An Island Experience at OBlu Ailafushi, Maldives

"Like you can't forget your first love, neither you can forget your first visit to Maldives. If there is a paradise on earth, 'Maldives' must be one of them." - Quote about Maldives - Sachin Kumar Gupta

I was extremely delighted to have connected with H2C (Holidays2Cherish) for a trip to Maldives. Very well planned, smooth and amazing trip! Special mention to Richa for her quick responses and support throughout. With little bit of exploration, we finalized 'OBlu XPErience Ailafushi' island property (NORTH MALÉ ATOLL) by 'Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts'. This was one of our best holidays, and truly one to remember. (Map courtesy : https://www.coloursofoblu.com/oblu-xperience-ailafushi ) 

One significant advantage of 'OBlu Ailafushi' island resort is its proximity to Velana International airport in Male. A complimentary speed boat drive takes you to the island in just 15 to 20 minutes. For the rest of the resorts, we have to spent out dollars for speed boat/seaplane transfers, and also additional time to reach distant islands. You save around 500-1000 USD in transfers for booking this resort. Another big advantage of this island resort, it was recently built around six months back only, so everything was super fresh, neat & clean all around. 

A small tip: make sure to take 'all inclusive package' because the food & drinks here are super super super expensive. You will also get complimentary wifi access across the island, but try not to be online. Just relax & adore the place, we did the same except taking photographs :) 

Everything was organized very well, OBlu staff welcoming at airport, speed boat transfer from airport to OBlu, a very warm welcoming by OBlu staff, and taking us directly to lunch before even check-in (even though there was only 5 mins left for lunch closing). We opted in for 2 nights beach villa & 2 nights water villa, which is a must do experience in Maldives. We got breathtaking view of the ocean at both places. Once we checked in to the room, we got full festive season schedule (day, hour wise) of planned activities, as it was Christmas week. Few key events to call out for: 

Santa Coming Ceremony at Beach

Beach/Pool Games

Vollyball on the beach

Live Band and Dance Floor 

DJ's Best tunes at sunset & night. 

Bollybeats Dance sessions

Boduberu Cultural Dance

Xmas Eve Party & Live Christmas Songs

Kahun, Saxophone & Xmas Carols

Festive Gala dinner

Live Band, Salsa Dancing, etc. 

Belly Dancing : It was simply amazing. 

Beach villas are amazing, which have direct access & views to ocean. We also stayed in an over-water villa, which was out of the world experience. You could climb down stairs from the villa directly into the pristine ocean water and snorkel & swim from there. My snorkeling practice was magnificent. I did it multiple times, as we personally purchased snorkeling kit in advance, and used it at the pool and ocean. We also did kayaking there. If you like more adventure water sports, opt for wind surfing, banana boat ride, jet skying. One should also book in advance for Scuba diving, Island hopping tour, etc. We were looking for Submarine tour, but team didn't get sufficient number of people to move ahead with it. 

We have observed many people were also taking photos and videos with drone at different places to get top views. I captured breathtaking views of OBlu Ailafushi island from airplane while returning back from Male to Mumbai. 

There was plenty of amazing food options starting from Indian, Asian, Western & Continental, and delicious sweets and cakes at 'Element X - main restaurant'. The place is quite huge with multiple sections, fresh ambiance, contemporary decor with comfortable seating overlooking the ocean. There is another 'Underwater restaurant', which you need to prebook at reception.  (additional changes at special dining) 

I suggest to take 'All Inclusive' package (FUSHI Plan) for this property, as you will get:

UNLIMITED orders of regular spirits and beers and house pour wines from the grab and go counter at X360 Bar.

ONE signature cocktail at X360 Bar

Soft Drinks, mineral water, packet juices, and assortment of tea & coffee available at all outlets. 

Daily evening entertainment with in-house DJ or live band and dance floor. 

Part of the package, Access to non-motorized water sports equipment provided, like Canoe and Stand-up Paddle Board (Once a day for 15-20 mins per person).

One can also opt in for optional (chargeable) Spa and wellness therapy sessions. 

There were plenty of activities planned for kids, and a dedicated multi-level kids club area. Pathik also stayed and enjoyed there for couple of hours, and actively participated in many kids activities like - Christmas tree decoration, cake making, movie time, etc. There was Santa photo-booth at Beach, where we clicked few pictures. Santa gave gifts to all kids, and danced with them, which every kid loved. One of the amazing traits of all staff members irrespective of their jobs - they smile and greet you as you explore the island at any place or time. 

Thank you H2C team once again for making our trip memorable. We will definitely travel with Holidays2Cherish again in future, and recommend others too. At the same time, Maldives is without doubt a must visit place atleast once in life time. We also recommend to chose 'OBlu Xperience Ailafushi' based on our experience. I find this place kids friendly being exclusive kids club. At the same time, this island resort is a great place for any traveller - be it families, couples or friends. Though you can chose any other island resort based on your choice, budget & preferences. 

If you are looking for what to pack for a visit to Maldives, and other must preparation documents, Check out my next post. 

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Paradise in Maldives

"Like you can't forget your first love, neither you can forget your first visit to Maldives. If there is a paradise on earth, 'Maldives' must be one of them." - Quote about Maldives - Sachin Kumar Gupta

Dear Maldives, I will never get over you. There is a saying that - 'Money can't buy happiness', but it can buy a ticket to Maldives, and once you land in Maldives, nothing can be compared to that. Finally, I can tick 'Maldives' from my places to visit around the world bucket list, rather than keep saying : 'I will visit Maldives one day'. The place where I lose my mind and find my soul. 

Best time to visit Maldives: 

Dec & Jan are the best months to visit, otherwise, It is anyways 'Maldives', whenever you can plan, you will love it. 

There is no secret that Maldives is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Maldives has a concept of 'One Island - One resort'. It has around 1200+ such small islands. Maldives, a 26-atoll chain of islands with powdery beaches, turquoise waters, and dreamy over-water villa/bungalow & resorts. It is dreamland for everyone, that's why it is the hottest travel destination. The white sand beaches and crystal clear water are an incredible backdrop for any beach vacation, but especially a romantic honeymoon or a relaxing gateway with your friends or family. 

The best part is, Maldives offers Visa free on arrival for Indian passport holder, and to many other nationals. You only need to fill Traveler declaration (within 96 hours) at IMUGA (imuga.immigration.gov.mv) before arrival & departure from Maldives. 

If you are visiting Maldives, then you are bound to capture hundreds of stunning shots that you want to post on social media. The ocean breeze and while sand puts my mind at ease. Even the photographs can't justify this beautiful place. We also captured many joyful moments here. There are so many beautiful shades of blue and green. You must do good shopping in advance, if planning to have good photo-shoot. We also taught Pathik, how to click photos for us, and we got quite a few good surprise clicks. 

Once you check-in to your room, enjoy your days relaxing while admiring the white sand beaches with blue shades of water. I witness amazing sunrise and sunset, every single day in Maldives. We took lot of souvenirs from Maldives. Later I realize that while being in the Maldives, never knowing what day of the week it was. 

We opted in for 2 nights beach villa & 2 nights water villa, which is a must do experience, If you are planning for Maldives. We got breathtaking view of the ocean at both places. In next post, I will share my stay-cation experience at 'OBlu XPerience Ailafushi' in Maldives. 

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Kerala - A day at Kochi Sightseeing

"A smart city, mix of ancient culture and modern setup in the lap of beautiful nature." - Quote about Kochi (Cochin) in "God's own country - Kerala" - By Sachin Kumar Gupta.

We were planning for a trip to God's own country - Kerala, since long and finally we were there on our way with Ashish, Smriti and Meenal. We arrived at Cochin airport in the afternoon and were welcomed by clear sky and hot sun. We were really blessed to have a good driver, who was also an excellent guide. While on our way from Kochi to Taj-Kumarakom, we went for Kochi sightseeing as planned.

If you are looking for information about where to go and what to see in Kochi, here are a few well-known tourist destinations and some not-so-popular but beautiful places in the list. I have traversed and map them from airport to cover in minimum time. Skip the place(s) as per your choice.

Bolgatty Palace is a former palace built by the Dutch in India, located on the island popularly known as Bolghatty Island in Kochi. It is one of the oldest existing Dutch palaces outside Holland.

Cochin Marine Drive: Marine Drive is a beautiful waterfront promenade in Kochi. Pedestrians can stroll along the Marine Drive. It is a popular hangout for the local people as well as the tourists. Short boat trip in the evening would definitely be a lovely experience. It is built facing the backwaters. It is the most visited attraction in Cochin.

Rainbow Bridge and The Chinese Fishing Net Bridge: These fishing nets are fixed land installations, which are used for a very unique and unusual method of fishing. We found these across Kochi backwaters.

Willington Island: Willingdon Island is a man-made island which we covered by car only. There are beautiful walkways and jetty’s on this island. This Island contains the modern port serving Cochin city.

Paradesi Synagogue/Jewish Synagogue: It is the oldest existing synagogue located in the old part of Mattenchery Town in Kochi, also known as Jew Town. It lists at the topmost slot in the itinerary of the tourists visiting Kochi city. Many Jewish festivals are celebrated here throughout the year.

MattanCherry Palace or Dutch Palace: The Mattancherry Palace is a Portuguese palace popularly known as the Dutch Palace. It is quite near to Jew town. It has a huge collection of Kerala Temple murals, portraits and exhibits of the Rajas of Kochi. Sad part...we couldn't capture these lovely pieces of art as photography is not allowed.

Beach: Fort Kochi beach and Cherai beach are famous beaches here.

Fort Kochi is at a beautiful location in the city of Kochi, Kerala. This is famous for Chinese fishing nets, picturesque beaches and architectural style of the buildings. We couldn't visit this, as we had to reach our destination Taj Kumarakom.

Hill Palace Museum: Hill palace museum is the Kerala’s first heritage museum and is also the largest archaeological museum in Kerala. It is situated near Tripunithura, Kochi.

Churches: Cochin city has a number of Beautiful Churches which you would be seeing on the way. e.g. Santa Cruz Basillica Cathedral, St Francis Church, St. Mary's Church etc.

Shopping at LuLu Mall (Optional), if you have time and money. :)

Sep - April is the best time to visit Kochi (Cochin). Cochin Carnival: A massive procession of caparisoned elephants, games and partying happens during last week of December. Fort Kochi is decked up like a bride during this time. You can find easy marking of all these places and ask locals for the nearby routes. 

Overall we enjoyed lush mangroves, coconut tress reflected in the translucent waters of backwaters, ancient churches, cathedrals and palaces on sightseeing tours of Cochin. After that we visited below places on subsequent days: Kumarakom at Vembanad Lake side

Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

Alleppey (Alappuzha) houseboat trip

Alleyppey Lighthouse and beach

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Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Gurgaon

A VERY VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

If you are bird lover, This is one of the bird paradise to visit near Gurgaon, Delhi. Last year, we had an amazing trip to this bird sanctuary. This is a popular weekend getaway for the people from Delhi NCR. Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary (now Sultanpur National Park) is located in Gurgaon, Haryana, around 15 kms from Gurgaon on Gurgaon - Farukh Nagar Road. At least 250 migratory birds come into the park area during the year, providing an excellent opportunity for bird watching. The park is also named as Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary after famous Indian ornithologist and naturalist to pay tribute to his miscellaneous efforts in natural conservation.

Best time to visit Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary [Dec-Feb]: This is a ideal place for bird lovers, but it depends on the time of your visit. During summers, when temperature reaches upto 45 degrees, mostly water bodies in the park may become dry and this is not a good time to visit at all. In rainy season, the park and surrounding areas remain very green. A good time to see the greenery of the farm fields of Haryana as well as the greenery at this national park. But, the best time to visit this park is in Winter, from October to February, as to find the maximum counts of migratory species in the area. 

Every year during monsoons and winters over hundreds of migratory bird species visit here in search of shelter and food. During the peak season the whole musical aroma of the sanctuary turns chirpful with the presence of migratory birds. Some of the resident and migratory species of birds found in the area are: [Ref: Sanctuary Book, wiki and various sites]

Resident Birds:
Bank Mynah, Black francolin, Black-headed ibis, Black-necked stork, Cattle egret, Common hoopoe, Common Mynah, Common Spoonbill, Crested lark, Eurasian collared dove, Gray Francolin, Great egret, Greater coucal, Green Bee-eater, Indian Cormorant, Indian roller, Laughing dove, Little cormorant, Little egret, Magpie robin, Paddy field pipit, Painted stork, Purple sunbird, Red-collared dove, Red-vented bulbul, Red-wattled lapwing, Rock pigeon, Rose-ringed parakeet, Shikra, Spotbill, Spotted owlet, White ibis, White-throated kingfisher, Weaver bird etc.

Migratory Birds:
Black-tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt, Blue-throat and Long-billed Pipit, Common Teal, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Common Greenshank, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Greater Flamingo, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Rosy Pelican, Ruff, Siberian Crane, Spot-billed Pelican, Spotted Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Starling, White Wagtail, Wood Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail.
Summers bring the sanctuary more colorful with about 11 species of migratory birds such as Asian Koel, Black-crowned Night Heron, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Comb duck, CuckoosIndian, Golden Oriole, and Grey heron.

TIPs: Please carry binoculars/high range cams to watch rare birds from top of the towers.
Keep away children from wild life animals in this area, and parents should guide them.
Try to have park clean and clear.

The whole sanctuary area was quite lively and pleasant. The birds here can be easily spotted wading, swimming or flying. We also spotted two beautiful peacocks playing around, but couldn't took proper pics. We spotted many birds in lake area and captured many. There were four watch towers (machans) at different points to watch birds easily. Sultanpur Bird Sactuary has parking, chilren's park and other facilities like toilets and drinking water for visitors. It takes approx 1.5 - 2 hrs to take a full round of Sulanpur Bird Sanctuary on foot. Walking Path marks can be improved with directions and details. We also relaxed and took many photographs and spent approx 4 hrs here. A small trip with friends, family or kids would be a nice experience.

Happy Birds Watching!!!

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Velneshwar Temple and Beach in Konkan

Quote of the Post: "If you are crazy sea side lover then Velneshwar is the destination. It has all that you can expect, the views will take you to heaven with shimmering water, coconut trees swaying madly in the breeze on the bank of the sun kissed beaches." - Quote about 'Velneshwar' by Sachin Kumar Gupta 

If you are looking to enjoy best sea views in Konkan area, you've reached the right place. It is highly recommended to follow below map for best time utilization and for viewing most amazing sea-side views of Konkan. Just keep following seaside roads. The narrow winding roads show you the glimpses of what is in store at the end of the journey. 

Velneshwar - Konkan Map

We have traveled many places across west-side of India - Arabian Sea cost from Mumbai to Goa: Mumbai - Alibag - Kashid - Murud - Shrivardhan - Harihareshwar - Harnai - Dapoli. Now it was time to explore Velneshwar - Jaigad - Ganpatipule - Ratnagiri range. After visiting some of the fascinating places in Ratnagiri and Ganpatipule, We started for Velneshwar next morning following Jaigad - Tasval Ferry Boat route. 

Jaigad fort is approx 15 kms further ahead of Ganpatipule. We couldn't visit the fort as we had to reach Velneshwar, so we took ferry route further. 

Jaigad - Tasval Ferry Boat: It is a short 15 minutes journey. The ferry also carry 6-10 four wheeler along-with some 2-wheeler. If you are coming from Ganpatipule, a ferry across the Jaigad creek gets you to Tavsal from where you could visit Hedvi and Velneshwar. This ferry journey gives a feel of Kerela region at times. 

On the way to Velneshwar, Our driver stopped at Hedvi. There is a famous temple of Dashbhuj Laxmi Ganesh Prasanna. This Laxmi Ganesh Temple is not only ancient but also rare. The 3 feet high idol is carved in white stone with ten hands, hence the name 'Dashabhuja Ganapati'. A grand ceremony along with a grand procession held between Shukla Chaturthi to Shashthi in Magh (Hindi month) every year to celebrate the birth of Ganpati. We spent 15-20 minutes at this place and was quite pleasant. 

Velneshwar - Shree Dev Maha Vishnu Devshthan: We kept following the mesmerizing seaside route of Arabian sea views, and reached Velneshwar. We parked ourselves at the temple of Shree Dev Maha Vishnu. The temple is quite colorful, you will love to see this. There is a "well" inside the temple, where one can try drawing some water. The whole temple area is surrounded by walls and coconut trees shadowing in the back. There is an old Shiva temple near Velneshwar which is frequently visited by pilgrims.  

After visiting the temple, we had our much needed tea for the day near sea-side. Its adjoining beach is calm, clean and is ornamented with a row of coconut trees at its beach side. It is possible to swim there as the beach is free from rocks. A small stretch of beach with very few tourists at Velneshwar, is the beach destination in Konkan that you need to head to if you are looking for some time away from everything.

Sunset at Velneshwar: There are quite different rocks if you just walk 200 meters beach-side, this could be an unique place to enjoy sunset. We stayed at this place for long and had my tripod installed first time. We took some wonderful sunset snaps.

A small cove with a pristine stretch of soft white sand beach laced with lush green coconut trees, Velneshwar is yet to feature in the tourist map of Maharashtra. Velneshwar is just emerging as promising tourist destination in the long stretch of Konkan beaches. 

Enjoy other nearby places in Konkan Maharashtra: Ratnagiri, Ganpatipule, Dapoli, Harihareshwar, Shrivardhan.

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