World of Books and Travel

Nestled in the Western Ghats, amidst verdant valleys, imposing mountains and dense forests, Coorg is a great place to visit for a rejuvenating holiday.   Recently, we had planned an outstation trip for the family.  We hired a taxi from Bangalore and headed towards Coorg, one of the best hill stations of South India.  Coorg is also called as Kodagu, and nicknamed as ‘ Kashmir of South’ , ‘ Switzerland of India ’ and ‘ Scotland of India’ .   River Cauvery (Kaveri River) is the life line of Karnataka State and Talacauvery is the birth place of this river, which is located in Coorg.  Talacauvery  is  a famous pilgrimage centre for Hindus, located at the feet of Brahmagiri Hills. The main crops of Coorg are Coffee, Pepper and Cardamom.  You can also get the tastiest honey in the world in this picturesque place. We had already booked our accommodation in a Home Stay named Chili Pili in Hoskeri village at Medikere.   After a drive of a...

Recently I travelled to Barcelona with my family. Barcelona, the beautiful capital city of Spain, had been one of my must visit places in the list. We travelled from London to Barcelona by flight and we had already booked an accommodation in advance. Barcelona is packed with historical buildings, parks, museums, beaches and shopping centres. Like many others, we too used a hop on hop off bus for sight seeing. Sagrada Familia is one of the top attractions of Barcelona. It is one of Antonio Gaudi's famous works in Barcelona.  The construction of this giant Basilica was started in 1882 and still it is not completed.  Since there was a long queue for the entry to the church we didn't spend our time to see inside.                                                                         ...

I look through the window of our holiday apartment, where we had booked our accommodation, and all I can see is the massive structure of Edinburgh Castle, which I had already seen at a distance during our way to the apartment. I eagerly await the time to reach there and explore it. The mighty Castle, which dominates the capital city’s skyline, is situated on the East Coast, perched on the centuries old volcanic rock, in Edinburgh. . Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and also the seat of Scottish Parliament. It is the iconic symbol of Scotland, and is a great tourist attraction of the UK. This popular paid attraction is visited by more than a million people every year. Edinburgh was voted European Destination of the Year at the World Travel Awards 2012. As you enter the amazing city of Edinburgh, you will be greeted by the marvelous medieval and reformation-era buildings with beautiful architecture. The weather is not so pleasant, but when the opportunity knocks ...

I was able to visit Natural History Museum, located in Kensington, London. The building was huge and stunning with its magnificent architecture. We had only about 4 hours in our hands to spend there. Actually it was so insufficient, because there were several amazing and educative exhibits to be seen, which would definitely require more time. The dinosaur in the main hall was breathtaking in size. Similarly, the whales were also amazing in size. Since our visit was on a week day there were several school children with their teachers. They were so excited and eager to learn about the giant animals. For inquisitive students there are a lot of exhibits to be explored. We had our food in the Museum cafe. Spending few hours there watching the brilliant exhibits was truly worth our time.

Recently I had been to Cubbon Park, one of the best places to take children in Bangalore. Cubbon Park, one of the lungs of Bangalore city, is located right in the middle of the city, spread into about 300 acres. It was originally created by Major General Richard Sankey in 1884 in 100 acres, and it was subsequently expanded to the present 300 acres, with abundance of flora and fauna. Apart from this, the Central Library of the State, Archaeological Museum, High Court of Karnataka and impressive statues of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and Sir Mark Cubbon are also housed in this large Park. The park was originally named as “Meade’s Park” after Sir John Meade, the acting Commissioner of Mysore in 1870, and later renamed as Cubbon Park after the longest serving commissioner of the time, Sir Mark Cubbon. Once you enter inside and walk through the sprawling park under the well laid out trees, breathing clear air, and watching the beautifully manicured garden, you will feel like yo...

We spent a weekend at Zanzibar Island, a part of Union Republic of Tanzania, in East Africa. Zanzibar is a tourists' paradise. People from all over the globe reach there just to enjoy the beauty of the Island, relax in the white sandy beaches, and see the spice gardens. Stone town, the capital city of Zanzibar is a historic town and now a UNESCO world heritage site. Read more here.

I'm here in Tanzania for few days with my daughter's family. I had a chance to see some of the places here at Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania. Above: people relax at the beach on Indian ocean (taken from the moving car) above - a cute little girl who had accompanied her parents to the mall pauses for a photo for us. we had asked for their permission before clicking. Above: front of the shopping mall Above: A cute little girl is getting her face painted in the shopping mall.

There are several interesting places to see in summar in southern part of India. Shivasamudram Badami Caves Badami Caves with Agusthyamuni lake Mahakoota Temple Pond Bidar Fort

Yesterday's downpour, lasted just half an hour, but uprooted many trees and the hailstones that followed the hailstorm-

During my Hyderabad visit, I had the opportunity to visit the famous art museum called Salarjung Museum, located on the southern bank of the River Musi.  It is the 3rd largest museum in India, and is the effort of one man collection. These priced collections of arts belonging to different civilizations dating back to the 1st century, were the collections of Mr. Yousuf Ali Khan Salar Jung III (1889-1949).   He was the Prime Minister of the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad.  Our guide paid the entree fee of Rs.150/- on our behalf and took us inside. If you're person with a mind to appreciate art, you will enjoy the visit to this museum. If not, you're wasting your time.  Since I was very much interested in arts, I enjoyed every moment I spent there. Photography is not allowed here. In our available time of about 2 hours, I was enjoying the stunning collections of exhibits in the various galleries.  Some of them are the sculpture of veiled Rebeca ,  an Italian sculpt...

Hawa mahal I had a wonderful trip to Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.  I had to meet an old friend of mine after a lapse of 5 years.  She had come on leave from Malaysia and she requested me to spend a holiday with her.

Ooty is a great place to visit. A couple of years ago we had visited Ooty and had a wonderful time there. Read more about it here. and see what are the interesting places there.

During my stay in London, I had the opportunity to visit many places in and around. One of the most interesting places was Wales. North Wales is a highly beautiful place which is blessed with abundant natural beauty. Apart from this, North Wales is also famous for the beautiful castles scattered all over. Most of these castles were built by Edward I following his conquest of Gwynedd in 1283. Caernarfon Castle is highly magnificent and is located on the banks of the River Seiont at the southern end of the Menai Strait between north Wales and Anglesey, 8 miles south west of Bangor. It was built not only as a military stronghold but also as a seat of government and a royal palace. The majestic walls and battlements of the Castle tower above the walled town, also built by Edward I.  The walls are said to have been modelled on those of Constantinople.   His son, the first English Prince of Wales, (later King Edward II of England). was born here in 1284.   ...

I returned to my home land with lots of beautiful memories and wonderful experiences of London - UK life. Had a quick trip to Kerala .

Last week we had many guests at home and we wanted to take them out to have a glimpse of London. The guests were not actually guests, they belonged to our family, and had come from different parts -(from Boston USA), Manchester and Southport (UK). It was great fun for the entire family. We headed towards the tube station and soon we were at Piccadily Circus in the central London. Though I had been there earlier on an evening, now it was looking better in the day time. After having our lunch at Pizza Hut we walked down to Trafalgar Square. As planned earlier one more family joined there. The kids enjoyed there thoroughly and then clicking some photographs we moved forward. We passed through Buckingham Palace, Changing guards, Parliament house, Big Ben, London Eye, Victoria Tower, Westminster, Waterloo station and River Thames.

I was always fascinated by London, one of the most historical and cultural cities in the world, and looked forward for a visit. Finally when I reached here in winter I was not that fascinated because of the weather. It was bitter cold outside, and on some days snowing heavily, which took about 4-5 days to clear off. When I looked through the window I used to see the whole landscape carpeted with snow. I always stayed indoors, and seldom went out. But still I enjoyed watching the snow flakes falling down through the window. After the bitter winter days in London, the beautiful spring has arrived like a blessing. Some empty trees are becoming greener and other trees are turning into beautiful colors filled with new flowers. If you take a stroll or travel on the road you can see the colorful flowers staring out enthusiastically from every garden, as if they are greeting you with a warm smile. We started visiting interesting places on weekends. The city is bursting with rich herit...

Located near the Trafalgar Square, National Art Gallery in the heart of London, houses one of the world's richest collections of paintings. We spent sometime here admiring the great paintings. Children's amusement Heading towards China Town.

My visit to London. It is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world. Filled with palaces, historic sites, museums, art galleries, parks, aquarium, zoo etc, London has a lot to offer in sightseeing to the visitors. Some pictures. Some more info