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Jaffna

On Jaffna, the Long-Lost Home and the Sweetest Plain Tea at Karaitivu

January 1, 2018

On Jaffna, the Long-Lost Home and the Sweetest Plain Tea at Karaitivu

That one weekend we boarded the train, and went all the way to Jaffna for a mini fam trip.

Wrote a quick blog post about our stay at @eraeliy

Wrote a quick blog post about our stay at @eraeliya_villas (because we really really loved it). Link in bio.

#natnzin
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#srilanka #srilankatravel #srilanka2020 #travelphotography #travelwriter #beautifuldestinations #beautifulhotels

Too much of us here on the feed, so here's a throw

Too much of us here on the feed, so here's a throwback to this beautiful morning in Deepor Beel, which is a @ramsar_convention_on_wetlands wetland site just outside the center of Guwahati in #Assam.

📷: @sahidulislaml
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#natnzin #india #indiatravel #incredibleindia #guwahati #thisisnortheast #northeastindia #northeastindiatourism #discovernortheast #deeporbeel #beautifuldestinations

We had such a fun candid shoot with the talented @

We had such a fun candid shoot with the talented @chris_kis_kis at @eraeliya_villas ✨🙌 Loved spending a few days in this beautiful jungle villa by the beach in #Weligama.

It's a gorgeous property with so much space, and Nathan and I both loved the meals served here, cooked by the local chef Jerome, particularly the breakfast spread every morning with avo toast, poached eggs, sauteed mushrooms, toast served with homemade dried fruit and nuts jam, and tropical fruit platter.

We also love beautiful spaces with so much character. There are so many tiny beautiful details, like bloomed orchids and houseplants in each room, paintings about the island life, and exquisite chandeliers 🌻 @eraeliya_villas also try to minimize their single use plastic consumption as much as they can.

Hoping to post a couple of more posts about the villas in the upcoming days.

#natnzin
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#srilanka #travelsrilanka #visitsrilanka #srilankatravel #srilanka2020 #matara #wanderlustsrilanka #beautifulhotels #travelcouples #travelwriter #travelphotography
#traveljournalist

Hiiii friends ✨🙌 traveling for the first time

Hiiii friends ✨🙌 traveling for the first time after the lockdown. Nathan and I came to beautiful @eraeliya_villas for a fun shoot. It's a gorgeous space in Weligama by the beach. They are creating some really cool experience packages for local travelers right now. 11/10 recommend for a retreat holiday ♥️

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#eraeliyavillas #weligama #srilanka #matara #galle #srilankatravel #srilanka2020 #visitsrilanka #wanderlustsrilanka #galle

Took time to watch the sunset yesterday ✨ #natn

Took time to watch the sunset yesterday ✨

#natnzin
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#srilanka #colombo #travelsrilanka #visitsrilanka

My real life #ddlj moment ✨🌻 #natnzin . . . #

My real life #ddlj moment ✨🌻 #natnzin
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#india #assam #guwahati #northeastindia #incredibleindia

Four idlis. Sambar. Chutney. 20 Indian rupees. Fro

Four idlis. Sambar. Chutney. 20 Indian rupees. From a beautiful coastal town called Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. A lovely lady, probably in mid thirties, and her mumma ran this makeshift stall on a small alley. She made idli. She made dosa. There was chai. There was coffee. These were the freshest, fluffiest, softest idlis I've had in my life. We giggled for the most part (when language is a barrier, smiles work) and ordered dosa. One for my friend. One for me. Someone asked where we were from. I said Sri Lanka. My friend said Assam. They knew Sri Lanka. It was two countries. They didn't know Assam. It was one country. Someone else showed us how to go to Coringa mangroves on a shared tuk tuk. We left with smiles, our stomachs full, and our hearts happy.

We did a collab post on best food-y experiences in Asia. Part one is live now featuring so many amazing experiences, including how aloo (potatoes) made it into Kolkata biryani, breakfast in kopitams in Malaysia and dinner at a homestay in rural Kyrgyzstan countryside ♥️ Link in bio.

#natnzin #India #incredibleindia #srilanka #food #travelsrilanka #indianfood #idly #idli #southindianfood #andhrapradesh #assam #foodphotography #foodstagram

Three happy highlights of the week: 1. We are bac

Three happy highlights of the week:
1. We are back together//I came back to Colombo after three months
2. Had breakfast on bed
3. Ordered in @giovannis_presto_pizza after so long with some Chilean red wine
How was your week?

Picture from Krang Suri Falls in #meghalaya
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#meghalayadiaries #northeastindia #india #incredibleindia

From Bolgoda//🌿✨ before the new normal. #nat

From Bolgoda//🌿✨ before the new normal.
#natnzin
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#bolgodalake #srilanka #visitsrilanka #travelsrilanka #birdphotography #birds

A little kid was playing his long kite in the fiel

A little kid was playing his long kite in the fields today ✨

#natnzin
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#srilanka #visitsrilanka #quarantinelife #srilanka2020

Here after a long time. Frankly, I log out of this

Here after a long time. Frankly, I log out of this Instagram and forget to log back in. And Nathan has stopped Instagram for good.

Anyways, we've been working on our blog and yesterday, we published a long collab post about everyone's favourite tea stories. It's some cute, beautiful stories from all over the world, from Argentina to Bosnia, India, Iran and Taiwan.

Link in bio.

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#india #incredibleindia #tea #chai #newblogpost #beautifuldestinations

Wrote a roundup blog post about breakfast dishes i

Wrote a roundup blog post about breakfast dishes in #SriLanka! Photos taken at @upaliscolombo in early December over this beautiful breakfast spread ✨ Link in bio.

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#srilanka #srilanka2020 #srilankanfood #srilankan #milkrice #hoppers #stringhoppers #pittu #kiribath #srilankadiaries #colombo

Skies right now ✨ #quarantinelife #villagelife

Skies right now ✨
#quarantinelife #villagelife #natnzin
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#srilanka #srilanka2020 #srilankatravel

Happy New Year to everyone who celebrates today ✨🌻 Love, light and gratitude ♥️ #newyear #natnzin
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#travelgram #travelphotography #travelph #beautifuldestinations

Shella// Shella is a beautiful town. It's like a h

Shella// Shella is a beautiful town. It's like a hub, with a busy weekly market, a connecting point of Garo Hills and Khasi Hills in Meghalaya and then Bangladesh.

Go to Shella and you'll find Garo women talking in fluent Bengali. You will see Bengali men selling rice flakes. Or Khasi women with baskets of chicken on their heads.

Walk to the river banks and there are many fishmongers on their boats, both young and old. And others, not so young, not so old. The teenage kids killing time after school.

These were some of the sweetest kids, who had a bag full of fish which we later bought. And they took us around the river, showed us fishing nets and told us stories from the childhood.

Photos: my friend @sahidulislaml
#natnzin
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#shella #meghalaya #meghalayadiaries #meghalayadairies #meghalayaphotography #meghalayatourism #northeastindia #incredibleindia #northeasttourism

I remember it rained that day. It was my second da

I remember it rained that day. It was my second day in Gangtok. I opened Google Maps so I could walk to where I wanted to go. But for some reason, I was bad with maps and it wasn't all clear to me. I also wanted an umbrella because I didn't have one and it was raining.

So I asked an uncle. He looked like he was on his way to work. He told me to come under his umbrella and we started walking. We climbed up 150 something steps, which I later learnt was a shortcut Google Maps don't show you.

And he dropped me at my destination. "Good day," he told me, turned back and started climbing down the steps. "You are not going this way?" I remember I asked. "No, my office is down there." He said and walked back.

And I, I could barely say thank you before he left.

#natnzin
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#india #sikkim #gangtok #incredibleindia #india_ig #indiatravel #india_clicks #indiagram

Nepal's mobile internet coverage is the poorest in

Nepal's mobile internet coverage is the poorest in the world. But every little eatery, shop or joint has WiFi so you make mandatory stops on the way to check your Facebook or send a WhatsApp text. This was from one such spot. I don't exactly know where it was, but there was coffee and beautiful views. And sometimes, that's all you need.
#natnzin
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#Nepal #nepal🇳🇵 #nepaltravel #nepali #nepali_instagrammers #nepaltourism #nepaldiaries

Where were you this time last year? And where were

Where were you this time last year? And where were you supposed to be now if the pandemic didn't happen?

Remember, we were in one corner in the south of the island, on a deserted beach, seeing peacocks in the wild and making friends with cute doggos. Time flies.

Nathan still doesn't have his passport back, so, he's not able to travel out of the island. Long story! This is also the reason why you I (Zin) venture out everywhere on my own (or with my other friends). So I was supposed to be in Pakistan.

Probably in the North of Pakistan where the cherry trees bloom right now, after spending a few days devouring homecooked food in Karachi with my Pakistani friend.

#natnzin
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#srilanka #tangalle #yala #yalanationalpark #srilankatravel #visitsrilanka

Aizawl is in one corner of India. It’s a long jo

Aizawl is in one corner of India. It’s a long journey from everywhere you can think of. My friend Sahid dropped me at the taxi stand in Silchar. He waited until the taxi left. I was nervous. I was going somewhere that the world knew little about. For nine hours, I sat, sandwiched between an old desi uncle and the driver inside a sumo jeep. The road was bumpy. It was covered in dust. The sun shone brightly through the glass windows of the jeep and tanned my brown skin. At 5.30 in the evening, when the chilly mountain air embraced my soul with late monsoon rain, I arrived in Aizawl. The capital city of the Indian state Mizoram.

An excerpt from the new blog post. I realized I've never written about Mizoram before but I love it so very much ✨ Link in bio if you want to read mini stories from India's North East.

#natnzin
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#mizoram #india #aizawl #incredibleindia #india_clicks #india_ig #indiatravel #northeastindia #thisisnortheast

I remember sitting here. On the powdery sand. Look

I remember sitting here. On the powdery sand. Looking at the world go by. I remember looking at a group of fishmongers sailing ashore. I remember looking at desi aunties wearing sarees to the beach. Their pallus glistened. I remember having corn on the cob. I remember looking for fresh coconut water. I didn't find coconuts that day.

I remember walking on the sand. Screaming and running along the banks like a wee kid. I remember waiting for the setting sun. Birds chirped. Kids flew kites. Colourful ones.

Looking back today, on the 16th day of being indoors, sometimes I feel like we don't really appreciate the freedom some of us have, to watch the setting sun, to run on the sand, to scream in joy, to taste ice cream joining hundreds other strangers, who, like you, wanted to have one ice cream.

Maybe they wanted double chocolate chip cookies with coffee. And you wanted butterscotch, or caramel. But all of wanted to taste ice cream, watching the setting sun on a crowded beach. Crowded, nonetheless beautiful. And we seldom appreciate the freedom of being able to have ice cream on a crowded beach. We don't appreciate the earth's marvels we unravel as we travel.

Now, on my 16th day being inside the house, I long for one ice cream on this crowded beach. Double chocolate cookies with a hint of coffee, please.

#natnzin #india #incredibleindia #andhrapradesh #vizag

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