The travelling desi

In my Norway blog I concluded saying “If your idea of a vacation is lying by the beach sipping a cocktail, this one's not for you.” For this blog I start by saying if that wasn’t for you, Mauritius most definitely will be. Mark Twain famously said, “Mauritius was made first and then heaven; and heaven was copied after Mauritius”.  I now have no reason to disagree! When a week long Eid holiday was suddenly declared in the region, we were desperate to get a respite from the heat. We had never been to Mauritius and a quick check with flights and hotels revealed that doing this with such short notice was easily feasible. This trip was going to be a number of firsts for us –  We  were travelling to the Southern hemisphere for the first time.  A  six-and-a-half-hour flight and no time difference! Now that was a first. Travelling all over one longitude was an interesting first in the journey. This was also the first time we planned and trave

It’s a shame, I admit. Being here in the UAE for four years, I hadn’t yet been to Musandam in Oman. It is only now that I am back from the trip that I see what I had missed. This peninsular region that lies to the north of UAE is rightfully called the Norway of Arabia. For the geographically challenged, it is important to understand that the state of Musandam lies to the north of UAE. Khasab (a name unfortunately infamous back home) is the capital of Musandam. The other states of Oman (along with Muscat), lie to the south. The two regions are connected by land only through UAE. That tiny crown on the unicorns (UAE shape) head, you see,  is Musandam. Source: omanroadshow.com To avoid multiple UAE-Oman border crossings, most Omani residents fly from Muscat to Khasab.  Travel:   For UAE residents the most convenient way to get to Khasab is by road. It is just a 3 hours’ drive, only 40 mins from Ras-al-Khaimah, the UAE’s northern most state. Before you plan make s

This article covers the many places we visited in our 3-day short trip, and tips and suggestions to help you plan yours. To learn more about Bangkok, it's food and culture, visit  Bangkok - 1 full tummy, 2 happy feet, 1 enlightened soul. Chatuchak weekend market Chatuchak market is the largest market in Thailand. Note that it is only open on weekends, so plan your trip such that you get at least one day of the weekend to visit this place. If you love to shop and bargain and then shop again till you drop, this is the place! Prices are the cheapest compared to other areas in Bangkok. From clothes, to jewelry to shoes to home décor to pets – you name it and you have it there. Good luck finding it though. There are 15000 stalls and I did not find any map (though some friends had mentioned there is one. Where?). I just kept going to random lanes as I waded through it, so I accept, I may not have covered it most efficiently. It is spread out and this is one of the many hundreds