The Travel Tales of a Travel Addict
Have you ever been mesmerized by those images of the colorful houses that Copenhagen Tourism keeps flashing to attract tourists? Well, then you would be surprised that India has its own set of such houses with a little pastel shade. Sidhpur is a little town in Gujarat and surprisingly, the travel-crazy Gujaratis also seemed unaware of this quintessential gem. Read more
The shivery wind of winter brings along a flood of tourists to Kutch, Gir, Somnath and Dwarka. This also leads to the crowd thronging to the city of Ahmedabad. It is the entry-point or the well-connected city to travel to other parts of Gujarat. In fact, this World Heritage City is more popular for the architectural marvels surrounding it. Ahmedabad having been crowned with the heritage city tag fascinates many travellers. Thus, here, I have compiled a mini-guide covering lesser-known places to visit near Ahmedabad within 2-days. You may skip the places based on your interest to shorten it to One-day trip from Ahmedabad.
The places enlisted here are located within 200 km from Ahmedabad. The roads will take you through the yellow blooming mustard fields and verdant farms. Read more
Belgium is a European country that hides many beautiful gems for a traveler’s soul. During my 8 days of a short exploratory trip to Belgium, I took some of the best day trips from Brussels. These towns can really make you fall in love with this country. Though Brussels has some grand architecture and the most celebrated flower carpet to offer, the towns like Ghent, Brugge, and Antwerpen show you the different hues of the country. Read more
The question came almost from all of my followers across social media and on my blog. It was interesting that some of my fellow bloggers were also surprised how could I travel so much and collaborate with International brands and tourism boards so quickly while they struggle to build-up their content. I was bombarded with a hell lot of questions after I chose to be a digital nomad for a few years of my life. However, I can more be termed as a freelancer working on the go. Read more
Being a Garba crazy child in Gujarat, I used to hum the Gujarati folksongs mentioning the expensive Patolas of Patan. Back then, I hardly cared about what Patan patola Saree was and why were they so expensive. I hardly cared to even know about it until we planned a road trip to North Gujarat covering Modhera, Patan, and Sidhpur. Read more
Long before the British Colonised the islands of Bombay(Bom Bahiya), the tiny Portuguese villages, flourished at the shores of the Arabian Ocean. There were a number of such Gaothans (Shore villages) earlier but now only a few exist in their original form. One such village named Khotachi Wadi lays hidden near Charni Road Station in Mumbai.
The city of Mumbai is now a metropolitan and the people no longer remember the antique architectural jewels of the city. Unfortunately, these antique precincts are now overshadowed by the high-rise buildings and modern architecture. However, despite too much of development, a few little towns tucked among the concrete jungles of Bandra, Vasai and Charni Road area have been successful in preserving the heritage. Read more
The city of Ayodhya is all geared up for a brand new temple which would almost resemble the Swaminarayan Temples all over the world. There are chances that it may lose its rustic charm of the temple ruins, houses with wooden carved balconies and of course the overall antique look of the town.
The town is a blessing for all the street photographers with the colourful doors and the painted walls all around the city. During my exploration in Ayodhya, I could capture a few of them and I just love all of them.
Rajeshbhai was totally engrossed in the work of carving a pillar for Ram Mandir despite being surrounded by a number of visitors. He belonged to Gujarat. Elated by the fact that he was from my state, I soon plunged into a long conversation with him. He said that he has been a sculptor ever since his childhood. He has been a worker for the construction of many of the stunning Jain, Hindu and Swaminarayan temples of Gujarat. He has been devotedly working for Ram Mandir since past 2 years and is expecting the time span of another 4-5 years that would be spent in Ayodhya while building the actual temple after completion of the carving work.
And he was not distracted even a bit while working with that hammer and a nail! A true unsung artist indeed!
A few of the best-decorated flower bowls can be seen in Ayodhya. During a morning walk at Ram ki Paidi, the flower market takes you back to the bygone era when King Ram might have also walked through this place for his swimming at his pool created out of Saryu River.
The century-old houses constructed in a temple style are another unique thing about Ayodhya. And such saffron clad people can really be your stunningly vibrant subject 😛
A part of Ayodhya flourishes with such grand structures while the others are tiny one floored rooms. It clearly shows the societal hierarchy in the ancient city of Ayodhya where the rich lived in the havelis while the lower class and the sepoys were allotted the tiny rooms along the fort streets.
If you see the people having conversations with cows on the streets of Ayodhya don’t be surprised. The cows here are pampered a little too much and sometimes, just like a little child, it would follow you eyeing your bag or hand if you have food.
Most of the houses have a common compound where they park their cycles and have a well for their daily water need. If you enter any one of them, it reminds you of Mumbai’s old chawls. This wasn’t probably meant for the poor but a huge rich family having a number of members. The wells definitely look pretty with that rustic charm.
The size of the house doesn’t degrade its beauty. The tiny houses are painted in red, blues, pink, purple and saffron. They look utmost beautiful in the mild light of the morning. The streets starting from the Lakshmi Dwar have the best tiny frames waiting for you.
And yea! you would see more of cycles and cycle-rickshaws in the streets than the cars or other vehicles. Not so crowded streets make it an all the more beautiful frame for you.
Did you ever try climbing up your running cycle? I mean when? When do we even use cycle for a regular commute like this!
And then you have the evenings with such photography set in the streets.
I had taken almost hundreds of pictures with different people against this background. But she nailed the candid pose. The vibrant blue background and her pastel shades blended in to create this lovely frame.
This did remind me of a jail but looking at his zeal on a Sunday evening, my mind was forced to change.
The city centre keeps bustling throughout the day, and such scenes can be seen throughout the day.
Monsoon and Winter season bring the trekking season in Maharashtra. Kohoj Fort Trek is one of the least famous monsoon trek or winter trek in Sahyadris. The trek is admired for its heart-shaped lake named Pazhar and the verdant vistas of the surrounding valley.