India

Taj Mahal in Agra

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India

Lakshadweep Islands

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Temple in New Delhi

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India

Huts in Visakhapatnam

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India

Monkeys in Araku Valley

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India

India is the land of contrast. I'd heard after visiting India your perception of the world will change. And that's true. Depresing poverty, pollution and chaos mixed with the unimaginable wealth and architectural wonders. The sight of cows grazing in front of luxurious shopping malls is completely normal. The piles of rubbish, manure and waste covered with a blanket of flies right besides street food stands and restaurants are also pretty common.

India is not for everyone, when you plan the trip, prepare yourself for a huge cultural shock and disturbing and highly uncomfortable scenes you will come across. However, after a while, when you get accustomed to what India's like, it can be the best trip of your life.

If you plan to visit India just in order to spend your time in a nice hotel or on the beach, don't waste your time and money. Embrace India for what it's really like.

In India, we went to many places, we've seen the famous New Delhi, Hyderabad and Taj Mahal as well as the unknown, remote areas where few tourists venture: Visakhapatnam, Araku Valley and the paradise, unspoiled by modern consumerism - Lakshadweep Islands.

It's impossible to visit India without an adventure. We had some extremely crazy ones, when the bus broke down in the middle of the jungle or when we got stuck with local fishermen for 8 hours in the middle of the ocean. Expect no rules, lots of noise, delays, cancellations, expect the unexpected, and you'll enjoy it!

Take a look at the posts below describing the adventures in India:

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Araku Valley and Borra Caves, India - Land of Great Adventure

Araku Valley - located around 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Vizag (Visakhapatnam) is not one of the most visited tourist destinations in India. Here, you can really experience the local life among the beautiful rolling hills of the valley. It's like being teleported to a different world and time.

The rich soils abound with coffee and black pepper plantations and the area can boast some magnificent waterfalls, caves, cliffs and forests. Also, don't forget that you are in India and the mentality is quite different, more relaxed, not everything works properly and according to a timetable and as a result of that you are about to enter the land of great adventure and if you keep on reading, you will see for yourself why.

Visiting Taj Mahal, Agra and Mathura in India

Taj Mahal is the most famous attraction of India, it goes without saying. I just couldn't miss it during my hectic stay in this country. After visiting the tropical south: Visakhapatnam, Kerala and the paradise Lakshadweep Islands, I arrived in New Delhi. Now I had to get to Agra, where the famous Taj Mahal is located, so quite a long ride in a pre-booked taxi was awaiting me. I traveled with an Indian family throughout this vast country and it was a really good chance to meet the culture, customs and habits from the inside. The taxi was a mini van, really comfortable and air conditioned (which helped to endure the heat).

New Delhi and Hyderabad, India

New Delhi, the capital of India and the city of Hyderabad were last two places I visited in India. After traveling through south and east as well as Lakshadweep Islands, those cities seemed a bit more organized and less polluted (according to Indian standards) to me than the rest of the country. The climate is different than in the south, drier and a bit cooler in winter, there's no lush green patches of coconut forests covering the hills but bare dessert like plateaus (especially in Hyderabad). I spent two days in New Delhi, then I took a domestic flight to Hyderabad where I stayed one day and from there I flew back home.

Lakshadweep Islands - Hidden Paradise in the Indian Ocean

Crystal clear blue waters, coral reef full of colorful fish, white sand beaches, coconut trees leaning towards the sea, a perfect recipe for paradise. This is what Lakshadweep Islands are like. Formerly known as Laccadive Islands, they are situated around 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the west coast of India in the Laccadive Sea (above the well known hot tourist spot - Maldives). The archipelago consists of twelve atolls with around forty islands and islets, ten of which are inhabited. The name "Lakshadweep" means one hundred thousand islands in Sanskrit. The islands are governed by India.

India, Visakhapatnam - Land of contrast

The beautiful park located on the hill near the city was the first place I visited in Visakhapatnam. The traffic was absolutely mad and I still couldn't believe my eyes that all this was real. But the park and the view from the hill were stunning. It was cleaner there than in the rest of the city, but still, to see a lot of rubbish thrown everywhere in such a beautiful place was an eyesore. The interesting thing is that my friends and I didn't encounter any western tourists there with the exception of two white people during our 3-day stay in Vishakapatnam. Therefore we noticed huge interest and curiosity of the locals. They kept looking at us all the time and quite often someone (especially children) asked where we were from and they wanted to know something about our life and culture.

India - First impression and a bit of cultural shock

A couple of months after I received my visa, everything was booked and prepared I was ready to set up on a trip to India. After 2 flights that took about 10 hours I and my friends finally landed in Hyderabad. From there, we were going to take another (domestic) flight to Visakhapatnam - our first destination. When the door of the aircraft opened, I reminded myself about all the stories I had read on the Internet and was wondering what my first impression would be. And... to be honest, nothing exceptional, no big crowds, no thousands of people, no smell, just heat. It was very hot indeed.

How to prepare for a trip to India

Before I came up with the idea of traveling to India, I'd had a chance to meet a few Indian people. It turned out that they are a very friendly nation. I quickly made a couple of friends and one of them invited me to visit him and his family in India. I couldn't say no, I was very excited because it was going to be my first journey to such a far away and different culturally land. I didn't know what to expect at all. I tried to prepare myself for what I might see there but it was hard to imagine how India could look like. I browsed through many websites and forums looking for information and experiences of people who had visited this vast country. Some of the articles scared me, saying that once you get off the plane your jaw is going to drop immediately because of what you see around. There were supposed to be crowds of people, bad smells everywhere and beggars that didn't want to move away from you no matter what. Other posts, however, filled me with even more excitement, I just couldn't wait to see for myself whether the reality is the way I'd read on the Internet.

Adventurous Travels

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The Best Hike In Polish Tatra Mountains - Trail To Dolina Gasienicowa, Zawrat And Swinica Peak

Many of the visitors coming to southern Poland and Krakow region end up in Zakopane - the little town located at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. Some hike (or take a horse cart ride) up the easy and quite boring trail to the most famous landmark in Polish mountains - Morskie Oko lake which is undoubtedly picturesque and beautiful, but so overcrowded that it can get really irritating.

In this post, I'll try to encourage you to leave Morskie Oko behind and venture into the real, wild beauty of the area. As usual, the most attractive and stunning views are awaiting those who are brave enough to take a risk and explore something beyond the beaten path. I've already described the trek to Dolina Pieciu Stawow which is way nicer than the one to Morskie Oko and now it's time to write about my favorite trail in the Tatras - to Swinica peak via the less known Dolina Gasienicowa (Gasienicowa Valley) and Zawrat saddle. This trail features not one but several crystal clear lakes of different shapes and colors, spectacular views - incomparable with those on the way to Morskie Oko and it's perfect for those who love adventure and adrenaline rush!

Annapurna Range Loop Trek To Poon Hill, Nepal - Day 2 - Trek From Ulleri To Ghorepani And Poon Hill

On the second day of the extraordinarily beautiful trek to Poon Hill, we left the cozy village of Ulleri at sunrise and headed uphill towards another village - Ghorepani. Ghorepani is located at the elevation of 2750 meters and it differs from other towns with the distinctive blue roofs and houses. It is also a gateway to the most important point of the trek - Poon Hill (around 3200 meters above sea level) which offers a spectacular, 360 degree view of the Annapurna range in the Himalayas. Especially stunning in March/April when all the wild rhododendrons blossom and cover the mountainous valleys in bright red colors.

Lake Kaindy, Kazakhstan - One Of The Most Unique Lakes In The World

Lake Kaindy in southern Kazakhstan is one of the newest and most unique natural wonders on our planet. Although literally unknown in the West, if it was located in any European country, it would be its best tourist attraction. Especially beautiful in the fall (autumn), Lake Kaindy boasts not only exceptionally attractive blue color of water and snowy rocky mountains surrounding it but also the unique, silver trunks of dead spruce sticking out of the lake's surface. The "flooded forest" is indeed one of the natural landmarks of Kazakhstan. It all creates a fairy-tale like scenery, not seen anywhere else.

Door To Hell Crater - Darvaza, Turkmenistan - How to get there and is it worth a visit?

You might have seen photos of the gargantuan hole in the middle of the desert spewing out flames and a beam of light out of its core high up into the night sky while watching National Geographic or some documentary on the weirdest places on Earth. Although the Darvaza Crater has got quite large exposure in the media, it still remains very rarely visited by ordinary tourists. Central Asia is an extremely interesting place both naturally and historically. However, travelers almost always skip it choosing the popular beaches in Southeast Asia. Come to Darvaza and you'll feel as if you were teleported to Mars - it's a unique, outlandish and eerie experience that cannot be compared to anything else you've seen before.

Pripyat (near Chernobyl), Ukraine - Real-life ghost town

While watching one of the Hollywood apocalyptic films or playing computer games - have you ever thought that a real ghost town is closer than you think? It is actually located in the center of Europe - in Ukraine. 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the country's capital - Kiev, very close to the border with Belarus. A visit to Pripyat is an extraordinary experience - something you most probably have never seen and will never see. It is completely different from the usual sight seeing tours. In this post I am presenting a gallery of photos of this ghost town literally abandoned overnight thirty years ago.

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Top 10 Best Places To Visit in 2016

2015 was a year full of adventure, surprises and amazing opportunities to discover even more of great and off the beaten path places. Just like a year ago, based on my own experience (I've been to all the countries described below), I'd like to present my list of destinations to visit in 2016 (click here to see the post from 2015). As usual, it will be different than most of such lists released by meainstream travel magazines. Instead of repeating all the well known places, I'd like you to get inspired and explore new adventurous and exciting spots. It has probably never even come to your mind that you could visit some of them and you'll surely get shocked when you learn where those amazing wonders actually are located!

How To Reach The Shipwreck (Navagio) Beach In Zakynthos, Greece - The Most Beautiful Beach In The World

The Shipwreck Beach (also called Navagio) on the Greek island - Zakynthos is the most beautiful beach I have seen. It's claimed to be the most beautiful - and I agree. After visiting numerous beaches in other, also way more exotic destinations (like Brazil, Thailand, Italy, Mauritius, Georgia, India, Croatia, Albania, Spain, Portugal), I have yet to discover a place that would enchant me as much as Navagio Beach. But there is a flaw in this perfection. The beach is indeed the most beautiful in the world, granted that it's viewed from the edge of the cliff that surrounds it. Looked at from the sea level, it looses its charm. However, most of the tour agencies offering a trip to the beach arrive there by boat and in this case you will not see it as it is on the postcards or leaflets - from above. It's also impossible to climb the steep rocky cliff from the beach. So what's the solution if you want to admire the famous view from the top?

From Yangon To Golden Rock Pagoda (Kyaiktiyo) In One Day - Crazy Adventure In Myanmar (Burma)

One of the most important religious sites in Myanmar, seemingly defying the law of gravity - Golden Rock Temple (Kyaiktio or Kyaikhteeyoe Pagoda), although quite famous, is surprisingly not as touristy as the other destinations in the country - Bagan, Mandalay or Yangon. There are good and bad sides to it. The good thing is that the authenticity of the place is still preserved (unlike the temples in Thailand) and you'll see many more locals than foreigners around. The bad thing - to get there without an expensive, privately run tour or a taxi is pretty complicated, the bus schedules are not clear and the level of English among the Burmese is very low. And... to be honest, the site is one of those that look absolutely spectacular in the photos, a bit less so in real life. Having said that, the whole journey was a great adventure, definitely worth the effort and it left some priceless memories in my mind.

Blue Lagoon in Iceland - The Most Extraordinary Geothermal Spa in The World

It might be a bit strange to see a post about a spa on a blog that describes mainly an active way of traveling and discovering some forgotten and unknown places where few even think of visiting. But Blue Lagoon in Iceland is different. It's an amazing proof how human engineering and nature can cooperate perfectly. It's not an ordinary, boring spa with swimming pools and massages. The Blue Lagoon is one of those experiences that, I think, everyone should try at least once in life. Especially after exploring some of the marvelous sites of Iceland - an outlandish island on the periphery of Europe.

Sarande, Ksamil and Butrint (UNESCO), Albania - A Piece Of Tropics In The Heart Of Europe

The very south corner of Albania - the country which is still a black spot on the touristic map of Europe offers, in my opinion, the best beaches in the entire old continent: white sand, tropical color of the clearest possible seas, the exoticism of the area and most friendly locals. Most of the very few individual foreign tourists who get to the beach village of Ksamil arrive by ferry from the neighboring, overcrowded by tourists Greek island - Corfu. I followed the same route. And, I really thought that Corfu is amazing until I set foot in Albania's shore. My jaw literally dropped. I immediately felt as if I was transferred to one of the tropical, paradise-like postcard spots. It's a mystery to me how this exceptionally beautiful piece of land lacks any recognition among foreigners. But maybe it's better this way!