When you think of an island, you visualise sandy beaches and cottages right? Or at least duplexes or smaller buildings, if the island is a modern one. I have visited hundreds of islands in my life so far. However when we were landing in Penang, we were nothing but in awe. There were skyscrapers everywhere! Tall buildings adorned the entire island, which provided a very pretty aerial sight!

Turns out, Georgetown, the capital of Penang island is the 2 nd largest metropolitan area after Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the country. And also, Penang has the 2 nd highest number of skyscrapers after the capital of course. I was really not ready to see so much real estate on an island! 

The highest building in Penang is the Komtar Tower, which is a hub of offices plus leisure. We didn't go to the top as we find these kind of things extremely touristy and not worth our hard earned money. Anyways, the hotel in which we stayed on the beach was very high too, we were on the 45 th floor ourselves! All the hotels in that area were skyscrapers and they provided a Miami/Queensland kind of vibe in that area. 

I am not sure whether building sky high construction is conducive to the welfare of our environment. It's a double edged sword really. People need employment too. I just hope we don't destroy our mother earth for our future generations permanently. 

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 Rishikesh for us is an annual ritual. We have been visiting God's own town for 12 years in a row, at least once a year, if not more. This is because my sister in law resides there, and the occasion of Rakshabandhan enables us to to cherish this peaceful place at least once a year, if not more. 

We have been exploring Rishikesh like the locals all these years. Of course, my SIL being the guide. But one can never be fully acquainted with this Dev Bhoomi. Because Rishikesh is constantly undergoing immense commercialisation, owing to the heavy influx of tourists: both international and domestic. So every time we are there, there are more than one new happening places cropping up in different parts of the city. 

Rishikesh can boast of the fanciest of cafes in India because of the views. I mean where would you get the mighty Himalayas and the gurgling Ganges at one place? My favorite ones are those which have these kind of views. The last time we visited, it was one such perfect place. It was Tatva Cafe. 

Me visiting a cafe is not to fulfill corporal appetite but emotional and creative. While I can't and don't support overpriced mediocre tasting food, I don't have lofty expectations either, while visiting such fancy cafes. Especially in places like Rishikesh, they pay more attention to white people. Thankfully, whatever we ordered at Tatva Cafe was delicious too, which was an added bonus. I was there just there to soak in all the natural beauty and have the gurgling waves of Ganga as the background music. 

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 If you reside in Delhi Ncr who travels to Uttarakhand frequently, then you must have realised how much potential this entire stretch has. The NH 58 stretchs all the way to Uttarakhand, entering the territory of Gods through Roorkee and Haridwar. This highway has heavy traffic load as it is the easiest way to enter the hilly region, especially from the Western and Northern part of UP. The hospitality developers must have realised the immense potential of this stretch (if I can, why wouldn't they) and there are numerous properties on this highway. A place to rest is very much needed on a highway if you are driving for the entire day Or want to relax overnight. While some properties look basic from outside, some are really fancy. I am not exactly "attracted to fancy places" kind of person for unnecessary reasons. Like, if we need a roof over our head just to rest for the night, I would like to save some bucks and pay for a humble place. However, I am also a highly aesthetics oriented person.

Every time we drive to Rishikesh (my sister in law stays there), it's my favorite activity to oggle at all the properties and resorts that we pass by driving. 

Some are basic while some look super modern. And then one day I was struck by a Royal, heritage looking resort and that very time I promised myself that we will check this place out on our way back.

The place didn't disappoint at all. The interesting part is that it's situated in a plaza that has many popular names in different types cuisine like Naivadyam, Starbucks, Chinese etc. So even if you are staying there, it would be easy to just walk out side and savour the different delicacies, if you are not comfortable with paying high prices for the in house Hotel meals. 

The property is very beautiful with intricate, traditional architecture from the outside and on the inside, it's vast. It's spread over a huge area, has an outdoor pool and the rooms are also done in a traditional way. 

It's not at all cheap though (although price is so subjective) but anytime I need to take a break/ place for over night rest on this highway, I am definitely choosing this. And for our next staycation? It's already decided! 

 My name is Mandira, which means my initial is M. M is the 13th alphabet, so it used to bug me quite a lot during my childhood. I often used to curse myself and blame my parents for naming me with M, unreasonably, as none of my parents are M people. In 11 th and 12th class, my roll number was 13, and those were the most difficult years of my entire life. I didn't top my 12th boards, nor I cleared my PMT exam successfully. In fact I missed it by a very thin margin. That was the final nail to the coffin. I sort of developed triskaidekaphobia or an unnatural fear of the number 13.

My resentment and avoidance of the number 13 continued throughout my college life. It was in my final year that I met my now husband (that time just an ortho guy who was about to become my boyfriend). His name started with M and so did his mother's (my now mother in law). 

After marriage, we decided to rent an apartment in Mayur Vihar phase 1 (M) and our life's very first clinic establishment was in Mayur vihar phase 3. We went to honeymoon in Mauritius and Mussoorie was our first domestic destination. I slowly realised that M defines me and my life. 

Since we were already an M couple, we decided to name our first born with M and same with our 2 nd born too. M is the definition of our lives. And I was today years old when I realized that our house number adds up to 13.

While playing Tambola, 13 is addressed as unlucky number, lucky for someone. Maybe it's high time to embrace that for myself. 

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While living life king size (or that like a Nawab when in Lucknow) may sound extremely interesting, sometimes one might crave for modern amenities. Don't get me wrong, I am all for heritage and traditions, but when you are in a rush or for official purposes, you don't really have the time to soak in all the regality.

Last year, when we visited my husband's favourite city for his college reunion, we decided to stay at the Centrum. Firstly, it's located outside of Lucknow. I mean of you are anything like us then Old Town (in case of European cities) and city centre (in case of Indian cities) or downtown (in case of fancy cities like LA et al; you know what I am trying to convey) then these are the areas preferred for staying, for obvious reasons. For Lucknow, it has to be Hazratganj. However, Centrum is located far from the centre, outside the city, in Golf City. It's a 5 star property, relatively newly built and yet it has managed to grab the attention and heart of tourists and business travellers alike.

We were there for just a night and the hospitality was to remember for. The buffet breakfast was fantastic with tonnes of options (although the food items were not labelled with calories, as in some properties like Mariott.) The lobby was nicely done, although not that big, and so were the rooms. Since it was winters, we couldn't take a dip, although, the pool looked inviting. The staff was polite and courteous.

In a nutshell, even though I am a 'city person ' I wouldn't mind staying here, outside the hustle bustle, to take a breather and relax in their modern hospitality.

Have you been to the city of Nawabs? Where did you put up? 

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There are several reasons why we have been to KL several times. It's a fantastic city nevertheless, but we are not those kind of people who throw money to fly just to shop from abroad or dine on special occasions. The first time we landed in KL was to explore the city. I went with my parents and Malaysia was my 2 nd country, we were on a 12 days trip in Malaysia and Singapore. The next time we landed in KL was during our trip to Australia. Malaysia was offering free transit visa and we decided to take advantage of it, and explored KL and Putrajaya (the administrative capital) on our way to Melbourne.

Some seasoned travellers complain that KL is uninteresting but I would beg to disagree. Even if you have explored every nook and cranny of this global city, you still can enjoy whole heartedly. It's like Delhi: ever bustling, ever charming and always alive. There are tonnes of new places to dine and KLCC (along with the Suria Mall and the Petronas Twin Towers) will always remain my favourite place to chill. There is something so peaceful in that park, with the happening crowd, the majestic Twin Towers in the background and the fountains and greenery all around.

Even if you 3 hours free in KL, I highly suggest relaxing in that park and just enjoy the beauty of doing nothing. And if you are restless and can't sit still and have a lot of money to kill, you can shop your heart out in Suria KLCC as there is no brand that you wouldn't find there.

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When you are on an island surrounded by water on all sides, you expect jetties or socks where boats and ships would get anchored to. The island of Penang has many, (of course) but the one that is visited by the tourists is the Chew Jetty.

The way to the jetty is from Weld Quay in Georgetown. It starts from a Chinese temple and then a narrow wooden creaky lane leads to the jetty. The Chew Jetty is one of the largest waterfront settlements of Penang, also known as Clan Jetties, because of the various communities settled there. 

The name was decided on the various surnames of the Chinese population like Lim, Lee, etc and finally was zeroed down to Chew. This place is well known for all the wooden row houses that are on stilts. Also, it's one of the most important centres of Chinese New Year celebration in GeorgeTown.

Walking through the jetty gives an insight into the lifestyle of the people living in those stilt houses, in the Penang Strait. Like I have said earlier, the houses are beautifully decorated frim the outside, and their religious inclination is well perceivable given the amount of incense sticks burning. You literally walk outside their doors and windows, and can easily see what the residents are upto, if their curtains are not drawn. There are a few temples too, in the rows and quite a lot of souvenir shops and eateries.

I stopped by at few, and wanted coffee, but was unable to communicate. They understood the word "coffee" but we couldn't decide whether it would be with milk or not. Finally we had to walk out as they were too busy in attending the local people's orders.

Like every other part of GeorgeTown, this place too has interesting murals. And the breeze once you reach the jetty is unmatched. One can spot the long Penang bridge from there and a great view of the Penang Strait.

There are no entry fees to have this experience yet it is one of the most culturally enriching things to remember! Have you ever had a peek into another culture like this?

Travelling the world with an Indian passport can be quite a bit of a challenge. If you know, you know! So when someone (a true traveller and not some privileged upper class Indian) boasts of having a valid US visa, UK visa, Schengen et al, I totally get it. However, I don't understand when someone of Indian origin with a first world passport shows off his/her travel history. Or, someone who travels the world for work/business. I mean have you even stepped out of the conference room in that particular city of that specific country that you are counting? Most of them whom I have come across, haven't!

There are a few typical characteristics of Indian / Indian origin travellers. The latest to have experienced was on our return flight from Kuala Lumpur to Delhi, when we were taking pictures of ourselves with the plane.

One elderly gentleman started talking by saying what will we do with so many pictures. He said he could bet that we would never be seeing this photographs again, so what was the need to increase the digital clutter. And that's how our conversation with him started, when we told him that we are content creators (professionally doctors) , so we capture a lot and we use them too. We have 5 hard disks full of content and none of them are waste, yada yada.

Then began the real drill. He started shooting us with questions like whether we have been to US or UK, Canada or Switzerland etc. We told him that we are more into offbeat travelling, rather than running after cliched destinations that Indians find irresistible. He then started boasting about how much he had travelled all his life. He was 62. We were almost half his age, so I said that it's a good sign that by the time we reach your age, we too would have a long list to look back. And then something came out of his mouth that explained all his behaviour.

Basically he was very contemptuous in his attitude that he has been such a well travelled man, and we were a foolish couple, who hasn't yet visited the rest of the world. Turns out, he was a businessman from Alberta, a Canadian citizen! So if you are 65+and a Canadian passport holder,who travels for business, you get no respect from me as a traveller, because you are not!

People with strong passports who globe trot on their organisation's money, don't deserve to be labelled as travellers. And look at his audacity, he was looking down on us! Only we hard working people know, (medicos like us) who slog continuously for 6 months to get a week long leave, and who save their hard earned money and break boulders to get a tourist visa. Why don't people talk about that? Why this complex?

Also, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything! At least don't be bitter! We have noticed that Indian origin people detest to be addressed as Indians, as if it's kind of a shameful thing. Anyways, your horizons broaden during travels and one shouldn't stop collecting experiences, good or bad. What say?

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So in my previous post I was raving about how picturesque Georgetown is. The street art is mind blowing while the cafes scream to get photographed. But the underdogs contributing hugely to the " Instagram worthiness" of the town. These homes are majorly inhabited by the Chinese community, settled in Malaysia. And it is hard to imagine and even harder to capture the details of these houses.

A major part of Georgetown is also called Chinatown because of the population. And these people really know aesthetics. Think of the tallest fiddle leaf figs in pots, with the biggest and shiniest leaves! My fig hasn't even sprouted a single new leaf ever since I brought it back from the nursery, and here they all are, in their greenest glory! Is it the pleasant tropical island weather or the soil is special here? Or do all these people have green thumbs? My question remained unanswered till the end of the trip and my eyes and brain mesmerised.

The houses are in rows and are usually two storied. I don't think I noticed a three storied one. They all were closely attached to each other, yet every single house had a unique personality. Apart from luscious flora, all these houses had a small courtyard and they experimented with their aesthetic ambitions. 

Some houses had elaborate door and window frames while some had gigantic lamps hanging. Some hung cute macrame on their doors while some painted their window frames in electric blue! I wish I could capture the entire row of uniquely decorated houses in one frame; the running traffic as well their expanse made it impossible. All the houses were alike, yet each of them were unique!

It's not everyday or everywhere that we get to see so many picture worthy houses all at once. Have you visited Georgetown? Do you get fascinated by cute houses?

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