Prague is up there as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe with its colorful buildings, historic squares and lovely people.
The capital of Czechia is often referred to as the heart of Europe.
If you are looking for nature and green spaces, then you are definitely in the right place. These are some of the pictures from my visit to Prague.
Linking to Wordless Wednesday, Skywatch Friday and On the Hunt for Joy Challenge: Add an element of nature
Who doesn’t love the unknown? Who doesn’t love the mystery of travelling and exploring a new place? Who doesn’t love the delight in meeting people from different and trying out a variety of cuisines? What if I tell you, that you are going on a blind date with the world to some far off place which may or may not be in your bucket list, how would you react? Nervous? Scared? Apprehensive? Excited?
If someone were to take me to a place I haven’t even researched one bit, I would initially be nervous for sure wondering where am I going. But once I reach there, it would be a delight to explore by going with the flow. For many of us, its important to research all the hotspots of any location before we visit. It ensures that there are no surprises. But for others like me, while some research is fine, I like to keep my agenda fairly open. I feel that it’s important to get in the mood to see the sights and sounds. In my view if one just sticks to a specific planned itinerary, then the real fun of a trip is lost. It feels more like a course which needs to get done with rather than a trip to explore the unknown.
From the time we Indians are born, we are always taught the tenet of “Unity in Diversity“. This is based on the fact that though we have a number of different religions, regions, castes, languages, food items and more in the country, we still live in a united India. Yes, everything is not as perfect as it was intended with discrimination at various levels but then we still celebrate each others festivals, have different types of food and even speak more than one language.
Growing up in an environment like this has always taught me to appreciate diversity in every form. Having traveled to more than 25 countries across Europe, Asia and Africa, I have met people from across the board. It has given me interesting perspectives of their culture, their thoughts and even their beliefs. Eg: Saving and investing a certain amount of money is not just an Indian or specifically an Asian thing.
Meeting people who are different than we are also plays a strong role in helping remove stereotypes and myths created over many years. Eg: Not everyone from Africa deals in drugs and human trafficking.
At a height of about 440 feet, London Eye was the tallest ferris wheel in the world when it opened to the public in 2000.
But over the years it has been surpassed in terms of height by the ferris wheels in Singapore, China and Las Vegas.
It still stands as the tallest ferris wheel in Europe (may not be after Brexit though ;)). It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in London.
Emirates, the national carrier of Dubai has consistently been rated among the best airlines on the planet by multiple rating agencies and customer surveys. It has one of the world’s largest wide-body (double aisle) fleet of aircraft consisting of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s.
For someone like me who has grown up flying on single aisle aircraft like the Boeing 737, Airbus A320 and A321, this is surely something to look forward to. Until sometime last year, I hadn’t flown even once on Emirates but as luck would have had it, since then I have aggregated a lot of frequent flyer miles under them courtesy more than 15 or so flights to destinations across continents.
I would be lying if I say that I hadn’t ever dreamt of flying their business class one day. But little did I know that the opportunity would come so soon. While boarding my flight EK871 (Boeing 777-300ER) to Kuwait on Saturday, 2nd September 2017, I was handed a new boarding pass indicating my seat change to 11E in business class. I was delighted to say the least. So yeah to those asking, it was a last minute upgrade which means that I did miss out on the business class lounge.
Cabin and Seat
Each seat measures 20.5 inches wide with a pitch of 60 inches. The seat is angled flat and has multiple controls to do the job. Thankfully, the angle is there at the head rather than at the feet and there’s also a level of privacy with the shield between the seats. Interestingly, the A380 has a completely flat bed in the business class which I hope to try one day :D.
The road leading to the Nizwa Fort
The cannons welcome you
Forts are the heart and soul around which a lot of history revolves around in Oman. Nizwa Fort located in the city of Nizwa about 160km from Muscat, Oman’s capital is one of the most visited national monuments in the country.
Nizwa Fort welcomes you
It was built by Imam Sultan Bin Saif Al Ya’rubi sometime around the 1650s. He is known as the one who played a key role in removing the Portugese from Oman.
Singapore is a tourist haven with a variety of hotspots like the Sentosa Island, Singapore Flyer, Universal Studios, the shopping districts of Orchard Road, Marina Bay Sands and more.
The Hort Park offers a perfect place to get up close and personal with a variety of flowering plants
The common thread among all these is the fact that they are man – made attractions. These attractions are the ones which are advertised the most.
Lycabettus Hill is a 300m tall hillock from the top of which one can get some fantastic birds eye views of Athens.
You can reach the top on foot, through the Lycabettus funicular or by a car. Since we visited the hill while on the way to the airport to catch our flight back, our guide took us to the top in the cab in order to save us some time.
An early morning walk at the beach
A cloudy winter day
For most people, the country Kuwait generally evokes phrases like oil rich nation, hot weather etc. But it’s a country of numerous beaches as well. And what if I tell you that in this country you can take a nice long walk along the beautiful beaches for many months of the year?
The sun sets over the Arabian Gulf
The entrance
The lamps at the entrance welcome you in
Situated in Nizwa city about 160km from Muscat, the capital of Sultanate of Oman, the Jabrin Fort is one of the numerous forts which dot the Omani landscape.
Women’s prayer area
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