On the edge of a vivid green rice field awash with the first rays of sunlight, a farmer offers a slice of his breakfast to God. He smiles as he arranges banana slices, bright yellow marigold petals, frangipani, a few grains of rice and a burning incense stick on a small tray made of palm fronds. As the fragrant smoke drifts along the slope, he prays for a rich harvest. Followed by a rhythmic sweeping of brooms to clean dwellings, the day is set into motion with gratefulness to God for driving away demonic spirits and a smile as bright as the day. Welcome to Bali, a province where respect…

We’ve all been on coffee dates. But can you recall a date where you have tasted 7 different kinds of coffee and 5 different kinds of tea? Now I can. Welcome to Cantik Agriculture Luwak Coffee – where, of the many popular Bali gems, you get to taste Luwak, Salak and Arak. It was on Day 3 of our Bali trip that our white Fortuner pulled up in front of Cantik plantation. Kadek, our young and energetic guide for the day, informed us with a laugh that ‘Cantik’ means ‘cute’. He introduced us to our Cantik guide, a smiling girl with chubby cheeks. I couldn’t quite pronounce her name. She…

Oh Bali, you are so beautiful! Quite a few years back, I had come across a picture where a girl in a blue dress and a Muji hat was standing in front of the iconic Bali gate. The picture was carelessly beautiful and the intricately designed gate cast a spell on me. Since then it had always puzzled me how can something as simple as a gate have such an impact on me. It was just a gate. Just another picturesque frame. It took me 2 long flights, 3 security checks and a 3-hour drive to realize that it wasn’t just any gate after all – it was the Gateway…

I couldn’t think of a better post to start 2019 with than my last travel experiences. Of the many things that 2018 has been for me, the most exciting has been travel (aside from my marriage of course). I’ve been lucky enough to go on 3 trips last year! More so because my dry spell on the travel front had been an excruciatingly long one till 2017. Come 2018 and the travel bug in me got pampered good. I welcomed the change with open arms and an open mind. May, 2018 – Thailand September, 2018 – Chandipur December, 2018 – Pune Pune was a work trip. My colleagues and I…

It’s been quite a few months since our honeymoon trip and I had been itching to tell you about our adventures. But then I thought why not show you what we’ve been up to. But before that, let me tell you how the destination decision came to be. So, while we’d been dating, we decided to go to Andaman and Nicobar islands for our honeymoon. It was all final. We we were looking at beautiful pictures of Andaman together, we decided to visit Havelock island, go on a nice little cruise, hit up the beach as much as we could, binge on street food etc. But then one fine evening…

It was, I think, two and a half weeks before my birthday that Tathagata asked me over breakfast whether I could take a leave from work on my birthday. I was immediately excited! Of course I could. It’s my birthday after all. With a hint of smile at the corners of his mouth, he brandished his phone. On the screen were two tickets to Chandipur! I couldn’t be happier! Chandipur is a neatly nested, cozy, sort-of-a beach resort on the Bay of the Bengal. It falls under the Balasore district of Odisha and is a good 16-kilometres away from the nearest railway station. Since the monsoon hadn’t completely left the…

Weddings are normally followed by family visits. A new family member is always a person of interest. What’s s/he like? Does s/he feel comfortable and all settled in? Getting to know the new family addition shoots up to the #1 trending event in the family bulletin. Invitations start pouring in by the minute. It’s exciting – visiting new places, meeting new people and getting to know some fun stories. Perks are travel and an overload of delish dishes! So, we reserved a day of every weekend to make the rounds. On one such expedition to Notun Kaka’s place at Shibpur, we decided to visit the Botanical Garden after lunch. Oh…