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adventure

Exploring Jungfrau Region in Winters

I was in a Swiss Air flight to Zurich, Switzerland. To say I was excited, would be an understatement. I was visiting the country after 18 years! I was to go to Interlaken and then to Jungfrau region for some awesome activities. It was going to be a nostalgic trip for me. A lot would have changed, a lot would have remained the same; these thoughts crisscrossed through my mind. It was for me to see it myself, now. 🙂

top things to do in Jungfrau region

I knew it would be cold in December with snow all around, but I have lived in those temperatures and have also visited several countries in winters. So, the weather was not in my mind. It was the reminiscences that made me smile.
We went by road from Zurich to Interlaken. The route was picturesque with inviting mountains standing at a distance. I kept smiling looking out of my window. Next day I would go there.

Adventures in Merapi

With a name that means ‘mountain of fire,’ it is a no brainer that Mt Merapi is Indonesia’s most active volcano. It has erupted several times, telling us Merapi has quite a few legends to speak about its spirit and past eruptions. At one point it was so serious that it was well observed and followed by many volcanologists.

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Its difficult peaks and

Antics at 233 metres!

‘Beware of falling people’ says the sign as we come out of the high speed elevator at 58th floor, Observation deck of the Macau Tower, in 60 seconds flat. Now, I have seen signboards warning us of falling rocks, landslide while trekking or falling objects or debris in a construction site. I was not much surprised when I once saw beware of falling coconuts. This is new. While I try to reason in my mind, I hear a blood curdling scream and see a girl falling! My heart miss a few beats.

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In islands of

Best Places to Snowmobile

I had seen pictures & videos of this scooter kind of snow vehicle but to be honest, I wasn’t even sure of the name! So when I was told that we are going to drive snow mobiles, I was a bit apprehensive. Not that I don’t love adventure sports; Scuba diving, Bungee jumping, Parasailing, Rappelling, Segways.. I have done them all. But this? I cheered myself that there is always a first time for everything.

best places to snowmobile - snow mobile in zakopane @lemonicks.com

I was at the top of

Segway in Spain

Segway in Spain

On a bright sunny day in Tarragona we wanted to have some fun. And how?
We attempted Segway-ing and I fell in love with it…. instantly and literally. 😀

segway @lemonicks.com

That’s me riding my Segway along the beach.

The more formal name is Segway PT (Segway Personal Transporter). It is a self balancing two wheeled electric powered

Making merry in the middle of La mer

Making merry in the middle of La mer
From time immemorial the vast expanse of water, that we call the sea, has held the human beings in awe. From then till now and I am sure into the future, our visits to the beaches or cruise on a boat will never stop. Such is the attraction of water.

I am no different. I love going to the beaches, I love cruises, I love island hopping boat rides.

I had signed for this much touted island hopping trip in Krabi on one of my solo trips to Thailand. Idea was to hop from one island to another after some time in each. You get the idea! 🙂

If you are short on time, this is the best way to see the best of these islands. Well, on the appointed day the van driver, a short lady, picked me up from my guest house and then went around town picking other passengers before parking at the dock.
It was very well organized, as usual… something I quite don’t see in India. We had our lunch on the second island and spent lazing around. A few passengers were playing beach volley and football. I was busy taking their pictures. 😉
Soon we left for the third island. I could

Sept Cascades Tamarind Falls in Mauritius

Cliff jumping in Mauritius

Only the day before I had witnessed a purely South Indian festival of Thai Poosam in the exotic island called Mauritius. I was exhausted after the festival and later driving round the island with some friends.

When I woke up next morning I was as fresh and energetic as ever. I was poring over the map to look for some off beat places when I spotted Sept Cascade. Literal meaning is 7 waterfalls. It sounded interesting. I checked with hotel reception. One of the guys had not seen or heard of it; the other one said no point going there since it is not been raining. The falls are beautiful only during and after rains.

Well I had already made up my mind. Asked him how to get around using the local bus and got some tips. He said rarely do tourists want to go to there and that too in a local bus.
I smiled “This one does!”. 😀

sept cascade @lemonicks.com

Do you see 3 levels of ponds? There are 7 of them.

Not really a

Going Bananas !

Recently there was a furore in sections of print and non-print media about India being a Banana Republic and People of India being mango-people. Well, whatever be the truth, Mango or no-mango, it is always a great fun going bananas in the sea. 😀

Scene is set in Calangute Beach, Goa. There are plenty of activities to be done. Para-Sailing in the sea, inflatable of many shapes and sizes tied to boats etc. What took my fancy was this long inflatable contraption tied to a boat. There were sitting places and handles to hold but no harness.

going bananas ride @lemonicks.com

A banana is being checked before going into the water.

“What is this?” I asked.
“This is Banana Ride, Ma’am”, Said the guy.

I wanted

Impromptu shower in Himalayan danger zone

Have you ever bathed in front of 100s of people with full clothes on? No, I am not talking about taking a dip in any pilgrimage site or any sacred river, but in a dangerous rock falling zone aka Himalayan danger zone where every single person present there prayed for safe journey!

It happened to us during our recent Trip to Uttarakhand. We had completed our Treks to Valley of Flowers and Hemkunt and now wanted to visit Badrinath.

landslide badrinath Himalayan danger zone @lemonicks.com

Do you see one wheel of the bus hanging? It was that dangerous to drive.

This was a Monsoon period