Category: Travel

  • Edinburgh

    Prologue: The original trip was planned in 2020, the rest is history. When we set about planning this, the original destination was Cuba, but a Canada transit visa thwarted us. We decided to make it Scotland+Ireland. Since we were only 2 months away from the trip, tickets too turned out to be a pain, especially because, thanks to Brexit, pretty much every European airport required a transit visa. And embassies were still reeling under post-Covid volumes. Long story short, we managed to land in Manchester via Doha right when the World Cup started. The adventure continued because there was a rail strike on the day we required a train to take us to Edinburgh. Thankfully, we had an inkling, so we had also bought bus tickets as back up. Absolute lifesaver. But thanks to delayed trains, our bus had to stop midway for more than an hour because we had ‘missed’ a few passengers! All of this meant that our planned time in Edinburgh was curtailed. And now we can begin!

    Stay

    We’re still not Airbnb people, so Ibis it was – Edinburgh South Bridge. It was about 10 mins from the bus and train stations and pretty much everything we wanted to see was within walking distance. They also served a great (though same) buffet breakfast. Having said that, I’d also recommend looking for options on Princes Street.

    See/Do

    Edinburgh Castle. If you want to go inside (the internet is mixed on whether this is worth it) , you need to buy tickets online.
    Pretty view of the city from the castle grounds
    Tolbooth Kirk, now known as the Hub
    A short walk will take you to the Vennel steps that give you a different view of the castle.
    St.Giles Cathedral has quite the majestic look
    ..and the inside is a different level. I loved the sense of tradition one gets as you go through the lists of people.
    Greyfriars Kirkyard was extremely serene
    Dunbar’s Close, along the Royal Mile, turned out to be an extremely pretty hidden gem
     Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.
    Same place, different view (as you get out of the tour)
    From Calton Hill, you get a grand view of the city. The sun chose to hide when we visited.
    The Christmas Market had just begun on the weekend we landed.
    Greyfriars Bobby spent 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died in the late 1800s. The pub was our lunch spot.
    Scottish Whiskey Experience. An experience that’s absolutely worth it.

    We visited the Camera Obscura but unless you have children who need to be entertained, I’d skip this. We also went for a Horror Tour, and though the guide did her best, the content itself was not worth the hour.

    Eat/Drink

    Haggis is a must-try, so long as you’re the kind who is not particular about the components! That, and black pudding, was part of the Ibis breakfast I could get used to!

    D’s cider and my house Old Fashioned @Greyfriars Bobby
    Did not become a fan of Cullen Skink, a thick Scottish soup with smoked haddock, onions, potatoes.
    Game Suet Pudding – pheasant, and venison pastry in port wine sauce
    Cider, and Old Fashioned again, this time at Copper Still
    Chicken in Mushroom Sauce
    Shelling it out

    We visited in winter, and thus had limited daylight time – the sun set at 3.45! But we managed to see pretty much everything we had on our list. We did wish we had allocated a few more days. Overall, I felt Edinburgh exudes a certain character thanks to its rich history, and traditions. Except for the kitchens closing early in some parts, we totally loved the place.

  • Kochi Chronicles – Part 4

    Kumbalangi, as made famous in Kumbalangi Nights! The second time we play tourists in Cochin.

    Grand Hyatt. We had to see the place after Jayasurya’s Sunny. What a view!
    They have a sunset cruise, but we were told that that the boat was ‘unwell’!
    But the fantastic views along the walking path made up for it.
    Dinner at Colony Clubhouse & Grill at the hotel. Surprisingly good food!
    Tip: Choose the city side view for a change
    Breakfast at Gokul Oottupura, behind the Siva temple. Now a regular part of the itinerary.
    There’s something about Puri Bhaji in Kerala 😀 By the way, their dosa chilli chutney is amazing.
    Fish curry meals at The Grand is another fixed part of the itinerary.
    Welcome to the Aquatic Island Resort, Kumbalangi
    It’s all ‘floating’, and the bedroom is below the waterline. No, you don’t get to see it as you might in a submarine.
    First stop – Chellanam harbour. Less than 30 mins away. Walk the causeway there.
    For local cabs, call JJ Tours and ask for Vivek.
    Puthenthodu beach. In the evening, you can watch the Beach Soccer League in full flow! 🙂
    Cross the district border to reach Andhakaranazhi in Alleppey. Vivek’s suggestion. Quiet, with only locals around.
    Images never do justice. Anjilithara Road is just a mud track at one end, but the sereneness is out of the world. 5 mins walk from the resort.
    The breakfast view from the resort restaurant.
    Cherai for lunch. This is Chilliout. Funny name, but clean and pretty!
    Not to mention, great seafood. Squid and tuna.
    Cherai beach seemed surprisingly not much to talk about. This is high tide, but…
    Kuzhuppilly on the other hand, was lovely. Stretching indefinitely, and full of erm, love birds!
    The Vypin lighthouse as seen from the Puthuvype beach
    Puthuvype beach. Unfortunately not very well maintained.
    The National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Ransom (I kid you not) aka Vallarpadam Basilica 
    Remember this, from Kumbalangi Nights?
    If you know what OMKV stands for, you might drop in only for that kick!
    But you also have a beautiful sunset view here.
    One that you can enjoy while you eat absolutely local stuff.
    The Pal kappa was so-so, but we loved the kappa (beef) biriyani
    It’s hard to say goodbye, but we’ll be back in a bit

  • Kochi Chronicles – Part 3

    Where we play tourists at home! This is from 2020.

    The Tower House is part of Neemrana Hotels
    Except for the psychedelic fish tank, very colonial indeed!
    Comfortable rooms, very old school! Look at that wicker!
    Don’t go by the cover. This is a boutique hotel – The Postcard Mandalay Hall
    And we’re in jew Town
    Fort House restaurant for lunch
    When in Kerala, gau for Porotta + beef!
    Mattancherry Palace
    I wish they maintained the frescoes, and the place in general, better
    Random tea break, because we have seen this spot upstairs in many movies 😀
    Only look, no touch. The place is only for posh tourists.
    Might be old, but still very pretty!
    Some of the street art remains. This one is my favourite!
    Chinese fishing nets. Check.
    Yet to meet a sunset I haven’t liked
    The Biennale that revitalised Kochi
    All 5 heads agree that Kashi Cafe is a good spot for dinner
    The brownie is good, but the nostalgia is the clincher 🙂
    Old school is so cool!

  • Agonda

    I have to admit, the Agonda vacation was more an “Ok, fine!” reaction to pandemic peer pressure. Having said that, seeing a place after 13 years does evoke a range of emotions!

    In fact, Goa is a bundle of memories anyway! Our first visit was in 1997 – a college trip, and we were in Miramar when we heard that Princess Diana had died. I didn’t know then that this would be my home for two years at the dawn of the millennium. Our first vacation after marriage was Goa again, and we dropped in annually for three years from 2006, until we dropped it from our travel list altogether. And then it was 2021, and the world had changed!

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  • Sydney

    Sydney had some heavyweights on its side – the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, and the fantastic combination view at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, all of which delivered on the promise. It also had the charming Manly Beach, which overdelivered, as opposed to Bondi which was only salvaged by the excellent street art! But in terms of overall experience, and probably because it had a stronger big city feel than the other two, both Melbourne and Cairns worked better for us.

    Stay 

    The criteria for room selection remained the same as Cairns and Melbourne, but we had to sacrifice the view thanks to $. We wanted to be as close to Circular Quay as possible, and finally went with 57Hotel. No photos because it would involve crashing into D – the room was that small. The smallest room we have stayed in was in Hong Kong, and this one easily beat that record. But it compensated by being a 5 min walk from the Central station, which made access to all the places we wanted to see very easy! They also have something that can be loosely described as a breakfast – coffee + croissants. (more…)