My Travel Tales

Maldives Travel Guide

2015-09-27T15:59:00.002+05:30

Maldives Islands is an archipelago comprising 1,190 low-lying coral islands scattered across the equator. Their pure white sands are fringed with green palms and surrounded by some of the clearest water in the world. Each resort sits on its own island, so it's important to pick the right place & also right time to visit Maldives. In this post, I will give all the information required, for planning a trip to the Maldives.

Best time to Visit?

Peak Season (Dec 1st - Jan 10th): Almost 50% hike in Hotel Prices compared to Low Season.
Moderate Season (Jan 10th - Apr 30th and Nov 1st - Dec 1st): 30% Hike in Hotel prices compared to Low Season.
Low Season (May 1st - Oct 31st): Best time to visit, as hotel prices are very low. Even though this season is termed as wet season, there will be sun for almost 6-8 hours in a day (may be more 8 hours).

Travel Cost?

For 3 days and for two people, cost will be around INR 1,00,000 - INR 1,50,000 (Depends on Hotel & Season).

To & Fro Flight from Kochi : INR 12,000 - INR 20,000 per person.
Hotels: Average INR 20,000 - 40,000 per day (Double Occupancy).
Boat Transfers: INR 12,000 - INR 15,000 per peson round trip. (If applicable).
Sea Plane Transfers: INR 15,000 - INR 25,000 per person round trip (If applicable).
Activities Cost: INR 10,000 - INR 20,000 Per person.

Flight Details?

There are direct flights from Trivendrum, Kochi, Bangalore to Maldives (Male).
Spicejet offering the cheapest fares among all the operators.
Apart from Indian operators, International operators like Srilankan airline, Emirates offering connecting flights(Via Colombo) from many Indian cities to Male.

Visa Details?

Visa On Arrival for Indian Citizens (No Visa Cost).
Should posses a Valid Passport for the duration of your stay is required by Indian nationals.
Confirmed reservation of the hotel or Name of the hotel where you are to stay.
Valid Tickets for Onward destination or confirmed return tickets.
Have enough funds to cover the expenses for duration of the stay in Maldives. (US$100 + $50 dollars per day) or a confirmation of reservation in a Tourist Resort
Take printouts of Hotels details, reservation vouchers, return flight tickets.

Languages?

"divehi" is the main language in Maldives. But English is also widely spoken by the locals of Maldives.

Temperatures?

No one can able to predict the weather in Maldives. Even in wet season (May - November), there is sunlight almost throughout the day.
Daily temperature ranges from around 31C during the day to 23C at night. Being located on equator, Maldives receive lots of sunshine throughout the year.
The relatively high humidity is made tolerable by the gentle but steady sea breeze.
Maldives are not a Cyclone nor Typhoon region and there are no reports of such in the region known climate history.

http://www.holiday-weather.com/maldives/averages/

Currency accepted in Maldives?

The currency of the Maldives is called the Rufiyah, which is linked to the dollar at around 12.75 Rufiyah to the dollar.
However, most resorts and many local islands will accept the USD (bring small denominations such as $1, $5 and $10) as payment.
You won't find banks or ATM machines at resorts.
Apart from tips, you don't need to carry cash.

How to Select Resort in Maldives?

Things to consider while booking the resort:

Distance from Male: Depending on this, you will be transferred by boat or sea plane. Also transfers charges will depend on this. Always prefer staying in resorts near by Male( around 1 hour boat transfer time), otherwise you end-up spending too much time for airport transfers.
Budget: Of-course, this the first thing to be considered. Some resorts offer good deals during low season.
Offering Fullboard/Halfboard: Always prefer Fullboard, which includes room price + all meals. Full-board don't includes alcohol. Keep in mind that, even in full-board, everything you buy at Island stores will be charged. Be prepared to shell out more money to buy water(approx 2USD per litre) even in Full-board.
Fullboard Plus: Which includes Alcohol too.
Activities Offered: Some resorts include some activities as complimentary in Full-Board.
How big is the resort
Food Options: Most of the resorts have different restaurants inside the Island. Prefer staying in resorts, that offers
Resort Facilities: Check whether resorts has facilities like doctor, Dive center,
Ocean reef: Check quality of the house reef - the coral reef around the resort island itself - and access to it.
Rooms: Water rooms or Land. Water villas are too costly.
TripAdvisor Ratings

How to book resort in Maldives?

Since most of the resorts don't have online booking facility, prefer booking through travel website like booking.com, expedia.com, cleartrip.com. While booking please check whether the price includes boat transfers or not.
If you are booking through resort website(offline), then you need to send filled Credit Card authorization form to the resort, only then you will be charged on your credit card. Otherwise, International bank transfer is also available.

Activities?

Activities offered differ from resort to resort. Please check the resort website for the available activities along with their prices.
Snorkeling, SCUBA diving, Cruise, Island Hopping, Male Island Visit, Sunset Cruise, Kayaking, catamaran ride, Fishing are the most common activities resorts offer.
Don't expect regular water sports like parasailing, Jet ski in Maldives.

What to Carry?

Snorkeling equipment - Even though you can rent gear at resorts, but charges are high.
Sunscreen (SPF 30+ recommended), Mosquito repellent cream.
Toiletries and Medical Supplies - too expensive if you want to buy at Island stores.
Chocolates & cookies
While visiting Male or any other local island you are recommended to wear proper dress covering body parts. Sandals and sun glasses are a must.

What Not to Carry?

Alcohol - You will get alcohol in resorts, but getting alcohol into Maldives is restricted.
Restricted to bring Maldives - pornography, pork and pork products, alcohol, idols for worship, bibles or any non-Islamic religious text is also illegal

Things to remember:

Make sure that your luggage are waterproof in case of tropical downpours when you arrive. Your luggage could well be in the open during the boat transfer.
If you would like to reach your resort on the same day by seaplane, please plan to arrive Maldives by 15:30 (LT). If you are unable to find an international flight which gets you here in your time, you could also spend a night in Male or Hulhumale and see what the local life is like.
The standard permissible weight in seaplane is 25 kg, which includes 20 kg of checked-in luggage and 5 kg of hand luggage per person.
Once you come out of airport terminal, all the resorts have stalls near the terminal entrance. You can go directly to them and inquire about the transfers.
Most of the resorts just mention about the boat transfer time, but don't mention that is this from Male airport or Gan International Airport (70 min flight from Male Airport).

Pattadakkal - Chalukyan's Red Town

2015-09-17T17:44:00.001+05:30

When I reached my hotel at Badami, the hotel manager told me that there are a lot of places to visit inside and outside Badami. I had two days at my disposal to visit these places. So I dedicated my first day for visiting places within Badami and I decided to spend my second day to visit places outside Badami. Pattadakal was the first destination in “my list of places to visit outside Badami”.

I started to Pattadakal at 9:00 AM. Can you guess the mode of transportation I opted for the travel, this time? Yes, A shared van! There were two reasons why I chose it:

1) It is a fast, frequent and low budget travel option and

2) It will give me a chance to interact with the local people.

In the van, there were two twins with their mother. I sat beside them and talked to them. And till I reached Pattadakal, I was busy playing with Apoorva, one among the twins. She was playing with my fingers all the way long. It just took us hardly 30 minutes to reach Pattadakal.

After saying goodbye to the twins and their mother, I entered Pattadakal, the capital city of the Chalukyan Empire during 6^th and 7^th century. It is situated along the northern coast of Malaprabha. There are ten temples over here. Out of these ten, nine temples where for worshipping Shiva and one was a Jain sanctuary, the Jaina Basadi. The Jaina Basadi is also known as the Jain Narayana temple and was built in the 9^th century by the Rashtrakutas. It is surrounded by numerous small shrines and plinths in fusion with various Indian architectural styles like Rekha, Nagara, Prasada and Dravida Vimana. Among the nine Shiva temples, four were built in the Chalukya Dravida style and another four in Nagara style of northern India. The ninth temple, the Papanatha temple, was built in a fusion of the two idioms. Pattadakal was the place where the Chalukya princes were crowned. It was earlier known under different names like Kisuvolal (which means Red Town. I think the place got its name may be because of the hills surrounding it!), Raktapura and Pattada Kisuvolal.

The biggest temple among the ten is the Virupaksha temple. This temple is believed to be used as a model to build the Kailasanatha temple at Ellora. The architect of this temple got titled as Tribhuvanacharya. The Virupasksha temple has three entrances. One from north, one from east and the other from the south. The temple complexes are situated in the midst of a beautifully maintained lawn. After some snaps and clicks, I decided to move to my next destination, Aihole.

When I stepped outside the complex, I saw some ladies, who were living nearby, luring me to buy their homemade butter and roti. I gracefully ignored them and tried moving forward. But then, I thought of Aihole for a second! What if, I don’t get a chance to buy food from Aihole? So I looked back at one of the ladies and accepted her invitation to buy food. I asked her to get me something to drink. She offered me a litre of Lassi (Butter milk). As I clearly knew that this will be too much for my tummy to handle and I might face a lack of local toilets at Aihole, I bargained and ordered for half a litre of Lassi. After some chit-chat with the local guide, I eventually ate my lunch from the lady. The cost altogether was just 35 rupees! Finally after the joyous meal, it was time for the solo traveller to take her bag pack and her camera and start towards her next destination, Aihole.

That’s all folks!!! So if you are planning to visit Pattadakal, I would suggest the following:

1) Take a share auto or van from Badami. It will just cost you 15 rupees and half an hour ;)

2) Planning to take your camera with you? The entrance fees will be 30 rupees. I think it is ok. At least you get to see the see the monuments and architectural experiments of the Chalukyans!

3) Pattadakal can be seen in just two hours. Even if you take three hours, it will not topple up your schedule for the day! I guarantee it!

4) Regarding the food, the place is crowded with ladies who sell homemade Roti’s and milk products like Curd, Lassi (Yeah, the Butter milk) and Ghee.

So that’s all about my visit to Pattadakal.

Near by places to visit: Badami and Aihole

Happy Site Seeing!

Aihole - Cradle of Indian Architecture

2015-09-08T09:44:00.002+05:30

After visiting the Badami fort and the cave temples, my next destinations were Aihole and Pattadakkal. From my previous day's visit to the Badami Archaeological museums, I got an opportunity to read about the history of the Chalukyans and their kingdom. The articles say that the Chalukyan's early capital was at Aihole. Then they moved their capital to Badami, which is about 33 kilo meters away. Aihole earlier known as Ayyavoḷe and later Aryapura.

So, as usual, I inquired about the bus timings and the share auto timings to Aihole at the hotel's reception, the Royal Deluxe lodge. The boys at the hotel, were of great help as they suggested me two options:

1) To catch the van that was going to Pattadakkal at 9 am. From there, I can catch an auto or another bus to Aihole.

2) To use the direct bus service from Badami to Aihole. However the overall one sided cost for the trip will be around 12 rupees.

So I opted for the van and I reached Pattadakkal in just 30 minutes! From there, with the help of a local guide, I got into an auto which promised me to take me to Aihole. After a lot of bargaining, I could fix the charge for the trip to 250 rupees. I strongly suggest you to roam around Aihole in an auto as each temple complex are some kilo meters apart. But if you choose to walk, remember that there are 125 temple complexes that the Chalukyans have made for your visual treat!

Don’t worry! If you are not able to visit all the places, you can visit some of the main ones listed below:

1) Durga temple complex

2) Lad Khan temple

3) Ambigera Gudi complex

4) Mallikarjuna temple complex

5) Eniyar temples complex

6) Hucchimalli temple complex

7) Ravanaphadi rock-cut temple

8) Jain temple and Meguti temple

9) Hucchappayya Math complex

10) Kunti temples complex

11) Charantimath complex

12) Tryambakesvara group

13) Gauri temple

14) Jaina temples in the village

15) Ramlingesvara temple complex

16) Galaganatha temple complex

Finally, my auto entered the so called “small” town of Aihole. The Durga temple welcomed me. In the same temple complex, we have the Aihole Museum, the Suryanarayana temple, the Gaudaragudi temple, the Chakra gudi temple and the Lad Khan temple. The ticket charge to visit the temple complex is 5 rupees. They also charge you an extra 25 rupees, if you are carrying a camera with you.

When compared to my previous journeys, the sculptures made by the Chalukyan kingdom are the ones that has attracted me so much! Its beauty and the feeling is so indescribable for me. No wonder, it is being known as the cradle of Indian Architecture!

After visiting the temple complex, I stepped out and saw some local businesses of that area. If you want to get some food at Aihole, you have to purchase it from here itself. There is no other option to even get a bottle of water out there!

My next destination was the Hucchimali Gudi temple. Here, it had a small pond of its own. I was the only visitor at that time and the caretakers of the temple were busy cleaning. However one of them helped me with his little Hindi (like mine!) and told me that as there are a lot of temple complexes around here, it is good to visit at least the main places. He suggested and guided my auto driver too! (Who already knew all these places!)

The RavanaPhidi complex has another care taker who is well versed in Hindi. But be careful! Because if he starts his explanation, you will end up paying him in the end ;)

The journey that started at 1PM ended at around 4PM in the shores of Malaprabha River and the temple complexes beside it - the Galaganatha temple complex and the Ramalinga temple complex.

One thing that I can assure you is that, if you are an archaeological lover, then you can’t stop clicking your camera when you are here. It will be a fiesta to your eyes and the camera. As these places are not much crowded, you will get some good snaps of the monuments.

Before I finish, I would like to share with you some tips that I think can be helpful to you.

My first tip!

Tip number I- Before and during your journey, please ensure the following:

1) You have enough money in your pocket! This is because, the nearest ATM is in Ameengatt which is about 10 km away.

2) You have a good sunscreen lotion with you. Yeah, I know that getting tan is fine, but getting sun burn hurts! I really mean it!

3) Wear good shoes. If you are wearing sandals, wear a socks too as it is too dusty to walk around.

4) The nearest rail head is at Badami and don't expect much in this station. A small tea shop is a luxury there and not much facilities (the ones you expect in other stations) can be availed here.

My destination tip!

Tip number II- How to reach Aihole?

Nearest rail head is Badami, which is well connected with trains from Trivandrum, Banglore and Hyderabad. Get a share auto or hire an auto to reach Badami town. Freshen up yourself and take another share auto to Pattadakkal. From there, you can reach Aihole with the help of another auto.

My staying tip!

Tip number III- Accommodation

Use Stayzilla.com. They will definitely help you with options for affordable stays (Even if it is for two days, just in case you wish to visit Badami too!) Note that the railway retiring rooms are not available here.

My Yummy tip!

Tip number IV- Food

You will get vegetarian restaurants all around. Some are non-veg ones too. You could also try some street foods, for dinner, if you are ready for an evening stroll in the Badami town. Also, the markets over here have fresh fruits and vegetables for sales.

My cautious tip!

Tip number V- Beware!

Monkeys! That's the only thing that would concern you here. Their favorite snatch will be your camera bag or the sling bags ;)

My final tip!

Tip number VI- Language.

Here everyone is not versed with Hindi. So if you can handle Kannada, its better. Don’t worry! Even if you can’t handle the local language like me (I am a Keralite who speaks Malayalam and English), you will be able to manage with some broken Hindi, like I did! :)

So, Happy tripping!!! ;)

The Land Rover Experience

2015-01-20T23:59:00.000+05:30

"Land Rover Experience" is one of the unique concept driven by "Land Rover" company during which customers get a chance to experience the real power of Land rovers in off road conditions, which generally not possible in normal test drives. I'm very passionate about Land Rovers since child hood and always wanted to experience this beast. I never expected that I will be part of this event and I should thank Harish of BlogAdda for giving me this wonderful opportunity, it was like my dream come true.

Even though my appointment was at 11 AM, out of excitement, I started early from my home and reached Novotel Airport hotel by 9.30 AM. I felt very tired because of the 50 km of long drive, that too on Saturday morning, but the first glimpse of 7 land rovers parked in the hotel premises made me so happy. I parked my car and went towards the registration, which is located inside the hotel. The staff was very helpful and explained me every thing about the event. Since I have around 1.5 hrs of free time, I spent my time taking pics of the beautiful beasts.

Out of all land rovers parked, there is one car, which left me awestruck, that is Red Range Rover Evoque. It has everything you could want, tough body, sexy looks, style and obviously powerful engine. I really couldn't stop taking pics of these beauties. Apart from free lander and evoque, another car that drew the attention of every one was the Range rover sports edition. I have never seen any car that is mightier than range rover sport.

While I was taking pictures of the beauties, another blogger Amit Bhawani along with his friend varun joined me, who are going to accompany me for the off road drive. For every "LandRoverExperience" event, two local bloggers will be selected to take part in the event and those two lucky people will get a chance to experience the mighty land rovers in action.

We were asked to sit in a meeting room and there were around 8 people who registered for the 11 AM drive. After formal intro about the Land Rover brand, they started explaining key features of the topper of the show - Free Lander 2.

Key Features includes:

'Hill Descent Control' : HDC operates with the traction control and ABS system to give you a controlled descent down that muddy, steep hill with out even pressing the brakes, you just have steer the vehicle.

'Terrain Response System': Depending upon the surface beneath, you can choose among the five settings available, based on which locking actions, traction & stability control, shift schedule of the transmission will be controlled.
-> general mode, for everyday driving
-> grass/gravel/snow
-> mud and ruts
-> sand
-> rock crawl
For each setting, Terrain Response adjusts the aforementioned components to perform best for each driving condition.

'Dynamic Stability Control': In case of Over steer or Under steer, this feature ensures the stability of the vehicle.

Some of the Key Specs about the Free Lander 2:

Engine Displacement: 2179 CC
BHP: 187.74bhp@3500rpm
Torque: 420Nm@1750rpm
Top Speed: 190 km in 9.5 seconds
Drive Type: AWD
Ground Clearance: 210mm
Wading Depth: 500mm

After the intro session, they assigned the instructors to everyone and now all set ready for the hands on. I was assigned a white free lander. My instructor explained me about the controls present in the dashboard, how to use them and when to use them, about top speed and also about the track. The central dashboard has all the controls like the Changing the Terrain response system modes, Air conditioning and a display screen. Apart from these controls, few control are placed on the steering like infotainment, phone connectivity.

Land Rover team had created a big temporary off road track which has water bodies, steep climb and steep descent, rocky patches and grassy path. Off Road experience started with the steep climb, where instructor demonstrated the feature gradient release control, which ensures the smooth hill starts whether ascending or descending. Also the feature, 'Hill Start Assist', allows the driver to have enough time to move the foot from brake to accelerator, with out vehicle roll back.

Next we went through many uneven paths, rocky patches, during which the instructor explained us about the stability and rigid suspension of the vehicle. Irrespective of the surface beneath, Front and Rear Coil Sprung Independent Suspension ensures a smooth ride.

I have seen so many pictures and videos of the land rovers driving through the deep waters, but never experienced directly. Now the chance has come and the experience was exhilarating. There was a small water body filled with mud and free lander was able to confront it very easily. Free lander was able to manage this water body without skidding and AWD capabilities ensured that the vehicle wont struck in the mud.

One of the highlight of the event was the steep descent, which was like a roller coaster ride. When my instructor stopped near the edge of the slope, I was in an impression that he might be backing up, but after few seconds, when he asked us "Shall we go further??", I was blanked out. I'm unable to see any path from the vehicle. Even though the path was dusty, steep and sliding, free lander did an awesome job and its control, stability on these paths blew me away. And the best thing is that, instructor didn't applied any breaks during the descent. It was Hill Descent control feature that applied breaks constantly and controlled the vehicles.

After an hour of off road experience, we returned to the hotel and every one started sharing their drive experiences with others. It was truly a memorable experience for me to closely observe full capabilities of my favorite land rover in action and that too in off road condition. Kudos to the land rover team for organizing this event and looking for more these kind of events in Hyderabad.

That's all about my memorable experience with Land Rover. Thanks BlogAdda.com (Harish) for giving me this wonderful opportunity to experience the mighty Land Rover family.

Trip to Penang

2014-12-03T16:09:00.002+05:30

Penang is a Malaysian state and is situated on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This region of Malaysia is the most industrialized and urbanized part of this magnificent country. As it is basically an island, you will find ample of scenic beauty to feast your eyes with.

As I have been longing for a trip that can provide me a peaceful and relaxing environment, I picked Penang as my next vacation destination.I thank TravelTours for the Penang tour package I left for Penang with my heart filled with excitement and high expectations. After landing on this beautiful land, its beauty and exceptionally warm people immediately grabbed my attention.

On my day one, I decided to start this soul searching trip with “Kek Lok Si”. It is a Buddhist temple located in Air Itam region of Penang and is one of the best known temples on the island. The temple is filled with small shops located on every corner, where you can buy idols and other Buddhist artifacts.

After a spiritually redefining experience at the temple, I decided to visit “Penang National Park” that is used by researchers and nature lovers, to get closer to God’s ultimate creations. It harbors around 417 flora and 143 fauna species, which will you a desired sense of reconciliation. Besides being a forest reserve, it is also surrounded by beautiful beaches and is an ideal tourist spot.

On my day three in Penang, a very interesting location grabbed my attention and the name was “Snake Temple”. It is the only temple in the world that is filled with pit vipers roaming freely around the vicinity. A huge amount of incense smoke can be noticed in the temple, which is used to render the snake and they are also de-venomed to insure that they don’t possess any danger to the visitors.

Overall, my experience of visiting Penang was like a dream come true and I am feeling more animated than ever. If you are looking for a place to relax and recollect your thoughts, then Penang is your best bet.

If you have planning to visit penang, then my recommendation is go with the package available from "Travel Tours" (www.traveltours.in)
Package: http://www.traveltours.in/traveltours/international-holidays/3n-penang