International

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 – Baalbek & blue river

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So there was Baal Temple, there was Jupiter, Fire, Moon, Mars and other temples which were there before Romans and before pheonician re-built them ! I was thinking was it some distorted form of Shakta tradition of Sanatan Dharam, which was followed here, because in Shakta tradition, Fire and other planets were worshipped and sacrifices of animals or even humans were present then.

Our guide was a Syrian and he explained so beautifully in perfect English, all the aspects of Baalbeck, quite patiently and in details.

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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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A Visit to the Mahazat As-Said Wildlife Reserve

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Time to tell you about the mammals that we saw They include the famous Arabian Oryx, the Reem Gazelle and the Idni Gazelle. The Oryx is a long-horned animal that is feared for its ability to kill with its horns. However, within the reserve, it is remarkably docile as it has been trained to expect food and water at appointed times. At the time of writing this, there are more than 650 of these animals in the As-said reserve. According to Mr. Moayyed, the reserve is already full to above its capacity to hold these animals, and it only because of the controlled conditions that the animals are able to survive, thrive and breed over here.

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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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A Swiss road trip..

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“I’m afraid of heights”…I mumbled. He gave me a WTF look.. Are you kidding? He probably wanted to ask. He was not wrong. Here I was going to jump off the cliff in few minutes. how the hell was he going to believe that I was actually scared of heights…it’s not the height. It’s the steep downhill slope.. I can go uphill and probably reach heaven like Juthisthir did.

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Niagara Falls & Grand Canyon – Grandeur of nature

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“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.” This quote by the great African-American botanist and humanitarian, George Washington Carver, never ceases to inspire me whenever I’m travelling. So much so that my one-month long trip to the US seemed incomplete without a visit to two of the most spectacular natural wonders – the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon.

Even though they’re both completely different works of nature and are situated on opposite coasts of the country, they strike a common cord due to their sheer enormity, beauty and the overwhelming experience they provide to visitors. And being intrepid explorers, neither my husband nor I wanted to miss either of these attractions.

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Benvenuto a Roma – Welcome to Rome!!

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ROME – doesn’t this word alone trigger your imagination? Doesn’t it make you feel the romance in the air? Doesn’t it talk about style, culture, history etc etc ?? Yes, it surely does! The city is full of offerings for all varieties of travelers. It offers its best to everyone and makes sure that no one person goes back unsatisfied!! Am I talking like an ambassador of Rome who is proudly publicizing about it?? Naah, but frankly, I don’t care how I sound right now. All I want to do is to share my experience about my 2 day tour to this city which SURELY wasn’t built in a day!

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Portsmouth Ahoy! – Day 13 & 14

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Our 14th day in London was much more fun – for me. Our plan was to go to this town called Portsmouth. It is a waterfront city, with a lot of fun stuff to do, like arcades, amusement parks, and the most important of all, beachesJ. It is also the birthplace of Charles Dickens. Mausi Ji has a house there, and so we were going for an over-night trip.

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