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HM Travels

Driving to the city of Muscat from their international airport, you cannot miss the ornate mosque on the way. It is the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque . Built by 2001, this mosque is huge and can host twenty thousand worshippers. The large grounds around it look like an oasis. On a sunny day, I decided to visit the mosque. It is customary to wear full pants, shorts are not allowed. There is an entry ticket, but it was not being charged on the day I visited. From the entry door, t

Kochi or Cochin as it used to be called before the name was re-changed to its original form, is a city in south India in the state of Kerala. It is a historic trading port and traded with the Romans, Persians, Arabs, and Chinese. Taken over by the Portuguese, then Dutch in the 16th century, it was later ruled by the British. In my recent visit, I enjoyed a boat trip in the Kochi backwaters. Right at the start, I was greeted by cormorants, lounging on a chinese fishing net st

The second highest mountain in Africa is Mount Kenya, rising over 5 kilometers. In terms of beauty, it is the first, according to Kenyans. It has three peaks, Batian (5,199 meters (17,057 feet)), Nelion (5,188 m (17,021 ft)) and Point Lenana (4,985 m (16,355 ft)). Batian and Nelion are technical climbs needing crampons, ice-axe, harnesses, cables, hooks etc. The Lenana peak can be climbed with a hike.   I planned on a 4-day trip which would allow me to climb up the Sirimon ga

Towards the southeast of Kenya, very close to its border with Tanzania is the Amboseli National Park. Kenya’s Tsavo East, Tsavo West, and Maasai Mara are other fantastic game parks. What sets Amboseli apart is the huge variety of birdlife in it besides the wildlife. I was driving from Maasai Mara to Amboseli non-stop starting at 6:30am and passing Nairobi at about 10:30am. I was blessed with great weather and was nearing the turnoff to the unpaved road to Amboseli. I saw a gr