Journey Chronicles

Vietnam is one of the most beautiful countries in Southeast Asia, and I got an opportunity to visit this land in the summer of 2023. We planned the trip along with our big group of family and friends, and everyone was super excited. We all had been talking about it for a long time, and finally, it had materialized.  We landed in Hanoi , the capital of Vietnam, and were welcomed by a very cheerful tour guide assigned by our travel agency to show us the place. Hanoi had an old-world charm, and we almost fell in love with the city as soon as we arrived. It was vibrant, colourful, and had a cool vibe. We could leisurely walk around the streets at our own pace and explore places that showcased rich Vietnamese heritage. The first to-do list was to visit the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre near the Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi city to watch one of the most popular puppet shows that depicted historical tales and old legends of Vietnam in a most enchanting manner. The folktales we...

We landed in Kerala in April 2019, in the blistering heat, that seemed quite unbearable after living in the moderate climate of Bangalore for many years. We were nervous and unsure how the new city of Thiruvananthapuram, which was going to be our new home, would treat us. Moving from a cosmopolitan city where my daughters were born and brought up to a much smaller, traditional place was quite a big decision. We had left our comfort zone and were ready to step into a completely unknown and different world. But as they say, change is the only constant in life, we were ready to embrace it and make the most of our time. We were surely excited about moving to a beach location and a cleaner, greener city. The initial few months went in settling down and slowly we got accustomed to the place. My daughters made new friends in the apartment and were happy to go out in the evenings to play with them. Work kept me busy during the weekdays and we would go out to explore nearby places during the we...