Hotel review - Haathi Mahal,Cavelossim Beach, South Goa

Reception area at Haathi Mahal

Haathi Mahal is one of the high end hotels in South Goa near Cavelossim Beach . We had heard a lot about it. This time of our visit, we stayed in Haathi Mahal. It was forty five minutes to one hour from the airport.

Ambiance

As we got off the cab, big man with big mustaches greeted us. There were two elephant models in silhouetting pose. I could see many plants strategically placed with sitting arrangement. Right opposite to entrance was reception. To the right of this entrance lobby, there were stairs beyond which was arcade housing shops of daily needs, artifacts, gift items, linen and handloom.

Area around the restaurant in the evening

In front of lobby was a big swimming pool having permanent stalls of eateries like veg and non veg snacks, juices etc. To the left of this swimming pool was a little pool for kids as well. Area adjoining the back of lobby was art gallery, kids zone, fitness center, play area for adults. As we moved ahead, we saw a statue of Lord Ganesha. Walking ahead, we saw a small pool of Jaccuzzi. Next to Jaccuzzi was another big swimming pool under a little bridge. There was a walkway leading to restaurant both open area and closed. Going right to the restaurant was play zone and recreation section for adults.

Fountain circle

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Review of Adventurous ATVs drive at Polaris Experience Zone, Dharuhera- Gurgaon

Terrain

We got an opportunity to experience Polaris All Terrain Vehicles drive at Polaris Experience Zone in Dharuhera, Gurgaon next to Hero factory. Since we wanted to do something adventurous, we grabbed this chance. Good that we did!

Having started during peak hours from Delhi, it took us a little more than two hours to reach Dharuhera. Due to peak hours, there was a lot of traffic on the way . We reached at about 4pm. Being winters, it was quiet cold. Nevertheless, our excitement was no less.We had heard about Polaris All Terrain Vehicles and were curious to see the terrain and vehicles.

Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality Off Road Vehicles (ORV’s), innovative All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), the Polaris Ranger®, (for recreational and utility use), Snowmobiles, Motorcycles and Electric powered vehicles.

Ambience

At the entrance a waiting area along with ticket counter was there. Next to it was a huge ground terrain with four stunts and one water stunt. The total length of the lap was half a kilometre. As we entered the Polaris experience zone, we could see all ATVs lined up waiting to be picked for a ride. ATVs were ranging from PHOENIX 200,BLUE; Sportsman Touring 500 H.O; Sportsman 90; Trail Boss 330 to RZR S 800.

Out from stunt

The terrain had a lap of about half a kilometre. I could now relate to movie stunts where the vehicles become air borne for few seconds! It was exciting!Next to terrain were other sections like conference rooms, kitchen etc.

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Cocobay Resort, Kumarakom- review

Snake boat heading to Cocobay resort in Kumarakom

The Cocobay resort is in the heart of Kumarakom in kerela. It is an outstanding resort offering a picturistique view of Vembenad lake and backwaters of Kerala.

It’s one of the most popular resorts offering a unique feature of its location and serene atmosphere with views of Vembenad lake. We had planned to stay here for two days in our long trip to Kerala and ended up wishing for a weeks stay (which was not possible).

View of Vembanad Lake from stairs of Cocobay resort

The most intresting and enriching part of the stay was the entrance itself. As we parked our car , we were in for a pleasant surprise of hotel transfer by boat. We were thrilled as we kept our baggage in a small boat. It actually felt like Venice and I realized why Kerela is called “Venice of east”. As we got down , we were welcomed by traditional garlands and Tilak on our foreheads.

We went with kids to play in the garden area besides swimming pool. It was a nice view and we had snacks in the open resturant area.In the evening we quietly saw a beautiful mesmerizing view of sunset in Vembenad lake. This was followed by buffet dinner in the resturant in resort itself.

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Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave, Pokhara- Nepal

Pokhara is a tourist paradise of Nepal. It is approx 200 kms west of Kathmandu and lies in Gandaki zone. It is easily accessible by road and flight from Kathmandu.

The Seti Gandaki or the white river is the main river flowing through the city, which with it’s tributaries at many places has created several gorges and canyons in and around the city.

The porous underground of Pokhara valley favours formation of caves and one can find many caves , most famous being under Patale chango (Hell’s Falls) , also popularly known as Devis falls.

On the other hand, right across the road, one can find other aspect of the fall – a long and one of the deepest caves of the region – Gupteshwor Mahadev cave.

Kamdhenu cow shed entrance

Entrance to the cave

Kamdhenu cow at the entrance of cave

We covered it as a part of our day’s tour in pokhara.

It is an open area with long rounded steps from ticket window leading to the main cave.

As we enter the cave , Kamdhenu mukh (Holy Cow) is there. Then we moved ahead within the cave and found the main temple of Shivling within the cave.

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Stunning views from Coakers walk, Kodaikanal

Valley filled with clouds

 

Beautiful view from Coakers walk

One of the beautiful view points at Kodaikanal is Coakers Walk.

We got ready early in the morning. Had breakfast to satiate ourserlves at the resort. Reached Coakers walk from our resort. Since it was summers, scenic views were beautiful. The driver stopped car and we saw stunning landscapes under mystical clouds. It was a refreshing scenery. The walk way is about a kilometer. Very nice, calm and quiet place. One can see faraway townships and a beautiful mesmerizing valley view.

Coakers walk was constructed by Lt. Coaker. It is a pedestrian paved way constructed at the edge of steep mountain slopes. The walk starts from the Van Allen Hospital and merges with the main road.

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Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery, Golden Temple- Coorg

Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery is the largest teaching center of Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. This Monastery is home to more than 5000 Lamas, a religious college and a hospital. Source Wikipedia.

Hundreds of tourists from national and international grounds visit this facility to experience the teachings, temples and meditative environment.

Staying options near Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery

Close up of Buddha

Temple

Tourists can stay in Kushalnagar which is a short auto ride away from the temple. There is also accommodation available in Paljor Dargey Ling Hotel at very cheap rates.

One cannot stay in the Monastery without Protected Area 

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Copyright Viharin. Com

Boudhanath Stupa in Nepal

Boudhanath

Boudhanath is the largest stupa in Nepal. Its an ancient religious complex in Kathmandu valley. The most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site and Tibetan Buddhism , along with Swayambhunath.

The Boudhanath complex consists of a large majestic white stupa , with a variety of Tibet Gompas or shrines around it. The stupa has Buddha eyes and eyebrows painted on , between them the number one (in devanagari script) is painted in a fashion of nose. The UNESCO ( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ) has designated almost 51 World heritage sites in South Asia. With a diameter exceeding 100 meteres and a wall to wall length roughly equaling a football field. Simple , massive, majestic and magnificient. Boudhanath is a powerful place of worship which rises above all.

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Holy flags

Food review- Panang Curry from Cook Gourmet

Cook Gourmet had a stall at Gourmet High Street Festival. We came across this amazing concept of ordering a recepie online and get all the raw materials for it.So,we ordered for Panang Curry. In a day's time, I got a call to confirm about the delivery time and I recieved the courier at the requested time.

What I recieved was a box well packed. There were all the ingredients vaccumm packed and labelled in the box with the recepie in it. It was an impressive parcel. Immediately I was sure of the standard of quality. There was also a Freezo pack in it.

Ingredients

Panang Curry

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Hotel Review- Hotel Country Villa, Nagarkot - Nepal

As a part of our travel plans, we had two days stay at Hotel Country Villa in Nagarkot. Nagarkot is a village , located 32 kms east of Kathmandu, Nepal in Bhaktapur district in Bagmati Zone. It is approx 28 kms from Kathmandu International airport.

At a height of 2195 meters , it is considered one of the most scenic spots and a famous hill station in Nepal , renowned for its spectacular sunrise and sunset views.

We could not afford to miss out on Nagarkot. We started off from our hotel in Pokhara in the morning by 8 AM so that we don’t miss out on sunset in Nagarkot.

View from open air restaurant

Hotel Country Villa

Hotel Country Villa truly boasted of outstanding views of sunrise from the room itself. We checked into our hotel and convinced the manager to give us a room with good view on second floor (Higher the floor,better the view).

Hotel Country Villa is a  3 star property located atop a hillock in Nagarkot. Most of the hotels do not have lifts , still revellers who are staying should go in for a room on a higher floor for a good view.

Another view from our room's balcony

Ambience

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Resort review- Tiger Den Resort, Ranthambore- India

Flower garden at the entrance

Lawns at Tiger Den Resort

Tiger Den Resort is one of its kind in Ranthambore. It is just

opposite the main enterence of  Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur District of Rajasthan. It is almost 12 kms away from the nearest railway station.

Tiger Den Resort is one of the most popular high end resorts in Ranthambore offering a unique feature of its peaceful and serene atmosphere with proximity to the Tiger Reserve. It was this fact for which we booked our rooms in this resort when we visited Ranthambore as we wanted a break from staying in city hotels.

We went on a weekend trip to visit Ranthambore tiger reserve. After a train journey from Delhi we reached our resort early morning and checked in. Although , it seemed aloof in the beginning as we reached , it became comfortable as we entered the resort at dawn. The resort had sprawling lawns welcoming us. As we reached our room the staff got us hot tea immediately which actually was wonderful and reflected their caring attitude. We rested for a while and slept in absolute silence.

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Tiger Camp Resort, Jim Corbett- India…Resort review

Cottage at Tiger Camp Resort

Balcony of cottage

 

Tiger Camp Resort is located on the main highway in Jim Corbett National Park. It is almost 12 kms away from the entrance to the park.

We went on a short trip to visit Jim Corbett National Park. To ensure minimum travel time, we started at 4am from Delhi. After a road journey of 7 hours by car from Delhi we reached our resort by noon and checked in.

Eco friendly

Ambiance at Tiger Camp Resort

As we entered the resort at noon , sprawling lawns with bamboo shoots covering the walking area welcomed us. Tiger Camp Resort is one of the most popular resorts in Jim Corbett offering a unique feature of its peaceful and serene atmosphere with proximity to the banks of Kosi river. It was this fact for which we booked our rooms in this resort when we visited Jim Corbett.

As we reached our room, monkeys across our window welcomed us. It was scary but wonderful and kids were happy making faces. Room was nicely done and spacious with all amenities. It had a big balcony which had mountain and garden view. Perfect location to treat our eyes.

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Food extravaganza, Gourmet High Street Food & Wine Festival

Gourmet High Street food and wine festival

Entrance

We attended Gourmet High Street Food and Wine Festival at Epicenter, Apparel house in Gurgaon powered by Hindustan Times.
The venue was bustling with foodies and enterpreneurs. It was a vibrant atmosphere.

Many stalls of food equipments and food were luring people.I wondered there is so much to do with food and its pre processing and post processing accessories.

At the entrance

At the entrance there was  big stall of waffle.

People had stalls of equipments like toasters, grillers, coffee makers etc.

Stall of Chef's Basket

Live preparation from hampers at Chef's basket

Hampers of dishes

There was an interesting stall of Chef's Basket which had a unique concept of selling recipies along with all the requisite amount of raw material related to it in semi cooked form, sauces and spices etc. This was an impressive way to prepare one time dish without hunting for ingredients or worrying about wastage of excessive stuff.

Another stall of Cook Gourmet had an interesting business concept of publishing 6 recipies in a week. Anybody who wants to prepare a dish can request for the same. It would be delivered at the doorstep along with recepie and all the raw and semi cooked material.

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Master Cheff Australian contestant Sara Todd and Chef Saransh preparing Ice Nougat

Chefs Sara Todd and Saransh Goila

Restaurant review- Authentic Mughlai cuisine at Muraqqa, Delhi

 

Muraqqa restaurant

Walk way to Muraqqa

We went to Muraqqa restaurant on a family occassion. We were three couples and 3 kids. Heard good reviews about this restaurant so thought to give it a try.

Ambiance at Muraqqa

There was a nice walk way to the lift. As we entered,white walls with white furniture and off white kurtas of waiters created a very serene atmosphere. The restaurant looked spacious. We loved the ambiance. It was well lit and neat and clean dining outlet. There were live ghazals as well. This all excited us. We already knew its going to be a great evening.

Ghazals

Snacks

Chicken tikka

Veg spring rolls

Dahi Kebabs

Veg spring rolls, dahi kebabs and Chicken tikka. Oh, awesome they were! All of us relished including kids. We liked Chicken tikka so much that we ordered again. Presentation was amazing

Dal Makhani and Karahi Paneer

Mutton Rahra

Karahi Paneer and Naan

Dinner

We ordered Mutton Rahra, Dal Makhani and Karahi Paneer. This food was one which I was craving for so long. I had not tasted this preparation for a long time and was really wondering whether the quality has got lost in today's world. Thanks to the chef for providing authenticity to the delicious and mouthwatering dishes. Just the presentation created hunger pangs.All dishes were heavenly tasty.

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