Bali..Paradise in East

Bali has always been a popular tourist destination and I have been extremely fortunate to experience the beauty of this island on my honeymoon, and I can undoubtedly say that it is one of the most friendliest places in the world..There are so many things that would charm you in Bali, the beaches, food, temples..but what touched my heart was the hospitality of the Balinese.

We took a nine-day package trip to Bali via Bangkok. Our trip started from Delhi IGI Airport and we reached Denpasar airport via Bangkok, and got our visa on arrival. This is what we did in Bali:

1. Hotel in Kuta

We stayed at the luxurious Kuta Paradiso Hotel, which I totally recommend if you are willing to splurge a bit..It is  located near the Kuta beach, on an extremely busy street (which makes for an excellent location). The Hotel looks extremely beautiful and a red Ferrari parked outside just adds to its glamour. . It was a hot month of July, and we were given a very warm welcome by the staff (along with a cool drink):-) The room was clean with a balcony..I was however little disappointed with the bathroom ( it was small, and didn't seem to belong to a five-star hotel). Our hotel package included the breakfast buffet, which was extremely grand, offered a lot of vegetarian options (both warm and cold) as well. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful..The hotel also has a beautiful pool and aroma massage centre in its premises.

2. Adventure Sport

When in Bali, experiencing the thrills of water sports in the Indian ocean in a must..I am a hydrophobic but thanks to my husband, I took the plung and I am glad I did. There are lot of companies that offer your various packages having different sports, so you can choose the package of your choice..but always remember to BARGAIN (many a times you can get the cost reduced to one half)..and also, choose the one that also gets you picked up and dropped from your hotel ( if you do not have a car).

What I can recommend you from my experience is:

Ocean Walking- You change into your water gear and are taken far from the coast in a boat to a point close to coral reefs. After wearing the necessary equipment, and understanding the basics, with the help of a small ladder you go inside the water, approx 2.5 m to witness something so surreal, that it is hard to believe at first. Beautiful marine life all around you..you can feed the fishes too, and it is so amazing when they all cluster together...it is little hard to walk initially but then you get used to it in few minutes..some people might feel a tinge of pressure though..

Also get a video made, to capture these memorable moments..

Flying Fish- This was simply terrific..an air boat whirls at a great speed and then soon, without you realising it, takes off in the air....you just cling to the boat with the grip of your hands and feet...I was too scared to even open my eyes initially, but when I did, it was breathtaking..water and sky is all you can see.

Doughnut Boat- This was all about speed..an air boat that looks like a doughnut makes circular rounds in the ocean at extremely high speed..and again, you just hold on to the boat with the grip of your hands.

3. Balinese Dance

Balinese people dance to express their religious, mythological and artisitic beliefs. We saw the popular Barong Dance, which tells a story narrating the fight between good and evil..It might be a bit too long for people who  are not fond of art and culture, but nonetheless its an experience in itself.

4. Mt.Batur and Lake

Mount Batur is a small active volcano located in the region of Kintamani, with a huge crater that is14km in diameter. Adjacent to the volcano is the large crescent-shaped Batur Lake, all surrounded by the high walls of the crater rim. We did not climb up the mountain, but saw it from a distance and the spectacular view is still etched into my memory. It is extremely overwhelming to see an active volcano and the crystal clear lake.

There was a local bazar in this area, and the people trying to sell merchandise was a bit of a nuisance..but if you decide to buy something, bargain as much as you can.

5. Rice Fields

These lush and elegant rice fields bear testimony to the hardwork of Balinese rice farmers' and their love & respect for their work..

We also had one of the most amazing Sayur Curry (vegetables- in- coconut milk gravy) with Rice there..I loved it, but on realizing that we are short on currency decided not to order another one..our local guide noticed this, and very sweetly offered to lend us money so that we could eat to our heart's content:-)

6. Batuan Temple

Batuan Temple is a beautifully designed Balinese Hindu temple. One must dress appropriately in a sarong and sash before entering the temple (provided outside the main gate). Here you can worship Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. One can see the best of Balinese architecture in this temple, which is adorned with beautiful sculptors. Temple offerings consisting of incense sticks, flowers and assemblages of food and fruits are perched neatly on a small basket made out of banana leaf.

7. Kuta Beach

I saw the most beautiful sunset at this beach...Kuta beach is extremely popular with the tourist, so one should expect crowd at all the times..The beach was few minutes away from our hotel so we could walk their easily.  On the way to the beach, was a big local street market where one could shop for an array of things- souvenirs, junk jewellery, t-shirts, beautiful hats, watches ( though one could easily ignore the cheap imitations of Gucci, Fossil, Guess and Rado)..There are also lot of massage parlours on the way, we negotiated the price and came back after spending some time at the beach..since it was getting late, we managed to bargain a great deal with the owner.

8. Gold and Silver Craftswork

Celuk Village is a popular destination in Bali, known for its gold and silver craftswork. We visited Krisna Yuna, and found the gold and silver jewellery and craft pieces to be extremely fine. One can also see the craftsmen at work there, to understand the process of jewellery making.

9. The Payogan, Ubud

We stayed at the Payogan Villas, Ubud for two nights, and it was just so private-away from the world-luxury resort. We reached the villa in the afternoon, and were given a warm welcome with a cool-healthy vegetable drink. After completing the formalities, we were escorted to our villa in a mini open van (the villas are located downhill few minutes away from the reception area). This resort consists of around 23 villas, and is an extremely exclusive retreat. The villas are located at a distance from each other, making the place extremely private.We had opted for a villa with pool. The fragrance of flowers greeted us at the door. The room was beautiful with the feel of ancient royalty and the bathroom was open, facing the valley..Our package included the breakfast buffet, and special care was taken to prepare vegetarian meals for us..We could order lunch and dinner in our room or go to their restaurant. Evening tea and desert were also a part of the package..I had my noodles packet from India and when I requested them for a boiler, they happily offered to make the noodles for me:-)

Staying here made me feel like I am living in the lap of nature, with all the modern technologies at my disposal:-)

   

French Éclair !!

Éclair

Well eclairs, as I knew in India, was just the delicate chocolate candy manufactured by Cadbury's that was everyone's favourite..After coming to Germany, I got to know the story behind this irresistible candy and thought of sharing the same.

Fruits Éclair

Éclair is a popular French pastry filled with chocolate or coffee or cream, and if it is to be believed, its origin can be traced back in the 19th century. I got to know that one can have this pastry in Wissembourg (a quaint town in the Alsace region in France on the German-French border and just 1.5 hours train journey from Kaiserslautern, where I live), so decided to visit this place.
I had cappuccino chantilly and yummy Éclair at Café La Pépinière, a real treat on a cold day! One can also relish an extremely refreshing Fruits Éclair ( I liked it better than the original chocolate flavour). 
The chocolate éclair has also been given a form of chocolate candy, which I have relished for years :-).

Flammkuchen

I also had my first Flammkuchen there, and developed an instant dislike to the authentic French version..it was very creamy, sour and soggy..I prefer the one's I have had in Germany (crisp with a subtle taste of cream with toppings of paprika, olives, jalapeño).

My last and sole trip to this city so far was taken to taste this popular  Éclair, and did not really explore the city in the true sense of it..I would love to visit it again, for another Éclair and to get a flavour of their culture..

Palma de Mallorca

I felt like I was gliding on soft snow :)

Last month I celebrated my first wedding anniversary in Palma de Mallorca, Spain..Mallorca is one of the most popular summer destinations for Germans and my husband's boss had suggested this place to him. The place seemed to be a little off our budget but then we thought of splurging a bit on our special occasion to make it really memorable..we booked the hotel and flight three months in advance and were super excited..little did we know that this place would give us unforgettable memories and be my best holiday so far..

So, minutes before we left Germany in a Ryanair (they offer great deals to fly within Europe) flight in the evening it was raining cats and dogs in Frankfurt Hahn, and I was in desperate need of some sun (had not seen sunshine in some weeks)..we were flying over Switzerland and the view from the plane was simply breathtaking..

Aerial view of Palma de Mallorca

As we were about to land, the beauty of the Balearic Islands mesmerized me..after smoothly completing the formalities as we walked out of the airport, we were welcomed by beautiful serene palm trees and pleasant weather :) After waiting for few minutes at the airport we got a bus to the main city. We already had the information on the local travelling, so we were confident on making our way to our Hotel very smoothly..however we were not aware that the bus displays were always not same as the route map (they skip displaying the not-so-major bus stops)..It was around 10:00pm and we got off at a wrong bus stop..we managed to find a young spanish guy who spoke ' a few english (that's how he rated his english communication skills)..we were amazed to see how hard he tried to help us, he took out his iphone and immediately tracked the route and showed it to us and thanks to him, after walking for 15-20 min we managed to reach the right bus stop and catch the right bus :)

After spending 45 minutes in the bus we finally reached our Hotel, BQ Belvedere..and oh boy! what a grand appearance it has..the clear blue water pool was visible from the distant bus stop..

BQ Belvedere Hotel   

Soller Port

We had an all-inclusive reservation at the Hotel, that included breakfast, lunch and dinner...and that's not all..it also had unlimited hot and cold drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), from 11am-11pm at the pool side, snacks, 11am-5pm and pizza/pasta from 1pm-6pm. The Hotel also keeps the guests entertained with various activities during the day and night (like aqua gym, dance night, bingo night etc.). It also offered free to and fro shuttle to the Palma Nova beach.

I had a great time walking around the Palma Port and the main shopping street. I also walked upto the Arab Baths, but the place did not seem worth the time and money, so skipped the thought and instead spent my time around the serene Cathedral of Santa Maria (Palma Cathedral). I honestly, enjoyed more at the pool side at the hotel than at the beach. One, the beach was extremely crowded and second, it was more fun at the hotel pool with the food and drinks of my choice:)

We visited a small quaint town Sóller, where you can reach by taking the popular vintage train or bus (I would recommend the former though). It was a one hour ride, through the hills, and one could see lush orange and lemon farms.

We had lunch at Circulo Sollerenso (near the Catherdral in the city centre), and it was the most amazing "Vegetal Lasagne" that i ever had..I loved it so much that I had it twice the same day :) must have dish if you are a vegetarian. Post lunch we took the train from the main city to the

Sóller Port, which was just amazing..nothing could be more refreshing on a hot summer day, than a swim in the Mediterranean Sea :)

Outside Palma's airport

This trip has been indeed the most memorable trip so far.

Cathedral of the Holy Mary, Palma

Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma

Sóller

Heidelberg..

Heidelberg is one of those places where I love to go, just to relax and unwind..It is one of my favourite weekend destinations in Germany. It is a touristic city in the south-west Germany, in the State of Baden-Württemberg and lies on the River Neckar. It is a one-hour train journey from Kaiserslautern via Mannheim.The city is famous for its castle and its garden, which were destroyed several times during the 30 Years' War, old bridge and churches.  The Christmas Market or 'Weihnachtsmarkt' of Heidelberg is extremely popular in Germany. You can reach the castle either on a cable train or simply walk up the hill (I opted for this option), which can be a bit tiring but the view of the castle keeps you motivated.

                                        

I have so far been to this city thrice, and simple love its feel. Be it a quiet walk on the old bridge, pebbled streets, or the river side (which is summers can be really lively), the city has a lot to offer. Heidelberg offers lot of options for eating and drinking. I, being a vegetarian, do not get lot of options but here, there are lot of cafes and restaurants where you can find good vegetarian options (particularly, Italian and Mexican). Heidelberg can also be a shopper's paradise, where you can shop for apparel, food, books, jewellery,  exquisite chocolates. One can also see a number of Ice cream parlours in the small streets and enjoy it on a hot summer afternoon. Good food, and then relaxing by the river side with a book, makes for my perfect weekend. And Heidelberg offers all of this. I would recommend this place to all those who love nature, have an eye for ancient architecture and fond of good food :-) 

Weekend Getaway in Cochem!

For all the travel lovers..I recently visited a small town called Cochem in the Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany with my husband and some friends. The place is 45 mins away from Trier, a popular tourist destination that claims to be the oldest city in Germany.

Reichsburg

As we reached Cochem, after a long but scenic journey of three hours, I was completely mesmerized by the beauty of the place. Lush green mountains by the side of River Mosel makes for a breathtaking view. Plethora of ships and cruises docked on the shores...beautiful white Pelicans adding serenity to the busy place..It was a very relaxing walk along the river to the city centre, which was bustling with huge crowds..all I could think of then was Good FOOD..we checked out a couple of cafes and restaurants, and finally zeroed in on an Italian restaurant, Pomod'oro...we ordered Pastas, and the food was fresh and decent..won't call it great though! After eating to our heart's content, we headed towards the castle, Reichsburg..a beautiful castle located amidst the mountains..it was a steep climb, was long and tiring but worth the view..One could also take a bus that drops half way to the castle, with rest of the journey to be covered on foot..As we were running short on time, we did not go to the top, but just till the entry point, which gave us a beautiful view of the castle nonetheless! On way back to the main town, we located quaint stores, selling all sorts of semi-precious stones..Cochem has some beautiful stores where you could buy exquisite jewellery, pearls and home decoratives.

We walked our way back to the Bahnhof along the river side..calm and peaceful..It was a day well spent :)