Supernal Sedona

One of the first things that stands out upon entering Sedona, in the state of Arizona, is the beautiful red-orange hue that the whole city is floating in. Yes. It felt like the city was floating and I with it. The city beckons with its ochre vibes and one can't help but be drawn to it. It is well known for its red sandstone formations, The Red Rocks of Sedona. These formations appear to sing when the sun hits them.

The sandstone formations are named Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock and Boynton Canyon. I was able to climb up to the top of Bell rock and the view that awaited me was ineffable. Atop the rocks, the feeling that all of one's sensory faculties are fully awakened, is unmistakable. It was an uplifting experience to sit at the edge of Bell rock and meditate with the canyons of Sedona in the backdrop.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

The Chapel of the Holy Cross is built on one of the rock formations. This chapel was built in 1956 and attracts many of the curious and faithful even today. A pronounced sense of peace descends upon those who sit in the pews of this chapel and this may be attributed to the calming vibes emanating from the rock forms.

In addition to being a beautiful place Sedona is known for vortexes (not vortices). It is believed that these vortexes are strong spots of spiralling energy that have led to many people's initiation into spiritual activities. It is believed that there are 4 vortexes of energy, one each at the Bell rock, the Cathedral rock, Boynton Canyon and near the Sedona Airport. The objective of many of the visitors to Sedona is to find and experience these vortexes. 

Visitors come for various reasons. Many come to see the beauty of these hills and many come in search of deeper experiences. Most do not go back disappointed. Jeep tours, helicopter tours, balloon tours, hiking and biking are some of the tourist activities here. To the receptive, Sedona offers much more than just a visual adventure. 

All photos takem from atop Bell rock.

View from atop Bell rock

View from road to chapel

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Drive On The Pacific Coast, Ca

One of the most unforgettable experiences I’ve had is the drive from San Simeon to San Jose in California. We cross Monterey bay, the Big Sur, Bixby Creek Bridge before entering the 101. This stretch is by far the longest and the most breathtaking drives along a coast line I’ve been on. The Monterey bay alone runs for around 94 miles. Imagine a long road sandwiched between the blue Pacific Ocean on the one side and green hills on the other dotted with brown rocks and boulders. The cold moist breeze and the warm sun rays come together to form spectacular rainbows tempting one to reach out and grab them.

A hazy shot of a rainbow

Pacific Ocean to the left & hills to the right

One of the highlights on this drive is the vista points interspersed along the road, of which one in particular is fascinating. The Elephant seal vista point attracts many people. This is a long patch on the beach where Elephant seals come once every few months to mate. At first they appear as huge elongated mounds of the sand on the beach, but upon closer examination, random movements of flapping and scratching can be seen. The male elephant seal is almost twice as big as the female. The beach plays home to many males, females and pups and it is a joy to watch these huge ocean pachyderms basking in the sun.

Elephant seal vista point

Female seal with pups

More elephant seals

Another highlight on this stretch is a massive arched structure called the Bixby Creek Bridge. Built in 1931 and is located in the Big Sur. It is one of the tallest and biggest concrete bridges in the world. It is also one of the most photographed bridges along the Pacific coast due to its impressive architecture. 

Bixby Creek Bridge

  

For all nature-lovers and for those looking for a quite and relaxing drive, this stretch is the one. You will not be disappointed.

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Christmas Tree..Oh Christmas Tree!!

Las Vegas

Christmas tree!! Truly the symbol of festivities and of pure,warm joy! Here are some pictures of Christmas trees from various places. Each different in appearance and yet the same in spirit.

There is seriously a dearth for words to describe the feeling one gets upon seeing Christmas trees. So much work goes into decorating them and there seem to be so many different emotions & stories attached to them. So what is your story? We'd love to hear it all.

Callaway gardens

Callaway gardens, Georgia

Magic kingdom-Orlando,Florida

Animal kingdom-Orlando,Florida

Epcot

Bangkok,Thailand

Epcot-Orlando, Florida

Rockerfeller-New York

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Controlled Chaos a.k.a. Times Square NYC

Where did I want to spend the last few hours left in 2012?? In Times Square, New York City. Why?? Ummm..well, I was perhaps out of my mind. Did I last?? Umm..no! Disappointed?? Read on.

So, there I was at 4 in the afternoon at 47^th & 7^th. I was already bushed from all the walking and the sightseeing. My bright idea was to get there as early as my worn out limbs would permit and occupy one of the front rows which have a direct view of the Ball Drop. I got there to see that there was this sea of people already geared up and an army of cops with Tommy guns who were busy cordoning off sections of 47^th street and those around it. Talk about riot control!!

Apparently there were a million people in front of me right there and that the crowd was going to get bigger and rougher as the evening progressed. A cop was kind enough to warn me that if I wanted to get out, I needed to do so in about a couple of hours from then before all the streets and subways are shut off. Did I mention it was 0° C outside?? So, now the question was, was I going to stay put standing for another 8 hours in 0° C amidst a crowd of a million people with no water or loo breaks to watch a shiny disco ball drop from a height?? No sir. Not me. True, Train and JB were going to be performing. But I didn’t have any tickets to lose! I’ve mentioned in my earlier blogs that I am a bit of a comfort person. I grew up in place where it is hot for ten months and hotter for the other two. So this to me was inhumanely cold (My bad. I had not been to the Grand Canyon yet). All the restaurants at Times Square were either closed for a private party or were closed. Finally found one open with HEAT and so I sat down to ponder on my status over a steaming cup of coffee. I gracefully admitted defeat and silently saluted the million who were passionate enough to brave it all for the disco ball. I spent New year’s at a bash with a few friends, and watched Times square in the comfort of warmth.

Would I try this again?? Yes. I want to be at 47^th & 7^th for the ball drop. New York is a beautiful place to be in at any time. It was all about the people, the unimaginably tall sky scrappers, the street art, the lights, the colors, the subways!! Everything had a character attached to it. When you are in New York, New York is in you. I had a wonderful time sightseeing. Maybe I’d pick a better season to visit the next time around. But even the cold had character. And it built character. New York was on my wish list, but am not done with it to check it off my list just yet.

Happy traveling people! 

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Fantasy In Lights: Callaway Gardens

In 2012, National Geographic Traveler named Callaway Gardens’ “Fantasy in Lights” as one of the world’s ‘Top 10 Places to see Holiday Lights’. And having seen it, I now know why. Fantasy in lights is one of the many signature events that Callaway Gardens holds throughout the year. This particular event though, is during Christmas and new year.

Firefly cove

This is a magical place to be in during Christmas. An entire botanical garden spanning hundreds of acres is transformed into what can best be described as a larger than life, fantastical display of lights. You will be taken into spectacular sets of Santa’s workshop, Magical Christmas gardens, March of the toy soldiers, twin tress, snowflake valley and many such wondrous displays of light. The garden comes alive with an undescribable splendor and gives one a very warm, intimate feeling of joy as one  passes from one scene into another. One can also see that it is a great hit with adults as with children. One would find adults matching the kids in howls and screams of joy. It teams with Christmas spirit when everyone in the trolley sing along the carols in one voice and one cant help but feel compelled to join in. As the show comes to an end, one is reassured that all is, in actual fact, well indeed!!

Here are some fun facts about the place.

• Callaway Gardens was started by one Mrs. Virginia Hand Callaway. She was inspired by the Christmas memories of her childhood and eventually her vision came to light in 1992. Very literally.
• The scenes were designed by professionals who once worked for Disney’s Electrical Parade department.
• One evening in fantasy of lights include 8 Million lights drawn in 32 miles of electrical cable and over 1000 switches go on & off! How is that for numbers??!!

For the magnitude and scale of this show, it delivers a very personal, almost intimate experience to one. For many, visiting Callaway Gardens on Christmas has become a family tradition. Travelendura definitely recommends this to br part of your family holiday trip list.

Note: Apologies. The photos might seem a tad fuzzy. This is because it was almost impossible to get a clear shot on a very bumpy ride in a continuously moving trolley on an exceptionally cold evening. 

Scene from the Nativity

Christmas Gardens

Santa's Workshop

Santa's Workshop

Santa's Workshop

Snowflake Valley

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Safety Tips For Lone Lady Traveller

Woman of today is independent; self sufficient and confident in all aspects of life compared to her older generation. This extends to any field! Be it politics, industries, media, social services, education or even traveling for that matter. Talking of traveling, traditional ways of group travel are not so popular these days… thanks to the hectic and busy lifestyle of people or simply may be due to the concept of more-the-merrier just diminishing.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are a lonely lady traveller:
 1. Travel light: Pack things which are required. Carrying unwanted stuff will only be a burden throughout the trip. Also carrying the right kind of bags like backpacks would be more convenient to carry around than the bulky suitcase or airbags.
 2. Research: Do a quick internet search about the place you are heading to or talk to people who have been there before. More you know the better it is. The weather conditions and other details can help you pack the right things.
 3. Carry maps and important phone numbers: No matter how fancy and updated your electronic gadgets are, the good old way of carrying those small little maps and writing down the important phone numbers can never go wrong.
 4. Know the culture: Knowing the culture and tradition of a place, esp. if traveling abroad, can be very useful. In countries like India, Thailand, etc there is a dress code to be followed when one visits certain places like temples, pagodas and some historical places. Also a few countries are a bit more conservative when it comes to dressing. So you wouldn't want to dress inappropriately to such places and get all the unwanted attention.
 5. Be friendly but be alert: Making new friends in the trip is surely quite exciting. Being secure is the most important aspect during travel and this is possible only when you are alert about whom you are making friends with.
6. Carry first aid and medical kit: Carrying medical and first aid kit can come handy during travel esp. when traveling to remote destinations of a country or even when heading for adventure sports like trekking, mountain climbing, etc.
7. Planning:  Planning to drive? Try to make a route map and assign time targets for achieving distances. It’s very easy to get distracted to some new destination on route and spend more time searching for the new place. Most important point to remember though is to know where your pit stops should be... where are the petrol stations, where can we pitch up a tent for the night, what are the accommodation options available etc?
8. Carry a camera: Carry a camera which is handy… the aim and shoot cameras are very useful to capture all those quick memorable moments. You would not want to miss any of it, would you?
9. Books & Music: Books and Music make a great companion while traveling. Do not forget to carry your favorite read and music you love listening to.
Here you go!!!!! All you ladies out there time to pack your bags and head right out to a place that interests you and explore it all by yourself.

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Our American East Coast Discovery!

Ever since Karan Johar chose to make his movies in New York, it was a long term dream to visit the east coast of the Unites States. We planned to visit 3 places Georgia, Pittsburg, Florida and New York. Here are some good pictures of our American east coast trip. Take a look.

 New York City

  Niagara Falls

Pittsburg Skyline

 Daytona Beach, Florida

 Famous Tallulah Falls, Georgia

 Swami Narayan Temple, Atlanta

View From Cling Mans Dome

Altanta Stadium

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