How to experience Cappadocia, Turkey as Do-It-Yourself & in Limited Time

A trip to Turkey is incomplete without a visit to Cappadocia! Mention of this place immediately conjures an image of multiple hot air balloons floating over the unique landscape. However, as we were to realize during our trip, there is so much more to see and do here than just these hot air balloon rides and the typical Instagram shots.  Cappadocia boasts of multi shaped and colored natural rock formations (fairy chimneys), cave villages, underground cities and multiple archeological sites. These rocks were formed millions of years ago when ancient volcanic eruptions blanketed the region in thick ash, which solidified to form a soft rock called ‘tuff’. Over the years, erosion due to wind and water shaped these rocks to form the famous fairy chimneys we see today. Then during the Roman times, persecuted Christians fled to Cappadocia and realized that this tuff was a soft and malleable and could be dug to make dwellings. And it is these surviving structures that make Cappadocia so worth a visit.

Hiking through the Red & Rose Valley, Cappadocia, Turkey

Photo Essay & Guide – Visiting the ancient city of Ephesus, Turkey

A trip to Turkey is incomplete without a visit to the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. Ephesus (Efes in Turkish) was once one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire and one of the grandest cities of the ancient world. While it was at its peak grandeur under the Romans, it has a much longer history with many great civilizations i.e. Greek, Persian, Roman and Christian. Though in ruins today, it is still a must visit to see the beautiful temples, baths, palaces, homes, markets, streets and imagine the everyday lives of the ancient Romans.

Ancient ruins of Ephesus, Turkey

Planning tips for a one week trip to Turkey

We are just back from a week-long trip to Turkey and loved everything about this country and its diversity – from the epic and diverse landscapes, to the delicious vegetarian food, the beautiful mosques, so much ancient history and the awesome urban culture. While one week is definitely not enough to visit even the main sites here, we had limited leaves and decided to cover as much as we could in this time. And as always, left the rest for our next trip here 🙂

Hot Air Balloon at sunrise, Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

Visiting Kenya on a Budget

Africa. A continent I had been meaning to visit for as long as I can remember. But somehow all my plans were shelved during the planning stages itself after seeing the initial estimates of costs related to the trip. You are right, it just seemed very expensive. Stories from friends and online articles showed such large numbers that Africa seemed beyond my reach for a very long time. However when my wedding date was confirmed for the end of May, I felt that a new beginning deserved visiting a new continent and decided to seriously try and figure out ways to visit Kenya on a budget. And here’s how you can visit it too without emptying your bank account.

A Lion at the Maasai Mara, Kenya, Africa

My Itinerary for a week long trip in Uttarakhand, India

Nostalgia is a good reason to travel; nostalgia coupled with Himalayas is a mighty combination. In this instance the nostalgia was of my parents for a place called Pithoragarh in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand. Both my grandparents worked in Uttar Pradesh (then included Uttarakhand) and at different points in time were posted in Pithoragarh for a brief period. Amongst all of their postings, this was my parents’ favorite place growing up. As kids we too had heard numerous stories from my parents about the place and have always wanted to visit it and see it for ourselves. My mom achieved a significant milestone in age this year and as part of the celebrations we decided to travel to Pithoragarh to revisit a favorite piece from my parent’s childhood.

The Panchuli Range, Kumaon Hills, Himalayas, Munsyari, Uttarakhand, India

My Top 5 Things to See and Do in Dublin

“Dublin is a fantastic place for partying and has an amazing night life” that’s all I had ever heard or read about Dublin. And it is. But on my recent trip here I realized that Dublin has so much more to offer to it’s visitors rather than just being an awesome party place with 900+ pubs. It’s actually a beautiful city on the banks of river Liffey with a fascinating history, awesome people, unique museums, theaters, and so many things to see and do that a quick trip here does absolutely no justice. Dublin and River Liffy, Ireland

A long weekend road trip in Gujarat

The moment I see a long weekend break in the calendar it is on my holiday list! And my first thought is – where can I drive to for a quick break? I love road trips for many reasons but most importantly for its flexibility. I don’t have to book and adhere to any flight or train schedules, I can stop wherever I want and actually explore some of those hidden parts of the country that don’t make it to any tourist maps or lists.

Adalaj ni vav, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Norway and Sweden – Our Travel and Itinerary

Dramatic landscapes, mountains with stunning fjords, lakes mirroring colorful wooden houses and to top it all the stunning aurora borealis. Norway and Sweden were full of these beautiful surprises literally everywhere and as far as the eye could see. But when asked how I would describe these places – I was somehow always at a loss for words to describe the beauty. The normal words of such as “beautiful”, “stunning”, “gorgeous” and the likes are somehow insufficient to describe what you feel for this landscape. Traveling here we finally understood why these countries and its people are repeatedly voted as the happiest countries and people in the world.

Aurora Borealis in the outskirts of Tromso, Norway

A Short Tryst with Germany this Spring

Germany or Deutschland – just the mention of this name is enough to conjure images of grand castles and palaces, the mysterious Black Forest region, world-class museums, the famous Oktoberfest, ancient art and traditions, amazing Autobahns, classical music, cars (Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche etc), numerous varieties of beer, the famous Rivers of Rhine and Danube, beautiful green covers and scenic beauty, carnivals and festivals, and so so much more. I have had an opportunity to briefly explore this country during my previous Europe trips (I have been to Munich and Neuschwanstein Castle in South Germany and to Aachen and Vogelsang in West Germany) and my curiosity and excitement to explore it further has only grown. But Germany has so many facets with unlimited things to see and experience that no matter how many times you visit, you will always be left with a craving to see more. Luckily I got a chance to explore this country with Germany National Tourism for a 5 day solo and unstructured trip.

Heidelberg, Germany

Spending a Night “Homeless” on the streets of Hungary

Any trip or a holiday creates numerous memories, memorable anecdotes and photographs. But travel stories are created when your best laid plans go haywire. All good stories start with an element of the “unexpected” – getting lost in a city, taking a wrong train and arriving somewhere else altogether, missed connections, getting deported are a few of such unexpected elements and I am sure you get my drift. My travels are self-planned budget trips and despite a lot of research there have been many occasions wherein all that could go wrong has gone wrong and in return many memorable stories created. But my favorite so far is being “Homeless in Hungary”.

At the start of our journey in Budapest