Tourism Malaysia with AirAsia & Genting Highlands Presentation for Puducherry Agents!

Tourism Malaysia Chennai focused on tour operators and travel agents from Tier II city Puducherry to update latest products and highlight events lined up for Malaysia Year of Festivals 2015.

(From Left -4)Mr Noor Azman,Director,Tourism Malaysia, Chennai with officials from travel fraternity

According to Mr Noor Azman , Director, Tourism Malaysia, Chennai “After the success of the previous Visit Malaysia Year, we are delighted to promote our yearlong festivities this year which is celebrated as Year of Festivals 2015. This Event is to highlight the splendor at Malaysia which includes George Town Festivals(1-31 August 2015), Rain Forest Music Festival at Sarawak(7-9 August 2015), Malaysia International Mask Festival at Kuala Lumpur(14-16 August 2015), Borneo Cultural Festival at KLCC (14-16 August 2015) to name a few. The country’s biggest shopping extravaganza –– the annual 1Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival and 1Malaysia Unified Sale –– are back again, offering big bargains, huge discounts and fun-filled promotional activities put together by malls, retail stalls and other participating trades throughout Malaysia.”

 AirAsia was the Airline Partner and gave the latest updates on the fares and new routes launched from Vizag and Hyderabad to the front liners. Genting Highlands, the Product Partner gave an overview of the 2016 launch of the much anticipated 20th Century Fox Theme Park. The overwhelming response from the gathered participants made the event a highly successful one. The Event was marked with excitement as the lucky draw premium prize being a fully paid trip with accommodation to Malaysia.

MyFest 2015 is expected to help Malaysia achieve the targeted 29.4 million tourist arrivals and RM89 billion in tourist receipts for 2015.

 

#LP Chat tomorrow, Travel Books & Films!

Macau’s Walking Tour Routes – Interesting initiative, Contests!!

 MGTO presents another fun activity with awards for walking tour routes “Take Selfies to Win Prizes”~

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) launched a fun activity “Take Selfies to Win Prizes” under the project of “Step Out, Experience Macau’s Communities – Walking Tour Routes”, inviting residents and visitors to join. The fun activity aims to encourage residents and visitors to explore the beauty of different areas of Macau, thus boosting community tourism and smart tourism development.

From June 12^th until November 30^th  this year, residents and visitors only need to download the “Step Out, Macau” smart phone application (App), take selfies on two designated shooting spots of any walking tour route, present them to staff of any MGTO Tourist Information counter in Macau and redeem a souvenir. In addition, visitors can also access “Step Out, Macau” App to upload selfies and share their travel experience in Macau, to enter a lucky draw, with prizes including two round-trip air tickets in business class (from winner’s place of residence to any destination), tablets, and other awards. Only visitors are eligible to join the lucky draw.

MGTO launched on 27 September 2013 the first four walking tour routes under the theme “Step Out, Experience Macau’s Communities”, and in February this year, the existing routes were redesigned with a total of eight walking tour routes presented, to encourage visitors to explore different neighborhoods, while also balance visitor flow trends around Macau and foster community tourism development. The eight routes are as follow: Footsteps into the Historic Centre; An Experiment of Creativity; Crossroads of China and Portugal; A Legacy of Arts and Culture; Enchanting Stories of Our Lady of Fatima Parish; The Marriage of East and West in St. Anthony’s Parish; Bygone Days of Taipa Village and Nostalgia in Coloane.

On weekends, MGTO presents different performances at certain sightseeing points along the tour routes, further enhancing livelihood to their specific neighborhoods. Moreover, the Office joins hands with local organizations to present community tourism activities and boost the charm of the communities. With the variety of activities offered, visitors can enjoy a more fascinating stroll along these routes and explore different local quarters for hidden gems and a glimpse of the city’s aroma.

About Macau Government Tourist Office

In accordance with Macau Special Administrative Region (Macau SAR) Government’s strategy of positioning and developing Macau as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) serves as the public entity responsible for implementing, analyzing and assisting in formulating the tourism policies of the Macau SAR to enhance Macau’s reputation as a quality destination. Together with local trade, MGTO promotes Macau’s tourism products and services not only in the leading and emerging tourism markets but also evaluates and seeks to develop potential markets to attract diverse visitor sources for Macau

 

Wherever you go, go with all your heart!

Mera Kumbh Mahaan! World’s biggest religious congregation!

Mera Kumbh Mahan>>>

Maha Kumbh, Maha Congregation, Maha Religion, Maha Spiritualism!

Circa 2013, February 10:

This is when my younger brother Prabhat Varma visited Mahakumbh at Allahabad (Prayag) on auspicious day of Mauni Amavysa along with his associate B L Soni. All the way it was an illuminating experience for him, given the fact that he is a very spiritual person. I was quite surprised when he told me that he is visiting Kumbh Mela at Allahabad. I had heard lot of stories about Kumbh that it is very difficult to get in there and of course Bollywood’s lost and found was also there at the back of my mind. All these days I prayed that their  mission is successful. My prayers were answered and what an experience it turned out to be. He was kind enough to share with me his experience for my readers and Blogadda fraternity.

In his words, “It was an experience of its kind. No where I had seen such a huge religious congregation particularly that day where a sea of humanity had gathered to take a dip in holy Ganges at Allahabad. There were just heads and heads and more heads all over.”

He shared, “We walked around 16-17 Kms one way to reach the ghats for that much cherished holy dip. The scene was so overwhelming that I could not believe myself that we were actually there. In the chilling cold water – the dip was pure bliss. You have to experience it to believe it!

Such huge were the crowds that Prabhat could not even remove his camera from his bag to click some pictures. Now was the turn to take the round of the ground where activity was at its peak – Aaartis, Shobha Yatras, Religious Performances, Naga Sadhus, Foreigners taking holy dip, enjoying chillum, food sellers, nits-bits sellers…
The arrangements were something to talk about, to manage such a sea of humanity, probably the biggest in the world. The U P Government had made elaborate arrangements for stay etc. in the form of tents where pilgrims could stay on the Ghats and take a dip in spirituality whenever they wanted to.

No thoughts crossed his mind on that day except that he was witness to biggest religious celebration of the world.

No wonder, Kumbha Mela is “the world’s most massive act of faith’ – the largest congregation of devotees at one place. It is believed that by bathing in the Ganges during Kumbh, one is freed from one’s past sins (karma), and thus becomes eligible for liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

According to astrological calculations, the Kumbha Mela is held every twelve years and begins on Makar Sankranti, the day when the sun and moon enter Capricorn and Jupiter enters Aries. The astrological configuration on Makar Sankranti is called ” Kumbhasnanayoga” and is considered to be especially auspicious, as it is said that the passage from Earth to the higher planets is open at that time, thus allowing the soul to easily attain the celestial world.

That  year Makar Sankranti fell ll on 14th January 2013 and the Maha Kumbh Mela began with all the pomp and glory for which it is famous. It is impossible to capture the festival. Indeed, it is the festival that captures us. Words, film, print, and paper cannot do justice to the event — it is the one which has to be experienced personally like my brother Prabhat and Soni Bhaiyya did!.

The combined sanctity of the three holy rivers, coupled with the spiritual powers obtained from the pot of nectar of immortality has earned Prayag (Allahabad) as tirtharaja ( the king of holy places). The confluence of India’s three most sacred rivers at Allahabad , Besides the Ganges, there are also two other sacred rivers located at Allahabad, the Yamuna and the Saraswati . Ganges & Yamuna has its earthly origin in the Himalayas, whereas Saraswati, is a mystical river which has no physical form.

For my brother Prabhat it was a life altering experience, may be for the next Kumbh, I follow his foot prints to be there.

Pictures Courtesy: Prabhat Varma

 

 

 

 

 

“I am unraveling the mysteries of Kumbh Mela by participating in the #TheKumbhMelaExperience activity at BlogAdda in association with Anugraha.

Travel, if you love to!

A TRIVENI of ethnicity, modernity & creativity!!!

नारी व्हिच साड़ी है या साड़ी व्हिच नारी है

Whatever it is, every woman looks pretty in a saree and what if saree is from the collection of Triveni Ethnics. You must be wondering what am I talking about. It all started from an invite from Surat based Triveni Ethnics for a bloggers meet in Bandra, Mumbai.

Little back drop to the story…
…I received a mail from Triveni Sarees from Surat requesting to be a part of Bloggers Meet in Mumbai on July 11, Saturday. I wondered all through, how they came to know about me? And this prompted me to call the mail sender – Nupur who authenticated the mail. Travelling to such a distance to an unknown destination is quite a task especially on weekends; still it remained in my mind. On Saturday I nearly dropped the idea of making it to the venue, as it sounded quite weird. It was my daughter who pricked my conscience and said, “Once you have confirmed, then you should go for it.” So I pushed myself to the destination, and landed in Bombay Connect premises. And voila! What an afternoon it turned out to be!

Read on the Saree tale…

Arvind Saraf of Triveni Ethnics, an IITian & MITian behind the famous ethnic wear brand welcomed us warmly and introduced to the world of Triveni Sarees. There was a display of wide and varied saree collection, though venue was quite small, still we saree freaks did not mind. There were certain sarees, of which we could not take our eyes of. The vibrant colours, smooth textures and amalgamation of modern & traditional prints comprised the collection. Oh yes! Triveni Ethnic’s catalogues are something to talk home about, beautifully & creatively crafted, all of us fancied them. Indeed Triveni is a world in itself where grace, dignity and identity are expressed through the vibrancy of their collection of sarees, lehengas, kurtis, anarkalis…what not. The collection is any woman’s dream; it has something for everyone irrespective of age, profession or occasion. You just have to take your pick from the collection.

When I told Arvind, that women seldom buy Sarees by the brand, isn’t this a challenge for Saree brand like Triveni? Arvind replied, “The trend is changing. Ladies are becoming more conscious about the name which brings in trust and our E-commerce platform is ample proof of that. We ship around 1000 sarees per day to not only various cities in India but also abroad.” He added, “For using E-commerce platform ladies are migrating from unorganized saree retailers to the branded ones. They are shopping from the comfort from their homes and they want to go with the brand on which they can lay their trust on besides liking the design, colour and fabric etc.”

Talking about the strong On-line presence of Triveni group, Arvind told us,  “TriveniSarees.com was setup in 2011 – to take the fabulous Triveni collection worldwide, online and a few clicks away. ‘Iness’ took our leanings with designer wear with the aim of creating a viable online market for them, and ‘Hues & Vibes’ is Triveni’s foray in home & kitchen linen. Triveni Labs was setup in 2015 to share Triveni’s learnings about technology innovation for SMEs & e-Commerce to a wider audience.”

We bloggers particularly liked the Art –Silk collection of sarees which had very interesting heritage patterns but synthetic saree collection did not excite me in particular barring just one saree in black and beige pattern. May be because of their loud colours and bold patterns. But yes, fabric is the star of all Triveni sarees. There we no Lehengas in the collection so we cannot write about them. Hope they conduct one workshop exclusively for their Lehenga collection which looked to me quite exquisite on their website. Every bride would want one on her special day.

Session ended with an interesting saree draping workshop where many trendy styles were shown to us. May be next time we try one of those style for our special outing…

After a long time, my interest was revived in sarees…

courtesy: http://www.triveniethnics.com.

When Chakrabarty’s were in Soulful, Serene, SIKKIM

My friend Sonia Pande Chakrabarty, her husband Basabjit Chakrabarty and their very cute darling son Arjun Chakrabarty recently went to Sikkim on a short trip. Sonia was kind enough to share lot of pictures of her trip along with her travel experiences.

Peek of the Peak

No fans no AC only lantern

Mount Kanchenjunga

Kanchenjunga Peeka-boo

Chakrabarty’s travelled from Delhi by flight to Bagdogra and from there took a Cab to Pelling and embarked on road journey of 5.5 hours. Initial journey of about 30 Kms was quite rocky because of road conditions after which they entered Sikkim towards Pelling. She had done the booking with Sikkim Taxis for her entire sight – seeing journey. They enjoyed their hotel stay very much and what to say of sightseeing to waterfalls, monasteries, hilly rides, tea gardens …what not.

I take pleasure in sharing the photographs in an exclusive PHOTO-ESSAY for my esteemed readers.

Namgyal Institute of Tibetology

Monastery Near Tashi view point

Rimbi River Water Falls

Tathagata Tsal in Rabong

Tathagat Tsal

Basabjit at Tashi Point near Bakhthang waterfalls

Today, travelers like Chakrabartys embark on the journey of Sikkim to discover mystical wonderland of spectacular natural beauty. The panoramic perfection of the snow-capped Kanchenjunga, the heady scent of flower-bedecked meadows, the vibrant culture, rainfalls, waterfalls, lakes, monasteries, tea gardens and the infinite variety of its flora and fauna which made their holiday quite fascinating.

Their first outing was at Mall Road in Gangtok…where the first shopping turned out to be for umbrellas as they were caught unawares of the showers and it never stopped drizzling that day. But they had good fun at Bheegi Bheegi Mall road. After that they visited Flower Exhibition in Gangtok. However the weather kept playing hide-n-seek, at times sunny, at times dark even rainy, this way they had complete 180 degree experience of weather in Sikkim.

They visited Goodriche Tea Factory where they had some great tea tasting session. It seems Chakrabarty’s had great time at various falls like Banjakhri Falls, The Khangchendzonga Waterfalls, Rimbi river water falls and Khecheopalri Lake. They captured beautiful view of Elgim Mount Pandim which was very close to Pemayangtse monastery. One moment which they will always cherish, the splendid view of majestic and snow clad Kanchenjunga. Their visit to Tathagata Tsal in Rabong, South Sikkim and Tashi view point monastery need a special mention.

Khecheopalri Lake

Goodriche Tea Garden at Bagrakote

Arjun at flower exhibition in Gangtok

130- feet Buddha Statue in Buddha Park

Bright Sunny Sikkim

I must say they were in the lap of nature all through…mountains, clouds, water, forests, flowers…you name and Sikkim offered them.

A small word about breathtakingly beautiful Sikkim, which should be ideally on very wanderer’s wish list.

Sikkim is a small state in northwest India, bordered by Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal. Part of the Himalayas, the area has a dramatic landscape including India’s highest mountain, 8,586m Kanchenjunga.

Bheegi Bheegi Mall Road in Sikkim

Sonia & Arjun At Banjakhri Falls

Approaching Bagdogra

Sikkim is also home to glaciers, alpine meadows and thousands of varieties of wildflowers. Steep paths lead to hilltop Buddhist monasteries such as Pemayangtse, which dates to the early 1700s.

Majestic Serene Buddha

Khecheopalri Lake

130- feet Buddha Statue in Buddha Park

Bright Sunny Sikkim

Our own family grown SRK in Sikkim

Sikkim – the land of mighty and majestic mountains, green valleys, wilderness & sense of adventure, delightful cuisines, peaceful and crime Free State. Not only this, it is also hot spot of biodiversity and a mixture of things that would make any place on the earth a delight to visit. All this has made Sikkim the hot destination for Tourism that it should be. Virtually unexplored, offers unique opportunities in almost all the major aspects of Tourism. The State Government in the past years have given top priority and importance for development of sufficient and required infrastructure for the development of tourism in the State.

Sangam’s Seamless garments to give tough competition to the Category!

Sangam (India) Limited, leading textile conglomerate, thought leader and innovator par excellence, forays into the women’s branded apparel category with a launch of a new aspirational brand ‘Channel Nine’ and thereby introduces seamless technology in the country and the women’s intimate, active & casual wear category. Present on the momentous occasion of the launch of the Channel Nine logo & online e-commerce channel (www.channelnine.in) was the key management team of Sangam (India) Limited:  Mr. S. N. Modani, Managing Director; Mr. V. K. Sodani, Executive Director; and Mr. Pranal Modani, Chief Business Development amongst others.

Through Channel Nine, Sangam (India) introduces an innovative concept and inspires a new culture in intimate wear and active wear by setting women of today free from uncomfortable side seams thereby giving them unrestricted freedom of movement. It helps discerning women, who are always on the move, to enter the world of seamless experience with garments which are high on comfort, fit, quality and style quotient. Channel Nine range comprises an exquisite range of seamless garments for women including Intimate wear, Active wear, Yoga wear, Shape wear, Casual wear, Outwear, products for fitness, shaping & technical products.

Channel Nine brand strikes a unique balance by maintaining international standards in design, quality and comfort while keeping the price points within the reach of its target customers. Channel Nine will be available pan India through the Group’s vast distribution network including national retail chains, multi brand outlets, exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) and online digital platforms including its very own E-commerce website www.channelnine.in.

Mr. S. N. Modani, Managing Director, Sangam (India) Limited, said, “As a pioneer, thought leader and role model in the textiles business, Sangam Group is proud to present ‘Make in India’ Gen-Next seamless technology through the launch of our first and new brand for women – Channel Nine brand. For this retail foray, Sangam India is venturing into the seamless garmenting segment. We are in the process of achieving manufacturing volumes of 3.6 million units pa. Our capacity expansion plans have become a reality and propelled us to foray into new product segments. Through Channel Nine, we intend to make aggressive inroads into the domestic lingerie retail market estimated to be approximately Rs. 15,000 crore now and growing at a CAGR of 20-25%. And we shall leverage ‘Make in India’ initiative to target sales from international markets through exports.”

Mr. V.  K. Sodani, Executive Director, Sangam (India) Limited, said, “Our first retail brand Channel Nine will transform the dressing style of Indian women. Channel Nine represents the warp & woof to seamless garments journey for Sangam Group. Seamless garment technology eliminates the process of fabric laying, cutting and sewing. By eliminating the cutting and sewing process, it provides an opportunity to save time and provide garments that are preferable for durability and functionality. Sangam has installed 36 circular knitting machines imported from Italy, the world leader in seamless knitting technology, and has an installed capacity to manufacture 10,000 pieces of seamless garment a day. Seamless knitted garments are used worldwide in the wellness industry, for yoga and sportswear.”

Mr. Pranal Modani, Chief-Business Development, Sangam Group, said, “Channel Nine brand symbolizes the multiple facets of a woman’s life – the spaces she navigates every day and the forms in which she expresses herself. It encompasses the essence of what it means to be a woman through a myriad of roles, which she performs, in her everyday life. Channel Nine aspires to establish a new outlook towards intimate wear, active wear & casual wear so that it blends seamlessly with women’s lifestyle today while meeting their aspirations in terms of range, colour and style. Channel Nine garments are designed to provide the woman of today, ultimate freedom of movement, comfort, fit and an enhanced fashion quotient, as she rushes about her daily business.”

Channel Nine is a result of a lot of painstaking research on the needs, demands and aspiration of Indian women. According to the research, while choosing a lingerie brand customers are influenced by key parameters such as product fit, quality, fabric, trendy and emotional connect. There is increasing health consciousness across all age groups and a marked shift from formal attire to comfort-oriented casual attire in urban India. Global trends reveal that customers’ prefer active wear that meet their need for continuous comfort. Consumers show less concern about the price of active wear. Apparels with performance features like odour resistance and moisture management find loyalty with customers. The rising per capita income and change in lifestyle has increased demand for quality branded products. However, with the increasing exposure to international fashion trends, the Indian consumer today wants more than just need-based clothing In addition to old parameters like basic functionality, comfort and price, better look, perfect fit, and trendiness have also become key purchase parameters. Innovations in casual wear products are primarily related to product design, color selection options, and fiber mix.

www.channelnine.in is a brand-centric online shopping portal aimed to provide world class shopping experience, product advice and engaging relationship with the consumer. At www.channelnine.in, the Company offers an exclusive range of women’s lingerie, Active Wear, Casual Wear, Yoga Wear and Shape Wear to Indian and international customer. Through www.channelnine.in, the consumer enters a world of limitless possibilities. It is for women who always set new benchmarks, cross limits, achieve the impossible and celebrate successes. Innovation being the key driver, the Company has adopted a new philosophy of “Start Something New” to give retail a new dimension.

 

 

Mumbai Monsoon…Uff Yummaaaa!! Limeroad Monsoon…Muaaaaaahhh!

After living nearly 25 years of my life in Delhi, when I came to Mumbai, I was super-excited coming to city of dreams, city of Bollywood, city of working professionals, city of theatre lovers…above all city of shoppers. I loved to shop, dress then and love to do the same even now…

Coming back to monsoons, I was in for a rude shock when I saw rains for the first time in Mumbai, and what a monsoon…it rained for 4 days together paralysing the whole city, leaving people home bound for days together. This was my first brush with “Mumbai-ki-Barsaat”!

Honestly I hate rains, I find nothing romantic about it particularly if you are out in Mumbai which becomes all green on top and muddle pool at the bottom. Car drive is a nightmare with all those puddles, potholes, incessant traffic jams, huge pedestrian crowds…it is a total menace all over. Whatever it is but importance of Mumbai rains cannot be undermined, Mumbai gets water round the year, courtesy these monsoons. So we love them, we have to love them. Over a period of time, I have learnt to live with them, and have started enjoying monsoons which bring such big relief to Mumbaikars from scorching heat of March –April – May. And the most depressing part is that your dressing gets a big beating, style quotient goes for a toss and you are left with feeling more depressed!

Not anymore! With Limeroad’s stylish & tasteful collection especially for monsoons, I could devise a trendy look for myself which not only made me look perfect for the occasion (read monsoons) but lifted my spirits too! Limeroad’s passion for fashion is mind-blowing across all categories be it dresses, accessories like neck-pieces, glares, jumpsuits, flip-flops…clutches, sling-bags, satchels. I wouldn’t have been happier. I will surely advice all my friends to pamper their style quotient with awesome monsoon collection from http://www.limeroad.com which has something for every woman.

I just could not take my eyes off from the collection which will certainly make my monsoon in Mumbai different, I invested not less than 5-hours looking at each and every piece which caught my fancy for selecting the look for my readers. And biggest thing of all, the pricing is quite pocket-friendly! You can get pieces at as low as 249 Rupees for beautiful flip-flops. You can have enlarged views of all the products where you can check colours, embellishments, fabric, and texture of the product. So what are you thinking? Have your fill!!!

You can take tips from the Style – File I have created from Limeroad collection.