The Recollection Diaries: Italy

My recollection Strongest memory: On one of our last days in Florence, my family all had independent activities planned. The others were doing various day trips, but Andy and I wanted to stay local and do something relaxing. We packed a picnic blanket, our sketchbooks (to clarify, I’m not an artist and the occasions on which…

Three majestic day trips from Lucerne

Anyone planning a trip to the quaint city of Lucerne in Switzerland’s interior will no doubt be faced with this question at some point. From Lucerne, there are three popular day trips to different mountains in the area – Mt Rigi, Mt Pilatus and Mt Titlis. All three mountains offer stunning vistas of the surrounding…

Switzerland on the cheap!

Okay, so it feels like the underlying theme of all my Switzerland posts is that Switzerland is expensive. It is. But it is still entirely possible to travel through Switzerland and not burn a gaping hole in your travel budget for the entire year. How do I know? Because we did it. And I would…

The Recollection Diaries: Switzerland

The snowy white peaks and sprawling green meadows of Switzerland were calling our names. First up we were bound for Bern, the Swiss capital. Our backpacks laden with bread, vegetables, snacks, pasta and rice, we crossed into the land of chocolate, mountains and watches, well-prepared for whatever excessive prices lay before us. We learnt quickly…

Hakone

An absolutely serene getaway from the action-packed capital, Hakone is scenic, slower paced and far more relaxed than Tokyo. It is famous basically for three things: Mt Fuji and its surrounding landscape, onsen and art museums. And our interests sat in that order. Getting there was easy, with our JR passes we could get a…

Gettin’ round in ‘Lanka

Transport in Sri Lanka may, at first thought, seem troublesome, but it really wasn’t that bad. It is a great way to see some stunning scenery as you get from place to place – it’s basically killing two birds with one stone! My first pick of transport is always the train. Unlike flying, you don’t need…

South Coast

When we visited the South Coast we based ourselves at Mirissa and Galle, where it was to make a few day trips from. Arriving at Mirissa by bus from Ella involves the bus terminating at Matara and then catching a tuk-tuk onwards to Mirissa (or whatever beach you are headed to). You can also bus…

Kandy

 The second biggest city in Sri Lanka (after Colombo), and at least my second biggest disappointment of the trip (although I’m not actually sure of what was my biggest disappointment, so maybe it was my first). It was just underwhelming; definitely not somewhere where you would want to spend several days. The train trip to…

Mumbai

Those who have read Shantaram would understand my excitement in visiting Mumbai. I couldn’t wait to explore the sights experienced by Shantaram during his time in Mumbai. Knowing this, you have you to empathise with the distraught I felt when I found out we only had one full day to spend in Mumbai. I was…

Bundi

Bundi is located in India’s northwest, and is most famed for its beautiful architecture. It has several ornate forts, palaces and step-well reservoirs which are known as baoris. I celebrated my birthday here, and wow, what a place to turn 27. I think it was the hottest day we had in India, clocking in at…