Sky above your head, sand beneath your feet and an endless ocean in front of you – what else do you need?

There is something therapeutic about spending a day at the beach. You can have a deep and meaningful personal experience if you simply pause, breathe and allow the ocean to communicate with you. It can help you develop a new and refreshing perspective on life. If you allow the waves to whisper in your ears, a few hours spent at the beach can be one of those experiences that make you look within yourself and seek a deeper meaning in life.

If you simply calm your mind, you will be able to see that there are many life lessons you can learn from the sea. On the surface, there may be big waves crashing into each other, there may be noisy storms forming with sudden lightning. But if you look a little deeper, a few meters below the surface, you will see that the vast sea always remains calm, undisturbed, unaffected by the small disturbances on the surface. Perhaps, we can all develop a similar mind-set and apply it in our daily lives. When the hustle and bustle of our daily lives make us restless, angry, sad or even depressed, we should take a look deep within and learn to remain calm, just like the ocean, undisturbed by surface turbulences of external circumstances.

You, the real you, deep within, beyond the layers you unintentionally created to meet the society’s definition of happiness, should remain calm and clear regardless of external disturbances. If you can master this one skill, you will be able to experience all the dimensions of life to the fullest.

Be the ocean!

The post Happiness is Feeling the soft sand as the waves kiss your feet appeared first on Hetal Chirag.

We took a day trip to say hello to some giraffes over the weekend at the Nairobi Giraffe Centre. Besides witnessing the graceful and majestic Rothschild Giraffes for the first in my life, feeding them with my bare hands was a fascinating experience I could never forget.

Some of the more outgoing people also went for a kiss with the giraffes. After all, how many people can say that they have kissed a giraffe? If you hold a food pallet in your mouth, the giraffes would not hesitate to come in for a kiss. Did you know that there are more than 300 Rothschild Giraffes taken care of at various National Parks in Kenya?

Besides visiting the Giraffe Centre, we also visited Hell’s Gate National Park when we were in Kenya. We left Nairobi and headed to Naivasha, enjoying local Kenyan music in our flashy Matatu equipped with crazy subwoofers. On our way to Naivasha, we took a quick stop to enjoy the amazing view of the Great Rift Valley.

After entering the Hell’s Gate National Park, we could either rent bikes or travel by safari Jeeps to explore the park. Although the biking option included a 15 km ride through sand covered gravel roads full of potholes, majority of my friends and I chose to go with the bikes. Those who chose the safari Jeeps were sheltered from the extreme heat and dirty roads, but biking with zebras, water buffalos and giraffes just a few feet away from the road was an adventure in itself.

After biking for a while, we came across a rock which seemed oddly familiar from a Disney movie. We all pulled over and got down to see the Pride Rock where the Lion King had begun.

The post Feeding friendly giraffes at the Nairobi Giraffe Centre appeared first on Hetal Chirag.

Situated in the village of Mengwi, Taman Ayun temple is certainly one of the most attractive temples in Bali. Taman Ayun means “beautiful Garden” and as its name implies, the temple is surrounded by beautiful green gardens and ponds. Built in 16th century, this temple showcases remarkable architecture inspired by Balinese culture. There is a unique fountain inside the temple that has nine water jets positioned according to cardinal positions signifying the nine main Gods of Balinese Hinduism.

While we were in Bali we also visited another unique Balinese temple called the Batuan Temple. Unlike other big temples in Bali which attract a lot of tourists, Batuan Temple was more of a traditional Balinese temple. We simply pulled over because it was on our way from Denpasar to Ubud, but I have to admit the temple did not disappoint. Before entering the temple, we borrowed colourful sarongs for a small fee to cover our legs. With intricate sculptures, beautiful paintings and traditional art works on the doors and windows, the temple looked absolutely stunning.

After visiting the Batuan Temple, we took a little detour to Tegenungan Waterfalls. It’s a hidden gem you must explore if you are a nature lover. Getting to the gorgeous Tegenungan Waterfalls is an exciting journey in itself. You need to walk down the stairs to reach the trail that leads to a narrow bridge made from bamboos and tree trunks held tightly together by a few straps.

Once we crossed the bridge, we went for a swim underneath the Tegenungan Waterfalls. Since the water is not too deep you can easily walk around in the water as long as you don’t get too close to the falls. If you don’t feel like going for a dip, you can simply sit back, relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the surroundings. Since this fall is situated in the dense forest area, it offers an amazing panoramic view of the milky white Tegenungan Waterfalls surrounded by lush green trees.

The post Pura Taman Ayun – A must see water temple of Bali appeared first on Hetal Chirag.

A few days at the beach in the middle of the Indian ocean is the perfect break you can have to simply unplug from the fast paced work life. With an ambitious goal of visiting every single country on this planet, we usually plan our year in such a way that we can take a few weeks off from our busy work life and visit at least 3 new countries every year.

If you are like us and love to explore marine life, you should not miss out on snorkelling experience at the Maldives. The underwater world is simply enchanting. You will be able to see an incredible amount of colourful fish among the corals. Every time we go snorkelling, it feels like we are entering an unknown underwater world. There is just so much to explore.

With over 1000 islands, you can go island hopping and explore unique tropical beauty of different islands. It is absolutely fascinating that all the coral islands of Maldives are just 6 feet above the sea level which happens to be the lowest in the whole world. In 2007, Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change predicted that by 2100 the sea level will rise by around 60 mm. If their predictions become a reality by then, we may not be able to visit around 200 beautiful Maldivian islands as they may be submerged in the Indian ocean.

Maldives, which happens to be the smallest Asian country, has a rich culture history as well. It has gone through many historic changes ranging from a Buddhist era, an Islamic era, and a Colonial era before the country got its independence. The Islamic Republic of Maldives has a diverse cultural heritage which is influenced by Sinhalese, South Indian and Arabian cultures.

The post Explore beautiful coral reefs at the Maldives appeared first on Hetal Chirag.

We travelled from Madrid to Pamplona using 4 different modes of transportation which included a flight, an inter-city bus, a metro, and a shuttle. As soon as we entered the city, we started seeing people in red and white. 27The very first thing we did was to buy our outfits and join in the festival spirit. We purchased our outfits right at the bus stop and checked into our hostel. People from all over the world come to Pamplona during this week so all the hostels were overbooked and overpriced.

After freshening up and putting on our red and white outfits, we went out to explore the city. It seemed like the whole city was a big street party. Everyone, including young kids, teenagers, adults our own age and elderly ladies and gentlemen, were all dancing, singing, and enjoying the music on the street. It was the first time I ever saw people using sangria squirt guns. Everyone was in a great mood without a care in the world. It seemed like the whole city was a big street party. We joined the crowd and enjoyed the music, dancing, sangria and fireworks.

The next day we woke up at 5 a.m. to run with the bulls. When I look back, I can definitely say that it was one of the craziest things I have done in my entire life. From where we began, it took us barely 20-30 seconds to enter the ring and finish the run. But the adrenaline rush was certainly worth the madness.

The post San Fermin Festival – a week long round-the-clock non-stop fiesta appeared first on Hetal Chirag.

We had access to scrap wooden planks from which we assorted long, usable 2″X4″ logs to build the platform for hydroponic garden above the ground. After building the box frame for the vegetables and plants, we covered the platform with a waterproof liner and stapled its edges to the sides of the box frame. We then crushed wood charcoal and mixed it with the fine powdered growing medium. After that we watered the light and airy growing medium so that the vegetables could have plenty of humidity once they are planted.

Once the platforms with growing medium were ready, we transplanted pre-grown small vegetable plants in rows at equal distances. After planting the vegetables, we moved on to building a roof on top of the garden that can act as a greenhouse for the garden and protect it from too much heat or rain. And finally our hydroponic garden was ready for free supply of vegetables to these kids.

As we continued working on our hydroponic farm, we learned that plants can grow a lot faster using this new soil less technique of farming compared to conventional farming methods. It turns out they can absorb more nutrients from the growing medium compared to ground soil. And since there is absolutely no soil used, there are no soil-borne diseases that require the application of toxic pesticides. While working on this project, we also had a chance to hang out with the kids. They simply were adorable and were very curious about where we were all from and what exactly we were working on.

Besides volunteering, we also got a chance to relax at Eco Lodge and participate in a number of adventures such as zip lining, rappelling, white water rafting and surfing while we were in Costa Rica.

The post Building a pesticide free hydroponic garden in Costa Rica appeared first on Hetal Chirag.

After relaxing on sunny beaches of Barcelona, Spain, we travelled through Italy. Besides enjoying delicious pizzas, pastas and countless plates of tiramisu, we drove across Italy and explored Rome, Pisa, Florence, Cinque Terre and Lake Como.

If you are fascinated by the history and ancient architectures, you have to visit Rome once in your lifetime. It seems like you can’t walk more than a few meters without coming across something of historical significance. Unless you know your history very well or have an informative audio guide or a guide book, we would recommend taking a guided tour. We took a guided walking tour that started from Roman Forum and took us through the Coliseum.

At the Roman Forum, each scattered stone remain has its unique story to share. Our guide showed us pictures of the current Coliseum and compared the remains with illustrations of what the architecture might have looked like in ancient times. From the illustrations, we can clearly visualize how majestic the Coliseum must have looked during the Roman era. No pictures or videos can describe the experience of actually walking through the hallways and witnessing the arena where the gladiators used to fight for their lives.

After exploring Rome, we drove to Cinque Terre to witness beautiful coastlines surrounded by green mountains and colourful homes on the slope of the hills. Although it is very easy to catch a train or a ferry to visit nearby villages, we decided to take a more adventurous route and hiked from one village to another. If you are foodie, you can stop by local restaurants along the way and enjoy delicious local food while admiring the beautiful view of green mountains, blue ocean and clear sky. Since the villages are not very far from each other you can simply walk to nearby villages using scenic mountain trails.

The post The Coliseum – an iconic monument of ancient Rome appeared first on Hetal Chirag.

After relaxing on sunny beaches of Barcelona, Spain, we travelled through Italy. Besides enjoying delicious pizzas, pastas and countless plates of tiramisu, we drove across Italy and explored Rome, Pisa, Florence, Cinque Terre and Lake Como.

If you travel to Italy, you have to witness the breath-taking beauty of Lake Como. When we visited Lake Como, we stayed in one of the lake side towns and took a ferry cruise to explore beautiful Italian Villas around the lake. Our tour guide pointed out summer residences of famous Hollywood celebrities including George Clooney and many more near the western shore of the lake. You can simply sit back, relax and enjoy the view of snow-covered alps with lush green trees over the lake.

If you are an adventure lover, Lake Como also offers activities such as windsurfing, sailing and kite surfing. The name “Lake Como” or “Lago di Como” is derived from Latin name of Lagh de Còmm. This “Y” shaped lake is easily reachable from Milan. Each major town at the shores of Lake Como, including Bellagio, Como, Menaggio, Varenna and Lecco, offer unique Italian experiences and beautiful sights. Did you know that Lake Como is the deepest lake in Europe with the depth of around 1300 feet?

After you enjoy the natural beauty and charming villages of Lake Como, you can travel towards Rome to explore art, history and architecture. We visited the beautiful Vatican City while we were exploring Rome. The Vatican City is a true paradise for an art lover. The astonishing ceilings of Sistine Chapel, the hallways and galleries of Vatican museums, and the beauty of St. Peter’s cannot be descried in words. There is just so much art in one place that at times it seems overwhelming to observe and absorb.

The post Lake Como – the most beautiful lake in Italy appeared first on Hetal Chirag.

Our ATV ride really began when we took a turn form the main road and entered the rice fields. As soon as you catch a first glimpse of the rice terraces, it feels like you are witnessing something straight out of a fantasy story book. Lush green hills covered with layered rice terraces provided a stunning panoramic view that was unlike anything we had ever seen.

Our guide was very friendly and laidback so he didn’t mind us pushing the limits of the ATVs. After taking us through lush green paddy fields and steep mountain trails, he took as to a river which was a lot of fun. On our way back, we drove through a small village where friendly local people, especially the children, kept waving and smiling at us as we passed by.

After our ATV ride, we went to say hello to friendly monkeys at the Ubud Monkey Forest. As you stroll through the jungle it feels like you have entered a dream world with moss-covered ancient sculptures and hanging roots from tall banyan trees. You can also say hello to monkeys swinging from one place to another while exploring the lush green forest.

Feeding tiny bananas to the monkeys was also a fun experience. You just have to hold a banana in one hand and stand still. Monkeys will literally climb on your body and take the banana from you. Did you know that Ubud Monkey Forest is home to around 700 monkeys and more than 180 species of trees? This unique forest also contains three ancient Hindu temples dating back to 13th Century.

When we were in Bali, we also visited spectacular sunsets at Uluwatu Temple as well as Pura Tanaha Lot. If you are planning a trip to Bali, make sure you go for at least a week or so.

The post Explore Bali’s hidden natural treasures on an ATV appeared first on Hetal Chirag.

A few days at the beach in the middle of the Indian ocean is the perfect break you can have to simply unplug from the fast paced work life. With an ambitious goal of visiting every single country on this planet, we usually plan our year in such a way that we can take a few weeks off from our busy work life and visit at least 3 new countries every year.

If you are like us and love to explore marine life, you should not miss out on snorkelling experience at the Maldives. The underwater world is simply enchanting. You will be able to see an incredible amount of colourful fish among the corals. Every time we go snorkelling, it feels like we are entering an unknown underwater world. There is just so much to explore.

With over 1000 islands, you can go island hopping and explore unique tropical beauty of different islands. It is absolutely fascinating that all the coral islands of Maldives are just 6 feet above the sea level which happens to be the lowest in the whole world. In 2007, Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change predicted that by 2100 the sea level will rise by around 60 mm. If their predictions become a reality by then, we may not be able to visit around 200 beautiful Maldivian islands as they may be submerged in the Indian ocean.

Maldives, which happens to be the smallest Asian country, has a rich culture history as well. It has gone through many historic changes ranging from a Buddhist era, an Islamic era, and a Colonial era before the country got its independence. The Islamic Republic of Maldives has a diverse cultural heritage which is influenced by Sinhalese, South Indian and Arabian cultures.

The post Enjoy the warm waters of the Indian Ocean in Maldives appeared first on Hetal Chirag.