He who thinks he is the doer, is also the sufferer ~ Shri Ramana Maharshi
Once one begins to acknowledge the identity as rubbish and watches it’s conditioning play out like a movie instead of embodying the role of the identity; there is space between oneself and the identity. By constantly watching all the appearances coming and going on the screen as a witness; the mind is not involved in interpreting every appearance on the screen. For example when a thought or emotion appears as anger towards somebody or an incident – the mind would usually interpret it as an attack, put the identities defences up and add more fuel to the anger by exagerrating the situation. But if the mind is not entertained in that instance and one remains solely as a witness – just watching it merely as an appearance on the screen of conciousness; the anger eventually dies out without the fuel of the mind.
The wise can nohow deem as real a world divided and destroyed by time’s wheel. Whole, eternal, perfect, ever-shining and transcending time and space, such is the nature of reality. Ramana Maharshi
Anything which involves time and space is objective and is experienced as an appearance with a beginning and an end. These appearances can be manifested as emotions – feelings – sensations – sounds – visions – thoughts – people – the weather etc. All of it eventually passes by and does not stay forever. When one dreams at night all the experiences seem very real; sometimes so real that one doesn’t even realise that it’s just a dream while their body is actually in bed unconscious. Similarly everything that one experiences in waking life is also just an appearance on the screen with a linear context as there is a continuation to the dream.
The world that hides the self is but a dream. When the phenomenal world is hidden by the Self’s bright light, Awareness pure, the Self, abides. Ramana Maharshi
So if the linear story of ones waking life is not believed to be real or given any value; as one continuously witnesses the story as it is being played out; at some point the illusory nature of what is seen on the screen becomes evident. Once it’s clear that the images appearing on the screen are not real – then the attention can be shifted towards the only reality that exists – the ultimate watcher – the one in front of which everything appears – the subject. As the attention is directed from what’s seen to the seer- the light of the self shines forth and the world disappears. This light is formless and eternal. It does not come and go, it does not have a date of birth or personalities or characteristics. Just like how a painter cannot be absorbed by its painting – one finds oneself not absorbed by what appears in front of them.
You are the source from which everything appears and disappears.
Let the waves of the universe rise and fall as they will. You have nothing to gain or lose. You are the ocean. Ch-15.11 ~Ashtavakra Gita~
“Your mistake lies in your belief that you are born. You were never born nor will you ever die, but you believe that you were born at a certain date and place and that a particular body is your own” Nisargadatta Maharaj
As we take birth into this world – at the beginning there is no identity at all just a sense of presence.. this pure presence is radiated by every child before they begin to learn how to communicate. Through language the mind comes in to interpret everything absorbed by the 5 senses and gives it some form of meaning. Over time – we are all conditioned to believe that we are a body with a sense of sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste. We begin to develop a memory with a record of everything that we have picked up from the exposure to our environment being upbringing, schooling, university, work, media, internet etc and over time a whole identity is created with a collection of memories.
This identity belongs to the body which is time bound – it only exists until the body lives. Actually it doesn’t really exist at all – it’s merely an illusion – a mirage. Just like how a rope can be mistaken to be a snake – this body too is mistaken to be real. Imagine yourself playing a game like Grand Theft Auto – where you have forgotten that you are not the character in the game and believe it to be real. Same way we have forgotten that everything we experience in this life is merely a hallucination projected by our senses. In Hinduism they refer to this as “Maya”.
It is important to acknowledge the fact that this identity that is being played out with eons of conditioning and patterns is basically rubbish. The belief that one is a body – that is anything other than God – Source – the One Infinite Creator is not true. Even the very quest of self realisation establishes the existence of a seeker which is really just another identity. It is important to disassociate with all these identities playing out and stop entertaining all the mind games which come with that.
By acknowledging all this rubbish (the identity) that one believes to be true as bullshit; one is free from having to bear all the burdens of personhood. One can drop all the luggage which one is holding on to for no reason and just be free.
The fool who knows he’s a fool is that much wiser. The fool who thinks he’s wise is a fool indeed ~ Buddha
Best way to travel around South of France is to rent a small car and just zip around.. here are the precious gems we discovered during our road trip.
We saw an amazing art exhibition featuring Picasso as one of the artists.
Saumane de Vaucluse:
A small village overlooking the river – Sorgue Valley is a quiet get away for people who appreciate beautiful views of the valley.
Since its so close to the river La Sorgue – its really nice to go kayaking or just to dip into the pristine waters.
Gordes:
Gordes is a cute small French village we discovered with tiny alleyways which make the walks really amusing … the construction is old school and all the architecture is still retained..
Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon
A commune that has amazing views of the lake of Sainte Croix. The lake itself is quite amazing with heaps of swimming spots all over.
Le Trayas – St Raphael
This is an area in South of France right by the coast which is a lot more quiet than the rest of the famous places like St Tropez, Nice and Cannes.
St Tropez
Famous tourist destination is South of France is definitely worth a visit.
Eze
This is my favourite destination in South of France.
I take a train from London to Paris and spend about a week there.. when I get of Gare du Nord station I follow the crowd towards the exit and find myself in a line waiting for a taxi… this wait is extremely long… next time I reckon I would just call an Uber.. probably the wiser thing to do!
I stay at Le Marais district which is on line # 1 on the metro which gets you to the centre quite easily… Gare Du Nord is on the same line along with Champs Elyse and the Louvre and all the main tourist attractions..
The 1st thing I do once I am settled in is venture out for a walk to Place des Vosges to grab a bite and then for a walk around Le Marais to see what’s happening in the neighbourhood .. I find a cafe and witness this:
Next day
The 1st thing I do after I wake up is go for a run and then do some yoga by the river Seine.. on the way back I find an outdoor market where I go to the closest fromage(cheese) vendor and pick up an assortment of some awesome French cheeses! I stop by a boulangerie to pick up some amazing bread to have with my cheese!! Mind you this is basically my meal for the next 5 meals for breakfast lunch or dinner!! I just cannot not help myself!!!
Then I call my Parisian friend Julien who I met at Nepal in 2013 and make plans to visit him.. He just happens to throw an outdoor bush party for the weekend I come to visit Paris.. So I go to this doof and and meet some awesome local people have a few drinks eat some food from the BBQ and dance a little bit! I manage to not get too wasted and get back home safe and sound by 3 AM.
Next morning
I decide to walk to the centre… and soon enough find the Notredamme.
Keep walking towards the Pompidou which is where the Museum of Modern Art is resided (Musée National d’Art Moderne). There is a huge line of people trying to get inside.. so I decide to just avoid that and keep walking..
Art installations behind the Pompidou
Since I am a little hung over from the night before I decide to get back and go out for dinner.. I go to Cafe de Flore in Saint Germain and have a nice dinner there and then decide to walk back to my room.. I witness this adorable band playing on the street:
Next day
I go to meet Emmanuel who hosts Air BnB experiences introducing people to the Eiffel Tower which is basically his neighbourhood.
He takes me and another guy for a walk and we talk towards the Eiffel Tower and go on the bridge which is the same bridge where the movie Inception is shot. This bridge is called Bir-Hakeim – I feel a little excited to see this bridge in real life.. then we go towards the Eiffel Tower..
He takes us for a walk around the neighbourhood to show us these hidden treasures:
After this I make my way to Hotel Costes to have a nice dinner and to catch up with an old friend Sara who I met at a yoga retreat in Rishikesh…
The Next Day..
I go for another AirBnB experience with Taf to discover Iconic Montmatre which is on top of the Hill from where you get to see amazing views of all of Paris!
Before he takes us to the Montrematre monument he takes us to a chocolate shop which has really amusing statues made from chocololate..
Yes.. these are all made from chocolate…
Then we walk all the way up to the Sacré-Cœur basilica which is not the easiest walk if you are not really fit. But it is totally worth it once you make it to the top! You don’t have to walk if you don’t want to .. there are electric carts which can take you up.. so don’t worry 🙂
What is really special about the Sacré-Cœur basilica is that all artwork on the dome is actually mosaic.. it is absolutely mind blowing.
View from top
Besides the Montematre the neighbourhood itself is very picturesque and has a history of being a residence for some of the most legendary artists such as Dali and Picasso… Montematre according to me is the most artistic part of Paris.
After this we take a tour around the neighbourhood to explore all the local graffiti ..
After that we go to the very famous wall of love where I love you is written in all languages:
The Wall of Love
After this.. we keep walking .. This tour is never ending isn’t it?? Montrematre is just full of things to see… next is the Moulin Rouge! I am sure you all know what that is…
After this I go to Bastille to check out some wicked bars … here are a few awesome suggestions:
Moonshiner – this one is a real hidden gem…. from the road it looks like a Pizzeria … where people are just casually sitting down eating pizzas but you have to go past that and open the back doors and go through a 2nd round of doors to enter this amazing bar.. you will really thank me for this one once you get there… enjoy!
Le Calbar – listed as one of the top 9 cocktail spots in Paris is a good one to check out if you fancy a nice cocktail..
After a few rounds of cocktails – I am absolutely knackered and need to find my way back to my bed!!
The next day
Is dedicated to an eight course meal at a Michelin star Restraurant called Le Cinq
After which I have a tour booked with Paolo to see the main masterpieces that the Louvre has to show…
My time in Paris has flown really quickly!! Before I know it.. it is now time for me to leave Paris for my next destination in South of France where I meet my sister..
How a settlement of 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe evolved to a population of 2.5 million of people residing in Dubai today is an amazing story to tell. The Bani Yas tribe settled down in 1833 at a creek being a natural harbour which is now known as Dubai Creek. This harbour rapidly became a hub for fishing, pearling and sea trade. As the 20th century came along, Dubai became a very popular port with the largest Souk (market) of around 350 shops which attracted many visitors and businessmen.
Here’s a video of Dubai Creek today:
In the 1950’s Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum started a very ambitious project of making this port bigger by dredging the waterway and this enabled Dubai to be a even bigger port thus strengthened Dubai’s position as a focal point for trade and export. Then in 1966, the abundance of oil was discovered and Sheikh Rashid used this opportunity to utilise the revenues from the oil to transform Dubai by investing in its infrastructure where he built schools, roads, telecommunications and must importantly Dubai International Airport. The most logical trend to follow then was to connect Dubai with the rest of the world via its airline Emirates allowing people from all over to the world to visit Dubai.
There are innumerable things to do in Dubai – the list is endless and I felt like the 8 days (even though 3 were busy meetings) I had were no where close to enough to cover all the things I wanted to do!
Dubai today is an amazing tourist destination and its one of those places with so much to do because there is always so much happening there! Its hard to to be everywhere at the same time.
Here are my top 5 favourites:
Al Fahidi – Historical Neighbourhood
A visit to the Al Fahidi Neighbourhood is a good introduction to Dubai’s heritage and culture. A step into the past this neighbourhood was home to some of the most elite textile and trade merchants from Bastak in Iran. This part of Dubai was my highlight of the trip!
Local House Restraurant
Now this neighbourhood is a hub for local artist showcasing the most popular art that Dubai has to offer with Majis Gallery being Dubai’s oldest art Gallery and XVA Gallery
XVA Art Gallery is a must see!
The following blog does real justice to this spot: https://theculturetrip.com/middle-east/united-arab-emirates/articles/dubais-heritage-a-tour-of-al-bastakiya/
JBR – The Walk
JBR stands for Jumeirah Beach Residence which is the poshest locality in Dubai – clearly the place to be and also the coolest beach to hang out in. Some of the finest places to dine and coolest spots to party and grab a drink if you like.
Ain Dubai observation wheel is one of the highest of its kind.
Night-time view of JBR
Sky Diving.
If you are a fan of sky diving – I highly recommend sky diving here because it has the most AMAZING view of the Palm. This was my first diving experience which was short but sweet and mind blowing 😉
Adventures in the desert
This is a very touristy thing to do but never the less it is a worthwhile experience especially for a first timer for people who visit Dubai because after all this is what Dubai mostly was less than 100 years ago!
Atlantis at The Palm
This is a really cool spot as well – with a really awesome aquarium and nice restraurants and loads of other adventures such as a water park and dolphin tour etc. Its a wonderland with a similar feeling of so much to do and not enough time!!!
I could sit here for hours just staring at all these fishes!
Being as artisan, I like to collect raw materials from my travel destinations around the world – From Nepal I wanted to find the source of Rudrakshas. From a little research I did on Rudrakshas I read somewhere that they traditionally come from the forests around the Kali Gandaki River. Researching more into the Kali Gandaki River I come across a place called Muktinath which is meant to be a pilgrimage destination for all Hindus and Buddhist. I told Jimmy and Brett about this and they too were quite intrigued about this place.
We speak with the people at Freedom Cafe and they tell us that we need to take a bus to Beni and then another bus from Beni will take us straight to Muktinath. This sounds quite straight forward to us so we find ourselves on the 1st bus to Beni.
We arrive in Beni and find it quite dull and boring.. have thali for dinner and decide to go to bed early so we can catch the 1st bus out of there to Muktinath anticipating an exciting new destination to relax at the end of next day. The next day we get up, eat breakfast and get on the 1st bus we found to Muktinath – the bus driver told us that there isnt really a direct bus and that we will need to catch another bus from Tatopani. Okay this was news that its not 1 direct bus but two buses to Muktinath but still find it quite okay knowing that we should be there by the end of the day.
The journey begins and Brett – Jimmy and I are on a bus driving on a very scary one lane road which can only handle one vehicle at a time – but the journey is amazingly scenic.
Tatopani
We arrive at Tatopani and then get on another bus towards Dana.
Hot Springs at Tatopani – photo credit: Greg Willis
Tato in Nepali means Hot and Pani means water hence the village is named after the beautiful hot springs it is situated near.
Beautiful views from Tatopani
We keep walking from Tatopani towards our next bus. We get on our next bus and at one point everyone has to get off the bus as it is too heavy to cross over a landslide. The bus has to go back reverse a long way and come back in full speed to finally make it over the landslide. Here’s a video:
After passing a huge waterfall as we get closer to Dana – there happens to be a huge landslide not allowing the bus to move forward any more. Now this is something I definitely was NOT EXPECTING… we all have no choice now but to walk and cross the village to find another bus to take us to Ghasa.
All these unexpected surprises is starting to get outside my comfort zone – but lets face it – its a bit of walking but look around you – the amazing paradise you have manifested yourself in.. how can you ruin your mood with this lil’ hiccup just ‘cuz you dont like walking? So I take a deep breath – and soak in some beautiful Himalayan mountain energy and keep walking towards the Ghasa. After all Magic does happen outside your comfort zone doesn’t it?
Ghasa
After a good two hours of walking – we finally find ourselves in Ghasa. Its almost the end of the day now – we are exhausted and we decide to spend the night here and make our way to Muktinath the next day. My mind up until now was always focussed on the destination which was Muktinath – but arriving at Ghasa I realise once again the essence behind the famous saying “Its not about the destination but about the journey”
Following morning – we go and sussed out the bus situation and find out that the next bus leaves at noon.. we decide to start walking anyway to get on the bus when it arrives – as we keep walking there happens to be a checkpoint just past Ghasa where some security guards ask us to show them our trekking permits.. We had no idea what he meant by that and we told them that we don’t have any. So then they replied that we need to Pay Rs. 8000 for two tourist passes and Rs. 1500 for a local pass as Indians are not considered tourists. Normally the permits costs Rs. 2000 for tourists but since we failed to get it before the checkpoint we had to pay double. So please remember to make sure that you have your permits before you set foot into the Annapurna Range.
That hiccup now costs us most of the money that we have on us before we get access to the next atm. We get our passes and start walking around towards Marpha hoping to manifest an ATM somewhere along the way. As we keep walking we come across two travelers Jitka and Andre from Czech Republic. They told us that they have 2 friends whom they are hoping to meet at Marpha. The four of us start walking towards Marpha and at some point a bus finally arrives behind us which we get on.
Marpha Valley
We get off at Marpha along with Andre and Jitka and quite spontaneously decide to spend another night there instead of traveling more. We meet their friends Lalit and Wally at Neeru Guest House.
Photo Credits: James
I highly recommend visit Neeru Guest house while you are visiting Marpha. The owner is a very lovely lady and a beautiful host. We try the locally brewed apple ciders here and really love it. The food here is absolutely lip smacking.
Marpha is known as the Apple Capital of Nepal is full of apple orchards where the apples are used to make apple cider vinegar, apple ciders, Jams.
Nyingma Monastry is one of the only tourist attractions of Marpha Valley besides the beautiful valley itself.
Photo Credits: Jitka Cardova
Photo Credits: Jitka Cardova
Photo Credits: Gerd Eichmann
The Streets of Marpha Valley
Mar means hardworking and Pha is people so the Marpha is basically named after the hardworking locals who live there.
Locals of Marpha Valley
This place is less touristy than Jhomsom which is only a 5 km trek from here. I would recommend having a stop over here instead of Jhomsom as its much more prettier and the locals are much nicer as well.
Jhompsom
Next day we start walking towards Jhompsom where at last we find an ATM..
View from Marpha to Jhompsom
Relieved to have found a cash machine we go out shopping – only to find out much later that the ATMs are all cashed out and to make things worse we need to pay for another three permits to move forward from Jhomsom.
So our options were to either spend the night in Jhomsom until the ATMs are cashed up or sneak out of there.. We take the 2nd option – we tell the guards that our friends are waiting at the Bob Marley cafe who have the cash so to let us through for 1/2 hour and ask them to keep my pancard as security.
We get through the check point and meet our new friends at Bob Marley cafe and decide to keep walking towards Kagbeni. Lalit tells us that he can loan us some money and we can pay him back later and so we continue our journey on foot..
After about 3 hours of walking – a tractor passes by and we all raise our hands for a ride – we get on but the journey was quite bouncy.. He drops us off about 2 hours of walking time before Kagbeni.
We found a ride yay!
Kagbeni
We finally arrive at Kagbeni after 6 hours of walking and hitchhiking and spend the night at a hotel which was previously a monastery. It’s called Red House Lodge. After having lovely thalis – we pass out to wake up to a beautiful morning.
This is my view from the rooftop of Red House Lodge.
What I love about the Annapurna Ranges is how the prayer flags add so much colour to the landscape. These pictures actually dont really do justice.
So far from all the villages – Kagbeni is my favourite. I am completely taken aback from the breath taking views.
When you look at the stones closely there are Buddhist Scriptures carved on it.
After lunch – we decide to leave Kagbeni and keep walking towards Muktinath
This is what Kagbeni looks like when you are further up.
Annapurna in all its majesty!
Zoomed in..
Muktinath
We finally made it to Muktinath
Muktinath is a sacred place for Buddhists and Hindus which means “place of liberation”.
The Muktinath Temple is considered to be a Shakti Peetha for a yatra. Shakti Peethas are sacred abodes of Shakti (primordial cosmic energy), formed by the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Lord Shiva carried it and wandered. ( Wikipedia)
We take our blessings from this sacred place and then the six of us split into threeways – Jitka and Andre keep walking to complete the full circuit – Brett, Wally and Lalit decide to take the jeep back to Pokhara – Jimmy and me decide to walk all thew way back to Beni – via a small village called Jarkot.
Jarkot
Jimmy and me take a 5 hour trekking route from Muktinath to Jarkot which I find a little bit challenging but not too bad since it was 50% downhill. As you start to get closer towards Jarkot – we look at the ground to see that it is very shiny. We look closer and pick up one of the stones to realise that they are actually crystals. This spot is full of all kinds of crystals – this completely blows me away.
Getting closer and closer to our destination – we come across a river – with a really strong current. Only way to cross over a 1 foot by 12 foot wooden plank. Our option is to either cross it or head back all the way where we came from..
It was definitely dangerous but kind of adventurous .. but I dont recommend any one to try this as it can be life threatening!
Welcome to Jharkot
The little temple was a beautiful entrance to the village
This is a real mission to get to – but it is completely worth it to be here.
Life here is pretty self sustainable. It might be very minimalistic – but they have the luxury of fresh organic food and really clean air.
There are many caves on the opposite side of the village.
Beautiful locals of Jharkot
Local Buddha.
Streets of Jharkot
The carvings on these stones are more visible as the colour is not yet faded.
This is how chickens are transported here.
Way back on foot.
So I didnt come across any rudrakshas but I found my spirit. Before this trip – my laziness would not allow me to walk for more than 1 km MAX – ask Jimmy – I was the biggest wuss – but on the way back I was adamant to walk the parts that I missed while I took the bus on the way in.
If you are looking for a non touristy experience where you can get better opportunities to interact with the local Nepali people I highly recommended staying a few nights here at Ama’s House not very far away from Pokhara. The rooms are very basic yet clean but everything outside the room was spectacular and an absolute eye treat. Ama makes really nice Nepali dalh bhat – which is all they have to offer here but the owner who is a cool Korean chap gave us some kimchi which made the meal really yummy. (At-least for me!)
If you are interested then the details are below:
Address: Hiyangjagot 7, Pokhara city, Nepal, Pokhara 11111, Nepal
After spending about 6 weeks in Had Yuan – Coh Pan Gan in Thailand. It was time for some serenity in the Himalayas in Nepal. Plan was to spend two weeks exploring all of Nepal and then making our way down to North India.
We arrived in Kathmandu on the 1st day of Shravan which is is the 5th month of the Hindu calendar. Known as the month of Shiva, Shravan is regarded to be the holiest month of the year and this time is considered to be auspicious for religious festivities and ceremonies. Usually all the babas from India start their pilgrimage to renowned Hindu temples such as Pashupatinath, Barinath and Muktinath in Nepal. Brett and me felt blessed to step foot into the City of Temples at such an auspicious time.
Kathmandu also known as the City of Temples is the capital of Nepal and the most densely populated city in Nepal. Kathmandu was very relaxed as compared to India and I fell in love with how there are hundreds of temples scattered all over Kathmandu giving the city a traditional touch…
Photo Credit: Magnus Manske
We stayed in Thamel while we were in Kathmandu which is the most popular junction in Nepal. Flying in from New Delhi Kathmandu’s hustle bustle still felt 10 times more serene than India – Thamel being one of the busiest streets in all of Nepal was quite relaxing to stay in. However when we went to Kathmandu from Pokhara we definitely didn’t feel the same way.
Stupa of Bothnath Temple
Pashupathinath
After a few days in Kathmandu we made our way to Pokhara which is a 6-8 hour bus ride away – we got on the bus at 8 am in the morning and arrived Pokhara by 4 in the afternoon. As we got closer and closer to Pokhara – time began to go slower and slower.
As we arrived at lakeside Pokhara we were stuck in this mesmerizing wormhole where it felt like time literally stoped. The gardens around Pokhara are filled with thousands of fireflies which makes the twilight time after sunset even more magical. I have seriously never saw so many fire flies like that in Pokhara. It is also surrounded by many waterfalls – the locals are actually more accustomed to bathing on a regular basis in the waterfalls instead of their houses.. Hows amazing right? I’d love to have such a lifestyle where my usual shower is amazing pristine water from the Himalayas except of the winters!
The Lake midst the Himalayas
Beautiful colorful boats
You can also take a ride in the innumerable boats all along lakeside or go kayaking – the water is really still so its quite a peaceful experience to explore the lake on a kayak. If you find yourself exploring the lake on a boat of a kayak – make sure to visit to the hidden waterfall on the opposite side.
There is a temple in the middle of the lake that you MUST VISIT. For me this temple visit was a really sublime experience which invoked a stillness within me which words cannot describe.
The perfect time to visit would be around sunset to catch the ‘Aarti’ which is the routine ceremony to worship the Goddess Durga.
Pokhara is full of restaurants with very yummy food – one place that I highly recommend is Silk Road which not only serves very yummy food and cocktails but also has amazing live music. Check out the vibe in the video below:
The Kingdom of Thailand is an exotic country in Southeast Asia amidst the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand.It is renowned for its tropical weather, lipsmacking food and mesmerizing culture. A destination attracting people all over the world for its beaches, mountains, spas, wildlife and full moon parties.
After Goa and Gokarna – we had to rush back to Melbourne to make it to our friends Jess & Rudy’s wedding which allowed us to tie all loose ends that that tied us to Melbourne. My friend Jimmy he told me about this amazing spot in Thailand where once you enter the beach, you can never leave. He told me that he only reason why you want to drag yourself out of there is when your pockets are empty and you need to cash up. As soon as I heard about this – I knew that that’s where I am heading next.
A few flights later we landed in Krabi and after spending a few days there we made our way to Koh Samui to catch up with our friends Jason, Lindsey and little Aswell. This is us having celebration drinks at Ark Bar.
The best way to get around at the islands in Thailand is renting a scooter. The roads are really scenic and easy to get your head around.
Koh Samui has many waterfalls which you can visit. We vistited one called Numuang Water-fall.
After Koh Samui – we caught another ferry to get to Coh Pan Gan. Had Rin beach is where your ferry normally drops you off and from there you can take a taxi, scooter taxi or a boat to get to other places. The famous full moon parties happen every full moon at Haad Rin beach – and this is really what attracts most tourists to come to Coh Pan Gan.
Photo Credit – Per Meistrup
Unlike most tourists we were given instructions to take a boat to Haad Yuan from Haad Rin and meet Jimmy at Eden. Getting into another small boat we find ourselves sailing around amazing crystal blue water towards a beautiful mini island. Once we arrived we were completely taken aback by how amazing this spot really is.
A mission to get here but the effort was worth it when we sat down at Eden’s lounge to enjoy this spectacular view with the most amazing Thai food.
What I loved about Eden was how its rooms were like tree-houses scattered amidst tall trees and rocks which give you a real jungle feel to it. Its VIP rooms have the most amazing view of the sea which is an added bonus as you have the best of both worlds – the jungle and the ocean.
The rain is amazing to witness from the VIP room.
Amazing View from the balcony.
This island is full of amazing treats and is the perfect place in indulge in the ocean, the jungle, amazing food, local fruits, yoga, massage, dance and music. I highly recommend the following must dos:
Mangosteen Fruit
Fresh Coconut Water
Massage at Bamboo Huts
Orange Malibu at Guys Bar
Massaman Curry at Eden
Trek to Wai Nam Beach – with the food and snorkeling.
As you walk up the hill past the VIP rooms at Eden you eventually arrive at a beach called Haad Thian which is more quiet than Had Yuan.
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I highly recommend going to the parties which happen at Eden and Guy’s Bar on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Hampi is another world heritage site situated in Karnataka which will leave you in awe with its untouched beauty. You can get lost in endless rocks and ruins with amazing landscapes of rice fields and rivers in all its serenity. Here are my favorite things to do there:
# 1 – Sunsets
I witness the most amazing sunsets here in Hampi – the weather is perfectly warm around March and you can go venture out into the rocks and find awesome spots to get that perfect sunset view. As you sink into the amazing colors of magic hour a chaiwalla comes to you to sell you amazing chai to sip while you watch your sunset.
# 2 – Ancient Ruins
The majestic ruins of old temples are an absolute eye treat as they take you on a journey back in time. The 1st temple you will probably end up in will be The Virupaksha temple – when you go there make sure you get your blessing from the Elephant which feels really warm and fuzzy. The best part about all these ruins is the carvings and the details in each carvings.
# 3 Rice Fields Walks & Rock Climbing
The rice paddocks in Hampi are so beautiful – you feel a deep connection to earth as you go through these fields towards the endless walks into the rocks to go venture out into the wild. It is a perfect destination for wanderers who just want to explore.
# 4 The Locals
The locals are so friendly they love hanging out with you. When we ride around Hampi the locals spot you and go crazy waving at you and shouting “Hi!! Hello” “How are you?” and a simple smile and a wave back makes their day.
# 5 Monkey Temple
I love Monkey Temple – it has the most amazing view of Hampi from top and the rocks are so nice and warm to sit on. If you want to just find a beautiful spot to just chill and not move and maybe meditate this is the place to be. Best time to visit would be around 5 in the afternoon.
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The rice paddocks in Hampi are so beautiful – you feel a deep connection to earth as you go through these fields towards the endless walks into the rocks to go venture out into the wild. It is a perfect destination for wanderers who just want to explore.
Turiya Tatyana 