A journey of faith

Sivanar

Rising dramatically on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Batu Caves stands as one of

Malaysia’s most iconic cultural and spiritual landmarks. The 400-million-year-old limestone

caves are home to one of the world’s most sacred shrines dedicated to Lord Murugan also

known as Kartikeya / Kartik / Subramanya. Lord Murugan is the Hindu god of war and

victory. Guarding the entrance to the caves is the towering golden statue of Murugan,

soaring nearly 140 feet high and now recognized as one of Malaysia’s defining tourism

symbols.

Batu Caves

 

Every year, the caves become the heart of one of the world’s largest Thaipusam

celebrations. Observed on the first full moon of the Tamil month of Thai, usually in late

January or early February, Thaipusam is deeply significant to Malaysia’s large Tamil Hindu

community. Though Malaysia is a Muslim-majority nation, nearly two million people of Tamil

origin continue to preserve this vibrant tradition with extraordinary devotion.

This year Thaipusam was celebrated on 1 st Feb and both I and my husband had the privilege

of being there. The journey started a year ago when my husband visited the sacred shrine

on Thaipusam 2025 to direct and shoot a music video for the acclaimed artist Sid Sriram

singing Sivanar, a Thiruppugazh which is one of most revered devotional songs dedicated to

Lord Murugan. Thiruppugazh are written by 14 th Century poet saint Arunagirinathar. For the

Tamil people Arunagirinathar is an extremely revered poet saint and the Thiruppugazh are

the soul of worshiping Murugan. Like our Srimanta Sankardeva, Sri Sri Madhavdeva and

their borgeet.

The festival commemorates the moment when Goddess Parvati gifted Murugan the divine

Vel, or celestial spear, to defeat the demon Surapadman and his brothers. According to the

Tamil belief, Murugan split Surapadman in two after the demon transformed himself into a

mango tree to escape defeat. Surapadman rather than die in the literal sense, it’s said,

experienced the death of his pride and ego. Rather than destroying him completely, Murugan

transformed the demon into a peacock and rooster, symbols that became part of his own

iconography. The story represents the triumph of humility over ego and the possibility of

redemption through divine grace.

Another legend central to Thaipusam is the story of Idumban, a devoted disciple tasked with

carrying two sacred hills from the Himalayas to South India. Exhausted during his journey,

Idumban rested in present-day Palani, only to discover he could no longer lift the hills

because Murugan himself stood upon them disguised as a child. After a confrontation,

Idumban realized the child’s divine identity and humbly sought forgiveness. Murugan,

impressed by his dedication and perseverance, blessed all future devotees who would

symbolically follow in his footsteps.

This tradition lives on through the carrying of kavadi, or “ceremonial burdens,” during

Thaipusam. Devotees shoulder decorated wooden structures or carry pots filled with milk,

honey, and fruit as offerings to Murugan. The demanding physical journey is viewed as an

act of spiritual purification, discipline, and surrender. Some devotees chose to go the

extreme penance by piercing body parts. They say, it never hurt.

Nowhere is this devotion more vividly displayed than at Batu Caves. What began in the late

19th century as a modest shrine established by Tamil leader K. Thambusamy Pillai has

evolved into a vast temple complex attracting millions of pilgrims and visitors annually.

During Thaipusam, the atmosphere transforms into a spectacular fusion of music, dance,

prayer, and color. The colour yellow is significant for Lord Murugan. Devotees accompany

Murugan’s image on an elaborate silver chariot during a nine-mile procession through the

city. By the time they reach the base of Batu Caves, exhaustion is visible, yet the immense

golden statue of Murugan inspires one final act of devotion — the climb up the famous 272

rainbow-colored steps leading into the sacred cave temple.

 

At the summit, pilgrims offer their prayers in gratitude and surrender, completing a journey

that is as much spiritual as physical. More than a festival, Thaipusam at Batu Caves is a

profound expression of faith, resilience, and transformation, making it one of Southeast

Asia’s most unforgettable cultural experiences.

We didn’t climb the steps on the Thaipusam day. We chose to sit on the temple ground,

watching the devotees carrying those heavy ‘Kavadis’ and to soak in the devotion in the air.

We went back after 2 days early in the morning, climbed the rainbow steps and offered our

prayers and gratitude to the Lord. We sought permission from the pujari to play Sivanar to

Murugan. He agreed. It was a full circle moment for us!

 

Magic of Millions of Fireflies

The memories of my Enai's ( that's my maternal grand mother) home in Meleng, Jorhat are many and one very vivid memory that I still have in my mind is that of hundreds of twinkling fireflies. Enai's home has quite a big ground in front and there were paddy fields around. I am talking about 1985 here. In our summer vacations all our cousins would gather at her place and spend some time there. Electricity was erratic and it still is. Evenings when there was no electricity, we would sit in the long verandah and listen to Puthau's ( grand father) stories. And then fireflies would come twinkling. Some of us would run after them to catch them in our hands. Enai would shout " Don't touch them. Otherwise in the night you will have to go to the toilet!" Now that's something all of us wanted to avoid. The bathroom was outside of the main house. Just outside in the backyard. But if you had to go to the toilet at night, you had no option but to wake up an elder. If there was no electricity then, imagine the shadows on the wall from the flickering light of the hand lamp! No way.

Last week, I and P had been to Purushwadi. We heard about the place from a friend. She said " You have to see it to believe what I am telling you." We were intrigued. Every year just before the monsoons, millions of fireflies come to this tiny village and put up a spectacular light show, which now I also say " You have to see it to believe it." 

The Valley

We went to Purushwadi through Grassroutes They aim at , in their own words, " to create 1 million livelihood opportunities in Rural India." They have various stay options available. We opted for the canvas tents. There are shared western toilets with running water too. But please donot expect all the luxuries of the city life that we are used to there. That is NOT the idea and we must respect that. 

Valley facing Tents

We went by local train to Kasara from Dadar. In Kasara there are shared jeeps available which will drop you till Rajur, the nearest "town" to Purushwadi. From Rajur another jeep to Purushwadi. You can take your own vehicle too. Purushwadi is about 220 km from Mumbai in Ahmed Nagar district. The jeep travel part can be a bit harrowing. They stuff people into one vehicle way more than it's capacity. 

Lunch

We reached the camp site by afternoon. All your meals will be at the village at a villager's home. Our hosts were ready with lunch. It's a simple vegetarian meal of what they also eat. We loved every bit. We thought of lying down for about an hour as were up since 4am. But it was too hot. But to our surprise, by 4pm we could clearly see the clouds coming in. The breeze got cooler and suddenly the sky opened up. It started pouring heavily. We enjoyed the weather with local mangoes. Since it rained we were in two minds about the sunset trek. But thanks to another couple that we met there, we just went out for a hike. Grassroutes assign one household in the village for each of the guests and that keep rotating thus making sure that everyone gets equal opportunity. All four of us were hosted by the same family. We went up to the Sun set point even though there was no " sun set view". But for all of us, we enjoyed the small hike, rains and the weather. 

Our gracious hostess

There was no electricity in the village after the storm. The camp site was lit by solar lamps. As we walked to our host's home for dinner, already the tiny twinkling lamps were everywhere. Our guide told us that it was just a trailer and the full show was still to come. How true was that. After dinner we started our walk to witness the magic of million fireflies. All along the way there were thousands of them. Then we were there. Standing across a bridge, we saw a light show put by amazing nature. The tree looked like glittered with thousands of tiny Christmas lights. The fireflies were illuminating all over.  But it was so synchronized that we were awestruck. We just stood there silently witnessing this phenomenon. We returned to our tents happy.

Magical Fireflies

Next morning after a delicious Poha breakfast, our guides took around the village giving us a glimpse into their daily lives. Even though it had stopped raining, the weather was little humid but thankfully not scorching hot. We walked till the river, but we did not take a bath. Just sat there remembering Enai - Puthau and the fireflies.

Friends met there and our guides Sandip & Avdesh

Khajuraho - An Incredible Experience

The train U P Sampark Kranti from Delhi pulled into the Khajuraho railway station by 7.30am, about  an hour late from it's  scheduled time. P and I got down and as expected someone already asked " Auto Chahiye? 100 Rs. lagenge dropping ki liye" ( do you need an auto? Rs. 100 to drop at the market." We stepped out of the station only to be hounded by more men asking the same thing. We chose a random auto and sat.
Once out of the small station, it is a long straight road till the main area where the Western Group of temples are located. About 7 kms.  We crossed the Airport and our hotel Ramada on the way. P and I had already decided that we would do a recce sort of a walk around these temples on the day we arrive. Then we would decide what to do and how.

Khajuraho Railway Station

August is still " not the season". There were sporadic rains too. But that had made the whole temple premise lush green. As we crossed the security gates and entered the garden area, it was love at first sight for us. We were impressed with the way the whole premise was maintained; even during this " off period".

We started with the Chitragupta temple and then walked around the Kandariya Mahadev and Devi Jagdamba Temples. There were very hardly about  5 - 6 tourists inside and we were the only Indians. P and I already knew that we would need a guided tour for sure to learn more about these exquisite structures. Sometimes rather than reading or googling, the magic that a local guide can weave with his words makes the place more fascinating. We spent about an hour and came out to have breakfast right in front of these monuments; at Raja Cafe. This one features in almost all the travel guides and you cannot miss this. Sitting in their rooftop area under a huge neem tree overlooking the temples, we enjoyed a sumptuous English breakfast.

Kandariya Mahadev Temple

As we came out to get an auto to our hotel finally by 11.00am ; we found the same Auto driver, Dipak, who took us from station. This time we asked him about his charges to show us around. Dipak brought out a whole rate chart. Whenever I and P travel somewhere like this on weekend breaks, we completely take things slow. We do everything in our own pace the way we like and that not necessarily mean going everywhere "recommended". Both P and I could not sleep well in the train. So we  planned to take some rest before heading out. We asked him to come pick us from the hotel by 4 pm and show us the Eastern group and Southern group of temples.

Dipak came exactly at 4pm. The weather was gloomy with an  overcast sky. He took us to Chaturbhuj Temple first.There were the guard, 2 women cutting the grass around the temple and 2 tourists besides us. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and this is the only temple, among all Khajuraho group of temples, that do not have a single erotic sculpture. From there we went to the Duladeo temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Again here except for the security guard, we were the only visitors. This temple is located just next to Khodar river. But we were told that this year it still had not rained properly. Hence there was less water in the river. The overcast was growing stronger by then and we knew it would rain any moment. P and I were really keen on the Sound and Light show at the Western group. But weather was sure to play a spoilsport.

Jain Temples

The Jain temples are in the Eastern part of Khajuraho. By the time we reached the Jain temples, the sky opened up. It was pouring heavily. We sat inside the temple premises till the time the rain stopped. After about 20 minutes the rain got lighter and we continued our "sight seeing"to the Vamana temple. This temple dedicated to the Vaman incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Again we were the only ones along with the security guard. Seeing our interest, he started describing the sculptures on the walls. There is a sculpture of Varaha another of Lord Vishnu's incarnation. It was already getting dark and was the time to officially close the gates. So we left hoping against hope the Sound and Light show will be on for the evening. But alas! It was just not our evening. We sat at Raja Cafe and munched something before heading back to our hotel.

Varaha Statue

Next day our train was only at 6.20pm and we were hoping for a late check out. But the hotel was completely full on Saturday because of some conference and we had to change our plan a bit. We had a leisurely breakfast and packed all our stuff and left for the Western group of temples by 11am. This time we wanted a detailed tour with a guide. We met Mr. Narendra Jain near the gates and fixed on a charge of Rs. 800 for a detailed tour of the Western group of temples. Mr. Jain kept his word and showed us around thoroughly. He said that the erotic sculptures make for only 3% in the whole lot of sculptures. That's strange considering how Khajuraho is known for the erotica mainly. The walls of the main temples Kandariya Mahadev, Lakshmana temple , Devi Jagadamba temple etc are adorned with exquisite sculptures depicting regular life during those days and of course the very famous erotic sculptures. There is a huge Varaha statue in a small temple in front of the main and most intricate temple of them all - Lakshmana temple. The statue is made of stone and there are some intricate sculptures cut in the whole body. That was surely one impressive sculpture.

The Temple Garden

The walls of the temples and with the description by Mr. Jain, it dawned upon us that those days women had such a strong role in the society. They were educated, strong,into sports, not afraid of their carnal desires. There were many sculptures of women with a scorpion over their thighs and in Mr. Jain's words " Scorpion or bichchu is the symbol of sexual desire. Remember the song "Daiya re Daiya re Chadh gaya paapi bichchua"." Suddenly the song from "Madhumati" had a whole new meaning for us. P and I were most amused. After a complete tour, we came out thoroughly content.

The Bichchu / Scorpion

Apart from the temples, one can go to nearby water falls too like Raneh and Pandav. We thought of going to Raneh; but then we were so overwhelmed by what we just learnt that we wanted to sit and enjoy lunch rather than again going somewhere. This time we went to Indiana for lunch. Since Khajuraho is frequented by foreigners, most of the cafes offer international cuisine and really good dishes. We had pasta for lunch. Even after lunch we still had time; we had to decide between 2 museums ; Archaeological museum or the Tribal art museum. We zeroed upon the Tribal art museum. There was no one in the Tribal Art Museum. The lone person / security guard / care taker opened the doors and switched on the lights and fans when he saw us coming. It was free entry and we wanted to click some photos. But the care taker said there was a fine since the entry fee was removed. There were some interesting tribal arts were on display. we covered the exhibits in about half an hour. I strongly recommend one should visit this small museum to get a glimpse of the different tribes of Madhya Pradesh.

As the train pulled out of the Khajuraho station exactly at 6.20pm that evening; it carried in it 2 very impressed travelers. We enjoyed this short trip to Khajuraho, a UNESCO World heritage site. Both of us would love to be back for the famous Khajuraho Dance Festival.

The Royal Emblem of the Chandelas

A train ride to remember

WOW post

"It is the same train going back. So no pantry. Better we get something packed" - We were taking the overnight train from Khajuraho to Hazrat Nizamuddin , Delhi. This train comes from Delhi as U P Sampark Kranti and reaches Khajuraho in the morning 6.30 am. The same train goes back in the evening 6.20 pm. P and I got chicken sandwiches and some tetra packs of juices for dinner.

We had the side lower berth and one upper berth. From Khajuraho there were not many people. The train started right on time. This train stops at Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh and from there it gets connected to a bigger train and then continues the journey to Nizamuddin. While coming we knew what to expect in this train. Everyone around had opened tiffins of Puri and Aloo ki sabji with aromatic achars for dinner. We had taken the train after having an early dinner at the ever reliable Comesum at Hazrat Nizamuddin station. So we were not hungry. But somethings are done because they form a part of the whole experience.

As the train pulled into Mahoba, I told P to go find some "Indian" dinner. He came back with the "oh so typical" Rail Janta ahar from the canteen. All for Rs. 15, 7 small puris , one katori aloo ki sabji and a packet of Nilon's achar.  The compartment was full in Mahoba. As the train pulled out slowly everyone started opening their dinner boxes. They all were carrying the same thing. This time we also had that. It may not have tasted the same as those home cooked dinners, but it was the experience of having that spicy aloo sabji with the puris with everyone else was fun.
Our train journey was complete. After that we ate the cold sandwich and drank the juice too. We were happy.

It had been a while that P and I travelled by train. This trip to Khajuraho made it possible. Even though we have not travelled in one for a long time, both of us firmly believe that to experience real India, Indian Railway is the best. One train carries a whole world within. For us this time it was just an overnight journey. We still have fond memories of longer journeys of 2 -3 days where the co passengers become your family. Everyone shares not only the space for those days, but also their food and loads of stories. Until then we are content with this one.

‘This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.’ 

Cappadocia - It's mesmerising

This is considered to be a must do for anyone visiting Turkey. Hot Air ballooning in Cappadocia finds a place in all the itineraries of Turkey. But that's not why I wanted to do that. I am not an adventure travel enthusiast in the traditional meaning of the term "Adventure". I don't go hiking, trekking, river rafting or bungee jumping. But there are few things which I wanted to do and being on a hot air balloon was certainly one of them. So when P and I planned for Turkey, this had to be in our "To Do" list.

Cappadocia

We planned and booked all the arrangements for our Turkey trip by ourselves. It was only for air tickets Mumbai Istanbul and return and Visa that we took the help of a travel agent. The idea of not going through a fixed itinerary was because we wanted to be in our own pace and do the things the way we liked. In Istanbul we roamed from one place to another at our own pace. We spent good 3 hours in one place but skipped another prominent "tourist attraction" as we preferred to sit by the Bosphorus, sipping a cup of Turkish tea munching a simit watching people go by. But this was very much a part of our plan.

We had booked a flight from Istanbul to Nevsehir, the nearest airport to Cappadocia on Anadoloujet which is a subsidiary of Turkish Airline. Our first thought as we stepped out of the flight in Nevsehir " This is so much like Leh". Yeah the surrounding area was so similar to Leh with that Moonscape type brown mountains. Our pick up was waiting outside. The cave hotel called Maccan Cave hotel that we had booked was the last stop.

ATV Quad Bikes

By the time we checked into our hotel, it was only lunch time and we had one half day with us. Most of the regular tours of Cappadocia start in the morning after the hot air balloon ride gets over. P said "Let's try ATV Quad biking" Now that was something which we had never before. We saw few quad bikers on the way from the airport to hotel and then realised that that was also available there. So we checked with Ahmed, the manager at Maccan if he could help. He called someone and after 20 mins a tall lanky fellow came to pick us up for ATV Quad biking. His name was Tolga. He showed us the bikes and we tried out if we both fit into one bike. Actually I was not very confident if I could manage to ride one on my own.

Wish tree

We opted for one bike and went out with our guide Timrai. A young fellow of 20 years, Timrai spoke broken English. He guided us through the valleys and the mesmerising landscape of
Cappadocia. Our last stop was at Sunset point. By the time we reached the sun was all set to bid adieu for the day. The whole place looked magical in the fading sun light. There was Wish tree where people would tie the famous amulet "Blue Evil eye or Nazar Boncugu" to make a wish. No we did not tie one, instead we clicked photographs of the tree. As we rode back to town, it was already dark. Hence Timrai guided us through the main road instead of the quad tracks.




Both I and P decided to take a walk around the Goreme town and then have dinner somewhere before heading to hotel. Walking around we came across a very interesting sign at a café.

Cafe Safak

We went in and had a cup of Turkish Coffee there. The café owners were an old couple and when they came to know that we were from India, they called the restaurant help to meet us. Nehmatullah was from Afganistan and he was so happy to see us. A fan of Sanjay Dutt he said he loved India and was in awe of Amitabh Bachchan because he played a Afgan Pathan in Khuda Gawah. It was a pleasure meeting him there. We had an early dinner of Pide or Turkish Pizza and went to sleep as our pick up for the hot air balloon ride was at 5.15 am next morning.

UP

Next morning we were up and ready by 5am. Exactly at 5.15 am our pick up van arrived. There were 4 people already inside the van and it stopped at another hotel near by where an elderly couple joined us before taking us to the office of the balloon tour company. We had booked our balloon tour with Butterfly Balloons We only had to provide the credit card information to confirm our booking. It was not charged and we had informed that we would pay by cash on the day of the tour. Since March still not the official tourist season, they had special rates and they offered cash discount of 10Euro per person too. There was quite a breakfast spread before we were introduced to our group members and were driven to the take off point. The take off points differ every day depending upon the direction of the wind.Our pilot for the day was Kahn. Such a charming and jolly fellow he was. He made sure all the group members had fun at the same time explaining and showing the most important sights as we flew over. I admit it was one of the most delightful one hour of my life. Kahn has been a hot air balloon pilot for last 7 years. After we landed straight on the top of the truck that was meant to carry the busket; the team from Butterfly Balloons were ready with our flying certificates and a bottle of Champagne. It was of course a reason to celebrate. We all were just back from something wonderful and an out of the world experience it was.

It's a sight to behold

After the balloon tour was over, the car drove us back to our hotels. Usually people opt for day trips after that. But we decided to do our own things our own way. And later in the day I and P had another adventure. That needs another post. It's one of the bizarre things that I have done so far. Will write about it soon.
       

Snapshots from Chhattisgarh

Last year both P and I went to Chhattisgarh, a state we had never been to and came back with some wonderful memories. I have written about it here. After 6 months we were going through the photographs and I came across few which are indeed more special. Not because they are some spectacular clicks; but because each of these photographs carry a story in it.

Chhattisgarh has so much to offer

That mesmerizing Chitrakote fall. We witnessed this majestic fall in it's full glory as we had gone there while it was still raining. Yeah, the water was muddy; not clean and sparkling like the brochures. But this roaring water had it's own charm. We did not get to see Sunrise and Sunset because of the clouds. Instead we saw the water fall when a storm was approaching. It was dark, grey and that fading light cast a magical spell to the whole evening. We stayed back till it started to pour and it was an absolutely out of the world experience.

Chitrakote as a storm approached


Actually we were in Chitrakote to celebrate my birthday. On the day we woke up at 5am hoping to catch up the sunrise. But the clouds played spoilt sport. Sitting near the water fall just 2 of us were enjoying the solitude thoroughly. Suddenly a boy comes and picks up a conversation with P. He had come as band member who was supposed to perform in some rally at the Government guest house near the resort we were staying. His name was Lakhiram and he played Banjo. We kept meeting him till on and off till the day we left Chitrakote. He just seem to come from nowhere whenever we were there. Untouched by the complexities of life, his simple dreams may come true soon.

Lakhiram

The priest at the temple near Teerathgarh fall. Our experience at such places have not been really good. Usually at such touristy places, there is always someone trying to fleece you and when  you tell them you were there because that happen to be a special day; you can be sure he will find a way to rip you off. When P told the priest that that day was my birthday and asked him to offer a puja on our behalf; I was almost sure now the priest would come up with an elaborate puja ceremony. But to my utter surprise the priest just looked at us and chanted some mantra as we both folded our hands and gave us coconut pieces as Prasad. He did not say a word about offering this puja that puja and ask for any "chadawa" or cash offering or "fee".

The Priest

The artist whose shop we happen to visit by sheer chance. As we were leaving Chitrakote to go to Gangrel, P said let's stop near the fall for one last time. We did and there we noticed those lines of small shops selling little artefacts. We stopped at this particular shop where the guy was working on something so intently. As far as I remember, his name was Raju.Very soft spoken he showed us the pieces he has made. They were all so beautiful. We bought 2 pieces from him. Everything in the shop were made by him and the prices were so reasonable that P paid him what he asked for. The previous day we had gone to different shops in the Jagdalpur town and we knew the prices these shops charged for similar artefacts. This man made everything himself and he never asked for an exorbitant price from 2 "tourists". Do visit his shop near the Shiva temple next to Chitrakote fall. Trust me you will not regret stopping there.

Chhattisgarh remains in the news for more wrong reasons than right. This is a beautiful state and has so much to offer from the tourism point of view. It's a state marred by disturbance and conflict. I am not capable of commenting on this. But I also come from a region which was once considered to be very disturbed and a conflict area. But life has become "normal" now in Assam. While growing up and even now a common sight in towns and villages of Assam is the sight of girls and boys going to school riding a bicycle. More so in villages and smaller towns. This very sight in Chhattisgarh made me the happiest. It was a sign, the new generation growing up values education; they want to spread their wings and may be one day bring the much needed change to their state. I hope they do and soon.

I loved this sight the most



Turkish Delights

Yeah I know, such a much used and over used title for an account of a trip to Turkey. I also know what I am going to share, many across the Globe have "Been there done that". After much planning, changing, again planning we (I & P) finally landed in Turkey this year. I will share a detailed post about what how and where all in Turkey we had been to some other day. It was my first trip to Turkey and here I am going to share those moments that made us smile & made this whole trip so much more.


1. The very first one was at the Immigration counter itself in Istanbul. The officer took my passport and read my name in an "almost perfect Axomiya / Assamese pronunciation".Yes, not "Maayoori", "Myuri" "Meyuree" but "M-O-Y-U-R-E-E". (I spell my name as Mayuri). I could not stop grinning and responded with a "slightly over enthusiastic for the place" Yes. I don't know what he made out of my happiness at that moment as he stamped "Giris" meaning To enter in Turkish. And I am sure I didn't imagine the faint hint of smile in his face too. Such a welcome change from the otherwise expressionless wooden faces at such places.

Blue Mosque

2. After that another Turkish Delight was waiting for us near the airport Metro gate. I and P reached the metro gate and was trying to understand how to use to Vending machine to buy an Istanbulkart. An Istanbulkart is a must whosoever is going to stay in Istanbul for 3-4 days atleast and plans to use public transport. It is an Electronic wallet which can be used in Metro, Ferries, city buses and even in the old tram in Taksim. One card can be used for more than 1 people. However it is advisable to use 1 card for 2 people only as the charge increase in the immediate second swipe or third swipes. As we were standing there with money in our hands looking for instructions in English, a gentleman offered us to help. He entered all the details and advised us not to charge it with a high amount right away. Few seconds later the Istanbulkart was in our hands. In a place where very few locals speak or understand English, and most were tourists like us, he sure came as an angel!


3. We reached our first hotel of the trip. It was cute little hotel amidst many hotels right behind the Blue Mosque. It's actually an old house which is now converted to a hotel like many old Turkish houses in that area. Ilhan at the reception welcomed us warmly and he very kindly upgraded our room without any charges. That was totally unexpected. Boy weren't we delighted. At first we thought there may be not too many people during that time and hence we got the upgrade. But next day in breakfast, we realized the place was almost full. Still he did that even though we never asked for it.

Tashkonak

4. We reached Cappadocia and P randomly decided to try our hands at ATV Quad biking. So Ahmet from our cave hotel called the guys at ATV Quad biking and arranged for that. They assigned us a young 20 year old "Navigator and Guide" Timrai. That young boy very patiently put up with 2 "Big" Hindistani tourists who would stop and start clicking random photographs. With his limited English , he told us that he was studying and part time he worked to earn as well. In his bike, he took both of us one by one for Cappadocia's version of dune bashing. Hats off to that kid and we wish him all the luck.

Timrai

5. While walking around the Cappadocia town, we saw a café called Café Safak. The signboard read different prices for the way you ask for coffee. We stepped in and who we meet!! An old couple and a young and chirpy waiter cum cook from Afghanistan who was a fan of Sanjay Dutt! His name was Nehmatulla and when he heard we were from Mumbai, he started speaking in his language. Urduish hindi or hindiish Urdu. The son of the old couple was in Australia and Nehmatulla was the one who was running the show in Café Safak. He told us that since they couldnot pronounce his name, they named him Farhat! Even though he loved Munna bhai, he was mighty impressed with Big B because he had played an Afghan in Khuda Gawah. He dreamt of coming to Mumbai and we sincerely hope he does someday.

Cafe Safak

Uncle & Nehmatullah

6. Our first hot air balloon ride ever and it could not have been better. All thanks to the team at Butterfly Balloons and especially our pilot Kaan Demircan. In our balloon that was the first balloon ride for each one of us and Kaan kept saying that was his first flight too! Very jovial and lively, he was the show stopper of this spectacular Balloon ride. A very senior pilot he had been doing this for 8

years now. I was cribbing to P about the charge that we paid compared to what few other Balloon companies were offering; but trust me every penny was so worth the experience. If we go back to Cappadocia and plan for a Balloon ride again, we would surely opt for a flight by Kaan and Butterfly Balloons any day.

Kaan and the team of Butterfly Balloons

7. In Pammukkale we had opted for a day tour by Tours4Turkey. We were a part of a small group of about 12 people. From different countries, this motely group had 3 solo travelers and 2 of them were women. I loved meeting each one of them. There were 4 ladies from Malaysia who were on the last leg of their yearly "girly trip". Leaving children and husbands behind, these ladies every year make plan and travel to different countries for 15-20 days. They all were working and decided to do this since last 4 years. I was surely impressed. I wish them all the luck and may they continue this every year.

travertines at Pamukkale

8. In Istanbul we had planned to visit The Museum of Innocence. We heard that if you carry a copy of the book, the entry is complimentary for one person. In a book shop near the underground metro at Taksim square, we asked the guy at the counter if he was aware about this. His English was limited, but he called his "director" of the shop and told him. He was not aware about that. But he asked us to wait as he checked on the website of Museum of Innocence , took out their phone number and made a call reconfirming this. Both I and P were looking at each other. That was sure unexpected. After speaking with them, he showed us the page which would be stamped at the Museum. We thanked them profusely as we left happily.

Museum Of Innocence

9. The Incharge at Museum of Innocence who allowed a girl even beyond the museum timings. Both I and P spent quite sometime at the Museum of Innocence and finally when we were done, it was almost the closing time. I came down and waited till P joined me. One girl was pleading the incharge to let her see it even for 15 minutes as she was leaving the next day. She admitted she was late but she pleaded to allow atleast for sometime. She was on the verge of tears as she turned to leave visibly heartbroken and disappointed. The incharge who looked quite strict relented and asked the guard to allow her in. I witnessed that moment when the girl really cried out of happiness as she thanked the incharge and paid the charges. She looked at me with teary eyes and a smiling face. I was smiling in her happiness and thanked the museum incharge too. Just like that.



10. The Cobbler at Kabatash who was so grateful to P for showing him his shoe brush which he had accidentally dropped that he offered him to clean P's shoes right then and there. We protested but he did not listen and P allowed him to just brush lightly his both shoes. That moment of instant gratitude by him sure made us smile widely.

The Man on right!

11. The driver of the old tram in Taksim, Istiklal street who allowed P to ride for free. It so happened that we got into the tram at Taksim Square and swiped the Istanbulkart. One amount was charged and for the second swipe there were not enough amount left. We offered him cash. The driver said that he was not authorized to take cash and pointed to the vending machine to recharge the card. I was fumbling in my bag looking for paper currency of 10 or 5 TL. The vending machines accepted paper currencies only. The driver had stopped that tram for us and it was getting full. So P told me to go and get down at our stop and wait for him as he would take the next tram. As P started to get down, the driver stopped him and asked him to go in. We were looking at each other as we could not believe what he just did.

I would term these moments as Turkish Delights as in an alien country such moments added so much to our whole experience. Of course there were tourist traps in Istanbul, specially at Grand Bazaar and Spice Market. But when we talk about our first trip to Turkey, we want everyone to know this too.
Now let me quickly add one more : A random lady complemented me about my "small but bright eyes" and that made me smile the widest.

Grand Bazar

Goa in Monsoon - A tragicomic memory.

Love is better when you Laugh together!




Goa in monsoon - that's what both P and I wanted to do for a long time. So finally in 2013, we planned ahead and booked a train to Goa during July sometime. As luck would have it, that year monsoon decided to play hide and seek in Mumbai. It was hardly raining and when we got into the train, we were literally chasing the rain. We boarded the train from Dadar station early in the morning at around 7/7.30am. Even as the train moved out of the city limits we could make out the signs of a sparse monsoon. So much for our much awaited train to Goa during monsoons! We were already disappointed. The train moved through the green paddies and villages with drops of rain here and there. But too few and far between.  Adding to our disappointment was the fact that the train was running late by hour or so.  The only saving grace was the food on the train. We decided to at least to enjoy the hot and fresh medu vadas, bread pakodas, and vada pavs on the train. Finally after 12 hours of a long and tiring train journey we reached Goa in the evening. By that time the romantic idea of being in Goa during the rains had died a sad death!




Now to the hotel that P had pre booked. Since it was only for 2 nights, we thought of staying near the most happening part of Goa, near Baga beach. In all our previous and even later trips to Goa, we always stay somewhere else deliberately avoiding the over crowded Baga and Calangute beaches. We reached the hotel, checked in and after a shower headed out for dinner. As we stepped out of the hotel, we found a place to rent a bike and promptly rented a scooter. Had dinner in a quiet place and came to hotel and went to sleep.




Next morning we went to restaurant for breakfast. The room rate was inclusive of breakfast it was mentioned when we sent the booking request. There was no buffet. Accepted, since it was officially off season no buffet. The server gave us 2 slices each and a cup of tea. We asked him "What about breakfast?" He nonchalantly replied "This is breakfast." WHAT? Now that's it. 2 slices and a cup of tea cannot be passed off as breakfast in a hotel. That too in the most touristy area of one of the most touristy states of India. Unacceptable. P went to the manager and told him that. Manager refused to understand or acknowledge what we were trying to say. He kept saying the same thing - this is what we offer as breakfast. Then he called someone and handed over the phone to P saying please speak to our ma'm. P tried his best to make the lady at the other end understand. But the lady refused again and again and asked us to leave the hotel if we didn't like what they were offering. We both were dumbfounded. We were being thrown out of a hotel and we were not even shouting or creating a ruckus. Since we were asked to pay at the hotel, we offered the room rent for one night. The manager refused that again. We insisted but he was adamant that his "ma'm" asked us to leave and instructed him not to accept any money from us. Finally we came to our room, packed our bags and left on the rented scooter parked outside the hotel. Both P and I were quiet and shocked at what had just happened. He just rode the scooter and I sat on the pillion quietly. He kept driving and I didnot ask where were we going. We reached Anjuna and he stopped. Both got down from the scooter, looked at each other and burst out laughing - we were just thrown out of a hotel for asking for breakfast. Both of us have been to so many places across the country, stayed in so many hotels, from homestays to 5 stars; but this had never happened. We felt like college kids who were thrown out from a hotel for not having money to pay. At last P said " They have thrown us out for asking for breakfast. Now let's go and atleast have a hearty brunch somewhere."




Rest is short. We came back to Baga, returned the scooter and ate out hearts out at Britto's. We booked flight tickets for the same day and flew back by 3pm. And guess what, while on our way to the Dabolim airport, it started pouring and it poured and poured till we reached airport. It was as if the sky also cracked up with laughter with us.




This is not Baga..But Ashwem beach in Goa.

Life sometimes throws lemons at you and both I and P firmly believe that it's up to us whether to make lemonade or use it for tequila shots. But we both agree that the lemons must not get wasted.

“This post is a part of #LoveAndLaughter activity at BlogAdda in association with Caratlane.”

Towards Responsible Tourism!

We love to travel – claim many including yours truly. No no I am not doubting their love for travel. We all seriously love to travel. But how many of us “love to travel” and “love to travel responsibly?” We the blogger or the photographers or thinkers like to say or see things a bit differently – hat ke types. Rather than going there and striking off that place from the “to visit” list; we like to really be there, feel it, be one with it ( however clichéd may that sound to my own ears) Am I sounding too cynical? Because I have seen people do things they donot do at home, when they travel. Admit it, we all have seen that, many of us must have reacted too and what followed might be a story many would not like to remember. I am strictly referring to my fellow countrymen and women travelers here.

 So what is Responsible Travel. To sum up what the Capetown Conference on Responsible Tourism in 2002 describes – Responsible Tourism is that tourism which aims at “creating better places to live in and better places to visit”. It must encompass all kinds of tourism related activities to be successful for a particular destination or state that aim at Responsible Tourism.

How do we make sure that we all the indeed responsible people and we are serious about what we do and what we donot do when we travel. Pages after pages can be written on this. I admit I am no authority on Responsible Tourism. However I as a traveler would really like to contribute in my little way to “create better places to live in and better places to visit”. (I know I have repeated, but that’s what it is)

Here’s what I feel can be considered.

Tourists / Travelers must be more careful and really sensitive towards the local eco system. That habit of dropping everything on the road as you travel needs to be done away with, and done away with forever. You throw plastic packets, tetra packs, water bottles, spit on roads and walls – please for cleanliness’ sake, what sort of a habit is that! This country is not a dustbin as we would like to treat her. Why while travelling; many have this habit of just rolling down the car window and throw out everything on to the road even in their own cities and towns. All are ok with that as long as their own houses remain clean. Please learn to respect this planet, our own country and get rid of this ugly habit. Patriotism cannot be only during cricket matches! Bikers and backpackers on tents and camps must make sure not to leave anything behind except for some wonderful memories.

How aptly named!

Locals must be aware and strict about their place their surroundings. When tourists go to a place, the whole place changes eventually.  It has lot of positive impact. A whole industry comes up. But the local people must be aware that this industry will remain as long as they respect their own place and be responsible towards it. When one sees someone doing something which may be as small as throwing a candy wrap on road, say it. Make that a habit. I have seen in some places in Leh, there were signs offering to refill water bottles at a nominal cost. That’s such a wonderful initiative. No one has to keep buying those bottles of mineral water all the time. We may not realise, but those bottles are also hazardous.

The Travel companies must draw a line. Certain places are very very sensitive and cannot handle too many tourists. After some Bollywood movies Leh has become a favourite destination for people. That has indeed generated many livelihoods for the locals there. But at what cost? Whole of Ladakh region is ecologically highly sensitive and fragile. The way the tour companies are operating “Mesmerising Leh, Rooftop of the world” packages, the day is not far when this will collapse. My heart broke when I saw heaps of beer bottles and empty packets of chips lying in Ranbirpura near Leh town which is now a very popular place for film and ad shoots. I pray and hope the Indus does not go the Ganges way and we need to formulate committees to clean that.

Government must come up with strict rules for tourism. Boosting tourism in a place, must never lead to destruction of that place altogether.  There must be guidelines keeping in mind the eco logy and environment of the place for tourists, hoteliers, homestay owners, cabbies and even tour operators. Since travelling consist of a major part of tourism, use of transport means cannot be done away with. Those may not always be very friendly towards the environment. These complexities exist in tourism. However the right persons at the right places must ensure a middle path with minimum damage to the surroundings.

Whole of Tourism Industry must join hands together for Responsible Tourism. I am using the term “Tourism Industry” a very broad sense encompassing every element associated with it.

Travelers, Tour companies, Locals, Government all becoming one and working towards achieving the aim of creating Responsible Tourism - have I imagined too much!!

But then as John Lenon said “ You may say I'm a dreamer
                                       But I'm not the only one
                                      I hope someday you'll join us
                                     And the world will live as one” --- A responsible one!

Leave a place as you found it