UNDER-RATED DESTINATION: SRI LANKA

I am often asked: what is the most under-rated destination that you have been to. My reply would be Sri Lanka with its stellar combination of World Heritage sites, wildlife, history, rich culture, terrific hotels, friendly people and a friendlier currency.

NOTHING BEATS QUEENSLAND!

I was in Queensland, Australia after many, many years and it was truly a wonderful experience filled with new friends, good wine and food and exciting travel.

IN THE MOST POPULOUS LAND IN THE PLANET!

Everyone’s talking about China...There is great interest in China as a travel destination .

UNDER-RATED DESTINATION: SRI LANKA

I am often asked: what is the most under-rated destination that you have been to. My reply would be Sri Lanka with its stellar combination of World Heritage sites, wildlife, history, rich culture, terrific hotels, friendly people and a friendlier currency.

NOTHING BEATS QUEENSLAND!

I was in Queensland, Australia after many, many years and it was truly a wonderful experience filled with new friends, good wine and food and exciting travel.

Of Flash mobs and Antwerp...

There’s so much talk about flash mobs and viral videos now- the best flash mob to date was the one I saw on 'You tube' some time ago, set in Antwerp Station.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

15 things that you must do in Rome

One of the cities that I have enjoyed tremendously and would love to visit again and again is Rome- truly the ‘eternal city’ for me. And my top 15 things to do in this glorious city:


1. Spend a day at the Italian squares called piazzas: the Piazza Navona is my favourite. Get your caricature done or buy a painting. The Piazza della Rotunda in front of the Pantheon is also a great place to be after its dark. See my post on Piazzas for a more exhaustive list. http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article900287.ece

2. Rome is a city of fountains. And you can fill your bottles here and just drink the pure water from the age-old underground system of pipes and cisterns. Visit the famous fountains for a dose of history and to see some great architecture by people like Bernini!

3. Rome is not what you just see above the ground. A large part of this ancient city still lies below. Take a tour of the catacombs or a Rome underground tour to appreciate how vast this subterranean world is!

4. For a different take on this city head to Trastevere on the other side of the Tiber with a bohemian ambience and a plethora of eateries! Walk through the streets, have a lazy meal and experience a feel of contemporary Rome.

5. Of course the Vatican City- you can spend days here... the treasures of the Museums, the Sistine chapel, St Peters Basilica. Don’t forget to see the Hall of maps and the tapestries- exquisite!

6. A day at the Coliseum and the Forum for a dose of colourful history. Be prepared with a hat and plenty of water. Remember all these sites are sprawling and you are in the open. To make it easier, pick up a book sold all over Rome called ‘Archaeological Rome’ which has transparent overlays over each building showing how it would have looked thousands of years ago.

7. People watching: at the piazzas and cafes of course. My vote goes to the Spanish Steps! Remember Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in ‘Roman Holiday’. Yes, this is the place where they meet.

8. Retail therapy: Rome is not just history. Visit the flea market at Porta Portese which operates only on Sundays. Via Condotti is Rome's main drag for haute couture and a great place for window shopping and experiencing Italian style!

9. Walk on the ancient Appia Antica on a Sunday when it’s closed to traffic. You can hire bikes and wander on this road with its share of ancient buildings. You can even take a tour on the Archeobus.

10. When in Rome, you must have an authentic wood fire paper thin pizza. Grab a bite of authentic pizza at Da bafetto near Piazza Navona. It’s nothing great by way of ambience but the pizza more than makes up for it!

11. Hit the museums. My pick of the most sees: the Capitoline Museums filled with Titian, Veronese and Caravaggio’s, The Borghese Gallery and the Palazzo Barbereni. For a quirky museum visit the National pasta museum close to the Metro Station Barbereni.

12. A taste of the bizarre? Head for the Church of Santa Maria Della Concezione In the basement of the church (there is an entrance directly from the street) you will find one of the most unusual sights in Rome. It contains the bones of 4,000 Capuchin monks, many arranged in artistic designs.

13. Get high on churches: This city has an extraordinary number of churches, each with its own cache of treasures! Don’t miss the Santa Maria Del Popolo with its Caravaggio’s, San Pietro in Vincoli (with Michelangelo’s statue of Moses), Santa Maria in Trastevere (one of the oldest churches) and Santa Maria alla Minerva (the only Gothic church here).

14. For the best bird’s eye view of Rome climb the Janiculum Hill close to the Trastevere neighbourhood.

15. End your days here with a gelato. Visit the famous Giolitti, nestled between the Pantheon and the Italian Parliament which has been serving gelatos since 1900! May cost 15 Euros but is a great way to sin!





Sunday, January 15, 2012

IMAGINE...

 
 
The best part of any trip is the unexpected- the John Lennon Wall in Prague was certainly that. John Lennon? You have to be kidding me... what does he have to do with a wall in Prague...he never lived there?


Since the 1980s this wall opposite the French Embassy in Prague, located in a quiet square, has been filled with John Lennon inspired graffiti and lyrics from the Beatles hits. A blaze of colour greeted me – a modern feel in the midst of a city with stunning ancient architecture and history flowing through its veins.
This wall was created as a kind of memorial to Lennon in the days following his death and filled with short messages and lyrics. Western music was banned in the Czech Republic at that time and Czech musicians who played western music were imprisoned. The communist government saw it as a symbol of Western ideals, and whitewashed the wall. This started a rebellion, where every night, people put up new markings, left flowers and candles. A guard was posted, cameras were set up but nothing worked. The wall slowly became a symbol of non violent opposition against the regime.

The wall is today owned by the Knights of the Maltese cross, who have no option but to allow the graffiti to continue...Today the wall is used to spread messages of peace and love and the potent political messages of the 80s lie buried under tourist graffiti.

I spent a lot of time here reading the messages and looking at the pictures. There were tourists galore posing against their favourite lyrics. I wish I had a can of spray paint and could have added my own message. That’s what next times are for, right?

Friday, January 13, 2012

WALK IN TO THE SUNSET...

Sunset over the Kandallama Lake in Sri Lanka
“Soon it got dusk, a grapy dusk, a purple dusk over tangerine groves and long melon fields; the sun the color of pressed grapes, slashed with burgundy red, the fields the color of love and Spanish mysteries.”


Sunsets... They are pretty magical...No two sunsets are alike. One of my most favourite pursuits when I travel is to get a sunset view of the city from a vantage point. Purple clouds, fire in the skies with blood orange hues streaking the vast expanse and mysterious shadows; this is the witching hour... Sometimes the dying rays of sun flicker across 15th century architecture, sometimes they swathe million years old mountain ranges, sometimes you are watching skyscrapers reflect kaleidoscopic reflections of burnished orange, sometimes it’s just you, the beach and the mighty ocean in the ruddy glow of the sky. It’s interesting also to see the reactions of people to sunsets- ranging from orchestrated touristy sunsets with cameras galore, to the sheer indifference of kids when it comes to viewing one... Romance reigns supreme in a sunset and quite a favourite with canoodling couples!

As every amateur shutterbug has learnt, it’s impossible to really capture the sheer beauty of the setting sun... Someday I hope to crack that one...

And like some wise person said once, “Never waste any amount of time doing anything important when there is a sunset outside that you should be sitting under!”

Some of the best sunsets I have seen...
The famous sunset at Angkor wat- actually you just have a small pool of water to catch the reflections...
Sunset in one of the most beautiful Italian cities- Florence.  Toast the setting sun with a glass of wine, sitting on a bridge..

One of the most ethereal sights- sunset over the Flam Valley in the Norwegian fjords.

The sky was really on fire that evening, in Ljubljana the capital of Slovenia.

Peachy pinks at sunset at Opatija on the Croatian Coast..
You take my breath away..in the Whitsunday island, Queensland, Australia
Big city sunset- beautiful in its own way..in Shanghai, China.
Purple haze in Bali
Sunset in  langourous Langkawi, Malaysia

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Of Flash mobs and Antwerp...



There’s so much talk about flash mobs and viral videos now- the best flash mob to date was the one I saw on 'You tube' some time ago, set in Antwerp Station. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to see this incredibly gracious station itself- appropriately dubbed a railway cathedral. It looks more like a place of worship than a station... If only all stations could be like this! The original building dates back to 1905 but it has undergone an extensive restoration. A vast dome with stone, glass and iron structures, this station is really a piece of art! With 24 platforms, restaurants and shops including a diamond arcade (yes!), this is a good way to spend a morning in Antwerp.


The flash mob in 2009 at this station featured the song ‘Do re mi’ from the Sound Of Music with more than 200 dancers and several waiting passengers who got caught in the moment and started joining the group! The flash mob was a publicity stunt for a Belgian television program, about the search for an actress to play the lead role in a stage revival of the Sound of Music.
So if you are in Antwerp, check out the station..its a must see!







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