Exclusive paintings by Preeti Thaker Arora

Blessings of Sun

Vast beauty

Home in peace

View from the house

Preeti Thaker Arora

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 Nidhi KM

A perfect holiday destination- Antalya, Turkey

ANTALYA ADRASAN İBRAHİM ZAMAN

Antalya city on the mediterranean coast of Southwest Turkey  is the third most travelled city in the world by the International tourist. It is one of the popular wedding, skiing and aerosports destinations in Turkey. As part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya is set around a Roman harbor and old town and enjoys 300 days of sunshine a year which makes it one of the best wedding destinations globally.

I myself did not visit Turkey but got so fascinated by its photographs and kind of options, it offers, that I felt compelled to read about it. Being a first hand experience website, this article would be incomplete without a travel story. I would not disappoint you, travel story of Antalya is waiting to be read at experience at Antalya. Talking to a friend, I learnt that Antalya is a great and rare to find combination of sun, deep blue waters and mountains.

Places to see and things to do in Antalya

Kaleici ( Old Antalya)

Kaleiçi also known as Old Antalya, is also a great place to spend some time if you love history and culture. Not only is there a lot to see and do inside Kaleici itself, but you're also within a tram ride of the Antalya Museum, one of the best in the country.

Clock Tower

Old Harbour

Yivli Min are

Keisic Minare

Hadrianus Gate

Archaeological museum

Caves of Antalya

Waterfalls- Manavgat, Kursunlu and Duden

For more active travelers, there are plenty of water sports on offer including windsurfing, waterskiing and sailing too.

Beautiful view at Antalya

P.S- Information and photographs in this article are courtesy Turkey Tourism.

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Nidhi KM

Antalya

Hotel review- Elysium Gardens, Munnar- Kerala

Entrance at Elysium Gardens

The Elysium gardens hotel is in the heart of main Munnar city in Kerela.

It’s one of the popular budget hotels offering a unique feature of its serene atmosphere with views of Munnar township. We actually had not planned to stay here but we booked our rooms in this hotel since Green jungle holiday resort was very far off and a little scary or aloof.

Parking at Elysium Gardens

We went on a long trip to Kerela which included two days at Munnar.

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Nidhi KM

Leh Ladakh: “Heaven & back” , article by Ritesh Shete

Green-trees,Leh Ladakh

Leh Ladakh, Ahhh! The headline defines my experience.There are a very handful of places in India where you feel yourself being away from home. Leh Ladakh is a place which brings your dreams into reality and allows you to be close to the Mother Nature, who bestows on you her beauty and blessings. Yes it simply does! The culture, people, place and even the non-tangible elements of this place are beyond one’s imagination.

Step by step, mile by mile you are blown away with the kind of landscapes you get to see. So how do you plan your trip? When do you go? How do you go and what are the best places to cover? This article is an attempt amongst those thousand articles written in the past. No no, my article is not the bible for your trip to Leh Ladakh, but certainly will make a quick good reference.

How to plan trip to Leh Ladakh

snowcapped peaks

To begin with, I must admit that you have to plan your trip to Leh Ladakh well in advance, 2months prior to journey day is ideal. You cannot cover all places in one trip unless and until you are at the leisure of deciding your leaves from work. From the health perspective, this barren paradise comes with a few rules and precautions you will have to keep in mind. It is not easy to immediately get acclimatized to the high altitude. People from all walks of life come to explore the natural treasures hidden behind in the Himalayan region. You have to take care of the “Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)” syndrome which is very common here. So, if you are flying to Leh directly from a place which is at a lower altitude, you might face casualties of AMS.
If you are planning a roadtrip from Chandigarh to Jammu &Kargil, then you might breathe easy, as AMS usually suddenly shifting from a lower altitude to higher is where AMS syndrome hits anybody. A very common & easily available medicine “Diamox” helps you combat AMS. It comes in very handy for those who are flying directly to Leh. All you have to do is before you board your flight, just pop in the half tablet of “Diamox” and you are sorted. Yes it is that simple! (I am not a doctor by profession, so cannot comment if there are any side effects that might affect your body). Once you are at Leh airport, and if you still feel dizzy or if you have a headache, the first thing is to do is have some quick snack, take another 1 full tablet of Diamox and sleep on it for 2-3 hours (Note: Similar sickness might occur at higher altitude points like Khardung La. The best thing to do is to descent to a lower altitude immediately).Rest through your first day & you should be well acclimatized to begin small trips to nearby places(Watch out for my section on trip essentials at the end of the article).

Zanskar and Indus-Sangam, Leh Ladakh

Best places to see in Leh Ladakh

Coming to the best places in Leh Ladakh :Nubra Valley, Pangong Tso &Monastries. These places are out of the world.

Nubra Valley

Nubra-Valley

You have to drive north towards Siachen Glacier (world’s second longest glacier outside the Polar Regions) to reach NubraValley, also fondly called Valley of flowers. It is a beautiful valley with fresh water streams & open mountain landscapes. En-route to Nubra Valley, you will cross Khardung La pass at 5602m (18,379ft), the highest motor able road in the world. This pass or point is heroic. The temperature here can go to -1 degree, making it difficult at times to spend time there. There is an army canteen, which serves awesome black tea, Maggie, pakoda’s and you must not miss it. It tastes unique and the experience of having a black “garam chaai” is different. The route from Leh to Khardung La is also known as “Silk route”(refer to my pic). Moving ahead to Nubra Valley, you will come across some attractions like: DiskitGompa, Panamik Hot water springs,Samstalling Monastery &Hunder sand dunes. Yes, you read it write, Sand dunes of Hunder in Leh. It was a surprise for me as well, but the place is decent which also offers you camel rides. though I did not opt for it!

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Article and photographs by Ritesh Shete

About Ritesh Shete

Ritesh Shete is a publicist by profession and photographer by passion. He likes to explore new places, meet people capture moments  and write about them. A travel freak and lover of Electronic Dance Music(EDM). Follow and love only 2 religions in life Karma & Cricket!

Interaction with Executive Chef Tanmoy Mazumdar @ Cafe on 3

Executive Chef Tanmoy Mazumdar

Tanmoy Mazumdar, the seasoned executive chef at Cafe on 3, Holiday Inn is known for his innovative art of cooking and presentation of delicacies.

Looking at the creative spread of salads, snacks, dishes and desserts clearly showed the precision and imagination of Chef and team. We got an opportunity to interact with him while we were in Cafe on 3. Here is the snippet of interaction.

Interaction with Executive Chef Tanmoy Mazumdar

Interaction with Tanmoy Mazumdar

Q1) Chef, how do you ensure the quality of food?
I daily check seven to eight dishes to ensure the consistency of quality and taste. There are certain measure and policies followed to ensure high quality of raw materials. Any raw material not matching the standards of quality are rejected.

Enticing sweets

Q2) Chef, which all cuisines do you specialize in?
Japanese Teppanyaki, Intercontinental, Mediterranean, North Indian of course is my forte. Currently we have Mediterranean festival going on for ten days till 25th January, 2015.

Q3) Which one you would say is a speciality of Cafe on 3?

Creativity by Chef Mazumdar and team

Homemade pizza prepared here from scratch are very delicuous, kebabs are very soft and juicy, although you would like most of the food here.

We do a ten day festival every month for an International Cuisine. Very soon we would be launching a different kind of ala carte menu.

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Nidhi KM

Interaction with Celebrity Chef Kunal Kapur @Le Meridian

Chef Kunal Kapur at' Join
the Olive Oil Revolution'

Kunal Kapur an Indian Celebrity Chef best known as host and judge of TV series Master Chef India on Star Plus season 1,2 and 3 was the honor of event - Join the Olive Oil revolution at Le Meridian, Delhi. Kunal is currently the executive Sous Chef at The Leela Gurgaon.

I was curious to know from him how he connects with travel in his profession. So, here we go.

Interaction with celebrity Chef Kunal Kapur at Le Meridian

Q1) Do you travel around the world to eat different cuisines?

Travel is so inter weaved in my profession that I get ample opportunities to taste different cuisines. I do my research on cuisines, look at pictures, visit blogs as part of my travel plan. When I went to Lucknow, I tasted Goulati Kebab and learnt their authentic recipe.

Q2) Which all places you have travelled?

I have travelled to Australia, England, France, Germany, Gulf, Hong Kong, India of course I have travelled vastly, New Zealand, Singapore,  US vastly.

Q3) Any specific country you want to visit to have its cuisine again and again?

Australia is the country that has good produce be it vegetarian and non vegetarian. Production there is consistently same. Excellent quality of fruits and vegetables. The produce is so fresh. You have to see it to believe it. Plus you get everything in Australia you get in the world. I like chefs a lot over there.

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Nidhi KM

Interaction with ace photographer Atul Kasbekar, Kingfisher calendar 2015

Atul Kasbekar

Atul Kasbekar is an Ace Indian Fashion photographer. He is recognized for his Kingfisher Calendar shoot. The Kingfisher Calendar 2015 has been shot in Turkey last year in beautiful pristine locations of Cappadocia, Bodrum and Pamukkale with five gorgeous models.The latest edition of the most awaited calendar promises to be a visual treat.

We were interested to interact with Atul Kasbekar to be able to see the world of travel from his experience. Here is the snippet.

Interaction with Atul Kasbekar

Q1) What inspires you as a photographer?

It is the love of photography that is ever growing every single day and every moment. Even if I photoshoot a person a hundredth time, I don't get bored. This is because the mood of a person is different at different moments. I get excited every moment I photoshoot.

Q2) What makes a good photograph stand out from the average?

An image if appeals and looks better than others, it comes out as a photograph. I cannot say a photograph is better than the others. Different photographs appeal to different people at different levels. Not everybody love or hate it. There is a personal interpretation of a photograph that happens. People may have different reactions to different photographs.

Advertising photographs that I do has many high quality inputs and we get high quality output. Inputs would be the costume of the model, make up, hair style. Aesthetics should be good. If the inputs are technically flawless and of high quality, the photograph would be good.

Q3) What factors you consider to decide a destination for a Kingfisher Calendar Photoshoot?

I can only give recommendations. The kind of popularity and mileage we get through the Kingfisher calendar photoshoot is good enough to decide destinations. We get lots of offers from around the world. We prefer to shoot during the month of September when winters are beginning and locations are less crowded.It is easier to do a photoshoot during this time because the weather is neither hot nor humid and make up lasts longer.

Kingfisher calendar 2015 that we did last year was shot at Turkey which was a great location with beautiful landscapes and sceneries.

Q4) As I see Kingfisher calendar, 2015, appropriate attention is provided to the background as well as model. How do you get a knack of which model is to be photo shot at which location?

Kingfisher calendar photoshoot is a fully planned out event. We give lots of trials for every model. There are lots of technicalities involved. Models give trials with multiple costumes , hair styles, makeup etc. When everything comes out the best, then is a perfect photograph.

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Nidhi KM

Restaurant review – Cafe on 3, Holiday Inn- Mayur Vihar, Delhi

Entrance at Cafe on 3

Cafe on 3 is an all day dining restaurant in Hotel Holiday Inn in Mayur Vihar. It is named Cafe on 3 being located on the third floor. We were there last weekend for lunch. We knew about Mediterranean Cuisine launch there and were curious to taste it. Every month, there is some or the other international cuisine festival at Holiday Inn for 10 days. Currently, Mediterranean cuisine festival is till 25th January,2015

Restaurant

Ambience

As we entered the Cafe, a sophisticated ambience greeted us with lobby overlooking a swimming pool.

Bar area at Cafe on 3

Going further was a waiting area beyond which was the bar and lounge followed by restaurant. Bar had nice interiors with smart seatings.

Bar at Cafe on 3

At the restaurant,strategic placement of seating arrangement, tables along with buffet tables , sweet counters and bread counters enhanced the ambience of restaurant.

Restaurant also has an open dining area along the pool side where Sunday brunches are organized. Sitting in open area on the third floor by the pool having lip smacking dishes would be a nice experience in itself.

Experience at Cafe on 3

Non vegetarian salads

We took the overview of the restaurant. There was a lavish spread of vegetarian and non vegetarian salads. Small cups of salad were laid containing little cubes of fruits and vegetables precisely decorated with green leaves. The whole display was very enticing.

Indian snacks

Moving ahead, chaat counter or Indian snacks section was luring by its mouthwatering dishes like dhokla, khandvi, raita etc.

Beyond chaat counter was a section having the theme of 'make your own salad' with three types of sauces, dressings, raw vegetables, sprouts and spices etc.

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Nidhi KM

Event 'Join the Olive Oil Revolution' at Le Meridian-Delhi

Interiors at Le Meridian

Event- 'Join the Olive Oil Revolution' was organized at five star hotel Le Meridian in Delhi. This event was marked by the esteemed presence of Celebrity Chef- Kunal Kapur and renowned nutritionist Seema Singh.

The event was held to provide awareness about benefits of using Olive Oil in cooking.

Many of us are already using Olive Oil in cooking. However, I felt more educated and aware by knowing the scientific reasons and benefits of using Olive Oil by this event.

Join the olive oil revolution

Experience at Event 'Join the Olive Oil Revolution'

After the warm welcome by the host, Kunal Kapur educated us on how Olive Oil is extracted and different types of Olive Oils. I would like to tell you as well. There are three types of Olive Oil.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

When olives are plucked from farms and crushed and mashed, they are pressed to produce first stage of olive oil. This is Extra Virgin Olive Oil 100% pressed olive juice, with an outstanding flavor and aroma. It has unique sensorial attributes and beneficial properties due to its minority components. Particularly recommended for use raw (in marinades, salads, sauces, etc.), in stews and in desserts.

Hall at Le Meridian

Olive Oil

100% pressed refined olive juice with a very good flavor and aroma. Recommended for the same uses as Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Extra Light Olive Oil

A blend of refined Olive Oils and Extra Virgin Olive Oils. Recommended for cooking at high temperatures, especially fried dishes. This oil can withstand the temperature at 201 degrees Celsius.

As per Kunal, most of the restaurants don't heat oil beyong 180 degrees Celsius. Any oil that is heated more than this temperature looses its quality and is not fit to use. At homes as well, oils should not be heated till the smoking point.

Benefits of Olive Oil

Viharin.com- Chef Kunal Kapur and nutritionist Seema Singh

After Kunal Kapur, nutritionist Seema Singh took us through the nutritional values of Olive Oil. Ability of Olive Oil to resist high temperatures makes it easier to create a thin, golden and crunchy coating, which prevents the food from absorbing oil, keeping it juicy and appetizing. 

Cooking session with chef kunal kapoor

Live cooking show by Chef Kunal Kapur

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Nidhi KM

Interaction with Himanshu Khona, Director-DONE

VivaConnect, India’s Largest ‘Voice’ and ‘Missed Call’ company has ventured into Food and Beverage (F&B) industry by developing - ‘DONE’, a tailor made food order management platform. The platform establishes it’s eminence by covering all possible contemporary mediums of placing an order i.e. Phone calls, Web and Mobile. The seamless integration of platform ensures delightful ordering experience. Moreover, the customer receives an acknowledgement SMS for his order status at every stage during the order process regardless of the mode of ordering.

We being a travel and food experience website, got an opportunity to interact with Himanshu Khona, Director- DONE. We grabbed it as we wanted to know the story of the platform that is being used by food providers and their customers in the hospitality industry.

Snippet of interaction

NKM (Nidhi KM): What inspired you to enter into Food and Beverage industry.

HK(Himanshu Khona):Movivation labs is a joint venture between Viva Connect and DONE. I had started a company DONE that could write mobile applications. We had an application for Restaurants but nobody was accepting it. Initially, it was a tough time we used to get payment per order basis or no payments. Vikram Raichura, Managing Director- Viva Connect had a client who needed this application. It was successfully launched. Since the demand was there in the market and we had a solution, we were finally successful in launching this application with many restaurant chains and QSRs.

NKM:You have two types of Customers a. Restaurants , b. End users. What do they say about this application ?
HK:We have been getting positive feedback as a result of which the business is ever increasing. Operationally, we provide CRM module, analytics, call centre, historical data etc. Restaurants can use the data to re target its customers via email, whatsapp and SMS etc. Since they have historical data, they know their customers and their Marketing strategies can be more customer centric. Its Content Management System (CMS) allows restaurant owners to easily manage their menu, prices, outlets and much more by logging over a website.

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Nidhi KM

Restaurant review- Aanch, Rajouri Garden- Delhi

We went to the one and only restaurant in Shopper's Stop Mall , Aanch in Rajouri Garden. It has five senses under bar, lounge and fine dining catering to needs of all ages and stages of life for visitors.The restaurant offers Italian, Continental and North Indian. North Indian is their forte. The restaurant offers Italian, Continental and North Indian. North Indian is their forte.

Hooka Lounge - Kash

Ambience at Aanch

As we walked in, there was a nice entrance with terrace or open Air Restaurant on the left and bar- 'XTC', 'Kash' energy lounge- Hooka lounge, 'Aanch' family dining and private dining- 'Majlis' on the right. The whole area was very big about 20,000 sq ft.

Kash lounge, XTC bar and private dining Majlis had good ambiance. Terrace was very spacious to hold parties and functions. There was already a birthday party going on. The terrace overlooked the main road from the fourth floor.

Bar XTC

We entered the family restaurant 'Aanch'. It was a well lit restaurant with ample space. Tables were placed strategically to create enough space with elegant furniture. The atmosphere was quiet and calm. Restaurant had nice and beautiful interiors. Seating was comfortable. Tables were far enough to let people maintain their own space.

Restaurant Aanch

Food

We had Chicken Manchow and hot and sour soup. Soups were deliciously thick with perfect blend of spices. They were served hot.

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Nidhi KM