Planning a trip to Goa this March? Don’t miss the Carnaval!

Just as the end of winter season threatens to squeeze the tourist footfalls, Goa plays another ace that is up its sleeve on the table. The Goa Carnaval.

The highlight of Goa’s annual calendar, the Carnaval is deliberately spelled with an ‘a’ to make it sound authentic – the Goan way of pronouncing it. But the change is not just superficial. Efforts are on to continuously improve on the event, to get it closer to the way a carnival was originally meant to be.

The dates for this year’s five-day carnival are from February 28 to March 4. Since it is a tribute to the state’s diverse population and heritage, it will showcase Goan food and culture through its music and dance.

At the press conference in Mumbai: (L-R): Nikhil Desai, MD of GTDC and Director of Tourism, Government of Goa, Tourism Minister of Goa Dilip Parulekar, and stars of the upcoming movie 'Youngistan' Neha Sharma and Jackky Bhagnani 

It will jumpstart the event with the Food and Culture festival that was such a hit last year and will also feature participation from other states. Specifics for this have not yet been revealed though.

To add an element of glamour, a Brazilian troupe will be especially flown in for an electrifying Samba performance. Prominent music bands including the Raghu Dixit Project and Strings along with some famous home-grown bands will also perform at the festival.

This year’s novelty however will be the street performances by musicians at vantage points across the state, a King Momo contest and increased prize money. Goa Tourism is also planning to include a fashion show in the celebrations but nothing is confirmed yet.

If you are seriously planning to go during this time though, you need to book your flight/train tickets and accommodation immediately. Goa gets completely booked close to the Carnaval. This year round, it is geared up to accommodate over 2.5 lakh tourists!

The press conference to announce the Carnaval was held at Mumbai's Bungalow 9 that made for a fantastic venue with it's old-world Goan charm located in a leafy Bandra neighbourhood. Read a review by Mumbai Boss.

And just in case, you were wondering what the Bollywood "stars" were doing at this press conference, 'Youngistaan' is the official movie partner for Goa Carnaval 2014!

Guest post: Bienvenue à Paris!

Words are never enough to describe the beauty of Paris and I found myself speechless when attempting to do so. A photographic recital seemed apt then. 

My recent rendezvous with the city after a gap of few years led me down its cobbled streets with this story to tell...

Attention to detail on the door of Notre Dame

Balance and poise

Gargoylesssss

Ridges and roofs

Side profile please

So thats what the Eiffel tower looks like from here

The Church on the hill

The horseman on the Sacre Coeur

The Louvre by night

The Sacre Coeur

The streets i used to roam

To the left of the Notre Dame

Ze Chocolate Notre Dame

Ze Tower

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The contributor of this guest post continues to insist on remaining anonymous despite repeated appeals to do otherwise. 'He' is an avid hockey and football player and a budding photographer. He is currently in the midst of getting his quaint little bungalow in Bandra restored to good health. If you are a lover of heritage and want to send financial assistance to the writer, you can buy his beautiful photographs by messaging me. Read other posts by him here.

Fancy a 'jhappi' time in New South Wales?

It's no secret that Tourism Australia has been working really hard to attract Indian tourists to its shores for some time now. The government agency has just taken its efforts to woo the Indian traveller a notch higher.

Destination New South Wales (NSW) will reportedly be launching the country's largest-ever campaign targeted at the Indian market and hopes to increase the number of visitors from the subcontinent by at least 10 per cent in the coming 18 months.

This ‘Jhappi Time’ campaign shows four Sikh and Hindu families from India enjoying time with family and friends in Sydney and NSW. The TVC has been filmed by Australian-Indian Bollywood director Anupam Sharma and shows aspects of Australia that would appeal to the Indian consumer. In his own words: "The fun, frolic but most importantly the diversity - be it of people, location and the diversity of families from India."

The campaign has been filmed at popular New South Wales locations such as the Blue Mountains, Manly, Taronga Zoo and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

And just so we Indians feel right at home watching the ad campaign, it also has a bit of Bollywood-style dancing.

And, in the wake of the upcoming  2015 ICC World Cup that will be hosted in Australia in March 2015, the island continent along with its sidekick New Zealand has agreed to offer joint tourist visas for the duration. Seems like more happy days for the Indian cricket fan!  

You can read the full story that was published by Herald Sun here.

For those unaware of another related development, Australia has now become one of 180 countries whose citizens will be allowed to get a visa-on-arrival once they land in India.