Rajasthan Road Trip

Bundi Fort

Day 2:

After spending the night before, at a roadside motel on Jaipur-Tonk highway we were geared up for the next day. Although the day was a long & tiring to an extent but the breakfast at Tonk and the Chittaur Fort at the end of the day was delightful and compensated for all the fatigue.

The mutter samosas, dal & onion khachoris along with hot jalebis at breakfast was a brilliant start to the day. The thought of the breakfast makes me hungry!

Tonk is small place and doesn’t have anything to see or do, but it’s a popular place because of its connectivity to other major towns of Rajasthan. From Tonk we headed to Kota, which is one of the cleanest small towns I’ve ever seen. The city thrives on education business and a big population is of students. The City Fort Palace, Haveli of Deaji, Chambal Gardens are some of the places we checked out. Before heading out for Bundi, we had a delectable special Rajasthani lunch at The Maheswari (at Chhawani Chouraha). This is apparently the best place to eat Kota(rajasthan) special food.

After quite a long drive we reached Bundi at around 5pm in the evening. The Bundi fort was looking especially beautiful in the backdrop of the sunset. Although we didn’t get much time to visit other places but still I took back fond memories of the beautiful fort.

All the time when we were on road, the only two things I did were eating and catching up on my sleep. The distance was quite a lot but the wide, well maintained roads made up for the distance. By the time we reached Chittaurgarh, it was almost 7pm. We rushed into our rooms in the hotel to freshen up and drive to the Chittaur Fort for the Light&Sound show.

The show was very good and interestingly Sharukh Khan had lent his voice for the character of Babur while Sharmila Tagore lent her voice for Rani Padmini. We were little disappointed as Maharana Pratap’s history was not a part of this but, overall the narration was amazing.

The long day did pay off well!!!

Rajathan Road Trip

‘Summer is not a great time to visit Rajasthan’ – that’s what most people believe. I believed too until I took a road trip across 7 cities of Rajasthan in April, when the sun was shining high & bright.

So, my husband and I went on this crazy 3day trip across Jaipur, Tonk, Kota, Bundi, Chittaurgarh, Udaipur & Ajmer, by road. The trip was somewhat tiring because of the heat but no doubt it was exhilarating! And the most interesting part of the trip was, since it was a short trip so we made it a point to take back home some specific to city & typical memories from Rajasthan.

Like Jaipur city is anyways the biggest centre of attraction, but it unfolds well beyond the city limits into the outskirts as well. Unlike Jaipur, Tonk and Kota are smaller cities but they have their own significance. Even though Tonk doesn’t even have a proper hotel to stay at, but it’s still popular among travellers because of it’s connectivity from other cities of Rajasthan. While the amazing, lip-smacking morning dal & onion kachoris and hot jalebis at Tonk took my heart away; Kota’s neat, clean city roads & inroads just blew my mind. A smaller city but much disciplined by itself. There are many more such nuggets of interesting memories.

Let’s start with Day 1:

We started from Delhi on a Thursday and our first destination was Jaipur, which has lots to see and enjoy. The Amer Fort, is one of the prominent landmarks of Jaipur and it would take half your day to take tour of the fort alone. The fort is huge and pretty well maintained. We got to see the old canons, the old water tanks, gardens etc besides the fort. Besides this, the Jal Mahal, the Hawa Mahal, Jantar-Mantar and the City Palace were our must visits. By the way, for City Palace again, you must have ample time on hand to take a good look of the palace. The palace has very interesting synthesis of Rajasthani & Mughal architecture along with multiple artifacts which is a treat to the eye.

After a full day of historical monument visiting, we decided to chill out at Chokhi Dhani, which are few kilometers away from Jaipur main city. The place is essentially an ethnic village which offers entertainment in form of Rajasthani music & dance, typical Rajasthani food and also place to stay. It rocks in the evening with various dance shows, puppet shows, elephant & camel rides etc. But, getting into the village can be quite tough due to long waiting on weekends.

After an eventful day, we wanted to retire. But not at Jaipur because our destination wasn’t one but many! So, we head towards Tonk.

…to be continued.

Wishing everyone a very Happy & Safe Holi.

Holi, the ancient festival of India, is not only one of the most popular Hindu festivals, but also has many mythological stories attached to it. The festival was originally called 'Holika' which stood for burning or demolishing evil in the society. However, over time more and more legends were created and newer stories got associated with the festival 'Holi'.

One of the legends go as, Lord Krishna, who is believed to have started the festival in Mathura to smear color on Radha to change her complexion. What followed was not the desired change but a riot of colors and festivities in Mathura, Braj, Vrindavan, Barsana and other adjoining areas, which has become the tradition now.

Although most Indian cities play Holi, but still some places where it's worth watching are Mathura-Vridavan, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Andhra Pradesh. The festivities and the colors of Holi build newer bonds, clears the rust of tainted relationships, and gives the society, an opportunity to forget all woes and move ahead.

The most famous of all these festivities, is that of Mathura which start almost a week before and almost every major temple in Mathura celebrates the festival with great vigour and respect. Another interesting place to catch the special Holi celebrations is, Gulal Kunj in Braj. Pilgrims can catch a show of Holi enactment almost all the year round at this place. Even Rajasthan (esp in Jaipur) celebrates the festival with equal enthusiasm.

Not to forget the special sweets and dishes cooked specially for this festival. The gujias, the thandai lassi, dahi bhalle, bhang pakore, matar ki kheer etc are few of the many delectable fare prepared to mark this festival.

So, enjoy the festivity.

My journey of digitisation

It seems like a long tiring yet interesting travel between two worlds - Offline & Online Marketing worlds. Hailing from an advertising & marketing communications background, it was pretty difficult to get acclimatised to the very dynamic online world.

To add on to my grief, there's been jargon's thrown everyday which went off like tangents to my little mind. However, as the journey took its course, it went on to become one of my most interesting learning till date. Probably, I was slowly but surely getting digitised!

This space is on the way to become a very effective platform to market/sale your product or promote brands or even position oneself as a thought leader. I practically had to learn lots from basics like CPC, PPC, adwords, social media marketing - facebook, linkedin etc; to understand some part of markup languages in order to implement some customization on my fan pages. But it's possibly worth it, looking at the growth of online space and social media!

Merry Today, Merry Tomorrow, and Merry 2010.

Year 2009 seem to have been pretty swift! Some of us did achieve the resolutions while some missed it – may be by a milestone or just inches! But it’s ok, because 2010 would give us all another chance to get the right of the wrongs.

Overall the year was imperative & decisive for both politics & business (be it industrial, digital, media or the potboilers) in India & worldwide. Year 2009 was crucial for India Inc to recover from the global meltdown and for Indian democracy to have a stable & coherent Government.

Moments that made difference to our lives and which defined India 2009 have been, the launch of Tata Nano – the neat little car standing testimony to Mr Ratan Tata’s vision; Dr. Manmohan Singh being chosen unanimously as the Prime Minister of India, by the Indian Voter; the Satyam Saga; the glittering Oscars for ‘Jai ho..’; the walking in of more competition like MTN, Dokomo in the telecom industry; the milestone of 17,000 ODI runs from the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar; Bollywood is riding slow with big budget movies flopped, and expects to recover from the December releases; and, the goodbye to Bajaj Scooters – the household name which we would fondly remember in the years to come..

Let’s hold 2009 in our memory bags and extend a warm welcome to the Year 2010. Rejoice & indulge at any of these New Year Celebrations and mark the wonderful beginning of the New Year.


New Year Celebrations:

New Delhi
Family New Year's Eve@ Epicentre, Sector 44, Gurgaon, 31 Dec,
8:30 pm onwards

Temptation 2010@ Capitol, Chanakyapuri ,
9:00 pm - 4:00 am

Rock Into 2010@ Hard Rock Cafe, Saket
9:00 pm - 2:00 am

New Year Eve Party Express@ Tivoli Garden Resort,Chattarpur Road, Near Chattarpur Mandir
9:00 pm - 4:00 am

31st ka Tadka, New Years Eve 2010@ VNV, Pitampura
3rd floor, Mamaram Majesty Mall Road No.43,
7:00 pm - 2:00 am


Bangalore
Passion Carnival NYE 2010 @ Exotica, Dickenson Road
7:00 pm onwards

Gravity 2010 @ Savvy, Whitefield
08.00 pm Onwards

The Last Party of the Year @ Citrus, Airport Road,
07.00 pm onwards

New Year with Saxophone and Violin Performance @ Graze,
MG Road, 7:30 pm - 12:30 am

Kickstart 2K10 @ Club Cabana, Sadahalli,
07.00 pm onwards


Hyderabad
Get High On 'New Year' S Eve' @ Xtreme Sports Bar, Banjara Hills,
8:15 pm - 1:00 am

Golden Key to New Year @ Hotel Green Park,
Greenlands, Begumpet


Kolkata
New Year Eve Party @ Saturday Club Limited, Park Street,
8:00 pm onwards

New Year Eve 2010 @ Soho, Ballygunge,
8:00 pm - 2:00 am


Mumbai
Big Nite 2010 @ Essel World, Borivali (W),
07:00 pm onwards

3 Zone Party 2010 @ Temptation, Bandra (W)
9:00 pm - 4:00 am

New Year's Eve 09 - Jalebee Cartel Live! @ Hyatt Regency
9:00 pm - 5:00 am

Winter Sports in India

With Christmas & New Year just around the corner, a lot of people would be ready to head to the hills and enjoy the pristine beauty of the snow-capped mountains. While some like me would like to belief that upper Himalayas are buried under snow & hence no activities possible, but many others would be likely to indulge in the winter sports at some exciting locations.

Whether you’re looking for a thrilling trekking expedition through the snow-covered mountains or irresistible skiing or snow boarding or ice climbing – India has it all.

Snowfall is no longer a luring attraction today. Rather, tourists are looking for something new and rejoicing in the winter sports as the spine thrilling adventures make it once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Although winter sports in India hold huge appeal among travellers, adventure lovers but the availability of information to a fresher is limited to an extent. Here are some of the adventure activities which you indulge in this winter:

- Mountaineering – this is a perfect adventure for the climber enthusiast. But for beginners it might take a lot of energy & stamina to reach the desired point. Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Manali, Sikkim & Uttaranchal offer mountaineering opportunities in the vast Himalayan ranges. The ranges of Lahaul, Spiti, Kinnaur, Garhwal, Kumaon, Assam, Meghalaya have much mountaineering scope. There is plethora of websites offering Mountaineering Trips like himalayavisit.com, indiaadventureportal.com, India-adventure-travel.com etc.

- Skiing – In the summer, Auli is inviting but in winters it becomes irresistible for skiers with the snow-white slopes and skiing facilities. It provides an excellent panoramic view of the giant mountain peaks like Nanda Devi, Kamet and Dunagiri. A 500m ski-lift system, the longest cable car in Asia, connects Joshimath with Gorson, above Auli. From Gorson, Auli's only chair lift travels to the base lodge, that marks the starting point of all the ski runs.

For beginners, the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) offers 7-day non-certificate and 14-day certificate courses. For more information you can visit http://www.oktatabyebye.com/travel-ideas/weekend-getaways/auli.aspx

- Snow boarding –

This is a relatively new winter sport wherein one rides a fibreglass board, with the feet strapped on it, and sliding down a ski slope or a particularly designed pipe. It’s a grownup version of skateboarding & surfing. Snowboarding is fast developing into foremost adventure sports among the die-hard snow enthusiasts. Mainly 3 leading styles of competition exist in snowboarding - Alpine, Freestyle and Boarder cross. Some of the places with snow boarding facilities in India are Garhwal Himalayas, in the Chamoli district, Auli, Gulmarg.

- Trekking –

This is one of those adventure activities which you can participate in almost in all season and at almost all hill stations. Some of the famous treks are Chadar(Frozen River) Trek in Ladakh, Valley of Flower Trek, Sikkim & Kanchenjunga Trek, Nanda Devi Trek, Har ki Dun Trek etc.

For more information you can check http://www.mountainkingdoms.com/ and http://www.trekkinginindia.com. Read trekking experiences of avid travellers at OkTataByebye.

Travel Responsibly

Again the best time of the year to travel is here! No sweats, only fun.

But, how many of us do take out time to find out about the culture of the new place or even take conscious steps to travel responsibly?

Travelling responsibly is not synonymous to eco-tourism. It doesn’t necessarily mean buying eco-holiday packages, staying close to nature etc. Responsible travel is more about considering the local culture – what we shouldn’t do as travelers; protecting the nature – how best we can avoid littering any place; preserving monuments – how we should contribute to preservation of the monuments in own small ways.

One can surely take care of all these with little information & planning before traveling to any destination and yet have a wonderful vacation. Here are few tips to a responsible holiday planning:

- Travellers must well plan the routes & modes of travel to reduce additional carbon emissions. Travel by train has a huge fan following because it has much lower carbon impact than flying and also it’s cheap! If flight is a must then may be one can try to avoid stopover flights.

- One must read up on local cultures before traveling and learn about the Dos & Don’ts which would earn respect for respecting their culture. Learning a few words of the local language helps in communicating, just when you reach the place.

- Choosing an eco-hotel for your vacation might be one of the best ways to show that you care for the ecosystems. Green hotels are usually rated by a third party organization and follow strict green guidelines to ensure that their guests are staying in a safe, non-toxic and energy-efficient accommodation & has following characteristics:

• 100% organic cotton sheets, towels and mattresses
• 100% usage of organic soaps and other amenities
• Non-smoking environment
• Non-disposable dishes
• Guest room and hotel lobby recycling bins
• Towel and sheet re-use (guests can tell housekeeping to leave these slightly used items to reduce water consumption)
• Energy-efficient lighting
• On-site transportation with green vehicles

- While one is enjoying a gala holiday, few things to be kept in mind are:

• When on sight-seeing visit, please DO NOT write names or draw pictures on the walls of historic monuments.
• Please read carefully the instructions & abide by them when you visit any heritage monument, temples, and national parks.
• Wastes to be disposed only in dustbins or recycle bins. Remove excess packaging as waste disposal is difficult in developing cities & nations.
• Satisfy your shopping urge with local handicrafts, textiles or other local produce. Not buying products made from endangered species, hard woods or ancient artifacts would discourage these products.
• Use water wisely. In lot of places & especially hill stations, water scarcity is a big problem.

These are just a few tips to travel responsibly which would preserve our historic monuments, culture and leave a safer, non-toxic world for the next generation.

Most talked about cities…

Two metro cities…getting all the attention - be it in India or across the globe! Isn’t it something to be proud of and interesting as well? Yes, surely it is.

These days 2 cities – Delhi and Mumbai, are being most talked about, read about and written about. Mumbai is being talked about because of the Oscar winning Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire and Delhi is being talked about because of Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra’s latest flick Dilli6. So now, movies are the new windows to these cities offering a glimpse of what makes these cities.

Although, the Oscar winning movie Slumdog Millionaire candidly potrays the slums of Mumbai– Asia’s biggest slum, but Mumbai has much more to it as a city. The huge coastline running along the city makes it spectacular as a tourist destination. Besides being the India’s commercial capital, the city’s Gateway of India, Church Gate, Elephanta Caves and so on attracts its share of tourists.

Star studded flick Dilli6 has been doing rounds in media, public and news channels. The movie captures the essence of Delhi – the more traditional Delhi and brings home a viewpoint. It also tries to differentiate between how a delhite sees Delhi and how an NRI (Abhishek Bacchan in the movie) sees Delhi. The reviews of Dilli6 has been quite varied and mixed – from being an identifiable movie to boring and lengthy movie. The movie might not have been able to impress all, but Delhi never fails to impress anyone who visits the city.

Delhi has always been the seat of power – be it during the Mughal rule or post independence. With the Parliament and Raj bhawan, Delhi’s power seats also attract a lot of Indian & foreign audience. The age old forts & monuments of the city emphasizes the great historical importance of the city. The Red Fort, the Qutab Minar, the India Gate, the Tughlakabad Fort, the Jamali Kamali complex, the Humayun’s Tomb, the Jama Masjid are just a few historical attractions in the city. Before summer sets in, this is the best time to take a tour of the city monuments, catch the Flower festival at Mughal Gardens or take a trip to the zoo with your kids for the last time this season.

Check out more information on Delhi and Mumbai on Oktatabyebye.com.

While I take a trip to the Flower Festival, you guys can go for Dilli Darshan or Mumbai day out. Enjoy your cities!

Take a Shopping break!

It’s been a longtime since I wrote last. I’ve been busy window shopping!!!

Since last couple of weeks there has been a crisis for space in newspaper supplements because of the BIG SALE ads which were clamoring for eyeballs. From apparel & clothing brands to footwear, home décor brands and even mobile stores were on discounts. Choose any brand, any shopping mall, any market…discounts were all over.

Every weekend, every market was flooded with ‘unlimited’ people. I was so thrilled seeing so many people shopping even in these so called ‘recession’ times. It showed that the spending confidence of the Indian consumers are not at all dwindling but rather going strong, which is a very good sign for the economy as well.

Every year this time around shopping becomes highlight of the season. Not only because of the sale offers and discounts but also because of some of the great shopping melas which happen this time.

The Surajkund Crafts Mela which happens every year around early February or the Patiala Heritage Festival organized during mid-February every year adds to the excitement of the even the non-shopoholics.

While I was observing the city shopping trends, one of my friend was busy putting together the must-visit markets/ shopping attractions of India. Here’s a list of destinations which are also famous for shopping:

1. Srinagar – Famous for Kashmiri carpets, shawls. One of the main markets there is the Floating market which you must visit when in Srinagar.

2. Goa – The flea market at Anjuna Beach is a hit among all tourists and residents alike. The must picks from there are the floral dresses, chappals and goan handicrafts. There’s also a good selection of clothes in Indonesian styles, Nepali goods, fancy jewellery, semi-precious stones etc that’s almost every shoppers’ delight.

3. Shillong – The locals markets of Shillong are flooded with variety of goods. Clothing fabrics, much cheaper yet well-fitted jeans, leather shoes and accessories, North-east special fabrics & shawls etc dominate the markets.

4. Jaipur – Shopping in Jaipur could be an electrifying and wonderful experience if only you buy from the right places/shops. Jaipur is famous for its’Bandhni’ fabrics, handicrafts, jootis & other items made from camel leather. Johri bazaar, situated in the heart of the city, is famous for the precious stones and jewellery.

5. Hyderabad – Some of the major markets in the city are Abids, Nampally, Begum Bazar, and Laad Bazar. The city’s Laad Bazaar is famous for the pearls and jewellery which excites residents and tourists shoppers alike. Some other related items merchandised in the city include brass ware, Nirmal paintings, Kondapalli toys and Bidri ware.

These are markets which you must visit when you are traveling to that place or you plan to buy that special thing.

Till my next blog, happy shopping!