Travel Dreams

 EGYPT -ISRAEL - PALESTINE & JORDAN  (17-27 May, 2023)

Traveling to the holy land was a dream comes true – for I am grateful to God for the opportunity I got this year to enjoy this trip. It was always my dream to begin my international travel by visiting the holy land first, the fascination began very early in my life.

As I read the bible and heard the stories from the Old Testament and Moses was a fascinating personality for me. As I grew and attended the bible classes and heard people sharing their experience of their visit to this place, I decided that one day definitely I would like see the Mount Sinai, be at the River Nile, and play at the Red Sea, and go around Galilee and float on the dead sea and take a whole trip understanding Jesus and what he spoke in parables during his time.

Finally this year I found out that ATM travels were organizing this tour and once I made up my mind to go everything fell in place. 

Here’s the preparation for the trip – thanks to the travel agency, and also to my couple of friends, Jenny & Neomi who helped me plan this trip perfectly.

1.   To always keep the passport carefully- even though my daughter was traveling with me, we were asked to keep our own passport and boarding pass with us on individual basis.
2.   To take care of our luggage and to travel light as we cannot carry more than 25 kgs by Air
3.   To keep a medical kit ready in case of any problems
4.  To carry small change in dollars – as it is easy for financial transactions- in all the 4 countries dollar was used.
5. To be always in the group and keep the group members informed in case of any delay in reaching the bus.
6. To those who are used to eating spicy food, pickles, podi’s (powdered dry chutney) can be of help. Some make chicken and fish pickles to add spice to their food.
7. Not to trust strangers with luggage especially during transfers, at immigration counters, crossing over to other places.
8. Be prepared for a culture shock especially using wash rooms there are no jet pipes, and only toilet papers are used. As Indians we may not be used to this, so carry a mug which could be helpful.
9. In some of the places especially visiting the places with religious significance to be dressed modestly –not to wear sleeveless, and to have a scarf.
10. Not to wear too much of gold jewelry and expensive

The travel agency had an itinerary planned for 10 days, and they followed it strictly. Except for once they changed the plan due to  an emergency issue in the tourist spot.  Here is our day to day itInary:

 Day 1 (17^th May, 2023)

I and Dorothy reached the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Shamsabad (Hyderabad) by 12 noon.  We connected with Mr Keith Martin who was our tour guide for the entire trip.  Our departure was at 15.50 p.m from Hyderabad to Muscat through Oman Airways.

There was no problem as the group was ready with the itInary and passport in the hand, so the check in was faster. We were around 40 people out of which we had some two groups of sisters belonging to two different congregations. There was one priest from Karimnagar, and one family from Andhra along with few more members from their extended family. 

We were happy to board the flight and we got our lunch in the flight which was a non vegetarian food with choice of cool drink, sweet and there was also bun and butter, a bottle of water too was served.  The flight was occupied by all of us, except for few seats wherein others who were travelling to Muscat were there. There was entertainment a small TV was attached to the seats so we could switch on channels and watch movies or songs. I sat down with gratitude along with two more sisters next to me and they were friendly, Dorothy got a seat behind me and she too was comfortable.

The duration of the flight was roughly around 2 hours and we got down at Muscat at 17.45 HRS. Then we waited at this Airport for another 4 hours just going around in the airport looking at the shops and display, this was well maintained airport and everything was sold in dollars. We had our own snacks and water so there was no need to buy anything. There was a provision for Wifi and we could use it  to connect with family and friends– we took opportunity and connected on whatsapp with them.  After which we had to Board another flight from Muscat to Cairo and the departure was at 21.50 HRS. There was some food offered in the flight which I chose a non vegetarian chicken biryani, with one bun butter, and some chocolate ice cream, which was enough for the journey which took us another 4 hours and we arrived in Cairo at 00.10AM. 

Day 2 (18 May, 2023)

The time zone changed from here and there was a bus waiting for our group to be picked up at midnight after we checked out from the airport and within few minutes we were put in Novatel hotel which was closer to the airport. We checked in with our baggage’s and it was a comfortable luxury place to rest and we were given instructions to be ready by 7 a.m and breakfast would be served and we had come out with the luggage after having our breakfast.  

As we were very tired we slept well but did not realize, being an early riser I still got up early and was ready and I told Dorothy that I go down and check if anyone has come for breakfast, Dorothy was still getting ready and when I came down to my surprise all the sisters and everyone were ready with their luggage’s and boarding the bus, I immedialty called Dorothy and we managed to pick up some bread, muffins and carried in our small packet to have it in the bus. For a moment I was anxious and frightened fearing that I and Dorothy would be left behind.

It was just a feeling and then once we boarded the bus and took comfortable seats we were fine and happy. We had a guide here and her name was Christine along with another guide and his name was George who accompanied us throughout Egypt, while Christine came along only up to the meausum – and she was very friendly and cheerful and entertaining us with question answers session and giving us chocolates when we answered right. It was great travelling in the bus and it was entertaining as the bus went around the city of Egypt, giving us a glimpse of the building and spoke about the ancient civilization and introduced us to the popular Pyramids, we reached this place and there was so much crowd, looked like people all over the world are here to see these beautiful pyramids. It was  a tourist spot and lot of children and adults selling caps, stone pyramids, key chains.

I was so happy to be here couldn’t believe that my dream has come true; I was also happy to meet the other groups who traveled from Hyderabad by different flight – so we roamed around and looking at this huge pyramids and stories about how the royal household used this place to bury their family, by preserving the dead person’s body, which they dis through the process of mummification – the life after death was important for Egyptians as they believed that their soul would live on forever. We spent some time watching these beautiful pyramids and clicked some pictures for memories – the guide took a full group photo and I bought it for my own album.  Then we moved on for lunch and this was arranged at River Nile on a Cruise – it was a buffet lunch and there was so much food spread out – I thanked the lord for his mercy and kindness and ate everything with gratitude, tasted falafel, shawarma, bread, chicken, kebabs, my favorite was the fish. I loved the fish here and relished it and also enjoyed the desert which was rich with dates and fruits.

After lunch I went around the cruise and it was so beautiful to see River Nile (Read old testament form Exodus 7:17-21) – and the bible story from the  old testament came alive to me as I stood there in awe. I recalled the story of Moses wherein his mother protected him by putting him in a basket and let it in river Nile… so many thoughts racing through my mind. I took pictures for my own memory and lived that moment fully and joyfully for I knew that this was once in a life time experience.

Then we moved on to Holy Family Church and visit the monastery of the  Virgin Mary Church  and then another ancient church called the Floating Bible Orthodox Church of Virgin Mary known for having a Bible that was floating around opened despite being water logged at  Maadi the suburb of Cairo outside the church in river Nile. The church was well maintained and we could sit for some time and pray in silence after which we could go around as there was fences around the church as it was touching river Nile.  Then we took a break for a cup of coffee as it was a long journey to the hotel, surrounded by the desert we had a comfortable journey.  

This was a time to talk to one another in the bus and we shared the snacks we brought from our hometowns, and enjoyed the varieties of salty, sweet biscuits, and some brought chocolate cookies, and still others brought some homemade savories. The drive to St Catherine Monastery (456kms) in Sinai en route pass by Elim, Marah and Refidim.

We reached the a place for Dinner called “La Meride” which was adjoining the Red Sea, The food was delicious buffet and we ate to our hearts content and got back in the bus to continue another 8 hours of journey to reach another hotel by 1a.m. midnight. This was a beautiful place for rest and the rooms were clean and we were surrounded by mountains and there was lovely garden in the centre. After some rest we got up early and it was such a pleasant sunrise – I still cannot forget this image in my mind and took a few photos and captured it in my memory. We began with breakfast  and it was again a huge buffet plenty to eat and it was served hot and we had neat round tables set so we could serve ourselves and find tables to sit with our friends.  There were also two more groups and the place was busy with people moving around some arriving still, and others leaving.

Day 3(19 May 2023)

We started off after breakfast for another 180 kms drive from St Catherine to Taba. We proceeded to st Catherine’s monastery which is at the foot of Mount Sinai, one of the oldest Greek orthodox monasteries of the world.  In 2002 this place was added to the list of  the World Heritage by UNESCO. The bus stopped a little away from the monastery and there are sharing vehicles available for 10 dollars so all of us took the sharing vehicles to reached the monastery as it has timings. Some of them who wanted to walk they walked till the monastery.

This was a place I always longed for to see; whenever I read about Moses climbing the Mount Sinai –( Read Exodus chapter 24 & 32) I always wondered how it would have been for him to climb this mountain and so many memories. So right on this day I was standing in front of Mount Sinai.  I was so thrilled and filled with enthusiasm and was feeling overwhelmed by this mountain which was so huge and spread out, and so much security. There was another bus full of persons from our city and so we were happy to meet and take pictures here and were happy to be together. As per the scheduled time the monastery opened and we were allowed to go around the monastery, where we saw the Burning bush (read the old testament of the bible Exodus 3:2) this was the place wherein Moses went up to pray, and received the Ten commandments from God and we also drank from the Moses WellJ  where he met his wife at the well, which is now preserved, connected to a tap.

The monastery has a church inside built with the byzantine architecture- a sense of awe when I saw a Rabbi sitting in the side – the whole place was decorated with beautiful chandlers ( photography not allowed) so I knelt down here for some time and this was a peaceful place with vibrant energy. The whole set up transported me to the time of Moses as to how they maintained the temples with holy of holies the inner chamber was closed and only the Rabbi is allowed to enter. After this we passed the Red Sea and checked into the Hotel La Playa, located at Taba.

Day 4 (20 May, 2023)

We reached the Red sea resort and the ambiance was simply awesome. I loved the stay in this place as the room given  to us opened up to the sea directly. I was so fascinated by this sight and was ready to jump and play in the Red sea. Since we reached post lunch and rested for a while in the room and a 3p.m. I told Dorothy (my daughter) that I will like to go and play in the waters, while she rested I went and along with the other co travelers I went right into the red sea, which was so clean and beautiful. I enjoyed playing in the water  and clicked a few pictures for my memory. The sea was calm and so huge and it was a pleasant evening, breezy and cool and I had fun in the water, after which Dorothy too joined and together we went into the resort pool and started swimming there for an hour till 6p.m stretching our hands and legs in the water and played like kids. 

The next day after the breakfast we checked out and transfer to Taba border and cross over into Israel. The immigration check took us half day, there was a long line people waiting to cross the border. In a hurry I left my airbag and thanks to Dorothy as she was behind me she picked it up. They checked our entire passport and after all their procedure they let us move, Dorothy’s pass port was withheld and they asked her to wait. I was wondering and then I came to know that they immigration rules are very strict especially when youngsters cross they check them for security reasons. Here at the border we bid goodbye to George who was an interesting guide and was also entertaining, taking us to places and encouraging us to buy small mementos, also took us to the place where aromatic oils, scents were available, showed us place where we can get good delicious dates in Egypt.

Now we had a new guide and his name was Shaadi, a serious looking person and he was showing from the bus where we are heading to for lunch to Yodvata. As the bus was moving, he showed us Jordan which was on the right side and a small beach amusement park. He shared his knowledge about Israel stating that Israel manufactures only one type of cars, also told us that Red sea is known to be special because it is the only sea that does not have a river flowing in and there are variety of fishes, he also told us that they accept only US dollars which is widely accepted.  Shekels is the local currency in Israel, and its filled with dates. He also mentioned that there are 9.3 million citizens in Isreal excluding the Palestine’s. Israel is complicated politically and socially. And we were told that we will be staying for 3 nights  here in Bethlehem. The drive was 355 kms drive to Bethlehem through Dead sea road and we arrived at  Ararat for dinner and overnight stay in Bethlehem.   

 Day 5 (21 May 2023)

I loved this Ararat hotel in Bethlehem. I and Dorothy were put up on the 5thfloor. The view from the balcony was super and I could not stop but take a few pictures. The hotel staffs were good; the place was neat and clean. We had all the facilities – like the hot water and fully furnished room with water bottles, and nice mattress to rest and very comfortable for both us a large full double sized bed and everything about his place was good.

We had our breakfast and were ready to drive for 56.0 kms  towards Mount Olives, Ascension church and the place where Jesus had the last supper, followed by the  way of the Cross, we walked the Jesus way through the market place, visited the Garden of Gethsemane, Mount Zion, tomb of David, Ek Karem, reached the tomb of Jesus, the stone rolled way. This day was a great experience as we walked along the guide to various places, the garden of Gethsemane was protected with a boundary wherein we cannot move inside, and I saw the old trees caged and protected…

I was quiet from within as I reflected the life of Jesus and how he prayed at this particular place before he was crucified and put to death on the cross. The trees here witnessed all of these events in silence. I walked in silence too as the group was praying as we walked to Golgotha, the last destination where he was hung on the cross. It was a climbing up high and not easy, and either side were the shopkeepers watching us, one or two sisters found difficult to walk and we helped one another holding each others hand as we walked the way of the cross. So many Lenten seasons we have prayed the way of the cross in the church and I let my imagination run to picture these events, and today here I felt so good to have literally walked the path that Jesus himself walked. I felt privileged, favored and blessed and overflowed with gratitude for all these experiences in my life.

Then we moved towards Palestine for lunch break after which we visited the Nativity Church, Milk Grotto and the Shepherds fields which was beautiful too. I did not spend any money at all though I saw a few shops on our way. But I felt like having an orange juice, as I saw the organs looked great so I spent 3 dollars for a big large size glass and enjoyed the delicious fresh fruit orange. Then we returned back to the hotel for dinner and rest.

Day 6 (22 May 2023)

The next day we had breakfast  and ready for the drive for 134.8 kms towards the old city of Jerusalem, visited St Ann’s  Church (Mother of Mary),  where we saw the ruins of the temple where the paralytic man was healed, another church that was rebuilt and the place was filled with lovely rose garden, Church of Flagellation, via Dolorosa, Bethany, Jericho (view Mount temptation, Sycamore tree where Zacchaeus climbed, some of us tried to climb and pose near the tree for photographs, visited the tomb of Lazarus and then we had mass at the Good Shepherd church after lunch.  Post lunch  we  had to visit the Dead sea and we were prepared to float took extra pair of clothes, unfortunately there was fire and all the tourist buses were redirected so we went ahead visiting the Western Wailing wall, the only surviving part of the temple of God. All of us went near the wall and there were many who had brought petitions to put on the wall. I sat there in silence for some time, the security was tight and we were lead from the entrance gate to the wailing wall and then out to the exit gate, where we had lot of shops around for snacks and cool drinks. Then we returned back to the hotel for dinner and rest.

Day 7 (23 May 2023)

We had breakfast at this hotel in Bethlehem and checked out of the hotel to continue our journey for another 239.5kms heading towards drive to Haifa, visited the Mount Carmel, Elijah’s cave, which was inspiring to find his statue inside the cave, as I walked around the cave it gave me chills in my body to see how this prophet could have hid in this place with no ventilation.  Then we went around  Stella Maris – Famous Hanging garden of Persia – this was a beautiful place and I loved this garden it was a huge place filled with greenery, and we could make picture post cards out of the scenic beauty. The moved towards Nazareth proceeded for lunch at a nice restaurant and they served us rice, chicken and fish. I enjoyed the fish wherever it was served and loved the taste of olive oil as every dish had the olive oil taste.

Post lunch we proceeded to the Church of Annunciation , Mary’s well, Joseph’s workshop, St Joseph’s church, and then drive to Cana visited the wedding church, we bought some wine and it was very tasty and then we moved around the place which was filled with shops, I refrained from buying anything as it was all in dollars. And at th end of the day we returned back to the hotel in Tiberius..

Day 8 (24 May 2023)

We rested here in this hotel which was at the Sea of Galilee and we were on the 9^th floor of the hotel. I could see Galilee from my balcony, we had our breakfast and then a drive of 82.6 kms towards mount Tabor. Our bus halted below and there were other vehicles where we were asked to share to take us to the mountain top. This drive was fascinating as the vehicles were going in rounds as a spiral to reach us to the Mount tabor – I was reflecting on how Jesus could have walked with Peter, James and John for the transfiguration experience. We had a beautiful experience here as they have built up 3 churches, one for Moses, Elijah and Abraham. We had mass in this place and it was a memorable mass as we sat down there listening to word of God and then sharing our faith with one another.

After which we went towards the sea of Galilee and it was so much fun, we had a boat ride in the sea of Galilee and then we had people in the boat who sang and made all of us dance in the boat, it was a refreshing experience and we loved it, at the end of the boat ride, we had a Indian flag and national anthem was sung.  This was indeed a memory that I will carry as long as I live for such was the experience and the sea was beautiful, calm, serene, no fishing allowed, no swimming allowed, maintained so well. I clicked a few pictures here and it was simple awesome to be moving in and around the sea of Galilee. Then we proceeded to lunch at a place called Magadala where they served us St Peter’s fish which was a full fried fish a big one wherein we can share with another person and delicious lunch.  Then we visited River Jordan nd managed to take a dip in the Jordan river as it was closing time, went to Capernaum to see the house of st Peter and his mother in laws house, the Tabgha church wherein Jesus performed the multiplication of loaves, and taught the Beatitudes – which was written along the way to the church. Then we came back to the hotel in Tiberius for dinner and rest.

Day 9 (25 May 2023)

We had a buffet breakfast at King Solomon hotel and then headed for another drive of 154.9 kms Tiberius to Jordan for transfer, checked out to cross over to Jordan completing all the formalities. The immigration staffs were strict and they wanted to check as we are coming from Isreal they had to check everything and then enter Jordan.  We bid goodbye to our previous guide Shaadi and we were welcomed by another guide by name Safa  who was a lovely looking lady to take us around  Jordan, She was friendly and approachable and the moment she got into the bus she was quizzing about Jordan, checking our general knowledge.

Some the things we learnt was about the language spoken in Jordan was Arabic, and their currency was called Dinar which is 1.5 US dollar, higher than the dollar rate. The popular local Cookies called Barazak(which is made with sesme, ghee and sugar and she got us this sweet for us to taste. The country has also special dates called the Magula dates which is popular production. Amman is the capital city of Jordan and 11 million people live here and it took us one and half hour to reach the hotel. This place is surrounded by Jilad mountains, she also said that there are 150  types of Olive trees grown here and Olive branches are symbol of peace.

Jordan does not allow bikes on the road, only cars were seen, they have organized bike riding which is allowed at certain times. This country has supposed to be a hub for the Arabs for medical treatment because of potassium our of Dead Sea.  There are plenty of car zones for selling. Hummus, which is chickpea pasta with olive oil is popular, the bus reached RAWA hotel and vehicles transferred our luggage’s in this hotel and then proceeded for lunch.  Post lunch we went towards Madaba church and visit to only Christian town in Madaba and then leisure time for shopping. I did not purchase anything here as everything was expensive plus it was above the dollar rate. The public toilets are maintained very neat and clean especially for the tourist this is a blessing to have such kind of wash rooms. We went around window shopping and then  drop off at hotel for dinner and overnight stay in Amman.

There were a couple named Marie Ann and Richard from New York who were with us in this trip and they were friendly and adjusted with our group and  they had to leave as they had some function to attend back home at New York. There was another single lady called Ruth who also joined us along with Marie Ann and Richard, she was fun to be with and we chatted a lot and became friendly; she was a nurse by profession, retired and enjoying her retired life.  

Soon she started showing me her family pictures on her mobile and I shared mine too, we exchanged snacks and I felt she connected with me deeply as she shared some of her personal experiences of her life. She invited me to her place and gave me her contact and took my contact too. We saved our numbers on whatsapp and stay connected.

Day 10 (26 May 2023)

We had early breakfast and then we moved past Ragdhan Palace  and the whole place was beautiful with 9 palaces, it was a great sight to see these buildings . Raghdan place is used by the Royals to host meetings with state heads and dignitaries. It is constructed in a traditional Islamic style and was renovated and is well maintained with high security. We visited Mount Nebo a significant place mentioned in the Old testament of the bible, where in Moses was moving around this place and never reached the promise land. It is said that Moses died in this place. The top of the hill there is a memorial church and the Serpent statue around 700 meters above sea level. (Deuteronomy-12) will help us understand the significance of this place and understanding of the Serpent statue. This was a very gorgeous place and we took photographs as we moved around this place.

Then we visited the Roman theater a famous land mark in Jordan which had a capacity to accommodate 6000 people at time. The theatrical and musical performances are held even today, visitors are allowed to move around the gallery space, and there is an adjacent measum too, where they have preserved a lot of art work and beautiful paintings and some of the traditional items used for war, celebrations and attire too.

After which we bought some traditional sweets name Barazek which is sesames seed cookies. And we boarded the bus to continue our journey towards the Dead sea, as we could not go to this place while due to some accidental fire, the travel agency ensured that they we have the opportunity to visit the Dead sea from Jordan. We were all excited that we could finally visit the dead sea wherein there was a resort attached to it and the sea was calm and we got into it and  laid on our backs only to be floating around.

The sand there was supposed to have healing properties and they were selling the wet sad, we bought and shared it with one another and rubbed it on our hands, feet’s, face and floated on the dead sea which was fun, except the water was extremely salty and one drop into the eye gave burning sensation to me; and luckily our tour guide was there standing with a bottle of water and I could wash my eyes.

One has to be careful while floating on this water to ensure that water does not go into the eye. After which there were showers provided for us to wash ourselves and even change.  The lunch was provided in this resort and it was a buffet and there was chicken biryani served along with many other items including the desert. We enjoyed good food and came back to the hotel for rest and pack up for the next day departure.

Day 11 (27 May 2023)

We rested well in the in hotel RAWA as we had a long day in the city and visiting the dead sea, we could have dinner and early rise for breakfast and some who wanted to go out for shopping near by could do it and post lunch and late evening proceeded to the Amman airport at midnight after all the immigration check up went ahead for a 3 hour flight to Muscat and from Muscat with all the immigration formalities  we boarded to Hyderabad flight on  Day 12( 28 May 2023) at 9.40 a.m and reached Hyderabad by 2.35 p.m in the afternoon. Both the flights provided us meals on flight and we were tired so we were happy to return back to our city bringing back fond memories of a life time.

I am glad for my daughter who accompanied me and it was a pleasant and beautiful experience, I am grateful for the travel agency for making our trip a memorable one – they ensured we had a comfortable stay in all the 4 countries and we were provided with breakfast, lunch and dinner and everything was coordinated so well – that they made this whole 10 day experience not just memorable but an unforgettable one.

 RANDOM CLICKS IN EGYPT (10 March 2024)

To be continued.......

 

A Short trip to Pachagini & Mahabaleshwar- 21- 26 April, 2025

We started our journey from Secunderabad Railway station, our train was a special train 01050/KURCSMT SPL which was supposed to reach Secunderabad at 9.30p.m and was delayed for 8 hours. The information changed from the scheduled departure to every one or two hours and not to take a risk we reached the railway station early hours by 4a.m hoping the train would reach at least by 5 a.m. The railway station was a mess as constructions are on and the place is full and only 5 platforms at work, the rest is under repair. We waited patiently and finally the train arrived at 8.30a.m on platform number 4 – luckily, we had a coolie arranged who helped us in carrying all our luggage’s in a trolley and loaded in the train. The stop was for 10 minutes and since it was already delay, it continued in the same speed.

Learning from this is never take special trains especially for a simple overnight journey – Secunderabad to Pune is just 8 hours and if we board in the night we reach early morning. The disadvantage was that being a holiday season, all trains were booked and my friend found seats available in this train.  The delay was so much that we lost out on one day of our holiday.  The advantage was we were in a group of 5 so we had a lot of time together. 

The moment we heard about the delay we went out of the railway station to a restaurant and had fresh hot idly- vadas for breakfast and picked up some snacks. In the train we had lot of fun as we had two youngsters with us – they taught us some games to play – we learnt to play UNO, followed by the card game which was a business game and then we had some funny games which made us laugh and pull each other’s leg.

We had the lunch and dinner too and it as a blessing to have our Saavari booked – the driver was kind and cooperative and he took us safely to Panchagini – wherein we stayed at a beautiful place called MALAS’ Hotel. The ambience was too good – full of trees, quiet, there were swings, swimming pool, indoor games and well maintained.

Since we lost out on one day- we rescheduled our outing:

1.      Visit to Mahabaleshwar Temple

2.      Visit to Holy Cross Church –

3.      Venna Lake

4.      Elephants Point/Needle point

We had breakfast at Mala’s and started off to Mahabaleshwar to visit all these places, took a lot of  pictures and came back to rest at Mala’s Hotel.

Some random pictures we took as we moved along.....

“A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles”- Tim Cahill

We had breakfast at Mala’s and started off to Mahabaleshwar to visit all these places, took a lot of pictures and came back to rest at Mala’s Hotel.

The next day we rested well at MALA’s hotel – had our breakfast and headed towards some of the beautiful view  points beginning with Elephants head points, while the hills look like the elephants head, we have to park and walk one kilometer, there is a walking path, and there’s enough place for parking too… either side are trees, forest area, there are some fruit vendors selling raw mango, fruit drinks, water – Kirana stores. We walked down and took some pictures after which we headed towards Table land – Which is the second largest mountain plateau in Asia. 

Table land has been the filming location of many of Bollywood movies owing to its picturesque views. The place is quite amazing and one can find the complete view of all the points like Sydney point, rajpuri caves, devil’s kitchen etc. table land is a part of Deccan Plateau the second highest volcanic Plateau in Asia and the highest point of Panchagini. We went in the day time and it was very hot – there were plenty of horse tied up to the Tonga(which the horse carried). A lot of amusements – games for kids, but it was closed. 

The evenings would have been great.  We just moved around on this table land, took some pictures for our memory and headed towards Parsi point another important and popular view point which was beautiful sight – and they had the binoculars from where we can see the city, temple, table land etc.… this place is good for children as they had ice cream and cool drinks sold, and the popular Ice Gola’s with different flavors were available. The name” Parsi Point” was inspired due to the early Parsi community, this place is surrounded by mountains on all sides which offer a breathtaking panoramic view of the clear waters of Dhom Dm and the Krishna Valley.

 We had a great time moving around in this place after which we visited the most famous MAPRO garden. This place is located in the village of Gureghar and it is said that a pharmacist by name Kishore Vora wanted to help the local farmers by producing strawberry jams from fresh produce of straw berries.  This small initiative began to grow into food-based confectionery with natural goodness and nutritive value. 

We visited this place and it was colorful with plenty to shop around not just strawberry fruits, but jellies, chocolates, a wide range and variety of drinks along with jams, biscuits, sauce and there is also play area on this campus. There is food court that serves pizza’s, burgers and sandwiches and they serve only vegetarian food. We had light lunch here as the breakfast kept us full and in between we were staying hydrated with water and juices.A must try at this place is the strawberry ice cream which is yummy.   There is clean wash room and plenty of tourists in this place with children running around all over this place. 

We picked up small little things from here such as key chains, cushions that looked like strawberry, and this place is full of   straw berries sold on the streets. After which we headed towards Pune – which took us around 3 hours to reach our hotel. Our Saavari driver was good and he brought us to the hotel – could make out that he was an experienced person and we never had any problem in our trip and came back safe to the hotel in Pune.

At Pune we stayed at Treebo Regency which was very close to the railway station and we just stayed two nights at this place, as some of our friends wanted to go around sightseeing in Pune – since I have always been to this place and seen almost all the places. I and Dorothy decided to visit one of our relatives and elderly uncle and another cousin, after which we just moved around in MG road and came back to rest in this hotel.

 The next day we got in Shatabdi express which was in the early hours around 6a.m and reached Hyderabad by 3p.m on the same day, super-fast train and very comfortable to travel, saved a lot of our time.

I am glad we could take this small break and enjoy ourselves. I am grateful to God and for all my friends for planning and executing this whole trip, my thanks to my friend  Aparna who understands us and accordingly plans and implements with perfect itinerary and budget too😊

I am looking forward for some more trips in my life, for I know that there will come a time, wherein I may find difficult to travel- but as long as I can, I will utilize all the God given opportunities to create wonderful memories for myself. Thanks for reading my post:)

 Traveling is best way to feed the soul and expand the mind……

 

My Trip to Srilanka (14 June – 20^th June, 2025)

I am glad that this year I got the opportunity to take a short break with my friends at Srilanka, as friends we meet regularly and we always felt that we must make a trip together. Whenever we met the discussion was always when are we going out of town all by ourselves. Then one fine day as we were discussing of the summer – suggestions came up that we can attempt a short visit with low budget and maximum fun. So, places like Malysia, Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam and Srilanka was discussed at great length and we settle down with either Vietnam or Srilanka. As a group we had zoom meetings, and temporary WhatsApp group to keep all of us connected. We were 4 of us working in the area of Mental health another 3 of them were from other sectors, added to us was two youngsters, mine and Aparna’s daughter.  

We came to a conclusion after a series of discussion that we will visit our neighboring country, the timing and the budget both was right for the moment. Then began the process of booking the tickets, interacting with the contact person form Make My Trip. This was a group tour so we were happy that there were others who were also joining us from Chennai, Delhi, Orissa, and other states from our country, despite our flight timings being different we reached on the same day. We decided to gather at the Airport 3 hours before so we have enough time for check in and also get the immigration stamp. We had enough time for breakfast and chill out there for a while and soon we boarded the Indigo.

 

 

All of us were excited about this trip as for the first time we are together on the flight – thanks to Amina who ensured that we are all seated together even in the flight and she also followed up with the contact person. I appreciate both Amina and Aparna for planning out this whole trip, by making changes wherever required, coordinating the whole thing, booking the flight tickets, checking the itinerary, contacting the person in charge and facilitating the VISA process and ensuring that everything was smooth in our journey.

Our itinerary for this trip was as follows: at the same time it was flexible to suit our groups needs. 

Day 1(14/6/2025)

Colombo – Kandy

Arrival and transfer to Kandy En-route visit Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage – overnight stay at – Kandy.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage set amongst the verdant hills of Kegalle is a unique orphanage, world first and only orphanage established to feed, nurse and house young elephants lost or abandoned by their mothers. Other occupants are elephants displaced from their natural environments by development projects or those found wounded.

Day 2 – Kandy (15& 6/6/2025)

After breakfast visit the temple of the tooth relic  Peradeniya botanical garden and do a city tour including Kandy lake, and Kandy bazaar, Gem museum. In the evening witness the cultural dance show and overnight stay at Kandy. 

  

  

 

Royal Botanical Garden – was first built as a pleasure garden by a Sinhala King and was expanded by the British. It is 147 acres in extent and provides an amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers.  

Kandy – a lovely exotic city, the Hill Capital and last stronghold of the Sinhala Kings is a UNESCO world heritage Site which retains the aura of grandeur, timed has not affected. Encircled by hills, with a tranquil lake in its centre. It is the site of the renowned temple that enshrines the Tooth Relic of Buddha and the Royal Botanical Garden – home to one of the world’s best collections of Orchids. The highlight of the city’s calendar is the Esala Perahera, when a replica of the casket enclosing the Tooth is taken in procession for ten glittering nights in July/August by exotically costumed dancers, drummers and approximately 100 Elephants.

Day 3 – Kandy – Nuwara Eliya (17/6/2025)

After breakfast proceed to Nuwara Eliya en route visit Ramboda Hanuman temple & Ramboda waterfall, then proceed to Nuwara Eliya, evening do a city tour, overnight stay at Nuwara Eliya.

Tea Plantation – visit to tea factory where one of the best tea in the world is produced. You will be oriented about the process of manufacturing tea and also see how tea is graded. A cup of Ceylon pure tea is served in the factory.

Nuwara Eliya is Sri Lanka’s premier hill resort with a fine bracing mountain climate, it is also the heart of Sri Lanka’s tea country, producing some of the worlds best tea. The mountain slopes and valleys are a carpet of velvety green tea plantations, interspersed with gushing streams and tumbling waterfalls. Red or green roofed plantation bungalows, English country style homes and hotels with lovely flower gardens, a fine 18 hole golf course and a race course which gives a British character to this place.

Day 4 – Nuwara Eliya – Bentota (18-19 /6/2025)

After breakfast proceed to Bentota, en route visit Turtle Hatchery Farm in Kosgod. Evening do a Madu river boat ride- water sport. Overnight stay at Bentota.

 

Bentota is situated on the south west coast, at the confluence of the sea and the Bentota river, the sun-drenched location and its golden, palm fringe beaches which border the warm, sparkling waters of the Indian Ocean made it a natural choice for development as the first tourist resort. Bentota has a complete range of tourist’s facilities, great seafood and very popular water sports centers which provides boating, water skiing, jet skiing, snorkeling and wind surfing.

                                     

Madu River – which flows across Balapitiya (approx. 80kms down south from Colombo) is one of the rarely visited and unspoiled attractions any nature lover can find in Sri Lanka. The smallest island of the lot is called “Satha Paha Doowa” where there is a tiny shrine with a statue built in respect of the Gods of Kataragama (Katharagama). According to folklore this islet had been purchased for five cents but some say the name has derived due to its shape of the five-cent coin, but over thrilled visitors are forewarned! - Madu River is also a known den for crocodiles.

Day 5 – Bentota – Colombo (20/6/2025)

After Breakfast proceed to Colombo, do a city tour of Colombo. Overnight stay at Colombo.Colombo like many capital cities in developing countries, is fast changing its face. The Pettah bazaar – where one can stop for bargains, a Hindu and a Buddhist temple, residential areas, where you find stately homes of the affluent, the Colombo Museum, the Bandaranaike memorial international conference hall – an outright gift to Srilanka from the people’s republic of China, the new parliament in Sri Jayewardenepura and the folk-art center are some of the places of interest that one can visit to. 

Day 6 – (20 /6/2025)

After breakfast proceed to airport for departure to Hyderabad.

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The above itinerary was a scheduled one for this groups travel – we were also informed about the weather that there will showers of rain, as soon as we got down Colombo Airport it started raining, and we were allotted a guide by name Tilla. He was very friendly, open and knowledgeable as a guide and he did an excellent job taking us around, being sensitive to the group and making the itinerary a flexible one so that we get to see the places we are interested in and also add places on our way to meet our curiosity and at the same time have fun. 

 The bus was exclusively for our 9 members, it was good, we had a driver, a helper and a guide with us. There were umbrellas for us – in case of rains we could use it. Except the seats were slightly small but since we were only 9 of us, we could occupy single seat and those of us who wanted to sit with another person could also sit.

The moment we go down the flight at Colombo it started raining- the umbrellas were given to us to board the bus and we were taken to Kandy, there was traffic and we stopped for lunch in between after which we continued our journey to Kandy, due to heavy rains we reached late in the evening around 7.30p.m and checked in the hotel that was booked for us. 

The hotel was very comfortable, the staff were friendly and warm, and then we were served with dinner which was a buffet and it was wide spread- we enjoyed the dinner and came down for a walk – this hotel had a shop too where everything was sold from key chains, masks, clothes for men, women and kids, and lot more like jewelry, precious stones etc. we rested well and next day went out to visit Kandy- with slight changes in the schedule, we enjoyed the journey, those who wanted to visit the elephant orphanage went in and those who did not want shopped around in the area.

 

We visited the Queen’ hotel in Kandy which was a great place, we had tea and sat down there for a while clicking photographs and nearby was the lake – it started drizzling again, we quickly moved to the temple, where the tooth relic was placed. The guide shared all the necessary information and then we went back to the hotel. We stayed two nights in Kandy and we were ready to leave for Nuwara Eliya after the breakfast.

The journey was uphill and the scenic beauty captured our attention and it was such great sight as we moved up the hill -as we went up, I was in awe with this beauty of nature. The place still preserved the historic buildings; the huge polo ground and beautiful garden was the attraction. We visited the tea plantation here and saw the whole process of manufacturing the tea, the lady was cheerful and had good communication skills and she explained the different types of tea grown in this place and how some of the varieties are exported. She took us around this unit, after which we had a lovely cup of British tea, served hot. We picked up some tea powder which was sold here – they had a range of varieties of green tea, black tea, ginger, cinnamon tea and the normal milk tea. 

Then we moved on to visit the temples – where Sita was held captive by Ravana in the Ashoka Vatika a garden mentioned in the Ramayana. This temple is a significant pilgrimage site, attracting devotees from India and Sri Lanka. They say that this is the only temple dedicated to Goddess Sita. The temple is decorated and features statues of Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman.

There are also footprints in the rock by the river, which is believed to be those of Hanuman. Its important to leave the foot wear outside, there is a entry ticket for a small amount to visit this temple. This is also called as the Seetha Eliya temple, we moved to another place which was supposed to a place where Seetha was tested for her virginity – Agni Pariksha, this temple is completely devoted to Seetha, where there is a statue of Seetha placed and they say it’s the only temple that is dedicated to her. The placed has a Buddhist monastery adjacent to the temple and its completely managed by the Buddhist priests. 

We had a lovely experience listening to the guide and also discussing about the mythological stories in the bus as we moved to the hotel Aravali, where they served us hot soup as a welcome drink, as the weather was extremely cold. We rested in this hotel which was huge and comfortable, hot water, warm blankets, kettle for tea, coffee with sachets ready for tea & coffee, there was sweets, chocolates in the room. We took our time to relax and then got ready for the dinner, which  was a wide spread of everything we could enjoy, with live band playing- there were rotis, rice, bread, bun, soup, plenty of fish, chicken and veggies, dal, s deserts- sweets, pastries, halwa – we ate well to our hearts content and celebrated the birthday of Saroj – we cut the cake and we had lot of fun, slept well.

The next day we had sumptuous breakfast and started off to Bentota – it was great ride, admire our driver’s skill to take us down in a smooth manner from the top of the hill as we moved down surrounded with tress, the greenery and scenery was captivating – we stopped for a cup of tea and also wanted to use the wash room. The place was a small coffee joint in this hilly place, maintained neat and clean, and they had different brands of tea/coffee and they even sold these brands. The cup of tea was with milk and sugar and it tasted good. The timely break helped us to move our bodies and get back to continue our journey to Bentota, on the way we had light lunch and proceeded.

We were put in a place named CITRUS at Bentota, which was a beautiful resort with swimming pool and beach. This place was had a huge lawn, and there were lot of tourists especially foreigners who were all over the place, chilling at the swimming pool, there was bar closer to the pool, a lovely park, where we can walk barefoot, and once we cross the boundary, there is the beach and it was such a pleasant experience to hear the sound of the waves even from the room. We could see the beach from the balcony, and it was a great image, looked like a greeting card frame. When we saw the pool we couldn’t resist so along with Dorothy and Arushi (my friend Aparna’s daughter) we went for a swim in the pool for some time, we loved this pool, it was clean and well maintained – we played in the pool almost until dinner time and then got up to get ready for our dinner. The dinner served was a variety of Indian, Chinese, Continental and he was serving shrimp freshly fried, we have to inform them and we get them served hot directly from the pan  into  a separate plate.

We were refreshed by the swimming pool and the beach, and a good night sleep – so morning we were excited to go around – after the delicious breakfast we went to Madu River for a boat ride, this place was serene and the whole ambiance was super. We have a fee for boat ride and then given life jackets to wear, the boat has a canopy to protect us from rain, as the rains are unpredictable and suddenly, we get caught in the rain.  

We loved this boat ride which took us to cinnamon island where cinnamon is largely grown and there are workers who clean up the bark of these trees (cinnamon is popular here, and expensive too as it is organic). There is a person in charge who demonstrates how cinnamon is made, and its benefits, and its usage is all displayed and he also demonstrated the oil by massaging one of our friends who had knee pain. We learnt how this oil needs to be applied after the massage – his demo was practical and he explained it so well. After which they have a store where we can buy these cinnamons sticks, oil, powder and also they had some memotoes to carry back.

The whole experience on Madu river was a wonderful experience, and unforgettable one – we captured the beauty of this place in our eye; whenever I want to relive these moments, I just need to close my eyes for a brief time – I will be transported immediately into this wonderful place – there was other island filled with avocados that looked like Manago’s.

It started raining on our way back and we had the canopy covering us, we wanted to go further to see the Indian Ocean but due to turbulence the guide told us it is not safe for us to venture, so we came back and headed over to lunch. We spent some time having brunch and then moved to the Turtle Hatchery –one of the oldest Conservation and research projects, where the sea turtles were endangered, it is said that some 5 species of turtles were frequenting the beaches of the southern coast of Srilanka to lay their eggs. These eggs were collected by the villagers and sold in the open market. Two great photographers joined together who had similar interests in wild life and nature decided that a turtle conservation project would be the best.  Thus, the turtle’s hatchery was built, and the turtles have found a safe haven.

This is a peaceful place and there is an entry fee for this place – and adjacent there is shop that sells mementos – some of us did not want to go in and so we stayed back and walked towards the beach admiring the ways -and clicked some pictures, the others went inside this place and came back and shared their experience. 

After this visit we headed back to the hotel and rested well – Bentota was the best we stayed two days at Citrus resort and then next morning after breakfast we started towards Colombo and the whole day was a city ride, we stopped at some places, took photographs, some of us wanted to get the srilanka currency exchange – then we visited the YWCA of Colomvbo(Thanks to our guide Tila and our driver Sagar and helper Dushan) who were kind enough to identify this place for us by calling and speaking to them in their local language and taking directions to reach this place. 

 We were glad to meet the President Ms Sarah and Vice President Sonia - This place was in a high security zone, next to the secretariat, we interacted with them and found that they run hostels for young girls and working women, some hundred students reside in this place, they also run a cafeteria wherein the nearby officers come they’re for lunch. They were happy to meet us and shared the products made by their rural women, some of our friends bought this as a token of appreciation. They also gave each of us a key chain which was branded one with their name inscribed on it. They were hospitable and gave us snacks (fish cutlet) and a nice cup of tea, then we took some pictures with them and continued our window shopping and finally went back to the hotel in Colombo by name “The Ocean” which was the sea facing and it was a great sight, we had our dinner there  and packed our bags ready for the next day to leave for the airport.

On the way we picked up some brunch as our flight was in the afternoon around 2.40p.m and we returned back to Hyderabad with grateful hearts and memorable moments of our lives !

Our journey continues with gratitude …... looking forward for the next trip 😊