Travels and thoughts

Located around 350km north west of Vietnam is Sapa- a verdant valley nestled between imposing mountains with views of paddy fields and rolling hills. the first impact of the lush greenery is blissful and calming. Sapa is situated at a height of 1650m and has wonderful temperatures of 17 - 14 in May. As it rains sporadically at this time of the year, we were greeted with rainfall now and then. We drove from Hanoi to Sapa. The journey took around 5 hours with halts in small rest houses that provided basic amenities and food. Tender coconuts were in abundance - served chilled. The day was beautiful for the journey. Within half hour we were on the highway to Sapa. The first  pitter patter of rain drops on the windows was music to our ears.  The lush greenery  around us with the clouds drifting lazily in the breeze was p was soothing to Dubaizens. Stopping by at one of the rest houses, we tried the local hookka, which was trifle strong on the throat.  We stopped ...

Nothing can be better than a travel getaway.  As empty nesters we look forward to any long weekend or break to a country to satisfy our travel bug . Our destination for this year Eid holidays was Vietnam. We managed to convince our friends Ananthi and Swami to holiday with us, yet again.  We landed at Hanoi airport around midday. The immigration was slow and excruciatingly painful, appearing chaotic in fact, as other passports kept getting head of ours,  but once out, the cloudy drizzle with humid air welcomed us. Typical of a place with much rainfall, the greenery was abundant and verdant. The drive from the airport to our hotel in the city rooms was past sleepy villages but we could discern lots of human activity which is always so pleasurable. We passed narrow houses with windows and balconies only on the front face mirroring the map of the nation. Flanked by the South China Sea to its East, land space is a premium. Vast paddy and rice fields could be discerned a...

As our long term memories get triggered, meeting up with school friends is a pleasant experience full of nostalgia.  Although I had studied with my friends for  less than two years, the bonding was strong and over the last four years, with regular meetings and reminiscences, had enhanced.  My friends and I decided to make a trip down South during Dec 2018 planning to visit Rameshwaram, Thanjavur and Chidambaram. Our journey to Rameshwaram started from Madurai which served as the meeting point. SH536 and NH 49 were the highways taken to make the journey. Incessant rains over the last weeks had made the the roads bumpy and the 200 km journey took quite some doing. Apart from the quality of the roads, the Hindu pilgrims making the devout journey to visit the Shiva temple offered much traffic.   We had to pass by the famous Pamban bridge which connects Rameshwaram island to the mainland - it is worth noting some salient facts about this famous landmark...