The lines were not moving and the noise level was slowly creeping up but at that point, I couldn’t hear a thing. The humidity made me cranky. My cotton shirt started to stick to my back as we vegetated and started to sprout. The flight had just landed past midnight, after 15 or so hours we were tired and God knows what time it was back in San Francisco then.

As I was bitching about rules and how they don’t matter in this part of the world, a fellow, who could have passed for a uniformed officer, walked up to me, pulls up the dividing rope and without any sign of welcome or a smile asked me to walk past the line to the counter. Feeling suspicious but also basking in pride due to the special treatment, with a bit of arrogance, I got ready to move. And then, his hand pressed hard on my chest. It was firm and intentional. The guy smiled at me and said “2500 Bahts”. All my primal instincts kicking in and with no time to react, I said, yes, of course. Because that’s exactly the way things work in that part of the world. Within less than 5 minutes I was out of the airport and breathing fresh air in Bangkok.

Bangkok, like all other developing cities, has a huge divide. There are the wealthy, the spectacular downtown with the high rises, palaces and fancy restaurants; then there is the needy on the other side of the Chao Phraya river in the slums and in old shacks living a dissatisfied life near the canals and markets.

The nation has a strong growing economy and a high employment rate but the sight of poverty was clear and visible before our vision could blur and fall out of reach.

We stayed on the east of the city in Sukhumvit. A middle ground, mostly filled with white collar crowd, people in the IT industry and businesses trying to get to work and back home. Traffic was horrendous during business hours but the transit system was well maintained and in operation at all times. We felt safe and used it pretty much for the most part of our stay in Bangkok. Cabs and Uber (Grab) were also widely available. But for commuters, the savior was the motorbikes/scooters.

This ingenious system was quick, reliable and cheap. The safety really depends on your level of comfort and your ability to tolerate those close calls. The sights of women on the streets, waving at you, promising you a good time at night needs some smart navigating but there is no malicious intent to it.

Chinatown was our first stop. It was a quick train to Hua Lamphong to get to the China Town. We walked around the entirety of it and snacked at a handful of shops and food stalls. The variety was exhausting and the prices were dirt cheap. We devoured some foods and down some which we had no clue of what it was. And later stopped at some Chinese Buddhist temples along the way. 

At the end of the town is the golden Buddhist temple with a massive gold gilded Buddha statue.

Thailand is one of the main patrons of Buddhism. Buddhism is not just their religion but it is part of their culture and the king is a huge worshipper of The Buddha. And the golden temple lying Buddha would not be the last Buddha on that trip.

Right after that we decided to get a glimpse of the city on a “tuk-tuk”. It is not just a vehicle for quick transport it another embellishment to the Thai culture. It is widely used, colorful, adorned with jewelry, box speakers, fit with glowing lights and some even had fans strapped to them. These ones sneaked through the cracks in the traffic like a mouse evading any traps and running through a maze. They did spew a bunch of smoke and particles on your face and mouth as they are not completely covered. But that is all part of the fun.

The quick ride through the city took us to “Wat Pho”. (The name “Wat”, apparently derived from Sanskrit, translates to a sacred place. And any name prefixed with “Wat” that you might run into is a temple/sacred place.)

The Wats, in general, is not just one big monolithic building of gathering. It was a complex of buildings. A plaza of temples. Each one of them with individual names and significance. And every one of them different from the other. Some of the structures were burial places for kings and queens of Thailand. And Wat Pho was one of the famous and oldest ones. The main attraction of the place is the 150-foot statue of a reclining Buddha. Surrounded by other golden buddhas and marble tower-like structure or “mondops”.

And not too far from the place is The Grand Palace. The grand palace is the home of the king. And another marvel “Wat Phra Kaew” built under the same roof. Wat Phra Kaew is one of the holiest places in the city.

The place was filled with monks, tourists, and gold. Gold was being extensively used. As glaring as the gold was there were also some intricate designs. The devil-like looking guardian statues surrounded by tiled marble towers in the corners gave the place a very unique and ancient design.

The structures had complex patterns with immense details. The “mondops” were typically a pyramid-shaped roof was the highlight of most of the shrines. The awnings and surrounding walls were filled with fiery and majestic looking gold shaped, curlicued structures.

We strolled along, marveling at each of those embroidered pillars, painted domes definitely seemed like the counterpart of baroque type paintings you would find in European culture and eccentric structures all around. The place was definitely worth a visit.

After a tiring day, we ended the night with some boozy drinks. The Lebua was a fancy rooftop lounge bar with a panoramic view of the city. (If the place and view looks familiar that’s because the movie Hangover II was filmed at the Lebua among other movies).

We started walking out early the next day. Breakfast was our favorite hour in Bangkok. There were no numbers on the menu to order items. In fact, there were no menus in those stores and sometimes there were no walls. Bangkok is plagued with delicious, mouth-watering street food. The options were unlimited. Cheap, colorful, enticing and sometimes even confusing to the eyes they became an everyday stop for us for the next few days. Sadly, to this day I can’t remember the names of the dishes. But they were all amazing.

One of our favorites was a type of rice-based rolls filled with a complex peanut paste. And the sides were just fresh chilies. You take a bite of the rolled balls and nib on the chilies. They were fantastic.

Every breakfast on the trip was unique. But there were two things that stayed constant throughout. The satisfaction of gulping down the Thai iced tea in Bangkok was and will always be unparalleled and irreplaceable. It was a perfect mixture of sweetened condensed milk and tea. A ting of orange, and maybe some savory spice with added ice to it. The feeling of washing down the food with the tea was heavenly. At times I even felt the tea was the reason to eat to breakfast and the food was merely an adjunct to it.

And, The mango sticky rice. Not everywhere, but in this local place (Mae Varee Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango) near our hotel was delectable.

Just the scent drew us in there every day. It was a palace of mangoes and mango sticky rice was all that they were selling. The yellow was dominating. Fresh, juicy and ripe. We took them back to our rooms’ every morning and ravished and devoured them. We knew then that we would never get these back home. Not a chance. It had to be their coconut milk. But whatever it was I miss them both to this day.

Bangkok is known for their markets and its hard to see them all. They have their flower markets, fresh produce markets, train markets, weekend markets, night markets, floating markets and more. They are all vibrant, bustling and run like a clockwork.

We missed out on the floating markets as they only assemble them on the weekends. So you’d have to plan accordingly and they are definitely worth a visit.

So the next on our list was fresh produce. The Khlong Toei market near the slums supplies produces to pretty much all of Bangkok. This was the one-stop wholesale place for every restaurant in the city.

The food was fresh and alive! The stalls were stacked and cramped and the aisles were small. If you don’t have the stomach to watch your food getting skinned, cut and cleaned then this would not be the place for you. They keep the fishes and crabs alive and slaughter them when they are being sold.

The one who slays (or asks to slay) should eat the food.

With the queer sights and smell of the Thai market, Khlong Toei was a great place to experience the daily life and culture that revolve around.

Chao Phraya was not just the river that divides the city but it was another way to commute for the Thai people.

We took a boat ride on the river Chao Phraya.

And at the end of the ride is another magnificent temple, Wat Arun.

If one was a daily commuter then the train or the bus or cars or even the boat doesn’t cut it. The traffic in Bangkok was horrendous. But there was another way to zip through it; enter the grab bikes.

The grab bikes are manned bikes. How’d you like to get on a bike, hug your driver and get to work twice as fast? It depends. If the traffic is as bad as Bangkok then one wouldn’t mind the hugging.

For our next lunch, after exhausting all the meat options we were looking for a vegetarian restaurant near the waters with some quiet.

Na Aroon was a family owned, tasty, an organic vegetarian restaurant that sits close to the canals. It was a traditional Thai house with wooden floors, high ceilings, and large windows. With rustic looks and surrounded by gardens the place was quiet and serene. The Pomelo fruit salad with chilies and cashews were exotic and exceptional.

What could be more pampering than having a person give you their complete attention to making you feel physically good? Nothing. And the service is readily available in all corners of Bangkok. There are both small and big establishments. And one can’t go wrong by picking either one. Yes, Thai massages done properly are divine. And when it comes dirt cheap it is much more satisfying. For a nominal fee of 300 Thai bahts (which comes to around 9 USD), one can get an exceptional Thai massage for two long hours in a quite comfortable and clean environment.

So after a satisfying lunch, we walked over to Health land spa, it was one of those affordable and luxury spas. We were treated like royalty. The therapist took us floor by floor. The first floor was where we swapped our footwear for a comfy slip-on. On the second, our clothes for some loose and soft bathrobes. And, finally, they put us in an air-conditioned room with our own bed and a TV. The next two hours of massaging were nothing but calming and relaxing.

Completely rejuvenated after the massage, we went back to our rooms’ and hit the bed, dreaming about the rest of our Thailand trip. Ready to spend time looking at the limestone mountains and in the warmth of tranquil waters of Railey, Krabi.

We were on our way out of London. We picked up an old, rusty Peugeot at the Heathrow airport rental and were ready to be on road for the next few days. Doubting if the puny car can handle the abuse, we fully-stacked it. The right-hand driving, the roundabouts and traffic signals felt a bit unnatural but we were up for the challenge.

The English countryside was a place where we found pleasure by just being, driving around, discovering places on-the-go. I’ve not seen another place that could constantly amaze you. It was picturesque. It was pristine. And it felt endless. No wonder Frodo and Sam missed the Shire during their travels to Mordor and frequently revisited it in their thoughts.

If today’s life is a never-ending and arduous journey towards Mordor then this will be our Shire, right here.

Our first stop was Oxford. It was more of stop-and-go. The town has one of the oldest and privileged universities in the world that is not unheard of, University of Oxford. The city is historic and old but was young in spirit with all the students scampering around the town. We walked around and noticed a handful of breweries and ended up tasting a few beers. They were surprisingly good.

Meeting people during travel is imperative. To see things, gain insight and observe another person’s perspective helps you branch out. And who is better than a local to give you the truth about history, culture and take you to that nook around the corner with some tasty finger food. So, for our next stop, we visited one of our friend who lives near Birmingham, studies and works at the University of Birmingham. There was not much to the town. Quiet, residential and very blue collared. As we drove around the downtown, it was quite a frat party. We didn’t expect the rowdy crowd but we didn’t mind it either. It was just some plain old people having fun.

A very serious and all important fun fact from our friend was that J.R.R Tolkien lived near the University of Birmingham, the town of Edgbaston. And apparently, the clock tower at the University was the inspiration behind the ominous and all-powerful Eye of The Sauron.

Hmm, after a careful look I thought that it did indeed bear some resemblance.

Ironbridge was a cute little town tucked in-between nowhere. The town was named after the famous bridge over the river Severn that runs through the Ironbridge Gorge. The village was famous for its iron bridge that was built during the industrial revolution time.

The place can be a nice stop-over, breather, on your way. 

But it also ended up being our first experience with high tea tasting. Something we repeatedly indulged in for the next three days of our trip. Sweet, buttery and eternally fulfilling - That’s how it tasted. Nom Nom.

We found a dingy, smelling, countryside hotel that was available for the night, unwilling to unpack in that room, we dozed off.

Some cities are not just built out of bricks and stones. They are special. They talk to you. You might have no past or relationship with it. But you can feel it, relate to it. For us, such places are few and far between and Stratford upon Avon can have that effect on you. It definitely did on me. (I would add Quebec city to the list).

Stratford-Upon-Avon was a very traditional English market town. It looks classically old with Tudor style houses, brick buildings and concrete roads. Most of them had grey, brown and black stripes, some had Scottish checkers but not in the traditional red or green. They were more dull and dark. The flowers hanging over the windows and awnings added colours to the otherwise monotone streets. It was a perfectly sized town to walk around with a backdrop of the river Avon.

The place lacks no history. Stratford is the birthplace of the great poet, William Shakespeare.

It is the place where dark comedies and vicious tragedies were born. Pretty much any quote one uses every day can be claimed by this man. When you say “Its Greek to me” or “tongue-tied” or “salad days” or “hoodwinked” or one of my favourites, “in a pickle” do know that you’re quoting this man. He may have left this world but his words remain and very much used today. The town is devoted to him and there were a good amount of tourists visiting for this one reason.

The Royal Shakespeare company resides in the town and they have about half a dozen museums devoted to the celebrated writer, his school and his family. Swan Theatre, the original and first Shakespeare theatre built was still running his plays. We visited The Royal Shakespeare company, The Schoolroom and Guildhall, Anne Hathaway’s cottage and Shakespeare birthplace. And the last ended up being our favourite.

And we even sat down in his garden to see one his plays enacted.

It took about an hour to walk through the whole town. We did a loop from where we stayed, at the Tudor style Mercure Shakespeare hotel near the town hall to the end of the southern lane which ends at the Holy Trinity church. We walked through the roads covered by arching trees on either side leading to the church. It was where one of our time’s greatest poet lays still.

We strolled back towards our hotel, Mercure Shakespeare hotel, to meet another friend over dinner and drinks at Cafe Rouge. And later retired for the day.

With the sun out and cool breeze in our hair, we started our drive. It was a perfect day to be on the road to the Cotswolds. The Cotswolds is the countryside in the south-west region of England. Filled with rolling hills and green meadows that drive was quite scenic.

It was all about discovering classic and historic towns. We stopped where we felt like and drove through some, while we gazed at the farm fields filled the landscape. A few of the towns were no more than the length of a football field. A handful of stone-built houses and a pub. We’ve never felt anything this remote yet so close to one of the biggest cities’ in the world.

We passed through many a beauty but some images will always remain vivid in our heads. One of them was a lavender field we came across at the town of Snowshill. The purple was ripe and as much as our eyes could take. And with a fragrance that lifted our spirits and put us in a trance.

The Cotswolds is filled with many sleepy and charming market towns. A few that we loved and would recommend were Stow-on-the-wold, Burford, Bibury and Bourton-on-the-water.

And Bourton-on-the-water was our favourite town. It was one of the bigger towns. Old and historic with the River Windrush running through the town and arched stone bridges going all the way along with it.

A violinist playing The Godfather tune in the town of Bourton on the Water.

After another sit-down for some delicious tea and sandwiches, we were on our way to our last stop at Cirencester, the largest town in the Cotswolds. A bit more colourful than the other market towns.

That night, we found another godforsaken place to stay, a motel of sorts, at Tetbury. The moment we stepped into the motel, we wanted to leave. Dark and eerie, candlelit rooms, we felt we took our notion of travel on the go a step further than we would have liked. We had to wake up the innkeeper, who was not so pleasant about us arriving late. We walked our ways to the room through a bunch of scary looking folks talking boisterously and drinking ale in the lawn. As if the place was not scary enough the rooms were very dimly lit and threw shadows on the walls as we walked in. Unable to take any more speculative fear we turned the lights off and hit the bed. The next thing we knew we were running out of the room, to the car, with our bags flapping, before the sun could rise that morning.

The Romans had perfected the art of bathing. And the city of Bath was an indication of that. Bath was at the very southern tip of Cotswolds ending our ride through the beautiful and charming countryside. The city is known for its hot springs, museums, old Roman-Georgian architecture. It was quaint, less rural and charming at every turn.

We found the roman baths museum interesting and worth the visit.

And though the bath itself has the hot springs in the lower level one cannot take a dip. The water apparently has an unhealthy level of sodium and calcium making it unbathable. But there are few other maintained bath spas around the city (Thermae Bath Span) if you’re bent on experiencing the bath waters.

Since it was our last day in the Cotswolds we went for our last high tea experience at The Pump Room, a luxury restaurant near the museum.

Had a delicious arrangement of Mango noir teas with a sour and fruity taste with some buttery scones.

Apart from the museums, The circus, Pulteney bridge and the royal crescent were all were splendid and extravagant architectures.

It seemed like England was packed with gazillion natural and historic monuments. Neverending. But for us, the final one was one of the most famous landmarks in the country, Stonehenge. These were a complex set of stones, called bluestones, that were brought to the site by the indigenous. How, or why these heavy, monolithic stones came to that location some 5000 years ago remain undiscovered until this day.

An interesting site, needless to say, definitely worth a visit!

We safely reached the airport the next morning. Our champ, the Peugeot, held up to its task. The right-hand driving and the roundabouts seemed much less painful. And as yet another adventure comes to an end, we boarded our flights wondering how long would it be before we experience high tea and taste some buttery scones again.

The omnipresent gloominess, smoky gray walls, grungy looking streets, cringy corners that can intimidate even the most strong-willed person and yet it is all very poetic - London is charmingly old, alarmingly big and it is simply beautiful. All of its vastness is filled with grandeur, art, history, diversity and cute red buses. It’s not at all hard to imagine how this place has produced some of the greatest minds over the centuries.

The city has a beating heart that grows on you and we felt it the moment we stepped on to the train. Everything was compact yet sophisticated, crafted with a lot of attention to detail - A very British way if so to speak. Our stay for the next three days was in east London, the district of Shoreditch.

East London has the more artsy boroughs, like Shoreditch. It is cheaper, may be a tad bit dirty than you would like but it is also less pretentious. Shoreditch is the newly anointed hipster capital of the city. A perfect place for visitors, close to central London with the tube on Old Street station, trying to compete with the west end of the city. The place has got some eclectic dive bars, restaurants and a handful of museums. So we begin our journey right after dropping our stuff at an Airbnb.

They say London has the best Indian food - I’ve had better but it came pretty close. “Dishoom” (The name is an Indian interpretation of ‘whammy’’), a hipster place, was our first stop. The place has transformed Indian street food giving it a really good makeover. The crispy fried okra was perfect. After a few more mouth-watering, satisfying dishes and strong “kadak” chai, we started to explore the neighborhood.

Not so far was The Leadenhall market. My memories of the scene at the market are vivid mostly because it was pretty much the same at every single pub throughout the city. Londoners, after a hard working day, love to go to their pub, get a drink, carry it outside, light a cigarette and start chirping away on the streets. This was very different from the American drinking culture. Something that we noticed that was common in most of the pubs throughout the country is that they don’t have televisions!. This partly could be the reason why people tend to interact more with their fellow beings and not be stuck to something superfluous. My theory is that the human interaction eventually becomes an addiction and beings look forward to that time. Also, they have great beers so what more can you ask for? 

We started to walk towards South London and quickly ran into what is widely showcased as one of the best views your eyes can devour as we walked across the pedestrian only Millennium Bridge. It was The River Thames and the city that floats on it. We stopped and took a moment to breathe in one of the best sights. The Thames runs along some of the best attractions and views of London, one of the greatest rivers in the world with all its magnificence.

We got on the Millennium bridge to go across the river. The river was dull, brownish and awfully dirty but the backdrop with one of the largest and iconic looking St.Paul’s Cathedral compensates for it. Panoramic views of the city on the river that stretches from the London bridge to the far end on the east side of the city were incredible. A history geek probably has a better answer but in short, the ugliness has to do something with the sewage systems’ fiasco a hundred years ago.

Once we got to the south side we felt there was not much to it and took an Uber right back to Shoreditch. For one last drink before the night we stopped at Callooh Callay. The Lewis Carroll themed bar had a really cool vibe, with dim light interiors and a secret door leading to another “Wonderland” the place was eccentric with all its quirky decorations. To add to the pleasantness the cocktails were amazing. This place was a testimony to the fact that if there are 2 things Shoreditch is good at, its Cocktails and Street Art. Their menu featured local art with QR codes that you can scan on your phone and get walking directions to the art. How about that!

Thank you jet-lag, we were up and ready early. As we walked through the empty streets of Shoreditch, we came across the Albion, recommended by a friend, a posh looking brunch place with mixed reviews. With a flip of a coin and the smell of buttery croissants pervading the air from a Pret A Manger nearby our confusion was solved. Pret is a chain of coffee and breakfast shop all over London. Everything in there tasted much better than your average Starbucks. So don’t be afraid to step in when you see one during your visit.

As a Harry Potter fan and some coffee in my system, I was all animated to run my trolley through the walls of platform 9 ¾ station. A quick ride on the tube to King’s cross and there it was. This is the moment of truth for an HP fan. Can the trolley run into the wall? Can I escape this unruly world and start a new life in the world of wizardry? One can only wish but the scene can make it closer than I thought. With the crimson red Gryffindor scarf around my neck, blood rushing, heart pounding and with a flick of the wand, I cried ‘Expecto Patronum’ as I felt transported in my head.

Back in the real world, we got some souvenirs from the nearby HP shop and began to exit to the street. Right outside is the magnificent St Pancras International station. The same station where Harry and Ron flew Arthur Weasley’s ford to Hogwarts in the Chamber of secrets. 

I’m already in love with London!

The Queen’s walk runs along the river. The scenic walk is about a good ten-to-fifteen minutes from the South Bank to the Westminster bridge. All the touristy and best of London's’ attractions begin here. The London Eye stands tall right before the bridge through the long queues and the gray sky averted us.

The coming panoramic view was possibly the most evangelic and majestic. The bridge’s Victorian architecture plays along with the rest of the city’s historic elements. Across the river is the iconic Palace of Westminster and UK’s Parliament. The Gothic looking building rises tall and wide. With its towering arches and windows, it is as beautiful as it is intimidating. The rightmost tower is the tallest and world famous, Big Ben. At this point, it’s a sensory overload. We stood there a while trying to take it all in. Breathing the moment.

The west side of London is classic, affluent, crowded and a treat to the eyes.

Across the bridge was a bunch of towers, museums and Palaces and high profile and famous buildings like the Westminster Abbey, the Jewel Tower, Churchill war rooms and too much more to count. We quickly walked in and out of the towers and moved towards the residence of the Prime Minister of the UK also known as 10 Downing Street. The place has been the house of the Lords for more than a couple of centuries now.

Right behind the residence is the house of guards. At noon every day is when the guards change. We were right on time to watch the parade. The change of guards is performed in a ceremonial way and a sight to watch in the vast the horse guards parade ground behind the prime minister’s residence as the guards’ march towards the Queen’s home, The Buckingham Palace.

West of London has the prettiest parks in all of London. Hyde Park and Regent Park are the most touristy and coveted park in the city. We walked to St. James Park, a local’s favorite. The lake is one of the prominent features of the green park and it is beautiful. There are also some wildlife around, pelicans and some old cottages that add to the quaintness. The walk ends at the Victoria Memorial and right behind it stands one of the majestic palaces in all of history that houses the first royal family of the world and is currently the residence of Queen Elizabeth, Buckingham Palace. We couldn’t catch a glimpse of Lilibet but this was worth a photo.

Overwhelmed by all the extravagant architecture and historic monuments we did forget to feed ourselves and it’s now time to find something. Not far from all these attractions is one of London’s famous west-side shopping center, Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street. It is the junction connecting the Westminster district and the west-end. It’s the Times Square of London with all the flashing bill boards, shopping stores and tourists walking around. The place has got all the international brands from electronics to fashion clothing.

As we navigate all the frantic shoppers we ran into one of London’s oldest (may be even in all of United Kingdom’s) Indian restaurant - Veeraswamy. The inside of the restaurant looks like a Maharaja’s palace. The place was filled with opulence. Their menu is not complex but the three course north Indian meal is perfection, traditional and served like royalty. This place is a must visit as long as you’re ok shell out some cash.

Behind all the craziness of Piccadilly, Oxford Circus and Regent St are the secret interior market streets of Carnaby with the quaint cobblestoned streets, filled with boutique stores and music. It’s almost another world that’s snuck in between all the madness.

It will be blasphemy if one didn’t try the most traditional food of the place one visits. So, when in England, fish and chips is a must.  We picked our bookmarks and found the Golden Hind to be nearby. The place is tiny but one of the places that don’t soak the fish in burning oil until its soul gets charred. I got myself some nice beer-battered, fried cod and chunky fish.

Another fictional character, akin to this city, came to my mind as we stroll the streets. We quickly jumped on the Piccadilly circus tube and got off at the Baker Street station. Yes, the mastermind, the best detective, the master of disguises and logical reasoning, Sherlock Holmes. The address is 221B Baker street and the detective’s house has been converted into a museum with all these clothes, props used in the movies and other original artifacts. As an ardent fan, this was a must see for me.

That was quite a tiring day after a whole lot of walking, sightseeing and waiting in lines. Our local friends helped us by setting up a reservation at E&O on Notting Hill/Portobello Road. It’s always a pleasure meeting old friends during travels. We were late to Portobello road market as the owners were wrapping up for the day. It is apparently lively and overflowing during the carnival days and hours. The dinner was satisfying. With rejuvenated energy in our legs, we strolled through the roads. It was starry-eyed night in the neighborhood filled with classic vibrant colored Victorian houses. Amongst those were also some celebrity places. A Julia Roberts’ fan would probably appreciate this more. The book-store from the movie Notting hill and the house with the blue door that was filmed in the movie still remain intact.

There some places in the city for which you need to know the right people to get into or you go stand in line before anyone else. Obviously, we didn’t know anyone we can hit up to get into one of the busiest breakfast places in the city so we were there at 7 am, on the clock. Duck & Waffle at the Heron Tower has one of the striking views of the city from the 50th floor of the tower. The interiors are filled with graffiti and cocktail glasses giving the place a classy and rich look.

The food was so-so.

Our next stop that morning, Camden town, was our favorite of all.

The retro neighborhood has set apart itself from the rest of the districts. It’s been a haven for pop culture. Camden is known for its markets that attract a lot of tourists. With art, sculptures, mohawks, old-school pubs and cafes the place is flamboyant. To add more brightness to the color, the district also has a canal running along called the Regent’s canal. A short ride on one of those narrow boats from Camden will take you to another scenic place, little Venice.

Strangely we never felt subdued on this trip so far. The next place tops the one before. And that’s what we felt when we came across the river again to see the iconic Tower Bridge. At this time let me make one thing clear, tower bridge is not the London Bridge. They are different. The tower bridge is much more decorated. The bascules of the bridge raised to allow ships to come through.

On the North bank of the river is the Tower of London museum. The tower has had numerous roles over time, from being a keep, an office, a residence to a palace. It is huge and might take almost a whole day to go through it completely. The tower also holds the crown jewels of the royal family. The Tower of London museum and the British museum are built lavishly and worth the visit.

Theatre is the fabric of this land. After all, it is the birthplace of Shakespeare (which by the way is a historic village not too far from here and on our list, Stratford-upon-Avon). And so we wanted to end our day at a playhouse in Covent Garden. It is the theatre district in the borough of Westminster that is flooded with grand, elegant, old but contemporary looking theatres. As we walked to towards the theatre we came across Neal’s yard, another neat place within Covent Garden. It’s a quirky, picturesque area consisting of a narrow lane leading to a small courtyard, with cafés and independent shops. It feels more like a village than the heart of London and is usually very busy. Even if you don’t eat or shop here, it’s still worth a visit, if only to soak up the atmosphere.

We had our tickets booked online at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, one of the oldest playhouse built in the 17th century. The act of the day was Queen Anne - A historical play about women, drama, politics, sex, and power. The performances were compelling and I could totally see someone spending a ton of money watching one of these every week.

By the end of our day, we were tired, happy and satiated but we were not done. The rest of the trip is going to be slow, picturesque, filled with nature, sweet smelling air and a lot of driving on the right side of the road through those notorious roundabouts. But little did we know that the English countryside is nothing short of brilliance compared to the city of London.

The journey to the city in the clouds began, ironically, with a heavy chance of clouds in the forecast that week. We missed our connecting flight to Lima from Los Angeles in an unexpected fashion. Our first leg from San Francisco to Sacramento (to Los Angeles) took off in the wee hours and after an hour when we are about to land the pilot got some jitters, decided to not land the flight as it was too foggy and re-routed us right back to San Francisco. For once, it was not good to be back. After many hours of repetitive customer service calls and scrutinized questioning we got our flights re-scheduled to fly directly to Lima early the next day.

I was ready with my sunglasses, hat, some sunblock lotion. To my dismay, the weather was not close to even the slightly chilly San Francisco summers. At this time of the year, on Christmas eve, one would think it is going to be scorching hot anywhere in the southern hemisphere but not the case here in Peru. Apparently, the best times to visit are the months of March and April when the rain god doesn’t make a visit. So thanks to the cloudy weather and to United, we were not able to spend more time in Lima. The sun eventually came out and we spent the day strolling in the districts of Miraflores and Barranco. Both these districts have a bohemian feel and look to them with vibrant cafes, bars and coastal views so we were happy to just be strolling around. After a day of lazy walking, we retired, ready to leave Lima for Cusco the next day.

The landing in Cusco was a bit shaky but the city is nothing less to spectacular once we set our foot on the ground. The view is breath-taking, a Spanish colonial architecture with the backdrop of dazzling southern Andes running all around the valley. The city is heavenly! No really, I mean it. The city is at more than 11,000 feet from sea level. The altitude most probably will bother you. It might take a few days to acclimate for a few and for the rest you may never get over it. But not to worry, there is a saviour. Coca tea, an herbal tea, available everywhere in the city and free in most of the restaurants happens to be illegal in the States. You know it has got to be good when it is illegal. Coca tea, native to Peru and some other South American countries, is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant, which is also the extract used in cocaine. The tea though is a mild stimulant. Nevertheless, I took a hit every time I can get a cup of it. The indigenous always knew what is good for us.

Once the capital of the Incan Empire, Cusco, is now old. The streets reminded me of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico: clean, cobblestoned but less modern and even may be a bit abandoned. The architecture is quite similar to other Spanish colonies. The city centre, otherwise called Plaza de Armes is quaint, touristy and crowded. The centre is filled with souvenir stores, bars and recently constructed fancy restaurants. The locals were one of the most friendly people I’ve met in a while. No one is trying to swindle you. All they look for is just enough to feed themselves and their minimalistic lifestyle needs.

The summer sun came out and it’s now time to hydrate. What’s better than alcohol? but some of the tropical fresh fruit juices are worth a try. Fresh fruits like Naranja and Camu-Camu, made into juice with some vodka at the local bars were absolutely refreshing. We sipped and walked around the narrow, stone-walled and confusing streets of Cusco. A quick look at the restaurant scene in town and we could also see that the organics industry, surprisingly, has caught up with Cusco possibly with a high number of affluent tourists visiting the land. There is a chain of restaurants in the old town that claim to serve only organic and sustainable food. We tried a couple and the food is pretty impressive. Ceviches, another culinary extravaganza that is indigenous to Peru. Limo, bar and restaurant, near the centre of Plaza de Armes, make them great. Fresh meaty fish with the Aji sauces and key lime gave the perfect spice and tanginess to the dish. This was hands-down one of the best ceviches.

I’m sure at some point in your life you’d have tasted a pisco sour at some random bar. For those who have not, with as much surprise as regrets, Pisco, is a strictly Peruvian liquor, a sort of distilled wine with a great dry taste. It is something one should definitely do while in Peru. A couple blocks from the Cusco cathedral is Museo del Pisco. It is a museum, with a tour of pisco history and tasting. As much as I liked gulping down the six glasses of different and great tasting Pisco shots the side of corn “Choclo” was absolutely amazing. This deep fried, crunchy, salty and jumbo-sized corn that is available pretty much in every bar as the perfect snack in Cusco is tasty and indigenous to Peru.

Earlier the same day, as we explored the town more and noticed that there is an abundance of forest in and around Cusco. Saksaywaman is another archaeological site just a bit north of the city. The structures are built with huge monolithic stones. There is similar walled stones structure within the city of Cusco. After a hike through the forest, a visit to the pre-Columbian art museum (Museo De Arte PreColombino) and later wandering through the artisanal markets of Cusco combined with our very satisfying Pisco tasting experience we hit the hay quite early that night and were ready to hop on the train next morning towards Machu Picchu.

Travelling in South America is nothing like waking up and walking into the airport in your comfortable sweatpants, it is exhausting yet very satisfying. Be punctual and fearless. It was surprising how limited the resources and infrastructure are at some of these highly visited tourist countries. Thankfully for us, the Peru rail took off on time and it was a pleasant ride with beautiful views of the Andes.

The town of Aguas Calientes is ever so small with a view of the hills cradling in the clouds in every direction. The town has no economy for itself other than from tourists who are visiting the ancient sanctuary. Food is nothing spectacular in this city but cheap and perhaps true to its indigenous roots. It’s mostly just rice and potatoes. Almost every restaurant or cafe serves the same mediocre tasting food as if to satiate the palates of the widest variety of tourists that pass by here. Souvenir shopping is the only other activity possible in the town while you try to navigate through the winding alleys power-packed with wildly colorful woollen gear artfully made from llama and alpaca wool suitable for all ages, all sizes, all in one place.

Amidst all the cafe choices in town, we found The Treehouse, a quaint gourmet restaurant, possibly the only one in town with that international gourmet focus, that made some delicious alpaca burgers. Alpacas are cute animals local to this part of the world, they are like the smaller cousin of llamas and you’ll find them on the streets pretty much everywhere both in Cusco and Aguas Calientes. Alpaca meat is also quite famous and ever since I tasted it has become one of my favorite. Naturally lean, sweet and juicy. It is unfortunate, alpacas are not easy to find in the States. If you’re meat-eater you’d love it.

And now for the biggest day of our trip, a bus to our final destination, one of the greatest wonders of the world: Machu Picchu! The hike is about couple hours and doable but the heavy clouds followed us all the way from Lima. We decided to not waste any time and took the shortcut. The bus ride was a bit shaky but the views are too good to let your fear take over. In about 30 minutes or so we reached the top. 

As we climbed the stone steps one of the most magical panoramic views unfolded right in front of our eyes as the clouds floated away for a few moments. It’s huge, bigger than I thought it would be. It is truly one of the wonders of the world. It is a postcard view indeed. Demands all of your attention to just take it in and stare with awe and astonishment. As the clouds dance around and come and go in slow motion you feel compelled to just pause life and stare at the peaceful beautiful activity on top of the ancient ruins.

Hiking the ruins takes about a half-day and it is totally worth it. The place felt spiritual and you’d feel at peace as you walk through the roads, climb into the small dens of this stunning, stonewalled classical Incan architecture. The views are brilliant from every part of the citadel. It is intriguing when you think about how they constructed the site without any of the machinery that are available now. It is also said that there are astrological significances to the construction of the citadel itself. A very intriguing history that you will see dozens of tour guides describing to their tour groups as you walk around. The place can get pretty crowded around the middle of the day. We were glad we got in early and got to spend time walking, spiritually awakened, wondering how life would have been at Machu Picchu 500 years ago. I personally feel life would have been much simple and satisfying. It reflects even today, from the people who walk around the streets of Cusco and Aguas Calientes. The most friendly and cheerful people living as though in another time, a simpler time and place that is blissfully removed from the hustle of our modern world. But, you are reminded fairly quickly that we are evolving and soon evolution will take away the little left gratification one has for life that these people still seem to have. As a consequence, humans have sadly no choice but to almost turn a blind eye towards the simple beauty that is within us and around us.

Reflecting on those thoughts and admiring the quiet majestic mountains all around, fully satisfied with our adventures, we took our bus back to the village. With whatever little time was left, we wandered the colorful markets of Aguas Calientes and retired so we can get the first train back to the airport the next morning. Ready to take off from Cusco for our long flight home, in our comfortable sweatpants. It felt like time travel. A very fulfilling trip indeed but would I say I am coming home enlightened in fundamental ways? That may be a little questionable. I would definitely say that I left enchanted from this ancient world wonder.

The trip to Montreal was an unforeseen one in a good and satisfying way. It is one of those places you go and you don’t want to return to the other monotonous, stressful and your usual existence. For the entirety of our time there I kept wondering why are people trying to get out of this wonderful colonial vibe with full of culture? The world is on steroids now and there is a lot of fear in people about missing out. There is a crisis here and this is indicative of things happening in other places in the world. The À Louer (For Rent) sign boards are all around and one starts to wonder, wait, where are all the people going? Montreal commerce is not doing great and families are migrating to Toronto, Vancouver or to the States to have a better state of life, at least economically. Hopefully one gets to experience Montreal the way it is meant to be before it’s forgotten.

The flight from San Francisco to Montreal was swift and comfortable. It was a 30 minute quick and cheap bus ride to old town. I started to fall in love with the city the moment I set my eyes on classic old, cobblestoned, grey-tinged scenery. We get off the bus and my ears are filled with this sweet and flowing language. The town looked very French, in my own sense. The French presence is the most here than other places in Canada. May be I will revisit the article after a visit to France. Mount Royal here we come

I immediately notice that it is a very walkable city. We throw our bags in a hotel and start to hit the road. Old Montreal is where the old port once existed. The city, once upon a time, mostly ruled by the French but switched hands between the English after the battle for the ports. The port is preserved well but not much active now. The downtown looked classic, historic and yes, with cobbled streets. The Architecture is classic and marvellous. They somehow seemed to have maintained the feel of old city. There are horse carriages pretty much everywhere that takes you around the city if you are willing to spill some cash.

Our first stop was this crowded café, Olive et Gourmando on Rue St-Paul Ouest. The scent of baked bread attracting our receptors and drawing us in. I later realized that every single cafe around smelt of puffy, warm bread. The Croissant-Fromage was perfection, as expected. Apparently the place is a big deal amongst the locals. With our satisfied tummies, we hit a few museums within the city. The Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History, Pointe-à-callière, was my favorite, with a 4-D 15-minute movie about the history of the city from early 1500’s, French empire, Battle of Montreal to the current state of affairs. The Centre d’historie de Museum not so much.

After a tiring but savoring walk through the vibrant city in warm and balmy weather, we hit our AirBnB and meet with our other Friend. The studio was artsy!

That night our friend insisted on this restaurant, quite a ways from our place so we took an Uber. Apparently, Uber is illegal in the state but you’re not in trouble. The place had rave ratings and was packed. Heavily meat focussed, Pied de Cochon on Duluth Ave, is an expensive and best known for their Foie De Gras. Tasty. Exquisite! And for the night, nothing good ends without alcohol so we end up at La Champagnerie, a hip place, for some drinks and music.

The next morning it was an early rise and shine. Place Jacques-Cartier is an amazing place with a patio. After some eggs and some strong sangria we strolled out to the Ville-Marie square. The borough is at the center of the city and is lively! The place is almost an historic site filled with old-architecture cathedrals with the Notre-Damn Basilica standing majestically at the center of the square. The lavishly built cathedral is one worth a visit.

If anyone asks me for the best to place to visit in the month of July nothing other than Montreal will come to my mind. Music, like food, is an essential ingredient for culture. It says a lot about the people who live there, their expressions and what they stand for. And what can be more expressive than Jazz?

The timing can’t be more right. If you’re Jazz fan, you’re going to be in a world of pleasure. The world famous Montreal’s jazz festival starts in the first week of July and goes on for a week every single year. The nooks and corners of the city are filled with famed international Jazz artists. Most of the performances are free and the open places converted to auditoriums for the festival. On a sunny afternoon, euphony in the air, we roamed around the music-filled city. While our ears being pleased why leave the other senses to rot so I got myself some of the finest - Poutine and Bloody Caesars, when in Canada!

The road to Quebec city is about 3-hour drive from Montreal. And once you’re there you immediately feel yourself drifting into the medieval times in history. I’d not be surprised if it’s one of the oldest towns in the Americas. The town’s culture, like Montreal, comes due to frequent change in settlements between the French and the British. There is greenery, pastures, filled with parks and I’m sure no amount of that does justice to the winters folks face here.

We stayed at one of the old classics, Clarendon Hotel, in old Quebec right behind the massive Chateau Frontenac. The view is picturesque. It feels like there is a constant classical symphony playing in your ears when you take those strolls around the town. The inside of the Frontenac, the bar below and the boardwalk behind the chateau is a treat to your eyes. Old Quebec is divided into upper and lower town by a steep row of stairs. The lower town is more quaint, filled with boutique stores, old architecture and more local people. Not so surprisingly, food is amazing anywhere in the town.

How can one not taste the most Canadian thing when there. Thick and heavy, lightly roasted, Canadian bacon at La Buche at Rue Saint Louis was nothing but perfect. The trip ended with a slow ferry ride to Levis Island just for the view. The skyline is spectacular. Another reason to get on this ferry was the chocolate factory across town. Chocolat Favoris is a factory and an outlet with decadent desserts, for anyone who wants to indulge in their afternoon sugar rush.

With our hearts and tummies filled and our phones depleted of memory we packed our bags. Good bye Montreal, until next time, which I’m sure to be.

Cheap travel is tough, since most of us in California are law-abiding citizens and pay taxes on time there is a dire need to look for places that give you the most bang for the buck, in my case, at this time, I was looking for cheap place with nice food, less annoying people, warm weather and some beaches. With not much time to plan ahead we wanted something that uses less brain power and our paid holidays.

After the recent hurricane disaster, the city has been trying to rejuvenate its tourism and economy. Los Cabos is just a three hour travel from San Francisco. We picked up a direct flight ticket a few days earlier, looked for an all-inclusive resort to reduce hassle for the first few days and learn from the people before we can step out. And to stay away from all commercial life, we booked another small hotel near downtown, walking distance to the marina, for the second half of the trip to see the real and un-painted version of Cabo.

The flight was quick but not the commute to the resort. They are every where, all over this place, not the cabies but the time share agents. They are really good at luring people into a trap, drill them for a four-five hour of their time and in the end make them put a down payment for pretty much a house that you’ll own forever and brag about with your friends but hardly ever see it. Dont even bother if you’re not interested and go for the taxi. With our limited Spanish vocabulary and rather poor grammar we got in to shared ride. The guy made sure we were the last person to get dropped.

After the tiring ride, I was happy to see the resort and strangely, liked the crowded place. Went to the bar straight away, I need some alcohol now. I asked the bartender to make a pina colada, can you think of anything else. The drink was horrible but it was free so I ll take it. We stopped at one of the restaurants, there seem to be a few of them, the place was wide spread and had good food. It was on the commercial side of things but everything tasted fresh. I did try the sushi for a taste of the fish and later sank in the guacomole and salsa baked tilapia. We headed to our room and was received by a mini bar, which is of course, free. We opened the back doors and let the fresh air and the noise of the ocean waves get inside as I made myself another drink. The mini bar had all the tequila’s you could think off. Relaxed in the cold breeze and ready to be wow’d by the scenic view from our hotel room in the morning, it was time to go out and checkout the resort, The Riu Palace.

It was beautiful, the view is simply breath-taking. With huge mountain like structures and couple of cruise ships on the water, the sight was majestic from the moment I opened my eyes as I was lying on the bed. Special care is taken to make the resort look quaint and spanish looking. We both loved the old architecture. The lawns made some parts look commercial but overall I was happy with the place. Once we got down, I could see the fine gold sand leading to the water right across a brunch place. It was time for my mimosa. The morning breakfast is nothing close to spanish or mexican food. It was pancakes and french toast so I thought I ll have them make some Chilaquiles for me and it was nothing but yummy, the ingredients couldn’t be any fresh. Right after, we planned to get in to the beach for a walk. The resort had a massage hut on the beach and thats not something you find often on a beach so we had a nice massage (On hindsight, it was most the expensive activity). I had a couple more recommended drinks as I sat at the infinity pool but none of them filled my appetite for alcohol.

The evening, after a romantic sunset cruise, which I felt is a must as they take to you southern most tip of the land, If you were to go any closer you are officially heading towards the Antarctic. It was thanksgiving dinner that night. People were dressed up at the buffet. It was one of the finest dinner I’ve had. I loved that gravy! These guys know how to cook but apparently didn’t know how to measure. I was not able to get a second serving. The clubbing scene is pretty much absent so we ended that night early after a couple of drinks.

It’s now time to get to the wild, we took a cab and off we go to the unprotected parts. Apart from few a people who were trying get some money out of you the place didn’t seem to be unsafe. For heaven’s sake there is nothing else to do there and I felt like helping the locals. The new place was way smaller and in the middle of downtown and close to the Marina. Now for some real food and the first thing that came to my mind was the ceviche with some cerveza (local beer). Food is not cheaper but its definitely tastier and more close to the mexican food I have ever tasted. I have to say something about the nachos here, they were less crisp and more flavorful. The ceviche, nachos and guacamole were a hit.

The next day was a self-guided tour. It was warm and humid with the temperature in like mid 80’s. The downtown is pretty much on the shoreline so you can walk by to pretty much anywhere. We walked through the mall as I was sipping on my beer. The marina or ‘The Dock’ seems to be the most happening place. The next item on the list was shrimp tacos. One of my favorites and I was not at all disappointed. We thanked the guy and left for our day of snorkelling.

For no good reason most of the activities in Cabo involves free alcohol. We got on the catamaran with another bunch of people and set sail. This was the best part of the trip. With some sort of tight mango liquor, we sat on the hull cruising into the ocean. If you were to get down here and wanted to snorkel gimme a ring so I can recommend you this guy, he is fuckin’ awesome! The fishes were amazing at the bottom but what equally made me happy was the tuna on board after a tiring swim. The plate was filled with simply tuna and corn, nothing could possibly beat this mouth savoring dish. Never had that combination before and now I’m never going to forget that one. Apparently the guy catches and cooks. I licked my plate. We drank and danced as we sailed back. The small hotel had a hot jacuzzi and we just sank our bodies in there before we got to bed. it was another day in paradise.

On the last day only thing left to do was to check out the lover’s beach. It was a quick boat ride from ‘playa Medano’ and the beach is on the ocean. The current near the beach is very high and its almost un-swimmable. I was not going to get into the water. They drop people on the beach. You take your towel and more importantly your bottle of wine and sit down, relax and watch the land far away. On the other side of the very much walkable island, the beach is longer, pleasant and nice to walk. Ironically, this other side is called the divorce beach.

The dinner that night was at a table a few feet from the waves. An expensive, romantic and authentic Mexican el restaurante called 'the office’. I got the catch of the day, the jumbo shrimp cooked in a spicy gravy was quite amazing. The night ended slowly with some music, nice food and margarita.

Finding a ride back to the airport from the city was dreadful but we stuck tight to our budget and made it happen. The flight back was long due to a detour but the trip was nothing less than amazing. Now I only wonder if should’ve listened to the time-share agent rambling because I’d love for a place in Cabo.