Newars (the indigenous people of the Kathmandu valley) have their set of traditional snacks popular with locals as well as tourists. It consists of beaten rice, spicy boiled potatoes, different kind of peas – black eyed, green, chick etc; chhoyla (fire grilled or barbequed buffalo or chicken meat), greens and so forth; Bara (a traditional pan cake made of several kinds of lentils mixed with egg, mince meat etc).

However I found this this year’s visit the one of the two oldest Newari joints famously known as ‘Honacha’, named after its founder Mr Hona:, has moved away from its original place where it had established for generations has moved to an insider and hidden location inside a maze of under the house gulleys and alleys. It seems to have been replaced by mushrooming new and modern restaurants, mostly run by non Newars.

Food seems to be more leaning towards mainstream Nepalese tastes rather than traditional Newari. This indicates the Newari traditional cooks offering authentic taste that have been continued for generations are becoming rare sight and increasingly replaced by copy cats cashing on the popularity of the distinct Newari cuisine. The proliferation can be found in many parts of the city and tastes are little off from the original recipe of Honacha. The famous food lives on but might lose its strong, sharp tates buds.

I pray, hence I order
You better give.
I pray to you, God
Using best of my words
Now you should listen to me
Not the other way round
I can’t be let down
You get the glory
But you know who created who.

Drive about an hour and a half west on the Great Western Highway from Sydney and you will reach the foothills of Blue Mountains, the town of Katoomba.

A bustling little mountain village full of character and tourists from all over the world.

Almost the end of Winter in Sydney the temperature hovering around five degrees, the wind chill made it feel like freezing. There are plenty of cafes for hot coffee or hot chocolate and good restaurants for lunch catering for all tastes – local, Japanese, Korean, Chinese even Tibetan!

You might even find a resident Cockatoo resting on the restaurant notice board.

We love Katoomba, and Blue Mountains.

We have been coming here for two decades, a truely Alpine village short drive from Sydney with her history, charm and heritage intact.

Drive a little towards the the mountain and you arrive at the theatre to view the vast forest and the famous Three Sisters peaks in the distance.

Further down the tourist trek Scenic Skyway is worth a ride too.

An hour flight north from Sydney landed us in a little airport at Gold Coast, the fun capital of Australia! And it matches its description thoroughly. This applies for people of all ages and tastes.

View from the 77th floor restaurant at SkyPoint tower building attests to the grandeur that is Gold Coast at night.

With eternally pristine beaches stretches as far as eyes can see, there is no competition from any other beaches in Australia. They are just stunning here.

While the Surfer’s paradise beach and surroundings are the most buzzing well into the mid night timing with tourists and visitors from inside and outside of Australia, little further west has the vast land full of canals and waterways home to multi million dollar properties. Many business tycoons from around the world own their own little mansions here. Just wonder what would crawl out of water at night and walk into the house.

If you are not fan of hustle and bustle of a touristy town or crowded beaches, further down south along the beach around Broadbeach and further down south starts a modern living close to the water and a vibrant life style full of world class restaurants, cafes, children parks, nearby shopping centres and other amenities. These parts gives vibes of a big world class city.

Transport systems are excellent with choices of buses, trains, and trams. Trains to Brisbane up North run every few minutes and could be a good choice to work there and live here.

SouthPort is a trendy eatery that also houses the local China town. Its a modern openly designed living town full of many Asian eateries and shops.

Despite being known for high rises mostly, Gold Coast is way more than that. HOTA (Home of the Arts) theatre is a testament to what this city can do to Art, and excellent service.

When we visited HOTA an exhibition of Australian Indigenous arts and crafts was underway with some mesmerising works from the artists.

The HOTA building itself is an spectacular site and also houses a stunning open theatre nearby.

One piece of work comprising of some wood logs and items retrieved after those were washed ashore was a master piece.

There is a hop on hop off tourist ferry service called HOPO that stops at major attractions along the canals of Gold Coast.

Gold Coast sits next to a vast tropical forest with endless adventures to explore nature too. All in all we were in awe of Gold Coast and have been wanting to go back ever since!