Langkawi!!! where Sri Lanka

Choosing your honeymoon destination can be a fun task for sure, but it can be challenging too.

In India, it's easy if you have a thick bank balance, but we did not hold that liberty.
Also taking in to account the fact that both of us are always hell bent on avoiding the cliches.
This trait of ours, helped us cancel out a lot of locations.

• Kerela: We ruled it out as we thought it's place couples chose when they either are too busy or too lazy to search for other places
• Thailand: Practically every middle class couple who wants an international honeymoon trip, ends up going to Bangkok/Pattaya/Phuket for their honeymoon, especially since every tour operator offers trips to Thailand at throw away rates.
• Singapore: Same reasons as Thailand and also since it did not fit our pockets.

We contemplated going to Lakswadweep, but it was sort of overshooting our budget.

We had out-rightly rejected Malaysia, because till that point all we knew of Malaysia was Kuala Lumpur and the Twin Towers.(Yeah! consider us naive, lazy...)

The dream trip was approx 5 months away and we were crossing out more destinations than ticking them.
we were almost resolved to the fact that our honeymoon would be as banal as that of the thousands of other couples marrying during the same period.

It was about the same time when one of my friends had returned from Malaysia and was making us jealous by throwing a party for the same. :P
While he was going gaga over his trip, he mentioned this name Lankawi (he did not spell it and believe us we googled it with 'Lankawi' and not Langkawi).
He also mentioned that flights to KL can be quite cheap. We remember it not being a lengthy conversation but we captured few keywords that enabled us to google.

We googled Langkawi (lankawi), and saw the images on google, flickr and were quite convinced that it is scenic enough to be the destination for the most important trip of our lives.
We just checked out airfares and realised it more than fitted our pockets. (to be more specific, it was cheaper than flying to kerela).
And within moments Langkawi had more ticks than crosses.

Then we decided to ask some of our well read and well travelled friends about Langakawi.
(whether reading the best selling books and travelling to US/UK qualifies them as well read and travelled is a topic of debate for another day :P)

It was their reaction that made us sure we wanted to see Langkawi.
Most of the people we told that we were thinking of visiting Langkawi, had the following question:
Langkawi? Where is it? Sri Lanka

It was quite annoying to explain everyone that it was a cluster of 99 islands in Malaysia.
But it more than served our purpose of visiting a non cliched destination.

We were looking for a laid back place with some adventure. And I must say it did not disappoint us one bit.

And we proved ourselves correct when we boarded the flight for KL.
The flight to KL was jam packed with honeymooners and few other tourists, but the moment we boarded the flight to Langkawi, we realized only a few, like us, who had taken a pain to do some research were on board the flight to Langkawi. By the way, thanks to commercialization and competition, Langkawi has now climbed the ladder on the list of the honeymoon destinations.

Keep reading for more stories about how we picked our accommodation, travelling within Langkawi and exploring for vegetarian options in a non veg haven.

German Bakery Anjuna

If I close my eyes and think about German Bakery, two things open up my eyes:

• It's logo: a confused character (I could not make out exactly if it was human or monkey) with various fruits stuffed in his mouth. Its not that weird but it definitely left an impression on my mind.

• It's location: Up until now, I was living in myth that outlets on main road are more popular. Thanks German bakery for reminding me the term: "hidden gem". It is indeed hidden. For the first timers, you keep on driving along a puzzle-type road amid houses and then suddenly appears your hunting prize!

But again after reaching in we attacked the menu and munching the delicious bites our eyes closed again with ummmmmms. That very day the sweet eating monster in me was hungry and hence we ordered:

Dark Choco Brownie
Chocolate Cream french crepe
Fried Apple Pancake
Jamaican Pancake
Choco banana honey pancake
Puri Bhaji
Some Pizza

Thumbs up to all the things we ate there  and not being biased the winners were all three pan cakes.

And of course the place is relaxing, has good ambiance, it hygienic and ... but the food triumphs!

Arambol Beach: Now and Then

Until recently, if anyone asked me my favourite beach in Goa, I would say Arambol, without a semblance of a doubt. But my last visit to Arambol has changed my mind.

First Impressions:
Rolling back to 2008, We specifically planned a trip to Goa with Arambol on our to do list. Having heard a lot about this hippie haven, I was literally behaving like a kid wanting a candy. We hired a scooter (the best thing to do in Goa)  and headed for destination Arambol. The thin road snaking uphill and downhill, bared Goan beauty to my thirsty eyes.

Back then, Arambol was a relief from the cliche's of Baga and Calengute. Blue waters, golden sand, not too many people (certainly not as many that makes you feel crowded) and certainly not rowed with beach shacks. And all this while, I have been just talking about the main Arambol beach and not the beach with the sweet lagoon.

Arambol beach has long been popular for the famous sweet lagoon, banyan tree and the soil which is believed to have healing powers. One has to walk through an army of food stalls, clothes shop and shed some sweat while taking a little trek to reach the sweet lagoon. The beach there was even more secluded than the main beach. An hour of climbing in the forests along the water body takes you to the famous Banyan Tree with a small temple. People apply the mud (Multaani Mati) on their bodies and then have a swim in the beach or in the lagoon itself.

All of these attractions still exist at Arambol and it still can be a more than a decent beach outing. If it is your
first time, probably you might not feel the changes that I realise visiting it again after a couple of years.

Things that have changed:
1. The beach is littered. It was a heaven a few years ago with crystal clear waters and clearer sands. It was the hallmark of Arambol, the first time I visited. Now, I felt as if, trash was the only thing till my eyes could see.

2. Another major problem I faced is, the attitude of the people working/owning the shacks towards Indians. They were out-rightly arrogant and were clearly insulting most of the local tourists. I don't know if it happens to others but I clearly felt that as Indians, you won't be served or catered on priority. You can feel the obnoxious behavior of the waiter's and managers alike.
3. While I understand the area is dominated by Russians and hence all the shop's restaurants do advertise in Russian language, but I guess someone needs to monitor the fact that Arambol is in India and not Russia.

Finally, I just penned down some issues about a beautiful beach in Northern Goa.
Few things to keep in mind:
First time visitors should not hesitate visiting this beach. It's definitely a great beach. This piece of writing is
just because I am in love with Goa and I was disappointed with the way Arambol is deteriorating as a fair clip. It really doesn't mean that people should stop going there. Probably it's just to let people know that there is a particular scenario out there.

Also it might be case that I just had an off day and had a series of bad incidents one after the other.
I really do hope that what I felt experienced is not a trend but an one off incident.

Hoping Arambol continues to lure many more tourists from all corners of the world, including people from the country where its located.

Ashwem Beach: One of the few less commencialized beaches in North Goa

Spending an evening at a serene river is still one of the most romantic ways to spend an evening. The same can be said about spending an evening at a secluded beach. Ever thought how would feel to experience both at the same place on the same evening. Drive around 20 miles north from the Anjuna to reach the Ashwem beach.

And yes, at Ashwem beach, one can experience the cool waters of a river and lukewarm waters of a sea, at the same place. Ashwem is an amalgamation point of river water and sea water. In a way, the beach bums get to experience the best of both worlds.

Add to that the fact that Ashwem is still relatively less commercialized as compared to Arambol, which is another 15 miles up north. Few nicely done beach cottages and shacks line up Ashwem Beach.

North Goa is probably considered the party place in goa and if you are looking for white sandy beaches, the general advise is to head south. But if you don't wish to travel those 60 miles and prefer to stay in north then I guess Ashwem is THE beach to be,for the secluded types.
Though I must say, in Goa don't get too much into the secluded word. No beach in goa can be completely secluded.

If you love seeing the sun go down whilst taking a walk or building a sand castle, you might actually fall in love in Ashwem beach.

Singapore Soft - Sweets

Someone has rightly said:

“Without ice cream life and fame are meaningless”

Going with the saying, it would have been meaningless to visit Singapore and not gulp some yummy frozen scoops. We came across two very different ice cream experiences in Singapore. One was the trying to snatch my ice-cream scoop from the hands of a tricky Turkish Ice-cream seller and another one was having the plain ice-cream sandwich.

Turkish Ice-cream

On the first evening of SG, we landed to Clarke Quay.

It was humid, the clouds were teasing... Sometimes bursting...

We needed something cool... And on side of bay, from where the HiPPO River Cruise starts, Turkish ice cream stall served as an oasis...

But what is Turkish ice cream?

Had never heard about it, so asked him how was Turkish Ice cream different from regular ice cream... He informed that it was little more chewy, little more soft and melted too soon!

Checked out the flavors... He had vanilla, chocolate, mango and strawberry...

He dug the ice-cream container, with a long ladled scoop, and there began the fun! The guy at the stall would make you want your ice-cream badly! He would switch the cones of your ice-cream, flip them, toss them, ring the bells, and juggle all the way saying: “Thaerkheesh Aiscreeem”.  He will do everything but give you the ice-cream cone. But finally the good and not-so-costly ice-cream comes along with great entertainment.

Trick to get his ice-cream: Try grabbing the cone from top not bottom ;)

Ice Cream Sandwich

On another fine evening, when we the-hungry-hunters @Bugis Street, were looking for some refreshment, we found out a fabulous way to spend a dollar! And it was to have Ice-cream sandwich.

Earlier what we had in the name of ice-cream sandwich sounded more like iced-Cream biscuits, having ice-cream between two biscuits! But this time what we had, was resembling more to the definition of ice-cream sandwich. It was simply an ice-cream block clutched by a slice of bread.

A variety of Kwality walls ice-cream flavors (to choose from) sliced into small uniform rectangular brick and kept in between fluffy mildly sweet pink-green coloured bread, was indeed a gateway to eternity! It was easy to make, delightful to eat and was filling for the tummy… That too all in a single dollar!

Bean Me Up

• Scrambled Tofu Salad
• Four Cheese pizza
• Starting in Greece
• Carrot Cake
• Chocolate mousse
• Veg Pizza
• Lemon Spaghetti
• Marinara Pasta
• Gorgonzola Pasta
• Vegan Pizza
• Banana Soya milk coconut smoothie
• Omlette
• Pancakes
• Spinach Tofu parathas

All this along with the immeasurable quantities of salads and brown breads was consumed by two mouths in 4 days! Not to forget the sinful small ponds of blue cheese dressing and different combos of juices. Please forgive us if we missed out on anything more delicious. We will surely include that next time...

Location: Anjuna Petrol pump is the biggest land mark. Little Vagator beach, which is at a walkable distance is not yet as crowded as Vagator beach.

Stay: No non-sense, calm and relaxing. The rooms are basic but the staff and owner listen to your complains and do try to fix up the problems (if at all).

Best Thing: No doubt, food! Sitting under the shady area of restaurant was enchanting in itself!