by Ritu Marwah | Apr 1, 2018 | Travel
Every year in April Thailand erupts into a street party that lasts nearly a week. Songkran is officially observed between 13th and 15th of April as a three day national holiday. It is marked with smearing of colorful or white talcum powder on everyone you meet, and...
by Usha Rao | Mar 26, 2018 | Travel
Having had a modest wedding ceremony 25 years ago, my husband and I found a perfect romantic getaway for our anniversary, a compromise between his desire for luxury and my own ascetic leanings. We took a celebratory trip on the Palace on Wheels, the imperial train...
by Ritu Marwah | Mar 12, 2018 | Travel
Nearly 2000 miles north of Sri Lanka the first stone structure being built in India featured a lady from Lanka, a Yakshi swung from the gate. The Stupa at Sanchi was commissioned by the emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE . © 2013 The Art Institute of Chicago The...
by Neha Kirpal | Mar 6, 2018 | Travel
The word ‘Varanasi’ is derived by joining together the names of two rivers, Varuna and Assi. It is also known as Banaras, the city where the juice of happiness (rasa) is forever ready (bana) in life. The city has a total of 87 ghats. While one could spend a lifetime...
by Riz Mithani | Nov 17, 2017 | Travel
Rangoon, the capital of Burma during British colonial rule in the first half of the 20th century, changed its name to Yangon. The country then officially adopted its Burmese name Myanma, and a ‘r’ was added to allow the peoples of the world to correctly pronounce it...
by Melanie P. Kumar | Sep 17, 2017 | Travel
Bali as a tourist destination is made even more popular because of the easy access through direct international flights from most countries. However, I opted to fly into Denpasar from Jakarta, after breaking journey there for two days. The 30 day free visa on arrival...