Where will you bid adieu the year 2016 and welcome the New year? A question often strikes in the last month of the year to all travellers. There are few places which have there typical charm for the occasion. Celebrating this transition into new year often means watching the last sunset of the passing year and then the first sunrise of the new year. But then there are always limitations with different places. You can go to Goa for a perfect year ending sunset but you can't enjoy the new dawn. And while you can welcome the new year with a perfect sunrise in Darjeeling's Tiger Hill, you will not have chance to say goodbye to the passing year with a perfect sunset. There are very few places where you can watch a perfect sunrise and a mesmerising sunset from same place. One such place i...
Read MoreMonth: December 2016
Brussel’s nightlife is shaped in the city’s image : lively, convivial, and eclectic. In fact, the capital of Europe has innumerable bars, night spots, and themed nights out, their hot electric atmospheres seduces fun seeking revellers. But here’s the flipside : it is sometimes difficult to choose from among all of these options, above all where to enjoy seeing the New Year in. This is why the third version of the Happy Brussels pass created by visit.brussels and PLAY Asbl opens the doors to the better nights out for revellers to celebrate the start of 2017 at the party in good humour. Are you a fans of techno, tech house, underground, dance, r’n’b, hiphop, jazz, or even bollywood fusion ? Do you want to see the New Year in at a club, in a bar, or in an unusual place ? Do you want to
Read MoreChilika is one of the milestone places in India. It is the largest brackish water lagoon. Now what is brackish water? It is the water which is saline or salty but not as salty as the sea water. It happens when the fresh water mixes with sea water. There are 52 rivers and rivulets that fall in the lake. Secondly, Chilika is also a lagoon, and it is not just largest coastal lagoon in India, it is also second largest lagoon in the world. As if it was not enough, it is the largest wintering ground for migratory water-birds anywhere in the Indian sub-continent. Chilika is spread in three districts of Odisha- Puri, Ganjam and Khurda. Puri side is mainly popular for Dolphin tours from Satpada. Satpada is around 50 kilometres from Puri. It is on northeast of Chilika lake. Tourists can book ...
Read MoreMandala is a art, a design. But it takes different forms in different references. Mandala is said to be one of the richest visual objects in Tibetan Buddhism. Even on purely art terms it needs high concentration and precision to create such fine and intricate design. The mandala represents an imaginary palace that is contemplated during meditation. Each object in the palace has significance, representing an aspect of wisdom or reminding the meditator of a guiding principle. The mandala's purpose is to help transform ordinary minds into enlightened ones and to assist with healing. Monks at Dalai Lama temple at Mcleodganj near Dharamshala busy in creating a Kalchakra painting through sacred Mandala. Monks rarely like to get photographed during this moment. This is a sand mandala being
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These are changing times. With Cuba getting closer to the world. Salsa music, dominoes, Mojitos and historic Havana neighborhoods are easier to reach than ever before for guests on Royal Caribbean International. The newly revitalized Empress of the Seas will make history for the cruise line with its first visit to Cuba during a 5-night sailing departing Miami on April 19, 2017. The ship will then reposition to Tampa offering two itineraries with calls to Havana on April 30 (7-night sailing) and May 20 (5-night sailing). These Empress of the Seas sailings are now open for sale. Empress of the Seas will homeport in Tampa for the 2017 summer season – the cruise line’s first-ever summer program from the destination – offering a series of 4- and 5-night sailings, including port calls to destin
Read MoreHonestly, I had high hopes when I went to Kadalundi. It was one of the places which I had planned to visit during a very small leisure window on my visit to Kozhikode (erstwhile Calicut). It was late November and I could not have missed watching and photographing a few migratory birds. But, it was a disappointing outing. Spread over a cluster of islands, this sanctuary is said to be the abode for more than a hundred species of native birds and 60 species of migratory birds. The area where Kadalundi river flows into the Arabian sea is surrounded by hillocks. These hillocks besides creating a scenic environment also give a splendid view of the sanctuary, river mouth and the sea. Even the main railway line to Trivandrum passes through the sanctuary. Kadalundi also has a mangro...
Read MoreIndian Accent continues to be on top of the list of most popular restaurants in India for another year in running. Well, nothing official about it but this list is based on user reviews on popular reviewing site TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor compiles list based on user reviews and updates them annually according to user ratings. It seems that Indian Accent at Friends Colony in New Delhi has continued to maintain its love affair with foodies. But besides this top position this list has seen a lot of upheaval in past one year. Four from the last list have lost their place and consequently there are four new entrants this year. New in this list but already known names. Goa lost one place but than there was another one from Goa to get entry. NCR continues to have its hold in the list with four e
Read MoreHope demonetisation has not affected your travel plans for the year end because coming months are full of lots of events and festivals. My post has already got a few days late due to many reasons. This month brings most of the enjoyment. Colourful winter and much awaited Christmas and New Year holiday. Perhaps the most traveled time of the year. Many things to plan and enjoy. Travel for snowfalls in high mountains to a beach dive in faraway south. Many things happening such as change in venue of Sunburn festival this year. Being already into month Konark festival in Odisha and Hornbill festival in Nagaland have already started but still lot many happenings to catch up. Still we have much lined up here: The Hornbill of Nagaland The Hornbill festival held in the first week of December sho
Read MoreAs soon as darkness fell yesterday evening i.e., 2 December, the European capital became a lot brighter and perhaps more beautiful. Until 5 February 2017, Bright Brussels Winter will illuminate the environs of Brussels' small inner circle. Unusual and playful light works are installed for a sparkling outdoor exhibition across 12 emblematic places, such as Place Stéphanie, Place Poelaert, Place Rogier, Place du Luxembourg or Porte de Flandre. These giant installations illuminate the magical atmosphere of Brussels during this winter period. While the sun becomes more and more distant in the final weeks of the year, Brussels allows a fairy-like and unusual atmosphere to envelop parts of the city. At the initiative of the Brussels Ministry of Mobility and Public Works, visit.brussels, with
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