A preferred option for my travels is a self-drive itinerary – always! Though: a self-drive may not be feasible in all the places e.g. in South East Asia – where it might simply be too risky and economically not justifiable or in places where the main destination is the city itself e.g. Singapore. There is no...
Kalabsha? You will never see the name of this temple in any of the standard itineraries of Egypt. If you are with a guide, you would be told that it is a waste of time – mostly out of their own ignorance. At the least, you might see this monument on...
The “Tourist” to Egypt will have no idea of the ‘Other’ non-glamourous Pyramids of the Ancient Civilization of Egypt! But for the Experience Traveller, the Pyramids of Saqqara and Dashur will indeed have more charm – they predate the Pyramids of Giza and show the interesting history of the development of...
This for me was a trip which was about looking at Nepal beyond the obvious, beyond the mountains and the trekking and the natural beauty. Going Beyonder in Nepal. Kathmandu has its sights, Pokhara its beauty, but I had done all these in my previous trip-the ancient Pashupathinath temple, the...
Travelers usually feel that their trip to Egypt is complete with a visit to the Pyramids of Giza and the Nile Cruise! Alas beyond these iconic (and well marketed) experiences, we miss out on the not so usual destinations – which are equally beautiful and historic! One of these off-the-beat destination is...
One of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world and the only one standing till date. Is it a work of aliens? How sophisticated in technology and knowledge were the ancient Egyptians? Are the pyramids tombs or temples – what was their purpose? Did they hold vast amounts of treasure? All these questions and all...
Imhotep: We all know him as the titular antagonist in The Mummy Returns (originally in the1932 film The Mummy) and its sequels. This character is loosely inspired by the historical figure Imhotep, a noted polymath, counselor & chancellor (possibly) to the Pharaoh Djoser, architect of the first Pyramid – the Step Pyramid in Saqqara and...
We spoke in length about the pros and cons of a Self-Drive vacation in the previous blog. The important factor that you have to keep in mind well before you start your self-drive vacation would be the licence requirements of the country you are going to! There are many countries, which allow you to drive...
The story of Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean) originates from Indian mythology and is described in the books like Bhagvata Purana, Vishnu Purana and Mahabharata . All these books are considered as directional in Hinduism. The books describe how the Devas (gods) and the Asuras (demons) churned the ocean under the aegis of Vishnu,...
A common quandary you would encounter when planning your trip to Egypt would be whether to take the extra time (and cost) to make the day long visit to Abu Simbel? Nearly 300 kms from Aswan (the starting or ending point of all Nile Cruises), the drive to Abu Simbel and back...