International – Page 2

Guest Post || TOP 5 PLACES TO GO CAMPING IN EUROPE – by Shawn

Breathtaking landscapes, challenging heights, vibrant scenery – the world’s best camping sites offer something to everyone. That said, there’s no better assortment of camping places than those wended through Europe, covering the world’s most beautiful sites, from the Swiss Alps to the Scandinavian fjords. While there are many places to go camping in Europe, the list we’ve compiled mentions only the most adventurous, beautiful, and iconic spots to set up your RV or tent on.

Chateau de Monroeville – France

France’s west coast has some good old fashion camping fields, and this is one of them. There’s no space for caravans or RVs, so be prepared to set up a tent. But there’s a swimming pond and fire pits around the property. If you make your way to this camping site, do check out the Irish gypsy caravan The Roulette. It’s customized to make for space; it can sleep around four people with two single beds and one double bed. The cellar of the chateau is where you’ll find toilets and hot showers.

Camping Ca’Savio – Italy

This is a big but laid-back family camping site with two large pools and access to a beautiful sandy beach with trained lifeguards. If you want more of the aquatic fun, there’s one of Italy’s biggest waterparks situated just 20 minutes away from the location. Nearby, there are opportunities to try surfing and windsurfing. Those who can drag themselves away from the water can take a day-trip to Venice. The camping site also offers something yummy for your tummy –a famous eatery that bakes pizzas in a brick oven.

Camping Village Simuni, Pag, Croatia

This is the place to be if you want direct access to multiple beaches – there are six at this location. While there is no pool at this European camping site, campers won’t need access to one as there’s the clear Adriatic to go for snorkeling. There is also a wide range of boat excursions and water sports adventures that can be booked by arriving guests. The location has its own tennis courts, climbing wall, shop and restaurant, pizzeria, and more. So, do not forget to pack your top-quality climbing boots on the go.

Camping Tonnara, Sardinia

Sant’Antioco Island is attached to Sardinia’s south-west coast with a causeway and is popular for blue waters and breathtaking beaches. Camping Tonnara is located over there; it’s a tiny, peaceful location that offers direct access to a bay. However, this isn’t the place to pick for families looking for children clubs or around the clock entertainment. It has fairly low-key facilities – tennis courts, a bar, supermarket and restaurant. The ice cream and coffee served by outdoor cafes are a must have.

Lake Shkodra Resort – Albania

This is a family oriented camping ground for those who are traveling on a budget. Albania is untouched by most tourists, which means there is an opportunity to explore the gleaming natural beauty of the camping places in this country while avoiding the crowds. This campsite is present on the lake and features an on-site restaurant and bar. There’s also a private beach with umbrellas and sun beds available. Budget-friendly campers would love Lake Shkodra Resort.

About Guest Author: Shawn Michaels is a blogger who loves to write about his outdoor experiences. He is also a passionate rock climber and loves travelling. He is currently studying and spends his free time reading reviews and gear shopping! He regularly blogs at TheSmartlad.com

Disclaimer: *Contents in this story is Authors personal views and presentation.

If you also want to get featured as a guest author on yatripandit.com, share your story with us on info@yatripandit.com

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Guest Post || Five Things With Kids: Kuala Lumpur – by Ben

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s bustling capital city, is a fantastic destination for a short break or a longer holiday. However, unlike many of Malaysia’s popular tourist hotspots, there isn’t a beach in sight. Crammed full of trendy bars, shopping malls and hotels, it would be easy to think that this South East Asian hotspot wasn’t the best place for a family trip. Listed below then are our 5 top picks for things to do with children in Kuala Lumpur.

5. Batu Caves

Located just outside of the city, Batu Caves is a significant Hindu holy site built into a large complex of limestone caverns. One of the most important Hindu sites outside of India, the shrine is dedicated to Lord Murugan, the deity of war and features the world’s tallest statue of the god standing 42.7m tall by it’s entrance.

Characterised by the huge flight of 272 steps leading up to the shrine caves, it’s an arduous slog to the top and small feet will get tired (we carried our youngest and, to his credit, our 5 year old managed the entire flight without a single word of complaint).

The draw for families besides the impressive caves and statue of Lord Murugan however, has got to be the families of monkeys that populate the stairs. From the top to the bottom, they are everywhere. Our two children had a great time alternately laughing at their antics and screaming in terror if they came too close.

4. KLCC Park

Situated in the heart of KLCC, at the foot of the iconic Petronas Towers, KLCC park is a natural haven in the centre of a busy city. Full of green space and with literally hundreds of pieces of playground equipment, it will keep children entertained for hours.

Towards the Suria Mall side of the park, there is also a large padding pool area featuring waterfalls and smaller pools for younger children. These are complemented by small changing facilities which make a lengthy, comfortable day out in the park possible. All of these facilities are also free to use.

My only reservation about including KLCC park in the list comes in the form of the viciously vigilant security guards who patrol the park. They take their jobs incredibly seriously and as such it is impossible to relax over the sounds of their zealously blown whistles at busier times. Walking on the grass, playing with a ball, sitting on a see-saw with your 3 year old. All are crimes that will result in a loud blow of the whistle and a stern telling off. Bizarrely, the rule is that as an adult you literally cannot touch the equipment, even if your reason for doing so is to ensure the safety of your child.

If you can cope with this then it’s a great place to spend an afternoon. And if you can’t, we discovered a see-saw out of sight towards the back of the park and played to our hearts content!

3. Hop-on, Hop-off, Bus Tour

We joined this bus tour by chance after it stopped next to us by the KL Aquarium and were very glad that we did. Incredibly reasonable (RM45 per adult, no charge for our 3 year old or our 5 year old) and thorough, this open-top bus tour features 23 stops conveniently located next to most of the cities main tourist attractions. The ticket also last for 24 hours (48 hours also available) meaning you can continue using the ticket the following day depending upon time of purchase.

All of the buses feature a large open-top section with air conditioned seating available towards the rear of the bus upstairs and downstairs.

During busy times the bus does get full and we did witness passengers at the Petronas Towers stop being told to wait for the next bus (a 20/30 minute wait) as the one we arrived on was full.

Similarly, when it rains, the inside of the bus can be very full and vice versa, when the weather is good, outside seating is at a premium.

Courtesy of MyHopOnHopOff.com

2. Petrosains Discovery Centre

A surprising diversion at the top of Suria Mall, Petrosains Discovery Centre is a fantastic attraction for children of all ages from the very young, to young adults.

A dark ride, dozens of interactive experiments, building areas, a large dinosaur and volcano diorama and more. Check out our full review of Petrosains here.

This is definitely one not to be missed.

1. Kidzania Kuala Lumpur

Just outside of the city center by The Curve, Kidzania offers a world of fun for young people of all ages.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, Kidzania is an entire indoor city designed for children. Kidzania KL is based around 2 main streets on the ground floor and one winding thoroughfare upstairs. The streets on all sides are populated by business’ and services, which are sponsored by familiar, real-world business’ and all of which provide fun activities for children.

From fire fighting and driving an ambulance to stocking shelves in a supermarket and constructing their own burgers at McDonalds; families will love Kidzania. The sheer variety of things to do and value for money present in the ticket price is the reason this takes the number one spot when choosing things to do with Kids in Kuala Lumpur.

About the author

Benjamin Burgess fondly know as Ben is an fantastic human and fellow travel blogger. He is an avid traveler and always encourages yatripandit.com.

He describes his blog as “MyExpatFamily.com is a travel blog, specializing in family travel, written by an expat couple based in China. We travel with our two young children and share our experiences around the world with a 3 and 5 year old in tow.”

Disclaimer: *Contents in this story is Authors personal views and presentation.

If you also want to get featured as a guest author on yatripandit.com, share your story with us on info@yatripandit.com

Cheers !!

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Benjamin Burgess

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Yatripandit

Guest Post || Bhutan beyond Mountains and Monasteries – by Neha

When I informed my dear ones that I was going on a trip to Bhutan, many of them questioned my decision; some reasoned Bhutan was not an interesting place to travel, some asserted there were only monasteries to see there, some suggested I should go to Ladakh instead. While a few baffled at my choice, just asked ‘Why?’

My only reply to all of them was – ‘You will know when I get back!’

I am back and my answer lies in this post. Bhutan is definitely a lot more than its Mountains and Monasteries. Sharing a list of things to look forward to when you are in Bhutan:

Treks and Trails

From a day to month long, Bhutan has all kinds of treks for adventure lovers.

The most clichéd but certainly not overrated is the Taktsang Monastery Trek. It is popularly known as the Tiger’s Nest. It is literally perched on a cliff and is one of the most important Buddhist sites. It is believed that Yeshe Tsogval who was a follower of Guru Rinpoche, transformed herself into a tigress and carried Guru Rinpoche on her back from Tibet to Taktsang. Here is one of the nine caves where he meditated.

Another popular trek of Bhutan is the Druk Path trek, which is about 6 days long. This trek not only greets you with beautiful landscapes but also introduces you to some ancient Lhakhangs and Dzongs.

For people who find trekking arduous, you could soak in nature while walking on the breathtaking trails of Bhutan.

At an elevation of 3000 meters, Phobjika Glacial Valley is surrounded by huge mountains on all sides. This is a short (4 kms) but beautiful trail. During winters, black necked cranes migrate to Phobjika from Tibet, and the monastery in Gangtey holds a special festival to celebrate their arrival.

Camping
Bhutan is blessed with natural beauty. Owing to its forest reserves, which are about 70%, it becomes a wonderful place to camp.We camped under the star lit sky, by the river stream, in the forests of Gasa. There was no network connectivity in the forest which was the best thing about the camp. This disconnect from the virtual world helped me establish a wonderful connect with myself.

Tshechu Festival
Tshechu is the biggest festival of Bhutan, which is held on the tenth day of the lunar month in dzongs of each district. Participating in this festival is the best way to experience the culture of Bhutan. The Bhutanese men and women attend this festival dressed in their traditional attire. In this festival, mask dances and other traditional Bhutanese dances are performed. These events have deep religious and mythological significance.

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The Bhutanese believe that everyone must attend a Tshechu and witness the mask dances at least once in order to receive blessings and wash away their sins.

Hot Stone Bath
You will miss out on something really awesome if you go to Bhutan and not try Datsho, the traditional Hot Stone Bath. I rate it as one of the finest experiences of Bhutan.In this therapy, river stones are heated and put in a wooden tub filled with water. Sometimes medicinal herbs are added to the water before it is ready for the soak.

It is believed that the heat of the water, the minerals released from the rock, and the local herbs all combine to produce medicinal benefits for joint pains, hypertension, stomach disorders and arthritis.

Happiness

While all other countries of the world measure their progress by GDP, Bhutan measures its progress by Gross National Happiness.

I had my doubts when I read Bhutan is the happiest country in Asia. But it took me just a 10 days trip to realize that Bhutan is truly a country of happy, shiny people! Their clothes, their houses, their bank accounts don’t define their happiness. They don’t need reasons to be happy. Happiness comes naturally to them. It was on this trip that I truly understood that ‘Happiness is a state of mind’.

Gawa rang gi zon go zo; choem rang gi choen go choel

This popular Bhutanese proverb means, Whatever joy you seek, it can be achieved by yourself; whatever misery you seek, it can be found by yourself. (It is a state of mind)

About the Author:

Neha is a very dear friend and a fabulous company to hangout with. She is an avid traveler and always encourages yatripandit.com.

She describes herself as,”I live to write and I wish I wrote to live! By profession, I am a Software Engineer and currently working in a Multinational IT company. There is a stability in this field, albeit my heart truly wants to get rid of this software job and unleash my creative skills. I share an ardent relationship with writing. My mind is my canvas and I pen hundred’s of thoughts there every single minute. I aspire to devote my entire time to writing and take up writing as my career very soon.”

PS: This story was originally published on http://nehasharmahere.blogspot.in

Click on the link to find out more on Bhutan food, Shopping and architecture http://nehasharmahere.blogspot.in/2016/05/bhutan-beyond-mountains-and-monasteries.html

Disclaimer: *Contents in this story is Authors personal views and presentation.

If you also want to get featured as a guest author on yatripandit.com, share your story with us on info@yatripandit.com

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Neha Sharma

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Abhimanyu

A Vegetarian’s Guide to Visit China

I am a vegetarian who does not mind eating eggs. While in China I found it was extremely difficult to find good vegetarian food. Non-Veg food is an integral part of Chinese Cuisine Vegetarians in China are an endangered species which is on the verge of extinction. If I order a tofu curry in India, it will surely be a vegetarian dish. In China it is just as likely to contain shrimps or meat. I thought it will be good to share my experience with fellow Vegetarian travelers.

How to say?

When in China, you can say: “Wo chi sù” which means “I eat vegetarian”, or still better to have it written on a paper in Chinese script. This generally means Buddhist vegetarian, which means you also won’t get any garlic or onions. These dishes often contain imitation meats made from soya, or gluten, and are often described as the real thing.

Or if you are tech savvy and believe in travelling with a Cell Phone always it’s always good to have a handy app installed. One of the apps which I used is Vegetarian in China. It lists down various vegetarian restaurants in China.

** Waiters are called fu yay and Water is Shwey

Temple Restaurants

One of the safest options is to eat at the Buddhist Temples, many of them run a small restaurant serving simple vegetarian cuisine. The quality can vary amongst various temples but it’s a great option if you are in China and are not sure what food you can count on not to contain meat.

Buy your own fruits

During my visit I felt the quality of fruits is pretty good in China and you can buy variety of fruits from a departmental store and relish them whenever you want. The fruits taste a bit different from those we get in India but I quite liked it.

fruits-master — Chinese fruits – Image credit Google images

Carry Indian Food (Ghar ka Khana)

Although I believe in eating the local food during my travels, but I have seen many Indians who carry Maggie noodle packets, pickle, paranthas, theplas, khakharas and what not. You also might carry such stuff and feel like home when away from home.

khakhra-250x250 — Khakhara – Image Credit Google images

Your dear Chinese friend

I personally used this trick. I always tried to have a Chinese speaking person (friend) along while going to dine. He explained the vegetarian requirements to the Waiters in Mandarin and I ended up eating some lip smacking custom made Vegetarian Chinese Delicacies.

I hope you enjoyed reading the story. Please share it with your vegetarian friends. Cheers !!

Love – Like – Share

Abhimanyu@yatripandit

PS: Please click on the ads which appear on the website and help us earn some money to travel. This blog is still very young and growing. If you like the story, do not shy away from reciprocating your love in form of likes comments and sharing on social media.

Falling in Love with Chinese Tea – Nanjing, China

Imagine the feeling when a road side Romeo gets to date the prettiest girl in town, I felt the same when my CEO asked me to accompany him to China for a week’s tour. Ahan !! Yatripundit ki pehli videsh yatra aur who bhi company ke kharche par (yatripundit’s 1^st foreign trip and that too on company’s expenses), I could not have asked for it. Although, the country was China and the city was Nanjing, which isn’t a famous city as Beijing or Shanghai. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to the core.

Passport – Check

Visa – Check

Flight Tickets – Check

Hotel Bookings – Check

Shopping – Check

Preparation to execute the tasks – Check

Checked in the hotel Crystal blue bay on a Sunday evening after changing flights at Delhi and Hong Kong (so ideally my 1^st foreign landing was in Hong Kong). I always felt New Delhi airport was massive and beautiful but only till I Saw HK airport. It was Monstrous. This magnificent modern world wonder faces sea on one side and mountains on the other. It had trains running from 1 terminal to another, massive shopping areas, giant busses which had driver cabins on both ends, more than 150 airline offices. Since, our preceding flight got a bit delayed, we had to rush across the terminals and check-in gates but a huge thanks to the Airport staff for their support and helping us in boarding the Dragon Air flight to Nanjing, China.

Okay!! Coming back to Hotel Crystal blue bay, Nanjing. It’s a beautiful property in the city. Marvel flooring and off white color walls and pillars with Golden and Chandeliers was a perfect match. It also houses a games room, swimming pool, 2 restaurants (a Chinese and a continental). Rooms were spacious and had all comforts. There is a huge park besides and open area besides the hotel and evenings are pleasant. You will spot people practicing dance in small groups, skate boarding, chatting or just lazing around. There was a shopping mall on the other side of the hotel.

The only discomfort for a Non- Mandarin (Language in China) speaking person is even the front desk official were not able to converse in English.

Nanjing is a beautiful city with wide roads, brilliant infrastructure, designated market places, shopping malls, community centers, restaurants (Chinese, Mongolian, Thai, continental and 1 or 2 Indian as well) parks and brilliant public transport. Public transport includes battery operated buses, rickshaw and metro rails.

The main city area is crowded and I discovered this while I visited Fuzimiao – A temple located in southern Nanjing City on banks of the Qinhuai River. Within the area are cultural attractions, arts, shopping, and entertainment. There is a market area surrounding the temple and you are expected to demonstrate the best of your bargaining skills with the shopkeepers. Usually shop keepers can speak English as this is a tourist area. I bought some souvenirs from this place including Chinese green tea, small umbrella, sunglasses and shawls. It’s always better be accompanied by a Chinese speaking mate, helps in finalizing the best stuffs in best rates. It’s been 3 months since I am back in India and I still treat myself with aromatic Chinese green tea often.

The Chinese tea is the easiest to cook. Just put some tea leaves in boiling water and leave to brew for a couple of minutes with lid closed. Your Chinese green tea is ready to be cherished.

I also recommend you to go for boating in Quihuai River.

Overall it was a great experience to visit Nanjing and I wish to explore more during my next visit to this beautiful Chinese city.

In my next post I will share Dos and Donts when in China which will be followed by A Vegetarian’s guide for visiting China.

-Lots of Love

Abhimanyu@Yatripandit

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