One of my trips with Travspire was the heritage tour of Muziris. When I met Lijo Jose my guide for the Muziris Heritage Tour, he pulled out a map of the Spice Route in ancient times to show how the port of Muziris was an important part of it. And if we thought of cities…
Monsoon Magic with Suryagarh, Jaisalmer
When someone says Rajasthan what is the image that comes to your mind? When I traveled to Jaipur for the first time in 1990 (where did the time go?) what I saw was not what I expected from the desert. Jaipur had trees and the ‘real’ desert was nowhere in sight. Similarly this time when…
A Quick Hello From Suryagarh, Jaisalmer
My trip to Suryagarh is now about to come to an end. I have been to Jaisalmer twice, and twice it has been on invitation from Suryagarh. I think as far as Jaisalmer is considered I am spoiled for life, staying around in such luxury and sigh seeing with the former model and the MD…
CTD Temple Pond, Fort Kochi, Kerala
I had limited time in Fort Kochi. I initially tried to walked around the city but gave up soon. I then hired an auto and the driver, Sabu Babu took me around. He took me to Cochin Thirumala Devaswom Temple also known as CTD Temple. The main temple was closed at that time but there…
Chinese Fishing Nets at Fort Kochi, Kerala
I recently visited Fort Kochi on Travspire’s invitation and what a trip it was! I had only two evenings at Fort Kochi and the first of it was devoted to watching a Kathakali dance performance. So I had only one evening for the Chinese Fishing Netsand I was sincerely longing for some drama in the…
Cycling, Walking and Boating in Kerala Backwaters
After Fort Kochi, Kerala Backwaters were my next stop. But instead of the traditional places Travspire offered me a cycling, walking and boating trip with my base at Breeze Backwater Homes in Kuthiathode. My room there was literally five steps away from the backwaters. Before lunch I had gulped two cups of tea and spent…
Kayaking in Kerala
When the good folks at Travspire put Kayaking on my agenda it was another instance of an adventure chasing me, on my own I don’t think I would have thought of it! And what an adventure it was! It was a early start on July 28, I woke up at 5.15 am and we headed…
White Cheeked Barbet at Alappuzha, Kerala
I am now back from my trip to Kerala with Travespire. If you are looking for off beat experiences you should try Travspire, they know just the places that will leave you spellbound. My plane landed past 11.00 pm yesterday and I was at work today morning, so not much rational writing is possible at…
Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica, Fort Kochi, Kerala
At Fort Kochi you can sense history, it is around around you in the air. You find things Jew, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese and British all within short distance of each-other right here in India. I visited Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica on a overcast evening at Fort Kochi. When I entered the basilica it was empty….
Colorful Flowers from Kochi
This is my first visit to Kerala and I am thoroughly enjoying myself. But the focus is as of now on enjoying and not doing blog posts. So here are beautiful flowers for a lazy Sunday from the hotels I stayed in at Kochi. It is called Fort House. My entire trip has been arranged…