Europe

Trip to Lapland, The Happiest Country in the world

Posted on March 11, 2024

A mystical white land adorned with snow, stars, birds, reindeers, and fox fires. This is how we will remember our trip to Lapland.

A few weeks ago, our friend asked us to join her on a trip to Finland, and without hesitation, we accepted. We visited Lapland in February 2024. Planning this adventure wouldn’t have been possible without her. Discover why traveling in a group adds to the fun of exploring Finland. Read on 🙂

Here’s an overview of the Lapland itinerary that we followed:

  • Day 1: Fly from Brussels Charleroi to Rovaniemi
  • Day 2: Explore Rovaniemi’s enchanting trails and visit Santa’s home
  • Day 3: Drive from Rovaniemi to Ivalo
  • Day 4: Enjoy adventurous activities in Ivalo
  • Day 5: Witness the Northern Lights from our igloo stay
  • Day 6: Return to Rovaniemi and fly back home to Brussels

Visa Process

Indian residents visiting Europe require a valid Schengen visa for short, temporary visits. As residents of Luxembourg, we held residence permits and did not need to apply for a Schengen visa.

Getting to Lapland 

Did we tell you that Rovaniemi is the official hometown of Santa Claus? We couldn’t think of any better place to start our magical journey through Lapland. To reach Lapland, we took a flight from Brussels Charleroi to Rovaniemi. Rovaniemi has a small airport and offers flight connections from various other EU cities. Many travelers also opt to visit Lapland via Helsinki, Finland’s capital, and then drive or take trains to other Finnish cities.

Day Wise Itinerary

Day 1: Settling in Rovaniemi, the official home town of Santa Claus

Our arrival in Rovaniemi greeted us with a snowy townscape, a sight we’d never forget. . We never saw this much snow ever in our lives, and we felt just so happy to be there. Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, buzzes with a population of ~65,000 people and 12,000 reindeers

On Day 1, we arrived in the Arctic city, took a cab to our AirBnB, dropped our bags, and headed straight out to enjoy some nightlife. Our BnB stay had the perfect location and was very close to some very popular pubs, cafes, restaurants, and supermarkets. We enjoyed some local beers and an absolutely delightful dinner at Gustav Kitchen and Bar. This is a pretty popular restaurant, and if you plan to visit, do make advance reservations on their website. They have an Igloo seating option as well

Day 2: Embarking on a Magical Trail Walk and Visiting Santa’s Home

After a good restful night, we started our day with the Ounasvaara Nature Winter Trail. You can find the trail route and other details here. The trail was beautiful and offering captivating views and vantage points.

Along the trail, there is an observation tower. Do not miss that as it offers a 360° view over the town and the Kemijoki River. You can find open BBQs where you can rest and enjoy some BBQ food. So do not forget to carry some sausages to BBQ.

We spent almost half a day hiking around this moderate to challenging trail. Do remember to have some comfortable snow boots; they are a must here. From our BnB to the trail and back, we covered almost 12 km distance.

In the evening we visited Santa’s home. Our recommendation will be to visit the Santa Claus village around evening when it is about to get dark so that you can enjoy the Christmas lights.

This place is perfect for families and kids. We saw so many toddlers queuing up to meet Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, getting pictures clicked with them.

Don’t forget to send a postcard to your loved ones from Santa Claus’s Main Post Office and leave them to Santa’s little elves to deliver. We penned our messages in colorful postcards and sent them to our nephews Agastya and Aarav. By the way, there’s a secret behind the red post box: all letters dropped here are held and sent for Christmas! Omg, isn’t it super exciting!!

Day 3: Experience the pristine beauty of Ivalo, the village by the golden river

After spending some good time in Rovaniemi, it was time to head to Ivalo, the village by the golden river or river Ivalojoki.

Do you know the first gold rush in Finland took place on the River Ivalojoki, which is why the name “Golden River”? This idyllic destination offers a plethora of outdoor activities and is a haven for ski enthusiasts. We rented a car from Rovaniemi and drove to Ivalo. After a few stops and around 4 hours of drive, we checked in at Artic River Resort .

After a long day, we saved our evening for the one of our most authentic experiences in Lapland. It was time to experience the Finnish Sauna. We booked the traditional barrel sauna at Aurora Village resort. The Finnish sauna experience was pure enchantment.

The wood-fired sauna enveloped us in warmth, cleansing both body and soul. Emerging from the sauna, we embraced the crisp air and plunged into the icy waters of the Ivalo River, a moment of exhilarating rejuvenation amidst Lapland’s moonlit serene beauty

It is a private sauna experience good for upto 4 people. Make sure you book it in advance as their bookings get full pretty quickly. We thoroughly enjoyed the wood-fired hot sauna and then the dips in the chilly cold river. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Do not miss this activity 🙂

Day 4: Snowmobiling on the Golden River and listen to some Sami folk tales 

Snowmobling

After a rejuvenating sauna experience the previous night, we were geared up to steer some gears. Rohit was most excited about Snowmobiling and the first one to be out of bed and ready to just gooo. We booked the Snowmobiling via Aurora Village Ivalo. This was our first time driving a Snowmobile and that too on a frozen river. Sounds exciting enough, right. Driving the snowmobile on the frozen Ivalo River was sheer magic. The pristine white expanse, crisp air, and the thrill of gliding over the icy surface created an exhilarating symphony. Amidst Lapland’s winter wonderland, every turn felt like a dance, weaving unforgettable moments into the fabric of our Arctic adventure.

We then spent our evening hearing Sami folk songs and stories. The performer was dressed in Sami attire, which was nice to see, but we felt that this could have been a better and more authentic experience

Day 5: Stay under the Northern Lights in a glass igloo 

We started our day with visiting Saariselka. This city is know for its beautiful trails and ski areas. We walked a moderate trail named Aurorapolku. The route was beautiful more because of the birds. Birds here know people feed them, so do carry some seeds for them. They will definitely come meet you 🙂 This trail has a very good viewing spots and waiting areas for northern lights.

Well, we wont be able to do complete justice to how was our experience viewing the the dancing Northern Lights in Lapland. That deserves a separate blog.

We will wrap it up saying, that we were lucky to gaze at the stars and northern lights from our glass igloo at Aurora Village and wrapped up the last night of our dreamy vacation. We will share all the details about Aurora Borealis aka the Northern Lights or “Revontulet” in Finnish in our next blog. Stay Tuned

Day 6: Time to feed the reindeers and souvenir shopping

Still gleaming with joy as we were lucky enough to see Aurora Borealis the pervious night, it was time to head back home. We met some cutest reindeers at Aurora Village and fed them.

Such gentle animals, they were happy to be around us as they were getting to eat their favorite snack reindeer moss 🙂 While driving back to Rovaniemi, we took pit stop to at S Grocery market to buy local delicacies like berry jams, chocolates, tea and tea cup locally known as Kuksa

Stay and other details

Budget

Finland trip definitely needs a lot of planning and budget is a very important part of it. Lapland is expensive, in terms of activities, stays, food, transport, everything can be pricey. Keep a daily budget of ~170/200 euros per person when you plan your trip to Lapland. It can go higher depending on the activities and the season of the visit. Flights costs will be additional.

Tips:

  1. Book all activities in advance otherwise you may not be able to find well rated operators and preferred slots
  2. Vegetarian food options are limited but good. We ate vegetarian food for our entire Lapland trip and did not struggle at all to find it
  3. Book the rented car in advance
  4. Do visit the supermarket to pick some amazing local food items
  5. Start your day early as you will have limited day light in winters
  6. Do the Sauna at night for a mystical experience and save the day for other activities

We hope you enjoyed our journey through Lapland. Share your thoughts in the comments and stay tuned for more travel tips. Subscribe via email or follow us on Instagram and Facebook for updates and inspiration

India

Pet-Friendly Stays In Pondicherry (2021)

Posted on March 22, 2021
Our top recommendations for Pet Friendly Stays in Pondicherry

Our recommendations for Pet Friendly Stays in Pondicherry

We recently had a new addition to our family. Meet “Chime” our 4 months old puppy who came to our lives in Jan’21. He is such an adorable little chap who loves food, travel & lots of sleep. The pawfect traveler buddy for us.

Since Jan’20, we have not travelled anywhere and stayed home like everyone else due to the pandemic. With Chime joining the family this year, we want to introduce him to new experiences in forms of sounds, smells and meeting more pets. And so we thought why not a road trip 🙂

Travelling with a pet comes with its own pros and cons. We will soon share our experience about it but for now, we will write about some of our recommended  Pet Friendly Hotels in Pondicherry. The hotels/home stays are not in any order of preference or ranking. We have visited each one & stayed in few:

1. Mel Ville “QUARTZ” Penthouse Apartment: While looking for a pet friendly hotel in Pondicherry, we found this place to be trending in top searches. Anup & his Wife, Mehak runs this place with their family. We booked “QUARTZ” room at Mel Ville, which is Penthouse Apartment on the 3rd floor. We stayed here during our recent visit to Pondicherry. The entire space comes with a private – terrace, room, kitchen & small sun deck. We instantly fell in love with this place because it was like home away from home. Tucked in a quiet residential neighborhood very near to the ever-bustling white town, this penthouse had everything that we wanted.

Mel Villa Pondicherry

Chime was usually found outside sunbathing in the open terrace

Open terrace at Mel Ville

Here’s our 2 cents on what you can expect from this place –

  • Private terrace with lots of open space for our puppy & for yourself
  • Good WIFI (who doesn’t need it these days when we all are working remotely)
  • Extremely neat (very important for any stay) & spacious room with natural light
  • The room had a private kitchen with induction gas, fridge & utensils which was a blessing
  • Mel Whisk is the in-house kitchen service available at Mel Ville which was a savior. On our special request, they provided us with some boiled veggies and meat for our pup 🙂 For humans, they make AMAZING pizzas and some home style meals too 😀
Quartz room at Mel Villa

Quartz room at Mel Villa

What not to expect from this place –

  • As we said, Mel is like home away from home. So do not expect some super luxurious rooms with amazing room service like in hotels. Remember it is small family who is running this place.
  • No stunning views outside your room windows. This place is located in a busy neighborhood, so you will hear bird chirping, kids running around in nearby houses & at times honking from the main street. For us, we never got bothered about these things so all three of us were super happy and comfortable here.

Mornings in Pondicherry

Pro Tip: You can find Mel Ville listed on various travel booking sites but we recommend you directly contact Anup on Google. You will definitely get a better deal if you book this place directly. That’s what we did.

2. Le Jardin Suffren: This is a hidden gem & located in the heart of white town, Pondicherry. A heritage building with a beautiful courtyard. We discovered this place because of Madame Shivani 🙂 She was hunting for a good spa & found Le Spa By Cl 45 which is part of Le Jarden Suffren property. The courtyard is full of lush green plants & trees which sends such cozy vibes. While speaking to the staff, she got to know that this is a pet friendly hotel with a cute café, a boutique store & two lovable inhouse dogs, Dilli & Sunny.

 

We requested the staff to show us the room & they happily agreed to take us around. We saw the studio room “Chile” which was very spacious, had an small open kitchen & private veranda that makes it perfect if you plan to stay here with your pets. We really loved the blue & white color theme which made the room look very sophisticated yet had personal touch to it. Even though we did not stay here, but spent almost half a day here chilling at the café, chatting with staff, playing with their dogs and loved how happy and positive this place is.

 

3. Villa Helena Guest House: Another pet friendly accommodation in the heart of the old town of Pondicherry. This quaint hotel is set in a heritage building. They have 3-4 rooms in a separate section of the hotel which are made available for pets families. These rooms are on ground floor & open to a common small garden area. We felt the room sizes were little small & open garden area was not so well maintained for the tariffs they charge for this place. What we really liked about this place is the light, bright & spacious open restaurant which is of course pet friendly 🙂

 

Pro Tips: 

  • A lot of places claim to be pet friendly but when you book them, you get to know that they do not entertain pets. From our experience, we want to say that before making any reservations, call at the hotel and get a confirmation regarding their pet policies. We all want to have a safe & happy stay for us and our pets. Isn’t it 🙂
  • Some hotels, that allow pets ask for extra charges. however some welcome your pets without any additional costs. Consider booking in such hotels when you’re booking your next trip.
  • You can also find a lot of pet friendly stays in Auroville but we are not listing down any names as we did not visit them personally.
  • There are definitely many more pet friendly stay options available in Pondicherry. We would recommend you to check them out on Airbnb. They have an easy search filters for pet friendly Airbnb in Pondicherry.

Lastly, we also want to talk about our “not” so good experience at Lily Pool Villa which is also pet friendly hotel. We read the google reviews & decided to book this place via booking.com. When we arrived at the hotel, we found the property was not well maintained & the rooms were shabby. So, we decided an early check out from this place. The pictures uploaded online are definitely stunning but in real they should do some touch up to get back this property in shape 🙂

Paradise Beach in Pondicherry

Enjoy lots of good time with your pets in Pondy & do share your stories with us.

We hope that you have an amazing time in Pondicherry with your pet! We can’t wait to go back one more time! For Pondicherry trip planning, read our detailed blog here.

Hope you enjoyed reading this post. Let us know in the comments or by sharing it with the social media links! We’d love to keep sharing travel tips so feel free to subscribe by e-mail. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook 

India

The Ultimate Guide to Varkala

Posted on October 16, 2019

“Take me to the ocean, let me sail in the open sea, to breathe the warm and salty air and dream of things to be” – unknown”

There are always those places, the memories of which, are cherished forever and reminiscing about them lights you up and makes you go there again. Our sojourn in Varkala was one such unforgettable experience. Varkala in Kerala is one of the idyllic destinations in India which lends itself wonderfully to solitude. One is bound to fall in love with the laid-back and bohemian vibe of this place. So without further ado let’s get started !!

Varkala presents a very contrasting experience to the travelers. Where one side of Varkala has various prominent places of worship including the famous 2000 year old Janardana Swami Temple and Sivagiri Mutt, the other side with the Varkala cliff and the Varkala beach displays quite a peaceful vibe. We visited Varkala in the last week of December as a part of our Kerala Trip (Kochi -> Munroe Islands -> Varkala) and loved every bit of our stay there. Please click here to refer to our detailed blog on Kochi

In spite of us travelling in the peak time of Christmas, we didn’t experience splurge of tourists in Varkala when we travelled during the peak season, we did not see a lot of tourists coming here, it may be because still a lot of Indian travellers do not visit here.

Getting There

In the last couple of years, Varkala has gained immense popularity with Foreigners and Indians alike as an alternative beach destination over congested Goa bearing the burden of over tourism. This small town is just one hour (36 km) drive from Thiruvanathapuram and once you fly down to Thiruvanathapuram you can easily get chauffeur driven cabs from here to reach Varkala at an economical tariff of ~1500 INR.

You can also opt to fly in to Kochi and drive around 170 km to reach Varkala (driving time~4 hrs). But go for this option only if you have Kochi added in your itinerary. We chose this option as we planned to cover Kochi and stop for a day at Munroe Islands en route to Varkala.

(Click here to refer to our Kochi Blog)

On the way to Varkala from Kochi, we stopped at Nalla Bhoomi for lunch and treated our taste buds with some sumptuous non vegetarian food

Click here for the Google Maps location of the restaurant

Where to stay

Varkala hosts multiple accommodation options suiting luxury to budget travellers. But we would suggest to choose any hotel with 4 star+ ratings on any of the booking platforms at the Varkala Cliff. Also Varkala Cliff has some really amazing cafes serving sumptuous breakfast (Darjeeling Cafe being our favourite) so it is better to go for a room in the hotel without breakfast. We actually didn’t stay at the cliff but once we reached there, we realised that we should have

Our resort in Varkala

We stayed at the Deshadan Cliff & Beach Resort in Varkala

Must Dos in Varkala

Varkala Cliff

Varkala is the only place in Southern Kerala where cliffs are found adjacent to the sea and these cliffs give a spectacular and unending view of the Arabian Sea. The Varkala Cliff is the most happening part of the town with all the major hotels, restaurants, cafes and shops nestled on the cliff each offering an unobstructed view of its own

The beautiful Varkala Cliff in the view

The cliff is the most happening place to be in Varkala, with stunning views of the sea. From the cliff, the Varkala beach reachable only by stairs. We felt the beach was quite neat & never overrun with too many people

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

On the cliff you can indulge in quite a few activities like Kerala massage and spa, tattoos making, yoga, shopping, paragliding or simply relax at any cafe and enjoy the view of the endless sea

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Where to Eat

Varkala cliff hosts a lot of beautiful sea facing cafes, resorts & restaurants. From these, one can enjoy the serene beach views from any place on the cliff. Make sure you account for their leisure pace of service while ordering food. Almost all restaurants serve beer but you wont find the details in any menu. If you ask for it, they may serve it depending on the availability. The fun part is they camouflage beer in the coffee mugs 

Darjeeling Cafe finds a special mention in our blog as we visited this lovely cafe a couple of times and really loved the vibe and the food of the place

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Breakfast with a view

Odayam Beach

After having a gala at the Varkala cliff we headed to the Odayam Beach next day to enjoy some time in solitude. The Odayam beach is situated further north of Varkala beach and is perfect if you want to enjoy in each other’s company. we chose to stay for a night at the Palm Tree Heritage and were given a beautiful One Bedroom Villa with a Sea View. Click here to check more about the place. 

Enjoying a serene sunset in front of our Villa

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Ticked off yet another breathtaking sunrise from our bucket list

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Kappil Beach

Those of you know us well, would know that we always go to a place with a well researched itinerary. It always helps us to get the maximum out of our trip and the same research goes into our blog to help the fellow travelers. But we also make sure to keep aside some time where we roam around the place aimlessly to discover something different and new. And this is how we discovered the Kappil beach while driving around Varkala and we were so glad that we did. There is a small stretch of road here which has the Kappil beach on one side and the Kappil lake on another. A perfect photo opportunity for a drone shot

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Click here for the Google Location of the Kappil Beach

This is surely one of the untouched places of Varkala. As it looked like, not a lot of tourists pay visit to this beach and we could only find the local fishermen doing their daily chores. We took some pictures and proceeded from there

getting some shade in the scorching sun

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let us know in the comments or by sharing it with the social media links! We’d love to keep sharing travel tips so feel free to subscribe by e-mail. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook 

Travel Hacks

How to save money to travel

Posted on October 15, 2019
How to save money for travel

We often get asked from our friends & readers on how do we manage to travel so often without burning a hole in our pockets. So we thought why not share some tips that we follow religiously that might be helpful for you guys.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Here are some tips on how to save money for your travel:

1. Having a steady source of income: We both have full time jobs. So a steady source of income always helps

2. Have a dedicated travel fund: Apart from usual savings that we all do, we have regular recurring deposits running for travel. Longer duration and higher amount for international and shorter duration and lesser amount for domestic travel

3. Plan your travel in advance: We usually make a booking at least 4-5 months in advance. We also stagger our spends over the months when we make our bookings. First flight and visa then hotel and then other expenses

4. Enjoy but spend less: When not travelling we take conscious effort to avoid impulsive shopping and not drink and dine at very expensive places. We don’t realise but this at least saves us 10k INR a month for us. We also time our shopping with our trips

 

Eating out at not so expensive places can save you a lot of money

5. Travel during off/shoulder season: We also avoid going to the destinations in the peak season and always try going during the shoulder seasons. This helps us save at least 30%-35% of the trip cost during the peak season. We usually have a handful of places in our wishlist and set price alerts for flights, hotels and cabs and keep scouting for deals

6. Do some Homework: We are always on the look out of the extended weekends, optional holidays for the coming months and also keep a brief itinerary ready of the places in our Wishlist. This helps us book the flights at some attractive prices available only though a limited time deal. We still remember this is how we got the Bangalore – Istanbul Emirates flight at a round trip fare of just 30K INR

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

7. Keep a watch for good offers & deals: We usually have a handful of places in our wishlist and set price alerts for flights and hotels and keep scouting for deals. We browse Booking.com, Makemytrip.com and Skyscanner.com for any limited time deals esp. over the weekends

Keep hunting for exciting offers for your travel

8. Using credit cards wisely: We are always on the lookout for offers on credit cards which can at times save us a lot of money. We usually make our bookings through credits cards & if a Free EMI option is available, we use it to spread the expense over the months

9. Splurge a bit: During our vacations, we keep some variety in accomodations ranging from budgeted places to the luxurious ones. On the days when we stay at luxurious places we try and spend more time at the resort and do more of sight seeing on the other days when we stay at the budgeted places

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

10. Gifting a trip: We don’t buy expensive gifts for each other on birthdays, anniversaries or any other special occasions. So the gifting funds are used for traveling

11. Friends with benefits: Travelling with a group of friends is not just a lot of fun but you share a lot of expenses which helps us in saving some money on these trips

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

This is how we save money for our travel. Simple..Isnt it? So save money, travel the world and create memories.

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let us know in the comments or by sharing it with the social media links! We’d love to keep sharing travel tips so feel free to subscribe by e-mail. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook

India

Red Earth Kabini – in the lap of Nature

Posted on September 1, 2019

The travel bug bit us since we moved to Bangalore around seven years back. It was our first year in the city, and be it the day trips, week end trips or extended weekend trips, we simply used to just pack our bags, stuff them in our car and whoosh (You can find road trip itineraries of quite a few places around Bengaluru here). Though we explored majority of destinations in South India during these years, we couldn’t tick Kabini off our list, until now

Brief about Kabini

The Kabini river, also known as Kapila, originates in the Wayanad District of Kerala. It flows into Karnataka and eventually merges with the Cauvery River. The river is accessible to the tourists from the Nagarhole National Park. This Park is situated in the Mysore and Coorg districts of Karnataka On it’s south-western side lies the Sunkadakatte Tourism Zone which includes a stretch of the Kabini River. It is this zone that tourists are familiar with refer as Kabini

A beautiful postcard worthy house somewhere in Kabini

Best time to visit

Kabini can be visited throughout the year but wildlife spotting is usually the best between November and January. Another good time to visit Kabini is between July and October when the monsoons turn the forests lush green. If you plan to visit during monsoons, we would suggest to contact your hotel/resort to get a real time check on the driving conditions and rains

Getting There

We drove from Bangalore to Kabini (via Mysore) but there are other ways to reach Kabini. You can reach Mysore via train. From Mysore, you can take a bus or a cab to Kabini which is just one and an half hours away

Frankly, we avoid driving on the Google suggested Bangalore Mysore Highway (Ramnagara – Mandya – Srirangapatna) as it is quite a busy one. The never ending traffic on this highway takes away the joy of being on a road trip. Fortunately, we recently discovered an amazing alternate route via Belur cross and Nagamangla. It adds 30 km to the trip but lets us avoid the traffic till Srirangapatna

the suggested route from Bangalore to Kabini

Our ritual pit stop at Kicchana Halli Mane for sumptuous South Indian Breakfast

Click here for the google location of Kicchana Halli Mane

The drive to Kabini with the above route was quite breezy and pleasant. The single lane road from Belur cross to Srirangapatna (via Nagamangala) offered such lovely marigold and flower farms on its either side

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

During our road trips, we always keep an eye on the signboards while cross any small towns to discover local gems. And at this time we discovered this beautiful 12th century temple built under the reign of the Hoysalas in a small town Nagamangala, also known as the city of historic temples

The beautiful Sri Soumyakeshava temple in Nagamangla

Click here for the location of the Sri Soumyakeshava Temple in Nagamangala

Red Earth Kabini

Imagine waking up every morning to the chirping of the birds and see the sun’s golden rays kiss the pristine backwaters. We got to experience this during our stay at Red Earth, Kabini. Located on a peninsula and surrounded by the Kabini backwaters, Red Earth, Kabini is a 10 acre lush green property lapped by water on three sides. But more than its pretty face, there was something else that caught our attention, will talk about it in a bit

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

We reached Red Earth, Kabini around 1 PM and were welcomed by smiling faces at the resort. After completing check-in formalities, we were taken to our cottage. The cottage was quite spacious and had a great balance between the vintage furniture and all modern hotel amenities.  The cottage also had a cozy front and back porch and a Jacuzzi as well

Our Cottage at Red Earth, Kabini

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Things to Do

There are quite a few activities to do at Red Earth, Kabini

  1. Burn some calories: Just grab a cycle & enjoy your time around the Kabini Backwaters. The cycle trails in Red Earth, Kabini are just amazing

  2. Connect with Nature  Did we tell you that this is a perfect place for Nature enthusiasts. You can spot almost 250 species of birds, fruits and flowers within the resort. Birds like Beaver Bird, Sunbird, Sparrow, Aspania, Tailored Bird & many more and flora like Jackfruits, Figs, Passion Fruits, African Berries, Rose Apples, Butter Fruit, Cashew and lot more

  3. Take a spin with the Coracle ride:  Would do you like a spin in the water. If yes, then coracle ride is the one for you. We did the coracle ride for the first time in Hampi and now don’t miss it, if available. We suggest going in the evening when it is breezy and the weather is more enjoyable. We paid 200 INR per head for the ride

  4. Take a dip in the pool: This is our favorite ritual whenever we stay in a resort that houses a swimming pool. We suggest to carry your own swim wear. Alternatively, the clothes are available on rent at the resort as well

  5. Enjoy Backwaters from the Wonky Monkey Cafe: Enjoy the beautiful view of the backwaters while sipping tea from this lovely cafe

  6. Unwind at Wetlands, the island bar: Unwind with a drink or two with some lovely music, billiards and books

  7. Enjoy the Cultural activities: Enjoy the various cultural activities with the local dancers performing

  8. Get pampered at Zvasthi Spa: Do not miss getting pampered at this Spa. Special mention to the well trained masseuses Sumitra and Kala

  9. Do some Sight seeing: Visit the wild life sanctuary & visit the centuries old Shiva temple

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Sipping Tea at the Wonkey Monkey Cafe with just a breathtaking view of the backwaters

What sets them apart

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make” – Jane Goodall

More than the luxuries and activities that Red Earth, Kabini has to offer, one should stay here to realize and appreciate the efforts they take to impact nature positively. Owners and staff alike, they are committed to sustainable tourism and not use the term just as a marketing gimmick. Let us tell you some of these things and hope we all learn from it a bit

  1. Plastic use is avoided: The drinking water in the cottages is kept in glass bottles to avoid the use of plastic

  2. Water is recycled and reused: The water from the cottages and Jacuzzi is recycled and used for watering the fauna in the resort

  3. Procurement is done locally: Vegetables, dairy and meat is procured from the local communities in an effort to empower them

  4. Employees are hired locally and upskilled: 98% of the resort staff comes from the nearby communities and tribes for all sorts of work and not just menial tasks. They also put conscious effort in upskilling their workforce. Some of the Red Earth Naturalists started with them as security guards. Most of them don’t have a hospitality degree but know how to wear a smile always

  5. Solar energy is harvested: Solar energy is harvested at the resort to heat water

  6. Cottages are constructed with least damage to the environment: The cottages are made using the rammed earth technique through mud and sand minimizing the usage of cement, steel etc

A meal on Us

We would love for you to go and enjoy and experience the Red Earth Hospitality at Kabini and would love to sponsor a meal for two during your stay. Please save the following picture, show at the resort at the time of check-in and treat your taste buds

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let us know in the comments or by sharing it with the social media links! We’d love to keep sharing travel tips so feel free to subscribe by e-mail. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook 

India

Yercaud: Weekend getaway for a quick rejuvenation

Posted on December 23, 2018

Sometimes all you need is a quick quality escape from the daily hustle, a scenic road drive and a decent destination to head to. Yercaud definitely fits the bill for one living in Bangalore. Yercaud is not touted among the popular hill stations in South India especially in the western ghats, but as they say, beautiful places exist all around you, you just need to look for it

Yercaud is Located in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu and nestled in the Shevaroys range of hills in the Eastern Ghats. Some 20 km and 22 hairpin bends away from the Salem city, lies this picturesque hill station where you can drive down to rejuvenate.

1. Stay at the Regent Hill Side Villa

For us, a vacation becomes perfect when we get what we wish for. Stay in a vintage cottage constructed during the British era, delectable non vegetarian food, warm hosts who treat you as family members and lots of cute pet dogs and birds who will keep you occupied the whole day, what else we could wish for

There are quite a few hotels and resorts to stay in Yercaud that suits everyone’s budget. If you wish to have a bit more luxurious stay, the following resorts can also be considered:

  1. Hotel Great Trails Yercaud By GRT
  2. Grand Palace Hotel And Spa
  3. Sterling Yercaud – Resorts and Hotels

The entire place has its own amusing character which it displays with so much delight. Multitudes of signboards and frames display all the instructions and information in all it’s best sense of humor

As this time we wanted a bit of a laid back vacation and as we have been to Yercaud earlier as well, we didn’t go extensive on the sightseeing and instead spent good time at the property playing with pets, taking a walk in the green lawn surrounded with beautiful flowers with birds chirping and flocking around

 

Being non vegetarians, we were in for a treat during our stay here. The in-house restaurant ‘Sweet Rascal’ serves all the delectable non vegetarian food one can imagine be it Indian, Continental or Italian. And top it with some really amazing milkshakes. But, if you are a vegetarian then you can skip this restaurant for food as you won’t get any choices to order from

To book accommodation at the property, please directly contact the owner, Mr. Vishu Kariappa at +91 94437 00000 (we couldn’t find the property listed with any of the travel websites)

2. Annamalaiyar View Point

The Annamalaiyar View Point is located around 8 km from the Yercaud city and undoubtedly offers the best views of the Shevaroys Hills. The road to the View Point is decent except for the last one kilometer which is a diversion from the main road and a bit steep and dilapidated.

Beautiful sceneries on the way to the Annamalaiyar View Point

Magical view of the Shevaroys range of hills in the Eastern Ghats

3. Montfort School

Only seen in movies, we had never seen a boarding school in real. We always wanted to see one having beautiful campus, manicured gardens, and buildings displaying British era architecture. During one of the many conversations over tea, Mr. Vishu told us that he is an esteemed alumni of the Montfort school in Yercaud. And in an instant he could see the excitement gleaming in our eyes and offered to arrange a tour of the school for us.

The entrance of the Montfort School

Beautiful Bouganvillea around

Lovely colors and architecture in the Montfort School

Apart from these places, here’s a list of other places to see and do in Yercaud

  1. Yercaud Lake
  2. Pagoda View Point
  3. Killiyur Waterfalls
  4. Lady’s Seat

Yercaud Lake – One of the main attractions of Yercaud

Hope you enjoyed our blog post and found it helpful. Let us know in the comments or by sharing it with the social media links! We would love to keep sharing travel tips so feel free to subscribe by e-mail. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook

Travel Hacks

Must-have Travel Accessories | Travelling without these, Think again :)

Posted on April 15, 2020

Rohit & I love everything about travelling 🙂 Right from trip planning to bookings to packing to finally travelling.  We enjoy every bit of it. We are often asked on Instagram about packing tips, must-have travel accessories that we use or any other tips & tricks that come in handy for us. So here are some of our personal favourites that may be useful for you as well 🙂

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

1. Mobile Tripod

A lot of times we get asked on Instagram that who takes our beautiful & gorgeous couple shots & the answer to that is a “Mobile Tripod”. We highly recommend investing in a good quality mobile tripod with a bluetooth remote. We have a Mobile tripod of the brand Yuntong that we picked from Singapore. These mobile tripods are very light weight, fit well in a backpack or handbag and can be easily carried throughout the day. You can clicks loads of awesome pictures without getting worried about who will take your couple or family pictures. Check out these stunning reflections that we captured from our Bali trip using out Google Pixel mobile phone & the mobile tripod

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on


2. Travel Iron

I worry too much about crushed clothes during my travels & not able to find an iron in my hotel. To my rescue, I have my portable travel iron. It is one of the must-haves for any travels because its lightweight, compact & you can just slide it in your luggage. And with a travel iron, you can always pack clothes in your suitcase by rolling them to create more space without having to worry

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

3. Travel Packing Cubes/Bag Organizers

No matter how much I praise them, it won’t be enough. When travelling for longer vacations, we always prefer packing our luggage in packing cubes. We picked two sets of travel bag organizers from Amazon.in. These came in different packing cubes sizes and were very handy in segregating the luggage for clothing, toiletries, charges, wires etc. Apart from keeping our luggage organized, these cubes saves us a lot of space in suitcases. You can compress a cube to place more items into it. A must-have for sure

4. Refillable Travel Silicone Tubes/Bottles

These squeezable & leak-proof silicone tubes come handy in carrying liquid soaps, shampoos, creams etc. Basically your hunt for buying those tiny travel packs will end here once you start using these tubes 😀 We Reuse/refill these tubes for all our vacations and by this way we also do our bit to reduce plastic waste

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

5. Digital Weighing Scale for Luggage

Another must-have accessory is the portable digital weighing scale for your luggage. The last minute decisions on how much extra luggage you are carrying & how much to keep in check-in & how much to pack can be a spoilsport at the start if the trip. Such last minute packing decisions can be easily sorted by this simple device. Super light & super cheap to buy. I remember buying it from Amazon.in for just 300 bucks

6. Scarfs

You can use this little piece of cloth in so many ways apart from just using it as a scarf. A good photo prop, saves you from sun, can be your beach mat and lot more

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

7. Collapsible Umbrellas

We have waited in sun in long queues to enter a sightseeing spot & have seen so many jealous faces looking at us. We hope you can guess why 😀 Thanks to our tiny collapsible umbrellas which are our good buddies in bad weather

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

8. Old Sunglasses Cases

We dump in all the chargers, wires, headphones etc in a old empty sunglass case/cover. This really is such a simple tip but helps keep your travel bags so much organised & you can easily find all these tid-bits when in need

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

9. Energy Drink Powders

Carrying these energy drink powders help us stay ahead on those long travel days especially when you are visiting in hot/humid weathers. We usually carry small sachets of some energy drinks to add to some water which helps keeps us hydrated & energised

10. Snacks & Food

We always have space in our luggage for some munchies, nuts & some ready to eat meals. We love exploring the local food of a new place but carrying some food in your bags is always a good idea.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

11. Notebook & Pen

Do not always rely on your mobile phones especially during international travels. We are a bit old school here…so before a trip starts, we always jot down all the important contact numbers & addresses of our hotels, local contacts etc. in our little notebook

12. Extra Memory Cards

No harm in carrying some extra memory cards for your cameras. Always a good idea to capture more memories without worrying about the space in your phone and camera 🙂 Isn’t it?

Now that you know these hacks, do read our blog post on “HOW TO SAVE MONEY TO TRAVEL”

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let us know in the comments or by sharing it with the social media links! We’d love to keep sharing travel tips so feel free to subscribe by e-mail. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook

Vietnam

The best of Vietnam in 10 days – Itinerary

Posted on November 2, 2019

It was sometime in January and our feet were itching for a vacation. We usually plan our vacations at least 4-5 months in advance and not having a vacation in sight made us worried. After a bit of researching and seeking suggestions from our globetrotting friends we decided to head to Vietnam. It was a country that had postcard perfect countryside villages, stunning & unspoiled beaches, amazing cityscapes, world famous Unesco heritage sites, marvelous bays & lastly some delicious food with a good health quotient. All boxes ticked for us

Visa Process

Tourist visa process for Vietnam was fairly simple for us as it was visa on arrival, just need to have an Indian Passport valid for at least 6 months beyond arrival date and one visa arrival letter to be submitted at the arrival airport in Vietnam. Our hotel in Hanoi sent us the visa arrival letter and charged us 10 USD per person for the service. We also paid 25 USD per person towards the visa stamp. Would recommend you to check with you hotel in Vietnam for this service as having a visa arrival letter would save you good time at the airport

Getting there

People usually fly to Hanoi (city in North Vietnam) or Ho Chi Minh (city in South Vietnam) depending on their itinerary. As we planned to cover North and central Vietnam, we decided to fly to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam with Air Asia. We took a late evening flight from Bangalore and eight hours later landed at the Noi Bai Airport, Hanoi to be picked up by a private car and dropped at our hotel in Hanoi just in time for the breakfast

Pro Tip:

  1. Currency is the king in Vietnam so make sure you are prepared in advance for it. We carried the USD currency notes and got it converted to Vietnamese dong notes in a shop near our hotel in the Hanoi old quarters
  2. The roads in any city in Vietnam are quite narrow and busy. Would suggest you to hire a bike for peaceful commuting within the city. We would recommend bike renting from Motorvina (contact number: +84 935922866) for bike rentals in Vietnam

Day wise Itinerary

Day 1: Hanoi

Once arrived in Hanoi, we could finally gleam with joy to actually starting to experience what we have been extensively reading about Vietnam through multiple blogs and vlogs. We arrived in the Hanoi city, the capital of Vietnam in the morning and were taken to our hotel, Paradise Boutique hotel via private transfer. We would strongly recommend staying at the hotel.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Hanoi city is quite famous for its street food culture. And since we were a bit tired from our over night journey, we didn’t plan to do any sight seeing but explore the markets of Hanoi and follow our Hanoi food Itinerary for the day to indulge in Vietnamese cuisine (yes we make one for every trip and follow it religiously). We roamed the streets of old quarters, in & around Hoan Kiem Lake & enjoyed the local flavors of Hanoian food. Click here to check out our street food guide on Hanoi. The same day, we left for Danang, checked in our hotel & called it a day

Day 2: Hai van Pass and Danang

The day started early with a good deal of enthusiasm as we set off for our bike ride on the Hai Van Pass. Stunning seaside views, mountainous landscape, low lying puffy clouds, wide open road, fresh air, and the thrill of discovering what lies around the next bend aptly describe the Hai Van Pass. Click here to read about our Hai Van Pass experience

The Picturesque pitstops on the Hai Van Pass

Stunning views from the Hai Van Pass. How can you not fall in love with it !!

The picturesque Hai Van Pass

After enjoying the ride, we stopped for lunch at Lan Co Beach & then headed to Hue. It was a 1 hour drive but it was a hot afternoon & by the time we reached Hue, we were extremely exhausted. Hue – the imperial city has a lot of historic sites to visit but due to dearth of time, we could only visit the Citadel

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

The Hue Royal Palace, Hue

Our 2 Cents:

  1. If you are planning to visit Hue from Danang, we would suggest to stay for a night at Hue instead of just doing a day trip to be able to cover all the historic sites in Hue. For a day trip, you can avail the option of coming back to Danang in a cab to avoid driving bike all the way back to Danang
  2. We recommend to start your day early & visit the sites in Hue in the morning because the heat can get unbearable in afternoons

We relaxed a bit once we reached our Hotel in Danang and then headed to enjoy the nightlife of Danang. Luckily it was Friday & the city of Danang was in its full glory. The beautifully lit bridges, local eateries lush with crowd and dance parties at some high-end hotels. If in Danang over the weekend, do not miss the dazzling display of lights, fire & water show at Dragon Bridge. Its quite fun to see Dragon spitting fire & water

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Day 3 – 5: Hội An

It is very difficult to say which city in Vietnam we loved the most. But we would still say it was Hoi An. We just fell in love with this ancient riverside town for it’s gleaming lanterns, tasty food, chatty friendly locals and traditional rustic architecture

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

We paddled our bicycles through the lantern lit lanes, beautiful riverside, paddy fields, centuries old tailor shops, chinese houses, beaches and more. This city made us feel that life is just so much prettier with those colorful lit up lanterns and those bougainvilleas hanging around in every nook & corner.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Our 2 Cents:

  1. Try and visit Hoi An over the weekend as with more people visiting the city is decorated more with lanterns adding to its charm
  2. Wear comfortable shoes as you may have to walk a bit since the vehicles are not allowed near the town riverside

Day 6 – 8: Bai Tu Long Bay

The bays in Vietnam are like what Eiffel Tower is to France. A trip to Vietnam is incomplete without visiting them. Halong bay is the most popular of all the bays thanks to its high popularity on Instagram, easy accessibility, more cruise options to choose from. But we instead chose Bai Tu Long Bay which lies to the north east of the Halong Bay for the solitude it offered and was every bit as beautiful as Halong. If you are looking for a more peaceful escapade with lesser cruises around and lesser crowds, we would recommend Bai Tu Long Bay over the Halong bay

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Day 9: Ninh Binh

Ninh Bing is located just ~100 km from Hanoi and is also popularly known as the Halong Bay of the land. We did a day trip to Ninh Binh from Hanoi but to regret later on why we didn’t plan a day’s stay there. Major tourist attractions in Ninh Binh include Hang Mua, Tam Coc, and Trang An 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Day 10: Hanoi

Before bidding Adieu to this beautiful country we spent our last day in Hanoi exploring some hidden gems of the city. Like the Binh Minh Jazz Pub famous amongst the locals, the Iconic Long Bien Bridge and The train street amongst others

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let us know in the comments or by sharing it with the social media links! We’d love to keep sharing travel tips so feel free to subscribe by e-mail. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook 

India

JAIPUR – THE SHOPPING GUIDE TO THE PINK CITY

Posted on September 1, 2019

Jaipur, the Pink City of India is the capital of Rajasthan and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. In our recent trip to Jaipur, we were there for 3 days. If you are headed to Jaipur, you must read our detailed travel guide to Jaipur. Apart from the gorgeous heritage palaces, gardens & museums, this city will amaze you with its colourful & vibrant culture and to add to it are the amazing local markets where you can buy wooden handicrafts, jewellery, clothes and much more.

Bapu Bazaar, Jaipur

A glimpse of the colourful Bapu Bazaar in Jaipur

If you are in Jaipur, check our shopping guide to the pink city. So here’s our list of Best places to shop in Jaipur City: 

Blue Pottery:

With its Turco-Persian origin, Blue pottery of Jaipur has become very popular and widely known as a traditional craft of this city. You can’t take off your eyes from the bright cobalt blue colour products with beautifully carved designs like motifs, flowers, birds and animal. We visited “Neeraja International” to pick our collection for Blue Pottery. In here, you can find jewellery, doorknobs, tiles, mirrors, bowls, plates and many more things.

Address: Neerja International, 1 Anand Bhawan, Jacob Road Civil Lines, Jaipur. Contact numbers: +91-141-4112609; +91-9829043679, +91-9829006039

Blue pottery plates from Neerja International

Jaipuri Razai:

Very thin & lightweight Jaipuri Razai (quilt) is a must buy when you visit this city. After doing our research, we decided on to visit the famous razai shop named “Kadar Bux“, shop no. 11. Do take into account that there are multiple shops named Kadar Bux but one should know which one is the original shop. We found some really gorgeous razai designs here.

Address: Kadar Bux, Shop No- 11. Hawa Mahal Bazaar, Old Assembly Hall, Jaipur. Contact numbers: +91-9024563657; +91-98282463532.

Block print bed sheets, covers and dohars:

Again loads & loads of shops in Jaipur where you will find amazing quality products. We have been to Jaipur twice & both times we ended up visiting “Durga Textiles” in Bapu Bazaar. We loved their amazing collection of block print bed covers & bedsheets. They also have some good collection for quilted men’s jackets

Address: Durga Textiles, Shop No- 76-77. Bapu Bazaar, Jaipur. Contact numbers: +91-9929648297; +91-9460501119

Kundan Jewellery:

Johari Bazaar Road in Jaipur runs north from Sanganeri Gate to the Badi Chaupur traffic circle. This market street is the hub of Jaipuri gem and jewellery trade and is a good place to pick up silver and enamel bracelets and earrings. You will find everything from gold bangles to cheap costume jewellery in the shops that line this road. Looking for authentic heritage & timeless Indian luxury jewellery in gold & silver, then do visit Amrapali Jewels, one of Jaipur’s most famous jewellery shops.

Address: Amrapali, Panch Batti, Mi Road, Near Raj Mandir Cinema, Jayanti Market, New Colony, Jaipur

Kundan jewellery from Jaipur

My kundan jewellery shopping from Jaipur

Rajasthani Puppets Dolls: Every nook & corner of Jaipur’s Bapu Bazaar, you will find these colourful pair of puppets (also known as Kathputli). A very beautiful souvenir to take for your family and friends.

Jaipuri puppet dolls

Textile & clothing:

Rajasthan is well known for its quality textiles, some of the most famous being hand block prints, leheriya and tie n dye. There are numerous shops in Jaipur where you can find an irresistible collection of these cotton shirts, jackets, sarees, dupattas and fabrics. Some of our recommendations are: Ranas Saree Emporium, Anokhi, Soma Shop, Cottons Jaipur, Suvasa, Bunaai

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Hope you enjoyed this post. Want to plan your Jaipur trip? Read our detailed travel blog on Jaipur. Let us know in the comments or by sharing on social media. We’d love to keep sharing travel tips so feel free to subscribe by e-mail. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook

 

Turkey

A 10 day Trip to Turkey

Posted on June 29, 2019

“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves, and we travel, next, to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again—to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more” – Ray Bradbury

Our experience in Turkey was quite varied, charming and unforgettable and hence penning it in just one blog post won’t be possible. So we have decided to create a series on planning the trip to turkey in which we will cover all aspects of our trip in detail. This is the part 1 of our series on Turkey and more will follow

Do you remember that dialogue from the movie UP where Charles Muntz says “Adventure is out there”. This is how we felt during our holiday in this beautiful country. We spent 10 days in this gorgeous country and the time flew by before we could realize but we came back with some unforgettable memories to be cherished forever. Turkey has a rich history with its strings strongly tied to the ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires. The country has an abundantly rich history which thoroughly reflects through its Art & Architecture, Food and People. Ankara may be the capital of Turkey but it is Istanbul where Turkey’s heart resides. Here’s an overview of the itinerary that we followed

  • Day 1: Walk around & start to absorb the vibes of Istanbul
  • Day 2-3: Visit the whimsical fairy chimneys and fly in hot air balloon in Cappadocia  
  • Day 4-5: Explore ancient treasures in Antalya and unwind in Kaleici
  • Day 6-7: Get adventurous in Oludeniz
  • Day 8-10: End it with the best, Istanbul

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Visa Process

Visa process for Turkey becomes extremely simple if you have a valid US, UK or a Schengen Visa. Since, we both had a valid US visa, we could apply for Turkish E-Visa online. We filled the form online, paid around 5K INR and that’s it. We had the e-visa in our mailboxes half an hour later. For others, you may have to visit the Turkish embassies to get the visa done. For more information, you can click here

Getting to Turkey

Instanbul is well connected to any other city in the world and has two international airports, Ataturk International Airport and Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. We flew with Emirates with a brief layover at Dubai & really enjoyed their top notch hospitality. We were pretty happy with their in-flight entertainment & yummy food. We chose to land at Ataturk International Airport (IST) as it is closer to the European side of the city as well as all the major attractions.  The airport was quite swanky and looked like a lifestyle destination in itself. From the airport we took the airport bus shuttle service to the Sultanahmet Area – The Havas bus from the bus terminal (G-1 floor, gate number 20) and paid 18 Turkish Lira per person

View of the magical Istanbul from our descending flight

Ataturk International Airport (IST)

Tips for the Trip

  • Buy Istanbulkart: This single card (similar to the metro card in India) enables you to pay for multiple types of public transportation in Istanbul: buses, metros, ferries, funiculars, and tramways (yes, even the nostalgic one running on Istiklal Street). Also you can use just one card to buy multiple tickets
  • Carry the Turkish Lira notes: Most of the local shops/vendors in Turkey only accept Tuskish Lira currency notes. So make sure to carry some cash along. Get some lira currency notes at the airport to buy and load the Instanbulkart card from the counters to be able to pay for the Havas bus
  • Book Hot Air Balloon: Book your seat in the Hot Air Balloon in Advance preferably through the hotel. Also ensure that you go in the 1st ride of the day as during that time the maximum balloons take off filling the skies  
  • Wear Comfortable shoes: Be prepared to walk a lot especially in Istanbul so wearing comfortable footwear is a must
  • Stay near Taksim Square: Taksim square is one of the most popular neighborhoods of Istanbul. It is very close to all the major attractions in Istanbul and becomes quite lively during the evenings

Day Wise Itinerary

DAY 1: Istanbul

If we are asked to go back to a place, we would definitely answer Istanbul in a split second where we left a piece of our hearts. Istanbul is the city where East meets West. It is a melting pot of different cultures flaunting its modernity yet nurturing its traditions. Our hearts will forever be filled with the memories from this beautiful city

On Day one, we visited the Emigran Park to view the manicured Tulip gardens in its full glory followed by a visit to the not so popular, the Ortakoy Mosque (or known as Büyük Mecidiye Camii), but located at one of the most picturesque settings in Istanbul before taking the evening flight to Capapdocia

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

DAY 2-3: Cappadocia

The beautiful sceneries of the hot air balloons popping up during the Sunrise was what made us go to Cappadocia and watch the magic ourselves. Cappadocia is located in central Anatolia what is now known as Turkey and the most popular part of this region is Goreme. The other parts where tourism is popular are Nevsehir, Urgup & Uchisar. Since we had limited time in Cappadocia, our first choice was Goreme & we must say that we loved every single bit of this region

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Crossing the Fairy Chimneys while on the Green Tour

There isn’t any dearth of accommodation in Goreme as there are hundreds of cave hotels around and sleeping in one is one of the most popular bucket list items for visitors traveling to Cappadocia. We chose the Local Cave Hotel for its beautiful cave rooms fitting our budget and its proximity from the city center. They also took care of our pick up from the airport via a shuttle bus at a nominal charge and the hot air balloon ride. Would definitely recommend this place for the stay

DAY 4-5: Antalya and Kaleici

After spending time in the magical land of Cappadocia, it was time to head to the stunning Turquoise Coast of Turkey. We picked Antalya as our next destination as this charming city is on the Turquoise Coastline and is surrounded by some stunning views and has some marvelous ruins like Aspendos and Thermsessos in its vicinity

the beautiful ruins of Termessos

We flew with Turkish Airlines from Cappadocia (Kayseri Airport) to Antalya. Do plan and book the flights in advance as there are limited flights in number which fits your itinerary. Again, bus services are available & one can explore this option as well. Car rental & road tripping is another option that can be explored if you have more time in hand. We picked Kaleici for our stay as it had the beautiful vibes of an old town where the streets were laden with bougainvilleas, the roads cobbled and the road side cafes and pubs added to the hustle and bustle of the city

DAY 6-7: Oludeniz

After a bit of leisure vacation in Antalya, it was time for some adventure. And so we chose Oludeniz. Oludeniz is a resort village on the southwest coast of Turkey and attracts tourists from all over the world for its blue lagoon, Saklikent National Park and the white Belcekız Beach. Overlooking the village is the Babadağ mountain from where para gliders take to the skies. 

Time for some sun and sand in Oludeniz

View from our Balcony at the Boutique Maya Resort. Wish they had given a slide into the pool 🙂

Taking off into the skies

DAY 8-10: Istanbul

Now we headed back to Istanbul, the last leg of our trip. Istanbul is quite a geographically interesting city and is one of a handful of cities that straddles two continents. The western half of the city is situated in Europe while the eastern half is located in Asia. The Asian side is largely residential so you’ll find most of the city’s major attractions clustered within two districts on the European side – Sultanahmet and Beyoğlu. We spent three memorable days in Istanbul roaming around the beautiful streets, visiting places, ticking the restaurants and dishes off our food itinerary (yes we do have one for every trip) and catching the dramatic sunsets

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ✨ROHIT & SHIVANI✨ (@thetravellerlens) on

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let us know in the comments or by sharing it with the social media links! We’d love to keep sharing travel tips so feel free to subscribe by e-mail. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook