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Rains, Ruins and Rice Fields

I went to Hampi with no plans at all. Zilch. It was a desperate get-out-of-the-city trip and Hampi had been on my list forever. When I mentioned it to the people around me, I got quite mixed reactions so I ended up booking a solo trip and boy, am I glad I did.

The weather was perfect! I would suggest rains as the season to go to Hampi as

  1. It’s not very crowded then
  2. The rains make everything look so much more fresh and green it’s mesmerizing

I did a one day trip to the place. So it got very tiring. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the trip to bits. It is one of the best I’ve ever done. And not the tick off your checklist kind of trip, not even close. It actually ended up being a fresher experience than many of the slow trips I’ve done before. I would still suggest a two/three day trip – just so it doesn’t feel like a marathon. On my day in Hampi, I cycled 5 odd kilometres, climbed two hills (one of them twice owing to my stupidi miscalculation), and walked around still more. The next day I found myself so beat, I laid in my bed doing nothing. The same can be done over two/three days, and you’d get to interact more with the awesome travel community in Hampi.

IMG_20170819_082357

And what a community it is. The hub is a restaurant – Mango Tree. It is a sweet, leisurely shack with really good food. To top it off, they have floor seating with just the right amount of cushioning. It’s hard to pin-point why I preferred going to that place every time – the food, the relaxing seating or the random traveler you’ll inevitably run into. I met two Germans who were roaming around in India for the past few weeks and ended up spending half of my day with them. At dinner I ran into a girl from the states who’d been travelling between India and Thailand teaching yoga. Two other travelers joined us while we were talking and we ended up playing cards for the evening, I also got travelling advice from one of them. Imagine me, an Indian, getting coached on what to see in Hampi, by a German. And it is this advice that led me to cross the river and into the rice fields – so I am eternally grateful.

The major ruins of Hampi are on one side of the Tumgabhadra river. A motorboat and Coracle (which is just a fancy word for a large sturdy basket) is employed by the locals to help people cross the river if they feel like seeing the other side as well. I was drifted across in a coracle. I talked to the guy and he agreed to take me sightseeing on the makeshift dinghy. The ride was very serene and roller-coasterish, because when we reached a shallow end of the river, the guy spun the coracle around in fast circles. Such fun! The entire ride was fifteen minutes but the experience was so surreal, it felt worth it.

Coracle at the base of Tungabhadra River

On the other side of the river, they have scooties and mopeds for rent. I got one and drove it to the Hanuman temple (also called Monkey Temple) which was a cool vantage point with around 550 step climb.

View from Hanuman Temple

But more than the temple, it was the ride – scootering among paddy fields, with the wind roaring in my ears and the occasional splatter of rain – which I absolutely enjoyed. I’d never imagined rice could be this beautiful and green..! I feel that a trip to the other side of Tungabhadra is a must for all travelers in Hampi, especially for those who’ve never seen rice fields before.

Paddy Fields
Views while Scootering

As for the ruins of Hampi, I joined a guided cycling tour which I happened to run into. The half day tour included cycling to the major archaeological sites and temples with some background information from the guide. The guide, Hanuman, was very patient with our questions and helped cover more sites in greater detail than I could have by myself.

Ruins at Hampi
Walking Views
The Zenana
Step Well

Hampi is one of those places where I feel lucky to have gone. I’d geared up for encountering stories of the land and its history. Little did I know that I would end up finding such colorful people, serene nature and create stories of my own.

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Viennese Titbits

Ah Vienna! In a city with such history, music and coffee houses, no amount of time spent can be enough. Here’s some questions and chunks of info that I hope make your trip better.

1. What’s with the Maria Theresa posters?

If you’ve heard of the Habsburgs, this should be a breeze. Maria Theresa was the only female ruler in the Habsburg dynasty. She and her son Joseph (who’s sculpture you’d see in front of the National Museum riding a horse) are credited with numerous reforms that were received well by the people. And so they are very famous and well respected. Incidentally, Joseph was the first one who decided that Sundays would be complete no-work days for all Viennese. So if you end up in Vienna on a Sunday and find more than half the shops/cafes closed, you know who to blame.
Another Habsburg, Franz Joseph, is tagged one of the factors responsible for WWI when he declared war against Serbia. In his defense, he did not really foresee what effects this little action of his would have, and he did think that the Serbians were responsible for murdering his nephew. Doesn’t reduce the impact of the war in any way, but an interesting thing to remember when visiting Vienna and seeing his name pop up in Schönbrunn Palace.

 

2. Why is everything closed?

Probably because it is a Sunday (read above). Well. Tough luck. All the options you have now are general sightseeing. You can still enjoy the day. Go to Schönbrunn Palace, hire a boat in Alte Donau (last I saw the hourly rates were on an average of 18 per hour for four people) or walk around Donaiunsel (and feel incredibly you- old watching the teenage crowd). Completely viable options. For your sake though, I hope you have another say in the city so you can see other places as well – like roam in Nashcmarkt, the food market, or check out the shopping scene in Mariahilfer Strasse or do everyday grocery shopping (even most supermarkets are closed on Sundays).

Walking in Donauinsel
Sunset in Donauinsel
Walking around

3. Is Schonbrunn worth it?

In one word. Yes. The major types of tickets available are (all of which include an interesting audio guide):

  • Imperial Tour (€14,20) – Access to a few Castle rooms
  • Grand Tour (€17,50) – Access to inner Castle rooms in addition to Imperial Tour
  • Classic Tour (€24,00) – Castle rooms and other attraction in the garden (like the maze)

The Schonbrunn Palace is really beautiful. While the Imperial Tour covers the grandiose hall of the palace, there are many beautiful rooms which it does not allow access to like the black lacquer room which Maria Theresa had gotten designed in the memory of her late husband (a favorite). So I’ll recommend getting the Grand Tour at the least, if you hold even a teeny tiny interest in architecture or beautiful walls really. Oh and entrance to most of the garden area is free.

Schonbrunn Gardens

 

4. Coffee Kaffee

If you have coffee on your to do list, I’m proud of you. Vienna is well known for its coffee houses and rightfully so . They are the traditional socialization venues. You must try Melange here – espresso with skimmed and foam milk. It sounds similar to Latte but is incredibly smooth and really yum. If you’re a purist, I’d recommend Jonas Reindl. It has great coffee but not many options to eat except a few cakes. So if you need a plethora of snacks with your coffee, not your kind of place. In general, it’s hard to go wrong with the coffee houses in Vienna.

 

5. Which brings us to.. ice cream!

Yes they are worth it. And wonderful. And I would highly recommend Tichy. I was lucky enough to stay near the place on my visit and they completely justify the people crowded there at almost every hour of the day. Specially the fruit flavors (strawberry, blueberry) and coffee. It can get a bit far from the city center, but if you have a subway pass, enough time to spare or consider yourself an ice cream fan, do visit here.

 

6 Umm… Sacher Cake Torte?

Sacher Torte sits on the to-do list of many visitors to Vienna. And most of them end up at Hotel Sacher to have their first taste of the dessert. And it is good business for the hotel. Any hotel. So good that the Supreme court had to get involved in the debate of who can call their Sacher torte as the original Shacher Torte. Now Hotel Schaher might have gained the favor of the court, but if you want a more pocket friendly version, I found the ones sold at Demel pretty good too. I’ve heard Heiner has good ones as well so you might give them a shot too.

 

7. Opera?

This is a bit tricky. I have realized, after much denial and as much as I like it, that opera is not for everyone. And giving it a shot for the first time can be a daring choice. Why? Because it’s costly af. If you’re a first timer, you can try getting standing tickets in Vienna Staatsoper (the major opera house in Vienna). They usually cost €7-10, but are sold out quickly. This way you can get a taste of the show without putting much at stake. If you’re feet hurt too much or you find you’re not interested, you can just leave. You can check out Theater an der Wien also, which is pretty good. It has comparatively cheaper tickets (if you don’t like the idea of standing) and there is a higher probability of actually getting tickets here (Staatsoper tends to get sold out really really fast).

Ceiling of Theater an der Wien

 

8. Getting to all these places?

I’ve found the Vienna Subway passes to be a good deal. There are 24, 48 and 72 hour variants. They are approximately worth three trips on the subway and are applicable for all forms of public transport inside of Vienna. If you plan on using public transport, then this app on Play Store – Vienna Subways and buses – is very helpful. The best part is that it also works offline.

 

No matter where you end up going, Vienna remains a wonderful treat.

Remembrance for victims of Nazi Propaganda
Plague Column featuring Angels, the Devil and a World Map
St Stephen’s Cathedral


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Walking around in Osaka

In most travel guides, Osaka starts with the Glico figure. And if I am really honest, what pulled me there was…

Universal
Universal

More specifically…

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Wizarding World in USJ

But the city itself is a lot of fun. To me, it was a kinder, friendlier Tokyo. And that is what most of the Kansai region is known for, the friendly folks and food. Being a vegetarian, I couldn’t delve into the cusine much. But the people.. right from our host to random people I met on the streets, they were wonderful. And made the trip all the more fun.

So I like wandering on streets. Walking actually lets you explore a city like roaming around in buses and metro cannot. And in areas like Dotonburi and Namba, the streets are so colorful that it’s fascinating. I chose to live near the Dobutsuen-mae station so these areas were at a walk-able distance. And boy, did I walk.

The first day on the way to Dotonburi, I stumbled upon an Animate! My first Animate! Animate is a chain of stores in Japan dedicated to anime and manga. They are huge stores with entire floors dedicated to manga (Japanese comics), cosplay items, figurines and other merchandise. Animate stays open later than the other local shops, and I was walking really late. I had gone to Nara for a day trip and came back late at night, but I was so excited about getting to know Osaka that I decided to take an after dinner walk.

Now I am an anime (and manga buff). And the street leading to Animate also had a few local anime shops and of course I spent time in those as well. The figurines they were selling were really cheap now that I look back to it. But since it was my first city trip in Japan, I didn’t realize they were (and so missed the opportunity).

Do you see the weird Goku Luffy cross over? And Chopper!
Franky, Soul King and Usopp!
From Dragon Ball

I just bought one tiny Luffy.

Luffy figurine

(Still proud of him)

Other kinds of places that were open then were eateries and book shops. More like.. porn shops? Okay hear me out. Japan has a very different (weird?) culture about these. It is usual to find such magazines in convenience stores (konbini) so I had just learned to avoid those sections. And they don’t just have books lying around.. no. That would have been relatively normal. It is very common to find middle aged men standing near these stands reading those books. I kid you not. Maybe I should have taken my lesson from the konbini, but I can’t resist myself when I see a book store. So it took me entering half a dozen stores and finding a number of mostly nude (animated) girls staring back at me to decide that I’m not stepping into any other local bookstore in Osaka. Ever. So consider yourself informed (to whatever end).

The second day I took a day trip to *drumrolls* Universal…! (I should just say Hogwarts). And the third day to Mount Koya (more about that here). All the time getting to see Osaka only at night. But the fourth day.. that was when me and Osaka finally had time alone together. And I packed my bags with my meager vegetarian snacks and headed off to… where else? Dotonburi!

Walking around in Osaka
Walking around in Osaka

I did find some odd snacks here and there. Okay. I just found one.  Never thought I’d spent 200 yens on a chocolate sprinkly banana which looked more than a little weird. Oh well.

Roadside Candies
Roadside Sparkly Candies

While walking around I also stumbled upon this beautiful and quiet shrine in the middle of nowhere. A few locals came to worship here while I was standing there, and it felt completely serene standing just a few meters away from the busiest street in Osaka.

Paper Lanterns at a shrine
The Shrine God

Trinkets like these are what make walking around worth it.

I also bought some clothes from local stores, and somehow stopped myself from getting a really expensive (but cool) hat (phew). For the next day I went to see the puppet show at the National Bunraku Theatre and roamed around in that area (it is a great experience for any theatre lover).

Osaka is a city easy to fall in love with – be it because of the strangers on the street who’ll give you a high five just because you seem a bit down or the beautiful shrines that will peep at you from some corner of the street, or maybe some other secret you might uncover on your trip. If I had stayed for more days, I’m sure I would have found other lovely corners in the streets.

Indian Curry Joint
Look what else I found

 

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A Guide to booking Opera tickets in Europe

Palais Garnier in Paris

Booking Opera tickets can become a pretty hefty process, especially for newbies. What with looking up good theatres, finding the right websites to book from and then the right dates, seats, and what not. So here’s a handy list to get you started.

One key word here is advance planning. And advance in two senses – planning your itinerary and booking your tickets. If you want to watch an opera, you can’t count on it being staged on the exact days of your stay in that particular city. So it helps to check the dates in advance and tweak the order of your cities to match the opera dates. Once you’re done with the planning, it’s good to get the tickets booked too. If you wait too long, they’d either be sold out, or only the costlier ones will remain. The cheaper tickets tend to sell out faster, and while these might not offer a great view of the stage they have very good acoustics (sometimes better than center theater).

I prefer booking directly from the opera houses’ website. They are reliable and their information cannot be faulted. Often they offer the best prices as well. There are many websites which offer the same tickets at higher prices by buying at better rates earlier. They are actually good for last minute planners, as they might have a chance of finding tickets here even if the show is unavailable at the opera house’s website. Just make sure they are authorized dealers before booking from third party sites.

Here is a list of websites you can consult for your opera planning across different cities.

1. Prague – The National Theatre, The Estates Theatre, The New Stage and the State Opera
The Estates Theatre, Prague
Image Credits

Prague has a remarkable collection of opera houses. Among these,  The Estates theatre is one of the oldest performing theatres in Europe, preserved in its almost original state after having survived World War 2. Though I’d say all of the theatres are in par, and fairly light on the pocket (as compared to other cities).

The booking experience is also very smooth with their official website. While booking do pay attention to the type of show you’re booking for as they stage opera, ballets, musicals, concerts and laterna magica (traditional Czech show involving image projections).

You can find the program schedule here.

2. Vienna – Vienna State Opera
Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna
Image Credits

The Vienna State Opera needs no introduction. While it was not so lucky as The Estates Theater in regards to the War, it is no doubt a magnificent building. You can find the schedule for the current season in their website here. The ticket bookings can be done through the same link.

The Vienna State Opera also offers around 40-minute guided tours of their opera house at a reasonable cost of € 7.5 a lot of which focuses on working behind the scenes during an opera performance. So even if you’re travelling with people not much into opera itself, the tour might still be interesting for them. The booking for the tour is done through the ticket office in front of the opera but you can get a rough idea of the schedules from their website here.

Another website viennaconcerts.com lists different concerts in Vienna including performances scheduled in the State Opera (in case you’re not lucky with ticket availability on the official website). It also has a great range of Salzburg events which you can check out if you plan a visit to the society.

3. Paris – Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier in Paris
Image Credits

I believe the Palais Garnier deserves a visit whether or not you’re into opera. With its grand staircase, ornate art and rich history (it was the setting of The Phantom of the Opera), it is not to be missed. So it’s not a wonder that they provide visits to the opera house at specific days priced at € 7-10. You can check the schedules and book the ticket here.

For the opera performance tickets, you can check the schedule and book tickets at their website here. You need to create an account to book tickets through the website, which might be a hassle, but totally worth it in the end.

4. Milan – La Scala
La Scala, Milan
Image Credits

La Scala is one of the most popular opera houses in Europe. It has a chequered history. In the old days it was usual for trading activities to be carried here alongside the opera, which roughened the experience for the average opera lover. Nonetheless, La Scala is connected with many world famous artists which have either debuted here or have graced the theatre’s stage atleast once in their careers. The tickets can be booked at their website here. The theatre also opens for visits and guided tours are available through third party operators.

5. Venice – Teatro la Fenice
Teatro La Fenice in Venice
Image Credits

There is no theatre which has seen more disputes over each of its reconstructions (the most recent being in 2001) than Teatro La Fenice. Still, it is a spectacular opera house and acclaimed worldwide. Tickets can be booked at their website here. You’ll have to do a calendar search to see what’s on during your visit. They have different types of tours available, the standard one being with an audio guide for €10 per person. There is no advance booking option but you can check out the schedule and types of tours here.

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Nabana no Sato Illuminations – The best in Japan

After much deliberation (and postponing), I finally made a trip to see the wonderful and much hyped winter illuminations at Nabana no Sato flower garden; I found them to be one of the best illumination shows I’ve seen in my life and I’m glad I chose to go.

The major hurdle for me when considering the candidature of Nabana no sato was, as always, the yens involved. Being a student in Japan sadly becomes a constant drain on your purse, and so a wise, well-thought choice becomes paramount. The question for me was whether it would be worth it. But as you’ll find through the course of this review, it was indeed a wonderful experience.

Key Facts

Ticket fees for Nabana no Sato – ¥2300 (includes two ¥500 coupons which can be utilized anywhere in the park)
Winter illumination dates – Mid-October to May
Illumination starts somewhere around 6 pm

Attractions

  • A wonderful Begonia garden (fees – ¥1000)
  • Lighting displays across the park
  • Two Light Tunnels, one of which was Autumn themed
  • Animated light show
  • Rotating Observation Deck giving a bird’s eye view of the illuminations (fees – ¥500)
  • A number of restaurants

Access

  1. From Nagoya Station, take the Kintetsu-Nagoya line to Nagashima station (¥400).
  2. From Nagashima station, take a bus to Nabana no Sato (¥220). The final destination on the bus will be written as Nabana no Sato (in English too), and the bus stop is right at the exit of the train station.

Tips before going

  1. Nabana no sato pass is available near the entrance to the Kintetsu line at Nagoya station. The pass is for ¥3,170. It includes return journey from Kintetsu to Nagashima, return tickets for the bus to Nabana no Sato, park entrance alongwith coupons. It’s a great way to save on money.
  2. Check temperatures before leaving. It can get pretty chilly in the park (as compared to Nagoya), so dress accordingly.Otherwise you’ll be too cold to completely enjoy the park *cough* like me *cough*.
  3. Try to reach at around 4:00 so you can look around in the park while it is not completely dark. The lighting aside, the park itself is very beautiful, so it will be a good experience. It’s also fun to see the park completely transform as the lights came up.
  4. Carry some food with you if you don’t want to spend extra (as you will get hungry). But the food joints in the park are very good too.

The Experience

I was quite skeptical about how good the park can be. I started with the Begonia garden. The entrance fee was ¥1,000 which I paid through the coupons I got with the ticket. The garden is a world of its own, seeped in a palette of colors. The range of flowers was huge, and across dimensions, with some flowers staring at you from small vases, some looking down at you from hanging pots and others tumbling down exotic shrubs. The garden ended with a small cafe amidst the hanging vines and a pond dotted with floating flowers, a scene as picturesque as a painting. Even with my poor skills with the camera, I couldn’t get it wrong.

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Following the garden, which took longer than I expected, I moved towards the chapel while walking along the lake at the center of the park. Specks of golden had stated lining the bushes all over, and the people moving around in the park had also increased. I could hear bell tolls in the distance and as soon as I reached the chapel, with a final toll, the trees around me suddenly lit up in a blinding flash of white on one side and blue on the other. It was as if the entire park gasped silently as music began to pour in accompanied with light from all directions. I realized the show had started, and hurriedly moved to the other side of the chapel towards the lake. The view was breathless. Even as I tried to print it into my memory, the colorful lights running along beautiful paths chased each other into the distance. I stood, mesmerized and waiting for the people to clear up a bit so I could get a better view.

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At 5:45, as it was dark enough, I moved towards the observation deck and stood in line to buy tickets and then to get into the deck. It took two turns for me to get into the deck, but the wait didn’t feel long (particularly because I was carrying food and the child behind me was convinced that the deck was a UFO). The deck was my favorite part of the trip. I have never seen a more colorful display of lights from this height and try as I might, I couldn’t capture it through my camera. The light animation was visible from the deck too, and I decided to go there next.

A view from the observation deck of the entrance of the park, flowers at the entrance, chapel, lighting in the pond and the city beyond after dark
View from the Observation Deck

I was surprised to find that the way to the animation goes through a light tunnel (this day was getting better and better). But even the tunnel could not prepare me for the splendor of the light show. The theme was ‘The beauty of Mother Nature’ and it was grandly depicted in a sea of lights. There were small snippets of animations played on a large canvas of lights, paying homage to one or the other element of nature. The way back from the animation goes through a different tunnel, themed around ‘autumn’ and lit in alternating yellow, green and red.

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The entire experience was much more beautiful than I had expected. I spent around four hours in the park and only after seeing it could I understand the throng of people who had traveled this far to be able to enjoy it. It just wasn’t another light show. And if you happen to be in Nagoya (or Tokyo) around that time, it is definitely a must experience.

 

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