Appalaigunta - Prasanna / Abhaya Venkayeswara Swamy

From Tirupati, about 20 km, is Appslaya gunta village. Here Lord Venkateswara appears in Abhaya hasta mudra. The temple is huge and pleasant. Managed by TTD Trust, under Tiruchanoor, this temple follows all the rituals as per Agama shastra. Away from the mas rush at Tirupati, one can sit in His abode and see Lord in his glory as long as one wishes. 

Read more at: https://www.tirumala.org/TemplesAtTiruchanoor.aspx

Uber at Mumbai Airport

Mumbai International Airport is huge n anybody coming for the first time or after a long gap can get confused. Though here are directions, they are not inside at meeting area. One has to come out, look for exit. 

After clearing immigration n picking up baggage n scanning handcarry or cabin baggage, one can see taxi sign. Following it will lead to exit where on the oppositeside one can see lifts going to P4 n Uber pick up.

From here, it's easy. Relatively. 

Getting out of lift at P4, to left, this sign board is visible.

One can book Uber Green through Uber app  n get picked up here. 

Uber XL or any other Uber, have to cross road n walk through a big Uber sign towards Uber lounge.

The support desk in the lounge is veryhelpful.

That's it. 

We booked Uber XL in the app. Finding Uber lounge proved a little challenging as staff were off duty. We had to wait for few mnts. That's it. 

After that, the vehicle n ride were all good. Reached destination within 30 mnts. 

Apart from Uber, there are many other transport options. If you have time, explore n let us know. 

Nepal May 2023 - 1

Nepal is going through makeover. Huge infrastructure projects. Miles n miles of new roads getting ready. Chitwan to Pokara. We had a bad experience. Almost 6 hrs. Try to avoid road trips for next 5 years. Fly to save your back. 

Tourist in hometown 3

Chinese New year special must Yu Sheng!!! How can I miss it? Though we go to Bali Thai & LingZhi in Novena to celebrate CNY n order fresh YuSheng,  this ready to make pack is my addiction. Yet to open. But I know what is inside and how it tastes.  Once a year treat!! Looking forward to dig in. 

Tourist in hometown 2

Vegan Burg!! Visited the place a couple of years ago. Now got on foodpanda.  Avocado Beetroot.  Seaweed French fries. French fries lacked seaweed. Burger was fresh patty crispy as promised. Overall my meal was.fulfilling. Heard Tylor Swift loved this place when she visited in  2014. Was/Is she vegetarian? Vegan? Tried? 

Tourist in hometown 1

3rd day in Singapore after 10 months.  Visiting all my favourites within this short period of stay is my motto. So Pho! Vietnamese Summer rolls!! I can live on these rolls for a year!! Feels light and good. Vegetarian version. Now the management might have realised the increasing vegetarianism and didn't want to lose out that portion of market and included a few more options. Love you guys!! Now going back to ding into my fabulous glassnoodles.  Already a spoonful tasted amazing. My fav drink sourplum got a new name, Salty King! I dont mind as the taste is same. Eating hot is the best.

Indian Burger King

My visit to Burger King in India was delightful.  Hash brown was spiced with red chilli flakes.  Ice lemon tea felt very local.  So much of vegetarian choice with local flavours!!  

Chennai, Grand Park - a Boutique Hotel

We had to stay around this area for convenience. With so much of road works around area, getting stuck in the traffic was pretty easy. We were very happy to chose this hotel.

A small hotel we found on agoda.com with a couple of reviews. We were hesitant. We were sceptical. We checked-in middle of the night with very little expectation of any quality of food or service. However, as our couple of days work stay stretched to almost couple of weeks,  we didn't even think of finding another place.

The food was good! My most favourite was South Indian thali at lunch. Simple. But very tasty, healthy and truly Tamil. Breakfast was sumptuous. Soups, pastas were more tastier than expected.

The staff were attentive prompt and helpful. The ambience is good. The rooms were kept clean and tidy.  The linen were crispy.  I truly relaxed in the room after a tired day's work.

The attitude of the management is remarkable.  They seek constructive feedback.

All in all, good positive vibes and I recommend to anyone who are not brand and star conscious and f

ussy to try their hospitality. 

Restaurant on the way to Mount Nebo

As a vegetarian, and being a diabetic, I always worry about options on my tours. Though compared to many of my family members and friends from the same community, I am much of an adventurer when it comes to food. I like to taste new varieties of food from around the world.

When we planned Jordan, though many write ups on net mentioned amazing food available, I was skeptical. However, after the trip, I decided to visit middle east more to explore their culture and cuisine as their spread of vegetarian food is unimaginably colourful and delicious.

Though every restaurant was hesitant, offered vegetarian options as they were not sure what they were offering will be of my liking or not. For them, the main course is meat based and the "vegetarian" preparations are on the side. For me, those salads, dips, baked or steamed vegetables, breads, etc were more than enough.

This Restaurant Souk near Mt Nebo was the only restaurant for the tourists. Many Christians visiting Mt Nebo were like on pilgrimage. We observed many of them were fasting or on diet restrictions or somewhat were like vegetarians as they were picking food from the buffet was mostly vegetables.

The restaurant staff were very service oriented and were quick to every request.

Restaurant Terrace Souk : https://goo.gl/maps/TD6Cq7yK3662





 

Best Kunafe in Aman City

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanafeh

On the second day of our Jordan tour, Nabil, our guide challenged us to a quick food tour for our lunch. After a hefty lunch at the famous Hashem Restaurant, we walked down the street towards Habibah Alley to grab dessert just like locals. As we approached the alley, we started bumping into people standing around with plates, scooping out something like caramel topped with pistachios. 

This is the first time I tried a middle east dessert and threw in towel, and bowed to their sweet obsession. As an Indian, I was always mocked for my sweet tooth. Here, I felt that Indians and their crazy obsession with sugar is nothing!

There were a few varieties. What we have tasted was a very soft cheese, topped with deep fried crispy noodles dipped in thick sugar syrup and topped with pistachios. 

We felt that, the portion was big enough to be a snack not an after meal dessert. None of us could not complete our take. 

Next time, we will be prepared.