This year, the Travel Writers trip is to the beautiful and mountainous locale of Sikkim from October 19 to 22nd. For last year’s trip, the jury selected the writers from a pool of popular travel writers and bloggers. This year we are also opening it up to anyone with a flair for writing or photography!

What do you need to do?

• The contest is called “My Trip of a Lifetime”, and invites contestants to submit their best travel experience, an experience of a lifetime.

What are the Prizes?

• The authors of the best 2 entries will be selected by the jury to be a part of an all expenses paid trip to Sikkim! The group will be hosted at the Club Mahindra “Royal Demazong” resort in Gangtok, Sikkim over a period of 3 days. The itinerary includes sightseeing in Sikkim, outdoor activities and camping.
• Runners-up entries will win travel goodies that includes a travel bag, books and other merchandise!
• All the short listed entries, including the winning entries will be featured in Clay!

How to enter the “My Trip of a Lifetime” contest?

• Send in your article/post to clay@clubmahindra.com, and also attach a few photos of the trip.
• Once your entry is short listed, we will post  it to Clay. Ask your friends to Tweet or share it on Facebook. The ones will a good number of mentions on social media stand a good chance of winning.

Where will the results be announced?

• The results and updates of the contest will be updated on Clay, the Jiyo Life page on  Facebook (facebook.com/jiyolife) and Twitter (Twitter.com/Jiyolife, Twitter.com/Clubmahindra)

Who are the members of the Jury?

Rules of the contest:

• The content can either be new or from an existing blog post that has been authored by the contestant.
• The contestant holds the right to the content. Plagiarism will result in disqualification.
• The contestant has to be a resident of India, over 18 years old.
• Last date for content submission is 7th October 2010.

Terms and Conditions:

1. Club Mahindra will only bear the following expenses of the winning contestant during the trip: Accommodation at the Club Mahindra resort in Sikkim (on a Twin-sharing basis with another member of the group. The Women in the group will be paired together) , Travel, Food at the Club Mahindra resort (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner – as a buffet) and Local Sightseeing (Arranged for the group).

2. The trip is for the winning contestant only.

Photo source http://www.flickr.com/photos/bortescristian/396242434/

Its tough to touch, feel and see any country in a few days , especially if you are a traveller like me. But if you are visiting Singapore as a tourist or on business and you have anything between a few hours to three days in hand, you can still get to experience the country based on your interests. There are no must sees – it just depends on what you want to see .

Even after my many visits to Singapore, I realize that I am yet to experience the country to the fullest. However there are certain places that I could recommend , including some of the tourist attractions. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I hope it will give you an idea to plan an itinerary . While some trips are best covered by a tour operator ,especially when you are running short of time , the better way is to arm yourself with a map and a train ticket .

The proverbial city tour
Now, this is not something that I would recommend, but it has its advantages if you are on transit and have more than six hours to kill at Changi. You could ask the Information Centre to help you register on the tour which is free. You may need to clear immigration though ! If you are however a tourist, with more time on hand and you are wondering where to start ,then go on one of the hop on- hop off tours. In three hours , you would get an introduction to Singapore. Most of these tours cover a bit of colonial Singapore, show you some of the monuments, drive through some key areas and also stop over at a few attractions. If the bus stops at the Singapore flier, take a tour or do come back here to see the entire landscape of Singapore. Another place to see the skyscape of Singapore is the skywalk at Marina bay sands and that would cost you a bit.

Little India and China town
If you are not really into museums and are more into real people and local flavour , then do visit Chinatown and Little India. Most buses take you on a tour to these places . I would recommend a leisurely trip to both these locales..Little India is a microcosm of Madras , but served rather in a Singaporean fashion with a splash of colour and life. Mustafa, the 24 hours mall is a good place for bargains, but shop only if you have to.
Chinatown can be both colourful and quiet. The oldest Hindu temple in Singapore is located here, but Im more interested in the alternative medicine practised by the Chinese. Walk over to the one of the pharmacies – sometimes you may even find restaurants serving you food , recommended by a doctor, based on your yin and yang .

Walking around Singapore
If you enjoy walking and absorbing the sights and sounds of Singapore, then these areas should not be given a miss – the entire Marina promenade, Suntec City styled according to Feng Shui , Merlion Park, Orchard Road for the malls and shopping and Singapore River for its cruises and adventure sports – journalist Shweta who was with me was hell bent on trying reverse bungee jumping among other sports I would also recommend a cruise – there are cruises from a few hours to small islands and cruises that sail to neighbouring countries. Take your pick

Singapore Zoo and Botanical garden
Talking about nature, the zoos and the botanical garden should be on everyone’s itinerary. The gardens are massive and a visit to the Orchid garden is a must. This is a great place for birding as well. The Singapore zoo is one of the best zoos around and do not miss the night safari. You can visit both of them on your own, but they are by no means close to each other. So you would need ample time for both. Try breakfast with the orangutans in the zoo . If you are into birding like me – jurong bird park should be on your itinerary. This will easily take about half a day of your time. Sungei Buloh Nature Park and Ubin Island are on my list as well for birding during my next trip.

Night life
Singapore has a vibrant night life. My favourite is Clarke quay and the nightlife around the river. Chijmes is another option. Holland village,Demsey hill and Orchard Road are also great places to hang out.Try the gin based Singapore sling if you fancy a cocktail. If you like to experiment with food, besides idlis and dosas in Little India, visit the hawker centres. There are quite a few of them – Lau Pa Sat is recommended by my guide.

Sentosa island
A trip to Singapore is incomplete if you do not visit the famous Sentosa Island – which has several attractions . You could even stay here. Sentosa can be approached by land or water, but everyone prefers the cable car. The attractions are innumerable – from laser shows to underwater world. Casinos are available here in hotels if you like to try your luck Now, even Universal has opened here . The beaches are vibrant and a first timer will need at least a day out here.

To read more posts on Singapore click here

When you mange to click a ton of flowers, what do you do? Well you go ahead, pick up the best and share it. I clicked all these pictures in a span of three days at one place, Naldehra in Himachal Pradesh. And I was told by my hotel owners that July was not the best flowering season, I should have come a little earlier. I would start with this white magnolia. But don’t expect that I will know the names of all the flowers.

The most unusual thing about this trip was that there was almost always an insect around to be clicked along with the flowers. I was invited by a local elderly couple to there house for lunch after we met casually walking around one evening. This fuchsia and the bee are from their garden.Their cottage had a view to die for, or maybe to live for!

These white rain lilies are also from their garden, they had a lovely garden.

Then I was walking on day two after the breakfast and found a field full of these purple flowers. I think it was a vegetable field but I have no clue what these are. The leaves looked liked potato plants but then I am guessing wildly. When i look at these flowwers now I wish I had taken a better picture!

On the same walk I met a few ladybugs and managed to click a few but surprisingly none of them have turned out well. If I ever have enough money and time (there I go!) I would like to go back to a big university to do a course on photography.

I can show you a Cosmos Orange (that is the name of the flower) with a Fly.

Or if have preferences, here is another Cosmos Orange with a Bee!

And then there were these white daises in the wild with a fly and another small insect for company.

Then following the same pattern there was this small insect on these white flowers, once again growing in the wild

Then there was this white rose, that was attracting the butter fly, the ants and the photographer as well! And you know what? I have still enough flowers left for another photo session but probably another day!

Ganpati Bappa Morya’ is what you will hear in Mumbai, during the festival period of Ganesh Chaturthi which lasts upto a period of 12days. Ganpati is the most loved God and is invoked prior to the beginning of any task for his blessings.

This festival today is celebrated across all castes and classes. Till 1892, this was a private celebration in peoples’ homes but ever since Lokmanya Tilak recognized the wide appeal of the deity Ganesh as “the God for everybody”, he popularized Ganesh Chaturthi as a national festival in order to bridge the gap between various communities and to build a new grassroots unity between them to generate nationalistic fervor among people in Maharashtra against the British colonial rule.

Two to three months prior to Ganesh Chaturthi, artistic clay models of Lord Ganesha are made for sale by skilled artisans.

They are beautifully decorated and depict Lord Ganesh in various poses. The size of these statues may vary from 3/4th of an inch to over 25 feet.

Ganesh Chaturthi starts with the installation of these Ganesh statues in colorfully decorated homes and specially erected temporary structures mandapas (pandals) in every locality. The pandals are erected by the people of a specific society or locality or group by collecting monetary contributions from the devotees.

For 10 days, from Bhadrapad Shudh Chaturthi to the Ananta Chaturdashi, Ganesha is worshipped. On the 11th day, the statue is taken through the streets in a procession accompanied with dancing, singing, and fanfare to be immersed. At individual homes the Visarjan is also done on 3rd, 5th or 7th day as per the family tradition

Today, the Ganesh Festival is not only a popular festival, it has become a very critical and important economic activity for Maharashtra. Many artists, industries, and businesses survive on this mega-event.

Ingredients:
400 gm sweetened condensed milk (1 tin Nestle Milkmaid)
¼ cup sugar
150 gm mixture of cashew nuts/raisins/almonds
½ cup cocoa
50 gm Unsalted butter

Method:

Pour Milkmaid into a thick bottomed pan.

Add butter, sugar, cocoa and nuts.

Swirl gently on medium heat till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

Pour evenly into a buttered dish and allow cooling and setting.

Cut into heart shape with a cutter and toss in icing sugar.

If you think you have a better recipe and you love fudge, here is a chance to win it ! For details visit Foodaholics or participate in the contest here

Naldehra is a peaceful little place 29 km away from Shimla. The nearest railway station is Kalka. For some the biggest attraction would be the golf course which has been constructed by the orders of Lord Curzon. But I am no golfer and yet I enjoyed my stay. I am told it costs Rs 200 to play a round of golf at Naldehra, I am not sure if this is true as I did not seek this information first hand but if it is then it is probably one of the cheapest places in India to play gold at?

Quite close to the golf course is a small temple, as you can only find in the hills. I reached there after walking around the golf course. To enter the course there is a small fee of 10 or 20 rupees, try as I might I can’t remember which is the correct amount. People usually go around the route on horses but it is quite a beautiful walk. Apart from the locals I was the only person walking around. In July there were rains as well as mist. That meant some slush on the path. Still, it was quite manageable and a beautiful walk. When I went in I was the only person at the temple.

If you like to venture out you could walk out in any direction and find something to admire.

July being the rainy season every nook and corner of the forest walks were full of some form of life waiting to be clicked and admired in that order. There were mushrooms of different colors I clicked white, pink and purple. I do not what the wild berries are but they did make a pretty picture.

The place was quite green due to the rains and there were photo opportunities every where. If you walk for a kilometer or two you would reach the village of Durgapur. I walked as far as the small market in the evening.

There was a patch full of small pebbles and for a moment my feet lost contact with the ground, but luckily after being air borne for a moment I landed on my feet once again. Living in the city, the vast open spaces have such a special appeal to me.

When all this left me tired I had the recourse to the restaurant and the fine food thats available here. If you are afraid of gaining weight go for a long walk after that! Gazing at flowers and insects on the walks, it starts approaching the idea of a perfect holiday.

If you wish to try out the local cuisine, there is a dhaba near the golf course where you could try Sidu, a Himachali dish. It is a steamed dish made of flour and a heavenly filling (don’t ask me for the ingridients, I do not know, I only know it tastes great!) but it is served with ghee! There goes your diet plan once again.

To cap off everything the sunsets are glorious, I am told you usually get to see two rainbows at the sunset but I was not that lucky. Even then they make a breathtaking picture, an ideal time to laze around with a book and then to look forward to a hearty dinner and sleep.