Cycle Bell

Ryokan and Onsen

One of the unforgettable experiences in Japan is going to an onsen. One can think, what’s a big deal in soaking in a pool of hot water. But for Japanese, just like everything else, there is a ritual like process to enjoy the onsen.

Staying at a Ryokan

Japan’s Space-Age Toilets

The thing from Japan that I know that I’m going to sorely miss is their washlet. Washlets, pioneered by Toto…

Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo

Watashitachi wa bejitarian desu. Watashitachi wa niku toh sakana o tabemasen. Bejitarian tabemono arimasu ka? (We are vegetarians. We do not eat meat or fish. Do you have anything vegetarian?)

Natural wonderland

After a few rest days in Auckland, after booking a campervan and then cancelling it, after cancelling a reservation and then booking another one, we finally set off to Rotorua.

Redwoods

Shibuya Crossing

Population of the whole of New Zealand, the last country I visited, stands at 4.5 million (much less than the 6 million souls in Pune), while that of Tokyo metro area is 37 million. Tokyo is big, Tokyo is huge, Tokyo is enormous, Tokyo is gigantic. It tops the list of the most populous metros in…

Konnichiwa

I always knew that Japan is going to be a very interesting country for us, but now that I’m here I can tell you that in so many ways it is immensely more exciting than I imagined it to be.

We reached Narita, Tokyo early morning yesterday, and it was a long but thankfully uneventful…

Montessori way of learning

We got to learn amazing things during our downtime. We got to learn Maori (traditional New Zealand tribal) art of making things from flax (a particular leaf), got a beginners course in Maori language, saw a 12 year old do complex origami and tried a few simple ones and pom-pom…

Check-in bags.

I know it. He knows it. We have read about it. We have been told about it. But I guess it has to happen.

Dunedin

Any place you travel to or visit, where you stay is a very big part of the experience. In Dunedin, the house was a destination in itself. We booked it on Airbnb and were wondering what it would be like as there were hardly any reviews, but the pictures were so amazing that we thought of giving it a try. And oh…

Spices

Even though we are carrying limited luggage, I managed to find a great way to carry some indian spices. I am carrying turmeric, red chilli powder…

Queenstown

Being in Milford Sound was refreshing and serene. But when we reached Queenstown, it felt amazing to be back to civilization, a normal place. We stayed in Queenstown for 4 days. A very vibrant city, unlike any place in New Zealand that we have seen. It is a perfect destination for adventure junkies. We got…