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.

Retro Town

Retro Town is city located restaurant which is newly opened at Sixmile, Guwahati. The restaurant is a must for food lovers in the city. It is also the right hunt for party animals.

The theme of the restaurant alluringly draws the traces of the glorious gone-by era that has been shrouded in people’s memories. The entrance itself has beautifully decorated old jeep steering wheel, a saxophone, cassette player, a typewriter and a telephone. These things which have been replaced by modern gizmos take you back to antiquity. The restaurant is a paradise for indoor game lovers featuring a pool table and a carom table. The ambience is often thrilled by live bands playing classic rock and pop. The dais of the restaurant is open for young and blooming bands of the city giving the crowd a chance to hear to the upcoming bands live. There is also a dance floor for people who love to shake themselves a bit to the live music. There are lots of places around to go for a click or a selfie.

The entrance to  the restaurant

As the door opens

As you walk ahead from the dance floor, the door opens to an open roof top restaurant and thus giving you an experience to dine in the city’s biggest roof top space restaurant. This gives you an option, or rather puts you in a dilemma whether to dine in solitude with some open air breeze or to enjoy the food with some classic rock.

The owners of this place are two young boys who firmly believe that a restaurant is not just about good food. They have designed this place keeping in mind the need for a perfect ambience and satisfying service. They have belief that food isn’t about a meal, it is rather a culture. They have designed their Carte de Jour from various kitchens across the globe. They have Indian breads and dishes, Mughlai, Chinese, Italian, American and French. The Chef also has specially designed menus for every weekday dinner. Sizzlers and Sea Food also form a part of the kitchen for the lovers of it. The helping staffs of the restaurant are well experienced to achieve customer satisfaction.

The menu

I have travelled across several cities and gobbled up at several restaurants, and I haven’t found so many which gives you such a wide space and a choice to choose upon among two contrasting ambiences. Also the wide recourse in the menu gives a chance to taste wide range of dishes. The availability of parking space is also a major reason for thumbs up to this great place.

What's you last meal..??

In the S01E10 of Prison Break the cop walks over to Lincoln with his meal and hands him over a paper to note down his wish for the last meal before he his electrified. It suddenly got stuck in my head that if God would have asked me about my last meal before my death, then what it would be.

I would prefer a complete vegan meal, because that's the way my parents are having their food for more than two and half decades and their's not even a hairline trace of any non-vegetarian ever at my place. My mom is a fantastic cook and I shall prefer everything that's only cooked by her. I will start with the main course directly and then jump over to the desserts. I will stay away from Indian breads and directly jump to pulao. With pulao I would prefer some arhar dal tadka, which is my classic when my mom cooks over and then just before serving she pours some ghee over it. I would like the meal to be accompanied with all the dishes of paneer that my mom can cook. I have seen her cook so many different dishes and as a child I would be disappointed if any of my meal didn't have any paneer in it. My mom made it sure to have paneer, at least for me in every dish that she cooked. I would like to have paneer butter masala, kadai paneer, paneer burji, shahi paneer, paneer khorma, palak paneer and I shall also be delighted if small pieces of paneer is mixed with the pulao. After that I would like some mixed vegetable sabji. I will also not exclude that jackfruit curry, which my mother cooks. I will also love that sewali (night flowering jasmine) fry, which my mother used to specially cook for my grandfather when he was alive. I will also not leave the traditional boil potato fry. Assamese dishes like mashed potato and roasted brinjals should also be included. Perhaps I will be full after this.

This is not all, I will still long for the dessert. Anyways I shall be ready for bowel disorders, if there were to be any. I won't have to long for a doctor after death. I will prefer kheer and rasgulla's. I will prefer at least 4 to 5 rasgulla's. I will also like rasmalai, as that is the sweet that I remember crying for when my dad used to take to the sweet shops and I never remember him denying for it. 

After all this I will be full and be ready for it. Rather than longing for the great sleep of life, I will be more delighted if I could take a nap for a while and have the entire meal over again.

The pic above is no way what my mother cooks. She can cook far better than that. Obviously I would like to thank the guy who uploaded this after having a good meal, For his sake, I could use it in my blog.