Travelling out of Mumbai to a place that hopes to preserve nature for the generations to come. Built with vernacular architecture, and along a slope without flattening the land, Banyan Bliss is a homestay that stands out from the rest. Continue reading blissful by the banyan: homestay, off-mumbai
the website says this is a homestay, but it’s not; it is a heritage hotel… but not the fancy kind like the neemrana property near jaipur… not the kind where i would be embarrassed to walk in with my chappals and sit cross-legged at the dining table! this is simple, elegant, welcoming and warm. the attention, space and homely food are just like a homestay. … Continue reading vivienda dos palhacos: a brilliant heritage home near majorda, goa
we started the day early (atleast by goan standards). we had to cover great distances in one day, and had to get cracking, immediately. water bottle filled to the brim, camera battery charged, petrol filled in the car we headed out from bogmallo towards the south of goa by 10am. we were traveling right across the state! one must say that the roads in goa … Continue reading two places off the goa tourist map: budbudi tali & tambdi surla
am off! to go see valley full of fireflies at purushwadi, near mumbai.. excited! the day began later than we expected with multiple delays as went on – from a maid who came back after two days and insisted on not being laid off, a flat tire to be fixed, a thirsty petrol tank to be quenched and no petrol pump in sight, a never-ending … Continue reading fireflies twinkle at purushwadi
‘off-beat’ travel is increasingly tough to come by. leh-ladakh used to be off-beat, now its supposedly too touristy! with the internet bringing places far away and travels of unknown people right into your house, there is not much the avid traveler has not heard about or been to! so how does one make travel new? to see something virgin… how about going to a city, … Continue reading the search for off-beat travel…
preference for the known non-indian exotic? but not excited by unknown indian exotic? even at the same cost?
should you even bother? this is a situation i have been faced with often… a couple of year ago, i visited the river nila project. set in kerala. this is the efforts of one person to make people respect and care for the river that runs through the north – the malabar region of kerala. over years, there has been much abuse in terms of … Continue reading visiting ‘recommended’ artisans in a city, town, village?
during my visit to chettinad, i went to a tile factory at athangudi, close to kannadukathan village.. its a common enough thing to do. and there are sufficient of them, and all tourist-friendly. that’s not a compliment. but in a village known for tiles and their aesthetics, they charge to watch them at their art! but, anyway i was there. and people had told me about it. and i had to do it.
had heard so much about chettinad cuisine over the years, but being vegetarian it never really excited me. but, then my husband and i saw pictures of some old mansions in chettinad and knew we had to visit… the old mansions looked beautiful, and there seemed to be way more to chettinad than food and saris!
first steps we had to find a nice place to stay. we chanced upon Visalam managed by CGH Earth. it seemed to have captured that old-world charm without going over-board! none of the places in karaikudi or nearby seemed nearly as good! when we reached at an early 8am, we were awed by the beauty of the house. how they had managed to renovate it! Continue reading “chettinad – love at first ‘site’!!”
he was standing there in the corner. suspicious. wondering why i was peeping into his private space. his 2 ft by 2 ft home. in the morning time, while he say brushing his teeth in the corner. i had looked in from the window in the wall. in an otherwise quite space, in the middle of an orchard of trees, no one came sauntering in. his … Continue reading the man from beyond
merry to go around 