Friday, September 23, 2011

taste of madurai...

Madurai, entices your senses with it's multi-hued palette of colours, smells and taste....

Food is God, Madurai is heaven. A medley of cuisines are served up in this city starting from the wee hours of the morning to late into the night.
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At dusk the street food eateries come alive...

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Heavy duty 'Parotta'

Inquisitive foodies like me and my husband read up on the various restaurants and eateries, made lists, compared notes, struck some off and pursued some like our life depended on it:-)

Here are some places we ate, drank, saw and clicked...
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Anna Meenakshi Hotel comes highly recommended for evening snacks...

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...and Filter kaapi.

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Simple vegetarian meals are served on banana leaves at The Modern Restaurant. Very delicious I must add:-)

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Our morning breakfast at Heritage Madurai had to be idlis with chutnies and sambar...

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...and paper thin masala dosas!

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We came across an interesting drink called Bovonto by Kalimark that is very popular in Madurai.

Filter Coffee is very popular in Madurai and as we walked past the various streets leading to the Meenakshi Temple, we got a whiff of roasting coffee beans and sure there was this coffee store with a delightful mascot:-)

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Mr Narayana?

The one drink that really caught our attention was a sweet concoction called 'Jil Jil Jigarthada' which means 'cool cool heart cooler';-)

The drink is made using Milk, China grass, Nannari Syrup (Sarsaparila) and Vanilla Ice Cream.

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Nannari Syrup sold in glass bottles near the Meenakshi Temple.

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The Nannari Syrup is mixed with water too and served as a refreshing drink. Do give it a shot if you are in Madurai...

(Images by Arch)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

madurai malligai...

From aqua blues of the Andamans to fragrant 'mogras' of Madurai. Pardon me if I keep oscillating between a couple of destinations that we travelled to while away from my blog.

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Madurai is famous for it's big, fragrant variety of 'Malligai' or Mogra

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Fragrant 'Malligai' on well-oiled hair is a common sight in southern India and especially in Madurai

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Adorn and sell.

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The 'Malligai' buds being woven into a neat garland.

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Freshly woven garlands wait for customers in the evening.

~Thomas Moore

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Elephant Beach, Havelock Islands...

During our stay at the resort, Barefoot Scuba had organized a snorkeling trip for us in the aqua waters near the Elephant Beach. What we saw and experienced was something out of the world.
Never, never seen blue like that before, either in the water or the sky.

Not having carried my camera during that trip, we decided to do some exploring on our own. From the Havelock port there are many privately operated motorboats & speed boats to the Elephant Beach.
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We decided to take one such motorboat to the Elephant Beach...
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Gorgeous shades of blue and loved the weather beaten anchor...
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Intertwined Cross and pendant of Goddess Kali dangling in the boat...
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Elephant Beach...
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Collected shells on my husband's slippers....
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During the Tsunami that hit Andamans, loads of trees got uprooted...
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These photographs don't do justice to the beauty that we were engulfed in....

Do visit Andamans at least once in your life. It's worth it!

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Beach No.7, Havelock Islands...

Apart from Barefoot at Havelock, the eco-friendly resort where we stayed, the beach itself is pristine and well maintained.

Sitting there watching the play of light on the sky and in the water was a meditative experience. Sharing some frames...

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(images by Arch)

Monday, September 05, 2011

To the islands...

We travelled in a car, an aeroplane & a ferry all in one day...yes one memorable trip to the Andaman Islands.

Barefoot at Havelock at Beach No.7 was our destination for our summer vacation, you can read about it here on Rang Decor.

We took a two and half hours flight from Chennai to Port Blair most of which was over the aqua blue waters of the Bay of Bengal. From Port Blair, 'Bambooka' our ferry took us to Havelock Islands.
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The Port...
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Loved the round windows inside the 'Bambooka'...and2
Cerulean Blue waters...anda1
The spray of water on our faces as we stood on the deck enjoying the late afternoon light was what you read in exotic travelogues...anda5
The friendly crew in their orange work clothes...and3
We crossed the 'Makruzz' a super fast ferry coming from Havelock to Port Blair...
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The water seem to suddenly change colour from Cerulean to Aqua blue as we approached Havlock.
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We were in Havelock Islands!

I need another post to share the beauty of these stunning islands on the Bay of Bengal. So drop by again:-)

(images by Arch)

Sunday, September 04, 2011

Psst...

Is anyone around?
Just realized I haven't posted anything here for the last 6 months!
Have loads to share but never got around to posting.
There was travel, food, people and lots of 'Rang-een' photography:-)
Meals at Modern Restaurant...
See you soon!