Author Profile: Anjaly Thomas

Dubai is easily the best beach destination in the Middle East and despite the hot summers, draw people all year round. Here, anytime is a good time to hit the beach - which is never...   view more

Dubai has many attractions – from world record sights to quaint villages and historical quarters peacefully coexisting with each other. Mosques, museums, waterparks, deserts and mountains form the backdrop of this bustling city full of things to...   view more

As a tourist in Vienna, it is customary to visit the Opera House and Palaces, eat schnitzel and strudel, drink Viennese coffee, ride the trams and if you are slightly musically inclined, go to an...   view more

Heidelberg is the kind of place that holds you with its simplicity and elegance. Only a short drive away from Frankfurt, this beautiful historical city that was completely spared the Allied Bombings in WWII is an absolute must-visit for every visitor or...   view more

About two hundred and eighty kilometers southwest from India’s capital New Delhi, is Rajasthan (literally translated into Land of The Kings), the capital of which is...   view more

Believed to be inhabited before the second millennium BC, Delhi is the national capital territory of India. Historically and culturally rich, this region has seen many wars and rulers and even today continues to mystify the...   view more

Novi Sad is the second biggest city in Serbia and that automatically elevates it to an important place in the country’s map and...   view more

Ohrid in Macedonia is about lakes, churches and pearls. And good food, beauty and sports. Soon enough, we set out to explore this beautiful lake town, that I heard had the best churches, pearls and mouthwatering Ohrid trout...   view more

Right in the heart of the Balkans is Belgrade, the beautiful, mysterious and captivating capital city of Serbia with many a interesting sight – from the old to the ultra modern, there is everything here to keep you...   view more

Macedonia is one of the most beautiful countries in the Balkans. But Skopje, the capital is the magnet that draws curious tourists looking for something...   view more

Kigali with its wide, tree-lined streets, has a lot to offer in terms of history and culture and besides being surprisingly clean and charming, Kigali is a delightful blend of French and African influence and can easily satisfy the foodie, the history buff or a mere...   view more

It would be heartless to discard Hong Kong as a mere “concrete jungle. It is that too, but with a heart and a sense of realism. Even the most cynical tourist will admit that there are many interesting aspects of this city that will put a whiner to...   view more

Port Moresby is the entry point to the country and the ideal for the exploration of the rest of the country. Tourism infrastructure is getting a facelift but going beyond that, there are more reasons to visit this country than...   view more

Nine out of ten websites will warn you against travel to Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK or more popularly North Korea). While some of the concerns may be genuine, some may...   view more

Guilin – a picturesque town that smells of cinnamon, in China’s Guanxi Province, is far removed from the chaos of Beijing or Shanghai and the old-world landscapes of Xi’an or...   view more

Prague is full of the usual tourist highlight – Prague Castle, Charles Bridge and Astronomical Clock (which has now reopened after being closed for renovation). Instead, let me show you a side of Prague that regular visitors are unaware of – or have no time to...   view more

Anyone who loves trains, old or new, will, at some point in life, make their way to Bulawayo’s Railway Museum. Bulawayo is Zimbabwe’s second biggest city and a key location of the country’s rail...   view more

Truth be told – Harare has everything. Star - rated hotels including the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn (where we stayed), with fantastic services and of course, food! To me, it is always the...   view more

Loket, a small town with a little over 3,000 inhabitants is a place to recharge. In fact, when you cross the bridge across River Ohre into Loket, you will also understand what it means to be cut off from the...   view more

Mandalay is not only vainly charming, it is also less chaotic and less congested than Yangon and has a unique architecture. And thanks to a structured numbering system for streets, getting around is...   view more

If you are looking to mark up the number of UNESCO sites you have visited, Kutaisi is the place to be. The Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery with commanding views of the city and River Rioni will please even an average visitor and have bene given the coveted UNESCO World Heritage...   view more

Karlovy Vary – a town so unique that would linger in your mind long after you have left it. I totally fell in love with this town and having visited in pretty much all seasons, I am a huge fan of its uniqueness and...   view more

In Taiwan, food is as important as breathing. Sometimes more. Food holds a special place of pride, so it goes to say that Taiwan has a vibrant food...   view more

Founded in the 1870s, Karakol’s former name Przhevalsk feels like a mouthful – and hard to pronounce – so personally I think it is fortunate that the name was changed to Karakol upon the city’s declaration of independence from Russia. The town, on both the Russian and Chinese borders, has a population of little over 140,000 and is made up of an eclectic mix of ethnicities: Kyrgyz, Russians, Kazakhs, Tatars, Uyghurs and...   view more

When finalizing my travel plans for Uzbekistan, Khiva appeared only a place to go “if I could manage time,” because it seemed so far away from every place I meant to visit. So, I let it remain on my list as a backup if or when fancy took me. Khiva was like that secret I would open only if I had no choice. Truth be told – while it was on Samarkand and Bukhara that I had pinned my hopes for the Uzbekistan Silk Road trip – it was Khiva that stole my heart in the...   view more

At the end of a hour-long journey on a daladala, I was indeed surprised. Located exactly halfway between Cairo and Cape Town, Arusha, a frontier city, represents the British Empire marked by a gigantic clock tower. Arusha was the A-Town with an energy hard to ignore. But as I soaked in the city’s flavour at Africafe, the waiter handed me two pieces of information with my coffee — about a tailor from Goa who put this former German military garrison on the world map and second, of Mr Khan and...   view more

Lausanne, the picturesque Vaud capital was recently named the best small city in the world in Monocle magazine’s Small Cities Index, which ranked the best 25 small towns with a population under 200,000. Lausanne topped the chart for its public transport network, global outlook, diverse population, natural setting and other...   view more

In short, Yangon, the biggest city of Myanmar (formerly Burma) has a way of creeping into your heart and making a home right there! Even today, months after my return, I often find myself going over everything I saw and experienced in this...   view more

I was attracted to the beautiful town of Giethoorn by all the pictures I saw of it – which made it seem like a modern fairytale. Naturally, I found myself here on the first chance and like all others, admired the beauty of this place immensely. There is, however one thing I must clarify – when I travelled to Giethoorn, (in the cold month of December), there were very few tourists, which meant I got the best of everything. But I have since heard that in the peak season, it can get very...   view more

Located in the hills of Serra de Sintra, Sintra is home to palaces, fairy-tale castles, castle ruins, water fountains and villas that belonged to Royalty and aristocracy. It is also one of the most visited spots in Portugal with millions of visitors flocking here to explore its beautiful castles, never mind the...   view more

In this post, I will tell you about the places to visit and things to do in and around Nuwara Eliya. A minimum of 3 days is recommended to fully enjoy this beautiful town, although staying longer will allow to linger on and explore in depth, stay at different locations …. But if you are short on time, you can easily see and enjoy the highlights of this...   view more

Sri Lanka, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, is blessed with natural beauty, culture, and history. While destinations like Colombo, Kandy, and Galle remain on on the top spot as the country’s popular destinations, there are numerous hidden gems waiting to be discovered. Batticaloa may not be on the mainstream tourist map, but it offers everything. Whether you’re exploring its colonial heritage, relaxing on pristine beaches, or immersing yourself in the local culture, Batticaloa has every...   view more

Azerbaijan, a.k.a ‘Land of Fire,’ is a country of contrasts. The reason for this is that Azerbaijan has gone through such a drastic transformation from the Soviet-era to its current state – and Baku, its capital city is the best example of this. The transformation, thanks to the injection of oil money has placed Azerbaijan on the top of the travellers...   view more