Tag: must visit places

Posted in India, leh ladakh road trip, things to do

Paragliding for the first time

Posted on by harrytinkers

For adventure lovers it’s cherry on the pie and for first timers it can be little scary.

So, what happens in Solang valley paragliding??

You take the cable car in a group of 4 and it takes you to the place where you will meet your guides. Your guides will take you the starting point and prepare you with all safety equipment and guidelines. Then you have to wait for your guide to do all the other preparations to fly, and all this take only 5 minutes. You will be so amazed by the preparations that the time will fly. Next the guide will attach all the equipment with your seat and he will be just behind you. Then he will tell you to run and jump off a steep cliff.

And you will be wondering in your mind whaaattt!!!! And by this fraction of second you will already be flying, it’s that fast guys!!! The ride is for 15 mins and that’s going to one of the most memorable 15 minutes in your life.

Imagine one your right side you have snow clad mountains, on your left side you have blue cloudy sky and beneath you are the coniferous forest, a beautiful river flowing and in front of you is the breathtakingly expansive Solang valley.

I wish I could fly forever !! that’s what I thought. It was so calming experience, there was a sense of peace and satisfaction in my mind. A sense of numbness in my ears because of the cold air, the cold air caressing my face and my soul.

Every one of you who wishes to fly should try this once at least. It’s a marvelous experience and a must do activity.

Was I Scared? NO, I was super excited and only for a second when my guide told me to jump, I felt scared.

The kids also loved the experience that they did it thrice, also the kids tried archery as well.

Don’t be scared just go for it, trust me you won’t regret it. It’s an amazing feeling which cannot be expressed but only felt.

Posted in India, leh ladakh road trip, things to do

Manali diaries

Posted on by harrytinkers

The roads from Delhi to Manali is pretty good and the highway is well maintained. There are few check posts in between which can consume your time in long queues otherwise there is no issue. There are plenty of Dhabas and restaurants on the way, you can munch something whenever you feel hungry.

The food we recommend are: Aloo paratha, Rajma chawal, Dal chawal, Chole puri & kucha chole. We recommend not to have Maggi on you first few days because later on that is the only food available throughout your trip.

The first pitstop was at Hanogi bridge at Mandi. This place is famous for its hanging bridge over river Beas which leads to a Devi temple perched on top of the hill. The temple is also famous for the breathtaking view of the valley and the river flowing underneath add to it. We visited this place because of the fascinating bridge we came across while passing the place.

We reached Manali around 5 pm and it was so pleasant to be surrounded by coniferous trees and mountains. Never I my life had I imagined to see the Himalayas so closely. It was almost dark by the time we reached our homestay.

We stayed in  Hampton Homestay at village shuru, Manali.

The next day began with treat to our eyes, at 6 am I wake up to see the mighty Himalayas behind our homestay. Also, the homestay was surrounded with Apple trees. My mind said wow!! And my heart was pounding with excitement to touch these apples.

Being born and raised in plateaus and coastal areas this was my first time in mountains. It was no less than a dream come true. This was just the beginning as I had no idea there were more wishes to be fulfilled during the trip.

We decided to explore Manali for the whole day and as the first place everyone visits in Manali is Mall road . Also, our major reason was to get permit for our rented car.

*Harrytinkers Tip: the queue for ladies is minimal so it’s better that a female member in the group goes to get the permit

We had amazing parathas from Aashiana pure veg restaurant in mall road and headed towards Himalayan Nyinmapa Monastery.

This was my first visit to a monastery and I found it very peaceful and beautiful. The colors they use is very bright because of that the monastery looks vibrant.

Next we headed for some adventure activities in Solang valley, famous for adventure activities like zorbing, paragliding , archery, ropeway, skiing, river rafting and horse riding.

Paragliding is the most adventurous activity during summers and skiing during winters. The rate for paragliding for adults is Rs 2000 /- (1500 for paragliding + 500 for ropeway) and for kids its Rs 600/-

Posted in beaches, kerala

Must visit beaches in Trivandrum

Posted on by harrytinkers

Trivandrum Or Thiruvananthapuram is the capital city of Kerala. Being the southernmost point of the state, this city enjoys the beaches with vast stretch of white sand. In order to enjoy the serene atmosphere, away from the chaos of city life head to the following beaches

Veli

Veli beach is located 10 kms from Trivandrum city. Here you can witness the confluence of Veli lake and Arabian sea. The lake is separated by a sand bar from Arabian sea which offers an interesting view. Veli beach is a golden sand beach with a waterfront park. The tourist village offers boating facility like motor driven safari launches, powerboats, peddle boats and row boats to explore the lake. The floating restaurant maintained by Kerala tourism development corporation attracts plenty of tourists.

PC : trivandrum.nic.in

Ticket Rates

Adult – Rs. 20/- (Above 12 years)
Children – Rs. 5/- (Admit One – Between 5 to 12 years)
Family – Rs. 40/- (Admit Four – 2 Adults + 2 Children)
Group – Rs. 200/- (35 Students + 2 Teachers)

Shanghumukham beach

Shanghumukham beach is located un the western part of Trivandrum and it’s the nearest beach to airport.It is considered to be the ‘Arattukadavu” ( the bathing ghats) of Lord Vishnu ( the presiding deity of the city) Read more about Padmanabhaswami Temple.

The waves here are quite deadly and its scary to watch them on a high tide day.

PC :New indian express

The beach is smaller than other beaches in Trivandrum.The voluptuous mermaid sculpture: Sagarakanayaka by Kanayi Kunhiraman is one of the attractions for the beach. The white sand beach is serene and beautiful, considered to be a place of relaxation being away from the city life.

Kovalam

Kovalam means grove of coconut trees and true to its name the beach offers an endless sight of coconut trees throughout its shore. Kovalam beach forms a crescent shape in its aerial view, and consist of three division in its coastline namely Lighthouse beach, Hawa beach and Samudra beach.Amongst these Hawa beach is the most commercialised one.

The lighthouse, coloured in striped Red and white pattern; is situated at the southernmost tip of the beach which is clearly visible as soon as you enter the shores of the beach.Its also known for its clean shores.Kovalam beach is

Somatheeram

Kerala and Ayurveda have an eternal connection!!
Somatheeram beach is a part of the sandy stretch of Chowara which is south of Kovalam. Somatheeram as well as the Chowara beach line is best for swimming as well as relaxing under beach umbrellas.Most of the visitors reaching here have a special intention – Ayurveda wellness.
Many visitors search for Aurvedic resorts in Kovalam as a part of their luxury holiday in Kerala. There is no dearth of Ayurvedic resorts in the coastal region south of Trivandrum.
Beware of some fake ayurvedic places because there are plenty of them.

Enjoy the beaches at the southernmost tip of Kerala

harrytinkers
Posted in India, kerala

Neendakara fishing harbour : Kollam, Kerala

Posted on by harrytinkers

Most of you must have been to an everyday fish market, but this experience is totally different because it’s Neendakara fishing harbour.

Neendakara fishing harbour is a magnificent fishing harbour in the coast of Ashtamudi lake. One can also witness the confluence of Ashtamudi lake and Arabian sea from the Neendakara bridge. Neendakara is the biggest fishing harbour in Kerala having the capacity to contain over 500 fishing boats at a time and is among the major sea ports in Kerala

How to reach

Nearest railway station: Kollam, about 9 km away

Nearest airport: Trivandrum International Airport is around 66 km away

How did we travel

We took a bus from Kollam city at 4 am to reach the harbour and from the entrance gate you need to walk a little inside the harbour and then you will enter the fish market. It took us almost an hour’s journey.

The experience

My teachers used to scream in the classroom saying ” classroom ko machli market bana rakha h” (the class room sounds like a fish market). I understood the meaning of the sentence clearly on this day.

There were thousands of people in the harbour, shouting, screaming bargaining, selling and buying fish. No one was bothered to have a look at the spectator who is watching them for the first time. The place was in so much chaos that I couldn’t hear my mother speaking even though she was just besides me.

The next thing I noticed was heaps of different varieties of fishes being placed like mountains for bidding. I wondered: How many fishes are there in the sea because this was just the scene of one fishing harbour in Kerala? It was just a day’s scene for me and one can imagine how many fishes the sea has in the entire universe.

As we entered the main harbour, we saw so many fishing boats arriving with tons and tons fishes. So, they have these big tanks inside their boats where the fishes are stored, which will be transferred to an even more huge container at the harbour. This is a very different experience!!! The different varieties of fishes are separated in the boat itself so that it’s absolutely ready for the selling process.

There were plenty of men who I assume were restaurant owners who were bidding on heaps of fishes. On the contrary there were few people stealing fishes from these heaps and selling it at a much cheaper price for the spectators like us.

I was amazed by the whole setup, the scenario and of course the fish mountains.
Well it was stinking like hell and what happened is, a fisherman was taking his fish basket on his head and by mistake his basket slipped and the water from his basket fell on me!!

I felt disgusted but the whole process of the struggle of these fishermen made me realise that this is their everyday job and they do it so much passion but still I was drenched with stinky fish water. (Advantage: I got the whole seat all for myself in the bus as no one wanted to sit near me !! not even my parents)

Well, the advantage of visiting this place if you are fish lover is; you can get plenty of fish at a very cheap price and you can have a close view of a process which each and every fishing harbour witnesses on an everyday basis. And to watch so many fishes of different shapes, sizes and colours will make you appreciate the mother nature for creating them all so unique 🤩

If you ever have a chance to witness this process please try and reach before 6 am because that’s when you can watch the whole process. If you are late then you might not even see the fishes because by 9 am the harbour is empty.

As a child all the images and scenes are stored in my memories and the only regret I have now is at that time I did not have a camera to capture this. Probably next time I would defianely capture some.



Neendakara Fishing Harbour  made me realise that sometimes chaos has its own beauty.

Tinkers
Posted in kerala, things to do, what we feel

The first time I saw manjadi kuru tree: Kollam ashramam Adventure park

Posted on by harrytinkers

As kids me and my brother loved adventure parks. So, our parents were bound to find a park or a playground for us to play around. We were super energetic kids and our parents won’t deny this fact as we could play 24×7 on a serious note.

Kollam beach and Kollam Ashramam Adventure park was a must visit place from our summer vacation destination. We loved this park as it offers so many activities to both kids and adults.

The park is surrounded with sky high trees, which gives a very refreshing ambience. The park lies besides the vast Ashtamudi backwaters of Kollam. This park is best place for recreational activities and best place to enjoy.

As kids we loved the adventure activities like zip lining, rock climbing. The park is filled with variety of swings to play with.  Regular backwater cruises in houseboats, luxury boats and speedboats also operate from the Boat Club attached with the park. The park is also famous for its peculiar sculptures.

Address: Behind Guest House, Asramam, Kollam, Kerala 691001, India

Timing: 10:00 am – 06:00 pm

Ticket Price: 30 INR per person

What is Manjadikuru??

The botanical name of the tree is is Adenanthera Pavonina. In Kannada this tree is called Gulgangi mara, Malayalam it is Manjadikuru, Malaysia it is Saga and other common names are Coral Tree, Red Sandalwood, Bead tree, and Necklace tree.

 The small, yellowish flower grows in dense drooping rat-tail flower heads, almost like catkins. The curved hanging pods, with a bulge opposite each seed, split open into two twisted halves to reveal the hard, scarlet seeds It’s also known as Red Lucky seed as 1/12 people would find a small carved elephant inside the seed. Fascinating, isn’t it?

Manjadikuru and Lord Krishna

In kerala these trees are abundant hence I have seen Manjadikuru in almost all Krishna temples but I had never seen it on trees.it was really surprising to find them on trees for me as a kid.earier only Guruvayoor temple in Thrissur had a tradition to keep a Uruli ( a vessel ) full of manjadi kuru in front of the main sanctum. There is story behind this which you can red here.

Coming back to the adventure park; take your kids to this amazing park where they can have a fun time, meanwhile you can relax near the backwaters.

A relaxing place for you and your family when you are in Kollam

Harrytinkers
Posted in bangalore, one DAY TRIP

Nandi Station and Village

Posted on by harrytinkers

Nandi station

Ever thought of spending a day at Nandi hills, what we would suggest is to stay overnight and enjoy the sunrise next morning.

However today we would not be telling about Nandi Hills but a heritage place near Nandi Hills which is Nandi Station

We were extremely lucky to have witnessed a different side of Nandi hill. People generally go there to visit the gardens, enjoy the nature, sunrise and sunset.

There is a less explored place near Nandi hill which is the Nandi Station and is equally beautiful and unique as the hills. Before you start climbing the hills there is deviation towards the station and its at the foot of Nandi hills. Its pristine, secluded and beautiful

Nandi old railway station is almost 18 kms away from the Hills and it’s an isolated place. There are only very few trains which stops at this station. Recently this station has turned 105-year-old and it was built during British era in 1915.

This station was a part of Bengaluru and Chikballapur,light railway line which include four stations namely- Doddajala, Avathihalli, Nandi Halt and Devanahalli,

We also got to board the train which stops just for a minute in this station.

This station is recognised among the “Heritage stations of India”. The station has still preserved its colonial architecture and has been converted from light railways to broad gauge railway line now.

We happen to visit this beautiful place for our post wedding photo shoot. Lucky us. We would have never explored this place otherwise.

This place is completely uninhibited and is situated near the vineyards. Its surrounded with Eucalyptus trees and has a prominent banyan tree at the side entrance.

We also roamed about in the nearby village and it was super serene and beautiful.

Posted in bali

Tegunungan waterfall

Posted on by harrytinkers

Tegenungan Waterfall is located at the Tegenungan village, in Gianyar, which is close to the artist village of Ubud. The waterfall is isolated but has become a popular tourist attraction and is mostly crowded because of its beauty.

The best time to visit the waterfall is in the morning as it opens by 6:30 am and closes by 6:30pm. There are almost 200 steps to reach the waterfall from the parking lot. The parking is free and the is no entrance fees.

Climbing back the stairs is little tedious as the step are very steep.There are washrooms and changing rooms if you want to change to your swimwear.

The waterfall area gets quite crowded after 10 am. Also, there are few photo booths if you are Instagram frenzy.

That’s all for today, have a wonderful day

You can check out other destinations in Bali which we have explored Click here

Posted in India, streets to visit, things to do, varanasi

Ganga Aarti

Posted on by harrytinkers

During the evening we decided to witness our first Ganga Aarti .The Ghats were getting prepared for the pooja with 6 stands for the priest to perform the pooja beautifully lit and decorated .All the buildings are also lit so colourfully. Behind the stands there was arrangement for people to watch the pooja. Also there were also arrangements to see the Aarti from front view from the boat which costs 50 per person, it’s not very expensive and if you are witnessing the Ganga Aarti for the first time you must sit here n watch it, you can see the beautiful Ganga Aarti been performed over here.

Ganga Aarti starts at the sunset and stretches up to 15 to 20 minutes. Ganga Aarti which is being performed by 6 priest all dressed in uniform of Maroon  sweater and cream colour dhoti with cream colour veshti.As they perform Pooja with different procedures  by lighting  the lamp in all four directions. This Pooja is being offered to the Holy River Ganga and it happens every evening and every morning in the same method. It is so mesmerising to view that Ganga Aarti it is like magic the synchronisation of the priest and the bhajans which is being sung in the background everything is so magical it is a lifetime experience to see that because you go into that essence of the Pooja and you get spell bound in its whole essence, it is very beautiful.

Note: After the Ganga Aarti there is a Devi temple over there and they distribute Khichdi as the Prasad because simultaneously with the Ganga Aarti Evening Aarti in the temple also starts and finish at the same time so after attending the pooja.

Al so second day we went to watch the Ganga Aarti from dashashwamedh Ghat but from behind this time also it was as magical as it was from the front view because this pandit perform the pooja from all the four sides north south east west so whenever you are sitting you can witness the pooja as the grand as it is. The ambience when Ganga aarti is performed and everyone is involved its prayers and bhajans is mesmerising.

 On the third day and last evening in Banaras to be decided to watch the Ganga Aarti  from Shitala Ghat and this time we felt that dashashwamedh Ghat has much more elaborate Ganga Aarti than shitala Ghat the difference between both is  Dashashwamedh ghat is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Shitala Ghat is for Goddess Parvati  so all the bhajans which are sung in Shitala Ghat is regarding Devi and there will be difference in the way they perform the pooja and the number of priests performing the aarti were also less. The Ganga aarti in Dashashwamedh ghat is extravagant however in Shitala ghat is much more subtle.

Ganga aarti Varanasi

Fourth day we decided to visit the Ghat in the morning to watch the morning Pooja and so what we saw the difference is in the morning there is only one priest which performs the Ganga aarti in the dashashwamedh Ghat as compared to 6th priest in the evening This is a different experience to see Ganga aarti before the sunrise.

Posted in food review, singapore

Awaken your inner kid again!!

Posted on by harrytinkers

If you are a candy lover this is your place .A candy land called candylicious.

Explore the colourful world of Candylicious and treat every sweet craving with pleasure. Visually mesmerising pillars embedded with candy, and a canopy of a colourful lollipop tree covered with dangling lollipops make Candylicious is a vibrant candy filled store representing fantasy, joy and irreplaceable childhood memories. With walls and aisles featuring endless varieties of sweets, the young and young at heart will find it hard to leave this candy heaven.