Category: Travel

  • Tallinn

    Continued from Stockholm

    Days 4,5

    Tallink had an overnight ferry that would take us from Stockholm to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Our cabin was tiny but comfortable, and later in the night, we walked through the different bars and restaurants (one of which featured a cabaret) and then on to the deck. In both cases, we found ourselves severely under-dressed! Dinner was the lasagna we had packed, and a cinnamon bun.

    Breakfast is not included in the ferry ticket and needs to be purchased separately. Quite easily done online at the time of booking. It was a notch lower than the Victory Hotel level, but made up for it with the sea view. We reached Tallinn on time, and began searching for the tram/bus stop to take us to the hotel. After walking a bit, we realised that we were near enough to just continue walking! The Hestia Hotel Barons had the room ready even though we were very early. 

    The hotel was built in 1912 and remodeled in 2007. But a lot of the fixtures seem to have been retained. The lift was a classic. Its mechanism was obviously modern, but its exterior is from a bygone era. The room was comfortable, and we quickly freshened up before stepping out for the day’s plan.

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  • Stockholm

    Days 1-3  

    In the grand scheme of this trip, I have to admit that Stockholm was an afterthought. It just seemed a good place to start the journey. But once we started planning, we didn’t need a syndrome to like it! An Emirates passage that began in Bangalore at 4.20 AM got us to the city by noon, via Dubai. To my pleasant surprise, my sinuses, for the first time in forever, were behaving! Immigration was a breeze and we had decided to change the currency after we got to the hotel. This was because we had purchased a bunch of city transport, entry pass and such online before the trip.

    The Arlanda Express was one of them, and it got us to Stockholm Central in about 20 minutes. Thanks to the wifi aboard the train, we also figured out the way to the Visitor Center near the station, from where we had to collect our 72 hour city pass and travel cards. Both are super useful if you’re planning to use public transport extensively, and visit tourist attractions. The walk also gave us our first taste of the city being decked up for Christmas, and the cold ahead! Stockholm was at 2°C when we landed on December 1st. A good time to mention the importance of layering, on which we had spent a little less than Rs.50,000 – thermals, jackets, snow pants, gloves, boots and such. But it was all well worth it.

    T-Centralen had an entry right next to the Visitor Center and we took the train to Gamla Stan, our base for the next 3 days, one stop away. Santa was on hand to welcome us to the Old Town! Our hotel – the Collector’s Victory Hotel was a 5 min walk away, and we discovered even faster routes in the next couple of days! Check-in time in this part of the world is usually 3PM, and we were early. So we dropped the luggage and headed to Slingerbulten, a restaurant nearby that promised excellent meatballs, and delivered very well on it – served with lingonberries, mashed potato and a delicious cream sauce. We also tried a Rökt Renröra (smoked reindeer) with horseradish cream and bleak roe, served on rye bread, and washed it all down with an apple cider.

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  • Look, Druk! Part Three

    Continued from Thimphu and Punakha

    Part 3: Paro

    After a breakfast that included a masala omelette and an aloo paratha, we set off for Paro. While on the latter dish and food in general, from what I understand folks in Bhutan don’t really like roti. They’re pretty happy to eat rice all day, happily acknowledging their tummy growth while at it. In many restaurants, rotis are for Indian tourists. Also, Buddha and non veg co-exist in Bhutan, and apparently the king is a non-vegetarian too. But then again, as per Theravada, the Buddha had no qualms about followers eating pork, chicken etc so long as the animal wasn’t killed specifically for them. In fact, they couldn’t refuse it if offered as alms since it would arouse the thought of ‘self’.

    Meanwhile, the journey to Paro was the same route from the day before, barely bypassing Thimphu city. That made the journey almost a 2 hour one. We passed the airport, which we realised was a reasonably risky one to land at, given the proximity of the buildings. The Paro dzong was on the outskirts of the town and Sonam assured us that our hotel would give us a great view.

    Lunch was once again a place Sonam and we agreed on – My Kind of Place. A contemporary cafe that had gotten rave reviews online. Comfortable and stylish seating and a nice view of the main road below. Here’s the thing – this would be an expected standard in say, Bangalore, but not so common in Bhutan. In that sense, we felt that Paro was more creature-comfort friendly than Thimphu.

    Unfortunately, they didn’t have Hoentay (momo) that day, so we tried the noodle soup. Beef for me, and chicken for D. Pho like, both were excellent. Their Suja (butter tea) was also the best I had tasted thus far. We got the place to ourselves until the end when a party of moms and kids landed. From their behaviour, we stereotyped them as local posh moms, but they talked about paying in dollars that took that hypothesis for a spin!

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  • Look, Druk! Part Two

    Continued from Thimphu

    Part 2: Punakha

    We had to make an early start as we wanted to get to Punakha by lunch. Early during vacation is around 8AM. The journey time itself isn’t much – between 2 to 2.5 hours, but we had a few things to finish off before that. The first stop was Dochula, about 40 minutes from Thimphu. Thimphu is at an elevation of about 2300 m, and Dochula is 800 m higher, and quite colder. On clear days, it is possible to see the Eastern Himalayas, and specifically Gangkhar Puensum, Bhutan’s highest peak. Clear days are a rarity though, to the extent that even Sonam (our guide) hadn’t seen the peaks. The 108 stupas there are themselves worth the visit though, and the mist and the sun playing hide and seek also offer some excellent views. The Druk Wangyal Lhakhang temple is there as well, though we didn’t visit.

    For most people though, the cafe and its loo (not usable unless you’re a customer, and a rule that is more often than not broken) are important points in the journey!

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  • Look, Druk! Part One

    Bhutan was always a when, and never an if. And our program management now is such that we are fairly clear of the when-where for the next 3 years, assuming life doesn’t throw tantrums. We also realised that what gets lost in us planning everything down to the last detail are the aha moments. So now, we figure out the broad things to do and let tour operators do the rest. This also ensures that there’s just the right amount of time to relax, and actually vacation! Have to wonder if age is catching up! Anyway

    Part 1: Thimphu via Kolkata

    My last trip to Kolkata had been 18 years ago. Our only interactions after that have been restricted to the airport, which is probably my least favourite among all that I have visited. But Kolkata I have had a fascination for. I have admired the way in which its populace has held on to traditions, and I have loved the history it contains. I don’t think any other city has these many functional Ambassadors!

    Based on suggestions from our friend P, we had decided to dine at Aaheli, and chose to stay at Kenilworth. Small, but elegant and functionally adequate rooms, and very courteous staff.

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