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Siamton Inn - An underrated gem

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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...

5star Hotel 2 star service

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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...

10 Things to keep in mind for your Ladakh trip

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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. ...

Leh'd In Ladakh

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  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...

That ray of light

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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.

Tea Tips for you

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The best part of traveling in Darjeeling is that you get to experience and walk through these beautiful tea estates which are in plenty and they are strikingly beautiful. Known for producing one of the finest teas in the world these tea estates gives you an insight on how the final product is extracted and reach our households. Trying to capture the beautiful frame you become certain that the tea produced from such a heavenly place must taste equally good and that's what it is.  Follow us for more travel stories. 

The Lover in us

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This spot will be covered during your regular sightseeing of the Darjeeling city and bearing the cliched name " Lover's meet View Point" you might want to skip it at first because you are already tired of roaming accross the entire city throughout the day  and the name doesn't appeal to you much. But if you are a traveler you might know by now that the most beautiful places can come at the most unexpected times and this view point is one such example.   The aerial view of the meeting point of the Teesta and Rangit river gives a surreal experience and demands attention. Don't forget to keep your camera charged as you might end up clicking 100's of shots to get your frame .  Follow us for more travel stories.