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Haggis, hotels and holidays in Scotland

A Mumbaikar travelled to Scotland and visited its castles, got spooked in Edinburgh and revelled in Scottish food and drink. It’s a perfect holiday spot, she thinks.
by Beverley Lewis

Its magnificent skyline is dominated by the Edinburgh Castle and it is the perfect place to explore art venues and other Scottish staples. Renowned for literature, performing arts annual events such as the Edinburgh Festival and the city that inspired writer JK Rowling, I think it is the perfect place for a holiday.

I always wanted to visit Scotland ever since I heard the bagpipes as a little girl. When I was a student in England, I always came close to visiting Scotland, but never made it to the promised land. So, when I finally made it to Scotland eight years later, I got very excited and couldn’t stop smiling.

Ancient history
Your holiday in Edinburgh can start with a tour of the Edinburgh castle, a symbol of pride and spirit of Scottish independence, which has dominated the city since the 11th century, although over the centuries it has expanded and been renovated many times. The Edinburgh Castle houses the Scottish Crown Jewels, which includes the royal crown, the sceptre, the sword and the mysterious ‘Stone of  Destiny’, which, according to legend, came from the Holy Land. Before you leave, do not forget to pay homage to the statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, Scottish heroes of the resistance.

If visiting the castle is not your cup of tea, you can pay a visit to the Royal Museum of Scotland or you can stroll through the Old Town of Edinburgh. Try and visit the Royal Mile and the High Street, where you will find many historic buildings, including the ancient City Chambers. Since Edinburgh is considered one of Scotland’s most ‘haunted’ cities, and if you don’t mind getting spooked, take a walking tour of Mary King’s Close, the famous haunted street, or Grassmarket, the execution grounds. Also, do not forget to drink a pint at The Last Drop, the historic pub where the condemned were led to drink the last drop before they faced the gallows.

Festivals and food
Scotland’s capital plays host to an exciting array of festivals throughout the seasons. You can enjoy the largest farmers’ market in the country, which takes place on Castle Terrace every Saturday, while there are also many special foodie events on offer elsewhere in the area , particularly during the summer months. Taste of Edinburgh is now held annually in one of the city’s beautiful parks, bringing a vibrant atmosphere and plenty of eating, drinking and entertainment to the capital.

August will see the return of Edinburgh’s Foodies Festival in Holyrood Park where you can sip stylish cocktails, enjoy signature dishes inside the restaurant tents and gain some insider tips to take back to your own kitchen.

When in Scotland, eat and drink as the Scots do. So, although you may nurse frequent hangovers trying to keep up with them, you can do so with a Scottish breakfast. Scottish breakfast is very similar to its English counterpart, with the addition of potato scones and a few other regional variations depending on where you get it from. You sometimes get fried haggis, the national dish of Scotland.

Traditional haggis is a savoury pudding made from sheep’s heart, liver and lungs; minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. However, modern commercial haggis is prepared in a sausage casing rather than an actual stomach. Obviously, not everyone can stomach this. For evening eating, you could try a restaurant serving traditional Scottish food, situated on the High Street. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you can still enjoy the local fare as most restaurants offer vegetarian options.

Stay options
Hotels in Edinburgh can range from the youth hostels to luxurious five-star hotels. Wherever you stay in Edinburgh, make sure you are well rested to enjoy all the city has to offer, least of all its fabulous shopping, from Harvey Nichols and Jenners to small independent boutiques, there is something for everyone.

Getting there

One can take a direct flight to Edinburgh with a stopover at Paris or Amsterdam. The flight will cost approx Rs 65,500, per person. The best time to visit is during the summer months i.e. June to August.

(Pictures courtesy Beverley Lewis)

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What lies beneath Paris

A Mumbaikar discovered Paris’ catacombs – those dark winding tunnels that hold the bones and skulls of about six million Parisians.
by Beverley Lewis

Underneath the bustling city of lights, you’ll find a maze of tunnels ─ the Catacombs. Like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, Paris’ dark alter ego lies 30 metres underground and has a history of its own. Today, visitors can walk through the catacombs looking at the remains of human skulls and bones arranged in shapes like hearts and crosses. This ‘macabre’ exhibition, while chilling, makes for a fascinatingly unique look into the history of Paris, and is a must-see tourist attraction definitely not for the faint of heart.

Our destination on an early Saturday morning in Paris are the catacombs, the entrance of which is across the street from the Denfert Rochereau station, which is on both lines 4 and 6 of the Metro. As we make our way, we notice that the great avenues are silent, the shops closed.

From a bakery comes the scent of fresh bread. At a stoplight, a blur of movement draws my attention. A man in blue coveralls is emerging from a hole in the sidewalk. His hair falls in dreadlocks, and there is a lamp on his head. The man shoves the iron cover back over the hole and walks away, grinning, down the street. The line moves relatively quickly, even with nearly 25 people in front of us, we only wait 20 minutes. The entrance price is eight Euros.

Once paid, you descend 130 steps and then walk through tunnels for several hundred meters before reaching the catacombs themselves. The ceilings are low, the floors uneven and wet, and the temperature, cool. This is so great, a chance to delve into this rarely-seen aspect of French history and learn about lives cut short by horrific diseases, revolution and the razor sharp edge of a guillotine. If you’re planning a visit, a word of caution, though: after experiencing this dark underbelly of the city you may never look at Paris in the same light again.

What really are they?

At the end of the 18th century, Paris was an overcrowded city and so were its cemeteries. In an attempt to solve the growing real estate and public health problem, city officials decided to utilise the abandoned network of limestone quarries underneath the city for graveyards. In 1786, workers began transferring bones of the deceased into the underground tunnels. By 1860, some six million departed Parisians had found their final resting place in the Catacombs.

While they are an unlikely tourist attraction, the tombs began attracting curious visitors in the late 1700s. French royalty also had their curiosity piqued and were some of the first to descend into the depths to see the winding maze of bones stacked meticulously into macabre designs, some arranged in heart formations, others in crossbones. The French resistance used these tunnels during World War II, and rave parties flourished there during the 1990s. Victor Hugo used his knowledge about the tunnel system when he wrote Les Misérables. In 1871, it is believed that communists killed a group of monarchists in one chamber.

Officially known as the l’Ossuaire Municipal, the Catacombs continue to fascinate tourists and locals alike. Visitors must descend a spiral staircase twice as deep as the Metro to begin a 45-minute self-guided tour through the damp and dark quarters. At the entrance hangs a sign warning all those about to pass through, “Arrete! C’est ici L’Empire de la Mort (Stop! Here is the Empire of the Dead.)”. Today, the Catacombs are  home to urban explorers who use the tunnels as an art space, a music venue or even a clandestine meeting point for secret societies.

The Catacombs are located in the 14th arrondisement of Paris, accessible by the Denfert-Rochereau station. The museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm every day except Monday, though the last admission is at 4 pm. Price of admission is eight Euros. Check out their website before you plan on visiting because they are sometimes closed without warning or explanation.

Did you like this story? Tell us about a bizarre travel experience you’ve had in the comments section below.

(Pictures courtesy Beverley Lewis)

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Singapore is India’s most-visited destination

However, Indians are increasingly gravitating towards Europe destinations; more Indians depend on online sources of information to make holiday decisions.

It seems that India’s love affair with Singapore continues. However, the liking for Singapore, while still high, is increasingly being tempered with an interest in other places outside Asia.

According to a March 25 release from AC Nielsen (India), “Singapore continues to be the first most-visited destination (for Indians), but has dipped in preference for leisure and business travelers from India. Only 16 per cent leisure travellers, and 11 per cent business travellers have visited Singapore in the last year, as against the 23 per cent for leisure and 15 per cent for business in 2010.” These are findings from the India Outbound Travel Monitor 2012, by Nielsen, a leading  provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy.

The Nielsen India Outbound Travel Monitor is a biennial study carried out across leisure and business travelers in 10 cities in India, with over 2,500 respondents across Tier I and Tier II cities. Nepal (11 per cent), the United States of America (6 per cent), Bangladesh (6 per cent) and United Kingdom (5 per cent) are the gainers as compared to 2010, basis those countries visited in the last year. Malaysia (8 per cent), Thailand (7 per cent) and UAE (3 per cent) have dropped as visited destinations, while Switzerland comes in as a new entrant in this category.

Countries that show a rise in Business Travel are the US (8 per cent), Malaysia (8 per cent), Australia (5 per cent) and UK (5 per cent). 

“Indians are looking to travel and explore beyond their comfort zones, increasingly guided by a healthy sense of adventure and discovery, combined with a healthy spending power. This is attributed to the freely available and accessible information on different destinations, and details on cuisine, tourist spots”, said Dinesh Kapoor, ED, Nielsen India. “This is also balanced with the fact that the Indian traveller is still value conscious, and careful when it comes to food habits – and these particular attributes are incorporated in customising experiences for them”.

Additionally, the Indian leisure traveler is open to exploring new destinations in Europe, shifting from destinations in South East Asia. 15 per cent of the respondents aspire to travel to Singapore, and 14 per cent to Switzerland. United Kingdom (10 per cent), Spain (3 per cent) and New Zealand (3 per cent) are new entrants as aspirational destinations. Over one in five respondents (22 per cent) from Tier II cities in India were found to be keen to explore Nepal, respondents from Tier I cities cite Singapore (15 per cent) and Switzerland (15 per cent)  as  top destinations they are looking to travel to.

“While cities in South East Asia will continue to be popular owing to relatively shorter, economical travel, and currency conversion, increasingly Europe is gaining popularity  as well. This may be attributed to increased exposures via media channels, cross marketing via films and television shows, and tailoring packages that appeal to a cross section of travellers from different parts of the country” said Kapoor.  

64 per cent leisure travellers and 56 per cent business travellers cited search engines and travel websites as the preferred source of information for their travel plans.  Seven in 10 leisure travellers (70 per cent), actively researched and planned trips via Internet search engines, up from 57 per cent from 2010. Online travel portals (33 per cent) and travel websites (20 per cent) are also critical sources of information. Travel agencies have reduced in influence from 60 per cent to 35 per cent; while that of tour operators remained the same at 31 per cent. 

“Easily accessible information via the Internet makes it a preferred source of information for travellers today. Consumers can explore a destination across budgets with regards to  places to stay, what to see and do, with user-generated reviews, travelogues and tourism websites. This knowledge also helps them negotiate on the best deal for their holiday from ticketing to hotel itinerary, ” Kapoor said. “Tour operators are still important in planning group holidays, where the actual planning and organising of the trip is taken care of.” 

(Picture courtesy thempreport.wordpress.com)

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Senior citizens get 20% concession at MTDC resorts

For senior citizens planning a holiday: MTDC is offering 20 per cent off on accomodation at 19 destinations in Maharashtra.

It’s a great time to be a senior citizen in Maharashtra – if for no other reason, then to enjoy a holiday at a great spot in the State at a concessional rate. As per a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) last month, senior citizens over 65 years of age can avail of a 20 per cent discount on accomodation at MTDC resorts at 19 destinations.

The concession extends to all kinds of rooms. Seniors have to book in advance to avail of the offer, but only if they book rooms for Monday to Thursday, and provided they furnish proof of age.

The concession is valid for senior citizens at MTDC resorts located at Ganapatipule, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran, Harihareshwar, Tarkarli, Tarkarli Houseboat, Tadoba, Velneshwar, Ajintha T-junction, Fardapur, Bhandardara, Malshej Ghat, Chikhaldara, Panshet, Hotel Pilgrims Inn (Shirdi), Karla, Tourist Welcome Centre (Nagpur), Titwala and Tuljapur.

(Picture courtesy hindustantimes.com) 

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Heritage walks to start at Bombay High Court

You can soon take a walking tour of the HC on weekends. However, visitors must maintain discipline inside the premises.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Have you ever wondered what the Bombay High court (HC) looks like on the inside? It sure is an imposing and photograph-worthy structure, but what is it like to be inside the building that delivers judgments and is the ultimate symbol for law in the city?

You’ll soon have a chance to find out.

After the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), it is the turn of the Bombay HC to be opened to the general public for general viewing via a heritage walk. After efforts on the part of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), the Bombay HC will be open to heritage walks on weekends, barring working Saturdays for the court.

Says Dr Jagdish Patil, Managing Director, MTDC, “It is our great privilege to have the opportunity of organising the heritage walk at the High Court. The beautiful building premises are indeed a rare sight for visitors and not many get the opportunity to visit it. The HC is a monument of great significance, history and heritage. We are thankful to the Honourable Chief Justice Mohit Shah for granting us permission to arrange heritage walks at the High Court.”

Entry to the building is otherwise restricted, understandably, but it will soon be thrown open for viewing on the weekends. The guidelines for the walking tours, as well as ticket pricing and group timings, are still being worked out. “The walk will be faciliated by the ToGA (Tour Guides Association) on days when the HC is not working,” Dr Patil says. The walk is to be conducted in the presence of police personnel and the Court Keeper between 8 am to 10.30 am on Saturdays and Sundays every month.

“However, the visitors will have to be disciplined and adhere by the High Court’s guidelines,” Dr Patil says. “They will have to move around in small batches (15 to 20 members at a time). Photography of the interiors of the court rooms or High Court building will be prohibited, and visitors will have to be cautious about not disturbing anybody in the court rooms and other departments of the HC,” Dr Patil says.

(Picture courtesy wikipedia.org)

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The mother of all bicycle rides

Gurpreet Bilkhu cycled from Manali to Khardung La, and learnt that in the mountains, it’s a ride, not a race.

It was mid-July when my friends and I were planning a cycling expedition somewhere outside Mumbai. As a member of several cycling groups on Facebook, spotting one was not difficult. A friend commented on an upcoming tour from Manali to Khardung La – the world’s highest motorable pass. After going through the tour details, as I flipped my table calendar to look at the dates, the picture for the month of August was that of Pangong Lake. For me this was a sign and I knew then that I was hooked!

From the many who started planning, only four of us tentatively confirmed, of which two were most certain to undertake it. I started my preparations with a friend. I must admit that I am just a leisurely rider. I’ve done long weekend trips of over 150 km but these are more like picnics where we ride at a normal pace. Now, planning a 570-odd km ride over 11 days appeared next to impossible (i.e. about 50-60 km of riding daily on an average). We had only about three to four weeks to work on our fitness and endurance levels, fix our bikes, prepare for the trip in terms of getting the right clothes, gear, equipment, etc. and this was along with working full time!

The biggest challenge was riding at such a high altitude because the environment could not be replicated in a city. We had no clue on how our bodies would react to the daily strenuous uphill climbs that too in a rarefied atmosphere where oxygen was a luxury. Preparing ourselves mentally was the most essential preparation because we would have to face not only the inconceivable but also the inevitable.

As the days drew nearer things got tougher. I met with an accident on one of my practice rides. My friend also met with an accident and was advised three months of rest and two others also dropped out eventually. I undertook the trip anyway. I took a train to Delhi and then a bus to Manali. The bike was packed in a box in a semi-dismantled condition.

The ride:

Day 0 – A ride around Manali upto Solang; about 35 km.

Day 1 – Manali to Marhi; 35-odd km, elevation gain 1,250 m

Day 2 – Marhi to Sissu via Rohtang Pass; 55-60 km; elevation gain 1,600 m

Day 3- Sissu to Jispa; 65-70 km; elevation gain 600 m

Day 4 – Jispa to Patseo; 35 km; elevation gain 500 m

Day 5 – Patseo to Sarchu via Zing Zing Bar and Baralacha La; 60-70 km; elevation gain 1,400 m

Day 6 – Sarchu to Pang via Gata Loops, Nakee La and Lachalung La; 90-95 km; elevation gain 1,200 kms (the toughest and longest)

Day 7 – Pang to Tso Kar via Morey Plains; 60-65 km; elevation gain 400 m

Day 8 – Tso Kar to Rumptse via Taglang La, the world’s second highest motorable pass; 80-85 km; elevation gain 900 m

Day 9 – Rumptse to Leh; 90-95 km; elevation gain 450 m

Day 10 – The big climb to Khardung La; 80-85 kms; elevation gain 2,100 m

We encountered mixed terrain all along. We found ourselves riding through flower-filled valleys, cedar and fir forests, passing through numerous villages at Manali and then moving to road jams with traffic at Rohtang Pass due to the slush. We experienced off-road terrains on our way to Baralach La. The toughest were the 21 hair pin bends called Gata Loops. Morey Plains is the waterless, high altitude desert of the Tibetan Plateau, and riding through it, after all those climbs, felt like an aircraft taking off on a runway! The most scenic route was between Rumptse and Leh. We passed the picturesque Miru village and mountains that were maroon in colour!

Do remember this is a ride and therefore never try to race. Go at a pace you can sustain for long, even if you are the last one riding. Never get carried away by adventure, the mountains can be unpredictable. If you push yourself too far too soon, you may probably impair your ability to ride the next day. Try and start as early as possible in the mornings so that you can finish your rides by 3.30-4 pm every day. This will give your body the time to relax and recuperate for the next day’s ride.

Never camp next to river sides! The temperatures tend to dip to sub-zero levels during the night. Though most tour operators would carry tents and sleeping bags, prefer to sleep in places that are constructed by the locals. These are warmer and far more comfortable than your sleeping bags. Since you ascend gradually, you acclimatise automatically. You may or may not experience mountain sickness. Never ever think how much is left to complete, only look at how much you have covered already. This will motivate you to go on. There will be times when you will feel like giving up (unless you are at a discomfort), don’t give in to the temptation. Take a break instead.

The ride to Khardung La has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life, which I will never forget. The tan, the pain, the bruises are all temporary and will fade away in sometime. What’s permanent is the achievement that will last forever. In Economics, my professors taught me that money was the only exception to the law of Diminishing Marginal Utility but I just discovered one more – adventure. The more you have it, the more you want to have it more!

Gurpreet Bilkhu is a Worli resident and bicycle ride enthusiast. She spoke to Salil Jayakar.

(Pictures courtesy Gurpreet Bilkhu)

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