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Wednesday 22 February 2017

Rs2000 Genuine or Fake

Do you know that there are 17 Checks to find if the Rs2000 note is real or fake.


To find out hold the note with the Mahatma Gandhi's image side facing you



1) When held against the light
Check the see through register. Here the 2000 can be seen when held against the light
2) Tilt the note to check the latent image of 2000.
3)Devnagri Denomination of 2000.
4)Portrait of Mahatama Gandhi
5)The Micro letter of RBI and 2000 (These are missing on the fake note)
6)Check the color shift security thread. This has 2000 and Bharat written.
7)Guarantee Clause & The governers Signature & RBI emblem towards right.
8)Check the watermark of Mahatama Gandhi and electrotype 2000 numeral.
9)Number Panel with numerals growing from small to big on top left and top bottom right sides.
10) Check the Denominational numeral with the rupee symbol and 2000
11) The Ashoka pillar emblem should be visible.
12)Check out the rectangle with rupee 2000 symbol on the right.
Feel it with finger. In the original it feels raised. In the fake one it is not a raised print.
13)Check the 7 angular bleed lines In the genuine currency they are raised but in the fake currency they are present but not raised.
Now check the reverse side



14)Year of issuance (2016) for the first set of notes
15) Check the Swatch Bharat Logo
16) Check the 16 Languages, language panel

17)Check the Motif of Mangalyaan.

Friday 3 February 2017

Live a Royal Holiday at ITC Mughal Agra

Why does a tourist go to Agra?
More often then not it is to visit the Taj Mahal and if you are a true romantic like me you cannot help but imagine the luxurious lives the mughal emperors and their families would have enjoyed?
When they could so painstakingly build the Taj Mahal the ultimate epitome of undying love of an emperor for his beloved queen so what would be it like  to live the grandeur experienced by the mughals at the peak of their glory.
Fortunately for me this dream of imagining the grandeur was to be transformed seamlessly into a reality when I booked a stay at the ITC Mughal, A Luxury Collection Hotel at Agra for a weekend stay at this beauitful 5 star property.
The beauty of booking a weekend break to Agra is that it is so well connected by road that it seems to be the most obvious choice for a weekend destination. The newly built and the well maintained Yamuna expressway was another incentive for me as I was driving to Agra from Delhi.

The distance between Delhi to Agra is about 232.7 Km via the Taj Expressway / Yamuna Expressway.
It  can easily be covered in about four and a half hours.
I found the road to be good and the drive was smooth and quite enjoyable.

To live like royalty I had opted to stay at the ITC Mughal located at Taj Ganj, Agra It is a strategically located property from where all the major attractions of the Agra city can be easily accessed.

The moment I stepped into this hotel I realized how correct I was to book my stay at this magnificent property sprawling on a 35 acre land.The hotel is situated close both to the city centre and the gardens and Agra's main attraction the Taj Mahal.
Being here I was never too far from the Agra fort built by Akbar.
Even Fathepur Sikri which was built by the side of an artificial lake is not too far.In fact it is about 3 Km away

On the advice of the concierge I visited the Sikandra tomb which is a combination of the muslim and the hindu style of architecture.

Talking about architecture and style my hotel ITC Mughal did capture and recreate the grandeur and luxury of the mughal era for its guests.
To experience the royal luxury with the addition of modern amenities and technology I had to look no further.
There is opulence all around you.


What would you stay if this is the view of the main entrance


The view of the lobby left me speechless.


With so much opulence around me I was at a loss for words





View of Taj Bano my favourite place to eat.

With every step I was taken into a deeper realm of luxury.



bagh e bahar lounge. It seemed the time stood still.


Who says you have to be born as a king. You can always opt to stay here in the Royal Mughal suite and enjoy the modernized luxury of the ITC Mughal




If you want to step back into time just visit the SPA reception and be mesmerised by the view. This is what I saw

  

SPA Reception at Kaya Kalp the royal Spa.
Need I say more, it was a timeless classic royal holiday at ITC Mughal A Luxury Collection Hotel.
Here the food was great and an experience beyond words.


“I am blogging about my luxury stay experience for an activity at BlogAdda in association with MakeMyTrip

image credits: http://www.starwoodhotels.com

Luxury in the heart of Mumbai

The one thing I like best about going to Mumbai is the moment when my plane lands
and I step out of the aeroplane. There is something magical in the air.

“ I always get the feeling that the big city of Mumbai spreads its arms to welcome
me.”
“The warmth filled breeze at the Mumbai airport and the bright
sun kissed tarmac never fails to fill me with a new found enthusiasm and vigor.”

As I stepped out of the airport I found a person from the Novotel Juhu Beach
waiting for me at the arrival. Dressed in a crisp white uniform he was there to
welcome me and lead me to my car.
A cool breeze escorted me and gently caressed my face and ruffled my hair ever
so gently and made me feel so wanted and welcome in this big and beautiful
city.
The ride to the Novotel Juhu beach hotel is short as the hotel is not very far
from the airport. En route I found a large sea of people who were going about
their business of life.
As my car meandered through the Mumbai roads I wondered
"So these are the people who make Mumbai tick and make Mumbai the city that
never sleeps"
So many people always on the move making it a sea of people, it felt good
however my eyes were searching for a sea of a different kind.
I was looking forward to get a glimpse of the Arabian Sea. As the hotel car in
which I was traveling took a turn I got my first glimpse of the Arabian Sea.
The sun light drenched waves appeared to have donned a silver edge and were
merrily dancing to the song of the sea. I rolled down the window of my car and
I could experience the cool see breeze getting mixed with the air of the car
air conditioner. I felt excited and I wanted to get out of the car and run towards the sea but I resisted the temptation as I knew that there would be many opportunities to observe the Arabian sea at close quarters as I was going to stay in a Sea facing room at the Novotel Juhu beach hotel.
The Check in
The Check in was smooth and quick and I was escorted to my room.
I could not wait to see the view of the sea from my room. Moving the curtains to one side I got a breathtakingly beautiful view of the Juhu beach from my room.
The A.C was on and I was sipping my welcome drink observing the bright shimmering waves hitting the clean sands of the Juhu beach.
As a hotel guest I could access

Free WiFi
work space
32-inch LCD TV
Lavish buffet breakfast
24-hour fitness centre
O2 Spa
Sauna
Choice of flexible spaces for hosting an event

A Hotel by the beach in a city like Mumbai is indeed a luxury and my eyes searched for a path to go to the beach. I found a door in front of the hotels swimming pool leading to the beach.
“A mere 2-3 meter walk to the clean part of the Juhu beach from my hotel room! “



The luxury was getting even better.
I hurriedly made my way to the beach through the exclusive hotel gate reserved for its guests and walked up to the waves that were playfully inviting me to join them in a game of sorts.

Luxury continues ~ No place is too far from the Juhu beach.




Spending time at the beach had a calming effect on me and I got geared up to take on the hustle and bustle of Mumbai's city life. The twin effect of the rejuvenating experience at the beach and the fact that the Novotel is so centrally located in Juhu makes it easy to travel to any destination. I for instance wanted to visit the Sidhi Vinayak temple to get Bappa's blessings and it was a short drive away.
So was a trip to Bandra linking road.

Rubbing into celebrities at Novotel Juhu Mumbai ~ The trip is getting better and better.
In the evening when I returned to my hotel and entered its main gate I witnessed Mr Anupam Kher walk out of the hotel. That was not all My Akshay Kumar and Prabhudeva were also spotted on the next day. The feeling of being in such close proximity of such celebrities indeed adds to the experience of your holiday.
It Food Food and more Food
There are a plenty of food options at this beautiful hotel

GADDA DA VIDA-Chic Sea Lounge
I found this to be a great place to sit and relax. Enjoy a drink and a quick snack as I watched the boats and the waves of the Arabian Sea.
Olio is the go to place for Italian food. The hot Pizza from the wood fired oven is a must try and made me go here again and again.

BAGEECHA-Indian Dining
This place is so wonderful. I enjoyed siting and dining here in the evening and it used to be a great sight to watch food being prepared in the open kitchen. The aroma of fresh hot food mixed with the fresh air from the sea never failed to work up my appetite.

SAMPAN-Chinese Dining
This place offers fine Chinese dining options at the hotel.

THE SQUARE-Pan Indian All Day
This is the place where I could find delicious Indian food throughout the day and I loved eating here. The range of food was elaborate and it becomes difficult to make a choice as to what to eat and what to leave.

PECHE MIGNON is my favourite part of the hotel for it is Juhu's Only French Pâtisserie. It presents a lavish array of fresh and vibrantly flavoured pastries, breads with a variety of chocolates.

At times when you are travelling to a new city finding food of choice can be a luxury however the next morning I had a sumptuous buffet breakfast at the restaurant and was a great way to begin my day.
The French pastry shop is another attraction not to be missed at this facility as It is a famous and renowned french pastry shop in Juhu that lives to its reputation of offering authentic french pastries and breads.
Since It was a Sunday morning I got to experience a lot of activities that were planned for the hotel guest. There were activities for kids and a bangle maker was making lakh (laquer) bangles for the ladies.


A few laps in the open air pool were enough to work up a good appetite. There were a number of food options available from an open air restaurant to an interior air conditioned seating.


Sitting under the shade getting a good view of the pool and the ocean beyond, biting into some hot, delicious and nutritious lunch with not a worry in the world is the best luxury I could wish for at that moment and more then wishing I was living it.


“I am blogging about my luxury stay experience for an activity at BlogAdda in association with MakeMyTrip