Cities

National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, D.C.

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March and April are two of my favorite months. This is when the excruciatingly long winters come to an end, and new life springs in every corner and crevice. After seeing nothing but grey, snow white, and the bare skeletons of trees, it is a welcome change to see life sprouting, as buds, colorful flowers, and green leaves. Have you ever noticed the fresh greenness of the baby leaves in spring? The temperature has risen, but not enough to make you uncomfortable.

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Lebanon – Paradise lost !!

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Once upon a time… there was Lebanon which was called “Paris of Middle East”…and then something happened and the Paris and Pearl of the Middle East.. changed from heaven to hell…. Let us have a look and see what Lebanon has to offer now for Ghumakkars !

It was 2004 and I boarded Air India flight from New Delhi to Dubai for my journey to Lebanon.

The coastal plain of Lebanon is the historic home of a string of coastal trading cities of Semitic culture, which the Greeks termed Phoenicia, whose maritime culture flourished there for more than 5000 years. Ancient ruins in Byblos, Berytus (Beirut), Sidon, Sarepta(Sarafand), and Tyre show a civilized nation, with urban centres and sophisticated arts. Present-day Lebanon was a cosmopolitan centre for many nations and cultures. Its people roamed the Mediterranean seas, skilled in trade and in art, and founded trading colonies. They were also the creators of the oldest known 24-letter alphabet, a shortening of earlier 30-letter alphabets such as Proto-Sinaitic and Ugaritic.

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Portsmouth & Spinnaker Tower – Day 15

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Today was our 15th and second-last day in England. Our plan for the day was to be at the beach in the morning, then go to see the Spinnaker Tower in Gunwharf Quay in the afternoon, and finally take our Coach back to London (we’re in Portsmouth, remember?)

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Jodhpur->Jaisalmer->Bikaner in 5 days : Part-2

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Jaisalmer was our next destination and on our return journey we planned to cover Bikaner. We decided to start after getting fresh in early morning so that we do not end up wasting time in Jaisalmer. We reached Jaisalmer by around 8:30 AM, luckily found a local guide and took some guidance from him and by 10 we were in the Jaisalmer fort. Took a guide (he was just hovering around there) there and started the fort visit. We booked the tickets for the Swiss camp in the Sam sand dunes from the fort only.

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Temple Trails of Karnataka: Part-3 – Belur and Halebeedu

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After our exertions at Mullayanagari Peak, we returned back to Chikmagalur town by mid-day, had our lunch and reached our hotel. I had hoped to catch some of the action from the Perth Test(hoping to watch Sachin’s 100th hundred live), but the Indian team dashed any such hopes by losing the Test in two and a half days. Disappointed by the result, I took the opportunity to slip into a much needed nap.

Our next destination was Belur temple, 25 kms from Chikmagalur. Belur is a small town located on the banks of Yagachi River in Hassan district. The main attraction of the town is the Chennakesava (literally translates to Handsome Vishnu) temple. It was built by King Vishnuvardana of Hoysala dynasty. The temple is one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture alongside Halebeedu and Somnathpura. Coupled with Halebeedu, this is one of the major tourist destinations of Karnataka.

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Jodhpur->Jaisalmer->Bikaner in 5 days : Part-1

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Since quite some time I have been thinking “what an amazing experience it will be drive through the Rajasthan deserts and barren lands”. I have only seen those in movies but to do it on my own is something I have always been dreaming for. Unfortunately because of our professional life, it is not always an easy job to plan such kind of trips. But then you get a chance and you have to reap the advantages then and there on. Exactly that is what I did, and made a quick plan of visiting Jodhpur, Jaisalmer during the republic day leave on 2012. Took two additional days leave and planned the whole trip. And as we found out later, it was not a bad decision at all. Here’s a small description on the entire trip that I had and I hope this will be really helpful to those who are actually planning for such trips. Although 5 days is a bit tight for visiting these places, I tried to cover the maximum things that can be visited within this schedule.

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Kolkata->Varanasi->Allahabad->Sultanpur->Lucknow->Delhi Road Review

Kolkata->Varanasi->Allahabad->Sultanpur->Lucknow->Delhi Road Review

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Road review for this journey or rather saying road review for NH2 in one word to say is simply awesome. It is advisable to start as early as possible in the morning so as to avoid the city rush.
Starting with the Durgapur Expressway from Kolkata, this is one of the best highways in India, there is absolutely no doubt in that. If you are actually driving in this highway, the road quality is so good and the greenery around are so nice, that you will just want to keep driving on this road. A maximum speed of 150 KMPH is no big deal in this highway and you can easily maintain an avg speed of around 90-100 KMPH.
Every now and then one can find decent places to have tea and snacks, there is not limitation on any kind of meals, whether its breakfast, lunch or dinner. Shaktigarh around 100 KM from Kolkata is one such ideal place to have a good breakfast. It’s known for its famous sweets (langchas). It’s also known as “langchagarh”.

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