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.