Explorer of Experiences

It's been a little over a year since my trip to Amsterdam. I spent three days there and made it a point to see as much as I possibly could and spend as less time in my lovely hotel room (read about my stay at the Hyatt Andaz Prinsengracht ). So this really is a much delayed blog about the many things I saw and places I covered, and now highly recommend.  A PICTURESQUE URBAN   GARDEN Amsterdam is a city for Instagram lovers! Almost everywhere you look is postcard pretty and picture perfect. Doors are a beauty in themselves and old buildings have flora organically adorning them. You'll stumble past lovely plaques on the walls and will enjoy the strains of the violin from street musicians. Take a stroll inside the massive Vondel Park replete with idyllic lawns, ponds and footbridges; truly fairy tale like! Make sure you charge up your phone battery because I'm pretty sure you're going to be click-happy once you step out on the streets of Amsterdam. These are s...

Yesterday, I went for the soft opening of Legoland Dubai . It's a much anticipated attraction at the Dubai Parks & Resorts - home also to the Bollywood Parks  (I hear you can film your own movie here), MotionGate  (a Hollywood inspired theme park), Lapita  (a Polynesian, tribal themed Marriott hotel) and Riverland (retail and dining zone). Now who doesn't love Lego right? I remember spending as many hours building Lego house models as I did playing with Barbie! So when you get a free ticket for a trial run of the park, you go!  Riverland, the 'reception' zone of Dubai Parks & Resorts; and way in the distance, Bollywood Park The beautiful 500-room Lapita hotel with the beautiful sunset backdrop This wasn't the first Legoland I have visited. On a trip to the U.K., we spent such a fantastic day at the Legoland . Imagine what a fascinating sight it was to my ten year old eyes! I vividly remember seeing a Lego version of a giant Cadbury...

View of the Marina from the 52nd floor of the Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel So I have crossed the two month milestone of living in Dubai. While time seems to have passed by rather quickly, I also feel like I have been in Dubai for a long time. I settled into living by myself much easily than I thought and my studio apartment has now taken shape of home; it's clean, spic and span actually, and looks 'lived in'. I have created a comfortable routine for myself and have been able to navigate my way through initial hiccups of settling in a new city. The cockroaches are gone, Work has turned out to be great. Thank God. After all, that was the reason for stepping out of my familiar. Less than two weeks back, Marriott International announced the successful merger with Starwood. This integration was a long 11 month process that finally came to a close - and courtesy being part of the Marriott Middle East and Africa team, I was lucky to be part of the gathering addressed by Arn...

The silhouette of the iconic Burj Al Arab in the backdrop of this view of the Jumeirah Kite Beach Nervous, excited and tired; that was me exactly a month back as I lay in my warm comfortable bed at home with a view of my packed-to-the-brim suitcases. I was setting off to Dubai to begin a new chapter in my career and life. Here’s the count of the cities I have lived in - Lagos, Mussoorie, Pune, Melbourne, Mumbai - and now Dubai was going to be the sixth city I would spend a considerable time living in. I have to say, having moved around so much, relocating never became any easier. Buried deep, that nervous feeling in the stomach persisted in the days leading to my departure.  Happy to report, settling in Dubai was easy on me. Maybe it was knowing that I was just a two hour flight away from home, or that I was fairly familiar with Dubai courtesy four leisure trips to the city before, or that I already had some friends here, or that I was transferring within the same company,...

Staycations are quite trendy these days. And why not? Everyone deserves a short break not too far from home that's also light on the pocket. I went for one such staycation recently and it offered me the digital detoxification I required. I stayed at the ' Veranda in the Forest '. This is the name of a property managed by the Neemrana Hotels . The hotel chain is famous for operating some of the best and quaint heritage properties (24 in all) that span across centuries - from the 14th right till the 21st century. These include heritage forts, mansions, havelis and bungalows. Your stay at any of these hotels will be seeped in history. Matheran is declared an eco-sensitive region The ultimate veranda! The Veranda in the Forest is nestled high up on the secluded part of Matheran in the Western Ghats. This is a 19th century mansion and was only the second bungalow to be built in Matheran. It was built by Captain Harry Barr and is known among the locals as the Barr H...

Watching a Coldplay concert...I mean this is the stuff bucket lists are made of. And I could finally tick it off after watching them perform live in Barcelona on 27th May 2016. My friends and I literally booked our concert tickets last year (I think it was October) one afternoon on a regular day at work (so random right?). We decided to go for their concert in Barcelona because a) tickets in their other tour cities were sold out b) Spain appealed as a destination to explore pre and post concert. How we were to apply for leave, how much it would cost, etc. were all worries to follow. All we knew on that October afternoon was that we were booked to watch Coldplay live . Goosebumps...  The very first Coldplay song I heard was ' In My Place ' back in school and the band hit a chord with me. But it was only in college when the (incredible) company I kept were Coldplay fans and introduced me to a host of brilliant songs from their albums - Green Eyes and Don...