One day in Europe
A few days back I watched the movie “One day in Europe“. Written and directed by Hannes Stöhr, it revolves…
Young generation of Batad
The children of Batad village could not have impressed me more. They are tech savvy, fashion conscious, speak English and fond of latest English songs. All of them possess mobile phones as well.
From a four year old to a teenager, they all are comfortable with English language unlike in the capital Manila. They are very poor but have big dreams. While kids in cities play computer games, go to malls, blow parents’ hard earned money and kill time, these children of Batad work very hard to earn that extra penny which help them and their family in many ways.
Batad is a relatively tiny village in the mountains of Northern Luzon in the Philippines. Its big brother next door, Banaue (pronounced as banawe or बनावे) is the one you hear more about around Manila.
Elmer, our soft spoken, betel (पान) chewing 15 yrs old porter and guide.
Fifteen years old Elmer who carried our bags for going to Batad, offered his
Facts & tips about Pagsanjan Waterfall trip
Read here about the trip experience.
1) Pagsanjan is pronounced as Pag-san-nyan.
2) The name of the river is Magdapio.
3) The stretch is of 6 KMs before we reach the falls. First 4KMs are done by a motorized canoe and then the boatmen (they are called banceros) take over and paddle the canoe against the powerful flow.
4) There are at least 10 sets of rapids in last 2 KMs.
Some people under the waterfall.
5) There are around 980 boats with
Rowing to Pagsanjan Waterfall is fun
I must say rowing to Pagsanjan (pronounced as Pag-san-nyan) waterfalls at Laguna bay was much more fun than standing under it. Here is my take.
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“Gentleman first, please” I almost lost my control on those steps to the river. Till now I had always heard “Ladies first” and it has been well programmed into my system so when I heard these words while going down to sit on the boat, it took me off guard.
Okay, I let V to be the guinea pig this time. I adjusted my life jacket and helmet, consoled myself without arguing with the two boatmen. Oh wait ! Gone are the days of wooden boats; it was a locally built fiberglass canoe.
They helped us take our seats on the narrow canoe with me sitting almost on V’s lap and before I realized, our canoe was attached to a motorized canoe which appeared from nowhere. It already had some boats as its wagging tail and then we also became a part. The ‘engine’ canoe pulled us and two more boats got attached along the way. And so our boat train ‘chugged’ forward. 😀
Why motorized canoe? We were going upstream and the flow was strong. We were told the whole stretch was around 6 KMs. The river is not very wide and looked like a canal to me.
Can you see how relaxed our boatman is? One motorized canoe was pulling all the boats.
The atmosphere was very
Cheapest room I ever stayed in
Among other things, backpackers often look for budget accommodation. I was also backpacking and traveling on tight budget. However, I am yet to stay in a dormitory … mostly because I need my comfort zone especially when I travel alone. I do not mind shared baths but when it is time to relax or to take a nap after a tiring day, I need a quiet place and some private space to myself.
So, when I was backpacking to Malaysia & Thailand earlier this year, I was always on the lookout for a suitable place to stay that would
1. be clean
2. be inexpensive
3. Maintain privacy
4. be safe for a single woman
and I found this room !! In Krabi!
The cheapest room I have ever stayed in any country including India. Bonus was 24 hours free wi-fi, good location and a friendly staff.
A comfortable, clean and non creaky bed with 2 soft pillows & a thin blanket. Do you remember that famous red hand bag ? 😀
Though India is quite light on pocket when
Visiting Lonar lake
I had always wanted to visit the Lonar crater in Maharashtra; it never failed to fascinate me through photos and whatever information I had. So when I got an opportunity to visit Aurangabad, I made a point to make a dash to this place as well. How I reached there or returned back, is another interesting adventurous story but this post is about Lonar lake.
Although Lonar lake is third largest meteorite crater in the world, there is no commercialization of the place. Travel information on the net regarding this place is very sparse and though people are aware of this lake, not many of them have visited it. It is neither a touristy place nor been taken care of, to make one. There are no signboards and one has to depend on the local people for everything. Not that I mind it one bit… it lets me interact with them. 🙂
Besides countable no. of tourists, this place is visited by researchers, geologists and scientists from all over the world as well as by the serious nature lovers or adventure seekers.
The lake is around 50 thousand years old. The water is saline in nature; my guide mentioned it has substantial quantity of sulphur and phosphorus too. The outer diameter of the lake is 1.83 kilometers and the circumference is around 6-7 Kms. Descent to lake i.e. distance from the rim to ground level is about 140 meters.
Me holding a piece of basalt rock. It is porous and very light in weight.
It was August end and
Review: 1947 Veg. Indian Restaurant
Recently I was in Bangalore for a hop, skip and run kind of a trip. But that does not mean I can not enjoy some delicacies at a decent place. Right ? Here is review of a Veg. Indian restaurant named 1947.
As the name suggests, this vegetarian family restaurant situated at Banashankari III on outer ring road near Deve Gowda Petrol pump, is with an ambience of year 1947 in contemporary period.
The side entrance is through the stairs and leads to 2nd floor restaurant.
If you don’t want to take stairs, lift is waiting for you but then you’ll miss
Pariyon ka Talab Aurangabad – Lake of Fairies
Pariyon ka Talab, meaning the ‘Lake of Fairies’, lies near Shuli Bhanjan on way to Ellora from Aurangabad. On internet…
Holidaying in Turkey during festivals
Holidaying in Turkey during festivals
Off late I have been reading a lot about Turkey and enjoying Turkey during festivals is high on my list. Did you know Turkey is one of the very few countries in the world which span across 2 continents, Europe and Asia ? Turkey is vast and its expanse boasts of awesome landscapes and natural wonders surrounded by different seas. It is as great a destination for relaxing beaches on its Mediterranean and Aegean coasts as for some of the world’s most magnificent ancient monuments, not to mention about the mouth watering national cuisine and the numerous festivals making Turkey holidays firm favourite with visitors of all ages.
Also, Istanbul, the capital city, has been nominated as European capital of culture for the year 2010.
Among the many annual festivals it boasts of, I am more interested in Camel Wrestling Festival in Selçuk. It is similar to Spanish bullfights, the Italians cockfights or
Hi-tech worshipping !
The life is fast.
In this mechanical era, no one has time to sit and breathe. At the same time one also likes to continue with age old customs and rituals. But who has time to do things in traditional way ?
Look at the picture below. Though I was apprehensive of clicking this photo, I also wanted to show it to my people back home.
Electronic worshipping in progress…. in Tiger Cave temple
Traditionally worshipping
Night Markets at Krabi – II
Other night market of Krabi or Part I is here.
This night market (pasar malam) on Maharaj Soi 10 in the centre of town is not very far from river Krabi. Off the main road and near the central Songthaew station, this is actually a weekend market. Every weekend (Friday till Sunday), the market starts at 5 PM and goes on till 10:30.
Bigger in size compared to first one, this is the night market to head for if you are looking for more than just food. It has lots of things for sale. From clothes of all kinds (T-shirts, ladies dresses, lingerie) to hand made stylish bags, souvenirs to footwear … you’ll find everything here.
You can get a Thai massage done on a pavement or a
