Every trip to Varanasi deserves a post. This city has so much to offer. Every time I go there, I discover something new. No wonder this oldest living city in the world has one of the maximum international footfalls in India every year. This time too I discovered a number of places which I hadn't been before.
Our excursion started with Janakpur, the birthplace of Sita. As I professed my apprehension of bike riding here, I realised with every pillion ride that they are actually very comfortable!! Not in the terms of seating of course but parking and slipping through narrow lanes are a cakewalk!! Anyways that does not mean that I am going to give up my love for convertibles and sedans!!
Then we crossed the Ganga on our bike and stopped at Rajghat. This place is preserved by the Archeological site of India and contains the ruins of centuries back. Right now there is the tomb of Lal Khan which overlooks the river ganga. Its manicured lawns overlooking the Ganga provide a really pretty site.
Our next stop was the Krishnamoorthy foundation...one of the richest trusts. Since it is a private property, photography was not allowed. After that we went through the market, shopped for a while and had gol gappe!
A trip to Varanasi is incomplete without a visit to the Ghats. There are more than a hundred and I have been to all of them! We stopped at Dashashwamegh Ghat and remained stationed there as we were running out of time. The sky was overcast and it could rain any moment. Moreover it was already afternoon and we had our train back to Delhi in the evening. So we took no more chances and came back home. For the post on rest of the ghats, I will have to wait for my next trip to this amazing city!
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| boats...the symbol of varanasi ghats.. |
Then we crossed the Ganga on our bike and stopped at Rajghat. This place is preserved by the Archeological site of India and contains the ruins of centuries back. Right now there is the tomb of Lal Khan which overlooks the river ganga. Its manicured lawns overlooking the Ganga provide a really pretty site.
Our next stop was the Krishnamoorthy foundation...one of the richest trusts. Since it is a private property, photography was not allowed. After that we went through the market, shopped for a while and had gol gappe!
A trip to Varanasi is incomplete without a visit to the Ghats. There are more than a hundred and I have been to all of them! We stopped at Dashashwamegh Ghat and remained stationed there as we were running out of time. The sky was overcast and it could rain any moment. Moreover it was already afternoon and we had our train back to Delhi in the evening. So we took no more chances and came back home. For the post on rest of the ghats, I will have to wait for my next trip to this amazing city!
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| Janakpur...the birthplace of Sita.. |
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| At the Raj ghat.. |
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| With the bridge of raj Ghat and the river ganga in the background.... |
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| ship wrecked!! |
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| an interesting temple door... |
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| encroached a priest's seat... |
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| fluttering flags... |
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| mouth watering gol gappe!! |
10/26/2015
6
comments
Have you ever wondered what life would be without any music? No chirping of birds, no rippling of water, no sound of rain. Life would be dead! And what would be music without some foot tapping or body shaking? Yes! I am talking about dance!
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| Tapping to the steps of Bharatnatyam.... |
Music and dance are complimentary to each other. Without dance life would be dull and lifeless. Dance is the soul of life. It is how we express ourselves. However in order to unleash our soul from within we need to know more about dancing. There have been a dearth of sources of information pertaining to this form of art. But recently I came across a wonderful website thedancebible.com that offers even minutest details of almost every form of dance. It is one of the first online platforms for dancers, choreographers, dance parents and all dance enthusiasts.
The dance bible has various sections dedicated to dance. There is a dance zone section which has different categories. Dance styles, dance anatomy, dance videos and audios, interviews, dance quotes, memes, biographies, dance diaries, dance events and dance forum. While you can learn a lot about different forms of dance in the Dance style section (ranging from ballet to Bharatnatyam) you can get inspired from dance stalwarts like Shobhana Narayan in the interview section.
The two main unique features of this website are the dance forum and the portfolio section. Under portfolio a dancer can create his own dance story and also share his dance videos with the world. In the dance forum section you can communicate with like minded dance enthusiasts! You can put up any question related to dance and ask anything! It is kind of social networking in the field of dance!
The dance event section would tell you about all is happening in your city. Earlier there used to be lot of dance functions but enthusiasts were unable to enjoy them because of the lack of information. Now you can plan in advance as to whether you want to enjoy the upcoming Odishi performance or the contemporary one or both!
The dance diaries is a beautiful section where people have shared their dance stories. From meeting their first love during dancing to sharing anecdotes about dance, people like me have a great time reading those. Again for literature lovers, the dance quotes section is pretty impressive. From the quotes of dance biggies like Michael Jackson to Martha Graham, it inspires awe in me. Being a dancer myself, I am really inspired by all these stalwarts.
Last but not the least you can learn from others in the dance audio and video section! So what are you waiting for? Get your ghunghroos or ballet flats or any other prop which you like and start tapping! Check out The Dance Bible.com and their beautiful Facebook page. Spread the joy of dance!
10/21/2015
15
comments
Are you ready for the festive season? Yes! October is already here! Durga Puja and Diwali preparations are in full swing. We correlate festive season with gifting and making others happy. But what about making yourself happy?Our ancient scriptures say that the best relationship you can ever have is with yourself. Well to what extent do we follow it? When was the last time you bought something for yourself, exclusively? I am not talking about your home, your spouse, parents or children. Something that brings the sparkle in your eyes! Gift yourself a holiday! Again its a family bonding gift but its for you nonetheless. And the best time to grab the best deals in flight and hotel bookings is October!
So what you can do is plan for a big family holiday in the upcoming holiday season...ie December or January. There are myriads of places to visit during these months like all the countries in Southern hemisphere (its summers there) like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand or the hot places like the Middle East! According to me , Dubai is the hottest destination to visit during these cold winter months!(I am talking about the cruel chill of Delhi) Dubai which is hot and dry throughout the year gets very pleasant weather during December and January. Moreover the Christmas and New Year decorations in December and the magnanimous Dubai Shopping festival in January makes it an irresistible destination in these months!
Here is to why Dubai is my favourite destination to visit during December:
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December is the time when you can enjoy the sun on an open roof bus!
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I love exploring the city in an open roof bus. While it sounds adventurous in Europe, it can be scary in Dubai during the hot months. I mean the temperatures spike upto 50 degree Celsius and no one wants to die of a heat stroke that too on a vacation. But in December, you would love basking in the sun while exploring the city!
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| Burj Khalifa...the world's tallest building and Dubai's star attraction... |
The BURJ KHALIFA:
I don't need to give any explanation for this. I mean it is THE tallest builing in the world. Standing at 8848 metres high, it inspires awe in everyone. Like every other building in the city it is of course air conditioned. But in order to appreciate its beauty and magnificence, you need to cherish it from outside which is possible only in the winter months!
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| The Bellagio fountains from the top of Burj Khalifa |
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Bustling downtown Dubai
The top of Burj Khalifa offers incredible views of the city. From the nexus of multiway flyovers of Downtown Dubai to the border of Iran, its a sight that cannot be missed. The cherry on top: watching the Dubai fountains from top. These fountains are the largest in the world (like every second thing in Dubai) and have been made by the makers of Bellagio Fountains of Las Vegas.
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| Burj Al Arab...a seven star hotel... |
The Burj Al Arab:
The Burj Al Arab is a 7 star hotel and boasts of luxurious amenities which no one has heard of. It is one of the costliest hotels in the world. The most economic thing to do there is enjoy a high tea. Though everything is Dubai is centrally air conditioned, there is nothing like smelling the fresh air which you can obviously do during winters.
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| The beautiful Jumeirah Beach with the Burj Al Arab in the backdrop |
The Jumeirah Beach:
The Gulf Sea is a picturesque blue sea with warm waters that provide a view of the Burj Al Arab on one side and the Burj Khalifa on the other. If you don't want to die of a heat stroke, then go swimming in winters! Whats the use of visiting a beach destination if you can't sea bathe? Hence December!
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| Sunset on the desert... |
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| Arabic belly dancing.... |
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| Shaking booty with the belly dancer |
The Desert Safari:
What is the fun of visiting a desert if you don't traverse through it? The Dubai desert safari is an incredible experience which of course is way more comfortable in winters. You can watch the sun go down the Arabian desert, take a camel ride, roll in the sand followed by a sumptuous Arabian meal and Belly dancing.
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| The magnificent Jumeirah Mosque |
City tour:
Dubai has lots to offer in terms of history and architecture.From witnessing the evolution of Arabian history in the Dubai museum to visiting the impeccable Jumeirah Mosque and the Sheikh's mansion, such exhaustive sight seeing requires favourable weather conditions. Hence December!
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| The creek is studded with beautifully lit up Dhows at night.... |
The Dhow Cruise:
A trip to this Arabic city is incomplete without a visit to the Dubai creek which partitions the city into two parts: old or Deira Dubai and downtown or modern Dubai. The best way to do this is take a Dhow Cruise. Dhow is a huge wooden boat carved by hand which is beautifully decorated. During December you can feel the pleasant breeze of the creek blowing through your hair while you gently float through the creek.
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| The Palm Atlantis beautifully lit up on New Year eve |
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| Extravagant fireworks on New Year eve |
New Year Celebration:
As you might have noticed in the movie Happy New Year, New year is a BIG deal in Dubai. The Palm Atlantis Hotel lits up like a dream and there are never ending fireworks. So the New Year eve is best spent in Dubai.
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| Shop till you drop at the Dubai mall! |
The Dubai Mall and The Dubai Shopping Festival:
Whats a holiday without some shopping? It is no news for you that Dubai is the perfect shopping destination. The Dubai Mall is the largest mall in the world with over 1200 brands and offers everything under one roof. It is so huge that you may need even trolleys to traverse through it. But what you may not know is that an enormous sale comes up during January. It is called the Dubai Shopping Festival and brands offer discounts as much as 90% Is not it unbelievable? Well all this excitement happens in the month of January and lasts for a month.
So you can see that December is indeed the best time to visit Dubai. And the best time to book its tickets is October! #StayReady!
Travelling requires a lot of planning beforehand. But you have the right tools, then everything is final in a jiffy. To help you plan your holiday, go download the Make my trip.com app here.
So what are you waiting for? Book your tickets now till October end so that you can have a fabulous year end in Dubai!
Download the MakeMyTrip mobile app. #StayReady
10/16/2015
28
comments
I have been often told by my friends that I don't give enough place to my husband on the blog. Well the reason being he has his own blog and secondly he is more of a person behind my blog. Since it was his birthday and I don't have enough pictures of the celebration to come up with a post, I decided to dedicate this one. This post is for his love for cricket.
I know that the title of the post sounds pretty glamorous but it is not so in reality. Cricket is the biggest thing in our country and being married to a cricketer is even bigger! I have always loved being married to a powerful man. Though I am a hard core feminist, but there is no harm in handing over the authority to my man every now and then. I am writing this post quite late (as I did not get time) and this day points to a few months ago during spring. What had irked me the most post marriage became the reason for immense pride that day!
I have been following the game of cricket since 1996, when I was a kid. That makes around 20 years of watching cricket till today. However after I got married, this game became my number one enemy. My husband is obsessed with cricket and I found cricket taking my position after he came back home from the hospital. So slowly I developed an immense aversion towards it.
Husband was right in his place. He used to explain that the way fashion is for me, cricket is for him. He had been a pro cricketer in his adolescence, before his entire time and energy had been taken up by his medical commitments. In fact he was even in the under 19 team of Uttar Pradesh. After a severe ligament injury in his 3 rd year of medicine, he was unable to play further. So he was unable to continue his passion professionally. He continued with coaching the neighborhood kids and playing pastime cricket.
Few months back his hospital announced to host the Max Cricket Premier League. There were supposed to be 4 teams and he was overjoyed. Four teams were formed: Dragons, Kings, Emperors and Warriors. He was in the Dragons team. The head doctor of his department was the captain and he the vice captain. For a good fifteen days, he was meticulously building the team, training them and spending long hours on the ground after work. I completely supported him as I knew how much cricket means to him.
Then the big day came. I was super excited. I would be watching him play on the ground for the first time! The event was supposed to place in the Chilla Sports Complex, where I had never been before. I had every reason to be excited and nervous!
Unfortunately the team against the Dragons was very strong and they were defeated badly. In fact that team went to win the League! I had mixed feelings. I am a very competitive person by nature and cannot handle defeat very gracefully. However I had numerous reasons to be happy. I saw him playing on the ground for the first time. He was the highest scorer of his team and he also took wickets! Also I got to roam around the entire Chilla Ground Complex which I could not have done without its membership! After the match we had snacks and I romped around and enjoyed being the wife of a cricketer. Short and sweet glamour!
Leggings: Forever21
Purse: Shoppers Stop
Shirt Bar III
Top: Uni Style Image
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| Posing with the bat... |
I know that the title of the post sounds pretty glamorous but it is not so in reality. Cricket is the biggest thing in our country and being married to a cricketer is even bigger! I have always loved being married to a powerful man. Though I am a hard core feminist, but there is no harm in handing over the authority to my man every now and then. I am writing this post quite late (as I did not get time) and this day points to a few months ago during spring. What had irked me the most post marriage became the reason for immense pride that day!
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| A cricketer WAG |
I have been following the game of cricket since 1996, when I was a kid. That makes around 20 years of watching cricket till today. However after I got married, this game became my number one enemy. My husband is obsessed with cricket and I found cricket taking my position after he came back home from the hospital. So slowly I developed an immense aversion towards it.
Husband was right in his place. He used to explain that the way fashion is for me, cricket is for him. He had been a pro cricketer in his adolescence, before his entire time and energy had been taken up by his medical commitments. In fact he was even in the under 19 team of Uttar Pradesh. After a severe ligament injury in his 3 rd year of medicine, he was unable to play further. So he was unable to continue his passion professionally. He continued with coaching the neighborhood kids and playing pastime cricket.
Few months back his hospital announced to host the Max Cricket Premier League. There were supposed to be 4 teams and he was overjoyed. Four teams were formed: Dragons, Kings, Emperors and Warriors. He was in the Dragons team. The head doctor of his department was the captain and he the vice captain. For a good fifteen days, he was meticulously building the team, training them and spending long hours on the ground after work. I completely supported him as I knew how much cricket means to him.
Then the big day came. I was super excited. I would be watching him play on the ground for the first time! The event was supposed to place in the Chilla Sports Complex, where I had never been before. I had every reason to be excited and nervous!
Unfortunately the team against the Dragons was very strong and they were defeated badly. In fact that team went to win the League! I had mixed feelings. I am a very competitive person by nature and cannot handle defeat very gracefully. However I had numerous reasons to be happy. I saw him playing on the ground for the first time. He was the highest scorer of his team and he also took wickets! Also I got to roam around the entire Chilla Ground Complex which I could not have done without its membership! After the match we had snacks and I romped around and enjoyed being the wife of a cricketer. Short and sweet glamour!
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| My man doing net practice |
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| The Dragons team |
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| He shot a boundary on this ball |
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| Cute and colourful seats |
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| Spring Flowers |
Leggings: Forever21
Purse: Shoppers Stop
Shirt Bar III
Top: Uni Style Image
10/13/2015
5
comments
The best part about travelling to the islands is the island hopping (at least for me). Its not that I love cruising on ships...in fact I am very scared of sea sickness. I usually don't suffer from any but what if? The entire trip would be spoilt! But there are certain things that come with ships which cannot be fulfilled by planes! I find air travel boring..the same sky, the same clouds! Maybe for people who hate ships would say the same sea! But at least vessels provide a lot of space to move around! You can do whatever you want and chat with endless amount of people!
In this trip we had planned to go on two islands from Athens...Paros and Santorini. WE could have easily opted for domestic flights but we took the Blue Star Ferries instead. I wanted to stare at the Aegean Sea for endless hours and the cruise on Blue Star Ferries turned out to be one of the most beautiful memories of our trip! The first time we were to board the ship, we were late (as usual). We hurriedly checked out from our hotel in Athens and started running towards the bus stop. It was early morning and as fate would have it, we got into the wrong bus. Thankfully we got down at the next stop and started running from there...again. The concern was that we had the online tickets which needed to be exchanged for the real ones. Hubs was furious. Somehow all the blame for delay invariably lands up on me no matter whose fault its is. Anyways I am so used to all this by now.
The port was an enormous chaotic mess. Everyone was scurrying in different directions with tonnes of luggage. There were so many cruise lines...we needed to go to the Blue Star Ferries office. I spotted a huge vessel from a distance. Hubs first thought that it was the office ( given the gigantic structure of it). Later as we approached, we realised that it was our vessel to the paradise! Our ferry was at 7 25 AM and we got the tickets about 10 minutes before. When we approached to enter the ship, I was shocked! The queue to the gate was HUGE! It was clearly written that if anyone misses the ferry, the tickets are invalid! Phew! it was such a narrow escape! Somehow the enormous crowd slipped into the ship (including us) and the ferry started exactly at 7 25! Such pin point punctuality is indeed shocking for us Indians he he :D
The cabins were beautiful even as it was the economy section. Our neighbour was a crazy girl who took endless number of pictures with my husband. :D We ate, drank, stared at the deep blue Aegean Sea with the huge window. We were on the sixth floor of the ship and still waves splashed across the windows! Its one experience I would never forget!
The vessel was huge. It had a capacity of about about 7000 passengers and 1000 vehicles. It was my first time that I had been in such a ship. There were about ten floors; bustling with happy chirpy people. It seemed like a party. People were eating, drinking, playing cards, playing guitars...making every kind of merry. THis ship carried passengers bound towards three destinations...first Paros (where we were bound) then Naxos and finally Santorini. We took this very same ship from Paros the next day to Santorini. WE reached Paros at about half past eleven in the morning.
While leaving Paros, the same thing happened; ie we got late. After hubs dropped off his bike, we started running from our apartment. The serene blue Aegean Sea was on one side and the white washed houses on other side of the road and we were dragging our luggages in between. I tried to make a vlog of the beautiful surroundings but could not. After running for about 10 minutes, we reached the port. The motive behind taking a hotel so near to the port proved useful both in Athens and Paros. Thankfully we boarded the ship on time and bade goodbye to Paros!
After an hour our ship stopped at Naxos Island. An enormous group of people disembarked at Naxos and even a bigger crowd accumulated at the balconies and terraces (including us) to bid them goodbye! It was such a festive atmosphere! The wind was crazily chilly (at the middle of the day with the sun shining in full glory) and everyone except us were wearing knits. In Delhi the weather is pretty well defined...if its summer, there is no way the wind would be chilly leave the fact that there could be any need to wear sweaters! If its winters, then heavy woolens are must! I braved the cold winds for sometime and then urged hubs to go inside (who was loving the chill). We reached dreamland Santorini at around half past three. A series of adventures was about to begin!
Foral Dress: Shoppers Stop
Polka Dot Dress: Globus
Sunnies: Aldo
Bag: Furla Candy
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| The picturesque Naxos Island in the backdrop |
In this trip we had planned to go on two islands from Athens...Paros and Santorini. WE could have easily opted for domestic flights but we took the Blue Star Ferries instead. I wanted to stare at the Aegean Sea for endless hours and the cruise on Blue Star Ferries turned out to be one of the most beautiful memories of our trip! The first time we were to board the ship, we were late (as usual). We hurriedly checked out from our hotel in Athens and started running towards the bus stop. It was early morning and as fate would have it, we got into the wrong bus. Thankfully we got down at the next stop and started running from there...again. The concern was that we had the online tickets which needed to be exchanged for the real ones. Hubs was furious. Somehow all the blame for delay invariably lands up on me no matter whose fault its is. Anyways I am so used to all this by now.
 |
| The huge Blue Star Ferries vessel |
The port was an enormous chaotic mess. Everyone was scurrying in different directions with tonnes of luggage. There were so many cruise lines...we needed to go to the Blue Star Ferries office. I spotted a huge vessel from a distance. Hubs first thought that it was the office ( given the gigantic structure of it). Later as we approached, we realised that it was our vessel to the paradise! Our ferry was at 7 25 AM and we got the tickets about 10 minutes before. When we approached to enter the ship, I was shocked! The queue to the gate was HUGE! It was clearly written that if anyone misses the ferry, the tickets are invalid! Phew! it was such a narrow escape! Somehow the enormous crowd slipped into the ship (including us) and the ferry started exactly at 7 25! Such pin point punctuality is indeed shocking for us Indians he he :D
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| All ready to board... |
The cabins were beautiful even as it was the economy section. Our neighbour was a crazy girl who took endless number of pictures with my husband. :D We ate, drank, stared at the deep blue Aegean Sea with the huge window. We were on the sixth floor of the ship and still waves splashed across the windows! Its one experience I would never forget!
 |
| I could stare at this view forever... |
The vessel was huge. It had a capacity of about about 7000 passengers and 1000 vehicles. It was my first time that I had been in such a ship. There were about ten floors; bustling with happy chirpy people. It seemed like a party. People were eating, drinking, playing cards, playing guitars...making every kind of merry. THis ship carried passengers bound towards three destinations...first Paros (where we were bound) then Naxos and finally Santorini. We took this very same ship from Paros the next day to Santorini. WE reached Paros at about half past eleven in the morning.
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| The nautical Greek flag... |
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| While disemabarking at Paros Island...all the passengers are bidding goodbye. When the ship stopped at Naxos the next day, we were the ones to bid goodbye! |
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| Elated after reaching Paros Island... |
While leaving Paros, the same thing happened; ie we got late. After hubs dropped off his bike, we started running from our apartment. The serene blue Aegean Sea was on one side and the white washed houses on other side of the road and we were dragging our luggages in between. I tried to make a vlog of the beautiful surroundings but could not. After running for about 10 minutes, we reached the port. The motive behind taking a hotel so near to the port proved useful both in Athens and Paros. Thankfully we boarded the ship on time and bade goodbye to Paros!
After an hour our ship stopped at Naxos Island. An enormous group of people disembarked at Naxos and even a bigger crowd accumulated at the balconies and terraces (including us) to bid them goodbye! It was such a festive atmosphere! The wind was crazily chilly (at the middle of the day with the sun shining in full glory) and everyone except us were wearing knits. In Delhi the weather is pretty well defined...if its summer, there is no way the wind would be chilly leave the fact that there could be any need to wear sweaters! If its winters, then heavy woolens are must! I braved the cold winds for sometime and then urged hubs to go inside (who was loving the chill). We reached dreamland Santorini at around half past three. A series of adventures was about to begin!
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| At the entry of our cabin... |
Foral Dress: Shoppers Stop
Polka Dot Dress: Globus
Sunnies: Aldo
Bag: Furla Candy
10/08/2015
5
comments
