diskit Monastery

Day 4 - After breakfast, it was time to head back to Leh. Before we started to Leh, we visited the Panamik hot springs, Yarap Tso (lake). This lake is different and not very easy to locate. There are no sign boards. It is about 1 1/2 Kms from the main Panamik Road. It can be easily missed. Since the lake is surrounded by hills which are brown, hence the lake also looks the same color. Far away on the hill top we could see a shepherd with his herd. The water in the lake was so still and clear, the reflection of these far off sheep appeared as white spots in the water. After this, it was time to return back to Leh. We had to cross Kardung La again and this time there was more snow than we had on the forward journey. Our driver had to stop multiple times to fix the chain. The roads otherwise are in pretty good condition and drive is also quite safe, if it is not snowing. Until we crossed Kardung La, I was nervous and scared and kept worrying whether we would make it. Though Pankaj kept re-assuring me that when huge army trucks can cross the road, it is an easy ride for Innova, I was not able to take it out of my head. I sighed with relief when we reached the top of Kardung La. We had hot tea at the army camp and also bought some T-shirts. It was late evening by the time we reached Leh and back in our room of Ladakh Sarari, with warm bukhari and hot ginger water. Visit to Nubra was an experience for life.



River Nubra and White Sand



Yarap Tso - Panamik



Chang La - Third highest motorable road

Day 5 - Our next stop was Pangong Lake. This lake is about 136 Kms in length and is a salt water lake. Only 1/3rd of this lake is in India, remaining is part of Tibet. During the month of July, Aug, Sep, there is provision to stay in tents on the banks of this beautiful lake. It was pretty cold during our visit; hence we did only the day visit. The lake is about 3-4hrs drive from Leh. A day visit will take up your entire day. We started early from Leh around 7AM. To reach this lake, you need to cross the world's 3rd highest motor able road, Chang La which is at 17800 ft above sea level. After crossing Kardung La, this pass did not seem scary. 



Pangong Lake

We reached the Lake around noon. As we neared the lake, we get a small glimpse of the lake and that point I was spell bound. As we got closer to the lake, I was shocked to see the wideness, the colors, the surroundings... I cannot describe the experience. I had goose bumps by the sight of this magnificent view. This is nature at its best. I don’t know how many pictures we took. Make sure you have a good camera and enough battery and memory to accommodate all the pictures to want to store and cherish. This beauty of nature is unique, not spoilt yet by tourists and commercial buildings. Did not realize we had not eaten anything after breakfast and felt hungry and thirsty.



Clear waters of Pangong Lake

There are few make-shift tea stalls which sell food and Tea/Coffee. We had hot noodles and tea. This was refreshing. We were now re-charged to explore more of the lake. We took a small walk along the shores of the lake. The colors of the lake are very vibrant and water is clear. One can clearly see the pebbles below the shallow waters. The lake seemed like a mini ocean. Given a chance I would have preferred to just sit there gazing the lake and its calmness. 



Colors of Pangong Lake

After spending good amount of time at Pangong lake (though we did not want to return), it was time to head back before it gets dark to reach Leh. On our back, we were quiet and recollecting all the memories of lake and whole of Ladakh trip. We had only one more day at Leh and our trip would end. 



Trek to Tsemo Gompa

Day 6 – This was our last day in Leh. We wanted to spend this in Leh. After having a lazy breakfast, we headed for a small trek to Tsemo Gompa. This is a good 1hr trek from the Leh Palace. Treks, camping or any adventurous activities make you sync with the whole surrounding. The fulfillment of experiencing it is more than when a mere sightseeing is done. After the trek, we had lunch at Organic Restaurant in the Leh Market which served local Tibetan food. We had some soup and apricot juice. The juice was good. I did not like the soup much. After this we walk to the Jama Masjid. Next to this is a Kashmiri Bakery which sells good bakery stuff. We spent some time shopping. Most of the stuff is expensive as in any other tourist place. After this we visited the Thiksey Monastery and Stok Palace. 



Thiksey Monastery - Leh



Stok Palace - Leh

Next day was time to pack and bid good bye to Leh. In one week, we will get just a glimpse of Ladakh. We need more time to experience the beauty and calmness of this land. A trip to Ladakh is a must in one’s lifetime. We have promised ourselves that we will definitely visit Ladakh again and spend more time trekking.  In our next trip we definitely want to trek to Markha Valley in Ladakh which can be accessed only by trek. Until we plan our next trip to Ladakh, I will cherish the memories of this trip.