Travel Secrets Nov-Dec 2015 | Page 50

#336 Agra’s best petha From Vishnu Kumar, [email protected] Agra is known for its luscious petha (candied ash gourd) which catches attention of almost all the visitors. Gopaldas Pethewale is one of the oldest petha shops of Agra and in my opinion the most authentic. You can purchase petha from every lane of Agra, railway stations, bus stations but Gopaldas’ petha outtastes its competitors. The shop is almost 100 years old and has catered to Presidents, Prime Ministers and various foreign ambassadors. The original outlet is located opposite Anjana Cinema on MG Road and another branch is located in Johri Bazaar. They also boast an online presence with a website (www. gopaldaspethewale.com) and have active social media handles too. 50  Travel Secrets November-December 2015 #337 Norfolk Broads From Preeti Shenoy, bestselling novelist If you’re going to London this year, here’s a thrilling secret. Take a bus to Norwich, and go experience the Norfolk broads. The Norfolk Broads are a series of rivers and broads (lakes), most of which are navigable. Thirteen of the broads are completely navigable whilst three others have channels open to navigation running through them. The Broads range from small ponds through the large areas such as Hickling, Barton and Breydon. The majority are located in the northern half of Broadland which encompass the Rivers, Bure, Ant and Thurne. Central and Southern parts of Broadland encompass the Rivers Waveney, Yare and Chet. All the waterways are tidal but the effect of the tide decreases the further away from the coast until reaches upstream from Barton Broad are almost non tidal. “Miles and miles of gentle waterways glistening in the sunlight with peaceful Norfolk countryside as far as the eye can see,” is how the locals would describe it. What they do not tell you, is how truly uplifting for the soul it is.