Travel : Discovering places and beyond

People travel to faraway places to watch,

                                                 In fascination

                                                      The kind of people they ignore at home.

‘’What is the best time to visit to London?’’, a lot of our friends and family ask us, after all its their ‘’Hakkach  ghar ani manasa’’. We equally love having people at our place or atleast make it a point to see them in London considering its just the two of us throughout the year.

With travel, curiosity fills the minds of our guests, ‘’ Oh! It is so quiet here’’ to ‘’ The pubs open at 11 am!’’ General observations and discussions follow and we are happy to give all insider tips and experiences. 

Painting the town red

But the best part of it, is the to do lists people have when in London. When Shruti visited London, she had every attraction on her agenda . The two of us were delighted to roam arround every nook and corner of the city. I was two months old in London myself and it helped me get acquainted into cultural ways of the English. The history and museums fascinated our geeky brain whilst accidentally attending a practice session of musicians at Cambridge made our faces smile.

The Shahrukh bridge /disclaimer - google image

When Teju visited us on a cold autumn weekend, she couldn’t be happier posing at the ‘Bridge’ on Thames where Shahrukh Khan dances to Challa song. I couldn’t be more delighted to see Adi at Lords souvenir shop, he spent half hour selecting his merchandise whilst three women waited for him patiently. He handled every bat with such care and drooled at it with puppy eyes. That moment I wished, '' Agale janam muzhe cricket bat banna.'' :P

 Sana spent a couple of weeks of summer with me last year and my darling sister wandered inside the Harry Potter Studio with total enchantment. Harry Potter made her childhood which she cherishes to date.

We travel also for the food

My in-laws visited us recently and my otherwise demure mother-in-law held us at ransom at Kew Gardens. She took her sweet time looking at every plant, posing near all sorts of landscapes. Her joy held no bounds as she imparted us all the information of every species of plants and was never shy to gather and tuck the pine-cones in her pockets.

Aai and Baba at Kew Gardens

Perhaps this is the best part of travelling to a distant place. It not only opens gate away to the world at large but helps you discover yourself, a part which you sometimes sadly ignore at home. The child within you.

Paradise found : The mountains, the sea and a little adventure

The sky was twinkling bright and our stomachs were filled to the bream as we entered our cute villas by the sea. Just as I was relaxing in the shower after an exhausted day, Preeti knocked on the door.

Zorbas Beach Village

‘’Dev has big hives on his body!’’, she declared panic-stricken. Very unlike Preeti. It was nearly midnight on this largest but quiet island in Greece. The sweet resort manager was not answering his call (save his otherwise hospitable demeanour), we did not have a single medicine in our travel kit (surprise, surprise!) and the four of us were frantically trying to call emergency medical help.

Our prayers were answered as an ambulance took apna party-boy Dev away to Chania, the next major town which was 12 miles away for an exciting night-out. So as Adi and I tried to catch forty winks, Preeti being the Pativrata Naari spent her night with very loud nurses. 

We were the early visitors on this serene island where the ‘season’ actually begins mid April. The winds were still strong, restricting any sailing or diving activities. The gorgeous looking snow covered White Mountains were not accessible either as the water flows through the gorges till early spring. 

 

Feeling a little dejected, we hired a taxi ( No, we don’t drive in London ) and drove from north to south of the western side of the island. The island spans 270 km from east to west, has two international airports and is an important naval and air base in the Mediterean sea.

P our very amicable, bulky driver and guide drove us on the road overlooking Souda bay, the naval base. Our next stops were at ancient city ruins of Aptera (7^th century B.C.) Many such ruins belonging to Minoans, Byzantines and Romans are scattered around the island.

Ruins at Aptera

We took our own sweet time, touching each brick and plucking wild daisies in this piece of history. The sight of the cistern bought out the singers in Dev and me. Our cacophony managed to get us surprised looks from the fellow tourist audience. Vacations are meant to be silly!

P then drove us through  the pretty villages in the hills. The trees were laden with oranges and lemons. I wondered if the popular rhyme was inspired from this place. 

The only sound was our constant chatter and P’s non-stop calls from clients.

As we neared the south of the island, the clouds and the chill had vanished and bright sunshine welcomed us. Jackets off, sunglasses out.  P who waved at every single passer by on the road throughout the drive directed us to Nikos tavern at Hora Sfakion for lunch. ‘Treat this as your home’, said the welcoming owner, shaking everyone’s hands – a very Greek way.

Harbour of Hora Sfakion

We were in for a feast! The lamb cooked in spicy tomato gravy was one of the best ones I have had in Europe! We relished the ‘feta cheese’ pitas with honey and polished off the souvlakis. The Greeks are certainly the most hospitable folks I have known. Preeti who is a vegetarian was equally delighted with her stew and Greek salad. We ate like there was no tomorrow.

The Xtraaaa Large Platter

P with his soft spoken broken English accompanied us during lunch narrating his experiences on Crete, the future for Greece in these uncertain times and his faith in Alexis Tsipras. His face beamed as a proud father of a daughter who had graduated in Mathematics and wondered what future she had in times where salaries were halved in most work places.

 Just as were about to burp, the chubby owner placed a plate of thick yogurt drizzled with honey and Raki, a local alcohol before us.

Old harbour of Chania

We spent the rest of the day passing various beaches and closed the evening at the old harbour of Chania. The streets near the old harbour are lined up with jewellery stores, leather goods and art shops. Not to forget the several buzzing cafes lined around the harbour. We had enjoyed a large platter of fish the evening before. A platter so large that we had to give up on it. (Including Adi!!!) But Dev still wanted to have some fish that fated evening. Ofcourse, little did he know what he had signed up for.

 The next day arrived with a cloud of doubt. Dev and Preeti had arrived only at 6 am from the hospital. We had plans to walk the Imbros gorge , a 12 km stretch as Samria, the largest gorge in Europe was shut for visitors. ( We were not fit enough to walk it either)

By late morning, Dev and Preeti woke up sportingly. After a few digs at Dev we started our drive for Imbros gorge. All the four of us love walking and this was a must do on our Crete list. The winding roads and clouds on top of the hills reminded us of the drives in the Himalayan foothills. It brought me memories of my last proper holiday with mum and dad. That was nearly 7 years ago! 

Imbros Gorge

Each turn in the gorge brought forward a different sight and a landscape. Black, Brown and Green predominated the pathway. Sometimes a stretch only had grasslands and shrubs while a sudden turn surprised us with slender, tall trees. Herds of sheep greeted us midway as sunshine played peek-a-boo. We threaded over big stones, small pebbles and humungous boulders. Not a single trickle of sweat on our brows. As the wind gently blew in the narrow gorge, we could hear cattle bells in a distance.

 This was a paradise!  This was un adulterated happiness. 

Valley views - Crete

Would we visit Crete again? Most certainly, we have only seen half of Crete. I missed visiting the Knossos Palace. Preeti liked the simplicity of the Cretian people. All of us will try to be fit for Samaria as well. Bonus point are the ferries which depart from Crete to other greek islands in the season. Adi will come for the beautiful curly haired women and food. Did I mention Desserts and Raki are complimentary on the island? 

White mountains - View from the Airport

As for Dev, guess he will be careful with any fishy experience in future. He survived only on bread and selected fruit during the rest of our stay.

All photo credits : My in-house photographer Aditya Pandit

South Africa: Top tips for your travel

It is an exciting continent! Its mysteries always alluring to the world.

We have watched documentaries. We have read it in history. We have seen it in Bollywood songs.

It is Africa. It is South Africa, the nation which altered history and has been witness to a saga of 21^st century human rights movement. A true ‘Rainbow’ nation with 11 official languages and multi-ethnic groups.

My imagination had been engulfed  with endless possiblities before I left London for Johannesburg, the financial capital of the nation unfortunately notorious for its crime rate. I didn’t know what to expect. Pretty sights, good food was a safe bet. But essentially the question was how will the people be? How good is the infrastructure? 

My journey began at the Apartheid Museum at Johannesburg. Just the thought of walking through two different entrances – ‘’White’’ and ‘’Not-White’’ a concept made at the museum to remind of those dark days shattered me. Tear drops trickled easily. Imagine not able to play cricket as you were a ‘black’ person.

Humanity is the greatest faith. I am truly thankful for being raised in much free society, a safe place of today. 

The rest of the trip only had pleasant surprises and the interactions with locals were warm.

The food has been greatly influenced by the migrants. The Dutch specialities include the malva pudding/the banting cusine, the French brought the wine, the Indonesian slaves introduced the famous Cape malay cuisine and us Indians invented the Durban Bunny Chow. Not to forget the traditional paap and braai (barbeque) of exotic meats.

Table Mountain Cape Town

My 9 day trip ended with a city visit of Cape Town. A city like any other, a bit crowded, the rich having the best views of the sea and some not so well offs enjoying them as well. A city blessed with the sea and the Table Mountain. The country has it all. 

Now that sounds like a place for retirement, eh?

The local train by the Beach

Here are the learnings from this Big Trip to South Africa. As usual we had done lot of research, asked tips from friends and family and got some tips from locals. There is everything which the country offers, wildlife, wine, surfing, shark diving, gold mines, casinos.... take your pick

Thought would share some tips:

  

      1. Travel Safe

Everybody warned us. We took all precautions and luckily our journey went all right.

i) Do not walk on the streets after dark in South Africa and if possible stick to your hotel room. Seems tough? Start your day early instead.

ii) Do not wear any expensive clothes, jewellery or flash your gadgets including your camera or phone on the street. Avoid big backpacks which give away that you are a tourist. 

iii) Make sure you have emergency numbers handy.Needless to say, buy a travel insurance.

  2. Planning a Safari

A good safari means spending 3-4 days minimum in the wild. Although Kruger is numero uno, South Africa has many parks which will cater to your wildlife fantasy. If you are able to pay the mullah, then private game lodges are ideal. 

i) Safaris are budget breaking and if you are very confident of navigating by yourself with the Big 5 , then self drive and accommodation available in parks is a good option.

ii) Don’t forget to book it advance. Here is the link to the National parks.

iii) Also, take precautionary vaccination/medicines if you are visiting a malaria prone zone.

3. Best option to explore the country

i) Depending on your budget and time available, you can choose to fly around the country or drive around or like us do a bit of both. If you have time at hand then self-drive is best as roads are excellent and drivers can be bit rash. But remember nobody can beat us Indians at rash driving. Any country’s driving license is accepted for renting a car.

ii) Make sure you do not leave anything very valuable or visible when you park the car. Some even suggest not to stop at red signal at night but common sense should prevail.

iii) Fancy having window down and wind flying in your face? Not really the best thing.

There are obviously guided tours available if you are aged 40 and with a family.

     4. Shopping and Tips

V & A Waterfront, Cape town

i) I know you are dying to buy that amazing art craft as a centre piece for your table. But hey, don’t bargain very hard. These traders barely earn anything. Avoid shopping or eating at V&A waterfront at Cape Town, it is very touristy.

ii) Paying 10% of your restaurant bill is common practice and your tip would be welcomed with a generous smile. Also tip the hotel staff and the parking attendants.

 Bon Voyage! Cape of Good Hope awaits you.