Travel Diary – Travel to Madhya Pradesh Jyotir Lingams – Ujjain

We had a long pending visit to Ujjain and Omkareshwar and since young when I studied history, Ujjain has always enamored me.  So finally, we decided to make it and our travel began with train tickets to Bhopal and travel in car from there on a round trip to Ujjain and Omkareshwar. One hard lesson we learnt is never trust cab services of Ola or Uber on a weekend. It took 45 minutes for us to get a vehicle to Madras Central and thankfully for clear roads and green signals, we would not have made it to our train on time.

We have been hearing so much about better services in long distance trains and to utter disappointment, Tamilnadu Express food remained the same as we have seen few years back. The only solace was cleaner toilets. We reached Bhopal at 8.30 PM the next day and stayed overnight at our friend’s place who won us over with their hospitality.  Our friend suggested that we visit Kharjana Ganesh Temple in Indore on the way to Ujjain. The temple is maintained by volunteers and is a very famous temple in the area.

Urban Tree Homes: Affordable Housing without Compromising on Quality

The famous adage “veetai katti paaru, kalyanathai panni paaru” (Get a house built and get a marriage done) explains the challenge of owning a dream home as we embark on getting an apartment of our own.  To many of us,  a home is our dream we nourish and cherish and is no more a roof of our own as it was known earlier.  Individual houses had its own pitfalls and ask the owners and the list of issues and problems in getting it built will continue to prolong.  With the advent of apartment culture, the onus of building a house and delivering it to us has moved to the builders. Our understanding is that the builders are know it all and will deliver our dream home as we envisage it.  But unfortunately, it has not been a smooth and happy journey for many and the focus is on getting the right builder to buy the apartment.  It is no easy task and when we were invited to be a part of #UrbanTreeJourney of Urban Tree Homes to have a look at their ongoing projects, we were curious to know what the builder has for us, the consumers.

Travel – Short Stay in Hours at Hotels Now Possible

Transit stay is one of the reasons we avoid taking a break during our travel.  Specifically when we travel by car, what we would need is a refresh point and a mild rest which would be just few hours.  As we normally travel as a family, we look for a decent accommodation and we end up paying a good sum for the whole day though we use up hardly few hours. Now it is good news for transit passengers, roadies, and day travelers.   If microblogging has taken the world by storm, here is an addition, welcome to the new concept of Microstays. We can book hourly stay for a minimum of 3 hours, 6 hours and 12 hours. The best part of it is the places available for stay are not some obscure lodges or inns but leading budget, boutique and star hotels.

Introducing CollarFolk, Pet Friendly Vacation in India

As a pet parent, we have been postponing our vacation and holidays meant staying at home indoors with our Labrador.  The immediate thought of leaving her in the mercy of friends  switches off our plans and it is only if it is unavoidable we go out of the city leaving her with our friend to take care of her in our absence at our home because she does not like to be away in another place without us.  It is not an easy task to find someone to take care of her in our absence with the same love and attention we give her.  Now it is good news for pet parents like us, we can take our pet along with us for the vacation.  Thanks to CollarFolk, an innovative idea by a pet parent Rukmini Vaish.

We could not move on  without appreciating the cute logo of CollarFolk (wagging tail) which speaks volume about their love for pets.

Travelogue – A Soulful Impact – Trip to Tirunelveli and Around with Family – Day 1

Family trips are rejuvenation points and the impact of it is not measurable by yards or sticks. It is the time we give to each other without our preoccupations and it is surprising to see the level of understanding and maturity with which we have held on when we are together on one mission – vacation. Personal professional schedules keep us off a planned trip most of the times and the same happened this time too. As usual, we planned a trip to Tirunelveli in a hurry and went through the difficulties faced by everyone planning to travel on a short notice on a long weekend.

Weekend Break Getaways, Indulgence to the Core

Life is hectic, quite demanding that a whiff of fresh air is rare to come by. We are busy running after opportunities presented to us and we hardly realize days, months pass by us. All these efforts to succeed strain our physical and emotional being and also our relationships. The solution lies in a break now and then to keep the spirits up and freshen and energize our tired minds. Till few years back, such a break was a vacation to hill stations or a picnic or excursion with family and friends to nearby locations. It was a good option given the fact that it kept us away from work and gave us an opportunity to interact with family and friends. Travelling these days is no fun. We travel everyday and spend a lot of time on the road. So there is no point in spending our precious time travelling to some place. Just a bit of understanding – Where do we want to unwind? We want to move away from the place of residence and work, to a soothing atmosphere with relaxing activities, good food, and some fun. Why not to the city’s best hotels of my choice? My advantages would be local travel, away from the hubbub of daily life and if it has the things that I love why not? Here are the three best hotels in my opinion for a quick relax and refresh session.

Affordable Housing, Is Chennai Far Behind?

 It is a common sight when few friends gather for a get together to discuss on things and the common topic thread today is the price rise, spiralling house rents, unaffordable housing options and the opportunity they missed buying out plots and houses at cheaper price earlier. We came across an interesting article by A Srivathsan, Deputy Editor of The Hindu.

Maniraj, a paper vendor on Velachery Main Road, had a tough time last year when he had to vacate his house. Until then he was paying Rs. 1,200 for a 350 sq.ft dwelling unit near Velachery Lake. The landlord raised the rent to Rs.6,000 and Maniraj and his family of four could not afford it. After great difficulty, he found a 200-sq.ft tenement in one of the labyrinthine lanes. “I now pay Rs. 4,500 per month, which includes electricity charges. This is more than what I spend on food every month,” he lamented.

No Rooms in 4 star and 5 star Hotels in Chennai till February 5

If you plan to travel to Chennai and find an accommodation in the star hotels in the city, think twice.  Name Chola Sheraton, HyattRegency, Le Meridien,  Park Sheraton, Taj Connemara, no rooms are available till this weekend.  Thanks to the Leather Fair, city hotels are sold out for the entire week.

“It’s really very heartening. Unlike in the last three years, this time almost all four and five star hotels in the city are sold out. Even the new additions to the city hotel rooms during the year are absorbed,” said the General Manager of a luxury hotel in the city.

There are about 3,000 star-rated hotel rooms in the city, including the 250 rooms added by Hyatt Regency a few months ago.

Pilikula Nisargadhama, a Perfect Getaway Near Mangalore in Karnataka

PILIKULA NISARGADHAMA

In Tulu, ‘Pili’ means tiger and ‘kula’ means pond. According to a legend, free roaming tigers frequented a watering hole in the vicinity and hence the name Pilikula. Perched atop a hillock overlooking the quiet flowing Gurupura River, coconut groves and acacia plantations, the Pilikula Nisargadhama Resort is an oasis of calm.As the veil of mist lifts, undulating hills obscured by silky white clouds come to the fore. Frequent cloud bursts leave a trail of freshness and transform the landscape into an ocean of green. While those who enjoy a slowpaced holiday can hang up their feet and unwind, the adventurous can step out to explore Pilikula Nisargadhama that showcases the culture, heritage and natural bounties of the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.Located barely 15 Km from Mangalore City in the nondescript Moodushedde village, the resort is in close proximity to the city and yet a far cry from its din and grime. Pilikula is a perfect getaway for those who seek to relax and rejuvenate in nature’s company.

Places to Visit in Vellore

To Chennaites, Vellore reminds us of CMC, Vellore Golden Temple and for the students, VIT. Vellore has a lot more to offer. Read on to know more about Vellore and the places worth a visit in and around Vellore.

Vellore which is situated 145 km from Chennai, is a semirural bazaar town. For tourists, it is acknowledged only for the Vijayanagar fort and its temple, which are in an excellent state of preservation and worth visiting. The famous rivers Palar and Ponnar flows through this City.It is well-connected with other cities. It can be reached by Train or Road. It has plenty of buses from many cities of Tamil Nadu.

Some of the images are bigger in size, please click on the images to view them.

Kolli Hills – A Serene Hillstation Getaway for Chennaiites

Kolli Hills is a small mountain range located in central Tamil Nadu in India. The mountains are about 1000 to 1300 m in height and cover an area of approximately 280 km². The Kolli Hills has 72 hair pen bends to reach the top of the hills. The Kolli Hills are part of the Eastern Ghats, which is a mountain range that runs mostly parallel to the east coast of South India. The mountains are relatively untouched by commercial tourism and still retain their natural beauty.

Kolli hills enjoys a salubrious climate throughout the year. This fertile pocket in Namakkal district is where exotic tropical fruits and medicinal plants grow in plenty. The land is still relatively untouched by time, with 16 quaint little tribal villages that once constituted the hill kingdom of Ori. Much of the charm of this hill country still remains. For if you can’t stand the milling crowds of Ooty and Kodai, this surely is one place where you can head to for a quiet holiday.

Read more on this beautiful hill station..

Lakshadweep, the Hidden Marvel Beckons

Formerly Laccadive, renamed Lakshadweep (hundred thousand Islands) in 1973, is one of the most spectacular tropical Island systems. The archipelago consists of 36 coral islands in the Arabian Sea, about 185 miles (300 km) off the Kerala coast. It consists of 12 atolls, three reefs and five submerged banks.