Where would you rather be...than on a beach in Sri Lanka

It is an honour to call this little Island my home....surrounded by magnificent beaches, mountains laid with tea and forest and rich in history... and all within a few hours away from each other.

http://traveltriangle.com/blog/romantic-beach-resorts-in-sri-lanka/

In the Presence of a great Poet - Kolkata

When I got the call that one of my close friend's was getting married,I was elated - while being happy for her, I was even more happier to find out that the wedding would be in Kolkata, India!

While planning our free time I could not miss the opportunity to visit Tagore's house. Built in 1785 by Prince Dwarkanath Tagore ( Rabindranath Tagore's grandfather) the building still has a special grandeur to it. Unfortunately we were a little too early for the caretakers who were still cleaning and getting ready to open the doors to visitors ( so note that if you are visiting, please do check the opening times and oh yes, non of the guards nor the caretakers spoke English) , and therefore we were not able to see the museum, but  we were still able to walk through to a beautiful white veranda, with beautiful arched windows and the many pigeons who had made a home at the top of the white pillars that dressed the doorways. Standing there I was humbled to  be in the presence of such a great poet and artist. 

" Most people believe the mind to be a mirror, more or less accurately reflecting the world outside them, not realizing on the contrary that the mind is itself the principle element of creation"...Rabindranath Tagore

So here are some quick facts about the house -

1 - This is Rabindranath Tagore's ancestral house which he was born and breathed his last breath in and spreads across 35,000 square meters
2 - It now houses 3 galleries / museums - with over 2700 books and 770 journals
3 -  And is popularly know as The "Jorasanko thakurbari"

To the perfect sunset

To the perfect sunset...no matter how long your day has been...sit back and enjoy the sun set. 

In the middle of nowhere

So a friend and I decided that one weekend we would run away from the hustle and bustle of the "concrete" jungle  - 24 hours - some peace and quiet, and well I had another agenda - my husband was going to be "enjoying" 2 days of merry making with his friends ( which happens annually at this time of the year). So I got on the internet and started looking for a quiet, relaxing place...and voila! found a small bungalow hidden away from civilization in a place called Naboda (off the Horana road). Funnily enough neither my friend nor I knew where this was - nor did our "smart phone navigators". And though it was quite close to Colombo, we ended up wasting a lot of time looking for this village. Of course we were pronouncing the name wrong - much to the amusement of all the villagers we stopped to ask directions from. But I can't really complain as this gave us a little more time to drive through some beautiful landscape...acres of rubber land and winding roads.

And when we finally found the location - it was worth the drive. You know how sometimes the photograph on the bungalow site is very different to what you get? well not in this instance. A quaint little bungalow, perched high up on a rubber estate. We ended up being the only guest there that weekend, but we didn't mind -because it was like our very own holiday home for just 24 hours. The room was beautiful, with wooden furniture, simple white linen and a black and white tiled bathroom. The menu was not elaborate but the taste of the food made up for it. Breakfast was a fiesta - enough for 10 people! And once we had eaten as much as we could, we decided to take a walk down the hill - amidst the cool breeze slithering through the green leaves of the rubber trees. There were little streams that fell through a cascade of rocks and in the distance you could hear the music coming from the line houses of the estate workers.

And then, too soon, it was time for us to head back -  I would recommend Glenross plantation Villa for anyone looking for a quiet get away...its funny how we forget what we can do with some free time when we're always looking at our phones.....time for a break don't you think? look around you....

Crossing the seas....ticking off my bucket list

My bucket-list includes a lot of travelling and adventure .....from seeing an exotic animal to enjoying nature and being able to share in the beauty of a master piece. I have been fortunate enough to be blessed with the means of being able to experience this...and a partner who - sometimes reluctantly - gives into my craziness.

So the next couple of blogs are dedicated to my bucket list, things I've seen and experienced  - in the words of my favourite poet Rabindranath Tagore " You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water".

Here's to all the adventures ahead...

Which would you choose?

Its easy to get lost in your day to day life and the rat race that consumes so much of your time that you forget to do the things that you love.....so its a choice....get lots in the rat race....or be part of an adventure that makes your heart skip a beat....

I chose the adventure!!!!

Ah the Maldives...

We made the decision to travel to the Maldives for our honeymoon as we knew we would not be visiting such a location again....and it turned out to be a really good choice!

To start with the flight was only one hour 20 minutes ( though there was no in-flight entertainment) with a light snack ( though ONLY vegetarian much to many passengers disappointment). Flying into Male airport we were surrounded by the most majestic looking sea line and many islands of different sizes - the sea was an unusual blue merging into the blue sky and at some points we couldn't say where the sea ended and the sky started!

Much to our surprise the very small yet clean Male airport was a breeze to go through - and once we got on our speed boat to the resort (which was about 20 mins) we were on our way to our little piece of heaven. Vadoo part of the Adaaran group of hotels was absolutely breathtaking - and the many Srilankan staff employees made it a pleasant stay for us. The water bungalow's were surrounded with beautiful coral and fish and in the night you are treated to a Tuna and Shark feeding frenzy....that was a definite highlight for us both, though we were happy to stand far away on the deck to watch it.

We then moved to Rannalhi, again by speed boat and this journey was about 30 minutes - again an Aitken Spence hotel, though quite different to Vadoo which was more up market - the welcome by the Srilankan front office manager was very warm. Again here too though a little more on the lower price, the water bungalows were surrounded by coral and amazingly colored fish which we could view from our little glass window on the floor. We also had the occasional Shark and Manta ray swim by which was awesome. The white sandy beach and the beautiful blue ocean was indeed a great get away and the Balinese spa added a little touch of relaxation.

There were many activities at Rannalhi you could do (of course at a price) like diving lessons and snorkeling, island hopping, romantic sunset get away's and Manta ray swimming as well as on request private dinner arrangements - there was also a bar that was well located and served some delicious cocktails to cool you down while you bask in the sun.

The only down side of being on a Maldivian island for more than 2 days is that ....well, unless your into snorkeling, diving or the beach you can get bored fast. So fair warning to those city dwellers...don't forget to pack your ipod and a book oh and lots of sun screen....and another note to keep in mind, you are not allowed to carry any alcohol into Maldives or bring back any coral from the Maldives -its important to acknowledge and respect these laws and regulations in any country.