Holy Trinity Monastery, Meteora, Greece

Holy Trinity (Agia Triada) Monastery is the most difficult one to access and therefore records the least number of tourists. There is a long pathway which takes to the base of this peak; from there you have to climb 140 steps approx carved to the sides of the peak to reach the monastery. The views are mesmerizing! The monastery existed since 1362, mentioned in scriptures and inscriptions. There

Headphone with Mic, a Short Guide

For music lovers and serious business dealers, for google hangouts and for gaming the requirement of quality headphones with mic is always a priority. If you have participated in multiplayer games you would have definitely felt the need to listen to your teammates without any compromise on background music and ambient sounds. The headset should have good audio features and also at the same

Boutique and Mid-segment Hotels, Bangalore

Continuing my series on hotels of Bangalore, this post is on boutique hotels and mid segment hotels in Bangalore. There was a time in 2007-08 when accommodation prices rose up to Rs20,000 a night. There was a severe scarcity of good hotels and accommodation facilities in the just emerging high tech city Bangalore then. Industrial sector had slowed down a bit, but the rush to city for new

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Exams over, fun time now! His smile says it all. “Move aunty, else I may bang into you!" He was laughing away.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here.

A Morning in Meteora, Greece

Again a photo essay! I have taken so many pictures there and I want to share them with you here. I hope you are not bored with monastery photographs.

The morning of 29th Dec 2014 was spent clicking the glorious sights of Meteora. The sky exhibited huge contrasts in terms of color and brightness. At the east end it was blue and bright but the other end was dark and grey. Whatever the weather the

Pen Drives: The Choices You Have

Once upon a time CDs and floppy disks were used, for temporary transfer of data from one device to another storage device. Well, they have almost disappeared from today's markets. The fast pace at which technology is developing that electronic gadgets and devices become outdated within months not even a year and sometimes within weeks too. The data storage device is one such device which has

St. Stephen’s Monastery, Meteora, Greece

St. Stephen’s Monastery (nunnery) on the Holy rock of Saint Stefanos includes two cathedrals; the old 16th century chapel which was severely damaged during WWII and the consequent Greek Civil War, and the 18th century main cathedral that is dedicated to Saint Charalambos. It includes his holy relics (His head). The monastery was virtually abandoned till 1961. It was accidentally discovered in

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A local fish vendor of Goa, holding up the catch of the day 'a crab' for me to click. He almost stretched it out to me, he may be brave enough to hold it but I too was quick and brave enough to click. :P 

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here.

Hotels in Bangalore

Staying in Bangalore has its own advantages and disadvantages and along with that some responsibilities too! In the past couple of decades Bangalore has seen a vast change in terms of lifestyle. Earlier it was known to be ‘Garden City’ of India or the ‘Pensioners’ Paradise’. Life was cool! Sadly today it is known as ‘City of Ring roads’ or the ‘Silicon Valley of India’. People from all parts

Holy Monastery of Rousanou, Meteora, Greece

Meteora in Greek means suspended in air and true to its meaning each monastery there looks suspended in air. As if the pointed peaks weren’t enough they even have functional monasteries on top of the peaks! During Ottoman rule, monks, hermits, fled the villages in the plains and sought refuge in these mountain peaks. The cavities, fissures and peaks of Meteora rocks, provided protection from the

Photo Essay on Meteora Rocks, Greece

It is like a forest of rocks there! How these structures acquired their form in Meteora is a mystery even today! Studies conducted here indicate the rock formed about 60 million years ago during the Paleogene Period (the time in which mammals evolved). These are natural sandstone rock pillars. Driving through the winding roads carved through these cluster of rocks was like zipping across in some

Hotel Amalia, Thessaloniki, a Review

At Thessaloniki we stayed at Hotel Amalia, an hotel of 1970s but well furnished with modern fittings. The location of Hotel Amalia is most ideal for those who wish to explore the city on foot. Majority of the sites mentioned in the heritage list like the St. Dimitris church, the ancient market, the White Tower and the Arch of Galerius are within walking distance from this hotel. The beach too

Together with Blogger Friends in Kufri

My journey in blogging started in 2007. Initially it was just a trickle of visitors, and a desperate wait for comments, but within 6 months I got the hang of how to blog and get visitors and comments. Then in 2008 after the Mumbai terror attack several bloggers came together to voice their opinion. During this phase I made many new blogger friends. Though all of us blogged on different themes,

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The gentleman was waiting for his turn at a clinic in Kufri, Himachal Pradesh. It was his cap that drew my attention. I had blogged about these traditional caps of Himachal Pradesh here. Contrast this with the cap of Maharashtra here.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here.

Meteora Memories

We left for Meteora from Larissa very early that day and could catch the Sun waking up from its slumber. As we were driving westward the sky was devoid of any of the magical colors. The meadows on either side of roads and the roads itself looked abandoned with not a single soul or traffic! The solar panels looked ready to capture all the energy the sun would disspiate for the day and we were on

World in My Pocket

There are some things that people buy just to impress people they dislike! One of those “some things” today is a smartphone! Just a decade back the impressive commodity was plain mobiles. Times change; today mobiles are a necessity.

Mobiles are today a ‘must have’ gadget of life! This is more because of safety concerns. Some are known to possess more than one. Recently a friend narrated how the

A Night in Larissa, Greece

We could have seen more of Larissa in Greece but for the winter timings. In the last week of December, sun bids an early goodbye; as early as 5 – 5.30 in the evenings when the tourists are still in the mood of exploring more. Ticket counters at heritage sites are shut, no soul around and night lights illuminate the mute crumbling structures. We try to peep over the walls and try to make some

Start of a New Life

A leaf from my life.

We are three siblings, among whom I am the eldest. I grew up hearing small lectures now and then; “your brother and sister will pick up your habits. So try and be a good child.” Moral lessons were plenty in this matter. I too took pride in setting good example to my siblings and they would look up to me as a judge of their minor squabbles. Any kind of dislike to the

Internet.org Comes to India

Reliance and Facebook together have launched Internet.org app on their phones to connect to online social networks. This is a wonderful initiative to provide basic internet access to all for free. It enables the user to search the web for news, medical tips without having to worry about mobile data charges. It is obvious the tool is made keeping low income and rural users specifically in mind

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One of those rare people who are willing to be photographed and with absolutely no camera shyness, I like meeting such people who open up very well with strangers. I met her in Kufri, Himachal Pradesh. She is a local resident of the place.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here.

Cab Services in Bangalore

You have to be really really brave to steer through the Bangalore traffic! Just the other day I had to reach Jalahalli from Kaggadasapura, a distance of 22kms, it took me one hour and 45 mins!!! Google maps will show you 35mins without traffic and 1hr 7 min with traffic! I may not be an excellent driver and the traffic is not the same everyday… whatever the reasons the time duration for that

Drive from Vergina to Larissa, Greece

Vergina, the site was toured in 2 hours. Though we wanted to linger on there was not much to do except browse through the souvenir shop and drive around the place a bit. There were no other noteworthy buildings around. The place looks deserted, probably the little shops around came up because of the world heritage site recognition which has increased the tourist traffic there.

The night halt

A Lookup Story on: The Joy of Giving

This blogpost is for Indiblogger Happyhours: Lookup Stories


This is about an incident that happened years back, but I haven’t been able to forget it yet. It has played in my mind a number of times, and each time the memory has instilled hope and optimism in my mind.

I was newly employed then and was just a couple of pay packets old. Full of josh (enthusiasm) and happiness I had begun to see

Vergina, the Burial Site of the Kings of Macedon in Greece

One of the main reasons why we extended our trip to Thessaloniki, which in the north of Greece, in the peak of winters is to visit Vergina. Why Vergina? I wanted to walk into Philip’s world! Philip II - father of Alexander the Great who had marched into India in 326 BC. I am not sure if I will be able to visit Alexander the Great’s resting place in Alexandria in Egypt, why give up the chance to