Desk To Wheels

  An hour drive from the hustle bustle of the Kolkata city, is the BAPS Shri Swami Narayan temple in JOKA. The entire framework of the temple is spread out across a huge area with lawns and gardens with various structures and sculptures. The property got ample parking space with parking of Rs 20 for two wheelers and Rs.40 for 4 wheelers. At the entrance of the main building is a water kund on either side of the passage which houses several tiny gazebo-like structures. The intricate work on every pillars and domes of the temple is an absolute marvel.  The interiors of the temple give you a royal experience with well-lit halls, grand ceilings. The temple houses several deities. There’s a nice cafeteria and a gift shop for souvenirs. Overall, it was a wonderful experience. The temple timings are usually  7:30 AM to 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM .

Located at the heart of the city of Kolkata, the hotel named Siamton Inn is a pleasant surprise to our expectations after our last disappointment in HHI. Location : A mere 700m from park circus and about a km from the park street centre. Lots of popular restaurants are barely of 5 min distance. Room : A well lit deluxe room with a view of the city. The room is clean and organised with amenities like kettle and tea/coffee kit, TV, AC, room service, 24/7 hot water in the bathroom, toiletries, complimentary bottled mineral water, mini fridge and a study desk.  Food : We had complimentary lunch and breakfast in our package. The a la carte north Indian lunch was served at the hotel's own restaurant named Shiraz@56. There were different varieties of rice, bread, daal, chicken and fish and desserts to choose from.  The buffet breakfast had Indian,  continental and south Indian spread and was available at the hotel's 24x7 coffee shop. They also...

Hotel Hindustan International, one of the heritage 5star hotels in Kolkata is not so premium after all.  A 1 night stay including complimentary breakfast buffet costed around 5.5k INR. The hotel has a vallet parking and a huge concierge. The hallway to the room is as messy and dirty as it could get with stuff lying around. I found a few moulds and mushroom growing from the side of the walls.  The room was alright but not at all a heritage hotel quality.  A cup of tea is Rs.200 + taxes but the quality was so not worth it. Anyway, I was looking forward to the breakfast buffet, but it was just another addition to my disappointment. They only had Indian spread like idly, vada, puri bhaji , in addition to cornflakes, bread, fruits and juices. I was expecting a continental spread as well which is very common in places like these. The did have "make your own eggs/ dosa " on request but if you don't know they do that, none of the staff had the courtesy to inform you t...

1.       It’s important to carry a post-paid connection of either Airtel or BSNL. BSNL gives better connectivity in the remotest areas. 2.       If you wish to consume alcohol, remember to carry it with you because there’s almost no alcohol available in Ladakh. You can only get it in black at certain places which is strongly not advisable. 3.       3 days in a week, you will not find non-veg food in any restaurant due to some puja. This happens in alternate days 4.       Do not rely on electricity to charge your devices as there are frequent outages. Carry a power bank 5.       Do try out the local restaurants, they’ll surprise you. We tried out some delicious kebabs in  Ridhus Kashmiri Wazwaan  and some Asian food in  Ri-Yul  in the  Mall road. ...

  A range of snow-capped mountains, peaking through a bed of white puffy clouds heightened my excitement even more for the trip, as we flew over the state of LADAKH. Yes, Ladakh! A dream destination for almost everyone in the country. Also, it was one of the safest places to travel as the 2 nd phase of the virus was wearing off and the vaccination drive was going strong. On reading a lot about Ladakh, my partner and I decided it would be best to visit that place under a guidance as it involved tricky terrains and multiple permits, so we booked a group package tour with Thrillophillia.  Things you need to know before going to Ladakh      Ladakh has one of the most difficult terrains in the country and the weather is harsh and unpredictable, the hotels/camps and their facilities are more basic in nature but Ladakhi people carry the local warmth.        During the covid times, carry -ve RTPCR report even though if you are fully vaccinated...

It just takes a ray of light to illuminate the darkness.  We hiked through the pine forest up to the top to reach the “sacred pool of water”, that'swhere we got this shot. Although, the lake is not aesthetically pleasing as one might expect, the view of the canopy of the large tress covering the skies, only letting a few rays of sunshine pass through and the view of the city from up top is definitely worth the hike.