Barbados - A Dream in my Bucket List

Nature is always an underrated beauty. There is more thrill in travelling to explore nature, culture and customs, than just travelling to places to try out cuisines and shopping around. Barbados is a dream destination for all nature lovers. With tide pools, cliffs, coral reefs, underground lakes and caves, coral rocks and beaches with palm trees the island stands as one of the most sought after travel inspiration destinations across the world. The land is an unspoilt haven for many creatures and houses some of the indigenous flora and fauna.

Barbados is an island country in southeastern Caribbean Sea, covering an area of 432 square kilometres. English is the official language of the country. Barbados has tropical monsoon climate round the year with mild breeze. The period from June to November witnesses rain in the entire climate.

The playful waves and pink sand makes the Crane Beach one among the top beaches of the world. The gentle breeze that sways the coconut grooves also adds to it beauty. The beach is famous for Boogie boarding and body surfing. The beach has always been a favourite for honeymooners. The Crane Beach Resort, located near the beach ensures great stay for the visitors and also ensures every possible comfort to the visitors.

Bathsheba is a rugged beach towards the eastern coast. At Bathsheba beach, large rock formations stand in the beach giving the view of picturesque beauty. These rocks are broken rock formations from the ancient coral reef. The pools of Bathsheba are carved in inshore coral reefs. Visitors sit in them with a drink and enjoy the enriching experience of the natural whirlpool created in them.

Oistins Bay Garden is a small fishing town towards the south coast. Different vendors have different cooking style. They have wide range of fish and meat which is prepared in front of the customers. People take their seat in informal setting and enjoy their food while enjoying music. During weekends, late night visits general keep the customers waiting for long time as the queue gets longer. Art and craft items like jewellery, pottery, wood carvings, pottery, clothing and accessories are also available for sale at the beach.

Bajan Bus is one of the historic treasures of this island country. The bus gives the tourists a tour around the scenic beauty, the life of locals and sights of some of the photogenic places. The bus takes around 30 passengers on shared basis or rent. The bus stops for a rum punch and buffet lunch.

Andromeda Botanic Gardens houses several flowering plants and tropical plants. The garden houses, humming birds, resident monkeys and over six hundred different variety of plants. The garden is a delight for horticulturists. There is also a cafe and a place nearby to buy crafts.

The Atlantis Submarine tour is a forty minute journey to 150 feet below the sea level and allows visitors to the sea the sea bed as a playground. The journey leaves the visitors enthralled by the view of amazing coral formations and sea life. The co-pilot shares different information and adventures about the sea life.

Barbados Earthwork Pottery is located near St. Thomas and it manufactures some of the attractive and usable pottery in the finest class. Dinnerware and serving pieces come in 150 shapes and 36 patterns. The entry is free but the aesthetic tempts almost every visitor to buy a gift or a dinner piece. This Caribbean pottery place is a must visit.

Barbados is the birthplace of oldest distilled spirit – rum. Mount Gay Distillery, founded in 1703 is believed to be the oldest manufacturer of rum. Rum has been the essence of Caribbean culture and Barbados rum is considered to be the best rum in the world. There are several recipes of rum across Barbados and each the uniqueness of each recipe adds a better experience of self-exploration.

The nightlife at this island is also highly appreciated. There are plenty of places to grab a cocktail, dance, play arcade games or even set out on a dinner cruise. There are plenty of festivals happening all throughout the year where crowd from all around the year drop in.

A visit to this island will definitely prove to be more than awesome. The experience here starts with a gentle smile, goes on with inquisitiveness, builds more delight with every different facet of the island and leaves everyone with an urge to visit again. The narrows roads and colourful lives give a wonderful experience of Caribbean culture exploration.

This post is submitted for Lufthansa's #TheBlindList contest.  So pack your bags and #SayYesToTheWorld.

5 places I wish to visit

I don't want to settle in any narrow corner of the world and get confined to any territory. I want to travel the entire world.

Before I step ahead and travel the entire world, I am much eager to explore the place from where I belong - North-East India.

I am born in midst of extreme natural beauty. Greenery, Wildlife, Snow and overflowing rivers are the sites that I have always wanted to dwell across ever since a child. Five places I would like to explore as an amateur traveler are -

1. Sivasagar

Sivasagar is town located in Upper Assam, 360 Kilometers from Guwahati. Sivasagar was previously the capital of Ahom Kingdom. It is the home to many ancient heritages.

Devidol is the temple of Hindu Goddess Durga that has been standing tall for three centuries. The architecture speaks all about the Golden days of Assam History.

Sivadol is one of the tallest Shiva temple of the world. It was built about three centuries back. The center of attraction there mainly is the gigantic architecture and religious values. It has three temples built on the bank of Sivasagar Tank. All the three were built by Queen Ambika, wife of King Shiva Singha.

Kareng Ghar is a four storied building and arranged in gradually receding towers of which only two can be seen.The top floor has a dome like roof with a chamber. The groud floor has three west facing halls with a front and rear chamber. The palace is well secured by digging canals around the place and then building fort like walls around it.

Ranghar is a double storied royal pavilion of Ahom Kings with unique architectural features. It ias an unique amphitheater built by the Ahom Kings, which symbolizes the pride of Ahom Kingdom. It resembles the Roman Colosseum in the fact that Ahom Kings used this as a platform of enjoying sports.  

2. Teesta & Rangit River

The nearest town to access there two rivers is Kalimpong. White Water rafting has been one of my childhood wishes. Rivers for ages have been the arteries of communication and culture, today can be explored for sports and recreation. The spells of swift, intense encounters with foaming, roaring waters are punctuated by many more longer periods of gentle floating with opportunities to observe natural wonders along continuously varying canvas of the river banks. 

3. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam is one of the biodiversity hot spot. The scenic beauty includes a range of forested hills, alluvial grasslands and tropical evergreen forests. The site provides critical and viable habitat for rare and endangered species including tiger, greater one-horned rhino, swamp deer, pygmy hog, and Bengal florican. Manas has exceptional importance with the Indian sub-continents protected areas, as one of the most significant remaining natural areas in the region, where size able populations of large number of threatened species continue to survive.

4. Hornbill Festival

Hornbill festival is celebrated every year in between 1st to 10th December in Naga Heritage Village, Kisama which is around 12 Kms from Kohima. The festival shows a melange of cultural display under one roof. All the tribes of Nagaland take part in this festival. The festival aims to protect the rich and varied culture of the state. The week long festival unites one and all in Nagaland and people enjoy the colorful performances, crafts, sports, food, games and ceremonies. Traditional arts include paintings, wood carvings and sculptures. Festival highlights include traditional Naga Morungs Exhibition and sale of arts and crafts, food stalls, Herbal Medicine stalls, flower shows and sales, Cultural Medley - songs and dances, fashion shows, Beauty Contest, Traditional Archery, Naga Wrestling, Indigenous games and musical concert.  

5. Mawlynnong Village

Mawlynnong Village in East Khasi Hills, also referred to as 'Gods Own Garden' , has won the acclaim of being the cleanest village in Asia in 2003. Mawlynnong is located 90 Kms from Shillong and 92 Kms from Cherapunjee. The onus to keep the village clean lies with every person residing in the village. Local cleaning the roads, picking up leaves and throwing garbage in the bin is a common sight. Bamboo garbage bins adorn every nook and corner of the village highlight the consciousness of cleanliness among the villagers. Cleanliness is an old tradition and a way of life for all villagers. The village gives an experience of walking on a live root bridge, 85 feet tall sky walk and a breath taking view of Bangladesh Border. Suprisingly the village has 100 percent literacy rate.

This is a post for Indispire Edition - 8 of Indiblogger. 

I submit this post today on the day of Assamese New Year.  

Caravan to Shivasamudra..

Usually people associated with Visveswaraya Technological University get very less holidays. It was all of a sudden that we got two days continuous holidays. We obviously needed a break. Sidhartha, Ritu and me stressed our tiny brains to every extent to know every different place around Bangalore that was not visited. We had declined Nandi hills at the first thought itself. We didn't even dare to think of Wonder la because we needed a territory of peace, away from human occupancy and noise. Suddenly the idea of Shivasamudra popped in and we agreed at the first thought. We called up Syamanta and Manish and they agreed even without thinking. Manish also added that one of his friends, Pragyan would also accompany us. We were six Assamese guys on the caravan to Shivasamudra with a Hyundai Accent and a Bajaj Avenger. 

We gathered together at my Apartment in Chamrajpet. We decided to party all night and then when it shall be only a couple of hours till dawn, he would head towards Shivasamudra. We had our party and none of even bothered for a sleep. 

At 03:30 AM we started our journey. Manish & Syamanta were on the Avenger and rest of us on the Accent. We headed towards Sarakki Signal and then turned our car towards Shivasamudra. The road took us from the busy metro of Bangalore to the outskirts and slowly the straight road turned into curves and we went inside the rural of Karnataka. As it was an odd time, so we didn't have and company on the road which tempted Ritu to steer the sedan fast.

On the road we stopped for some time. It was a perfect deserted road with darkness saturating every gap of life. It was away from any other touch except the six of us. It was time for Sidhartha to try his photography skills. We stopped for around 10 minutes and then again started on the journey. The empty road tempted Manish for some stunts and seriously, that drove us angry for a while. Still, he managed to stay safe. With the first rays of the sun light we reach Shivasamudra.

We got disappointed by the guards words that he had strict orders not to open the locks before 09:00 AM. At the first look he seemed very serious with his words. Later somehow with better negotiations we managed the guard to open the locks with a bribe of only 20 bucks. It was the cheapest bribe we ever offered someone. He allowed us in through a opening in the fence but we had to leave our vehicles outside. We went inside.

As far as our eyes could see, we saw only a long road. I still remember Ritu's face that turned pale seeing such a long road. Still we walked, consoling each other that destiny ain't far now. Finally we saw the lake. It was saturated with natural beauty. We climbed down the stairs with no idea of the pain that we would have to encounter while climbing it up again. The cold lake water was all in front of us when we were seeing each other's face and asking a silent question, "Who would get down first?"

At the moment I had my legendary statement, "Since I am the only guy here who has no idea about swimming, I will get down first. You guys know swimming and so you would stay on the shore to rescue me if I start to drown." Everyone could make out that it was not me who was speaking; rather it was the monk speaking. Everyone started to laugh and by the time they could see I was in water and I remember Syamanta saying, "watch out carefully".

Soon Ritu, Sidhartha, Pragyan and Manish were in the lake too. Syamanta preferred to stay out and finish his early morning call of job behind the bushes. As I went away from the shore I realized it was only five to six feet deep and I was sure I wont drown. I went far till the rocks and climbed one of them and sat there below the cold lake water. Syamanta was still outside. We were in the water for an hour or so. We came out just because the sunlight was burning our eyes. We changed and then when we saw the stairs again, we asked our self, "Is it the same stairs that we climbed down??" Somehow we managed to reach the top and then we also had to walk till the gate where our cars were parked. We were at the gate before 09:00 AM as the watchman said us that if we would have been late, his job would be in trouble. We soon left the place.

Manish wasn't able to ride anymore as his toe got cut in glass. Pragyan rode the bike. Syamanta was in the pillion. We were hungry and so decided to stop at a nearby hotel. We had rice bath and idli-vada along with the truck drivers. We changed places. I went in the pillion with Pragyan and Syamanta got in the car. We reached home at around 11:00 AM. We all were too tired and exhausted. We slept till evening. It was a fabulous road trip. I am looking forward for another such trip to a deserted natural beauty.

The trip reminds of of the FooFighters song Overdrive with lyrics -


Coming down I'm coming round

this time I think I'm waking up
Give me loud to drown it out
before the world starts breaking 

You change and then you change again
Turning like a wheel inside your head

Yours and mine and left and right
there's still two sides to everyone
You and I get on with life
and pray we'll find a better one
You change and then you change again
Turning like a wheel inside your head

Overdrive we're going life or death
Overdrive we're going life or death
Overdrive we're going life or death
Two strangers on the mend

Night-out on Mysore Road..

Mayank's friend's, Prateek and Maninder were on a mini-trip to Southern India. They saw the beauty of  Bangalore and also visited Mahabalipuram , Mysore and Chennai. The only thing that was left out to make their trip memorable was a night ride in the Mysore Road. Bangalore-Mysore highway being one of the most tempting highways of India. We knew night riding wasn't safe on that road but sometimes in life the greatest regrets are the risks that are not taken. And to add to the list none of us were guys that would be afraid of challenges.

We started from our home. We headed towards Mysore road via Kadirahalli and PES College. We didn't get any cops till then and this time we decided to stop as the cops would be there or very soon we would be screwed. We again accelerated our bikes on the Mysore road crossing Gopalan Mall and RV college. After minutes of crossing RV college there were cops again and very decently we got down of our bikes and showed him our driving license and also said him that we left our documents at our rooms. He asked us to go to the police station. We tried our level best to talk and also did our best efforts at negotiations. He allowed the four guys to let off at 400 bucks. Thanks to corruption, we were still safe. He also ensured us that if next time any cop catches us, he would also let us go as we had paid the fine already (although it wasn't any legal fine). I met the first man who does such dishonesty with honesty. Now we were on the run again. We rushed along the Mysore Road and stopped a while to pee and also Maninder carried his photo shoot along. Again we were on the road and after few minutes we were at the Rasta Cafe.

We had to wait a while for our tables at Rasta as the place mostly remained over booked. We got our tables and we like the ambiance there and also the music was too good. We had coffee. Coffee was great. We skipped hookah as none of us had the urge to die early. We insisted for the pool table but the manager was sorry as it was booked till morning. We had to stick to the coffee and stare at the beautiful girls that seemed frustrated with their pervert boyfriends. The place was beautiful and the girls their were even better. The real beauty of rasta is defined the beautiful ladies crowd there. 

We set out of Rasta and now we had
plans to get back to our home but then Mayank popped out the idea of going to Manchenabele Dam that was a 15km drive from Mysore Road. We didn't dare to reject. We stopped again at a Coffee Day to kill time. We grabbed samosa and also chocolate shots. With the shots we talked all of the beautiful girls we knew and our gossip seemed never ending. Somehow we ended and we got to the road and it was a beautiful road with sudden surprising bends and a few hundred meters of drive on a road reminded us of the road of Fast and Furious. The road that got down till Manchenabele lake just reminded me of my youth days at Assam where greenery and water with curvy roads were always along. We stopped for a while there. The rest of the people had their peace of mind as I had my morning prayers just beside the lake. After my prayers I was again on the fun. It was surprising as none of us felt sleepy that day. Mayank and me had some stomach problems as the previous day we had Roshan's birthday party at Barbecue nation and our bellies were full.

We were back to our rooms as Prateek and Maninder had trains back to Jaipur but am sure this trip in the sizzling night would always be cherished in the four of our hearts. Our journey was going to end and we being a little disappointed. Just then we saw a group of Harley Davidson rider's again steer on the highway and we all had a promise to our hearts; we would soon be like them. We ended with happy memories.

College days are the best days of life. We would no longer be students very soon. So we must have fun these days or else life won't be memorable.

A view of Manchanabele dam..

 Another view

The three musketeers.