Never Stop Exploring: January 2014

My first unplanned and un organized trip with one way tickets and one night accommodation,

How do I even begin to sum up my trip to Nepal? So many things happened I couldn’t fit them into one blog post if I tried. So, in an attempt fit most of it in, I’m going to walk you through my trip as it happened, with photos of course. Stick around for the blog posts that will follow. Eventually I’ll take you to the top of Poon Hill, a 3,210 meter high mountain in the Himalayan mountain range, over a cliff edge at Sarangkot where I soared above Pokhara in a paragliding harness, and into the personal lives and homes of Nepali villagers. But first, let’s start with my arrival into this mad, chaotic, dirty albeit beautiful country.

As we flew over the city on arrival, the place struck me as something entirely unique from the start. For miles, houses spread out over rice fields and muddy-green land. I found the architecture very interesting. It looked as though several thousand tiny boxes plopped on top of the fertile land in every pastel shade of the rainbow. The angles were a simple 90 degrees from every-which-way and lacked embellishments. It looked like someone cut eight squared windows out of the cement walls just as a child playing with boxes might do. Nothing fancy, just a roof for people to put over their heads and some holes to let some sunlight in.

When we landed at the airport, I noticed that instead of a luxurious international airport the small building looked more like a pile of old bricks with yellow, soured corridors leading into immigration.Immigrants and wanderlust travelers arriving. Being an Indian passport holder helped me avoid the queue and pass the emigration without any hazel. Reminded me off Indian Postal Service when they put arrival stamp on my passport ...

My Hotel was in Tamal, Katmandu Guest House, the most popular tourist district that embodies everything that Kathmandu can give to tourists seeking for something, anything. From trekking shops selling waterproof North Face bags to panels of pashmina shawls (all claiming to be 100% real - it will be remarkable to actually see a sign that says "may contain pashmina wool" instead) and book shops with photocopied Lonely Planet guides and maps, to bronze statues, walls of Thanka paintings, turquoise beads, wooden carvings and signs of restaurants, hostels and hotels - all packed into a small district crisscrossed with alleyways.

Tourist police roaming around at night will make you feel safer roaming around at night.

Tamal

Evening at Funky Buddah , enjoyed nice dinner and shisha, suggested by a prominent traveler and a close friend Mr.Assif Yogi, Mid Novemeber, it was chilling in KTM , I had to buy additional woolen cloths for me to survive there….

Apparently there are 3 big cities in Nepal - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. We visited Patan bright and early on the second day. Patan's the city of arts and culture.

Patan

Patan's lunch was the only time I had the local Nepalese food when I was in Nepal - the Dhal Bhat, consisting of rice and dhal (chickpea soup), some chicken curry and vegetable curry.

The stupa in Patan. Pigeons, everywhere.

Patan Durbar Square is the old kings square of Patan. Patan used to be one of the three ancient kingdoms of Kathmandu valley and nowadays it forms one residential zone together with Kathmandu. The World Heritage monument zone of Patan Durbar Square, with many beautiful temples, is one of the seven World Heritage zones in the Kathmandu Valley. Patan Durbar Square shows some of the best examples of Newari architecture in Nepal

Bhaktapur

The city of agriculture. I actually preferred Bhaktapur to Patan because it had more of a 'chillax' vibe to it, plus it was cleaner, quieter and more organized compared to the mess in Kathmandu and to some degree, Patan

There's just one last stupa to see - and that's at the Monkey Temple of Swayambhunath, a 15m taxi ride away from Kathmandu, slight up in the hills. Swayambhunath is among the oldest religious sites in Nepal.

Upto Monkey Temple

Buddhist statues dot the foot of the hill.

Day 4 to Day 7

We were back at Tribhuvan International Airport, but this time, we went to the domestic flight area. It was reminiscing of the times I went to Pokhara. We checked in at 11.30am at Yetti Air.

It was a short 45-min propeller plane right. My very first! It was really smooth sailing though since the weather was good. This air craft will make you call all the gods you know when its landing… keep guessing…

When it was time to board the plane, there was a bus to bring us to the plane. The plane that we boarded on can fit about 15 people only. And the best place to sit in the plane is on the left side where one can see the Himalayan mountain range. I got the right side, but it was okay, because I have seen the Himalayan mountain range on my flight to Nepal.

My driver was waiting for me, quick 20 min drive from Airport to the pre booked accommodation. Thanks to Mr.Bishnu, Tour Agent from KTM, one of the best travel agent who I met during my entire trip. He went out of the way to help me.

After freshen up took walk to Phokra central, This place is really nice. Idyllic with a giant lake in the middle. Simple streets to navigate. Plenty of shops and amenities.

Misty afternoon is best spent gazing at the waters of Phewa Tal. The line of violet color boats (sponsored by telco company called Ncell)and the illusion of endless lake water and small mountains along the horizon is so beautiful that all I wanted to do is sit and stare until the sun disappears.

The simplicity of Phewa Tal is actually what makes it charming. Though there are few restaurants along the shore area, still it doesn’t ruin the ambiance of calmness.Early to Bed....

Sarangkot is the most popular tourist destination from where the tourist can enjoy the great view of the Pokhara Valley and the magnificent view of the mountains. Sarangkot is only 5 km from Lake Side, Pokhara. Sarangkot is the highest view point for a sunrise and it is just 1592m high. Sarangkot is 5 degrees cooler than Pokhara. Sarangkot can be reached easily by 45 minutes by a car ride to the top from Pokhara and then 45 minutes hike up to the main view point.

One of the highlights of Nepal would definitely be when I went paragliding.

Yup. Scheduled a flight with Sunrise Paragliders (they are the best) for 65 USD for half an hour's flight. Went up with the group at around 9.30am.

We were up so high, we could see the whole of Pokhara laid out!

This was one of the few shots I took while I was up there. FLYING. The experience was unbelievable.

Before leaving for Kathmandu, we wanted to see the the World Peace Pagoda at Phewal Tal in Pokhara. This is visible when you paraglide! Unfortunately it was drizzling when we got there. Note - it is best to take a taxi up because hiking would take you half a day.

Upon reaching the airport we found that our plane was delayed due to bad weather, and I missed my connection flight from Katmandu to Dubai.

My last resource to Call Mr.Bishnu, he helped me arranged someone to pick me up from airport arranged a temporary accommodation for one night. Booked the flight for next day.

KTM airport.. worst airport I have seen. No systems in place, I was at the emigration q for 3 hours. And because of me flights delayed for 30 Min. I would advise everyone to be early at the check in counter and do the formality.

Please don’t buy Nepali Khukuri, if you are travelling to UAE or transiting thru UAE airport as its consider as dangerous weapons customs will catch you at the airport, 6 of my Khukari has been confestigated by Sharjah airport customs authority even though it was dummy.

So that concludes my Nepal trip! It was a week's worth of temples, taxis and experiences. Best part of the trip must be the paragliding, and eating street food, handicrafts, but I really enjoyed being in another culture that is so different from what we have here in UAE. If you want to consider travelling to Nepal, I would recommend for a few days in Kathmandu, and plenty in Pokhara!

below the link for the paragliding video

http://youtu.be/FVkcPwYAo5A

My trip to turkey in pictures

Day 1 to 4

Turkey has amazing history stretching back many thousands of years. From Roman occupation to the Crusades, the Ottoman empire and into the world wars, there’s plenty to explore in Turkey for the history nuts. Enjoy Turkey’s natural beauty – Cappadocia’s extraordinary rock formations, the Med and sun-kissed beaches. And don’t forget the fabulous food!

Because pictures are worth a thousand words right? Nah, I'm just lazy... plus these pictures and my words could never suffice to explain the glory that is Turkey! It was really really lovely. For this trip I went with best buddy and her family for 8 days,, which can be good if you're visiting a country for the first time and you want to see a bit of everything (its bad because you only get a little taste of what the country and the people are really like). Our group was fun loving very nice and we had a lot of fun, but if/ when I go back to Turkey, I would love to do it on my own... the Turkish people are extremely hospitable, except few money minded vendors at Grand Bazar, the food is EXCELLENT (no preservatives, everything is fresh and seasonal... honey and yogurt and lamb mmmmmm), No visit to Istanbul is complete without walking along, ferrying under, taking the tram across, or enjoying a drink on the Galata Bridge. The bridge spans the Golden Horn to connect the city’s two European sides, and is one of Istanbul’s most iconic landmarks.

The whole place is alive with deep history (the historian in me was SOOO excited, Kidding) and the shopping is glorious. Just blogging about it makes me want to go back ♥ But no. Anyway, hope you enjoy my pictures!

First day we chilled and relax and the hotel and nearby area as we landed in Istanbul in the afternoon hours.

After a good breakfast at the hotel, we went for old city tour Hagia Sofia. It’s quite a building, though the Pantheon in Rome remains my favorite ancient architecture. Then it was on to the Blue Mosque and a walk around the Hippodrome. We then headed up to the Grand Bazaar. which was quite an experience. It’s a bit intimidating and some of the shopkeepers were a bit pushy, but it was still worthwhile. The call to prayer while we were there made it feel quite exotic as it echoed through the halls. But we brought many stuff. We then headed out towards the Spice Market. After a quick lunch, we walked through. It was also a worthy site. My first tram experience was nice, next day we decided to go for boherous cruise full day trip also confirmed our flight and 3 days tour to Cappadocia.

Full Day cruise @ Bosphorus visiting many major attractions.

The shore is lined with old wooden villas, palaces of marble, fortresses, and small fishing villages. It was magnificent sights of the following attractions , Dolmabahce Palace, and further along, the parks and imperial pavilions of Yildiz Palace.

RUMELI FORTRESS Built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452 prior to the conquest of Istanbul was completed in only four months to control and protect the infamous Bosphorus passage. It is one of the most beautiful works of military architecture anywhere in the world.

BEYLERBEYI PALACE The summer residence of Ottoman sultans exists in its original renovated glory featuring original antique furniture and magnificent gardens with the Harem on the Asian side of Istanbul.

BOSPHORUS BRIDGE enjoy a unique chance to step from one continent (Asia) to another (Europe)

CAMLICA HILL the highest point in Istanbul. At the top of it you can rest and admire the magnificent panorama of Istanbul and the Bosporus from the beautiful gardens, landscaped in traditional Turkish Ottoman style.

Stop Guessing... our cute tour guide ... :P

Through facebook I came to know one of my friend is doing solo trip in Istanbul, requested him to meet for Dinner @ Galata Tower and it was a Gala Dinner. A night which I won’t forget , one shouldn’t miss this opportunity to have a dinner old of the oldest Tower in Istanbul (The galatatower was built in 1384 it was the high point in the city walls of the Genoese colony called GalataDuring the first centuries of Ottoman era the Galata tower was occupied by a detachment of Janissaries, the elite corps of the Turkish Army. In the 18 th century the tower was used to house prisoners of war, who were usualy consigned as galley slaves in the ottoman arsenal at Kasimpasaon the golden horn.)

Myself with Danny - Gala Dinner @ Galata Tower

View From Galata Tower

Entrance Of Galata

Galata Tower

We reached the hotel about 10.30PM and our flight to capadocia is @ 7Am and we were advised to leave the airport by 4AM. To reach the airport by 5Am. As the flight was from the old airport.

Day 4 to 7

Got up with heavy head… tired because of sleepless night. Flight was on time to Kayseri Airport, it’s the airport nearest to Cappadocia. Our driver is already waiting outside since its domestic flight there was not much delay at the airport. 25 Min drive to our cave hotel.

Cappadocia, the land of Fairy Chimmneys and underground cities. Some of the sites here were astonishing. The land had been shaped over millions of years by volcanoes, snow and rain. Manyhotles, restaurants and shops are built into caves with only the front of the establishments visible.

Many people in this area today (mainly farmers) still live in the caves without power or heating. We spent time using our imagination guessing what each fairy chimmney looked like. Look at the photos and i am sure you will guess what (keep guessing).

We were also lucky enough to venture into an underground city capable of housing 5000 people. It was used centuries ago to escape/hide when their above gound village was attacked. There were 12 levels of which we only got to see four. Without the guide though, we would have been very lost.

A once in a lifetime experience. We went in the second sortie, which means we got to sleep until 6. Since I didn’t get to bed until 2, I was happy for the time. Then to the balloon place and out to the balloons. When the balloon was inflated (hot air being blown from a huge gas driven fan) enough to stand up over the basket, we climbed in. Two footholds cut out of the basket, one on each side. You put your foot in one, swing your leg over and kind of fall in. Like getting on a horse without the horse. Once everyone is in, the huge gas burners start going off and the guys on the ground untie the balloon and up you go.

Our pilot was kind of a hotshot and like to go down low and close to a cliff before rising again – one man reached out and picked an apple from a tree.

The ride was amazing. The pictures tell it all. You can see almost into some of the cliff houses and the landscape is surreal – sort of lunar. I understand George Lucas wanted to film Star Wars here and it's easy to see why. We went up and down and way up and around for about an hour and then headed down.

The other balloons landed on the dirt, everyone got out and then the ground crew put the baskets behind the cart they use to transport the rig. We landed on the cart. Then had to jump up and down and they positioned us, climb out of the balloon and off the cart.

A glass of sparkling wine and cherry juices and back to the hotel.