(This was written by two of my Potterhead daughters who took the Potter trail independently while the non-Potterhead mum and youngest (non-literate Potterhead yet) daughter stayed back and prayed that the girls would magically appear should they lose their way back to the hotel. Don’t attempt this without a GPS or mobile on the children. The photos …

My experience of Kolkata is really a one-day affair and perhaps a rushed trip all over the city. Hiring a tourist taxi for the entire day is perfect to cover most of the iconic sights. One of those must-see sights was the Howrah Bridge over River Hooghly that was looking all polished up and shiny from a distance. I thought the driver had fooled me …

Aquaint little town with strong French influence, makes one feel temporary in Europe. Synonymous with Pondicherry is the self-contained town of Auroville, the commune. I had taken a bus ride in my 20s from Chennai to Pondicherry on the scenic East Coast Road. Hiring a car from Chennai, we kept looking out for the sea coast but not even a glimpse of …

Brussels,the capital of Belgium, is like any other European city, but much smaller and compact in size. From the Brussels Centrale station the trip to Waterloo Memorial 1815 is just 30 minutes away. However, we took the train to Gare de Hennuyeres which is in the town of Braine-le-Comte, and then a car ride to Waterloo as we were being taken around …

The Pope’s address is accompanied with his blessings on the person and also any religious items  have carried along (please do consider buying rosaries at home itself as a simple rosary costs at least one euro from the street stalls there). There are massive crowds everywhere on the day of the Papal audience so hold on to your kids tight while movi …

Dohawas really a pleasant surprise with all its planned development and infrastructure that seemed to be done in a way that will benefit the quality of life for its residents. It is one of the best places to visit in the Gulf region. There are plenty of touristic places mushrooming to showcase its culture as well as natural beauty with world class …

There is absolutely nothing that comes close to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, in Abu Dhabi (the Louvre Abu Dhabi requires another dedicated post which will be posted  later). The grandiose of this Mosque has many boastful elements to it. The largest mosque in Abu Dhabi, and one of the largest in the world. Largest carpet, largest chandeliers, larg …

My dad worked at Dubai and a very well-known song back then in the 1980s that I liked very much called ‘Back in Dubai’ made this trip almost nostalgic. Going to Dubai was very special, as besides Singapore, it was the other place I always wanted to see. Everything in Dubai glitters with all the glass facades of the buildings. I don’t think anyone wi …

Asa child, Singapore always held some sort of fascination to me.  My dad  would say Singapore and Bangalore are the same place with different names. All of 7 years, I believed him as there was no google at that time. Flying over Singapore in the dark, over the lit-up landmarks, is like hovering over the stars. The place looks magical at ni …

When we landed in Thailand on the red eye, a pre-hired taxi took us straight from the Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya and so therein began our first ‘foreign’ trip. I was so tickled to see the PATTAYA sign, felt like I had arrived in Hollywood. At the time we went, I did not take the notorious reputation of Pattaya’s night scene quite seriously, but …