Istanbul is one of the oldest cities in the region, established in the 7th century BC (or earlier) as Lygos, which became popular as Byzantium after the roman conquest in the 2nd century AD and came to be known as Constantinople in the 4th century AD after Constantine, the Roman emperor and finally changed to…

The flight from Cairo landed in Amman around 1.30 pm. Since we had bought Jordan pass online, we did not have to pay any extra visa fees. We bought a SIM card, took our rental car and started towards Petra or Wadi Musa. Apart from Petra, our itinerary included a night in Wadi Rum and…

We reached Cairo early morning around 6.15 am and were welcomed to the “Land of Pharaohs” by our guide from Egypt Tours Portal. The airport formalities were very swiftly completed as we had our e-visas. A representative from our private tour company was waiting to assist us with the passport control formalities. 2 points to…

This part of the middle east, the region of Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Turkey, is steeped with rich history dating back 4600 years, has witnessed evolution of civilization, been the centre point of many religions, has immense natural beauty and of course has many wonders of the world which bear testimony to the immense creativity…

France – Italy : Paris, Nice, Venice, Florence, Rome & Pompeii 6 Cities in 14 days : Apr 18 to May 3 Summary Itinerary : Weather : Cool in the morning and nights – light jacket required; Day time temperatures around 15 – 20 C. Long pants recommended; Expect rain, carry umbrella or Poncho. Excellent…

Once again, I was looking for exciting places to visit in Dec – Jan, some place which would allow me to escape the Toronto freezing temperatures and have lot more than just beaches. Portugal, with 10 – 18 C day temperatures, treasure of historical monuments (some dating back to the Roman times), beautiful cities and…

Hawaii Island (Big Island) in 12 days The reason I decided to visit Hawaii was, in one word, Volcanoes, to be more precise, Active Volcanoes. Just the thought of seeing red hot molten rock flowing and seeing it from a close distance, as close as 2 feet, got me in top planning mode. I read…

Summary : 13 days; Fly Toronto – Munich; Rent car in Munich for 11 days; Drive to Salzburg – Hallstatt (night stay); Hallstatt to Vienna via Melk; Vienna stay 3 nights; Mozart concert; Vienna to Budapest in Hungary – stay 3 nights; Local folk music and dance; Budapest to Bratislava to Prague ( stay 3 nights); …

Like me, if you are a mountain lover and are sorely missing them in Ontario, places like Rattlesnake point in Milton are a good place to experience a few ups and downs which will give you the feeling of being in mountains, surrounded by forests. Its within an hour’s drive from anywhere in the GTA….

A trip to Vancouver and Canadian Rockies ranks high in everyone’s bucket list. I always wanted to do a road trip through the Rockies, one, because of my fascination for mountains, two, because of the breathtaking beauty, heightened by the pristine forests and lakes and three, because of the wildlife. There are at least ten…