Never understood the fixation with Bubble Tea and it’s variants, but to each their own. So with apprehension, I agree to try a cup with our friend Sel who was raving about it! It was 10pm at night, and there was a line when we pulled up in front of Xing Fu Tang Bubble Tea…
Tag: traveling
A Bet With My Belly
Ignoring all caution on eating at roadside stalls and shady joints in India, we decided to be adventurous and stop at a Toddy Shop on the way to the Athirappilly Waterfalls in Thrissur, Kerala. The risk of developing a tummy upset was high, and that wouldn’t go well in a place where toilet facilities might…
‘Baahubali’ Falls
The Athirappilly or ‘Baahubali’ waterfalls as it is popularly known, after a scene for that film was shot at the site. Seen here in its full glory thanks to heavy rains in the area late October. It is quite a walk to the foot of the falls – about 400m through the forest along a…
Happy Deepavali!
I’d like to wish all my Hindu friends and readers a joyous celebration during this Festival of Lights. This beautiful scene was captured along an unnamed lane in Cherlai Bazar in Fort Kochi, Kerala, India. The glow of oil lamps along the lane as kids played with sparklers and fireworks outside their homes was just…
Kek Lok Si Blooms
A hot and hazy afternoon in the hills of Air Itam in Penang isn’t exactly ideal. But we nevertheless decided to wander around the grounds of Malaysia’s largest Buddhist temple – the Kek Lok Si temple built on the slopes of this hill. Construction of this temple began in the 1890s, funded by a few…
Sunset Ceremony: India
On a trip along the backwaters in Kerala in June, we spent the night on a houseboat docked next a village along the waterway near the Punamada Kayal lake. It was just before dusk and all the homes in the village were lighting oil lamps in the from of their homes as they recited prayers….
Reflection: Mumbai
Reflection with a view overlooking the Colaba Reef from the Souk Restaurant Taj Mahal Tower Hotel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Step Back in Time: Mumbai
Mumbai is a rapidly developing, densely populated financial centre along the west coast of India. Home to Bollywood, scenes of this city have been beamed to us via televisions in our living rooms more often than we can remember. If not for the traffic chaos and incessant honking, a walk down the streets of Colaba…
Floral Finery @ The Taj
The attention to detail at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India is astounding. The bright flowers that greet you at every lobby, reading corner and table tops were a testament to this. In addition floral floor decorations in our room lent a lingering fresh smell of jasmine and roses which lulled is…
Tea Plantation Tranquility
After a gruelling four hour drive through early monsoon showers, and bumpy pot-holed and landslide ridden roads, we arrived at the Gruenberg Tea Plantation Haus which was to be our home for two days. The three storey building set in a valley in Munnar – a hill station in Kerala, India is surrounded by tea…
Friday Flashback: Andorra
This small country of 12 sq km in the Pyrenees mountains is usually off the radar but is gaining popularity amongst tourist for its duty free shopping. This city in the mountain, that at one time used to supply agricultural produce to the French and Spanish towns below, is popular among ski tourists, and Christmas…
Backwaters Adventure
I heard of Kerala’s Backwaters for the first time from my 93 year-old grandfather who was at that time, slowly slipping into early stages of dementia. “I used to sell pots from a boat,” he announced one afternoon. I was puzzled but didn’t heed his comments. He had just eaten his second lunch, because he…
Maria Dass the World 