I started a series during the Covid times called going places where I started documenting all the 32 countries I have been to, through Instagram Reels. Then travel happened, in small doses but still it happened. And I got caught in it. And a lot of stuff in real life too. But here I am, back with the going places part VI.  You can read the parts I II III IV and V from the respective links.

I visited Myanmar, Czech Republic, Oman, Spain and Mauritius next. Myanmar, Spain and Oman were blogging trips. Czech Republic and Mauritius were personal holidays.

21. Myanmar

 

 

 

 

 

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I visited Singapore and Myanmar in 2017 with Accor Hotels. And that was the start of a relationship that continues. I still stay at Accor Hotels whenever I can even on my personal trips. Singapore was the first country I visited so I am not doing a reel on it again, I have done it in part I. Myanmar has a piece of my heart. Inle Lake was amazing, the people generous and the food good.

22. Prague, Czech Republic

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I traveled to Prague with my niece Vasudha and my daughter Chhavi on a personal vacation. I got the visa after a personal interview (my first and only interview ever for a visa) at the embassy for all of us. The visa experience did make me question my choice but we loved Prague.

23. Oman

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Oman was a blogging trip in 2017 with the tourism board! Oman surprised me with its natural beauty! My best dolphin watching experience was in Oman!

24. Spain

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Espana te quiero! I didn’t know a word of Spanish other than Gracias and Hola when I visited the Catalonia Region in 2017! But I have been so impressed with Spain that I started learning a bit of Spanish after my visit. Also because I hope one day I will meet Rafael Nadal and talk to him in Spanish!

25. Mauritius

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Mauritius was special because I went there with my school friends. I along with three of my friends whom I have known since KG boarded the flight together and we had so much fun out there! This trip was one of its kind!

I had so much fun on each of these trips, I hope it shows through my reels!

This was my second stay at the Grand Dragon Ladakh. The first time I stayed there, it was of January 2016. Both the times I have stayed as a blogger, my stay was complimentary. The January 2016 was a group trip whereas in October 2021 I was staying alone and doing my own things!

There are two ways in which I can start the story. In September 2021 I called my friend Meenaskhi and asked for a recommendation for a homestay in Ladakh. She convinced me to stay at the Grand Dragon instead. Not that it needed much convincing. I stayed there before, I knew how good it is.

Then on the third day of my trip I was roaming around the Leh Palace at my leisurely pace. I met a girl who was seriously making content, so we started chatting. After a few minutes we connected on Instagram. After looking at my feed for a few seconds, she asked, “So you are staying at the Grand Dragon?” I was once again reminded to be thankful for the wonderful blogging opportunities I get!

Once I settled in my room, I marveled at the view from my porch, I was going to wake up to it for 5 days. After the tough 2020 that we all had and then the horror of April 2021, this was the sight for my sore eyes! While I was posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, many people messaged me and asked about the weather. I stayed in Leh from October 13 to 18. On all days the day temperature was above 12 degrees Celsius. The nights were cold but I would get tucked in my centrally heated room by 9.30 pm so it was never a problem. The last day on October 18 I woke up to 0 degree but all I was doing on that day was catching a flight! I liked the weather during my stay plus I got to see the gorgeous fall colors!

I was eating all my meals at the hotel. I did walk to the market many times, I saw all the cute cafes but in the end I chickened out, due to the crowd. October was busy in Leh. At the hotel the restaurant was spacious, so I felt safer eating there than in the cafes. I start checking out the buffet from the dessert counter and I was worried about eating so much hotel food. To my surprise I did not gain any weight during my stay even though I ate plenty of dessert. I believe the walking around at the high altitude balanced out my sweet intake!

As I was present at every meal over 5 days the staff got used to me! They also knew my whims, and catered to it. I must have been the only person eating all my meals alone but I never felt it too much! I do not remember all the names but I so remember Dolma, Gagan, Tanmay (front desk) and Tara ji. We met at every meal and when they were not too busy they took out time to chat with me.

I am a chai person and I hardly ever swap it for anything except Kahwa. There is something magical about Kahwa at that height and weather. I can drink a lot of it.

My vacations center around the amount of tea I drink and I had a lot of happy cups on this one. After my meals or breakfast inside the restaurant I would walk out to the terrace with chai or Kahwa in hand and bliss all around me.

I made a few rookie mistakes on this trip. Instead of resting completely I went for a walk in the evening on the first day. For the first two days I also did not increase my water intake. So, on the second day of my trip, I was having headache and I barely moved. My porch was my shelter and the views still were stunning. In fact, if I could force myself I would make it mandatory on all my trips to do nothing on one day. But I know it won’t happen unless I need to rest, like on this trip!

Apples were growing in plentiful in the garden of the hotel! For a low altitude person like me it was exotic to see so many of them on the tree!

It was so nice to spend a few days in such beautiful settings. When I arrived, I was so tired both physically and mentally. Many days have gone since I came back, I still feel rejuvenated after this trip.

It is the people who make the stay memorable and here a few of them in one picture. I was late from sightseeing one afternoon and the lunch just got over. They got so many things for me from the kitchen that I could not finish it all. I fondly remember the hot gulab jamun that Dolma got me at the end! I requested them to take off the mask just for this picture! I do hope that travel will remain open now and that the worst is behind us. I feel so blessed to have been on this trip to Ladakh and for my wonderful stay at the Grand Dragon Ladakh.

I recently visited Ladakh for the 5th time. The first time, way back in 2005 my husband and I did a road trip using public transport. After that I have always taken a flight. Since my first flight in 2016 I knew the magnificent views of the Ladakh Range was on the A side window seats while going and on the F side while coming back.

This time when I was booking my flights I saw one with 5.30 am departure from Delhi. I thought I would get to see the sunrise over the mountains, so I took my chance and booked it. And magic happened! I do not regret leaving home at 3.00 am nor do I regret paying 200 rupees to block A 29 seat in advance, so that I could sleep in peace knowing my seat was assured.

I was flying on October 13, after a year and nine months! The check-in was rather slow but I wanted to travel and I was in a mood to forgive everything! The flight took off on time. I was so sleepy to begin with and for 45 minutes or so, we fly over the plains. Then the mountains come in the view! I was holding my breath to see if the peaks would start glowing. I was not disappointed at all!

I was mesmerized by the sunrise. I got lost in the world unfolding outside my window. I would use my DSLR, then use my mobile only to go back to the DSLR, making videos and clicking pictures! I was totally glued to the window and my cameras!

The trouble with the photos is that they never look as good as the actual scene but I am still happy with what I saw and what I captured. I have to remind myself to see a little more through my eyes, I end up seeing a lot through the lens!

After clicking a lot of pictures from the kit lens of my DSLR, I put on the zoom lens! I am happy I was able to think of this. All this while I only knew the guy in front of my seat was also continuously with his camera. And that the people sitting next to me changed seats to someplace where they could also get a view!

I know from my previous experience that the flight time over this scenic stretch of mountains passes way too quickly. Soon enough the runway at Leh came into sight. I have pictures from the Delhi Leh winter flight too from 2016. I hope to catch the sunrise over these majestic mountains once in winter too!

Soon the show was over and it was time for touch down at the Leh Airport. I knew it would be cold outside, I knew the altitude would hit me sometime. But the heart was happy, to be able to fly again, and to fly over such majestic mountains at sunrise!

I feel so blessed that I am able to travel again! The second trip of the year was to Leh, Ladakh. I was yearning to go on a break! The stars aligned and I finalized a trip to Leh. The agenda was to do nothing. I booked my tickets on my own and my stay was complimentary from the Grand Dragon Ladakh! I am really thankful to them for taking such good care of me. This was the second time I was staying at the Grand Dragon!

Even though I had no plans I was hopeful that I would see fall colors in Ladakh! I had no idea what to expect or where to go though. I made the rookie mistake of going for an evening walk on my first day in Leh. I was feeling fresh but by the time I came back, I had headache. On top of that I did not increase my water intake. The next day I woke up with a terrible headache. I was forced to sit and laze around the hotel when I should have been up and running!

The next day I was better and I decided to walk towards the market and the Leh Palace. I was just not sure of myself but in the end, I did climb up to the Leh Palace from the main market! It did me a lot of good. I love to walk, and it was reassuring that I can still handle narrow lanes that go up!

I was really tired and jaded when I arrived in Leh. On top of that I was having a constant headache due to the altitude. But when I got out on the monastery trip and saw such views as above, my headache and all other kind of aches vanished in an instant. The magic of travel was slowly swirling around me.

In the evening, I had a chat with Tanmay from Grand Dragon. He gave me a list of places to choose from and I picked up a monastery tour all within 40 km of Leh. I had been to most of the places but not to Hemis. So, Monastery tour it was and our main stops were Hemis, Thiksey and Shey Palace.

The drive itself got me excited, as we started getting out of Leh, there were fall colors all around me. I have seen fall colors in England, Budapest and Paris but this was the first time I was seeing them in my own country! I wonder why don’t we promote Ladakh as a fall/autumn destination! It was mesmerizing! And I am sure there are other places that will have autumn too!

My monastery trip quickly became about autumn colors. Monasteries are situated above villages, on a height and they became the perfect place to enjoy the colors all around me.

This year the tourism season was a little unusual in Ladakh. Shopkeepers in the Leh City told me they would wind up and go down around October 15th but this year, there was no sign of slowing down. Leh and the nearby areas were still busy when I arrived on October 13. I have not been to Leh in summer for sometime now, but in October the crowd was bearable!

However, the best fall colors I found were around Shey Palace. The palace complex was almost empty, there was a couple, two young medicos from Delhi and me around the whole place. And the view was sheer magic any which way I looked!

There was a water body in front of the palace and it created a special magic all around it. Of all, I found Shey Palace to provide for the best fall scenery. The first image in this post is also from the same spot!

By now my spirits were lifted, I had seen so much beauty in the few hours! I could have stood there all evening but then I decided to get down and head back to my hotel!

Have you witnessed fall/autumn colors in India? Where have you seen them?

I traveled to Sariska in September after a long time. My last trip was to Coimbatore in February 2020. A few travel opportunities did come my way but I was not confident about it so I kept saying no.

I decided to go on a blogging trip to Sariska Manor in September as corona cases in India have significantly gone down, I also hope they remain that way! Sariska Manor is a safari lodge at the Tehla Gate of the Sariska National Park in Rajasthan. It is a beautiful place, away from the bustle.

I had such mixed emotions, traveling after such a long time. I was hanging on to my mask like anything. Our first stop was Mannat Dhaba at the highway. I ordered gobhi paratha and chai. Paratha came with white butter. It was my first stop at a restaurant after you know it by now, February 2020. Suddenly things that I completely took for granted felt almost new!

The road trip from Delhi to Sariska was pleasant as it was raining on the way. We arrived at Sariska Manor by lunch. The green surroundings and the stillness of the place took a lot of my anxiety away! I loved the front porch, it would become a spot of my numerous rounds of tea!

We opted to have lunch and then go to the room. I had a large, well appointed room all to myself. There was a lot of space adjacent to the shower to keep my luggage and use it as a change room. It had a full length mirror too. My room had a nice balcony where I would sit with a cup of tea. I was all set to enjoy my stay!

Sariska Manor serves a variety of cuisine. I ate all my meals at the resort. I loved Chole Bhature and aalo puri at the breakfast! They do serve continental and Chinese as well. The lodge has a bar too.

On the day of our arrival, we had the high tea at a nearby meadow. It was a fabulous experience. I anyway love tea. It tasted even better with cakes and samosa!

We were the only people there, other than a few locals who were out with their goats. The scenery invited us to wander around and I did climb a little higher!

The view was totally worth the short scramble. I spent a lot of time up there but then the lure of another cup of tea got stronger!

The resort has a beautiful pool. When we visited it was not too crowded. They have a lot of amla trees and a pond which is perfect for bird watching. Another advantage of the resort is that it is right by the tehla gate, so the safari starts right after the resort!

However, it is the people of the place that make our stay and thanks to them I had such a memorable stay at Sariska Manor.

I kept wondering with them why was I feeling so tired in spite of the trip being so relaxed! They would remind me that I was traveling after a long time and boy I am glad I managed to!