Egypt: Giza plateau

๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌย ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌย ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ We reached Giza in the morning by an overnight train from Luxor. The train was very comfortable. It was comparable almost to a standard hotel with a well made bed , private toilet and shower cubicle. Dinner was also included in the price. ย We were staying in a Luxury hotel for two days . After check-in we immediately left for Pyramid complex. I took some random street cab for 1 USD to take me to the entrance. On the way few locals just climbed the running cab and wanted to offer…

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Egypt Itinerary

๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌย ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌย ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ Part 1 Day 1: London - Cairo - Bahariya => ย Overnight flight from London to Cairo and from airport we immediately started our journey towards desert. The night was spent at a nice hotel in Elย Bawiti Day 2: Baharia - Black Desert - White Desert => Continued our journey towards white desert . Camped overnight at white desert. Day 3: Dakhla Oasis => From white desert to Dakhla Oasis throughย Farafra Oasis Day 4: Kharga Oasis => From Farafra to Kharga Oasis. Day 5: Kharga Oasis to Luxor => ย Kharga Oasis to…

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Sunday walk to Lavender Farm

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งย ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งย ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง This was my first meetup. We met at Clapham Junction and then took a train toย Chipstead village in Surrey via Croydon. ย We walked around 14 miles through lovely landscape of Surrey . The Lavender farm itself is in Banstead. It is a family run business named Mayfield Lavender. Weather was perfect and it was a very nice day out.  

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Portugal : Porto & Douro Valley

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Porto was the last stop in my itinerary. Porto is the second biggest city in Portugal. ย This place was the origin of port wine. It is also famous for its iconic bridges. In fact it is the only city in Europe which has 6 bridges. I stayed in Porto for 2 days. Weather was not at its best but there were intermittent clear sky. There are few unique charm to this city, Lello Bookshop with its amazing neo-gothic interiors (Harry Potter shooting happened here, it was Hogwarts library) . Then there…

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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 – 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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