Travel Trails | Anand Choudhary

New Zealand - The Land of the Long White Cloud!

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 06:05:36 +0000

Aotearoa – the land of the long white cloud, which we commonly know as New Zealand, is a spectacular country in the southwest Pacific Ocean. A group of two main islands – the North and South islands, New Zealand is the place to be!

If you are want to enjoy and relax in the lap of nature, New Zealand is the perfect place for you!

We were in Christchurch after a long but pleasant journey of 18 hours. Christchurch is the official port for all Antarctica missions and our experience at its International Antarctica Centre got us as close to Antarctica as we could imagine in this lifetime! We were given special, cold Antarctica suits, gumboots, etc. before entering the cold chamber…slowly the temperature started dipping and at -8 degrees Celsius, even my bones started to shiver! I had to take cover inside as a snow-storm ensued and before we thought we would freeze like a mummy, blissfully, it came to an end! Never before, have I ever enjoyed any torture voluntarily and with so much fun! Next, we saw a parade of Penguins summersaulting into the water outside…too surreal!

Soon, we started for our next stop – Akaroa Cruise – to see those rare lovely bubbly Hector’s Dolphins! Our boat was small but very well kept and as it went into the sea along a mesmerizing volcanic coastline with a skyline, it left me breathless! I spotted a small lovely dog called Murphy and soon was told by our guide that Murphy can hear the Dolphins even before they are spotted by us. Soon we found out that this was true as Murphy became a bit restless and lo behold, we had company… Hector’s dolphins were on both sides of our boat…1, 2…a total of 6 of them all dancing to the tune of the waves and enjoying themselves. The pictures I took captured their spirit forever! Along the coastline, as we were returning back to the shore, we saw seals that appeared to be lying motionless in thought, slithering sea lions and the sky dotted with albatrosses returning home.

Another day and another adventure cruise at Doubtful Sound where we were taken to the middle of Fiordland National Park via Lake Manapouri. Nature was in its pristine avatar…even the ship’s engine was stopped for us to listen to the sounds of the waterfalls and native bird songs. Here, we spotted Bottlenose Dolphins and it almost seemed as if the place had never been touched by human endeavours!

A Mesmerising View from the Doubtful Sound Cruise

Next, we hopped on to a once in a lifetime train journey aboard the TransAlpine rail from Christchurch to Greymouth via the ice-fed Waimakariri river, snow covered southern alps and a never-ending forest. The open coach allows one to feel the cold and view the alps in all their glory! The train even swept past heavy snow on the track and the five-hour journey etched an indelible imprint on my memory.

Southern Alps of New Zealand as seen from the TransAlpine train

The Franz Josef Glacier with a beautiful rainbow and Coronet Peak at Queenstown with snow skiing were just unforgettable! Our road journey to Mt. Cook was quite a fright as it snowed heavily and we almost skidded having had no past experience in snow driving. Should have chained the tyres! As we sped through a snow storm and reached Christchurch just in time to catch our return flight to New Delhi, I found my spirit all pepped up with refreshing ‘new zeal’, ready to face the world again!

Canada beckons You!

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 05:51:32 +0000

The New Zealand trip was a primer…I had been bitten by the ‘nature-bug’…and two years later, we decided to explore Canada to catch ‘La Fievre Canadienne’ (Canadian Fever)!

As you land in the heart of Canada, the Niagara Falls, make sure you hold on to yourself! While walking near the falls on the raised street, the strong winds can almost sweep you off your feet. So, beware of the winds, otherwise, you’ll wrong the adage, ‘The sky is the limit’!

Don’t forget to take the Incline rail to the falls, do the Hornblower cruise that will take you so frightfully near to the ear deafening sound of the mighty falls, only to discover that you are fully drenched in the shower! The night view of the falls with lights changing their colours was equally spectacular. Our hotel room window opened to the full view of the Niagara Falls, allowing me to soak the views for just a tad longer.

Hornblower Cruise on the Niagara

Malls in Canada are huge - a shopaholic’s paradise; you can splurge as much as you can! The Royal Ontario Museum is again incredible. The Earth & Space treasures exhibit there is one of my personal favourites. The CN tower in Toronto, one of the tallest buildings in the world, offers unparallel panoramic views and the glass lift takes you to the glass floor at 1122ft in just 58 seconds!

Next, we went to Calgary where we took a Helicopter ride (again highly recommended) for 12 minutes and saw shooting scenes of the Batman & Wolverine movies.

From there on, we went to Banff where we did a Gondola ride to the Sulphur mountains where we were in the midst of clouds and snow! Walking on the wooden bridge at that height was my real ‘Cloud 9’ moment! Lake Louise was our sunset point and the Fairmont Hotel on the Lake was itself a beauty to behold! And the cherry on the cake was delicious ‘Indian food’ at the hotel!

Natural Beauty

Canada is vast and the only way to travel for a tourist is to take its reliable Brewster Coaches and relish the journey amidst Canadian Rockies, bow falls, hoodoos and much more.

The Columbia Icefields Discovery Centre at Jasper is the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies. The humongous Ice Explorer took us to the Athabasca Glacier where drinking from the melting glacier water felt divine and was an uplifting experience!

Chopper ride, Glacier explorer ride, what next?! You guessed it right, how could we not do the Rocky Mountaineer Rail (RMR) journey after coming so far! There is no better way to see Canada’s wild beauty and we were lucky to spot black bears on the way! The train, with its personalized service and charming hosts made us feel at home and they tantalized our taste buds with delicious dishes. The journey became even more memorable as we celebrated my Mom’s birthday aboard with specially prepared gooseberry pies and a lovely gift book of RMR journeys from our wonderful train hosts!

Canadian Rockies

As all good things come to an end, our journey also reached its last stop – Vancouver! Cosmopolitan City with spectacular port views with hundreds of parked yachts and lovely walking tracks at Stanley park! Don’t miss the ‘Flyover Canada’ 4D show that will literally sweep you off your feet!

Maple trees are ubiquitous in Canada and the maple syrup & pancakes are sure to tingle your taste buds there! So, go on and explore ‘The Land of Maple’, Canada for yourself, and come back in awe!

Heritage City Hampi

Wed, 28 Aug 2019 05:40:00 +0000

After two abroad trips, it was time to unravel the magic back home in India. And what better place to start with than Hampi, a UNESCO world heritage site?! If history excites and intrigues you, then Hampi will inspire you! Even the first expansive view of the stone carved temples and city from atop the hills made me feel so proud of my ancestors!

For the faithful, Hampi is ‘Kishkinda’, the birthplace of the Indian God ‘Hanuman’, the best friend and accomplice of Lord Ram, and the place where Shiva, the God of Gods, married Parvati, his counsel, who took rebirth here. Every space in Hampi is sacred and one can feel the same here.

Hampi is Hanuman’s Birthplace!

People call Hampi a backpacker’s paradise and a pilgrim’s delight as it boasts a confluence of the rich palatial ruins of the Vijayanagar empire of 14th Century, water reservoirs and divine temples. Get ready to be overwhelmed by Hampi’s brilliance!

After a 7-hour tiring journey from Bengaluru airport, our suite – Jal Mahal in Hampi’s only resort hotel – was a sheer delight! Night entertainment meant coming face to face with local culture and the Martial Arts show was an eye opener.

The heritage in Hampi unveiled its mystique as we made our way through the ‘Virupaksha’ trail. We saw the amazing, ancient, 7th century Virupaksha temple constructed during the reign of King Krishnadevaraya, the statue of Narasimha (half human-half lion), and a monolithic Shivling. I was just amazed by the fact that such tall temples carved out of stones, all balanced on top of each other, were created in an age which had no machines and cranes. A sheer architectural marvel!

A temple at Hampi

Narasimha’s Statue at Hampi

Watching the sunset on the Tungabhadra river from atop a hill point made me lose the track of time as I soaked in nature’s divinity!

Next day, we did another magical trail, the Vitthala temple trail, where I saw the world-famous Stone Chariot – the picture of which, now adorns the Indian 50 rupee note. But the most exhilarating was the experience of playing music on 53 dazzling musical stone pillars! Sheer tapping on a stone pillar produced a musical tune and each pillar was a unique musical instrument in itself… a sheer genius!!

The government has done well to preserve this place with non-polluting battery vehicles to take you to the Raya trail, a trail of sheer splendour. The trail took us through what once were the busy trading bazaars where foreigners came and traded and soaked in the opulence and splendour of one of India’s biggest kingdoms.

A Temple with a Water Reservoir at Hampi

Hampi is chronicled in the travelogues of Persian and Portuguese travellers as the richest and grandest city of India in that era. Hampi may be in ruins today, but each of its 1600 ruins tells a unique story…a story so powerful that it will make you realize how much we don’t know about our glorious past and our ancestors!

The historical land of Hampi beckons you to pay a visit and be enthralled and enlightened by the magic that unfurls here! You have to see it to believe it! Just do it!!