Uppalapadu Bird Sanctuary Guntur | Image Resource : wikipedia.org
This sanctuary is exclusively for the Pelicans (1500 of them) and it’s soo cool. The birds are comfortably housed and even the visitor species feel at home within the natural and man- made environment that has been constructed impecuniously. Apart from it, the migrating immigrants that fly all the way from Siberia and Australia are also welcomed here. Wonderful college trip and we all had a great time together.
Next day I woke up early to enjoy the sunrise and from the balcony I enjoyed my coffee watching the beautiful sunrise. My first destination in this amazing city was the Kailasagiri Visakhapatnam. The Kailasagiri Park in Vizag is located at the hilltop which offers a beautiful view. Moreover it is a must place to visit once in life time.
Kailasagiri Park in Vizag | Image Resource : discovervizag.in
The park offers beautiful scenic beauty of Vizag from the hilltop. As a nature lover and an environmental engineer I thought of going for a trekking which will help me to understand the flora and fauna of the area. The top hill is well-connected with bus services. You can find buses to top hill every 20 minutes.
But I started my trekking and from the information board I could know the Kailasagiri Park spreads over 380 acres and was built by the VUDA. I climbed through the small natural path which was traditional and reached the hill top after two hours enjoying the blissful nature. The old natural steps were renovated and widened. I could see people enjoying their view from the ropeway. A few film shooting were going on there. The whole of Vizag was visible when I climbed up hills and the view was mesmerizing.
Kailasagiri Hill Park | Image Resource : discovervizag.in
The tremendous statue of Lord Shiva and Parvathy offered a grant look to the whole Kaiasagiri. Then I went to view the Titanic view point and different attractions, for example, Shanku-Chakra Namas of Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati, floral clock, gliding point, and food courts. I appreciated and explored the every last place on the peak and enjoyed the mystique of nature.
Statues of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi | Image Resource : blogspot.com
There is a Shanti Ashram, which offers a serene environment for the people who need to contemplate for quite a while. In the ashram I sat in the quiet environment and viewed the surroundings. I was really energetic by the quietness of the spot. The flower clock on the edge is really appealing as it is one of the best herbal weighs in India.
The capsule lift in this spot offered the inspiring view of entire Vishakhapatnam. The Kailasagiri has won the best award in 2003. I came down to the plains through the steps, which are meant for the individuals on foot. It is believed that Lord Siva and Goddesses Parvathy sit on the peak resembles that of the Great Himalayas.
Buddha Statue Of Amaravathi Guntur | Image Resource: hridayindia.in
Along the fertile plains of the river Krishna, is this place and the Sanctuary is attracting many Buddhists and other tourists across the country. Join the family during the festivities. But the wild winter winds and drenching monsoons are to be surely enjoyed with friends and bike rides on the way to the temple.
Kondaveedu Fort Guntur | Image Resource: wikimedia.org
A well advised economic option to go for while, touring in large groups. Wi- Fi connection is secured in most of the spots. The food was appetizing and cooked under clean circumstances. Though I prefer travelling alone, this nervous family trip did seem fun. All thanks to the staffs and the receptionist who had to put up with our uncanny family situations during the stay.
As a lover of nature I have been to Vishakhapatnam more than once and I love the place for its nature, water fall, sightseeing places beaches and many more. I think it is a perfect place for an environmental engineer like me. I always get a lot to explore and research in this place.
Though I am a budget traveler, this time I choose to travel on air as I had very less time to spend in Vizhag. Hence I did not want to waste my time on train journey. This time I planned to explore the wild nature and the near places of waterfalls and the foliage in Gundur.
I searched for suitable hotel on a traveler agent’s website and end up in getting a good deal in the flight & hotel for Vishakhapatnam. This helped me to find out a suitable hotel which suits my schedules and budget. I could manage to avail a good deals and discounts for the hotel and the air ticket as well.
Amausi Locknow International Airport | Image Resource: wikimedia.org
I booked my ticket on airindia which is one of the most renowned airlines in India. My flight was scheduled at 8.50 and with a stopover at New Delhi it reaches Vizhag at 1.15 pm. The scheduled flight timing was very convenient for me as I don’t need to wake up early and rush up to the airport. I reached the airport around 7 am in the morning for check-in procedures.
Though I choose to travel on was in Economy Class, the flight was convenient with enough legroom. The cabins were facilitated with all amenities and facilities. Individual videos, music system, Seats were stretchable. I purchased some snacks and drinks. Some complimentary things such as newspaper, magazines, and bottled drinking water were supplies.
The staff was very pleasing and well mannered. The food I purchased was good and tasty. I enjoyed watching movies and watched some TV channels. The journey was very comfortable. At New Delhi the flight stopped for a while and we again took off to Vizhag.
It was 1.15 when I reached Vizhag the most awaited moments. I was thrilled to visit the place again as it is a perfect place for environmentalist to explore and study.
True natural beauty doesn’t need any introduction. Recently, I got a chance to experience such a destination when we took a trip to Darjeeling and stayed at Kalimpong. It is a beautiful hill station located at the Mahabharat Range in West Bengal. It is amongst one of the most popular trekking destinations in Darjeeling.
As compared to other tourist destinations in West Bengal, Kalimpong is frequently visited by different types of tourists such as trekking, hikers, adventure junkie etc. Its proximity to other tourist places in Darjeeling has also been a reason for its popularity. This beautiful town is not only known for its trekking zone but also for its vast tea plantations, evergreen forests, floral markets, jewellery, cultural attires and handicrafts.
This amazing hill station is blessed with a vibrant art, culture, food, wildlife and vegetation. If your are in Kalimpong, there are numerous activities you can indulge in. However, I was in Kalimpong for trekking with my cousins.
Neora Valley Nature Reserve | Image Resource: blogspot.com
We chose Neora Valley Nature Reserve as our trekking destination. This place represents the oldest ecosystem of Eastern Himalayas. You will notice amazing bio diversity. This reserve also preserves countless rare and endangered avi-fauna, usually flora and fauna.
After spending few hours on this border, it was time to trek back to the starting point. The return route was a bit different. We decided to trek down to the nearby village and then find our way home rather than going all the way back.
The trek to Rishi Valley was quite pleasant, we made our way through the farmlands, gushing streams, cardamom plantations, and waterfalls, interacted with the villagers and had a fun time.
This was my experience at Kalimpong. Not many people know about this place. However, I highly recommend it to trekkers. I hope that you guys found this post to be interesting. Let me know your thoughts on it.
Taking too many mountain cycling trips or going too often for wildlife photography expeditions taught me the sacredness of food. Besides, my impending journey to US for doing MS in Environment Engineering also drove me to try my hands at cooking. I want to cook for myself while I shall be in overseas, and gatte ki sabzi shall be the number one dish that I am going to try, apart from my native food.
Before I took the plunge to explore Jaipur along with my travel buddies, I was expecting that the Rajasthani food would blow away my mind. In reality it did and how! During our short stay in Jaipur, we devoured everything– from typical Rajasthani thali containing daal batty churma, rice, to piping hot jalebis, sweet ghewar or spicy kachauris. But for me, nothing cast the spell like gatte ki sabzi.
Gatte Ki Sabzi | Image Resource: boldsky.com
The soft besan or gramflour dumplings floating in a rich and spicy yogurt based gravy and are served with steaming rice or hot, fluffy chapattis- just thinking and writing about it wields the power to water my mouth. I hail from Lucknow and belived in a steady diet of kebabs and biryani throughout my life. But before taking a bite of those soft gramflour balls, I never imagined that such an innocent looking dish could play with my taste buds so strongly.
Though the hotel we stayed in used to serve awesome Indian, Chinese and Continental cuisines in its spacious restaurant; every single day I opted for traditional rajasthani thali where gatte ki sabzi had to be there, if not at lunch then during dinner. Few of my friends used to order Chinese everytime and I didn’t understand why -when Chinese food is pretty common everywhere in India including Lucknow and gatte ki sabzi is not.
These days I am cooking gatte ki sabzi frequently at home. As the original recipe contains generous usage of ghee, the fitness-freak inside me twisted it a little bit to make it healthier. And whenever I eat the dumplings up with spoonful of rice or a roti- it reminds me the sands, the breeze and the heritage of Rajasthan.
Ace Hotel Jaipur
A well advised economic option to go for while, touring in large groups. Wi- Fi connection is secured in most of the spots. The food was appetizing and cooked under clean circumstances. Though I prefer travelling alone, this nervous family trip did seem fun. All thanks to the staffs and the receptionist who had to put up with our uncanny family situations during the stay.
I owe to wildlife photography and mountain cycling for my growing love towards fitness and work-out. Whenever I visit a new destination; I try to find out a space, a garden or a path that will allow me to- stay in close contact with nature, breathe pure breezes and do my regular jogging or brisk walking. Upon setting my foot in Jaipur, my first concern was to find such an area and Ram Niwas Garden (or Bagh) checked all of my requirements.
The biggest attraction of Ram Niwas Garden was that- it is centrally situated. The beautiful landscape of the park might have dwindled to some extent with the passage of time, but still it has retained enough charm. The wintry sun, the dew drops on the grass, fellow morning walkers with whom I formed a bond and having steaming coffee at the end of my walk from the garden –adjacent café – memories of Ram Niwas Garden will not fade away from my heart in near future.
Ram Niwas Bag Jaipur | Image Resource: mritunjayport.com
Initially I poked my travel buddies to join me in my morning soiree with Ram Niawas Garden but each of them proved to be anything other than fitness freak. In the end, I realized that to extricate the fullest beauty of Ram Niwas Garden during early morning (all through winter, the park remains open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; for summers, its 8.30 a.m. – 5.30 pm), you need to be alone.
Being spread out at the heart of the city means that Ram Niwas Garden has many important offices, cafes, parking lot and posh-looking gymnasiums close by. The entrance fee is piddley Rs.10 (though for foreigners it is a whopping Rs.100!). So I found it more economical to lose weight than joining any of those expensive gyms.
The two crowd pullers of Jaipur- Albert Museum and Jaipur Zoo are placed in the adjoining area of it. Every morning, thousands of pigeons used to flock in front of the Albert Museum and like fellow bird-lovers; I fed the birds with grains sold in the nearby area. Surely it was one of the fondest memories in my entire trip of Jaipur.
During my adhoc wildlife photography expeditions or mountain trekking, often I find myself lying on the grass outside of my tent gazing at the stars up there adorning the night-sky, and thinking about them. Birla Planetarium Jaipur again rekindled my love for astronomy.
Initially few of my friends evoked a mild protest in unison about going to this planetarium during evening- thus wasting precious time of our already tight-scheduled Jaipur trip. In the end I felt so glad that the majority was on my side to visit Birla Planetarium.
Birla Planetarium Jaipur | Image Resource: birlaauditoriumjaipur.com/
The sprawling 9.8 acre compound of Birla Planetarium gave out a majestic vibe. We got to learn on the spot that this planetarium is one of the most modern ones in India. It houses auditorium, museum research divisions and computer science lab. If we consider the fact that Jaipur is still a mix of modernity with heritage, then definitely it’s a proud possession for the city.
There are six shows that take place every day at Birla Planetarium for visitors (11.00 am, 1.00 pm, 3.00 pm, 5.00pm, 6.00pm, and 7 pm). The spot remain closed on Mondays. It also helped that the ticket price was only Rs.20. However, I really liked to see that people from various ages came to the planetarium to attend the show- thus giving up the lure of evening cinema show. We attended the 6 pm slot which was conducted in English (the language for all the other shows are in Hindi).
The show was about – how ancient people from Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations formed connections with stellar bodies in their everyday lives. The show lasted for the customary 45 minutes. Once the show was over, we rushed to see the museum. But unfortunately it closes down at 7 pm every day, so we got to see very little of it within mere 15 minutes.
Once I step out of the premise of Birla Planetarium, the dazzling visions of sky theatre was still lingering in my mind. This spot left me asking for more and I promised myself that soon I will visit Birla Planetarium Jaipur again, to get the solutions of those unanswered questions.
Never Tired of Travelling 