World Tourist Destinations

CRICKET IPL Five Schedule 2012

Date            Local       GMT              Match Details                                                  Venue
4-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, 1st T20     Chennai
5-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     KKR vs Delhi Daredevils, 2nd T20     Kolkata
6-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Mumbai Indians vs Pune Warriors, 3rd T20     Mumbai
6-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab, 4th T20     Jaipur
7-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     RCB vs Delhi Daredevils, 5th T20     Bangalore
7-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings, 6th T20     Visakhapatnam
8-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Rajasthan Royals vs KKR, 7th T20     Jaipur
8-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Pune Warriors vs Kings XI Punjab, 8th T20     Pune
9-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians, 9th T20     Visakhapatnam
10-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     RCB vs KKR, 10th T20     Bangalore
10-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings, 11th T20     Delhi
11-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals, 12th T20     Mumbai
12-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Chennai Super Kings vs RCB, 13th T20     Chennai
12-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Kings XI Punjab vs Pune Warriors, 14th T20     Mohali
13-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     KKR vs Rajasthan Royals, 15th T20     Kolkata
14-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers, 16th T20     Delhi
14-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Pune Warriors vs Chennai Super Kings, 17th T20     Pune
15-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     KKR vs Kings XI Punjab, 18th T20     Kolkata
15-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     RCB vs Rajasthan Royals, 19th T20     Bangalore
16-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, 20th T20     Mumbai
17-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers, 21st T20     Jaipur
17-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     RCB vs Pune Warriors, 22nd T20     Bangalore
18-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Kings XI Punjab vs KKR, 23rd T20     Mohali
19-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils, 24th T20     TBC
19-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Chennai Super Kings vs Pune Warriors, 25th T20     Chennai
20-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Kings XI Punjab vs RCB, 26th T20     Mohali
21-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, 27th T20     Chennai
21-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Delhi Daredevils vs Pune Warriors, 28th T20     Delhi
22-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab, 29th T20     Mumbai
22-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Deccan Chargers vs KKR, 30th T20     TBC
23-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Rajasthan Royals vs RCB, 31st T20     Jaipur
24-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Pune Warriors vs Delhi Daredevils, 32nd T20     Pune
24-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     KKR vs Deccan Chargers, 33rd T20     Kolkata
25-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians, 34th T20     Mohali
25-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     RCB vs Chennai Super Kings, 35th T20     Bangalore
26-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Pune Warriors vs Deccan Chargers, 36th T20     Pune
27-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians, 37th T20     Delhi
28-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab, 38th T20     Chennai
28-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     KKR vs RCB, 39th T20     Kolkata
29-Apr-12     16:00     10:30     Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals, 40th T20     Delhi
29-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers, 41st T20     Mumbai
30-Apr-12     20:00     14:30     Chennai Super Kings vs KKR, 42nd T20     Chennai
1-May-12     16:00     10:30     Deccan Chargers vs Pune Warriors, 43rd T20     Hyderabad
1-May-12     20:00     14:30     Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils, 44th T20     Jaipur
2-May-12     20:00     14:30     RCB vs Kings XI Punjab, 45th T20     Bangalore
3-May-12     20:00     14:30     Pune Warriors vs Mumbai Indians, 46th T20     Pune
4-May-12     20:00     14:30     Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers, 47th T20     Chennai
5-May-12     16:00     10:30     KKR vs Pune Warriors, 48th T20     Kolkata
5-May-12     20:00     14:30     Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals, 49th T20     Mohali
6-May-12     16:00     10:30     Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, 50th T20     Mumbai
6-May-12     20:00     14:30     RCB vs Deccan Chargers, 51st T20     Bangalore
7-May-12     20:00     14:30     Delhi Daredevils vs KKR, 52nd T20     Delhi
8-May-12     16:00     10:30     Pune Warriors vs Rajasthan Royals, 53rd T20     Pune
8-May-12     20:00     14:30     Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab, 54th T20     Hyderabad
9-May-12     20:00     14:30     Mumbai Indians vs RCB, 55th T20     Mumbai
10-May-12     20:00     14:30     Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings, 56th T20     Jaipur
11-May-12     20:00     14:30     Pune Warriors vs RCB, 57th T20     Pune
12-May-12     16:00     10:30     KKR vs Mumbai Indians, 58th T20     Kolkata
12-May-12     20:00     14:30     Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils, 59th T20     Chennai
13-May-12     16:00     10:30     Rajasthan Royals vs Pune Warriors, 60th T20     Jaipur
13-May-12     20:00     14:30     Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers, 61st T20     Mohali
14-May-12     16:00     10:30     RCB vs Mumbai Indians, 62nd T20     Bangalore
14-May-12     20:00     14:30     KKR vs Chennai Super Kings, 63rd T20     Kolkata
15-May-12     20:00     14:30     Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab, 64th T20     Delhi
16-May-12     20:00     14:30     Mumbai Indians vs KKR, 65th T20     Mumbai
17-May-12     16:00     10:30     Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings, 66th T20     Dharmasala
17-May-12     20:00     14:30     Delhi Daredevils vs RCB, 67th T20     Delhi
18-May-12     20:00     14:30     Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals, 68th T20     Hyderabad
19-May-12     16:00     10:30     Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils, 69th T20     Dharmasala
19-May-12     20:00     14:30     Pune Warriors vs KKR, 70th T20     Pune
20-May-12     16:00     10:30     Deccan Chargers vs RCB, 71st T20     Hyderabad
20-May-12     20:00     14:30     Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, 72nd T20     Jaipur
22-May-12     20:00     14:30     TBC vs TBC , Qualifier 1 T20     Bangalore
23-May-12     20:00     14:30     TBC vs TBC , Eliminator T20     Bangalore
25-May-12     20:00     14:30     TBC vs TBC , Qualifier 2 T20     Chennai
27-May-12     20:00     14:30     TBC vs TBC , Final T20     Chennai

Medjugorje, Bosnia & Herzegovina

In 1981, six children saw an apparition
of the Virgin Mary, in Medjugorje.
Today, the community of 400 residents
caters to millions of visitors
every year. The site, Apparition Hill
and the local church offer mass in
more than 10 languages, including
Croatian, Italian, Spanish and English.

Ulpotha, Sri Lanka

Two hours away from Kandy, Sri
Lanka, lies Ulpotha, an eco-village hidden
in a valley at the foot of the Galgiriyawa
mountains. It has been a pilgrimage
site for thousands of years and
is now a yoga, spa and Ayurveda retreat
open to guests for part of the year.
world’s spiritual getaways

Kairouan, Tunisia

Kairouan is a 1000-year-old city and
is considered to be the fourth holiest
city in Islam after Mecca, Medina and
Jerusalem. As the oldest Muslim place
of worship in Africa, the Great Mosque
of Kairouan (built in 670 AD) has been
an important place of pilgrimage for
Muslims who can’t make the long Haj.

Easter Island, Chile

Easter Island became a part of Chile
in the late 1800s and is a World Heritage
Site famous for the hundreds of
moai, the towering volcanic stone statues
dotted around the island and positioned
on ahu, the massive stone platforms.
Till date, no one knows which
civilisation built the moai and why
they built them.

Tiwanaku, Bolivia

Tiwanku was home to a pre-Incan
society (1600BC-1200AD). The Incas,
who later colonised Tiwanaku believed
that the place was built by god
Viracocha, who created the first humans.
This UNESCO World Heritage
site is referred to as the Stonehenge of
the Americas.

On a pagoda and a prayer

Removed from Myanmar’s unhappy times, the small pilgrimage town of Bago in Yangon thrives on wishes and worship. Mita Ghosh goes in search of a spiritual balm



Sure?” I ask.
“Dead shoo-er!” says U Tin Maung Swe—or Daw Thin Thin Swe.
I can’t tell one from the other. Bespectacled and beaming, the two middle-aged Burmese women look disconcertingly similar. One is a palmist with no English. The other is her interpreter. And we’re discussing my love life.

Cloistered in their den — the Swethahar Nirvana Shop, one of the many astrologers’ cubicles flanking the stairway of the complex that houses Yangon’s Chaukhtat Gyi Pagoda and its famous reclining Buddha—I decide to throw them off-balance.
“My father’s health?” I enquire.
“He’s fine,” they reply cheerily.
“Sure?”
“Dead shoo-er!”

I wince at the choice of words. Baba, I’ve just learnt, has terminal cancer. So much for predictions.
And yet, this business is thriving. Not just here, but all along the pavement skirting Mahabandoola Park on the way to the Yangon River jetty, where male astrologers sit under large, shady trees, their credentials nailed to the beleaguered trunks.
Back at my hotel, though, life rides on smug certainties. I watch the floor manager bowing and scraping to a woman bursting out of a silver lamé evening dress. Her imperiousness is just short of regal. An army bigwig’s wife, I learn. Beside her stand two obese mini-skirted clones—her adolescent daughters. The first skin show I’ve seen in Myanmar.

It’s not the only change I’ve noticed since my last visit, apart from the proliferation of astrologers. Along with mini-skirts, there are many more beggars. Even nuns seeking alms stare steadily at your plate while you eat, shaming you into donating a few kyats. One thing, however, is unreassuringly constant: the grumble of generators on the streets every evening. Phantom silhouettes flit by in the darkness brought on by the inevitable power cuts. The Nay Pyi Daw cinema hall opposite my hotel is, of course, ablaze with lights, making me forget for an instant that these are not happy times in Myanmar.

You wouldn’t think so, looking at Aye Aye, who turns up the following morning to accompany me on a trip, her lipsticked smile eclipsing the rest of her face. She is a ripe twenty-five, a civil engineer to boot—unemployed at present. We have just one thing in common: heartbreak.
I’m grieving for my father. Aye Aye confides that her fiancé, recently home from the Shan states in the north, is suffering from amnesia. He recognises no one. What remains unmentioned are the rumours—of the junta making random examples of innocent citizens in those insurgent-infested areas through “disappearances” or severe torture that often leaves victims physically and psychologically maimed. Given our respective predicaments, Aye Aye and I feel lost.
It’s providential that we’re headed for Bago, a sleepy little pilgrimage town where the power of prayer is celebrated with great fervour. For me, the place, 80 km northeast of Yangon, is just one defining moment from the past; I see them still, those Buddhist monks, young and old, streaming out of monasteries in the half-light of dawn to beg for alms, an act of humility that is truly inspirational.
This time, neither Aye Aye nor I are seeking favours from Lord Buddha alone. We’re also angling to cultivate some of Myanmar’s thirty-seven nats, those powerful guardian spirits from its animist past known to address specific issues so dear to the heart of mean-spirited mortals like us. If, for example, you’re itching to bump off a rival in business or love without dirtying your hands, they’re game. Just ensure the price is right. In fact, we’ve already propitiated one such spirit at the Shwenyaungpin Nat Shrine for a safe journey. It would be foolhardy not to, given the condition of Myanmar’s highways. But we crave much, much more.
Bago’s mandatory tourist hotspots turn out to be a confusing blur of images—the tenth-century Shwethalyaung reclining Buddha, the earthquake-ravaged Shwemawdaw Pagoda, the Kha Khat Waing Monastery, off-limits for years to overseas visitors for its role in the Saffron Revolution of 2007, and the impressive Kyaik Pun Pagoda with its quartet of thirty-foot-tall Buddhas sitting back to back. I’m beginning to understand what “templed out” means.
At the Hinthagone Pagoda, famous for the legend of the mating hansa birds that Burmese men ostensibly hold responsible for Bago’s characteristically domineering women, Aye Aye urges me to pray. The place is believed to be spiritually potent. The deities are evidently responsive, for a nat dance performance is on, during which the spirit is said to descend to earth. Before a rapt audience, an exquisitely made-up hermaphrodite in pink and emerald brocade sways to a cacophony of drums, cymbals and outright caterwauling. I notice the bottle of imported whiskey under her arm. Though she’s supposed to be in a trance when the nat spirit takes possession of her, this beautiful dancer’s gaze is fixed on me. I am apparently as exotic in her eyes as she is in mine. Then, with a sweeping bow, she acknowledges my presence. Her audience sighs with envy. I smile, accepting her gesture as a blessing. Aye Aye is ecstatic. Back in Kolkata, I remain in touch with my guide. She’s praying for my ailing father. Baba passes away soon after. Aye Aye writes again: she’s willing to spend her entire life waiting for her f fiancé to recover. I urge her to move on. She hasn’t replied. If I know her, she’s waiting, still waiting.

Singapore, sunny side up

A visit to one of the most talked-about entertainment
destinations opens up a gamut of fun



As you look at the skyline from the height of 67 metres, standing on the edge, your feet dipped in the water of the largest rooftop infinity pool ever built, you get the feeling of having owned the world. Well, that’s a clichéd thing to say, but not when you are watching the pool water vanishing off the edge with the horizon teeming with swanky glass palaces. The feeling only gets reinforced when you move on to the observation deck. You guessed it right, we’re at the 57th floor at Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore, watching people frolicking in the teal blue water and squinting to look down at the tiny specks of cars whizzing by. Here, time stills.
A concrete-perfect city, Singapore seems walled by highrises from atop. It’s almost as if the city just magically sprung up, all posh and ritzy — no dilapidation, no depressing ruins, not even a speck of dirt, to be found. More so, when you’re staying at a much-hyped and talked-about integrated resort and taking in the view from such dizzying heights. One of the most expensive properties in the world, the hotel features 2,561 rooms, a 1,300,000sq ft convention-exhibition centre, 800,000sq ft mall The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, an iconic ArtScience Museum, two large theatres, seven celebrity chef restaurants, an ice skating rink, the world’s biggest SkyPark at 340 m that houses the pool, and the world’s largest atrium casino. The works. The building is hard to miss with its three tapered towers standing tall, capped by the SkyPark in the shape of a ship. The laser light show in the evening best sums up the hotel’s appeal — it’s fancy, alright. It stands out? Oh yes.
For a dramatic view of the city, go for dinner at Sky Café. And how can one forget the food while we are at it? The amazing variety of cuisines at the fine dining restaurants at the hotel whets your appetite. Try the aromatic tea and the delicious set meal at TWG Tea Salon & Boutique. For skin pampering, head to The Sloane Clinic; here up-to-date technology keeps pace to keep up your beauty demands. A must-try here: the LED treatments. For a slice of history, visit Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at the ArtScience Museum. As April 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic, the gallery Singapore 1912 attains importance, as you get a glimpse of how the sinking of the once grandest ship impacted Singapore at that time. Our take: it will boggle your mind and make you ponder for a long, long time.

A river cruise takes us to take in the lit-up sights the almost painstakingly perfect, modern city has on offer. Even the reflections on the water look squeaky new. But the hunger to find a quaint side to Singapore landed us on Haji Lane, a street not oft-visited by tourists. A lane dotted by bright, little shops and cafes. Here, the walls are covered in spunky Egyptian graffiti. There are also old-world mosques and temples in Singapore’s non-touristy corners. It’s even a tad hard to believe when you spot the clustered apartments and their balconies with clothes hung for drying. For the hungry traveller, this too is Singapore’s sunny side.

Himalayan holiday

Actor Mugdha Godse shares her experience in Kulu-Manali where she went to celebrate her mum’s birthday


It was a long overdue vacation for actor Mugdha Godse who had been vying for a break for long now. “I had been planning to take a break since a long time but never got the time for it,” says Mugdha, who immediately cashed in on the offer when she got a few non-working days in hand. What fuelled it all the more was her mom’s birthday. She adds, “I had a few days off and my mum’s birthday was also just around the corner. So I thought there couldn’t be a better chance than this. I booked the tickets immediately and we went off.”
However, this wasn’t like any other vacation for Mugdha. “We did not get to shop at all,” she exclaims. But that was more than made up for with the “quality time” she got with her mum. “The trip was planned in such a fashion that we got to spend more of quality time together. And moreover, we were staying at the base of the great Himalayas national forest. So you can imagine other than greenery and fresh air we could not see much but it was truly enjoyable.” But how could the greenery and quiet ever satisfy the shopper in Mugdha? “Towards the fag end of my trip, I managed to enter the city and buy a couple of Kulu shawls which is really famous there. And trust me, they were pretty,” she grins.

She tried the local cuisines, which she says, was “different” and “enjoyable”. “There was also a variety of Punjabi, South Indian and Chinese dishes but out of the local ones, what I liked the most was this fresh cornflour grounded in water, which people there have with milk for breakfast,” she explains.
So what was the highpoint of her trip? “Just the fact that I got a holiday was a high point but more than that the fact that I was with my family made it even better. I could completely let my hair down and had total fun!” she squeals.