For those of us who are head over heals in love, here’s a new destination to consider. The Tunnel of Love, located in Ukraine, used to be just another train rail section, but eventually turned into one of the most romantic spots on Earth.

As trees were left to grow freely around the rails, the passing train was the only thing shaping its way through. Eventually, by crossing the Kleven village forest back and forth three times a day, the train shaped a closed tunnel according to it’s size.

Today the Tunnel of Love is highly popular among lovers: it is believed that if two people are sincere in their love and cross the tunnel while holding each other’s hands, their wishes will come true.

Guest Post By: Priyanka Tewari  … a.k.a .. Teena

Very Few cities in India have the power to attract a visitor to shift there permanently. Bangalore is one of them. Bangalore officially known as Bengaluru is well known as Garden City of India. Bangalore is proud capital of Karnataka in South India. In past few years, Bangalore emerged as a hub for IT Companies thus known as Silicon Valley of India. Bangalore is a city of cool, salubrious climate and young people with life and oomph. All inclusive makes Bangalore a perfect balance of past and present.

Lal Bagh: A must see in Bangalore is Lal Bagh Botanical garden. This enchanting garden named as ‘Lal Bagh’ because of its beautiful, budding red roses that blossom throughout the Years. This park has some rare species of plants brought from Persia, Afghanistan and France. It has an intricate watering system for irrigation. It has many springs, lotus pools and flowerbeds. It also has one of the oldest rock formations called as the Lal Bagh Rock. The Glass House, a later addition to the Garden, now hosts a permanent flower show. The garden gets a festive look every year on Independence Day and Republic Day.
Timing: 9 am – 6 pm

Vidhan Soudha: Vidhan Soudha, a major attraction of Bangalore, is famous for its neo Dravidian style, with hints of Chola, Rajasthani and Kannada architecture. This enormous massive building is built in 1954. There is a part of Karnataka secretariat in the Building. The building project was started in 1952 and took five thousand labourers, 1500 chisellers, masons and wood carvers four years to complete. It is built entirely from Bangalore granite and has floral motifs on stone artefacts. It covers the area of 5,50,505 square feet, and is 700 feet long, 350 feet wide and is 150 feet high.

Cubbon Park: Want to laze around in the lush green paradise. Here is the place for all Bangalorians named as Cubbon Park. It is named after Sir Mark Cubbon, Bangalore’s longest serving Commissioner. The Park has sophisticated classical buildings such as the Government Museum, Visveswaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Aquarium, Venkatappa Art Gallery and Seshadri Iyer Memorial Hall. It has a paragon of different species of exotic plants and many decorative and blossoming trees, both exotic and original. Bal Bhavan is a great place for the kids to adore. It’s an ideal place for walkers, joggers, and nature lovers.
Timing: 24 hrs (Closed for traffic 5 am – 8 am)

Attara Kacheri: Located at the entrance to Cubbon Park and houses the High Court and many lower courts, this two-storied building is built in 1867 under the reign of Tipu Sultan. This building is painted in red with Corinthian columns in Gothic style architecture. It’s Close to the Court is the State Central Library building having architectural style of stone and fluted pillars. This is adjacent to Venkatappa Art Gallery, displaying famous paintings, artefacts and wooden statues of artist Venkatappa.

Bull Temple: Built by the city’s original architect, Kempe Gowda, the Bull temple of Bangalore is dedicated to the vahana (vehicle) of Lord Shiva, Nandi Bull. There is a gigantic statue of the sitting bull engraved out of a single rock. The statue is 4.5 meters tall and 6 meters long. This temple is situated in Basavanagudi and this temple has been built in the Dravidian style of architecture. Sri Dodda Ganapathi is a nearby Ganesha temple which houses a massive statue of the elephant-headed deity made of butter.
Timing: 7.30 am – 12.30 pm, 5.30 pm – 8.30 pm

Bangalore Palace: Another must see attraction in the city of garden is Bangalore Palace. It was built by Chamaraja Wodeyar, Maharaja of Mysore in 1887. Beautiful Bangalore Palace which is inspired by England’s Windsor Castle has Tudor style architecture, with fortified towers, curvatures, lush green lawns and elegant woodcarvings in its interiors.

Tipu Sultan’s Palace & Fort: Tipu Sultan’s Palace was built in the end of the 18th century. This Palace initially was made by Chikkadeva Raya in mud. Later, Hyder Ali started reconstruction in Indo-Islamic architecture and built it entirely by timber. This palace showcases the ethnic Mughal lifestyle. The fort is noted for its exquisitely carved arches on the gate. There is a Hindu temple in the courtyard which is the proof of Tipu Sultan’s religious tolerance.
Timing: 9 am – 5 pm

Venkatappa Art Gallery: Venkatappa art gallery is a perfect place for the art lovers exhibiting some of the rich art of Bangalore. This gallery compromised of two floors displaying 600 painting with antiquities from Mohenjadaro and terracotta from Mathura. The art gallery also has some of the selected collections of scenic displays.
Timing: Thursday – Tuesday, 10 am – 5 pm

Ulsoor Lake: The beautiful Ulsoor Lake of Bangalore is an artificial lake, spread over an area of 125 acres. It was constructed by Kempegowda II. Boating and swimming pool are the great attractions of the lake. There is a boat club at the lake, where you can hire cruises with stop-offs at some of the islands.

Other Bangalore Attractions: Apart from the above, Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium which creates awareness about astronomy, Gandhi Bhavan showcasing photos of Mahatma Gandhi’s life, Crazy Water park which provides adventure, splash and delight, located in Bannerghatta Main Road , as well as great shopping malls are there to appeal people to this stunning city.

Pushkar Balloon Festival is a 3-Day Hot-Air Ballooning Extravaganza scheduled from November 17th – 20th 2010 in city of Ajmer, Rajasthan. On backdrop of world famous ‘Pushkar Fair’, this festival invites more than 15 Hot-Air Balloons from Americas, Europe, and Asia to splash their colors in skies of Pushkar. Luxury Swiss Tents and multi-cuisine food festival makes it a perfect place to be! On the backdrop of buzzing Live Music, Animal Races, and Crafts Fair we are organizing ‘Pushkar Hot-Air-Ballooning Fiesta’. The balloons fly over festival grounds, camel camps, sand dunes, campfires, mountains and lakes around the scenic destination during mesmerizing sunrise and sunsets of Pushkar Hills.

India came alive with the magical light of Diwali yesterday. Along the Indian-Pakistan border, soldiers exchanged sweets. In Kolkata, people eagerly celebrated Kali Puja.

However, as well as being festival of lights, Diwali is also festival of noise. Many people love to burst crackers, the louder the better. They burst them all over the roads, in markets, and near homes. After one went off near my ear last year, leaving me half deaf for a day, I refused to go outside yesterday. Every Diwali, there are tragedies, with people getting burned and killed from crackers. Fortunately, the bursting of loud crackers has been actively discouraged by the government, to reduce pollution and make it easier on the ears. Of course, the challenge is in implementing the rules.

What do you think? What’s been your experience with crackers?

I’m glad to be able to say that although Cyclone Jal did leave its mark in India, with uprooted trees and snapped power cables, the impact wasn’t as widespread as feared. That’s because the cyclone thankfully weakened as it drifted towards Chennai on Sunday night. Apparently, it was the first time in 14 years that a cyclone had passed so close to the city. Scary!

Despite this, there sadly is a death toll. Eleven people have been killed by heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh. The rough weather is expected to continue until tomorrow.

It seems that tens of thousands of camels, and a bunch of crazy camel competitions, aren’t enough anymore. This year, the Rajasthan Tourism Department is adding a new attraction to the Pushkar Camel Fair.

In a move from the traditional to the modern, an international hot air ballooning event is being planned for four days during the festival.

It’s envisaged that up to 15 ballooning teams, including eight from abroad, will participate. Visitors can also go on their own balloon flight over the fair. Sky Waltz offers hot air ballooning in Pushkar.

This year, the fair will get underway on November 13, 2010. Most of the camel related activities take place during the first five days of the festival. The focus will shift to religious celebrations from November 18-21.

Find out more about the Pushkar Camel Fair or download a tentative program of events from Rajasthan Tourism.

Here’s some good news for anyone wanting to enjoy a drink in Darjeeling, whilst watching the sunset over Kangchenjunga. The Gorkha Janmukhi Morcha political party has lifted its ban on the sale of alcohol in bars, restaurants, and shops in Darjeeling.
The ban was introduced three months ago, to stop revenue flowing into Bengal state government coffers and thus exert pressure on the government. However, it created a great deal of resentment amongst tourists, shop keepers, and even residents who drink alcohol to help beat the cold winter chill.

Where can you see hundreds of thousands of people congregate to take a holy dip in the Ganges river today? At the world’s largest religious gathering — the Kumbh Mela — in Haridwar.

The three month long Kumbh Mela gets underway from today, the occasion of Makar Sankranti. This meeting of the religious minds attracts sadhus (Hindu holy men) and pilgrims from near and far. It’s a spectacle never to be forgotten.

The Uttarakhand government has devoted significant resources to building new infrastructure in Haridwar for the festival. This includes a modern car park, foot bridges, and a network of arterial roads connecting the main Har?ki?Pauri bathing ghat to neighboring shrines and residential areas.

Tamil Nadu, in south India, is enthusiastically preparing to celebrate the Pongal festival. This festival, which is the equivalent of Thanksgiving, takes place for four days all over the state from January 13-16 each year. It’s a harvest festival, which also marks the retreat of winter and the start of the Tamil New Year.

Since most of Tamil Nadu relies on agriculture for its income, Pongal is one of the most important festivals of the year there. The highlight of the festival is the cooking of the Pongal dish — a sweet preparation made from rice and boiled milk — on the second day.

One of the best places to participate in Pongal celebrations is Chennai. Pongal is also a popular time for new movie releases in the cinemas, so check out a Tamil movie as well!

Important Dates during Mahakumbh 2010:

January 14th – Makkar Sakranthi
15th – Mouni Amavaysa, Suryagrahan Snan
20th – Basant Panchami
30th – Mahi Poornima
February 12th – Mahashivratri (Shahi Snan)
March 15th – Somvati Amavasya (Shahi Snan)
16th – Nav Samvatharambh Snan
24th – Ramnavami Snan
30th – Chiatra Poornima Snan
April 13th – Baishakhi
14th – Mesh Sankranthi (Shahi Snan)