In my previous life, as I like to call my olden days these days, I was really into photography. But I have since moved on to other interests. However, when I recently visited Charleston in the southern state of the US in South Carolina. The beauty of its historic architecture reignited my latent photography skills, leading me to capture the moments in my phone.
Famous for the 100s of years old beautifully paved cobblestone streets, pastel-colored houses, well-preserved 18th and 19th century architecture and equally dark history. Charleston is very well known for its southern hospitality, food, and cultural attractions. Walking down the cobblestone streets transport you to another era, also reminding you of the sites where domestic slave trade flourished. As beautiful as Charleston is; you can’t escape its dark history of slavery. It’s one of the very first ports in America where slaves were brought in from Africa when British still ruled the land. Throughout the downtown area, that history is very well documented.
There are over 2,500 historical buildings in Charleston. Architectural style ranging from colonial, victorian, georgian to many other kinds. Charleston has an old world southern charm that transports you to those days. Especially in today’s age where we are so accustomed to utilitarian aesthetic, visiting Charleston was like stepping back in time.
Below I have shared some of those beautiful architechture that I encountered while walking on the King street. This edition is called the Doors.
The Doors of Charleston
The King street in downtown is without a doubt, a must do in Charleston. If you have an appreciation for architecture with exceptional craftsmanship, love scurmptious southern food, seafood, have a good apetite for shopping. Then, King street is all you need. And not to forget, the Rainbow row, Battery park (pineapple fountain) – they are all within a walking distance of one another.
Below are the overall attractions that we visited:
Downtown> King street
Downtown> Battery park
Downtown> Rainbow Row
Downtown> Old Slave Mart museum
Museums exhibiting the history of American civil war – there are plenty to see. You pick and choose
Any plantation – we visited Magnolia plantation (West Ashley). Recommended if you have kids, as they have a small petting zoo
Other attraction: Folly beach (30 minutes from Downtown)
Rainbow row
Waterfront homes
Charleston is clearly a city with rich history, charming architecture, palm trees, great food, vibrant art scene. All these reasons make it a popular tourist destination. Also, due to my own experience of how this city reinvigorated my interest to capture the moments in camera, I can say for sure that Charleston is a city that is sure to delight and inspire!
Hawaii is the 50th state of the US composed mainly of volcanic islands. Also the very last state declared as the US territory in late 1950’s. We were on the island called Maui. Many travel magazines have described Maui as the paradise on Earth. Precisely the reason I wanted to explore this region. Like many places I have visited, Hawaii had been on my list for the longest time. The state of Hawaii has multiple islands, we chose Maui – because of its natural beauty. If you are looking for adventure, Maui is just the island for you; to hike, zip-line, do many other adventure sports along with some awesome water activities.
75% of Maui island is covered by the dormant volcanic mountain called Haleakala. It’s believed, Haleakala is in fact a mix of two volcanic mountains. This mountain is on the east side of Maui. All the touristic activities take place on the west and south side. Eastern part of Maui, is usually cloudy, rainy but the west and south side is almost always sunny and the eastern mountains also block the wind so tourists can have the most ideal weather experience on Maui.
Clean streets of Maui, Hawaii
One of the first things we did as soon as we arrived was attended Luau. It was a buffet at a resort in South Maui, Wailea – an event full of music, dance and orchids showcasing Polynesian culture. This is a must do to experience Hawaiian-Polynesian culture.
WEATHER
It was on average 82 degrees Fahrenheit (approx. 28 degrees Celsius) on the island in February 2016. Everyone here surfs. When it’s a day off or a weekend, all they do is surf. Locals’ main activities are all water activities, everyone here has a perfectly toned body.
I recommend at least a week-long stay. Rent a car. It’s relatively easy to drive around.
PLACES
West Maui: Lahaina West Maui’s Lahaina area has a few awesome museums where you can learn about the history of Hawaii and its people. Interesting thing I found out about this state; after becoming a part of the US in late 50s – Hawaii’s own Polynesian culture started deteriorating. Future generations would only speak English, their native tongue was slowly disappearing. It wasn’t until early 2000, that Hawaiians deliberately made an attempt to revive their culture. For a state that seemed to start late, I was very impressed by their heritage preservation efforts. People here are multi-lingual, they have very well adapted to the American setting, keeping their culture in tact – also very cleverly integrating it with tourism.
Lahaina
PARKING (West Maui) Parking can be a big issue in Lahaina. Parking tip:> There are plenty of free public parking lots in Lahaina. But if you can’t find one. Right between the intersection of Dickenson St/Luakinu St and Dickenson St/Waine’e St you can find ‘Republic parking’; for 3 – 8 hrs it costs $5. If you park just a block ahead (closer to the main Lahaina market) It costs $5 for 1-2 hrs [2016 rate].
Lahaina is a great area to walk around, it is one of the main tourist areas on Maui. Awesome places to dine, one of which is, Cool Cat Cafe: – I recommend: Blue suede shoes cheese burgers – for the lovers of blue cheese burgers.
Best beach is in the Kaanapali area. About a few minutes (drive) north of Lahaina (although technically the same area). Kaanapali has a big mall (Whalers village) where you can park your car but it’s expensive. We were lucky enough to find a public parking spot, which is right next to the mall. If you get confused, ask the vehicle ticket person at the mall to point you to the public parking space.
South Maui: Kihei
Our hotel was on the south side of Maui. Tourist mainly flock western side – but we chose South side – as we had read in the reviews that the south side would be less crowded. Our hotel was just across an awesome beach from where you could get the best sunset view on Maui. All beaches are public on the island of Maui.
Sunset – Kihei, Beach area
Food (South Maui , Kihei)
Closer to the hotel we stayed at there was> Cafe O’Lei: This was about 6-min walk from our hotel.
Recommend: Li Hing Mui Margarita
Coconut’s Fish cafe: A few minutes drive from our hotel (30-35 minutes if you walk fast). According to CNN Coconut’s Fish cafe is one of the best top 10 food joints in the US. I would say, it does live up to the hype.
Both affordable.
East Maui
East Maui is all Haleakala – also the no. 1 biggest attraction of Maui. Haleakala mountain offers hiking experience, watching sunrise 10,000 feet above sea level, wildlife spotting, walk through a mystical bamboo forest. It’s a natural beauty jackpot.
Activities:
Haleakala
Haleakala Summit
Haleakala is humongous – considering 75% of Maui is all Haleakala – there is so much to do here in each side of Haleakala.
Road to Hana (all day trip)
Watch sunrise: Make sure to wake up early for this. To get there on time, you have to leave your hotel room by 2:45 a.m. if you are on the South side. For those living on the west side, will have to leave even earlier.
Explore the Haleakala mountain. Go for hiking. We tried, Halemau’u trail and Hosmer’s Grove trail
Part of the Haleakala National park> Pipiwai Trial: This trail was something out of a dream. Nothing like I had seen before, forest full of bamboo, gave me goosebumps – very mystical and spiritual.
Haleakala Summit
North Maui
We were on the island for 8 days – so after we were done with all touristic activities – we had enough time to also check out the Nakalele Blowhole. If you do not have enough time – you can skip this. But if you do, do not miss out. It isn’t a protected area, hence you will see plenty of sign boards saying something like, ‘..explore at your own risk’. Please do not go so close to the blow hole, it is in fact very dangerous. Blowhole area looks a bit like alien planet. It took about 2 hours drive to get to this place from Kihei (south Maui).
Nakalele Blowhole, North Maui
Overall Must dos:
Attend Luau
Explore all the best beaches of west (Kaanapali) and south Maui (Kihei).
Go snorkeling: We went snorkling at Molokini crater. Water was absolutely divine. I have never seen water so clean. You can see all kinds of aquatic creatures from the boat, you don’t even have to jump in the sea. It was that clean! Molokini is a protected area, you are not allowed climb the rocks of Molokini. Snorkling will be limited within a certain area only. But highly recommend it for sure. Besides Molokini, this package also included watching sea turtle on south Maui. As a bonus, we also got to see humpback whales. Turns out it was a whale mating season, so there were multiple male humpback whales trying to impress one single female whale and ended up very close to our boat. Boats are not allowed within 100 yards of whales, but if whales decide to come close to the boat, there’s nothing the captain can do but stay put. It was an awesome sight!
Explore Haleakala: Watch sunrise, hike Pipiwai trail, and other trails of the mountain.
All in all, I found Maui very similar to Nepal. Hawaii is literally at the top most level in the landscape of international tourism. When I say, Maui is very similar to Nepal – I am not even kidding. Except for the ocean, everything else in Maui reminded me of Nepal. From long and winding road to Hana, to summiting Mt Haleakala, seeing the sunrise above the clouds, to beautiful weather – it felt very much like going back home. If such a small island can offer so much, Nepal being a bigger country would naturally have much more to offer, if only managed well. Still, having said that, Maui of course has its own charm that cannot be compared to any other place; especially its people and culture – very unique and one of a kind. If Maui is on your bucket list – I hope you wait no more to book a trip.
(Updated: Feb 21, 2016) When I had applied for passport, government website didn’t have any relevant information. Since then Department of Passport’s website has improved leaps and bounds. I recommend you to visit their site for the most accurate information: http://nepalpassport.gov.np/
However, information given below is still relevant to get an idea on how to apply for passport in general.
This page has information on all your general inquiries.
If above link doesn’t work, access the same document here [Latest version: Jan 19, 2016] .
(Information below was posted Nov 6, 2014)
* This blog post contains information relevant to those born in Kathmandu district. If you were born outside of this district, this information may not be valid for you.
Office: Baneshwor/Anamnagar (The same office where we get our Citizenship card) Office operation hours: Sunday to Thursday: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Friday: 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Pre-requisites (Required Documents/Items – applies to Kathmandu office) :
Rs 5000 – this is for a regular processing fee, this will get you the passport in about 2 months (or less).
Rs 15 thousand to get it the same day.
Rs 12 thousand to get it the next day after the submission of the application.
Rs 10 thousand to get it in 3 days.
Special MRP photos: at least 3 [Please keep in mind this is not your traditional passport size photo. Make sure you get this taken from true professionals and save yourself some time and money]
Original Citizenship card and its copy: 2
Old passport copy (of the page that has your personal contact information): 2
Print out of Passport application with all the required fields filled.
Citizenship verification document (Although I had this document printed out, it wasn’t used)
While I was researching about the process I realized, there are people who help you fill up the form as well outside the passport office in return for a couple 100 bucks. I didn’t do any of that. I filled out the form all by myself and printed it appropriately. They have this information for you on how to print. It didn’t apply to my OS. Regardless of whatever option you see, the point is to print 100% with no modification to the layout.
First of all make sure to fill up the form provided hereand print it out.
They’ve also provided the link to a sample form if you need help.
Before you head to Baneshwor/Anamnagar office make sure you have a copy of all the documents mentioned in the Pre-requisites section above (keep multiple copies just in case). Please keep in mind the steps given below may not match precisely. I’m just giving you an idea of the process and what I went through:
Step 1: Get to Baneshwor/Anamnagar office of the DOP with all the required documents.
Step 2: Citizenship verification: room no. 105. Located on the extreme right-hand-side area of the compound.
The actual process begins by submitting your original citizenship card and its copy to room no. 105. Funny thing was on this site , it says we need to print out this document as well.
And submit it to the concerned person/department along with an original and a copy of your citizenship card. But that document was never used. I don’t know why.
Depending on the volume of requests, you will have to queue up.
By god’s grace if your citizenship information is still available in their office and the person manages to find it. Your document will be verified. The concerned officer will sign a copy of the citizenship card. Then you go to room no. 107
Step 3: Take all your documents to room no. 107 and get those signed from the concerned officer.
Step 4: Take all your documents to room no. 106 and get those signed from the concerned officer.
Step 5: Take those documents to room no. 303. This is a different building within the same compound. Get your document(s) signed again.
Step 6: Go to the bank right next to the DOP office (on the left). You need to fill out the voucher with required information then pay Rs 5000 to the bank. If you’re lost, asks the guard for the voucher. Bank will give you one of three vouchers you fill out.
Step 7: Keep that voucher with you, you will need that to collect your machine readable passport. Now go to room no. 107. They’ll ask you for one more photo, make sure you give copies of all the required documents incase they forget. They’ll then tell you to come after 50 days (or 2 months).
Passport collection:
Office: The same office in Baneshwor/Anamnagar
Sunday to Thursday: 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Friday: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
— Post 50 days —
Must carry: Your old passport if you have one, citizenship card (or driver’s license would work too)
Head back to Baneshwor/Anamnagar office.
Before you queue up, you need to first find your serial no. It will be on a sheet of paper littered on the table. You find the no. based on the date you submitted your application. Refer to your voucher for information.
Get the no. Queue-up.
Give your voucher, also your old passport if you have one, so they can cancel the crap out of it. Get your brand new passport.
Go to room no. 106 to get your passport signed and you are officially done!
Now you can go wherever you want in this world provided you have valid visas.
I’m a really bad photographer. I own Canon T5i but I haven’t yet learnt to use it to its fullest potential. Just too lazy. I bought T5i with an intention to capture motion pictures.
Although I am interested in photography in general, I am more interested in capturing moving objects. As an explorer every shot I take I think is interesting. However, when I come home and check pictures, out of 1000s perhaps only 5 manage to be good enough to be showcased. Similarly, in my most recent trip to India as always took 1000s of photos. But it was the shot I took in Nepal that I think turned out to be the best.
Wanted to share the very best shot from the lot. This is one of the curious goats I met, right across Chandragadhi airport main gate.
Let me tell you what I like about traveling in Nepal. It is not always the overtly romanticized natural beauty of this country. Not because it is comparatively cheaper than traveling to other parts of the world. Not because majority of Nepal is still untouched by the world outside. Well, yes, all that plus – what I like the most is the warmth of the people.
It helps me connect with the place much faster and makes my travel a more meaningful experience. This is something I really miss when I go outside of Nepal especially in the western region. They have a great tourism industry, very well developed infrastructure. They have everything you need to make your travel a luxurious experience. But they lack the intimate connection I seek when I’m traveling, which has nothing to do with money. It is something I feel from inside that I cannot explain.
