By: Oneal Hector D'Cunha, Abu Dhabi
Having explored several parts of UAE, there was just one large island that always fascinated me from yester years and that was Sir Bani Yas Island and I have no precise reason why but probably it was an island forbidden for a lay visitor like me in the past. Sir Bani Yas island was an exclusive natural paradise on earth and a private resort of Late Shaik Zayed the founder President of UAE and was developed as a natural habitat for a wide

 By: Obla Vishvesh, Albany
It comes as a surprise when you get to see in your own back-yard what you had thought would remain forever in your wish-list! Visiting Europe had somehow been elusive to us. But our stars did reward us with an alternative, as we found in a visit to Quebec city. In a pleasant six hours drive from Albany, NY, one reaches this French Canadian city, which retains its European flavor more than many European countries themselves. One notices the striking

 By: J. M. Bhandary, USA
Caribbean Sea and the islands are popular destinations for travels during the winter months for people living in colder areas in USA. Going on a cruise ship and seeing these places offers opportunities to see a number of islands while at the same time enjoying the fine hospitalites offered by the cruise ships. My wife and I had excellent experience travelling with Holland America Line (HAL) a few years ago in Alaska and based on those pleasant memories, we selected the same cruiseline for this trip also. Holland America is one among the many fine cruise lines that offer numerous sailings in the Caribbean Sea

 By: Cdr GP Mallya(Retd), South Korea
During a recent tour of Europe this May, we had a chance to visit to this "Heaven on Earth" for flower lovers located in the Netherlands. It shot to fame in India due to the filming of a romantic song between Amitabh and Rekha in Silsila by Yash Chopra. The perfectionist he is, it seems Yash could find the tulip bulbs of right color and choices only in this place located in a village in Holland and he flew down his entire unit just for shooting

 By: Judith Serrao, UAE
Azerbaijan is bound by the Caspian Sea to the East, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the West and Iran to the South. Our short trip covered Baku and Gobustan only; however there are many other interesting places like Sheki, Ganja, Qax, Guba, Gabala. Absheron & Ordubad, about which we heard rave reviews from other fellow travelers

 By: Obla Vishvesh, Albany
The urge to travel is an urge to Live -- live life with a capital ‘L’. For, man needs a constant refreshing of sensations, wherever he is. So, you consider it worth all the efforts and the expense of time and money to travel two thousand miles to see a tree, while another who lived in the shadow of the same tree considers it worth his while to see the ruins of a building that you passed by everyday! A life of staying

 By: Obla Vishvesh, Albany
I have known Woodstock long before I came to US. Which fan of western music, wherever in the world he was from, would not know the Woodstock Festival, which set a milestone in Western popular music? All these years I have lived in Albany, NY, I have passed Woodstock

 By: Stan Rodrigues OCD, Rome
Eighteen miles south of Ancona, and about three miles from the Adriatic coast of Italy, stands the city of Loreto on the summit of a hill. How this Shrine came to be is a fascinating story. Tradition has it that this is the House of Nazareth, the home of the Holy Family, which had been brought

 By: Nelson Lewis, Bahrain
Different people have different recreational pursuits and these can be varied, depending on their interests, availability of time and financial resources. I love to travel and see places, study people, their customs and cultures and learn the history of the place and taste the local cuisine. I am a traveler

 By: Obla Vishvesh, Albany
It is six O'clock in the morning as we pass the outskirts of Madurai. The city has expanded at least five times in the past fifteen years. Endless stretches of houses, dirty statues of politicians, tattered flags and posters of their parties, cows, dogs and pigs pass by regularly before we cross the eastern border that has extended at least by ten kilometers in the past fifteen years. I cannot help remembering my childhood days riding on a bicycle to some of the orchards along the Vaigai River. Once you crossed the water tank at Teppakulam, which was a sleepy area of Madurai even till late 80s, you

 By: Cdr GP Mallya(Retd), South Korea
It has been variously described as "Island of Gods", "Heaven on Earth" or simply "A tropical Paradise" by many discerning tourists from all over the World. It has been rated as "The Best Island to Holiday in" consistently for last 4 years by the World Travel Authority. So I was wondering what is so great about this small island with barely 25 lakh people

 By: Adarsh Shetty, Chickmaglur
Very few people in Karnataka may be aware of an eco-friendly, idyllic and lush green coffee plantation of fifty acres called the Mangala Nature Treat existing right in their midst. Flush with the rich aroma of coffee, areca nuts and spices like pepper, cardamoms and

 By: Oneal Hector D'Cunha, Abu Dhabi
This trip happened exactly a year ago as some of my readers suggested that I should go down my memory lane and jot down a few highlights on our trip to the Holy land, that we undertook while we were in Cyprus. Travelling during the great recession is never easy but when

 By: Lakshmi Narasimhan, Bahrain
we landed in Tokyo’s Narita airport and I was amazed to see a state-of-the-art airport, totally well-lit and spick and span. There were no porters and everyone took trolleys, loaded their luggage and went through the Customs and other formalities and finally exited out of the airport. My friend received us and drove us to the hotel, where we had reserved rooms to stay. From the next day, he was at our disposal and took us around for sightseeing by a luxury coach.

 By: Judith Serrao, UAE
Perched grandly atop Genting Highlands, Genting - City of Entertainment is 51km from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and is easily accessible by road, air and cable car. Going up towards Genting , you are flooded with memories of the bus-trip from Mumbai to Mangalore; but

 By: Judith Serrao, UAE
Malaysia's capital city Kuala Lumpur, known as KL, has a lot of interesting places to keep the discerning tourist satisfied. The city's busy streets, its gleaming, modern office towers, and its cosmopolitan atmosphere, project an absolute spirit of progress and symbolize Malaysia's leap into the future. The easiest way for tourists to get around in KL is to hop on the "Hop-on-Hop Off" bus

 By: J. M. Bhandary, USA
We started our journey to Malenadu from Bangalore around 4:00pm. It was a sunny October day. Our destination was Koppa in the Chickmagaluru district, close to Shimoga district. First part of the journey was towards Tumkur and then branching off in the Hassan/ Belur direction

 By: Oneal Hector D'Cunha, Abu Dhabi
Several have heard of this and few have actually seen it and this is like the Rainbow that we all know about. However this is one place where you will see a ‘rainbow’ 365 days a year and 24X7 days and all the 7 colors too. The hues that we are talking of is an amazing collection of cars of

 By: Anil D'Souza, Halealve, Kundapur
Whenever St Thomas’s name is uttered anywhere, the first word which come to ones mind is "Doubt". The apostle of Jesus was famous for his doubting and this is exactly what I felt when someone told me that St Thomas was killed and his tomb is in here in Chennai. I had serious

 By: Oneal Hector D'Cunha, Abu Dhabi
Being with the nature and especially with the animals is something that we have enjoyed in our childhood back in Mangalore but something that kids in the Arabian Gulf miss out sadly. However the UAE has done several efforts with excellent large zoo’s in Al Ain, Sharjah