Echoes Through Time -Exploring Batu Caves In Malaysia

My entry as a Globe Trotter is to enter Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia The Southeast Asian country number two place in anybodys itenry, check this off! Yup Your Guess is right. First one being Bangkok in Thailand.,My Hostel was conveniently located in the china town area near Putrajaya Bus and Train Terminus. I was pleasantly surprised to be right beside the Petaling Street where one can experience an array of delicious local Vegetarian Food. 

Rediscover Age Old Vehicle-Colourful Tri Rikshaws of Melaka

When you travel in South East Asia you will definitely come across Tricycle driven by Men mostly yet I have to see one driven by Women,But I was told in Kolkata even Women pull hand Rickshaws. On my first night in Melaka  I came across these colourful Rickshaws and were zipping past me with beautiful colour lights and sound music.It was a an enchanting site to see the marvels past by and wait at the Tourist spots for Travellers to get in.

Can you believe where this Tri Rickshaws were invented,The Technically advanced Land of Japan.It spread to all advanced nations like Singapore,North America,Asia,Europe,Africa.Slowly they become powered and converted themselves to Auto Rickshaws in India,Tuk Tuk in Indonesia,Thailand & Philippines.It has a seating capacity for Two and easily Three Asian people can squeeze in and an easy alternate transportation option for the people . The cost of Travel will be less than  half Euro in any city at today's  price.

An Anglo Indian Heritage-Standing Ruins of Melaka

The city of Melaka one of the historic cities in the straits of Melaka,a UNESCO World Heritage Sight boasts of many ruins and one of them is the Bastion Middleburg wall which was rebuilt near the Malacca Fort in the heart of the city.The Malaka fort built in the 15 th century was a prominent landmark in the Malay Sultanate.This was where the Administrative and Royal residences were located.The complex,guarded by royal warriors also housed the Palace,Mosque and sentry towers.

Disconnect To Reconnect -Borobudur & Prambanan Temple A UNESCO World Heritage Site,Indonesia

We started early from Yogyakarta to visit the World famous Borobudur and Prambanan Temples which is about 40 Kms away.The word Borobudur comes from Sanskrit word Vihara Buddha Uhr meaning Buddhist Monastery On the hills. This worlds largest Buddhist monument sits pretty in the middle of  One of Indonesia active volcano Merapi and widely considered as one of the Seven wonders of the world.

So Where Do You Belong -Street Art In Melaka, Malaysia

After the nights tour on the boat along the River I decided to walk the stretch next day morning.After having my free breakfast in Backpackers Freak hostel in the Midtown of Melaka, a centre place for Frugal Tourists like me.All the sight seeing places are in and around the hostel and within walking distance including the Menara Taming Seri which gives a 360 Degree birds eye view of the city and sea shores from a height.

Saturday Shoot Bits 11# Chained Existence

Face To Face - Artisans Of Melaka

As I walked through the busy by lanes of Jonker street in Melaka, I came accross this first shop.It was a small shop with a name board saying Shoe Maker.I was wondering how in this highly automated world the old age tradtion of making shoes by hand was still here.I could see two Foreigners looking interestingly into the products of the owner and the owner was explaining the art of hand woven shoes to them.

Vignettes From A Vibrant Jonker Street In Melaka

Jonker street is the centre of attraction in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Melaka city.The street with its historical and culture in its roots attracts visitors  and is one of the spots frequented by Tourists on any day.Here Tourists can look at old monumental buildings with various architectures which are all being maintained and well preserved.There are many eateries,souvenir stalls,craft bazaars lining throughout the street.If any one is interested in the old local culture Jonker street is the place to visit.In the weekends the streets are closed for traffic and stalls are being put in and turns into lively night market.

A Tale of Twist- Ifugao Tribe In Philippines

I have been scanning my photos and trying to get a better picture of the look like Ifugao Tribe person for long but could not locate.This photo was taken when we were returning from our day tour to the Mysterious Sagada caves.It had just started raining and since the driver of our 4 wheeler had spent  a quite good amount of time washing his vehicle in the road side stream we were rushing back.That was the time when I saw this old man walking along the roadside in down hill.

May be he has sensed that rain is going to come and was walking fast.I requested the driver to stop and dashed out.I took some photos of him and he literally posed holding his sickle and a sharp spear.My daughter joined and the took some more snaps.

What You Know About Madras-NYT Top Destinations In 2014

Madras has been chosen by NYT as one of the top World destinations to be covered in 2014 .I started asking this question to myself,what made NYT  to choose Madras as the only Indian city as as one of the 52 places to go in 2014.Chennai the capital of Tamil Nadu had been placed at 26.The city is live throughout the year with festivals and boasts of being a national cultural capital.The warm climate throughout the year attracts Tourists from all over the world. NYT selection will make it to come limelight and will attract more and more people to visit Chennai.

The villages in and around Madras are more than 1000 years old.

It was ruled by British,Ditch,French,Portuguese at different times and one can see their Architectures spread across the city.

Do You Know The Heritage Trails In Melaka

My Travel plan always include a walking trail be it a hill side view ,a street view or temple views.I invariably get a satisfaction that I have visited the History of that place once I complete my Trekking.City of Melaka founded by an Hindu King who travelled on Elephant and later converted to Islam in 1409, is famous for its Dutch buildings nevertheless has a history of its own.The Legacy of the Dutch is visible with an old windmill and beautiful Red colour buildings which explains the aura of the city.Even though the city has displaced traditional family businesses-Indian Goldsmiths,Chinese Blacksmiths,Malaysian Fishermen ,it  no doubt attracts Tourists and the Historic Red square is filled with weekenders from KL and Singapore and it will be difficult for any one to move around, especially Jonker street in particular.

Saturday Shoot Bits 10 # See Your Dream Come True

How To Locate Picture Perfect Photo Shoot Spots In Melaka

It is a great thing with the advent of Internet for everything one can go and search and see how to do by yourself.But when one goes on a holiday to take a beautiful shoot at a spot of your liking and imagine how it will look in the print ,no one teaches that.But in Melaka a UNESCO World Heritage site as you walk along the river  you will come across the signposts which says about the shoot spot and they have put a picture of the view also.You can just have to stand there and click.

How To Do A Walking Trail in Melaka

I have done many trails in different countries but every time I have to ask someone to choose a path or to identify a spot in which I am interested.I always go crazy by the replies I get.The person always gives a wrong direction and many times I have to backtrack the path and start the process again.One in 100 gives a right reply or say I do not know,Sorry.

The Bicycle Diary-Street Scenes of Melaka

Where else you will get a chance to hold a python in your hand and pose for a camera shot.Only in the streets of Melaka it can happen.I was invited for a similar experience of holding a python,a lizard  in Thailand when we were going in the floating market in Damnoen Saduak in Ratchaburi district.But you have to travel 3 hours to reach the place from Bangkok.In Malaysia along with the UNESCO World Heritage sites visits you can have this fun .

52 Places To See In 2014 by NYT-Chennai One Of Them

This week I was planning to write about the Sundaram Finance Mylapore Festival  in Madras (Now chennai).Madras city is vibrant throughout the year with lot of Arts ,Cultural and Festivals taking place in different parts of the city .Any Traveller who is interested in tasting the culture of Tamilnadu in India can visit First Madras and then travel to other parts of Tamilnadu for more specific experience.It is no wonder yesterday New York Times has chosen Chennai as one of the 52 Travel destinations to see in 2014.

Hostel : Yoschi Hotel Near Mt.Bromo,Probolinggo,Indonesia

When I was researching the places to stay near Mt.Bromo ,All Travellers were giving their wonderful experiences both positive & negative of staying in Yoschi's Hotel in Probolinggo.I decided to book my stay in this place with beautiful mountains surrounding at it.But when I scheduled the travel with my flight landing at Surabaya from Singapore was pretty late at 11 am in the morning and catching a bus to Probolinggo with 6 hours tiresome journey and then getting ourselves dropped at the Yoschi Hotel will be late in the night.

Saturday Shoot Bits # 9 :View From Petronas Towers

A Soap Box -Petronas Towers In KL,Malaysia

I was standing in the long serpentine crowd to buy a visitor ticket to the world famous Twin Towers of Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur.I was eager to go to the top of the tower at the evening twilight time so that I can see both day and Night views of the sprawling city.This tower was the tallest tower in the world for 6 years.It now holds 5 th position when Burj Khalifa in Dubai became the tallest now.

Erotic !! Cultural Street Scenes of Melaka

A Travel Blogger's main agenda is to reach out to the unexplored places in a city ,do the research and publish the Blog.All the time one will be searching for the untold truths in that place forgetting the present and enjoying the scenes around .This time during my Travel to Melaka I decided to spend time with my surroundings rather than running around taking pictures which puts me under pressure to deliver the quality stuff.

Do You Know The Forgotten Tomb In Melaka

Hang Kasturi was one of the five great warrior brothers who fought for the Melacca Sultanate in the early struggle.His other brothers were Hang Tuah,Hang Jebat,Hang Lakir and Lang Leklu.The five brothers were great warriors during the reign of the Melaka Sultanate especially during the regime of  Sultan Mansur Shah(1456-1477).

20 Years Of Travel Blogging

A Guest Post

Today 6 th Jan marks the 20th anniversary of a milestone few people recall.

Like other anniversaries falling on this day — the Invasion of Cayenne during the Napoleonic Wars, for example, or the birthday of physician Percivall Pott in 1714 — it has been bulldozed beneath the heavy blade of history. A specific study of January 6th, 1994 reveals only one noteworthy event: Nancy Kerrigan being clubbed on the knee at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

But it was on that same day in 1994 that I walked into the Tourism Bureau in Oaxaca, Mexico, and attempted a maddening but ultimately successful feat: uploading the first travel blog post ever made on the Internet.

A bit of backstory here.

How To Travel Frugally-For Backpackers

All the information available in Social Media makes it difficult for Backpackers to decide the nature of application for getting the Visa to enter a country.One gets confused and ends up paying more than what is required for his stay in the country.Else a traveller spends more time in a city just waiting for the visa papers to be processed.I have made a synopsis of the countries in which I have travelled or intend to travel in the days to come.

COUNTRY	NEED	VOA	VISA FEE	DURATION	EXTN	E VISA	WHERE
THAILAND	YES	AVL	1000 BAHT	14 / 60	NO	NO	AIRPORT/EMBASSY
CAMBODIA	YES	AVL	20 USD	30 D	NO	AVL	LAND/AIRPORT/EMBASSY
VIETNAM	YES	AVL	65 USD	30  / 90 D	NO	NO	LAND/AIRPORT/EMBASSY
LAOS	YES	AVL	40 USD	30 D	NO	AVL	LAND/AIRPORT/EMBASSY
MYANMAR	YES	NO	20 USD	28 D	NO	NO	AIRPORT/EMBASSY
INDONESIA	YES	YES	25 USD	60 D	YES	NO	LAND/AIRPORT/EMBASSY
SINGAPORE	YES	NO	40 SGD	30 D	YES	NO	EMBASSY
MALAYSIA	YES	YES	20 UKP	1 YEAR	NO	NO	EMBASSY
PHILIPPINES	YES/NO	YES	40 USD	14 / 30 D	YES	NO	AIRPORT/EMBASSY
HONGKONG/MACAU	YES/NO	YES	30 USD	14 / 30 D	YES	NO	AIRPORT/EMBASSY
BRUNEI	YES	NO	20 USD	39 D	NO	NO	EMBASSY

Saturday Shoot Bits # 7A :Flower Garden in Changi Airport,Singapore

Great Heights of Melaka River Cruise

Having decided to take the night River cruise I just ran to join the long serpentine group in the wharf.Lot of children were eagerly waiting to get into the boat.As we moved out into the River a cool breeze welcomed us.The buildings on both the sides of the canal were lit with colourful lights and it was a mesmerising sight.many tourists boats were there on the river and one could hear the shrieks,shouts,laughter of the people as they pass a boat.