Araamu SPA - Pamper your senses

Any luxurious resort is incomplete without a spa and ARAAMU SPA spread over an area of 4500 sq.m perfectly complements the surroundings and environment of Sun Island Resort and SPA – Maldives, making it the perfect place in paradise. Built from thatch, bamboo, timber and stone, replete with frangipani and jasmine trees amidst pools, fountains and cascading water, the SPA is a separate and complete environment, distinct from the rest of the resort.

A weekend in Lonavala

Lonavala, a hill station located 64 KM from Pune and 96 KM from Mumbai, is the perfect weekend getaway for people residing both in Pune and Mumbai. A drive on the Mumbai Pune expressway to reach Lonavala, is a pure rejuvenating one which also offers some great views of the Western Ghats. The same journey becomes ten times more beautiful during the monsoons, when it’s lush green everywhere.

Lepakshi - some untold stories

Lepakshi is about 120 KM from Bangalore on the Bangalore Hyderabad highway.

History says , Where the legendary bird Jatayu fell, wounded after a futile battle against Ravana. And Lord Rama said - “Le Pakshi” — ‘rise, bird’ The proud legacy of Vijayanagara Empire at it full Glory. An empire which was the most powerful and richest of its time, not just in India but in the whole world.

5 places near Delhi to satisfy your Snow – lust

Shimla

Shimla also known as ‘The Summer Capital of British India’ is the capital and largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is a district which is bounded by Mandi and Kullu in the north, Kinnaur in the east, the state of Uttarakhand in the south-east.It is unarguably one of the most popular hill stations, buzzing with Indian vacationers all year long.

Traffic is banned from the central part of town, so walking is pleasant – even when huffing and puffing uphill. The long, winding main street, the Mall, runs east and west just below the spine of the hill. South of it, the maze-like alleys of the bustling bazaar cascade steeply down to traffic-infested Cart Rd.

From mid-July to mid-September, Shimla is frequently wreathed in cloud, and in the winters it gets engulfed in a white blanket of snow. It is also home to a number of buildings that are styled in the Tudorbethan and neo-Gothic architectures dating from the colonial era which attract a lot of tourists all through the year.

#Snowflakes #Shimla #Snowfall

A photo posted by ⏺A S H I S H K' BHARDWAJ⏺ (@imashishkbhardwaj) on Jan 7, 2017 at 2:56am PST

McLeodganj

Triund, McLeodganj - A Must Do Trek for beginners

Triund a small hill station in the Kangra district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India is definitely a must go to place for everyone who visits McLeodganj. It is at a height of 2,828 m and is a part of Dharamkot. Unlike McLeodganj where one can reach via Bus, one has to trek a minimum of 6 KM to reach Triund.

A walk to Gallu Devi temple through the forests

ETLR gets the Liebster

As some of you know, Eat, Travel, Live and REPEAT had been nominated for the Liebster Award by Marinel from Brown Gal Trekker .

Marinel is a trekking aficionado who is an inspiration for other travelers of both the sexes. Thanks a ton Marinel for the thoughtful nomination!

What’s Liebster Award?

The Liebster Award is a perpetual chain of nominations, where established bloggers encourage and support the new ones by promoting them through this award.  You can look at it as “pay it forward.”

The rules are as follows:

• Post the award on your blog so everybody knows how awesome you are.
• Publicly thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.
• Answer their questions about yourself, feel free to add photos!
• Nominate 5 – 10 people with less than 1000 followers, inform them via social media.
• Write your own set of questions for your nominees.

I was asked to answer some questions by Marinel like :

Tips for travelers to cope up with the banning of INR 500 and 1000 notes in India

As everyone might already be aware that wef today ie 9th Nov 2016,  INR 500 and INR 1000 notes are not a legal tender anymore and render zero value.This is a masterstroke by PM Modi to curb the menace of black money in India.

So the big question is what to with the INR 500 and INR 1000 notes currently in possession.

4 books by Indian Authors inspiring Adventure and Wanderlust

Being a bibliophile and a travel aficionado, I started searching frantically on Amazon for some quick reads by Indian Authors and I was more than delighted to go across the options. After going through all the options available on Amazon, I shortlisted these four titles. All these four titles are based on different themes and carry a unique message.

The best part, all these titles are under INR 200, so go ahead and experience these well written journeys as they are sure going to inspire the traveler hidden within you.

These books are perfect for fellow Wravelers – Wanderers and Travelers inspired by Wanderlust.

1.  When The Road Beckons – Ravi Manoram (INR 145)
2.  Born Again on the Mountain : A Story of Losing Everything and Finding It Back – Arunima Sinha (INR 176)
3.  Bucket List of a Traveloholic – Sarika Pandit (INR 163)
4.   Worth Every Gasp : A Lone Woman’s Journey in the Himalayas – Anamika Mukherjee (INR 81)

              

McLoedganj for the budget traveler

McLoedganj is a very popular travel destination in Dharamshala. Being just 250 km (5 hours) journey from Chandigarh and around 475 km (9-10 hours) journey from Delhi, McLoedganj has become a hotspot for weekend trips and is usually jam-packed with tourists on long weekends.

McLoedganj has a lot to offer to all kinds of travellers alike. There’s Bir Biling – The paragliding capital of India ; roughly 70 km away , Triund trek – a 9 km trek from Bhagsu ; and it is a foodies haven with all kinds of foods and cuisines available in the many cafes spread all over the town.

McLoedganj is best explored on foot and to enjoy the city it is recommended to park your vehicle in the parking lot near the bus stop for the duration of the stay .This does two things – Less traffic on the narrow roads and making your effort to keep the town pollution free.

Being a traveller’s paradise the town has a lot of budget hotels ranging from INR 500 – 2000 per room if booked in advance and dharamshalas. Dharamkot is a better location as it is a bit away (1-1.5km) from the Mall Square and the view of the mountains can be enjoyed from nearly all the rooms in Dharamkot. The plus point of the town being a traveller’s paradise is that there is WiFi in almost all the cafes and none of the café owners force you or pester you to leave the café or vacate your table because you have paid the bill. For all the bibliophile's, order a cup of hot chocolate or some peach Tea and read a book all day long without being bothered by anyone. That my friend is true relaxation and rejuvenation.

A week in the Andamans - India's best kept secret

With the rapid growth of the travel and tourism industry and the airlines offering competitive and affordable fares for foreign locations like Thailand, Dubai, Maldives etc., Indian citizens often ignore destinations in India and rather go and holiday abroad.

One such destination which shouldn't be ignored by any traveller or tourist is the Andamans and as Carlo Goldoni has rightly said “A wise traveller never despises his own country."

Andamans has got a variety of attractions suitable for all; be it a solo traveller or a family
.

Port Blair being the capital city is connected to major cities like Chennai, Kolkata via flights and even by sea. It is also the starting point of other major attractions like Havelock Islands and Baratang Islands.

Port Blair

Port Blair itself has a lot of places to visit like Cellular Jail, Chattam Saw Mill, Anthropogical Museum, Naval Museum, Mt Harriet, and Ross Island and not to forget the snorkelling destination Jolly Buoy and Red Skin Islands.

A scenic High Altitude Trek to the Moon Rock (Chandrashila)

"Once a year, go somewhere you've never been before." - Dalai Lama

But as luck would have it, Deoriatal Chandrashila Trek is my 5th such outing (somewhere I've never been before) since Jan 2016 starting from Nainital in Jan, Corbett in March, Mussorie and Rishikesh in April.

Initially it was my brothers wish that we both to go on a trek in the vacations, but ultimately the whole family ended up going for the trek.It was indeed a pleasant change and a different sort of vacation together considering that last time we had gone on a long family vacation was to Andamans long back in 2010.

As this was going to be our first trek we did a lot of research on different websites regarding the different treks in Himanchal and Uttarakhand and ultimately decided on Deoriatal Chandrashila Trek considering that its a easy - moderate trek, considered ideal and best suited for first timers and also a bird watchers paradise.

Now that we had decided the location, we researched further as to which hiking company to choose from.We narrowed it down to Trek the Himalayas and India Hikes and ultimately chose India Hikes, and I must say, it was indeed a good decision.