Wandering and Wondering

Humans have achieved tremendous architectural marvels in pursuit of divine. Yangon and Bagan are vivid examples of these architectural excellence. The pagodas in Yangon and Bagan are timeless presentation of Myanmar's glorious past, the on going belief and golden future that may await. For past few decades Myanmar was in news for Ang Sun Su Kyi struggle, with her, of many. But things have changed in last few years. The government has opened up and it is taking steps in right direction. But it is still early days for tourists and we took this as an opportunity to explore the land of thousand temples. A three hour flight from Singapore, Yangon was our first stop of the 2 places. The second being Bagan. We actually started our plan with 3 guys and slowly other friends showed interest and we became 7!! But it was still kind of off season, (Peak Season:- Mid Nov - Mid March), in Myanmar, Hence the temples were all for ourselves in Bagan.

First things are always special... First love, first scuba dive and similarly it was for first skydiving. It has left a long lasting impression that could last for a lifetime.  Tandem skydive! It is a popular bucket list stuff and I chose my Oceans'13 conference trip for the dive. For a first time jump, there are three options i.e. a tandem jump where one is strapped to the instructor, a solo jump with 2 instructor holding on to you (requires 4-5 hours of ground training) and a static line jump (least popular) where a rope is attached to you to deploy the parachute.  The tandem jump is by far the most common and popular method for first skydive. The reason i chose tandem and not Solo was simple, I was a bit scared. I wanted to get a feel for the complexities. But now I am etching find a window for another jump :).  I chose San Diego Skydive for my first skydive and it will always remain my first. The skydiving with these guys was awesome. They were a good com...

The may day in year 2013 was wednesday. The only way to use it was to take the whole week off. With this excuse, me and my friend were off to Manila for nine days. However our final destination was Palawan. We took Air phil express flight to Puerto Princesa from Manila as soon as we could. Our intent was to see the Sabang subterranean river and El Nido. Ever since we landed in Puerto Princesa, we were greeted by Edward Hogedorn, Mayor of Palawan, everywhere, not personally but with his posters - big and small - all around. It seemed as if he was part of natural land scape. Though later this year, he lost the election.  Our trip didn't go as per plan. Sabang had become some natural wonder and local and international traveller were flocking in They number of permits per day were limited and we could get the permit for 3 days later. The permit office for underground river is in Puerto Princesa. It is possible to obtain this permit from the home country through travel agents ...

Mount Merbabu, standing tall at 3142 meter, is a dormant stratovolcano and the perfect place to view skyline of east java filled with volcanos. Mount Merapi, only few hundred meters from here, stands out among those. This mesmerizing view from the top of Mount Merbabu is perhaps only a stroll away for the fits trekkers but for a lazy occasional walker, this was some effort but a worthy one.

Ijen Crater is actually a sulphur mines and one of the dangerous places to work on earth. The greenish water that shines on morning sun of sunrise is actually sulphuric acid. The water from this lake will take just minutes to melt metals. The sulphur is continuously fuming from the vents, where the miners have put pipes to extract it. The mining is toxic as continuous exposure to fumes pose threat to respiratory system. If this all is not enough, the miners endure a treacherous trek up to crater rim and down to weighing center.   Yet, the crater rim beauty is so mesmerising and the blue flames of sulphur is so magical that it attractants tourists from all over the world. The tourism has also severed as delight for the miners as they can make a living as tourist guide or earn extra money from selling souvenirs made from sulphur.  The moment to adore, to wonder, to understand

Bali an island in Indonesia, is so beautiful and diverse that no words or pictures can describe it. It has lured travellers from all over the world for its divine temples, stunning landscape, underwater treasures, party atmosphere and what not. The island has everything to suit all kinds of traveller. Our trip, me and my mother was centred around visiting temples, understanding the culture and sight seeing and lastly some diving. We started from the bottom tip of island, Pura Ulluwatu. The temple of the cliff, beneath the cliff big waves breaks and surfers can be seen trying their luck. This temple is easily one of the spectacular places in Bali.   1. Pura Ulluwatu: Almost the southern most tip of Bali, this temple is about stunning landscape and kechap dance in evening. Best time to visit is evening (for kechak dance). Else in the early morning. One can catch kechak dance in Ubud theatre.  The scenic view from pura ulluwatu of the vocanos that dominate the sk...