Portugal : Lagos & Albufeira Region

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น I landed in Faro airport at 12 PM. Faro is the capital of famous Algarve region of Portugal. I booked my transfer to Vilamoura from Airport.ย Vilamoura ย is one of the finest resort towns in Porugal. However due to wet weather my boat tour was cancelled . I spend the day walking around town.ย Vilamoura is famous for its beach , resorts and million dollar yachts parked at the marina . Vilamoura Marina   My next destination was Lagos. The town is famous for its old town, cliffs and Atlantic beaches. Still sea…

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Spain : Andalusia region – Seville

๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธย ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Seville - Granada - Ronda Day -1 ย Sevilleย  Seville is the capital of Andalusia region. There are 17 autonomous communities in Spain, Andalusia is the most populous and 2nd largest by area. I missed my original flight to Barcelona so Iย had to knock off Barcelona and Madrid from my original itinerary and instead arrived Seville two days latter. First thing I noticed are orange trees, they are an integral part of the landscape. If you make the mistake (like I did )ย of biting one of the oranges you will understand…

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Gibraltar

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎย ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎย ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Day 1 I started early from Ronda. It was 9.18 train to Algeciras from Ronda. Weather was not good , it was raining incessantly from morning. At Algeciras I had to wait for sometime to catch a local bus to La - Linea. From La - Linea bus stop it was 10 min walk to the border checkpoint and then another 15 mins walk to my hotel in Gibraltar. Gibraltar is a tiny patch of land (less than 10 Sq Km) still part of British oversees territory. It has its own…

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Ajanta , Ellora & Elphanta Caves en-route to Mumbai – Ellora

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ ย  There is no direct public bus to Ellora from Ajanta. I took a bus towards Aurangabad in Aurangabad - Jalgaon road and got down at Phulambri. Fromย Phulambri I took shared trekker on Amdapur - Jenefal road towards Ellora. This took very long time. Next day I utilized fully to visit caves. Caves in Ellora are famous for sculptures. There are 34 caves which can be visited ; these consist of 12 Buddhist caves, 17 Hindu caves and ย 5 Jain caves. Most of these caves are monasteries or viharsย that are carved…

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Sisimiut : Driving a Snowmobile

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑย ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑย ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Snowmobiles have become the modern replacement of dog sled. This was roughly 4 hour excursion from the town. Snowmobiles are pretty easy to master because there is no gear ; its just brake and throttle. We first went to the top of Solbakken. This is a vantage point with a good view across the town. We also went toย Aappilattorsuaq . Overall this was pretty cool experience.

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Ajanta , Ellora & Elphanta Caves en-route to Mumbai – Elphanta & Mumbai

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ ย  From Aurangabad I boarded an early morning Jana Shatabdi Express to Mumbai. I reached my hotel near marine driveย early afternoon. I had two days in Mumbai before I catch my flight to London. There wasย nostalgia associated with this city, my first job was here , I lived here almost 4 years before I moved to Bangalore. First day I roamed around city , went to Haji Ali shrine, enjoyed vada-pao and took some much needed rest. Day 2, I started early from my hotel to catch ferry to Elephanta islands.…

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Ajanta , Ellora & Elphanta Caves en-route to Mumbai – Ajanta

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ย  On my way to Mumbai, I decided to spend few days in Ajanta andย Ellora. From Kolkata I took Gitanjali Express to Jalgaon. Ajanta caves are approximately 63 Km from Jalgaon. There are over 30 caves which were developed duringย Satvahana period andย Vakataka period. The caves are located nearย horse-shoe shaped bend build by Buddhist monks during monsoon season. Nobody knows how did the artists paint so well, with such precise use of colour, in the dark recesses of these rock-carved prayer halls and monasteries. ย I stayed in MTDC Ajanta T junction resort which…

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ISLAS BALLESTAS: The poor man’s Galapagos

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ชย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ชย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช I left Lima at 3 AM bus to reachย Paracas. I already had reservation with an agency but they did not turn up. Luckily there was another ย company who were conducting boat trip for a group. So I spoke to them and they happily agreed. The boat trip from Paracas to Islas Ballestas is 24 kilometers and it took us about 30 minutes to get there. On our way we saw Paracas Candelabra, a geoglyph that sits on a hill overlooking the water.ย The Paracas Candelabra is 180 meters tall and it can…

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Norway: Bergen

๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ดย ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ดย ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด The weekend gateaway started on a Friday night, around 2 hour flight from London Gateweek to Bergen. Bergen is city on Norways southwestern coast and 2nd largest city in Norway. The bergen airport is quite small and faraway from city but a direct bus from airport to city center takes us directly to Radisson Blue Norge. Next day was 30th April , incidentally Fjordkraft Bergen City Marathon (FBCM) was scheduled that day . The city was brimming with people with participants from all over the world. The day started taking a…

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