Vipassana experience: I failed!

This passage details my Vipassana experience and how I failed to complete the 10-day vipassana meditation course. “Let’s get out…let’s get out…let’s get out now!” – one of the voices in my head screamed out. “Hold on. Just focus on the imaginary square on top of your head and ignore the agony.” – another calming …

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Fun things to do in Mangalore

Fun things to do in Mangalore: Mangalore, or Mangaluru as it is now called, is one tiny city in Karnataka that is really undersold when it comes to tourism. I live in this little speck of a city that has everything one looks for in a tropical vacation destination – beaches, culture, food and fun. …

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Hornbill Festival Nagaland

The Hornbill Festival is held every year from December 1st to 10th in Nagaland, Northeast India, to showcase the cultural heritage of Nagaland. This is an account of my Hornbill festival Nagaland trip.    Bangalore to Dimapur Flight Our flight touches down in Dimapur, and the stewardess announces that the airline has lived up to …

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‘Calaveras Pintadas’ and Natgeo

Calaveras Pintadas by Sampath Menon

This is one of those little joys of life (the micro-happiness bits) that helps you keep going when nothing else is really working for you: my ‘Calaveras Pintadas‘ photograph (shown above) was selected to be a part of a Nat Geo bundle of images featuring the ‘Day of the dead’ celebrations! Here’s the link to …

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Unique things to do in Mexico City

In one of my earlier posts, I had listed down some of my initial thoughts and observations about the exciting, colourful and bustling Mexico City. In this picture story, I will take you through some of the unique things to do in Mexico City. This is my Mexico City travel blog. Follow along: The City …

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Dharamshala and McLeodganj places to visit

Dharamshala and McLeodganj places to visit: After our last year’s trip to Varanasi and Bodhgaya, my friend ‘Smiling Buddha’, Deepak, and I were back on the road again; this time to the abode of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet in Dharamshala (Dharamsala – also known as ‘Little Lhasa of Tibet’). This is my …

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A Varanasi travel blog

This Varanasi travel blog (Kashi travel blog) continues from where I left off last week: If you haven’t read Part 1 of this story, please read it here before proceeding further. Here is the link: Heading to Varanasi We left peaceful Bodh Gaya to head to another interesting place, a place where we would experience …

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Maha Bodhi temple, Bodh Gaya

This is an account of my trip to Maha Bodhi temple Bodh Gaya. The flight to Patna I grabbed a cup of hot bella coffee from the crowded Hatti Kaapi outlet outside the Bangalore airport terminal and found a comfortable seat to perch myself. I had caught an early morning flight from Mangalore. I was …

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Ellora caves architecture

Ellora caves architecture: Ellora is one of the largest rock-cut cave complexes in the world and is truly an engineering marvel. The Kailash temple (Cave 16), also known as Kailasa or Kailashnath temple is the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world. This is an account of my trip to see the Ellora caves …

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One Good Step with Amitha

Amitha Pai is an ex-Infoscion who now runs a not-for-profit organization called ‘One Good Step’ (OGS). OGS connects the most credible and genuine causes in Bangalore to those who want to make a difference. This Yourstory article about her—https://yourstory.com/2016/02/one-good-step/—is a wonderful read and acts as a lead-in to this conversation with her. <– Begin interview …

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Pune heritage walk: reliving history

What is the Pune heritage walk? Pune Heritage walk is organized by Pune Municipal Corporation and Janwani Pune, an NGO. A National Award-winning walk (for the Best Heritage Walk project), it is conducted on all weekends at 7 am. The three-hour-long walk takes you around eighteen different heritage sites and is conducted in three languages: …

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Food trucks in Pune

I got a chance to explore some famous food trucks in Pune. This is an account of my Pune Food Truck escapade. Before we get there, a backstory: Some years ago,… no, I should say many years ago… in fact many, many years ago… during my high school days to be precise, I used to …

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Visiting Boracay?

Boracay is a beautiful island in the central Philippines known for its resorts and beaches. If you are looking for reasons to visit Boracay or are planning on visiting Boracay, please read this blog post as it covers some of the fun things to do in Boracay. *** Boracay: An Unexpected Invitation Whenever my wife …

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A low budget trip to Goa

I was visiting Goa in September. If you are looking for Goa places to visit in 3 days, please read on. Unlike my other visits (one such here: https://sampathmk.com/go-goa-gone), this one was different since this one involved offbeat things to do in Goa. Read on. Planning the Goa visit I wanted to get away from …

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