Ritika Ruminates

A month since I returned from my Andaman trip and here's the travel blogpost after a lot of doubt about publishing it, coupled with class 1 procrastination. My family planned a 6 day trip to Andaman in late April (we wanted Himachal but resorts were all booked up) to escape Mumbai heat, only to find even more heat there. Our trip was a series of (mis)adventures in the archipelago, enough to become a comic movie, like Bhagam Bhag😂. Due to hotel and room (un)availability, we had to make a circuit of Neil Island (having to land first at Port Blair)- Port Blair- Havelock, whereas Port Blair-Havelock-Neil is the most preferable and convenient circuit. For government jetties, one has to make bookings a week earlier, which was informed to us only when we landed in Port Blair and was heading towards the jetty. Luckily, the driver's contacts got us last minute jetty tickets to Neil, when we assured we are even ready to stand all the way (Mumbai local feelings, y'all). But we had to...

Kerala trip for my family was like the ever-cancelled friends' goa trip. After having to be cancelled 4 times, it finally took life.  Our Kerala trip covered 4 places- Poovar, Ashtamudi, Thekkady and Munnar. Being a member, all our stays were (had to be) in Club Mahindra Resorts in the aforementioned places. Best was we got to cover 3 terrains in a single trip- beach, backwaters and mountains. We de-boarded at Thiruvananthapuram Railway Station and went to Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The architecture & design of the temple was surely alluring to me. Temple has a dress code- women have to wear sarees and men have to wear mundu or dhoti, bare-chested. Salwar sets or other modern dresses are not allowed; so women may have to change into a saree or wear mundu (1 round of it). As someone allergic to temples and religious places, and rules on top of it, I wished to just pray from outside, but ummm. After sweating profusely in the line, I was just happy to get the darshan and leave th...

Image source- TrueHAB Puducherry, more commonly known as Pondicherry, is a quaint town in Southern part of India. Famous for it's beaches, French architecture and boutiques, it can be a relaxing getaway vacation. Getting here One can take a train journey to Pondicherry or at Chennai airport, from where it will be 4hr road trip to Pondicherry as the services are suspended in Pondicherry airport. Stay We had stayed at Club Mahindra Puducherry. The resort is not as big or developed as other Club Mahindra resorts. The interior of the rooms aren't so great. The only interesting thing about the resort is access to private beach for those staying at Club Mahindra. One day can be spent here playing games within the resort and access to its private beach. But if you want to reduce your time travelling from city to resort, I will suggest to take up any hotel or resort within or near the city. How many days 1 or 2 days is enough for travelling in Pondicherry. While I was searc...

Place: Nagaon beach Clicked by: Ritz (myself) Online classes have turned out to be boring. Though having our own 'pawri ho rahi hai' moment by turning off the camera and mic and sleeping, I (and all of us) needed a real break. So for the beach bum I am, Alibaug seemed the right option. So here I was, along with my cousins (family get-together), for a vacation. The morning ferry ride from Gateway of India to Mandwa jetty promises to give you Insta worthy photos (as long as you have good photography skills😅). Place: On the ferry ride near Mumbai Clicked by: Ritz (myself) Place: On the ferry ride Clicked by: Aastha Jakhotiya (my sister) If you are a bird lover, you can also give chips and biscuits to the birds near the Gateway of India on your ferry ride.  Touching down at Alibaug after the 1-1½hr ferry ride, you can either check-in into your hotel/rented villa or head straight for the beach. We opted for a magic ride (vehicle in Alibaug that looks like au...