Transition of Thoughts

Weaving thoughts into words

Month: July 2016 Page 1 of 2

Oman Diaries: Royal Opera House Muscat

Royal Opera House Muscat - Doesn't it look majestic?

Royal Opera House Muscat – Doesn’t it look majestic?

Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) is Oman’s premier center of music, art, culture and more. It can seat upto 1100 people for a show.

The lovely entrance to ROHM

The lovely entrance to ROHM

Since it’s opening in 2011, ROHM has conducted numerous shows featuring artistes from across the planet. The ROHM compound also includes gardens, restaurants, theaters and more.

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Moscow Diaries: A visit to the legendary Eliseevsky grocery store

Eliseevsky Store - Does this look like a grocery store?

Does this look like a grocery store?

Are you wondering what’s special in a grocery store that am writing a blog post about it? Eliseevsky store at 14, Tverskaya Street in Moscow is one of the oldest stores in the city. It was built as part of a historical building and opened to the public in 1901. It’s actually named “Gastronomia Eliseevsky“.

Can you imagine the work involved in constructing such a store more than 110 years ago?

Can you imagine the work involved in constructing such a store more than 110 years ago?

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Singapore Diaries: Christmas in Singapore

Christmas in Singapore

Christmas in Singapore

Christmas in Singapore is celebrated with much fanfare and is particularly reflected in the elaborate lighting for the various malls across Orchard Street and the rest of the city.

It’s as though each mall is a prop and dressed to impress to the maximum. There are competitions every Christmas for the best dressed mall of the year.

Orchard Street is generally full of people singing, dancing and taking lots of photographs.

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Oman Diaries: Lunch at The Cave restaurant

The Cave welcomes us

The Cave welcomes us

The Cave is a group of about 8 restaurants in the heart of Muscat serving cuisines from across the world since 2014.

The eclectic fare on offer from across the world

The eclectic fare on offer from across the world

Situated at the top of a hill, the restaurant offers lovely views of the city and beyond.

Views from outside The Cave

Views from outside The Cave

Views of the Arabian Sea from outside The Cave

Views of the Arabian Sea from outside The Cave

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Kerala Diaries: An early morning at Kovalam Beach

Kovalam - An epitome of tranquility as the first lights of the day brighten the sky

Kovalam – An epitome of tranquility as the first lights of the day brighten the sky

Kovalam Beach is considered one of the famous beaches in India. It is located about 15kms from the center of Trivandrum.

The numerous restaurants and coffee shops dotting the beach landscape

The numerous restaurants and coffee shops dotting the beach landscape

While the beach is quite commercialized in terms of restaurants, boat operators and the likes, it was fairly tranquil and peaceful during my visit. It was also quite clean than most other beaches in India.

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Moscow Diaries: Christmas nights in Moscow

Christmas in Moscow

Christmas in Russia and about 15 other countries is celebrated every year on January 7th rather than December 25th. The Russians start their year with around 10 vacation days which begin with the New Year celebrations and culminate in the Christmas festivities.

Christmas in Moscow

The primary reason for this is the fact that the Russian orthodox church follows the Julian calendar which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.

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Singapore Diaries: An evening at Gardens by the Bay

The Supertrees welcome you to Gardens by the Bay

The Supertrees welcome you to Gardens by the Bay

Gardens by the Bay is one of the iconic landmarks of Singapore situated right next to the Marina Bay Sands in about 100 hectares of reclaimed land.

Marina Bay Sands - right opposite to Gardens by the Bay

Marina Bay Sands – right opposite to Gardens by the Bay

It consists of the Flower Dome which spans an area of around 1.2 hectares and is regarded as the world’s largest glass greenhouse consisting of flowers and plants found in regions as varied as the Mediterranean, South America, Australia, South Africa and more.

In the Cloud Forest, the cool moist air relaxes you

In the Cloud Forest, the cool moist air relaxes you

Then, there is the Cloud Forest which is a bit smaller than the Flower Dome but it’s cool moist conditions make you feel that you are somewhere in South East Asia.

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Oman Diaries: The roads of Oman..

Somewhere in the interiors of Oman

Somewhere in the interiors of Oman

Oman is up there in the top 10 countries with the best quality roads in the world. And why am I not surprised?

On the way to Muscat from the interiors

On the way to Muscat from the interiors

Being born and brought up in Oman, I have had the pleasure of being driven on smoothest of highways.

The lovely Baushar - Amerat road constructed by cutting through the hills

The lovely Baushar – Amerat road constructed by cutting through the hills

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Indonesia Diaries: A weekend at Batam

Batam - Serene and Peaceful

Batam – Serene and Peaceful

Batam and Bintan – two small islands part of the Riau archipelago in Indonesia are both famous weekend getaways for individuals and other tourists from Singapore. Since both of them are less than 200km away, they are easily accessible from mainland Singapore by a short ferry ride.

Our Batamfast ferry

Our Batamfast ferry

There are various deals for trips to Batam which you can find on sites like Groupon. They typically offer a hotel stay (2D1N should be more than enough) and a ferry ride (to and fro from Singapore). Some do offer all the meals while others only offer breakfast. Our package included all the meals. The hotel was fairly decent as well. Some deals also offer city tours. Do check the fine print to know what is and what is not included in the tour packages in order to avoid any surprises.

Our abode

Our abode

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Singapore Diaries: A visit to the Macritchie Reservoir

Welcome to the Macritchie Reservoir

Welcome to the Macritchie Reservoir

I have always heard people crib about the fact that Singapore doesn’t have anything natural to offer when it comes to tourism. Ironically, as of 2005, Singapore has about 2000 hectares of park area which is equal to about 70 km. But then, Singapore isn’t generally promoted as a destination for eco-tourism simply because the authorities believe that they can offer much more to the tourist in other areas like shopping, man-made attractions and more.

Doesn't it feel like the backwaters in Kerala?

Doesn’t it feel like the backwaters in Kerala?

The tranquil surroundings..

The tranquil surroundings..

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