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Ha Long Bay: Where Stillness Finds You

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  Some journeys begin with a plan. This one began with a pause. A few hours out of Hanoi, the city slowly gave way to open roads, and then to water… vast, quiet, and almost still. That was my first glimpse of Ha Long Bay. Arriving into Scale At first, it’s the size of it all that catches you. Towering limestone formations rising straight out of the water—almost unreal in their stillness. But what stays isn’t the scale. It’s the silence that comes with it. We boarded a 1-night cruise —simple, comfortable, and unhurried. And somewhere between the movement of the boat and the stillness around it, time began to feel… different. Moving Through It The experience isn’t just about seeing Ha Long Bay—it’s about entering it. Kayaking through narrow openings, where the towering cliffs close in just enough to make the world feel smaller. Walking through caves that seem to hold centuries within them—textured, quiet, and humbling. And then, moments in between. Sitting on the deck. Watc...
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Ta Prohm, ancient temple in Siem Reap Cambodia

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                                                      Ta Prohm, Cambodia The last temple we visited on day 3 after  Baphuon Temple and the Terrace of Elephants Angkor, Cambodia , was  Ta Prohm.  Ta Prohm is one of the most visited and well-known temples in Angkorwat.  One of the main reasons being is this temple is where a few scenes from the Angelina Jolie starrer popular film, Tomb Raider was filmed. And the other one of course is the eerie and unique atmosphere.  Built around late 12 th  and early 13 th  century, and back then known as Rajavihara (Monastery of the King), this temple was founded by King Jayavarman VII and was a Buddhist temple. The one thing that contributes to the atmosphere at Ta Prohm is that it remains in pretty much the same condition as it was found.  The jungles and trees have litera...
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Soma, my cousin, my best friend, philosopher and guide

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Soma (Reshma di to me) who has been my strongest supporter at all times, my go-to person, in good and bad times, is no more. She was and will always remain my best friend, guide and anchor. There has been no one like her, nor will there be. This blog is full of her picture contributions. Most of my travel happened because of her enthusiasm and her urging me to be an explorer. Even though she was much older than me, her enthusiasm for life was much more than anyone I know. For me, she was 60 something going on 16 😊 Soma at Gurudongmar Lake in Sikkim (Dec 2021), At 17000 ft, she was  trying hard to make a normal face. She was out of the  vehicle for precisely 40 seconds!  I will fall short of words if I were to attempt to describe who she was, this wonderful and empathetic human being. Passionate, down to earth, intelligent, knowledgeable, curious, witty, humorous, spontaneous, do-gooder, kind hearted, one of the best listeners ever, intense, warm, uplifter, always app...
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Baphuon Temple and the Terrace of Elephants Angkor, Cambodia

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                                 Baphuon temple Angkor, Cambodia                                                               After  the fascinating and beautiful Bayon temple , our next and last stop on day three was Baphuon  temple and the terrace of elephants. Built in the mid-11th century, Buphuon is quite a unique temple. Dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva, with  three levels, and walls full of carvings, this temple must have been incredibly beautiful.  Even with quite a few portions of the temple gone now,  it is still so impressive!  The temple was a bit unstable from the beginning owing to the fact that it was built on a land which was full of sand. Portions of the temple started collapsing eventually since it co...
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Sundarbans Reserve Forest: Day 2 at the largest continuous mangrove forest in the world

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                                                   Sundarbans Reserve Forest Continued from my last post  Sundarbans Reserve Forest: the largest continuous mangrove forest in the world Day 2 : We checked out of our hotel at 8 in the morning and got into our launch for our 2 nd and last day at Sundarbans (yes, a very short trip:) Breakfast was prepared and served in the launch. Hot luchis (fried refined flour bread), aloo sabji (potato curry with gravy), and tea was the menu, and exactly what we needed to start the day with :) Our first stop was Sajnekhali and this is the place where a permit is obtained to get into the reserve forest area. Sajnekhali has watch towers which provides  a good view of the mangrove forest a. We saw monkeys and river terrapins during our stop here. With the permit done, our launch  ride continu...
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