A Travel guide to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!!!

Yes this time to Malaysia, our trip was from 15th of Aug 2018 to 18th of Aug 2018. For a change we are listing the main attractions of the city, how to travel within the city and details which you would like to know as a traveler. Along with this we are just adding our itinerary as well.

So we boarded our flight from Cochin on 14th Aug at night and reached Malaysia at 6:20AM. Our stay was at WP Hotel.

View from WP Hotel 

Our itinerary were as follows:

Day 1:

We covered KLCC Aquaria, KLCC Park, Suria KLCC. We couldn’t get ticket for Twin tower on this day.

Day 2:

Twin Tower, KL Tower, Lot 10 Mall Hutong, Bukit Bintang, Thean Hou Temple, Petaling Street

Day 3:

Batu Caves, Putrajaya, Central Market, Mariamman Kovil

On 18th early morning we checked out to catch our flight to Bangkok. Bangkok diaries will be coming soon in our blog.

So here we go with the list of places and its specialties:

Kuala Lumpur (KL):

KL is the capital of Malaysia and is one of the finest capital cities.  Like many a capital cities it is the melting point of local and international community,  so the integral Malaysian culture has blended with the different cultures around the world to form a sandwich culture. 

KL Twin Tower / Petronas Tower:

The highlight of the city is the KL twin tower / Petronas Tower. It was one of the tallest buildings (451.9 meter) of the world till recently. There are 2 towers as the name suggests but only one is open for tourists the other being used by the employees of Petronas. 

When you enter the twin tower, you would see 2 formula one cars on display with Petronas as their sponsor, probably in reference to Malaysia GP.

Formula One cars at the entrance of Twin Towers 

The Entry fee to Twin Tower is 80 ringgit per person. You could buy the tickets to the tower from the building itself or through online. To go to the ticket counter take left from the entrance where Formula One cars are placed and then take the elevator down, you will reach your destination. I would suggest to use Klook app and book online, may be 2 -3 days in advance for a good deal. You could choose a time slot. Night view should be amazing but it would be a long queue. Once you get the tickets, go to the basement 10 minutes in advance to your slot time. Once your time comes, you would need to stand in a queue and would be provided with a tag representing a group.  Each group has different colored tags like red, blue, green, etc. 

View from Sky Bridge 

Once the time slot is ready, you are called in to a lift.  Please be informed that umbrella, selfie sticks are not allowed. Don’t worry if you have one, there is a provision to keep these items in the locker. At the entrance itself you would be asked to pose and take few photos. After posing for the pics, you would be taken to Level 41. That's where the sky bridge that connects two towers exist. A guide would walks you through the details of the building. You could take photos or just stand and witness one of the finest marvels of modern engineering. You get to see the heart of KL city from there. Each team will be provided with some time to spend at the sky bridge and once your time is up you will be called upon.

From there, you would be taken to 82nd floor and from there you have to take another lift to 86th floor.  There you get to see the sky deck observatory.  Breath taking views of KL city, its sky scrapers, traffic etc. can be viewed from there.  There are few souvenir shops there if you would like to buy Twin Tower souvenirs. Here again you will be allotted with some time. You could take snaps and spend time enjoying the view from different ankles. There are also some models of twin towers placed in the observatory deck and an animation which will give you the impression that you are holding the Twin tower in your hand. You just have to stand in a place and keep extend your hands and you could see the twin tower being displayed in your hand. Isn’t it a nice one?

Once your specific time is over, you would be taken back via the lift.  There you could see the photos which you posed neatly framed. You could choose to buy those photos with you and Twin Tower as the back drop. 

Visiting Days: Tuesday to Sunday (Closed on Monday) 

(Closed during Hari Raya Aidilfitiri and Aidiladha) 

Visiting hours: 9.00am to 9.00pm (Closed from 1.00pm to 2.30pm in Fridays) 

In & around Twin Tower. 

KLCC Aquaria: Inside twin Tower, there is an Aquaria. You can try out the Aquaria if you love Marine animals. Entry fee is 65 ringgit per person. There are wide varieties of Marine animals in display. The best part being the feeding time, when a diver dives and provides food to this fishes, sharks and turtles. A visual to experience. Kids would find this activity more entertaining.

Feeding Schedule are as follows:

Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday:

Flooded Forest – Level 2:              2:30 PM

Aquatheatre – Level 2:  3:00 PM

Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday:

The Deep Sea – Level 2:                11:30 AM

Suria KLCC:

A high end mall is also available just near to twin Tower. There is an entrance to this mall inside of twin Tower or else you could choose through walk outside and reach here.  There are few terrific fountains in display which provides awesome fountain display during the evenings. Most of the people come and sit around this area in the evening to watch the fountain works, relax and enjoy.

KLCC Park:

In front of twin Tower, there is a park.  Most of the joggers and fitness enthusiast frequent this place. There are specific slots on the road in this area for the joggers.   If you walk around this area you can take some terrific pictures of twin Tower. 

KL Tower:

KL Tower is different one from Twin Tower. We mistook Twin Tower as KL Tower. So using an App called Klook, we booked a visit to KL Tower. It costed us 88 ringgit per person.  The Actual cost is 99 ringgit per person.  There like twin tower, you get to see the bird’s eye view of Kuala Lumpur.  So there is a sky deck and a sky box.  Sky box is pretty amazing where you walk along a glass floor to the edge of the tower to feel the adrenaline rush. A must try for sure.

There are photographers who would take pictures of you and you could choose to buy them if you like them. So there are 2 sky box in the tower, one on each end of the tower. Next to the sky box there is a cafe if you like to enjoy the view with a cup of coffee.  There is an observatory Tower where you get to see the beautiful view of the city, also there are few telescopes in display which you could try on.  We were using the telescope to find the hotel we lived. KL Tower also lists all the tallest buildings of the world. Also there are few souvenir shops there also if you would like to buy one.

 KL bird Park: 

KL Bird Park is one of the popular tourist attractions in KL. Due to time crunch we were unable to make to the bird park. There is always a next time. 🙂

Bukit Bintang:

Probably the most busiest and happening place of KL. A shopping Paradise so to say. The Pavilion mall is the highlight of this location, with almost all of the international brands in display, this mall just spoils you with choices.  A fountain towards the entrance of the mall is a landmark you can't miss. Other than the international brands there are quite a lot of local brand shops available on both sides of the road. We visited an outlet called 'brand' which had quite a lot of offers. 

Another attraction around this place especially for foodies the Lot 10 mall at Hutong. It’s a must visit place with wide variety of small shops serving different cuisines of different regions. This place provides you a one shop stop for trying out and just to have a glimpse of different food items available from in and around this region. 

Thean Hou Temple:

So if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, a soothing experience would be the Thean Hou temple.  It's a Chinese temple.  It's a bit far from the city atop a hill.  We used grab to reach there. We get to see the marvel of Chinese architecture. 

There are few statues of Buddha in different postures. The whole temple was decorated with Chinese lanterns which added to the beauty of the temple.  There were many a devotees who were offering prayers there. The scent of candles and the chants of mantras added to the divinity of the place. Behind the temple there were lot of Chinese sculptures in display.

Open hours for Temple: 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM

Petaling Street / China town:

Like many big cities, KL also has its own China town.  A visit to Petaling Street is a must for all travelers to KL.  There are numerous small small shops offering different products with less price.  There are fruit stalls, dress shops, shoes, bags, watches, souvenirs at display. The rates are tempting and you get to bargain your price around here. 

Batu caves:

From KL Sentral station we took trains to Batu caves. Considering other trains this train is quite slow.  It took us close to an hour to reach there. The per person ticket rate is 2.60 ringgit. Batu caves is quite near to the station. Once you get out of the station, just before the Batu caves, there is a Geeta upadesha / Cave. Inside the cave, there are statues placed each representing one of the highlights of Ramayana. 5 ringgit is the entry fee.

Just near to the Geetha upadesha cave, there is a small temple. As we walked further, we could see the mighty Muruga statue adorned in golden. There are a series of steps towards the cave.  There are quite a lot of monkeys enroute the cave. Many a people stop there to feed monkeys. Once you get inside the cave, there is a small temple. There are strict rules regarding the attire to the temple. It would be really good to wear appropriate dress mainly covering your shoulders and legs for this visit.

While you are getting down you can see Dark cave entrance at the right hand side. If you would like to see it you can get your tickets from there itself which will cost RM s5 per person. Once you completes your roaming you can get tickets back to KL Sentral from Batu caves station itself.

Batu caves to Sentral train time table 

Putrajaya:

From KL Sentral we took KLIA express to Putrajaya. Per person ticket charge is 14 ringgit. KLIA express is a better looking train than the usual metros that run in KL.  Putrajaya is the official capital city of Malaysia so to say.  All the government buildings, PM's office etc. is situated there. It's a planned city.  An artificial river runs through this city.  From the Putrajaya station we took a 2 hour package for a city tour which costs us 80 Ringgit. The driver was an old guy.  We had some interesting conversation with him regarding the new PM Mahathir Mohammed, Politics in general and the overall situation and life of Malaysians. We stopped near a bridge - Seri Wawasan - which had futuristic design making it one of the major landmarks of the city. We stopped near some of the government buildings. There were quite a lot of tourists mainly from China.

Putra mosque and Seri Wawasan bridge 

Then we went to putra mosque. We stood in a queue for a while. Here my wife had to get a special dress more of a long gown with a hood - kind of dress - which all women had to wear before entering the mosque. We visited the mosque, the mosque ceiling was adorned with colourful designs with elaborate architecture. We then roamed around and then went to the nearby lake view. Took few pics. There were few small shops just adjacent to the mosque. We had a quick look and then continued our city tour. We then stopped near Putrajaya International convention center. On the way there was a beautiful bridge - Seri Gemilang -. We stopped there for a while and wondered at the marvelous construction and was amazed by the view that it provided. You can go down the bridge via stairs and it has a small garden of sorts where people could come and visit. We took few snaps from there. Next we went to the top of convention center.  There we stood at a spot which was like the middle of the city.  We could see almost the entire city.  A view in itself. Our driver was happy enough to come and take our pic. After that he dropped us back at the station. 

Seri Gemilang Bridge and view from Putrajaya international convention center 

Central Market: As the name suggests, it’s a market in KL. It was established in the year 1888 by the British. Its considered as a heritage site. It’s a hub of activity through out the year. It has quite a lot of stalls on both sides. Travelers can scroll through the main sections with frequent food stalls in between. A must visit place of KL.

Mariamman Kovil: Its quite hard to believe that there is a mariamman kovil in the centre of KL city, but it’s true. As the name suggests, the main deity is Mariamman. There are other deities too. We visited the place in the evening, where there were lot of localites and foreigners. There was a Chinese group and there was a guide who was explaining about the temple and its history. We sat there for some time. We were offered the prasada , we had it and then after a while said adieu to this place.

Transportation in KL:

Monorail/KLIA express/KTM ETS/RapidKL:

Integrated transit Map 

Train services in Malaysia is quiet good too.  If you are aware of the nearest station to your destination then you can get into the train. Different routes have different modes of trains so you better do a thorough research before hopping into one. The tickets are in the form of tokens in case of RapidKL and monorail whereas for KLIA express it is a card. 

Card for KLIA express and token for RapidKL 

GOKL bus service:

Go KL is a free bus service provided by Malaysian government. This service is available via all the tourist attractions. There are 4 bus routes available like green line, purple line, red line and blue line. Please find below the link which provides the map for the GOKL. 

https://www.gokl.com.my/getting_around/index.html

Grab:

Grab taxi is one of the easiest means of transport in and around KL. You can download the app and register in it using the number and hail a ride using the app.  We found the rates in grab is cheapest among the taxies available within the city.  

SIM card:

We took Digi which is considered to be one of the stable network connection.

Visa:

We took multiple entry visa as we had a connection flight. You could go for single entry visa. For Indian citizens you should take take visa in advance.

Tips:

1) It’s better to avoid visiting Malaysia from October to December as this is the rainy season
2) There are 2 international airports in Malaysia. One is specifically for Air Asia. So if you are booking a connection flight in air Asia make sure that your both flights are of Air Asia.

In and around Kuttikkanam

Trip goes on….

5th May 2018 to 6th May 2018:

We as in me, Rakeu, his father and mother started our journey early morning to Kalvary Mount. We wanted to reach early morning at the mount to watch the fog. The previous time when we went there valley was clear and we got a picturesque view of the beautiful valley. This time we got to see another view, the complete valley was covered with fog which gave us a feeling that we are floating in top of clouds. It was really a wonderful experience. We would suggest you guys to go in the morning and wait till the fog is cleared. That way you will get both view of the valley. We also went to Anjuruli about which we have already covered in our earlier blog.

Smog - felt like floating clouds :)

Suruli waterfalls:

After spending some time at Anjuruli we went straight to Suruli waterfalls which is located some 56 kms from  Theni. We were expecting a nice big waterfall as we saw many people coming back drenched. But after a quiet long walk from the entrance when we reached the falls we were really disappointed as it was not like any waterfalls we have seen so far. It was a small waterfall and it was very crowded. Disappointed we headed back . If you have not seen any big water falls, Suruli can be included in your list , if not it's not worth it.

Suruli Waterfalls

Cumbum grape farm:

On the drive back we saw many Grape farms. Visiting one grape farm was always been my dream so we stopped by one of them and asked the permission of the people there and entered the farm.

Cumbum Grapeyard

Wow!!! We got a  real good view with rows and rows of grapes hanging in the grape vineyard. At entrance itself it was ripened black grapes and when we went inside and took a right turn we saw many unripened green small grapes hanging around the farm. We took many snaps. Visiting a grape farm was one of the items in my wish-list and now I can properly tick it off the bucket list . We bought some grapes from the farm itself and started our journey to Kuttikkanam. On the way we had a sumptuous lunch. We heard about a hiking option so we went in search of Vallakadavu Sathram. After enquiring with few localites finally we found it (better not to depend on Google for these areas as Maps are not updated for these spots). The jeep rates was 1500 for 2 hours. As we wanted to reach Kuttikkanam early we dropped the plan and off we go.

Kuttikkanam :

By around 4 PM we reached Kuttikanam and we went on the way which google took us but in vain. The Kuttikkanam castle which was our hotel where we booked our rooms were no where to be seen. Finally we ended up calling the hotel guy to enquire the route and realised that we went totally in a wrong direction. Even after the hotel guys instructions we were quite confused and called the guy 2-3 times to make sure that we are in the right path. On the way we saw some beautiful tea plantations, a small temple which reminds me of ancient temple which I have seen in many a movies.

A Small Temple on the way to Kuttikanam Castle

 Finally we reached Kuttikkanam castle by around 5 PM. The hotel guy told us that the hotel is usually seen from main road itself and due to the mist it was not visible at that time. And that was true the mist filled whole Kuttikkanam and the next day we were able to see our hotel from main road. Our hotel as the name suggests had a castle like structure. The mist filled night in the castle gave us a feeling of haunted house.  We had few fruits and snacks with us so we filled our stomach with these snacks plus a cup of coffee provided by the hotel guys.  We enjoyed the view of the whole valley filled with mist. On top of that it was drizzling which was an add on to the climate. I thought of getting up early next morning to take few snaps of the mist filled valley but the very next day when I got up from bed and viewed the valley from the balcony I was shocked to see a glass clear valley with mist to be seen no where.

Kuttikanam Castle

Parunthum Para and Tagore Rock :

We got freshen up and checked out early morning. Off we go to "Parunthum Para". Parunthum para is a scenic location on the way to Peerimedu. Parunth in local language means eagle and para means rock. As the name suggests the place gives you an eagle view of the valley. This location is also famous among Sabarimala pilgrims as from here they can view the Makarajyoti. Another attraction of this place is Tagore rock. The rock is said to have the shape of the famous Indian poet Tagore's head and hence the name. There is a pathway where people can walk around and there are also few benches placed from where you can sit and enjoy the view. I would say if you are tired or not sit here for a while to enjoy the natures beauty. We went down near Tagore rock and took few pics. And then we walked along the path way.  There were many photographers who were taking pics of tourists with the beautiful background which was something we didn't opted for. By around 9 AM we started from there and on the way we had our breakfast. 

Ammachi Kottaram:

Our next destination was Ammachi Kottaram. We reached Ammachi Kottaram without any hassle. Even though we were in a doubt whether this is the right place. We saw an old lady and enquired about the place and she said we are in the right place. So we parked our car and climbed the steps which was in between in a jungle I would say.  This was the summer palace where the wife of the Travancore King along with her servants stayed long back. The palace is in near ruins now. The entire palace consists of 3 rooms, 2 halls, Dining hall, Kitchen, store room and 2 secret passages. One secret passageway is for movement within the palace and the other secret passageway will take one to the Sree Krishna Temple in Peermade. But that passage is now closed for security reasons. The palace is being taken over by a business man from Bangalore. When we went there was an old guy who was the caretaker of the palace who took us around the place and showed up the entire complex. He explained us about each and everything. There were separate rooms for maids. The kitchen had an exquisite collection of washbasin which he said was imported from outside. He also told that this was the location for many a movies.We felt bad by seeing the condition of the palace. The whole building may collapse anytime. Part of kitchen was already collapsed. After paying a tip to the guy we started off. 

Way to Ammachi Kottaram

Valanjanganam waterfalls:

This is a waterfall located in Kuttikkanam. Waterfalls is situated in the high way itself. Unfortunately during our visit the falls was dried up. 

Panchalimedu:

Panchalimedu is a hill station and view point near Kuttikkanam in Peerimedu. According to myths, Pandavas along with their wife Panjali stayed here temporarily during their one year exile. That's why it is named Panjali medu. Medu means hill. There is a temple; the idol of the temple is believed to be gifted by Pandavas to the tribes who lived here and helped Pandavas during their stay. Several Shiva lingas and Trisulas are placed near the shrine. A small circular pond named Panchalikulam is also situated here, in which Pandavas and Panchali took their daily bath. 

On one side of the valley we could see many crosses being placed and on the other side it was Trisulas. We walked the whole way from one side to the other. There were many view points, and few shelters were also provided where many people were sitting. During our visit there was a construction going on to make this spot more attractive. After strolling around we started to Vagamon.

Vagamon Pine Forest:

Vagamon is a hill station and Pine forest is one of the attractions here. The entry fee is Rs. 10 per person. You can park your vehicle outside and walk through a narrow path to reach the  Pine forest. The forest is a valley full of acres of lofty pine trees growing on steep edges, which look out over the edge of a cliff. You could take a stroll through the alley watching the trees towering above you. Whatever be the climate once you enter the valley you will feel the coldness. Though this was my second visit to this pine valley I felt the same level of excitement when I reached the place. This was our last destination of this trip.

Hoping to meet you all soon with another list of places...:)

Among the Pine Trees ... ;)

Welcome to Goa Singham :)

It was time for another trip and we were thinking where to go this time. From the time of marriage Rakeu was planning for Goa and it never worked out. So this time we thought of going to Goa.

Goa has always been my dream destination since childhood. J And this was my third visit to Goa and Rakeu’s 5th visit.

I have gone there with my friends first time and second time with my cousins. And this time with my hubby… ;)

First time when I visited Goa I have covered almost all the Beaches like Calangute, Vagator, Baga, Miramar and also visited DonaPaula, Old Goa etc. And I went for all the water rides which includes Water scooter, Parasailing along the shore and sea which included dipping in the sea, banana ride, etc. And 2ndtime again I have visited Old Goa, Calangute,etc. And by chance we visited Church of Saint Augustine which was in ruins but had a great time visiting this one. This has been a place which most of the tourists doesn’t cover. We also went for Go Karting and enjoyed our rides. Few of the funny incidents that I remember during these visits are google maps asking us to take sharp left and right when we were in the middle of a field and when we reached dead end with no path to turn.

This time we started planning 3 months in advance and we booked train tickets to Goa. Even though we planned well in advance we still got one of our ticket in waiting list. We also booked at Estrela Do Mar Beach Resort.

Day 1&2: 22nd  and 23rd December 2017

It was Friday and after office we went home and packed all our stuffs and off we go to Railway station. We parked our car at Railway station and entered the satation. Our train Rajadhani Express was at 10:30PM but as it was running late by 30 minutes. Train reached Ernakulam South by 11:05PM only. We got into the train and as it was late our blankets were missing. Someone else might have taken it – We thought. We waited for some time and the attendees provided us with blankets. We had a sound sleep and I got up when someone came and said that I am laying in his seat. I told him that his seat is 22 which is upper birth. He didn’t believe it until TTR came and told him that his seat is upper birth. This happened at around 6:30AM and then I saw my hubby had woken up. I asked him whether he had a good sleep and he said yes. Then he brushed and came back. By that time train attenders started serving tea. I got a coffee and tea from them. I too went and brushed. After that Rakeu drank tea and myself coffee. We understood that train was running late.

After some time they provided us newspapers along with breakfast which includes bread with omelet and a veg roll. And Rail Bandhu magazine was also there. We noticed that on the way there were 3 tunnels which took around 30 seconds each to cover. Apart from this there were many more small tunnels. We reached Madgao station at around 10:45AM. Train was late by 45 minutes. When we got down itself taxi drivers surrounded us asking to take their vehicles. We said no to them and kept walking. Still one guy followed us and asked whether we need bike for rent. He said for Honda Activa he will take 700 but we opted for Avenger and he told it will be more costly. He charged us 1000/day for avenger. We paid Rs. 3000/- rent + security charge of Rs.500/-. We started off to our resort and thought on the way we will fill petrol as the guy said there is not much petrol in the bike. Even before we covered 1km bike jerked and stopped. We were really worried as we had our luggage and we were not sure where exactly next petrol pump will be. Fortunately we could see petrol pump opposite to the road which was some meters apart. I took all luggage and kept it at the roadside and Rakeu pushed the bike and went to petrol pump to fill it. The night journey and the heat and struggling with bike made us tired. Our resort was more than an hour’s journey. So we had our lunch when we reached Panaji from a small shop nearby. We reached our room by around 2PM.

Estrela Do Mar Resort premises and Calangute Beach

Resort was really beautiful with its ambiance and settings. After completing the check in formalities we slept for some time. We got up by 3:40PM and freshen up. We got ready and made some tea at room itself and served ourselves. We got out by 5PM. When we were out of the resort we saw a way to beach so we took the path up. On reaching the beach we realized that it is Calangute beach. We started strolling while enjoying the breeze. There were so many food shacks available across the beach. This is one of the happening places in Goa. Almost all the water sports are available in this beach. As it was about time for sun set we thought of enjoying the sun set while we are feeding ourselves with some snacks. We choose one of the shacks named “Bosco’s Beach shack” and ordered Strawberry sheik, coffee, cheese tomato sandwich and fried eggs on toast. The food was not that great but the ambience and view of sun set made it add on advantage making the food tasty J. Once sun hide and moved to give light to the other side of the world we started walking again. On all the previous visits to Goa we have always used vehicles to go from Calangute to Baga beach. For the first time we walked from Calangute to Baga beach. We started from Om restaurant and walked to the right till Baga and to the end of the beach and walked the whole way back. We thought that we will cover the left side of the beach on the next day ;). Then we took our bike and went for a ride. While roaming around we came across a Tibetian market which had a large variety of antique collection. I wished to buy few items but satisfied myself with window shopping. The walk made us a bit tired and hungry so we choose Navtara Veg restaurant and had a sumptuous dinner. Then we went for some shopping here and there and finally returned back at around 10PM. The journey along with the walk through the shores had made us really tired and soon we were sleeping like logs.

Enjoying Sun set at Calangute

Day 3: 24th December 2017:

We got up early morning and as planned went for walk towards the left side of Om café restaurant though we didn’t cover the whole way till the end. We came back to the room and freshen up and then went straight for our complimentary breakfast. Breakfast timing was from 7:30AM to 10:15AM in case you would like to know about the serving time. The food was great. After filling our stomach we went straight to fort Aguada. The sun was at its peak tanning our skin. This fort was constructed in 17th century and was constructed by Portuguese. A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop by. This is how the fort got its name: Aguada, meaning Water. Fort Aguada is stands on the south of Candolim beach. After spending some time we went to Aguada light house which costs Rs.10/- per person. The top of light house had a small opening and only one person can walk through the stairs at a time. So we waited for people to come out and then we went up to get a full view of the Arabian sea and the beauty of Fort. We set out to Aguada jail after light house but the jail was closed and no entry was permitted for outside people. Nearby the jail there was a small beach where we got down and took few snaps. Then we went to “Sinquerim Fort”. The is an extension of the larger upper Aguada fort. The lower fort consists of a bastion and a section of fortified wall on both sides. During the 16th and 17th Century ships used to anchor next to the fort. Fort Aguada's ramparts overlook Sinquerim Beach and the Arabian Sea. 

In and around Aguada Fort

The long walk along the fort is really a good experience. When I visited the place last time the path was full decorated with flowers which blossomed along the fort walls on one side. From there we started off and had lunch from Punjabi classic family restaurant which was at Calangute. Then we filled petrol in our bike and went straight to Dona Paula view point. We did some shopping from the entrance of the view point. Dona Paula view point is the place where the famous film Singham’s shooting took place. Me and my hubby who were big fans of the movie were reciting few dialogues from the film while enjoying the site. The place was bit crowded so we didn’t spent much time there and started off. 

On the way back we visited Bambolim beach which is nearby Grand Hyatt hotel. This beach is not that famous so only few people were there in the beach. Some guys were playing beach football. We enjoyed our time in each and every place and we made our memory unforgettable by making pictures of look and corner J. On the way back we bought some fruits and reached our room at around 5PM. As the climate was hot we felt exhausted so we took some time off. We had some coffee and then we went out in search of a good restaurant and we ended up to have our dinner from Rasoi pure vegetarian restaurant. After dinner we went to cross of St. Alex church which is situated at Dolphin circle. As it was Christmas eve all the churches including our resort was beautifully decorated with lights and Christmas tree. St. Alex Church is one of the oldest churches in Goa and is the first chapel church. And from there we went to Mae de deus church. One of Goa's finest architectural marvels is the Mae De Deus Church in Saligao. It has the typical pointed arch, with buttresses supporting its exteriors, belfry, and spikes all which have come together to create a wonderful piece of Gothic architecture. Besides the main altar, this church has another six other altars, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacred heart of Mary, Christ the Redeemer, Our Lady of Asssumption, St.Francis Xavier and Our Lady of Piety. The altar, which is carved and gilded and tapers gracefully toward the ceiling. This was my second visit to these churches. Off we go to Panjim. Mandovi river had large number of cruises which were turned out to be Casinos. They were decorated with lights. The view was awesome. The whole river looked like a bride. J Then we went in search of “Our Lady of the immaculate conception church” which was at Panjim. I remember visiting this church during my first Goa visit but was not sure about the exact location. We roamed around and finally found the church which was really hard to miss. We bought some souvenir from outside shops. The church is located in Panjim and sits atop a hill facing the square below. The exterior facade of the church, rich with Portuguese Baroque style architectural elements is painted a bright white to signify the Immaculate virgin, Mary. The tall belfry centered atop the facade houses the bell from the Augustinian Monastery. The decorations made in the church were superb. Christmas crib(Pulkoodu) was the size of a man. The size of the people inside the crib and their movements which was robotic were really good. The decorations were mainly done with plastic bottles which we threw after drinking water/juices. Whoever had done the decoration had used their creative side of the brain and nailed it. Unfortunately none of the churches were open so we satisfied ourselves by visiting the premises/outside view. We came back to our room by around 11PM.

Our Lady of the immaculate conception church

Day 4: 25th December 2017:

We got up by 7AM and had our complimentary breakfast after freshen up. Breakfast served in the resort was in such a way to satisfy all sort of people visiting here. It had options like Indian breakfast, English breakfast and also few Italian combinations. We have tried almost everything we could and then we went straight to Anjuna beach. Google took us in the wrong side of the beach. Even the last time google trapped us at Anjuna beach. We wasted nearly an hour of time roaming around and ended up at the same place. Even though google took us at the wrong entrance the beach was nearby so we walked towards the beach. Anjuna beach has a Wonderful picturesque view with rocks all over the shore .Not at all advisable to plunge into water due to the rock formation. It is a good place to take some exclusive pics. The night clubs mentioned in Goan tourism website mostly located around here for instance Curly's. There are many shacks at the beaches but staying at shack for night is an expensive option, even at the off season they are asking for 4000 @night for AC room.  Most carried out activities at Anjuna beach include jet skiing and para gliding. For water sports enthusiasts this can be a disappointment as only some and not all water sports are carried out here. Yet some of these can be enjoyed here at reasonable prices which are costly at other beaches. Shopping lovers can enjoy lot of bargaining at the famous Anjuna Beach Flea Market. A good mix of Gujarati, Kashmiri, Tibetan shops make this one of the most sought after places.  Shop here for souvenirs, artificial colourful jewellery, hip – hop dresses and decoration items in this market which is lively at night too. After spending our time at Anjuna beach we went straight to our resort checked out and off we go to “Mall DE Goa”. We spent some time roaming around and watched a movie from INOX theatre. Then we had some food from the food court of the mall. We went straight to railway station and returned our bike which we rented from a place nearby railway station. When we entered the platform we saw a jam packed place with no place to sit. Somehow we find a place to sit and waited for our train hoping that we will plan for a trip very soon to rejuvenate ourselves.