DocDivaTraveller: April 2018

Ah the archaic windmills!

I have a thing for windmills. No I don't mean the ones at Jaisalmer or Orissa or Nevada for the matter. I mean the archaic ones. The ones which used to be the source of power long before dynamos were invented. Each country has its own style of windmill. I was head over heels with the Greek ones.

Last year when I was teaching my neighbour's kid, I came across a heart warming Dutch story in his English Book. Since the Netherlands are very windy, they used to have a lot of windmills. Each windmill had a name and the villages used to communicate with each other through these windmills during cyclones. The story was about a boy whose parents were out of town. The way how he saved his windmill was a very sweet story. Suddenly I became really fascinated with the Dutch windmills. they were entirely different from the Greek ones. Maybe God had heard my inner prayers and fulfilled my wish. Otherwise Netherlands was squeezed last minute in our trip!

However seeing windmills in the city was out of question. I mean you can't expect them in Amsterdam, do you? Since we were very short on time, it was seeming distant to fulfil this dream of mine. I started researching on where to find them. Luck was on my side. Zaanse Schans, a village is Zaandam district is easily accessible from Amsterdam and has eight working windmills at one place! Jackpot!

The Netherlands are famous for its tulips, cheese, chocolates and of course windmills. In fact they are so proud of their heritage that the tissues served at the KLM flight had windmills and tulips printed on them! Too bad we visited in summers and hence we could not see the hundreds of hectares of tulips. I had visited the two capitals of tulips...Netherlands and Turkey but both in summers :( I have to take care of that next time.

You must have read it here how easily we reached Zaanse Schans. the real adventure began when we started exploring it. It was so beautiful!

Zaanse Schans is an open air museum which does not charge anything to roam around. However if you want to see the working of the windmills, you can go inside them for around 7 euro I guess. Since we were on a race against time, that was out of question.

Skirt: Nest

Top: Forever 21

Neon Pink Purse: from Dubai

4/30/2018 11 comments

Picture a fairy-tale town with breathtaking waterfalls, lakes and streams surrounded by lush greenery, enormous mountains covered with soft mist, and a whiff of coffee in the air. Looks brilliant, doesn’t it? Well, that’s Coorg, for you.

Nestled in the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, Coorg, which is also known as Kodagu, is a hill station in Karnataka. It is popularly known as the ‘Scotland of India’, and also happens to be a very popular tourist destination that welcomes people seeking adventure in the mountains.

However, apart from indulging in adventure sports, camping, hiking or river-rafting, there are many other things to do in Coorg, which promises to make your trip a memorable one. This beautiful, little town with curvy lanes offers exciting shopping opportunities to the tourists. Here are just some of the markets you need to add to your must-see list:

1. Kushal Nagar Market: This is a very popular tourist spot, mainly known for its shopping and entertainment facilities. Apart from offering a host of products, right from daily household items and sandalwood oil to Tibetan artefacts and silk saris, this place also serves as a shopper’s delight for anyone who loves to explore the nuances of different cultures.

2. Friday Market: As the name suggests, the Friday Market is a weekly event. This event offers more than just products to shop; it offers you a golden opportunity to explore the real Coorg. At the market you’ll find things like spices, coffee, dry fruits, home accessories and so much more for sale.

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3. Flea Market: This is a perfect place to shop for exciting souvenirs. Some of the famous items sold here include semi-precious stones, antiques and winter wear.

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4. Tibetan Market: Located close to the Tibetan monastery, this market offers a range of beautiful and unique items that you can gift your family or friends. Some of the best buy includes Tibetan costumes, carpets, artefacts, and paintings.

These astounding markets promise to make your experience of shopping in Coorg a brilliant and remarkable one.

If you are planning to visit this little town with vast stretches of emerald greenery, ensure you do some research on resorts in Coorg. It is advisable to select a resort that has easy access to local markets and other popular tourist attractions. If you would like to enjoy a comfortable stay with your friends or family, make sure to have a look at Club Mahindra Coorg resorts in Madikeri and Virajpet, which offer the best amenities to ensure your stay is a pleasant one. We aren't the only ones saying this. To read up on the guests' experiences, you should definitely check out the Club Mahindra reviews, we're sure they'll convince you to vacation at Coorg resorts. We look forward to seeing you in Coorg, where you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the vacation of a lifetime!

Plan a vacation with Club Mahindra today & have a pleasant and memorable stay at Coorg resorts with family.

4/25/2018 3 comments

In my last post I had talked about how to grow your hair longer naturally. Although those are tried and tested (and permanent) they are quite tedious. I mean you have to be consistent in your daily routine in eating and exercising so that you can see your hair grow long...maybe after 6 months? Well if you don't have the time to wait and need instant results, this post is for you.

Ever wondered how actresses and models and even our girls next door switch up their hairstyles in a jiffy? Some years before Bipasha Basu had chopped her hair in to a bob. The very next day she walked the ramp with long hair. How? Well the answer is very simple. Hair extensions!

Yes, hair extensions and hair bundles are the easiest way to increase the length of your hair or switch up your look in a matter of minutes. You can change the colour, style, thickness...anything without damaging your own hair. How cool is that? I just found a website Best Hair Buy which has some amazing styles!

BestHairBuy Hair extensions: These are the easiest way to increase volume and length. These are Remy human hair extensions. Also used in luxury salons. Tired of thinning hair? Go for these extensions! You can opt for blonde, brunette, black or any colur that you want your hair to be or that matches with your natural hair colour. You can opt for different lengths starting from 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 inches. Easy to put on and take out!

BestHairBuy Virgin hair: These bundles can be curled, straightened and styled in any form. They can be washed with a mild shampoo and air dried. Healthier cuticle, healthier appearance and offers a polished shine. Life span is 6 to 12 months with proper care. You can opt for a combination of lengths like (12+14+16 inch) or (14+14+14 inch) and so on.

BestHairBuy Hair Bundles: These have the best price match. They can be dyed, styled , curled, straightened etc. They give a healthy cuticle appearance. These bundles have a strong, double drawn weft. The length range is wider...starting from 10 inches and going up to 30 inches! Life is about 12 to 18 months with proper care.

So which style is your favourite? Let me know!

Stalk them on Social media:

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Instagram: https://instagram.com/_besthairbuy

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/user/besthairbuy

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/besthairbuyclub

Blog: https://www.besthairbuy.com/blog/

4/24/2018 No comments

When I landed in Melbourne, I was like...how I wished I moved here permanently!

I am sure you must have been abroad. And the moment you have landed in a First world country, you must have sighed 'how clean is everything!' Well let me declare...You are not the only one! Cribbing over certain aspects of our motherland (uncleanliness, corruption, iliteracy, etc) doesn't make us less in love with our own country. But it certainly evokes a desire to shift to a better place for studies and eventually for settling down in life.

People like my parents were overtly content with their country. That's why they neither thought of migrating nor sending me abroad for higher studies. For them abroad was just for vacations. My Dad being an engineer in a PSU got numerous opportunities to settle abroad for work but he never accepted those offers. Fast forward 10 years since my first exotic trip, I now know the difference. How I wish I could have studied and eventually settled in any of the developed nations. My profession does not have any scope for settling abroad in the near/distant future. So I have to be content with just exotic vacations only. I however have decided that my daughter will go to study abroad. It's not that I don't love my country. I love my motherland to bits. However I want my piece of heart to lead a better life without any pollution. And I think there is no harm in wanting that.

Moving abroad for studying comes with its own set of challenges. In order to get accepted in a university one has to get a good score in the English Language test and that's a mammoth task as we belong to a non English speaking nation. When it comes to English, we Indians rank far better than European or South American nations as we are introduced to this language right from childhood. However when it comes to proving our mettle as an English speaker on an international level, it's quite a challenge. I have seen hundreds of my friends toil for IELTS and TOEFL test. So many of my friends were denied their student Visa as they were unable to get the required score on time. A lot many were denied their PR because of the same reason. I don't want my daughter to face all this. So I have started my homework pretty early and I have discovered an English Language test which is superior to all.

What is PTE Academic?

The PTE Academic stands for Pearson Test of English Academic which is a computer based language test that helps in getting admission into Foreign universities or for migration. It's the fastest, fairest and the most flexible way to prove one's English language proficiency for immigration or student visa.

What is the process of PTE?

Just like any exam, preparation is very important. One should be thorough with the test format and be able to tackle questions correctly. PTE Preparation Course fully develops you for the real test. You can sign up for online tutorial and can take numerous inspired tests. There is a free Test Taker handbook available in 7 languages with lots of FAQS. Also you can judge whether you are ready for the test or not through Practice Tests Plus. There is also a provision for advanced preparation. Test takers can book courses online and take scored practice tests which can guide them as to when they are ready to book the real test.

What is the format of PTE Academic?

Why PTE?

With a couple of other established English proficiency tests, why should one opt for PTE?

PTE Academic is a fully computerized test which means zero bias. Results are available within 5 days which is super fast as compared to other tests. Also this test is approved in all the Australian, New Zealand and Irish universities and hundreds of other universities in USA and Canada and 96% of universities in the UK. Not to mention innumerable universities in rest of the world. Prestigious institutes like Cornell University, Leeds University, Monash, Harvard, Webster University, University of Ottawa, etc etc all accept PTE Academic.You can send your scores online to a number of institutions without any extra charge. The test is very flexible as you can book 24 hours in advance. It is conducted on 360 days a year with over 200 centres around the world. It's conducted on a single day over a 3 hour session. Therefore it's #DefinitelyPTE

Below is a tabular comparison of PTE Academic with other known English tests.

How is PTE Academic structured?

How to interpret the scores?

The test is scored on the Global Scale of English, granular scale of 10 to 90.

Since scoring is fully computerised, it's unbiased and highly accurate. It does not really matter where test takers come from as it's computerised. Palm vein scanning, randomized test forms and data forensics ensure test score validity.

How to book a test?

Booking the test is relatively easy and can be done conveniently by phone or online.

Before booking the test the candidate should be ready to furnish the following details as they appear in their documents if identification. Name, Date of birth, Citizenship, Country and City of birth, Credit or Debit Card details.

Online they can register and create a Pearson account. once their login details are received via email, test takers can schedule a test.

There are numerous centres in India in cities like Global Oppurtunities New Delhi, Global Reach Kolkata, Edwise Consultants Pvt Ltd Mumbai, Chennai, Global Reach Nagpur and many other cities too. All over the world, they have centres in USA, UK, Vietnam, Canada, Turkey, Australia, etc etc.

I guess PTE Academic has made immigration and Student visa approval pretty much a cakewalk process. At least now I know what test my daughter would appear in. It would be #DefinitelyPTE

4/22/2018 8 comments

Well it's a no joke that some of us really struggle to grow our hair. Some of us are trying to get longer hair than what we already have while others are trying to counteract the negative effects of a bad haircut. While a very few women on this earth are genetically blessed to have rapidly growing hair, most of us are struggling for length. Being in the hair and skin industry for the past 6 years now, I have discovered some 'secrets' and science which leads to longer hair, faster. So here are they:

Proper Nutrition: Our hair is made of keratin which is a type of protein. Hence in order to grow more hair, you need ample proteins! Generally the daily protein requirement of a body is 0.8 gms per body weight which you can roughly calculate as 1gm per body weight. So indulge in a diet laden with pulses, paneer, fish, chicken and eggs if you are a non vegetarian. Items like salmon and almonds are especially beneficial for healthier hair.

Don't underestimate the power of anti oxidants. Have loads of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. The more colour in your plate, the better.

Exercise: Exercise should be a part of daily lifestyle (just like drinking water and sleeping) Working out makes our heart beating faster and hence pumps blood to all parts of our body more efficiently; giving us glowing skin and healthier hair. Not to forget how effective stress buster it is!

Proper Hair care routine: You should take proper care of hair and not torture it by over styling and blow drying. Oil your hair regularly. Heat coconut oil slightly before application. In this way it penetrates deeper in to the scalp. Don't wash your hair daily..it rubs off all the moisture from hair. Also prefer towel/air dry over blow drying. Go for Hair spas regularly or you can even deep condition your hair at home.

With all said, there is even a short cut for longer, beautiful hair..hair extensions! BHF Hair is one such website that offers a gamut of option for elongating your hair. They have free shipping for all items and also have 30 day money back guarantee.

Clip in Hair Extensions: You can opt for different colours according to your preferences or to match your natural hair colour. They have blonde, brunette, red, dark hair, etc etc. These are 100% human hair and very easy to attatch. You can opt for your desired length and the number of clips. These are good clips with silicon insert directly under each claw to ensure a tight grip and prevent slipping. They are super easy to use and even easier to style!

Tape in Hair extensions: These are 100% virgin human hair with lots of styling options. These are fastened by special BHF tape which uses high ranking protein mucus and special hair lock cells design. These hair have natural lustre and you can style them as you want. They don't tangle nor break and have no weight!

So what is your mantra to getting longer hair?

4/20/2018 2 comments

So there I was in my dream city of Venice which is considered to be one of the most romantic places on earth. We had been roaming in the Veneto district for the past 20 hours but this was the first time we set foot in actual Venice, the land of canals. I was happy and sad too. Elated as it had been my fantasy for the last 15 years and sad since we had so little time. Also it had been raining non stop and it was really cold. All the other tourists were in their best winter clothing while we had just a formal jacket on. How I wished the rain stopped.

The rain finally stopped. The sun came out beautifully but not before 12 noon. And when it did, we all sat beside the grand canal basking in the sun. We climbed up and down at least a hundred bridges over the endless canals and canaliculi. Venice is very crowded. I mean that in the early hours (8 to 9 am) it was bustling with tourists. Venice is to be walked. I mean there are no motors. The only motors were in the water. I mean the canals were overfilled with water taxis, vaporetti, speedboats and all sort of motors that sent out black smoke. The only eco friendly option was the gondola.

Coming to the gondola, its ride is one of the most extravagant things to be done in Venice. I lot of people skip it altogether or go for sharing to save money. My partner wanted to share but I had been adamant right from India. I had specifically kept 100 euro aside for the gondola ride. Along with the visit to Venice, the gondola ride had been my dream too.

We approached the gondola station for the ride when we saw that they were not operating because of bad weather conditions. The wind was bad and there was a chance that the gondola could get capsized. We waited for the sun to come out.

Crestfallen we decided to have pizza. We had one with spinach and goat cheese and the other one with verdura (vegetables). We had them beside the Grand Canal while basking under the sun. Yes, the sun finally came out and it was noon! It was one memorable experience!

Tummy full, we again made a line to the gondola station. This time it was really crowded. I mean in whichever station we went, there was a long queue. We decided to stand in the queue or our turn would never come! Finally one more dream of mine was going to come true!

For most of us Indians, we associate the gondola ride in the Grand Canal of Venice with the very famous Bollywood song:' Do Lafzon ki ye dil ki Kahani' from the movie Great Gambler. That was a very high budget movie of the 80s and I know why and how. The great Amitabh Bachan and hottie Zeenat Aman woo each other on a gondola. After that, there has been many movies (Hollywood and Bollywood ) that have been shot in Venice and the gondola. I however was not influenced by the silver screen.

I have professed my fascination for Venice here. That was 20 years back. Yes I was a tiny kiddo! That little boy showed his home in Venice; the carnival, the canals and the gondola ride. It was since then my fascination for the ride in this royal boat began. It was years after when I got married to my Bollywood addict husband; I came to know about this movie. Lately, Deepika and Ranbeer , Akshay and Kareena and many other regional actors have shot here.

It was a no brainer that I wanted a Gondola ride. However many travellers skip it or share the ride to save bucks. It is one of the costliest activities in Venice. 80 euro for a 30 minute ride and 100 euro for rides after 7pm! I had asked my partner to keep aside 100 euro for the ride.

We got to sit in the Gondola after about half an hour of standing in the queue. As soon as I sat, the feeling was surreal. Our sailor did not speak much but he whistled a number of times.

We started rowing in a small canal. There were low bridges where we had to kneel down. We saw old Venetian houses. We started clicking pictures quickly. However whenever we would focus on a particular backdrop, by the time the shutter clicked, we would move further. Anyways 30 minutes is such a short duration. We did not even know when we reached the last leg of our ride.

The last ten minutes our gondola sailed from the small canal into the Grand Canal. We saw Marco Polo's house and then saw the Rialto Bridge and the St Mark's Square from a distance. It was the most beautiful view of Venice..the quintessential postcard picture. Husband managed to take a quick click with my phone when our gondola took a turn. We reached the deboarding station. I still could not believe that it was over!

I wish we could have stayed there longer...even if not for an entire day but at least for an hour! But of course we could not afford to spend 200 euros for a boat ride!

One thing was absolutely true for Italians as had been shown in the movie Eat, Pray, Love! Dolce far niente meaning the sweetness of doing nothing! There was a long queue after us for the ride. But our sailor chose not to give them a ride and went to have lunch; since it was his lunch time! How strange! They really don't run after money like we workaholics!

So even if the 'Boat ride' was hell lot of expensive, it's definitely the most romantic thing to do in this city of canals...or at least according to me!

4/14/2018 3 comments