photography – FamilyOnAFurlough

Spring in Da Lat, Vietnam

A cosy hill town, in Lam dong province, in central Vietnam, about an hour long flight from Ho Chi Minh city.

Though located in a typically hot tropical country, residents of Dalat enjoy a temperate year round climate, being a hill station. The ride from the airport towards Dalat is refreshingly green through a verdant valley surrounded by lush green hills.

We reached Dalat in late evening, another 40 minute drive from the airport. Approaching the city, it’s clear, that there’s abundance of electricity, as the town is lit up like Christmas time.. with predominantly floral patterns, no wonder called the city of flowers, or city of eternal spring!

The town is centred around a scenic, man-made lake, originally constructed by the french, who developed the town as their summer retreat. Hence, the architectural design of most of the old as well as new constructions is very french or say European with attics and bay windows!

At any time, the well maintained, promenade is dotted by locals and tourists, walking by the lake, jogging, dog-walking, fishing or just lazing.

In the mornings, it’s easy to spot wedding photographers making their clients pose against the picturesque backdrop. In the Evening, the lake is dotted with boat-riders. Numerous small gardens have been developed around the lake, to enjoy the scenic beauty and a spectacular golf course!

Things to do:

1. Number one for me would be sauntering or just lounging by the lake.

It’s blissful. Maybe get some fishing gear or borrow from a local, set a picnic with sangria, and make it a perfect day, à la, Lou reed.

If walking is a task, try the uber cool buggies, straight out of Cindrella.

2. Da Lat flower garden.

Though one can soak in the site of omnipresent blooms everywhere in the city, the flower garden, on the lake-side is dedicated to the floral bounty and one can saunter for hours appreciating the dramatic landscaped gardens.

Do avoid the weekends for any kind of sight seeing, as this is a very popular weekend destination, domestically, with hordes of tourist buses descending every weekend.

3. The waterfalls.

With so much rain, the countryside is bound to abound with waterfalls, and frankly who can resist the awe-inspiring, spectacle of water cascading down with such might. There are many waterfalls, but the most impressive and least crowded is Pongour falls.

This a broad, multi-step or Tiered fall, surrounded by rocky beds, perfect to get under and get soaked. Being an hours drive from the city ensures that most tourist buses avoid the long trip.

4. Pagodas.

Abound in all of south east Asia, so of course in Vietnam, a predominantly Buddhist country.

There are the scenic ones with access from cable cars (Truc lam pagoda) and the middle of city ones with vividly brilliant facade, like Lang phuoc pagoda. Visit one or many, and if you’re lucky to visit on a quiet day, or quieter hour, enjoy the tranquillity on the offer.

5. Da lat market

There’s the all day market and the night market, the road-side and the covered market, selling vibrant souvenirs, the embroidered art, clothes, flowers and fruits.

6. Street food

Try the Vietnamese pizza, the peanut or soy milk, the grilled sea-food or skewered veggies!

But do sit on the tiny stools, set on the road-side, to enjoy the goods, feeling, at home!

If you’re not averse to sweet, try the Ca phe sua da (traditional vietnamese iced coffee served with condensed milk), sitting by the street, popping roasted sunflower seeds, as accompaniment.

7. What to get back, or not to miss!

Markets are full of souvenirs, but Embroidery Art is very specific to Vietnam and is stunning. XQ house has some stunning, hand embroidered pieces, though very steeply priced. The local Da lat market on the other hand has reasonably priced options, maybe machine embroidered, but still beautiful.

The Nón lá, or the Conical hat! its not only unique to South -east Asia, is part of the national dress of Vietnam and is very functional for protection against sun and rain! And makes for an ideal Souvenir!

Tea & Coffee! The Artichoke Tea is very popular here with a whole lot of health benefits!

Though most coffee exported is Robusta, the Civet Coffee (similar in terms of enzymatic process to Kopi Luwak) is gaining momentum.

Nuts and Seeds!Cashews, walnuts, and the quint-essential Sunflower seeds are high quality and less pricier than many parts of the world.

Being a city of flowers, Flower seeds are a perfect souvenir for a horticultural enthusiasts, to bring back home, and remember Da Lat by!

Tam biêt, which is goodbye in Vietnamese.

Udaipur Jan’ 2017

“So many sites, so little time”.

This has been the motto of “Rajans” for ever. Even the “chhota Rajan” has inherited the itchy feet and if mom-dad appear lackadaisical .. he starts chanting…” I miss holidays- I want to go on a holiday” (BTW, by holidays he means a big aeroplane, specifically with in-flight entertainment 🙄)
Since we could afford only a few days leave, we started exploring short trip destinations in North India.. and zeroed down on Udaipur, this trip being long overdue! We planned this 4N trip in Jan, flying back on the republic day. This was good and bad.. good that there wasn’t much commute on the way back home from the airport…but flight did get delayed thanks to congestion at the airport, due to republic day security hold-ups!
We chose to stay in Trident, couple of quick reasons why:

* It was tried and tested and loved; having stayed in Trident Jaipur, many years back.

* Beautiful hotel, kinder on the pocket than other 5 star hotels,

* Relatively close to the old city (10 min cab ride away).

* Sort of situated on the lake Pichola, in a fabulously lush garden

* Far from the maddening crowd ( as well as the grime) of the city.

* Another plus being part of the Oberoi chain and sharing its grounds with its younger and high-end cousin, the ‘Oberoi Udayvilas’. We spent some part of every day, strolling the lush gardens of Trident, gently merging with those of Udayvilas, hearing the thousand different bird calls, spotting a myriad of fauna including the majestic peacocks and soaking in the spectacular views of the lake as well as the interiors of the hotel!

Many travellers opt to stay within the old city in many of the ancient, renovated Havelis, within walking distance to many restaurants, lake, boat ride etc. Flip side being not much greenery to soothe the eyes.

Day One:

We boarded our flight from Delhi around 13:00, landing at Udaipur airport in an hours time. The airport is located on the outskirts of the sprawling city and is about 40 min cab ride from the city centre.

This day was all about exploring the gardens, the palatial hotel(s) and the lake view!

These hotels also house a wild life conservatory housing wild boars, deers and peacocks which are fed at fixed hours in morning and evening when the onlookers can see these species closely.

Day 2:

After an elaborate breakfast buffet, typical hotel style.. we set course to explore the city. The first choice was naturally one of the iconic landmarks of Udaipur, the City Palace. The short upward sloping walkway leading to the palace reminded me a bit of Neuschwanstein, though more sunny and stark.

The palace must have been a ‘looker’ in its time.. but at present, except for some bits, is not very well maintained. This is a bit sad despite it being under private control. There are remnants of the glorious past but having seen many more majestic marvels of architecture, in India and abroad, we were a bit underwhelmed and after a few mandatory pictures we set course for lunch.

For Lunch we wanted to sample a quintessential Rajasthani meal including the “Dal- bati-Churma”. Our cabbie suggested ‘Krishna’ restaurant, well rated on Trip-advisor and for a paltry amount of 250rs/ thali, does a decent job of ticking all major items. A thali comprises of a pre-fixed menu, on a non-sharing basis.

Post lunch we roamed about the old city… with small shops selling curios..typically touristy, but something that every tourist expects (and likes). Bought some curios/ Rajasthani Show-pieces to adorn our walls from Kajri Arts, recommended again by the cab driver.

About 16:30 hrs, we reached the boat docking site to visit “jag- mandir” temple, situated in the middle of the lake Pichola, one of the many lakes making up this “city of lakes”. Jag Mandir is situated close to the pompous Lake Palace Hotel, under the Taj banner, latter, exclusive to its guests and elusive to others! The timing of the boat ride was good, this being considered the Sunset boat ride with extra-fares.

The short 15 minute Boat ride, toured around the lake with awesome views of the city palace (which looked better in a panoramic view), The Lake palace hotel, other havelis, smaller palaces bordering the lake as well as the beautiful facades of the high- end, lake facing hotels.

The Jag-mandir ( translated as the Universal-temple) still hosts some wedding ceremonies of VIP’s and can be visited at certain hours with a certain fee. At 5’o’ clock, by the time we reached, it was closed.

The facade of the temple is beautiful, though. There is a fancy dine-in, with a beautiful terrace top giving spectacular panoramic views. Special ferries are available for restaurant guests for dinner.

After soaking in the sunset views on the lake, we trudged back..in a cab, to the hotel. Here we enjoyed the Folkdance and music show while enjoying the dinner spread in the roof-top restaurant at Trident.

Day 3:

This happened to be Mademoiselle’s birthday and we set out to make it ‘memorable’. Over the years and over many vacations, we’ve realised that our most cherished memories are those which we’ve experienced at a very slow pace and amidst nature; be it gardens, hills or rivers, while hiking, trekking or cycling. That, in our humble ways, is the best way to experience a place, inhaling the fresh air, making lasting memories!

So we set out cycling around the lakes. We booked a tour with “Art of bicycle trips” based in the old city where we checked in at 7:45 am. They provided us with a child seat which was a blessing and made this cycling trip possible. After the mandatory delays with cycle adjustments and trials, we set course starting with meandering narrow lanes of the old city, wobbling (in my case) our way amongst other cyclists, motor cyclists, cars and cattle, avoiding the open drains. Thankfully this was a short stretch beyond which it was mostly vacant roads with few motor vehicles passing us by.

We cycled through mostly flat terrain with gentle up and down slopes with few ascents which were tiring for ‘my’ quadriceps. Passed by small villages, with school-going children happily waving and greeting us (they’re usually enthralled with foreigners), along wheat fields, some mustard fields just getting speckled with yellow, across small hills, passing — fort and finally the serene placid lakes.

The more popular Udaipur lakes, namely Pichola and Fatehsagar are within the city amidst its hustle and bustle. But the smaller lakes that we passed by on this cycling trip were spectacular and serene, unspoilt by urbanisation and tourism. We sat by them and just gawked!

The tour guide Ali, was a sport. An enthusiastic youngster keeping up with the varied pace of all members. Did a pit stop at a dhaba for tea and another impromptu stop at a road-side stall for ‘Rajasthani style sweet-sour poha’- which was delicious! Our little one greatly enjoyed the trip with daddy, calling it a wonderful day!

We wound up this 30km trip by 12 noon, took a cab back to the hotel, ordered room service and crashed! The feeling was of pleasure and pain.. but overall great! The hotel staff surprised us by decorating the room and sending some flowers for the occasion.

Evening was spent relaxing in the grounds and some splashing in the pool. The little one persisted in his efforts to take a dip in the pool and finally persuaded daddy darling to take the plunge. This was possible since the weather was mostly warm, even in January. But that is desert climate for you.

For dinner we had made reservations, along with our new cycling buddies, in a highly recommended restaurant by the lake Pichola, called “Ambrai”. The place did not disappoint in the views; with spectacularly lit City palace as well as Lake palace lighting up the placid lake.

Would not comment too much about the food here as we did not do justice to it. After couple of ‘heavy meals’ over past few days, our tummies were not in a very accommodating mood and we ate light. But immensely enjoyed the views!

Day 4:

Set out for some pending sightseeing. I had visited Udaipur last, when I was 1 yr old and have seen pictures from that visit all my life. So this day, my agenda was to recreate that picture.. before after kind. After enquiring from my parents as to the spot where the pic was taken and correlating with our helpful cab driver, we reached Fatehsagar lake. Nehru garden is located in the centre of the lake, a 10 min boat ride to the gardens. It’s a rectangular garden with domed gazebos at it’s corners.. and after speculating as to which looked nearly the same spot.. we started clicking pictures. This was a fun activity!

Post this activity, we had to tick another major kid attraction which is a camel ride. Since we had done the same with the little one in Jaipur, he was looking forward to this.

In the evening we bought tickets for a puppet and folk dance show in “Bhartiya kala Kendra” at 18:00 hrs. This was entertaining for the kids and adults alike, the auditorium being packed to the hilt. Gave us a glimpse of the entertainment forms of yesteryears,at the Maharaja’s Darbar, aka, King’s courts. Skilled dancers balancing their feet on pots and pans, and balancing pots on their heads.
Dinner was to be another light affair; by this time we understood that we could not digest the greasy meals. Had read about ‘Grasswood cafe’ in the old city so we thought we’ll try it out. This was a hole in the wall but such a friendly relaxed vibe to the place that we loved it. Dotted with quirky curios, fairy lights and foot tapping music.. we felt transported to another place. The food (tuna sandwich, salad, maggie 😊) was delicious including the smoothies😋. Happy tummies means happy souls who went to bed and dreamed happy thoughts.

Day5:

Last morning in The city of Lakes, needless to mention, we sat on the breakfast table for nearly two hours. Then lounged on the garden bench spotting many bird species, few being the elusive cuckoo, both male and female of the species, the coucal, sunbirds, bee-eaters, green avadavat, drongo and ofcouse the Peacocks!

Bid Adieu to Udaipur and flew back to New Delhi at noon.

PS: Don’t have his picture, but this is the number of our very sensible, responsible cab driver called Mohd Rafiq (mobile: +91 98291 91649), who was more like a personnel guide and chauffeur throughout our stay!

Hi there,

We recently came across the german word ‘Gemütlich’ – translated as feeling of warmth and amiability to all, which usually describes my state of mind as I publish a much pondered post.

We are a Generation X couple, living a Uber cool life in a hot city where we expertly juggle our jobs, an increasingly demanding adolescent and managing a nuclear household in New Delhi, all without any screaming or meltdowns! While last bit may not be true… what’s a fact is that we preserve our sanity and live day to day, always dreaming and planning our next get-away! Pretty early on, in our married life, we discovered each other’s passion for travelling and live to explore the world and its bounty! Passionate nature lovers, and wine enthusiasts, most of our trips involve some hiking, biking, lush wine countries and gorgeous pictures on the way!

So all you genial folks out there, flip through the pages, walk with us and enjoy some amateur photography. These trips may not be path breaking, but everytrip is special, planned meticulously by dear darling, and always a bit off-the beaten path!

Bonne journée!

Königssee & to Füssen

Day3 – Narrated by Sriram

After first two relatively touristy days spent in Munich, it was time to head to the road! We woke up early for breakfast full of apprehension as a long day beckoned. But first we trouped down for breakfast…

Our second morning breakfast at Laimer hof was fantastic thanks to Sebastian the owner whose personal attention definitely made a difference! He served hot breakfast, fresh coffee, hot chocolate for the little one and kept up a cheerful conversation with everyone.
After getting directions from Sebastian to the car rental location-Laim , I and dad reached the pick-up location with the passport and driving license, forgetting the booking confirmation.. All three are usually needed for picking up the vehicle.. But luckily lady at the counter wasn’t fussy and as soon she heard my last name she chirped…oh, the Minibus!! Taken aback, we realized that the 9 seater van, a Ford Tourneo, that we’d rented was big enough to look like a minibus (comfortable van with two passengers sitting along with the driver in the first row, one car seat and two adults in the next row and ample space for 5 suitcases and three bags.)

Set out with DW in the front seat navigating, as always, while waiting for the GPS babe to activate… We took the scenic drive avoiding the Austrian highway, driving towards Siegsdörf, then Inzell, on the way meandered through German village roads and passed Chiemsee, and finally reached Königsee (pronounced Kueenigcee).

We arrived with rain and wind on our back, enough that some of us were wondering if it would be worth stepping out..Berchtesgaden (and eagle’s nest) was definitely out because of the overcast weather. I tried to reassure everybody that we would be traversing lake Königsee in a covered boat, but there first was a short wet cold walk from the tourist information center to the dock that had everyone wondering…

So we had to saunter into a very inviting cafe, displaying all its bounty…got hot coffee, chocolate, strawberry tart and apfelstrudel.. I think we shared the strawberry tat, kept the apple strudel , and squashed it in luggage on the subsequent trip 😉

After buying tickets we got into the boat with a whole class of French/ Swiss children… For the most, the school teachers kept the children in a cheery and not too noisy order..

It was very beautiful in the covered boat with some light rain and thankfully not as cold. Half way to the first stop the captain switched off the electric engines, to cut out the noise and blew a few notes pausing to let us hear the echo… It was eerie and at the same time beautiful…

The first stop was at St Bartholomo, a beautiful church with orange onion domes where everyone got off. We the smart, well researched lot, knew that the most awesome views were from the boat and decided to stay in the boat for the next stop..

Salat, the second stop, is at one end of lake Königsee, where all get off and walk to the next lake, the Obersee..

We got down at a small harbor, with a beautiful wooden arch, and after utilizing the WC, tottered on for a 15 minute hike.. It was a lot like half an hour going through pouring rain, muddy puddles that our little one wanted to jump in, passing many laconic German cows, mama cows and baby calves.. And we realized that we were missing one person. I had to run back get Dad…who was patiently waiting by the WC..

The final view at Obersee was worth the wet hike.. Lovely wooden hut giving a great foreground, the placid lake and mountains all around hiding in the mist..

After hiking in pouring rain with only our (wet) jackets keeping us sort of dry we got back to the harbor, got on the boat and reached land..
At Königsee, seeing everyones bedraggled appearance, I knew we needed some hot nourishment…and happened upon the Hotel Koenigssee Restaurant, specifically looking for German vegetarian options. The restaurant had pleasant seating with large wooden round tables, and good portions.

We ordered the Spargelzuppe (white asparagus soup), Kässezuppe (cheese soup), omelette with asparagus and some more. Surprisingly the cheese soup was the most appreciated.

We drove back and reached Füssen quite late about 9:30, and fortunately our rooms were still held for us! The city of Füssen had an otherworldly charm in the evening, with beautifully lit warm glow to the cobble-stoned streets.

The second surprise was the Hotel Sonne Füssen. Now while booking the hotel, I had looked at many many hotels in the vicinity, but I didn’t like their reviews, and the ones I wanted were not available.. I finally booked Sonne Fuessen knowing it was expensive, but it really exceeded expectations, starting from the staff, who were extremely helpful, the ambience, with beautiful gowns on tasteful mannequins, paintings and quirky lights in the corridors..

Each room had it’s own different decor and paintings..

We got together and had a light meal, furnished on the spot with the groceries we were carrying..and many of the party called it a long day, crashing on the luxurious beds!
Anyway after reaching, I and dad went down to the bar to have a glass of wine, we tried a Chardonnay and local German Riesling ( Trocken meaning dry).. The Riesling was excellent.. the chardonnay was passable.. The bar at this place seemed a happening site with lots of couples in snazzy outfits, arriving in great rides!

Thus ended the long day…