M A R C H 2 0 1 4 • ` 1 2 0 • VO L . 2
ISSUE 9
BEST OF THE WORLD
2014
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es: e s c ap o p l a n e v i t c A st g idea Sizzlin forgettable n that u oliday h family
ISLAND HOPPING | KITE SURFING | BUNGEE JUMPING | CAMEL SAFARI
ER SUMMCIAL SPE
March 2014 VOL. 2 ISSUE 9
N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C T R A V E L L E R I N D I A
SUMMER IS FUN
60 HERE COMES THE SUN
Active escapes around Asia: Sizzling ideas to plan that unforgettable family holiday
86 BEST OF THE WORLD
Paris can wait. From Laos to Liechtenstein and Rwanda—our 2014 travel picks will open your world in unexpected ways
JOURNEYS
102 PERFECT LAYOVER
Navigating 12 world airports like an insider
114 A MATTER OF DEGREE
86 Puglia, Italy
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GUIDO COZZI/ATLANTIDE PHOTOTRAVEL/CORBIS
Kumbakonam’s filter coffee revives childhood memories and a taste once forgotten
On The Cover MARCH
OL. 2 `120 • V 2014 •
BEST OF THE WORLD
ISSUE 9
2014
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apes: plan to e esc Activ g ideas table get Sizzlin unfor liday that ily ho fam
E JUMPING G | BUNGE G | KITE SURFIN ISLAND HOPPIN
| CAMEL SAFARI
Photographer Rammohan Paranjape, who specialises in surf photography, shot this action-packed image off the coast of southeastern Tamil Nadu. Kitesurfers have recently discovered several spots suitable for the sport in the state.
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16 Editor’s Note | 138 Inspire
VOICES
22 Far Corners The futility of border tourism—and why it’s worth the trip 24 Real Travel What transpires when strangers speak in an alien language? 26 Guest Column The African rhino’s horn—its defence and its weakness
NAVIGATE Culture 30 Valencia’s spring festival lights up the skies 34 Seeking divine intervention from the visa gods
44 38 Escape Kyrgyzstan—best served raw
134 Stay Family retreats near Karnataka’s capital city
40 Take Five Literature Festivals at scenic locales in Asia
INTERACTIVE 137 Big Shot The best of readers’ photos
44 48 Hours Munich’s heady mix of history and modernity
LAST PAGE
50 Urban Renewal Johannesburg sparks with creative energy
144 Dire Straits The world bustles past Junagadh’s Mahabat Maqbara
54 National Park The black buck stops here
GET GOING
34 The Trend Is sustainable golf a real possibility?
118 Adventure Cruising the treetops in Costa Rica’s rainforest
36 Local Flavour The perfect Parisian croissant
120 Road Trip An eventful journey through snow-covered Spiti
SHORT BREAKS 30
126 From Bengaluru The legacy of an ancient dynasty etched in Badami’s stone 130 From Mumbai Jamnagar offers a lot more than just Gujarati surmo
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MANFRED BAIL/IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY/INDIAPICTURE (SURFING), RISHAD SAAM MEHTA (WOMAN), MATEJ KASTELIC/SHUTTERSTOCK (JOHN LENNON) RAMMOHAN PARANJAPE (COVER)
20 Tread Softly India’s most famous tigress is an icon for conservation
EDITOR’S NOTE Niloufer Venkatraman
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We can find simple pleasures and escapes that will free us from our daily grind, from the predictable combinations we know so well
ast month I spoke to a friend after many years, and learned that he had not been on a holiday in 10 years. “Not even for a weekend break?” I asked incredulously. “Not even,” was his grim reply. The reasons were many and varied, but they all amounted to the fact that he was burdened by duties, responsibilities, and expectations, and what little time there was from work, was quickly consumed by domestic exigencies. After several cancelled trips years ago, he’d stopped planning them at all. He’d given up on taking a break, and resigned to be permanently in the trenches. Another family I know has been a member of a holiday timeshare company for the last 12 years, but never taken advantage of the facilities. Mostly it’s because these require advance planning and given their work schedules, they can never really plan ahead for that one week of holiday in the year. It got me thinking: There’s always something, isn’t there? There’s always a reason why we can’t take a holiday, can’t leave town, can’t escape our routine, can’t travel. It’s easy to fall into that rut and convince yourself that you cannot possibly make time for a break. We do this in our everyday lives all the time. At least I know I do. In early January, when a friend sent out a group email suggesting everyone buy tickets and attend the Mahindra Blues Festival in Mumbai, I had initially thought it a good idea. But I didn’t buy the tickets. And by 15 February, the day before the festival started, I had convinced myself that it would be impossible to go. I didn’t have a babysitter, I had too
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much pending stuff to do, my house was a mess, my inbox had 400 unread mails, I was too tired from the week’s work stresses—I had plenty of real excuses. That night I woke up around 2 a.m. and couldn’t fall back asleep. My thoughts wandered and suddenly all the impossibilities from the daytime seemed to have fairly simple creative solutions. That weekend I attended both days of the Mahindra Blues Festival and am thrilled I did. I’d never even heard of the Tedeschi Trucks Band and barely ever listened to Jimmie Vaughan before, but was floored by their music. I think it’s absolutely fantastic that we can experience this kind of musical line-up right at our doorstep. I met people there who have been coming every year, from Pune, Bengaluru, and other cities, just to attend the concert. A group of four friends I overheard talking were going to drive all night, back home to Ahmedabad after the show got over at midnight. Fact is, in spite of all the excuses we muster, we can do it. With summer around the corner, we can find simple pleasures and escapes that will free us from our daily grind, from the predictable combinations we know so well. And, although we’ve packed this issue of the magazine with lots of ideas for fun summer experiences, here are two simple ones that are not listed. They’re dedicated to all those who feel they just cannot find the time for a vacation. One: Think back to the summer holiday memories from your childhood, which have stuck with you. Sailing through the air on a tyre swing strung on a tree? Visiting a grandparent? Driving 30 kilometres for a special kind of ice cream? Relive that one memory, just for a day. Two: Go anywhere. Yes, get into a car, a train, a bus, a boat, or even an aeroplane on a whim, and go where it takes you for a few hours. Even if you think you have no free time, there are days when you will actually be able to escape for a few hours. When that happens, travel somewhere, and back. Just for the heck of it. You won’t regret it. Pick a simple summer pleasure to experience now. It could provide the impetus, the tiny window that shows you the camouflaged path to run away from routine. n
ANDRE MORRIS
RUN FROM ROUTINE
LETTERS Inbox
LET THE ROAD DECIDE
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On Republic Day this year my friends and I made the long climb up Girnar mountain near Junagadh, to reach these Jain Derasar temples, and took this picture from there. —Keyur Rakholiya
Until recently, I was a tourist trying to check off my bucket list of places across the globe. I was big on exotic destinations, scouring city guidebooks, ignoring the real insights into culture that places have to offer. Not anymore. I have come to understand that to be a real traveller, you have to be a lover of foot notes and footpaths. Real journeys
are made, not served on a platter. And National Geographic Traveller India shows us just that: Savour the moment, live the journey, and make a story. —Deepti Singh Gupta I feel compelled to write to you guys and tell you how wonderful it was to read the Goan food piece titled “An Ode to a Hog” in the Taste of
Travel section in the January issue of National Geographic Traveller India. I have eaten at almost all the places mentioned in the article and am thrilled that someone has put it out there for more people to access. There is so much more to Goa than Britto’s and the north Goa sex-drugs-and-calamari belt. It made my day! —Anil Kably
Write to us, share stories of your travel experiences within India and around the world. We will publish some of them on these pages. Send your emails to letters@natgeotraveller.in
Real journeys are made, not served on a platter ”
HOW TO CONTACT US Emails: letters@natgeotraveller.in Letters: Editor, National Geographic Traveller India, Krishna House, 3rd floor, Raghuvanshi Mills Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013. Include address and telephone number. Not all letters can be published or answered; those published may be excerpted and edited. Customer Service: To subscribe or manage a subscription, email us at subscribe@natgeotraveller.in or call 022-40497417/31/35/36.
—Deepti Singh Gupta
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Visit us at www.facebook.com/NatGeoTraveller.India for ideas that will inspire you to plan your next holiday.
MARCH 2014 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 19
KEYUR RAKHOLIYA (TEMPLES), ANSHIKA VARMA (KAHWA)
few Sundays ago, I decided I wanted to make a trip but I wasn’t sure where to go. I left home and started driving, letting the road decide how I would spend the day. A few hours later, I saw signs pointing to Gir National Park. I had never been there. At Gir, I saw two male Asiatic lions and numerous species of birds, deer, and antelope. The best part of the trip was passing through the dense and deep forests of the Lion Kingdom, listening to magical sounds of wild animals and crickets late into the night. This was the first time I had made a trip without a plan. This idea came to me from the column in your last issue called “The Best Plan Is No Plan”. Thank you guys! —Akash Pandya
Stars and Stripes LESSONS FROM AN ICON OF INDIA’S CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY
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achhli is perhaps Ranthambhore’s most beloved resident. In early February, after a monthlong disappearance she was spotted again. Just as everyone—from park rangers to wildlife supporters and conservationists—was convinced the tigress was gone for good, she was back in view. I was overjoyed that she proved all speculation about her whereabouts wrong. The news of Machhli’s disappearance had caused sadness not just in India but amongst wildlife supporters around the world. The tigress has captivated millions of nature lovers over the years. Not only is she the oldest wild tiger alive in the world, she is also the most photographed and has starred in several wildlife films. A natural on camera who grew into a seasoned celebrity, she has been the face of tiger conservation in India. In her 17 years she successfully raised four healthy litters, and her contribution to tiger numbers in our forests has been feted worldwide. Life under the spotlight for even our best actresses is limited, but Machhli has been the undisputed heroine of India’s jungles. After she had been missing for four weeks, I reluctantly assumed that life had taken its course. I have many memories of close encounters with her and countless hours of film so it felt like losing a friend. I’d first spotted her as a playful, tiny cub but my most powerful memory of her came later, when I visited Ranthambhore with a team from the British charity Wildscreen. Wildlife conservation greats like Harriet Nimmo, John Michael Salisbury, Sarah Mitchell, and Jeremy Bristow were part of the team and we had spent nearly four days making daily trips into the jungle, with nary a tiger sighting. At nearly 6 p.m. on our final day, when the park was about to close, the guide called it a day. No one spoke as the driver was turning on the engine to leave.
mike pandey
At that moment, the jungle erupted in a cacophony of sounds. All heads turned and there was Machhli coming down the hill with her cubs in tow. With a slow, measured gait, she glided towards our jeep and stopped barely 12 feet away. She stood there for over five minutes while her three curious cubs frolicked around her. We were captivated by her regal beauty and the silence of the jungle was broken only by the incessant clicking of cameras. Machhli’s huge head panned as she looked at each one of us and I felt as if her eyes locked on to mine. I broke into gooseflesh. Her large eyes matched the amber light of the sun as its rays framed her magnificent face, like a halo. This wasn’t a tense meeting of man and animal. Her calm and relaxed demeanour was infectious. It was love at first sight for the others; for me it was like meeting an old friend. When she signalled to her cubs, they joined her in disappearing into the security of the reeds around the lake. Mike Salisbury turned to me and said, “I’ve worked with
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the largest animals in the world—polar bears, grizzlies, elk, reindeer—but this is the most amazing sight I’ve ever seen. It took my breath away. Now I know why the tiger is truly the king.” But the queen grows old. As is the rule of the jungle, she was nudged out of her territory by her offspring several years ago. Having lost all her canines, the rangers believed she could not hunt and the forest guards have been providing her food. When she disappeared for a month, there were a number of news reports, and though everybody was hoping for a sighting of her graceful form, the question was could she survive? Her absence brought home the fact that the grand old dame of Ranthambhore will possibly soon take a final bow. But she proved that in spite of all the attention and contact with humans, she is still a wild and free animal that could and did elude trackers and cameras for 28 days. Contrary to all expectations Machhli still managed to find sustenance and survive. From what we know, tigers tend to live to a maximum of 12 or 13 years. Machhli represents what can happen if we get it right. She tells us that conservation isn’t simply the purview of a few and that it is possible to win the hearts of many. Machhli’s televised exploits of her battle with a crocodile, defending her cubs from an aggressive tiger, or hunting down her prey are familiar to many. There are half a dozen Facebook pages dedicated to her, calling her “The Queen of Ranthambore”, “The Lady of the Lake”, “The Legendary Tigress”. UK-based Travel Operators for Tigers gave Machhli a lifetime achievement award, estimating that she alone brought in over 100 million dollars to Ranthambore in the past decade. A Macchli stamp was released by the Indian government in 2013. This success story allows us to focus on valuable lessons. The future of the tiger in India is at a crossroads. According to reports, over 69 tigers were poached in India in 2013. Conservation efforts by the government and enforcement agencies continue and many NGOs have joined the fray, yet Project Tiger seems to be losing steam. Laws and good intentions alone cannot work. But perhaps, when people fall in love with the many wonderful animals in our jungles, amazing things can happen. n Mike Pandey is a conservationist and wildlife filmmaker. He has won the Green Oscar award three times.
DHRITIMAN MUKHERJEE
VOICES Tread Softly
VOICES Far Corners
THE FUTILITY OF BORDER TOURISM— AND WHY IT’S WORTH THE TRIP
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little beyond the tourist police check post at 15th Mile, my cell phone lost signal. I took it as a silent beep of hope, for chance, mystery and adventure on a journey of low expectations. On what was the high road to Tibet. The “Old Silk Road” they had called it and even the “Tea Horse Trail”. But that was just the tourism websites. Its proper name is Jawaharlal Nehru Marg and despite the fact that it’s in a state of largely unmetalled disrepair for most of the 50-odd kilometres between Gangtok and Nathu La, this is surely the tamest, most travelled stretch of India’s Himalayan borderlands. I was still bleary from the previous evening’s exertions on Mahatma Gandhi Marg—Gangtok’s startlingly lively high street, recently pedestrianized and polished to a global-ish sheen. I had wound up in a karaoke bar buying rounds of Hit beer for a gaggle of new friends most of whose names I could not remember. They sang Punjabi, Western, and Nepali pop and took selfies with preening sincerity while the lyrics scrolled over aerial shots of picturesque European landscapes on a 99-inch screen. And I felt like a hick from the suburbs of middle age, intoxicated by the cosmopolitan ironies of M.G. Road’s nightlife. Bright lights, small town! Or
christopher kai friese elliott
maybe I just felt like a tourist. So in the chastening chill of the morning as we pulled away from 15th mile, on an itinerary that promised “World’s Highest ATM, World’s Highest Golf Course, Snow Point, Yak Riding at Changu Lake, Baba Mandir and China Border”, I was also relieved to be alone and unplugged. It was really only the border I was interested in. Which was just as well, because the ATM was out of order, the golf course was off limits to civilians, and the snow filthy. Even Baba Mandir turned out to be a fake, constructed “for the convenience of tourists” since the original samadhi of the martyred soldier Baba Harbhajan Singh was too remote for budget tour packages. The yaks were handsome, sporting woollen socks with pom-poms on their horns. At Nathu La the international boundary turned out to be a sagging length of barbed wire running through a soiled snowdrift. Facing it were two cheap and shiny pavilions, one Chinese, one Indian. China had pillars wrapped in peeling gold laminate; India, roof tiles painted a glossy red. They could have been flashy houses in an unauthorised slum of New Delhi or Beijing. Along one mountain ridge the Chinese had constructed a crumbly and diminutive replica of the Great Wall’s crenellations and on the facing hillside a slogan had been inscribed in dotted letters formed with whitewashed boulders. MERA BHARAT MAHAN. In the sky above this tableau, a hawk was harrying a flock of tiny birds that swooped and jinked, violating the airspace of each of the two great nations by turn. And I thought of Robert Byron’s account of this place from
Kai Friese is a writer, editor, and translator who likes to travel but not on holiday.
MARCH 2014 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 21
AYUSH DAS
Journey without Apps
1932. He saw enormous vultures “wheeling like baroque aeroplanes”. In Byron’s day, the passes of Nathu La and the neighbouring Jelep La had been busy thoroughfares, thronged with traders and their mule trains, hauling wool and gold from Tibet and consumer goods, bicycles, and even dismantled cars from India. In the bazaars of Gangtok and Kalimpong I had met wistful Marwari traders who still recalled the fortunes their families had won and lost in trade with Tibet. And a young musician named DeoAshish told me he had written a song about it called “Oon, noon, soon”. Wool, salt, and gold. All that had ended with the India China war of 1962. But since 2006 a modest facsimile of commerce has resumed allowing local people from the terminal villages on either side to trade with each other. There were a hundred Chinese trucks and vans parked along the road snaking down from the border gate, waiting for permission to proceed to the International Trade Mart at Sherathang, on the Indian side. It’s not exactly the Silk Road or even oon, noon, soon: they come to buy Dalda, sugar, and glucose biscuits and they sell synthetic fabrics and clothes. The sun set as we rolled back down into India. The dust of Jawaharlal Nehru Marg danced in the headlights and the mountain ranges receded into shadows and then into illusion. Wheeling through time and space, like those baroque buzzards, I felt a familiar affection for all the small disappointments and tawdry inauthenticities of India’s borderlands. A fondness for this zone of homesick soldiers and sticky-sweet tea, of bhajans and patriotic nursery rhymes blaring from traumatised loudspeakers. Borders are impossible places and only war or other bad intentions can make them seem convincing or even serious. I prefer the shabby hallucinations of Nathu La. It was only when the twinkling constellation of Gangtok began to fill the windscreen that I felt the pull of the real world: the purposeful world of lights and screens and rays, of progress and global connectivity. So I pulled out my phone and much to my surprise I had an unread message. Received at midday while I was up on Nathu La. It was an alert from my service provider. Welcome to China! It said. n
NAVIGATE Culture
Going Up in Smoke VALENCIA ENDS ITS SPRING FESTIVAL WITH FIREWORKS AND A MASSIVE CONFLAGRATION
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he sound was deafening. In the afternoon glare, fireworks burst into the blue sky with a great roar. Crowds cheered around a towering installation of comically exaggerated figures in Plaza del Ayuntamiento, the City Hall
Square of Valencia in Spain. The ground seemed to reverberate with the sound. Such scenes occur twice a day between 1-19 March each year, when Spain’s third-largest city celebrates Las Fallas (pronounced “fayas”), a festival in honour
of Saint Joseph. The main festivities start from 15 March but numerous events take place in the city through the preceding fortnight (calendar at www.valenciacityguide.com). Every neighbourhood is bedecked with giant decorations called fallas made of papier mâché, styrofoam, and wood. Every afternoon and night there is a fireworks display, known as La Mascletà. La Cremà is the culmination of the festival, when the installations are set ablaze at midnight. The fallas are fanciful, satirical, or ironic comments on life. As I wandered around the city, it was clear that unemployment, taxation, politicians, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s dominant role in the European Union were uppermost on Valencia’s mind. A large, exquisite Trojan Horse stood near the River Turia, while giant caricatures of Laurel and Hardy caught me unawares as I turned a corner. Neighbourhood communities around Valencia spend the whole year gearing up for this festival. About 350 installations were put up in 2013. The largest was a fivestorey piece at City Hall Square. The festival’s history can be traced to the Middle Ages, when people burnt their
Multi-storey-high fallas (left) are set up at Plaza del Ayuntamiento (City Hall Square) and around the city; Exaggerated papier mâché figures (right) depicting decadence, corruption, and crass consumerism are set alight across neighbourhoods at the finale. 30 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | MARCH 2014
PECOLD/SHUTTERSTOCK (STATUES), MASSIMO BORCHI/ATLANTIDE PHOTOTRAVEL/CORBIS (BURNING FALLAS)
By ANITA RAO KASHI
unwanted possessions after spring cleaning. Over time, the practice evolved and the trash was shaped to resemble people from the neighbourhood or depict events from the past year. Gradually, the event became a massive festival. As the day cooled down, I walked down to Plaza de la Virgen where a wooden statue of Mother Mary stood. A parade of people in traditional clothes streamed towards it. Women and girls wore exquisite, flowing dresses of satin, tulle, chiffon, and lace. Each person carried a bouquet of roses that was inserted into slits in the wood, transforming it into a red and white floral marvel. I was spellbound. When the parades wound down and night fell, the city became ethereal. The fallas were lit in brilliant colours. The roads were decorated with elaborate arches studded with tiny bulbs in white, blue, pink, purple, and red. Vendors roamed the streets selling multicoloured balloons. Around every street corner I encountered little stands selling roasted corn and
The giant structure of Mother Mary in Plaza de la Virgen (bottom) provides a sombre and religious counterpoint to the fallas; Women and children (top right) dressed in elaborate gowns arrive in a parade, carrying bouquets that are used to adorn the statue; At night the streets are illuminated and dancers and processions (top left) give the city a festive atmosphere.
buĂąuelos (fried dough balls). To wash it down, there was orxata, a creamy drink made with ground tiger nuts and sugar. The streets were filled with music. The best sight of the night was the Cabalgata del Fuego, the fire parade that includes fire eaters, mobile fireworks displays, and street performers. As midnight neared, fire engines crisscrossed the city, on standby in case of an accident. One after the other, the installations were set alight with a fireworks display. The last fallas to be lit
is usually the one at City Hall Square. Last year, nearly 240 kilos of fireworks were lit at the grand finale. In minutes, the beautiful masterpiece was reduced to a blackened frame. It left me feeling a little depressed, but the next morning the whole city had been washed clean by municipal workers. Neighbourhood communities were already planning the next year’s effigies. This, I realised, was a reflection of the way real life proceeded: a cycle of creation and destruction, with undercurrents of hope and renewal. n
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MASSIMO BORCHI/ATLANTIDE PHOTOTRAVEL/CORBIS (DANCERS), EFECREATA MEDIA GROUP/SHUTTERSTOCK (GIRLS), FCG/SHUTTERSTOCK (PLAZA DE LA VIRGEN)
As midnight neared, fire engines crisscrossed the city, on standby in case of an accident. One after the other, the installations were set alight with a fireworks display
NAVIGATE Take Five
Literary Panorama GOOD LITERATURE AND GREAT VIEWS MAKE FOR A HEADY CONCOCTION By NEHA DARA
The ornate Durbar Hall at Jaipur’s Diggi Palace has fresco-covered arches and stained-glass transom windows.
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Mandalay, Myanmar
What better place to host a literary event than a Buddhist stupa that
houses the world’s largest book? The grounds of Kuthodaw Pagoda contain 729 bejewelled cave like structures, each containing a marble slab inscribed with scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. The text was once written in gold and was recently added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World list. The pagoda itself, gilded above its terraces, cuts a dramatic image. It’s quite astonishing to comprehend that the small whitewashed stupas that dot the large compound contain the world’s first book. Quite a far cry from today’s digital e-readers! With a venue like this it seems de rigueur to think lofty thoughts. Since it is a religious spot, visitors to the Irrawaddy Literary Festival are required to dress conservatively. Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is the festival’s patron and a big draw herself. DO SNEAK OUT to watch a marionette show at Mandalay Marionettes Theatre. The
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show keeps alive traditional puppetry and is very child-friendly. Shows at 8.30 p.m. daily; tickets $8/`500 per head (February 2015; irrawaddylitfest.com).
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Shanghai, China Shanghai International Literary Festival takes place against the
backdrop of one of the world’s most photographed cityscapes. M on the Bund, the venue of the event since it began in 2003, was the first restaurant to open on Shanghai’s waterfront, marking its renaissance. The street of stately colonial buildings located on the western bank of the Huangpu River overlooks the decidedly modern Pudong on the other bank, with its many skyscrapers including Shanghai’s iconic Oriental Pearl TV Tower. In a mirroring of this coming together of opposites, the literature festival brings together writers from the East and West,
THE INDIA TODAY GROUP/GETTY IMAGES
V
ery little in the world is not improved by a splendid view, whether it is a cup of tea or a lavish hotel room. The same holds true for literature festivals. There’s something sublime about listening to a discussion on mythology in modern fiction, while you look out of the window at Himalayan peaks flirting with the clouds. You could be rolling your eyes at a remark made by a panellist, only to be captivated by the beautiful frescoes that adorn the ceiling. The number of literature festivals in Asia has been growing rapidly, providing unique opportunities to discover new writing. Here’s a selection of five festivals on the Asian continent that are worth a trip for their settings, as much as for their line-up of writers.
favourite writers. The writers too, seem relaxed in the beautiful environment and willing to engage in conversation. DO SNEAK OUT for a half-day trip to hike up to the Taktsang or Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Paro, 40 km/2 hours west of Thimphu (21-24 May, 2014; mountainechoes.org).
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Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
The classic Bali image is of glistening blue sea and white sand beaches; Ubud brings an air of culture to that, as the Indonesian island’s centre of arts and crafts. A conglomeration of 14 villages, the town sprawls several kilometres in each direction, trailing off into vivid, green paddy fields. The central part of town is where most of the 200 venues that hosted events at last year’s Ubud Writers & Readers Festival are located. It can often get crowded with the influx of visitors the ten-year-old festival brings. But the venues are pleasing, with their fair share of bigleafed tropical plants and thatched roofs. On the sidelines are fun events like a bike and literary tour, cooking workshops, and children’s programme. DO SNEAK OUT to explore Ubud’s food market. Australian food writer Janet DeNeefe, who is also the festival’s director, conducts a tour as part of a Balinese cooking class. Details at www.casalunabali. com/cooking-school (1-5 October 2014; www.ubudwritersfestival.com).
5 Mandalay Marionettes Theatre (top) is trying to keep traditional Burmese puppetry alive and arranges performances for visitors; Evenings at the Mountain Echoes literature festival in the Thimphu are dedicated to open-air music concerts (bottom).
enabling the discovery of new writers and genres. The sessions are held in a range of languages, from English to French, Italian, and Chinese. DO SNEAK OUT for a dusk or night cruise on Huangpu River, floating down between the old and the new. Tours cost between CNY 100-150/`1,000-1,500 (5-19 March, 2014; www.m-restaurantgroup.com/mbund/ literary-festival.html).
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Thimphu, Bhutan
Thimphu is a capital city unlike any other I have been to. Certainly unlike Delhi with its constant traffic jams
and piles of rubbish by the roadside. There are few cars, so few that a rare traffic jam can become the subject of much excited discussion. The weather is delightful, the air fresh, and simply walking from one venue of the Mountain Echoes literature festival to another feels like a stroll while on vacation at a scenic hill station. Tall mountains draped with thick forest rise up all around, reaching into an azure sky. Discussing literature in this uplifting surrounding seems to lend more substance to each thought and idea. The four-yearold festival is not too crowded, allowing attendees a chance to interact with their
No list of contemporary literary festivals is complete without a mention of the Jaipur Literature Festival. Described as the world’s largest free literary festival, a trip to this event can feel a lot like attending a mela. Nearly two lakh people attended its latest edition in January this year. Crowds mill around and it can be hard to find even standing room at many of the discussions. But Diggi Palace, the main venue of the event, is the kind of place where movies about royalty are shot. Its coloured-glass windows, ceilings with elaborate frescoes, and magnificent arches are eye-catching. Vibrant pandals festooned with strings of colourful flags and lamps brighten the manicured gardens. Both the setting and the line-up are opulent. DO SNEAK OUT to partake of Jaipur’s luscious, spicy laal maas at Moti Mahal on M.I. Road, a 10-minute drive from Diggi Palace. Walk off the excess by exploring the stores that line the street (21-25 January 2015; jaipurliteraturefestival.org). n
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ALAMY/INDIA PICTURE (PUPPETS), URVI BHUWANIA (BAND)
Jaipur, India
ER SUMMUN Cover Story IS F
Here comes the
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SUN
Asia
The season is synonymous with fun, and lazing around just isn’t enough. Summer vacations are sweeter when they include an active experience: learning a new art form, jumping off a bridge, playing a sport, or simply chasing clouds. The holiday buzz makes us feel the need to gather some friends and take a road trip, plot a break, brave the heat of the jungle to see a big cat. Himachal’s charms are multiplied while fishing for Himalayan trout in the Tirthan. Goa’s beaches are even more alluring when the trip includes a mudbath at Arambol. With days spent learning kitesurfing along the Tamil Nadu coast, scuba diving in Thailand, or surfing in the Bay of Bengal, the ripples of joy are sure to last all year long. MARCH 2014 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 61
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Summer casts a spell over us.
ER SUMMUN Cover Story IS F
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Asia Wes t er n Ghat s, Karnataka
CLOUD SPOTTING | By Neelima Vallangi
One summer, despite the
Early summer is the best time to view these cloud-filled valleys. Kodachadri (1,343 m high, in Shimoga district) and Narasimha Parvatha (826 m high, near Sringeri in Chikmagalur; requires forest office permission) are known for views like these. MARCH 2014 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 63
NEELIMA VALLANGI
heat, a few of us decided to take a weekend hike to a hilltop at Kodachadri in the Western Ghats in Karnataka. Though the temperatures were soaring, the views were terrific. Late in the afternoon, we stopped for lunch in a dense bamboo forest. The dry bamboo stalks rubbed against each other in the wind to create eerie noises: the sound of a plank being tapped or a door opening slowly. Sweat trickled from our foreheads as we bit into our food but we knew the situation would change once we got out of the forest and reached the ridge. When we got there, the afternoon heat was quickly pushed away by the evening breeze. The strong gusts brought with them a cold fog that engulfed us completely as we scrambled to find our way on the narrow ridge. Carefully, we made our way to a viewing point just as the sun was about to set. We were here to see the grand show that the dense, tropical forests of the Western Ghats put up every year. Low-lying clouds drift into the forested valleys, making everything look beautiful. There is something inexplicably magical and mysterious about this white wonder that comes and goes. We watched in awe as the setting sun cast a pink hue on the clouds. In the moonlit night, we walked up the wide path to the peak. The moon sat gently above the clouds. The clouds stayed as we cooked, ate, and camped. In the early morning, they were still there, nestled between pockets of the mountains. We watched wistfully as they slowly disappeared when the sun came up. They were gone but those memories remain etched like a midsummer night’s dream.
GET GOING Adventure
Tripping over
TREE TOPS
Costa Rica’s canopy tours offer a lofty perspective on a bustling rainforest | By BIJAL VACHHARAJANI 118 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | MARCH 2014
CHRISTER FREDRIKSSON/LONELY PLANET IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES FACING PAGE: THEPALMER/GETTY IMAGES (WOMAN), PAUL SOUDERS/THE IMAGE BANK/GETTY IMAGES (FROG), MINT IMAGES/FRANS LANTING/GETTY IMAGES (BIRD)
Over the last few decades, the Monteverde Cloud Forest has evolved into a thriving tourist destination thanks to its network of canopy walks.
Costa Rica
I
was stuck. Worse, I was dangling in mid-air, some 50 meters above terra firma, strapped to a horizontal traverse cable, looking quite like a langur. But unlike a monkey who can gracefully make her way from one tree to another, I was stranded in the middle of a zip line in Monteverde, a cloud forest in Costa Rica. Turns out I had braked too early. I craned my neck and spotted my friends gleefully pointing their cameras at me, recording this moment of indignity for digital eternity. Helplessly, I squinted down at the emerald tree tops I swung above. At long last, a grinning guide zoomed up and pedalled me back to the next stop. Thankfully, the canopy tour got easier from there. Securely strapped in our harnesses, mind buzzing with the crisp instructions of our group leader, we felt like coal miners—kitted out in ropes, gloves, and a hard hat. Zip lining, once you get the hang of it, is a lovely way to see a pristine forest. You whoosh through the jungle, soaring above the trees and undulating hillocks, squealing like an excited puppy, and finally braking to a stop so that you don’t hit a stout tree trunk. Canopy tours in Monteverde include long suspended bridges scattered through the cloud forest, which give you the chance to walk through leisurely and soak in the panoramic view. As we tottered through the bridges, keeling from one side to the other, we peered through our binoculars looking for the resplendent quetzal bird. The thick tree cover was the perfect hiding place for Monteverde’s brightly coloured denizen. We didn’t spot the quetzal, but
Zip lining (top) began as an innovative method for young researchers to study the rainforests of Costa Rica in the 1970s; Animals such as the green-crowned brilliant hummingbird (bottom right) and red-eyed tree frog (bottom left) are often spotted on canopy tours.
instead met agile humming birds, dazzling butterflies, a placid sloth, a pair of chattering capuchin monkeys, and heard the eeriesounding howler monkey. After we finished the longest zip line, which our instructor called the “daddy of all tomatoes” (I don’t know why, or maybe I muddled up some Spanish here), it was time to tackle the 1-km-long Superman zip line. I was hooked on to a cable, face down. And with a push I went, flying like a bird, a plane, a superhero? I was worried that my spectacles would fall off (littering the pristine forest), so I didn’t strike the classic Superman pose. Now I know what it is to have a bird’s-eye-view of the land. It’s an intense experience: The greens look
more vivid, the trees more stolid, and the wind seems louder. The canopy tour finished with the Tarzan swing, where one jumps off a platform and swings on a piece of rope. Hard-core adventure sport enthusiasts may scoff at it, but for a wobbly-kneed first-timer this was as good as bungee jumping. I walked my longest walk ever, down a suspended bridge, heart thumping. I tried to say something to the instructor, but ended up croaking like a toucan. Safely hooked up, I jumped at the count of “tres”. It was a silent jump. My friends waiting below, did all the shouting for me. As I swung, I let out a yell that would have made Tarzan proud. And then the adventure was over, a tad too soon. n
THE GUIDE WHAT? Canopy tours either involve zip lining or walking on treetop bridges, some tours include a mix of both. Zip lining is great for a rush and offers a unique perspective of the rain forest as one glides through the canopy. For the more ecologically inclined there are walking canopy tours on bridges. Spanning a few hundred metres in length and less than two metres wide, most of these bridges are between 10 to 60
metres above ground and are used for walks or guided tours thought the forest.
creatures in the wild, while the zip lining lets visitors indulge in an adventure in the wild.
WHY?
WHERE?
Apart from the novelty of flying through the canopy or walking on bridges high above the forest floor, what attracts many to these tours is the fact that a large number of organisms in a rain forest are found in its canopies. The bridges provide an immersive experience for visitors looking to spot
Located in northwestern Costa Rica, the two main canopy tour destinations are the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and the rainforest around Arenal Volcano. They offer a rich mix of wildlife, along with views of grand gorges, mountains, and waterfalls. Apart from zip lining and walking on bridges,
some tours include the option of trekking through an area, followed by a bridge walk above the same section for an added perspective. There is also the option of taking tours on cable cars called Sky Trams, if one is looking to avoid exertion. The country’s canopy tours have inspired similar ones in numerous countries including South Africa, the U.S.A., and Ghana (For details on tour bookings and timings visit: www.skyadventures.travel or www.selvatura.com).
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SHORT BREAKS From Mumbai
Small City, Big Prize
+ AYS D
3
Skip Rajkot for Jamnagar’s snacks and surmo | Text & Photographs by RISHAD SAAM MEHTA
Lakhota Lake Palace (top) looks its most fetching at dawn, when the lakeside promenade is full of morning walkers; Decorated betel nut cutters (bottom left) are a local Jamnagar craft.
B
eing half-Gujarati, I grew up hearing about Bharuch ni singh (groundnuts from Bharuch), Surat na penda (a milky confection from Surat), Nadiad nu bhusu (a savoury snack mixture from Nadiad)... and so on. There was also Jamnagar no surmo, which for years I thought implied a dandy from Jamnagar. Now as I stand in the happy chaos of Jamnagar city’s Chandi Bazaar, it dawns on me that the famous Jamnagar surmo is not a vain man, but kajal. The wizened old shopkeeper bursts into laughter at my original assumption, and tells me that the full maxim is, “Jamnagar ni sudi ne surmo” (betel nut slicers and kohl from Jamnagar). Aside from these gastronomic and cosmetic
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connections, Jamnagar has a close link with India’s sporting history. The erstwhile Nawanagar, an Indian princely state in Gujarat’s Kathiawar region, was once ruled by Jam Saheb Ranjitsinhji, who lends his name to the Ranji Trophy, our most popular domestic cricket championship. Nawanagar seceded to India in 1948, and came to be known as Jamnagar. Now, the city is often overshadowed by the larger, more popular Rajkot, 90 kilometres to the southeast. But Jamnagar offers a peek into the life of a small town, not yet overtaken by malls, branded shops, and multinationals. For instance, when you go to a neighbourhood tea shop, the server often pours your drink straight into the saucer.
Jamnagar Most patrons slop their tea into the saucer anyway, so tea shops have eliminated the cup altogether. In this little town, fitness enthusiasts do yoga on flagstones by Lakhota Lake to the accompaniment of bird calls rather than on designer mats in a studio. Jamnagar sits on the northern shore of Gujarat’s Saurashtra peninsula and is surrounded by wetlands that attract plenty of migratory birds. It’s not uncommon to poke your head out of your car window, and see a muster of storks cross the sky.
EXPLORE LAKE PALACE At the centre of the city is Lakhota Lake. Lakhota Palace is located on an island on the lake and is linked by two causeways. Built during the second half of the 19th century by the Maharaja of Nawanagar, the palace’s bastions and moat-like lake, give it the air of a military fort. It is now a museum and a must-see for history buffs as it houses prehistoric pottery exhibits found in the surrounding region (open Thur-Tue 10.30 a.m.2 p.m. and 2.30-5.30 p.m.; entry for Indians `2, foreigners `50). On the southern bank of the lake is the Bala Hanuman Temple. Any time of day, visitors to the temple will hear the constant refrain of “Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram”. The devotees, most of them locals, have been at it in a relay since 1 August 1964—without a break. This has earned the temple a place in the Guinness Book of World Records (open daily 24 hours). The best time to go to the lake is before sunrise and then watch the birds descend as the day grows. There are ducks and seagulls and a lot of people who come to feed them. On one of the causeways there will be morning walkers and maybe even a yoga class in session. Look out for a juice vendor with a cycle-kiosk near the entrance of the causeway close to the temple: The crowd of patrons surrounding him is evidence of his popularity. Standing by the lake is also the 16th-century Bhujio Kotho. This five-storeyed fort, designed like an expandable vertical telescope, was constructed as a place of refuge during invasions. The first storey acted like a bastion, with guns pointing in all directions and a huge water tank for long sieges. The structure was affected by the 2001 earthquake and is now deemed unsafe to visit and climb, but visitors can admire it from afar. The Jamnagar cremation grounds are a morbid tourist draw, thanks to the sculptures of saints and deities from the Hindu pantheon and murals from the Ramayana—but be
Lakhota Lake is a popular birdwatching site (top), with nearly 75 species like pelicans, spoonbills, ducks, terns, etc, spotted here; Savvy vendors at the lake cater to demands based on time of day. Early in the morning they sell health juices (bottom), while in the evening it is chaat and kulfi. warned that it can be an olfactory hazard. Just north of Lakhota Lake is the Town Hall area, which is an interesting place to walk around. Worthy of mention is the Bhidbhanjan Temple, whose door has silver embellishments that Jamnagar is still famous for. Close by is a Parsi Agiyari, but entrance is restricted to the Parsi community.
RETAIL THERAPY After a tour of the city, once you’ve stocked up on betel nut slicers,
kohl, and kumkum from Chandi Bazaar, head to the old Soni Bazaar Lane. Located opposite the Jama Masjid. The market is lined with gold and silver jewellery shops many of which still use antique weighing scales and loupes. Jamnagar is also famous for bandhini saris and dupattas. Mahavir Bandhini at Chandi Bazaar and B. Maganlal at Darbar Gad are two reputed shops to swing by. If you’re interested in that sort of thing, the city is also a manufacturing hub for brass fixtures and fittings.
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SHORT BREAKS From Mumbai
Morning exercise on the causeway of Lakhota Lake (top left) is probably not for those heading there for a plate of fried snacks and a cuppa. Ten rupees can fetch a plateful of bhajias, ghantias, ghugras, or fafdas (bottom left); Visitors to the Marine National Park at Narara can see unusual algae formations (top right) and aquatic life like sea cucumber, crab, and starfish; The shops in Soni Bazaar (bottom right) lane have been in most families for generations. The jewellery here is still painstakingly made by hand, the craft passed down from father to son.
even those who want to experience some solitude should drive to Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, 17 km from the city. The best time to visit is sunrise when birds, particularly flamingos and pelicans can be sighted in huge numbers. There are also Brahmini kites, herons, cranes, a variety of ducks, and at least three kinds of kingfishers and spoonbills (daily 7 a.m. to sunset; entry `200 for up to six people, `100 for a camera. The ticket window offers a leaflet with basic information in Gujarati). For an entire day out, visit Marine National Park and Sanctuary at Narara, about 60 kilometres from Jamnagar. Kit out in comfortable sandals (you’re bound to get your feet wet) and hire a guide, who can point out a wealth of aquatic life like Neptune crabs, sea cucumber, starfish, and squid. Sting rays also skulk about the shallow
waters. Remember to carry food and water (daily sunrise-sunset; time your visit for low tide; entry `250 per head; `100 per camera; guide charges vary, roughly `100 for 3 hours).
STAY Hotel Aram lies in the heart of the city, and has valet parking and free Wi-Fi (02882551701/2551705; www.hotelaram.com; doubles from `1,500). Hotel President is located near the Town Hall and organises free airport transfer for its guests (0288-2557491/2558493; www. hotelpresident.in; doubles from `800). Hotel Foliage is only a 15-minute walk from the scenic Lakhota Lake (0288-2672221/ 2550609; www.hotelfoliage.com; doubles from `1,400).
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EAT Jamnagar is known for its food and snacks, available especially around the Chandi Bazaar area. The most popular landmark is H.J. Vyas, a sweet and savoury shop that will complete a century in 2018. The friendly owners will likely offer you tasting samples the moment you step in. They know their products down to the molecular level and will rattle off the nutritional qualities of each, and emphasise that trans fat is absent even from their deep-fried savouries. Try their kachoris, which are exported the world over, as well as the paan and coconut candy. Swing by Jain Vijay Farsaan close by for their kachoris and ganthias (gram flour crisps). A quarter of a kilometre away at Jama Masjid is the famous Dilipbhai Gungrawala. Ghugras are D-shaped samosa-like snacks
EPHOTOCORP/DINODIA (WATER)
PARKING ZONE Avid birdwatchers or
Jamnagar
The flamingoes at Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary are a nervous lot and a small sound can send the whole stand into flight. stuffed with peas and potatoes. Dilip bhai’s expertise is in the garnish of a colourful mix of different chutneys that he pours and sprinkles over a plate of these. Two other
Gujarati fast-food stalwarts are located close by: Rajubhai Ragdawala and Gigabhai Bhelwala. Also check out the dal pakwaan sold from a cart at Khambaliya Gate. To wash
down this spicy repast, pop into one of the milk bars dotting the city for a “milk cold drink”, a thick, saffron and pistachio flavoured concoction with lots of dry fruits. n
THE GUIDE Jamnagar is located on the northern coast of Saurashtra on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat. It is 806 km/15 hours north of Mumbai, and 300 km/5 hours west of Ahmedabad.
Getting there Air Air India operates daily flights from Mumbai to Jamnagar. You can also fly to Rajkot (90 km/2 hours), and take a taxi to Jamnagar (approximately `800 for a one-way trip). Alternatively, you can take a Volvo from Rajkot’s city centre to Jamnagar (1.5 hours/`100). Rail Jamnagar is a busy railhead and there are three trains from Mumbai. The best option is the Saurashtra Mail that leaves Mumbai Central station at 8.25 p.m. and arrives in Jamnagar a little after noon the following day. Road The roads through Maharashtra and Gujarat are
superb, and it is possible to cover the over 800-km journey from Mumbai in a long day’s drive. From Mumbai, drive to Vadodara on NH8, get on to the Vadodara-Ahmedabad Expressway, and then take the exit to Anand. Follow the road to Tarapur and then onwards to Rajkot and Jamnagar. Google Maps is a good navigation aid, but turn it on only after you take the exit to Anand, otherwise it will take you off the wide and fast NH8 after Bharuch. That will shave 30 km off your journey, but take more time since the road is single-laned. If you’d like to stagger the drive over two days, halt at Vadodara for the night.
Seasons During winter, from November to March, the weather in
Jamnagar is pleasant and migratory birds are visiting. Daytime temperatures hover between 18-24°C. From April to
October, the temperatures rest between 28-31°C. It rains heavily in July, but the monsoon begins to peter out by September.
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SUMEDHA SAH (MAP)
Orientation