All posts filed under: Asia

Sri Lanka, Map my Escape

Sri Lanka – The Small Paradise

Published by vaibhav

Pristine Beaches, Endless Sea, Green Mountains, mesmerising train journeys, Colonial Architecture, Bustling Capital with Sources of Entertainment are the attributes which describes Sri Lanka- The Paradise Island or ‘The Wonder of Asia’. A week or 10 days is the perfect span to visit this beautiful country and have a flavour of its diverse land.There are many beautiful places stretching from North to the South. The must visit places are Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Adam’s Peak, Mirissa, Galle and Colombo. Start with Kandy, the second largest city of Sri Lanka which is a 3 to 4 hour journey from Colombo. A night or 2 is enough to visit this beautiful hilly place. The main attraction is Temple of Tooth and the Kandy Lake. Depending on the time of the year  you are travelling there, you can experience the world famous Perahera Festival which happens generally in the mid of August, I was lucky enough to experience it. The whole city is decked up with lights and the famous procession with decorated elephants takes place at around 7 …

Map My escape - Turkey

7 Days in Turkey

Published by vaibhav

A week’s time is very less to stay and take a perfect feel of this beautiful country, still a lot can be explored and experienced on a stipulated time frame of 7 days in Turkey. There are a lot of options for cities to be visited in Turkey, as each one has its own charm and flavour. The major ones are Istanbul, Cappadocia and Pamukkale. These 3 destinations combined would give you different experiences such as historic, natural, modern, nightlife etc. Start the journey with Cappadocia (Goreme). This place is often called as Mars on Earth because of its unusual topography and  beautiful landscapes.Relax, walk around Goreme and take a feel of its beauty on the first day of arrival. Savor the traditional clay pot meal in the evening, you will love the taste and the way its been served. You can take a night walk around the cold breeze. Do book a cave hotel in advance as sometimes it gets very difficult to find one due to high tourist inflow. The cave hotel surely …

Veg Meal

A Vegetarians guide to Istanbul

Published by vaibhav

While travelling, It sometimes become tough to find vegetarian food. Being a pure vegetarian I also was skeptical while making plans to go to Turkey, which is world famous for its Kebabs and a lot of other non-vegetarian dishes, but trust me, Turkey has a lot to offer for vegetarians too. Here I am sharing a few vegetarian Turkish delicacies which would be a delight to your taste buds. Çiğ Köfte ‘Raw Meat’, is the translation….Don’t worry you still are reading about Vegetarian food in Turkey. This dish traditionally is Raw Meat Balls but the vegetarian version is more popular. It’s made with Bulgur, tomato paste, onion and a lot of turkish spices and herbs.  This incredibly simple delicacy is rich in taste and also very filling, turkish people savour it as a starter or an appetizer but for many it acts as a main dish too. You can ask for the dish to be less spicy or more, but it definitely would be a little bit spicy so prepare your tastebuds accordingly. This is …

Turkish Churro

For the Sweet Tooth in Turkey

Published by vaibhav

Turkey has a lot to offer for the sweet lovers. Turkish sweets are renowned and loved worldwide for their rich ingredients and taste. Some of the must haves are Lokum Also known as Turkish Delight. This undoubtedly is the brand ambassador of Turkish sweets. It is Jelly based sweet dusted with sugar powder and comes in hundreds of flavours to choose from. The basic ones are rose, pomegranate, pistachio, mastic, orange etc. There are a lot of upgraded versions of Lokum too which ranges from flavours like chocolate filled with nuts, nougat, herbs etc. This definitely is a must have and makes a very good souvenir to take back home for family and friends. You can find Lokum at almost every third shop in the touristic areas, specially Grand Bazar. A good advice is to get them packed then and there rather than taking the pre packed boxes. BAKLAVA The rich sweet pastry, having each layer filled with assorted nuts & sugar syrup and topped up with a lot of chopped pistachios would make your …