the journey continues…

HongKong was our first wedding anniversery destination.It was decided at the last minute and we just browsed the internet for some interesting spots and booked the flight tickets.Though visiting disney land was our main point of interest we did enjoyed the other places of the city also.
Travelling in HongKong is a unique experience as it combines the best characteristics of the Eastern and Western culture.It is a cosmopolitan city where you can find both greeneries and shopping centers,ancient temples as well as high raise buildings that can compete with the best of the world.

Hongkong is a travel friendly country.You don’t require any visa if your stay is below 15 days in HongKong.Whole of the Hongkong has been covered by MTR [Mass Transit Railway] which is the rapid transit railway system.Buy Octopus cards [similar to debit cards] in Hongkong Airport which can be used in these MTR’s.Travelling in this MTR’s is an awesome experience.They are the super fast cool trains I have ever seen!!

Victoria Peak
One of the first visiting stops should be Victoria Peak which gives a magnificient view of the city.It has souvenire shops,resturants,Madame Tussad’s wax museum and a motion simulator ride called Peak Explorer.One can go by walk or take a tram to reach the top of the peak.Taking the Peak Tram is a memorable way to get to the Peak.You can spend a whole day here catching the view of city in daylight as well as in night which is awesome.

Wong Tai Sin Temple
Wong Tai Sin Temple,is one of the most famous temples in Hong Kong.The architecture of Wong Tai Sin Temple is in the traditional Chinese style.The temple is named after Wong Chuping whom people worship as god.This temple is also famous for fortune telling.People light worship sticks, kneel before the main altar, make a wish, and shake a bamboo cylinder containing fortune sticks until one falls out. The stick is exchanged for a piece of paper bearing the same number, and the soothsayer then interprets the fortune on the paper for the worshipper.Also at the temple we can visit Nine Dragon Wall–a replica of the renowned Nine Dragon Wall in Beijing, and the Good Wish Garden – a miniature copy of Beijing’s Summer Palace.

Avenue Of Stars
One of Hong Kong’s latest tourist attraction spot is Avenue Of Stars which was constructed to pay tribute to outstanding professionals of Hong Kong’s film industry.The sidewalk and pedestrian area has the handprints and signatures of famous actors such as Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.You can see most of the tall buildings on Hong Kong Island here.The Avenue of the Stars is also a great place to see A Symphony of Lights, a spectacular light and laser show synchronized to music, staged every night at 8:00pm.There are benches and decorative plants and ideal for spending an evening with lights and music.
Below picture shows the city skyline from Avenue of Stars.

Markets in HongKong
Street markets here provide a insight view of real HongKong and its culture.Each market has its own charm and beauty.

Ladies’ Market (Tung Choi Street)
As the name suggests it sells mainly ladies clothes and cosmetics,but u can also find plenty of cloth for men.
Don’t forget to bargain!

Temple Street Night Market
It is one the most colorful markets of HK.The marke aftt opens officially in the afteroon but best time to visit in the nights when its liveliest.Should not miss tasting the local street food here.If you eat sea food then they have unlimited cuisines!.This places is good for shopping CDs, hardware, pens, trinkets, watches and luggage.
Flower Market is worth a look for its color and beautiful flowers imported from all over the world.

Po Lin Monestry
Trip to HongKong would be incomplete if you don’t visit Po Lin Monastry and Giant Buddha situated in Lantau island.Called as Tian Tan Buddha, this statue is 34 m tall and happens to be the tallest outdoor seated image in the world.You need to climb around 270 steps to reach the top platform of this statue.

There is a cable car service to reach Lantau Island which is one of the main tourist attraction.Named as Ngong Ping 360 degree experience, you can have a 30 min crystal cable car ride enjoying the breathtaking views of Hong Kong International Airport, verdant, mountainous terrain of Lantau Island, the Tian Tan Buddha Statue.Ngong Ping Village is a 5 minute walk from Buddha statue which gives a wonderful experience on Buddhist history and culture.Here the main attractions include Walking with Buddha and Monkey’s Tale Theatre.This place also gives tourists a variety of dining and shopping experiences.You need a full day to explore this place and a great place to head to if you want to escape from the crowds of the city.

“To the Dead Of the Indian Armies Who fell and are honoured in France,Persia,East Africa…the near and the far east and in sacred memory also of those whose names are here….”

Above are the 2 lines written on the India Gate,New Delhi the Capital of India.Reading those 2 lines I became emotional….so many soldiers sacrificed their lives.somebody’s son,husband,brother….
India Gate was built in the memory 90,00 soldiers who laid down their lives during world war I.

When I was studying in school,I used to read World War I, World War II.But hardly I understood the importance of those until I saw the Kargil Wars.I still remember watching Kargil War on Television, so many soldiers died,their relatives pain..It was countless.
That time in MG Road Bangalore, the Indian air force authority had put a big cut out of the below pictures:
First one where Captain (Dr.) Rajshree Gupta, Army Medical Corps (AMC), salutes the tricolour-draped coffin of her husband, Major Vivek Gupta of the 2nd Rajputana Rifles, who died fighting the enemy.


Other one where she is controlling her emotions during the last ceremony…


Every day while going to office,I would see these pics which touched me so much.
All websites in the internet, mention India Gate as a popular picnic spot!!!.People come here, see it as a monument , take pics from far/near then eat there,play and go..thats it!!.
Is that the whole purpose for which this monument hasbeen built? or
Do we really understand the sacrifice made by our people to the country??

Kovilpatti is a small village in TamilNadu, which is my husband’s granny’s place. Basically ajji mane .Though his grand-pa/grand-ma nobody is there, still he has his sweet memories here.Most of the summer vacations he has spent here when he was young and he always says he can never forget the taste of idly and chutney that his grand-ma used to do. Sweet!
He wanted to show me the paddy fields where he played, the pond where he used to swim, his favt Perumaal Temple…..

Kovilpatti is close to Tirunelvelli.From Coimbatore to Tirunelvelli there is a beautiful highway NH209 which passes through Palani,Dindigul etc.Where ever you travel in TamilNadu, the roads would be really good, which I miss in Karnataka.
On the way we found this small road side shop where he is putting idlies.

TamilNadu has a unique cuisine and my favorite are idly,dosa and parota.
Dosas would be real big in size and they call it as Roast.Plain Roast,Ghee Roast etc.and small dosas as Uttappam [ i.e set dosa in Karnataka].Parota also they have varities veechu parota, Kothu parota etc. Idlies are prepared in a different way and they would be very soft. If you are visiting TamilNadu then you should definitely taste Idly and Dosa with varities of chutneys they prepare.

Nel-veli (Tamil) means Paddy-Hedge. Whole town is surrounded by paddy fields and temple in the town is dedicated to Lord Shiva so it is called Tiru-nel-veli.Ancient temples are the major attractions of the city.We visited Kanthimathi – Nellaiyapper Temple which is in the heart of the city and Krishnapuram Temple which is few kms away from the city.

Tirunelveli is also famous for halwa .Halwa is made primarily from wheat and sugar. It would be golden brown in color, has a jelly-like texture and they would serve this on a leaf with ghee.The halwa tastes best when it is hot and it just melts in your mouth.So people who doesn’t have teeth also can taste this halwa .
There are some good shops around Nellaiyappar temple to buy halwa.Though the ingredients to this Halwa are just wheat and sugar,it has a distinct taste.My hubby says a unique recipe, blended with the sweetness of the river Thamarabarani gives that distinctive taste to the halwa.

Nalli Silks,Pothys,RMKV which are popular for silk saris and wedding collection, have opened their first show rooms in Tirunelvelli Town.

Kovilpatti is around 1 hour from Tirunelvelli Town.You can see paddy fields in and around the village.There is an old Perumaal temple here and a beautiful pond in front of that.
We also visited the Karupu Sami Temple here. Karupu Sami is one of the regional Tamil male deities who is popular among the rural of South India. The Karuppanar Kovil i.e. the temple, is in the outskirts of the village in open space and will not have traditional Gopurams like any other temples.Karupu Sami is believed to protect the poor, and ensure justice and self-discipline among his believers. He protects the village from all evils and devils so he is a village protector or Kaval Daivam.It’s also believed that he severely punishes who will commit any sin/crimes and will never forgive them.People worship him with great devotion and give him respect by naming their children as Karupu Sami/Karpagam.

More photos you can find on this
flickr link.

I had seen TajMahal 10 years back when I was kid..I still remember it was so hot when we went there and I was just looking out for some shades there!!. TajMahal didn’t mean anything to me in that age. It was just another monument.
But as I started travelling more, I realized that whereever you go, that place should give you a nice feeler to you.Then that memories will be there in your heart forever and you will cherish them lifelong.When Logu told, we will plan for TajMahal, I started searching in the internet for all possible options so that I can make this trip a nice remembrance.
I was not disappointed and I got this info about the Moonlight view of TajMahal. Seeing Taj in moonlight!!..Wow…that’s amazing!!
Every month on full moon days the Agra Tourism Board arranges for this moon light view of Taj [except in the month of Ramzan].Tickets are priced at 500 per head and you must buy the tickets 1 day in advance.
So after finalizing all these, we flied to Delhi, then to Agra by taxi. Delhi to Agra journey was cool. As we started early we didn’t get much traffic also. You can find a lot of dhabhas along the way from Delhi to Agra and food is really not a problem.
Taj opens at early morning 6 30.To avoid the crowd, we were there by 7 30.Its a pleasure to see this magnificent monument when morning sun rays fall on it. When we entered the premises, crowd was less and weather was also pretty good. You should sit on the front marble seat to get the full and marvelous view of the TajMahal. Mumtaz’s & Shahajahan’s tombs are inside the building.
Backside of the taj gives a beautiful view of Yamuna River.Whole structure has been carved in parsian style and engraved with precious stones in colors of red,green,blue and yellow.
Basically there are 2 amazing things you should know about TajMahal.
One is the entire structure has a wooden base!!.The wood, which is of a special kind becomes stronger and stronger as it comes in contact with water.Since Taj was built beside Yamuna River this was absolutely required.
Secondly there is a small unspotted hole on the top, from which water droplets will fall on the tombs of Mumtaz and Shahajahan during rainy season.Truly it deserves to be one among the wonders of the world.
I was also fascinated by the pool in front which gives the complete reflection of the Taj.

After taking pics from different angle we were exhausted for the day and head back to hotel.Also we had tickets for the Moonlight view of the Taj at 12 for which I wanted to take some rest and be fresh.
Night we started around 10PM towards the west gate of the TajMahal for the MoonLight View. Video cams and Mobiles are not allowed and security would be very high.They will allow people to go in slots of 50 for a duration of half an hour. I have attached some pics of the moonlight view.I enjoyed the view so much and it is really something special .

Except the taj there is nothing to feel good about Agra. We booked Yamuna View Hotel which was rated 4-star but the service and the accommodation was very bad. I wanted to buy small replica of Taj for home,but the guide as well as driver took us to various shops which were all highly priced. Somehow I got the feeler that there would be commissions for everyone if we do the shopping there!.Bad business!!There would be long queues for getting the tickets as well as for the security checks while entering Taj which eats most of the time.