Well the year 2010 is about to end soon, just about a monthish to go. And as i look back to the trips i made this past year, i feel a sense of achievement. I love to travel, as all my loved ones know by now, and i strive for an outing, at least once every 2months if not less. So here is a summery of my travels this past year.
January: My New year's eve and new year was spent in Dalhousie - a beautiful hill station nestled in the picturesque mountains of Himachal Pradesh. I started this new year with a nice trek around the region with a group of 50 people. Witnessed glorious sunsets, stunning sunrises, the first snowfall, the chills and colds, the mists and the fogs and everything that makes you believe that you are in a dream. The 6hr long treks each day for 4days tested my limits and yet provided a huge sense of satisfaction when you reach that summit and view that sunset. Hoping that my 2011 starts with an offbeat trip/trek too. :)
The weekend of 26th Jan saw me visiting Gangtok and Darjeeling. This trip holds many sweet memories as this was my 1st duet trip with another female. Just the two of us, reaching Siliguri at different times and trying to find the Bagdogra AF stn, where we had stayed for the 1st night. Next morning we left for Gangtok where we stayed for 2 nights and explored the city on foot, the lonely planet way. I must say it should either be the lonely planet way or no way. :) We ate authentic North Eastern cuisine, hogging on pork & beef, drank the live mullet beer (which i must say i didn't like one bit) and shopped for curios. 4th day we left for Darjeeling. Must mention that Darjeeling is very filthy for a hill station, although it provides a mind blowing view of the Kanchen Zonga. The beauty of the endless tea gardens also keeps you mesmerized. The next morning took us to see the famous sunrise on the horizon from Tiger hill, and back to Siliguri in the World Heritage Site established, narrow guage, steam engine train. In the end it was one of my most memorable trips although getting back to Delhi from Siliguri had turned out to be a real pain in the a**.
February: This month remained mostly uneventful except for the huge burden of assignments that college had weighed us with.
March: March dragged in another impromptu, duple trip to Rajhasthan. After the grueling month full of exams, re-exams and assignments. This trip to Rajhasthan was a welcome break. We went from Delhi to Jaipur in a over night bus by managing to get the get the last tickets and hence seats at the back of the bus. Whole day was spent site seeing the famous monuments, namely the Hawa mahal, Jaipur fort, Jantar Mantar and Raj mandir and a little bit of shopping. The evening we spent at the beautiful and picturesque village of Choki Dhani. Dancing with the colorful dancers, watching tight-rope walking performances, knowing your future by palm readings, getting palms tattooed by mehandi designs and stuffing ourselves with authentic rajhasthani food was the theme of the evening (although we were loo ridden later that night :P ).
Next day was planned for Ajmer and Pushkar. Pushkar being the only place in this world where Lord Brahma is worshipped. Pushkar is a quaint and colorful town full of temples on the banks of the lake. We rode through its narrow streets in our Activa to get a feel of the town. After visiting a few temples we made our way back to Ajmer where we visited the Jain temple and the Durgah. We hurried back to Jaipur later in the evening to catch a train to the next destination - Jaisalmer.
Jaisalmer is rightly named the Golden city for every thing here is in the colors of gold. The Jaisalmer fort itself looks like a Golden sand castle rising out of the earth. The beautiful Havelis and the quaint town take you back through time into a era where the princes ruled. A trip to Jaisalmer is incomplete without a trip to the sand dunes and a camel safari. Sleeping under the stars on the sand dunes with the camels to keep you company is an experience of a lifetime, and even more so if you can go to a more private place where there aren't hordes of other travelers to trouble you.
May: The May trip has been my most memorable one this year as i went international. This was my 1st trip out of India and i went to the UK. Two weeks at my mother college in Lancaster, a weekend in Scotland and a week in London. UK is a beautiful place, not too crowded and inhabited with a polite bunch of people. i know many will not agree to this, what with they ruling over us for over 300yrs, but they are. Good manners, civic sense and politeness is what i noticed in everyone that i interacted with. I even had a bus driver stop the bus in the middle of his route just to give me proper direction as i was standing all alone and seemingly lost in Morecambe. :) I will always remember this guy :) . As they so rightly say "A little kindness goes a long way".
The weekend in Scotland was the best part about my UK trip. This was again a duple trip covering Glasgow, a small to Loch Lomond on the west highlandway and Edinburgh. Glasgow was my solo trip until my friend arrived. I roamed the streets alone, sightseeing, walked by the waterfront and also checked out the various malls. After my friend arrived we had lunch and left for our trek. It was an 8mile hike from Belmaha to Loch Lomond. Although extremely tiring and with blisters in our feet, this trek was highly satisfying, considering the view we got to see in the end and the location of our youth hostel. This quaint little cottage that served as the youth hostel is located right at the shore of the Loch and the view is breathtaking. We cooked dinner for ourselves at the self catering kitchen and then went to bed. The next morning showered the area with rains and a beautiful foggy mist. The view cannot be explained in words only captured in the mind. After a few photo sessions and breakfast of hot steaming instant noodles, we decided to move towards belmaha and then to Edinburgh. But we were in no condition to trek back and didn't even have the time as we had to reach Edinburgh for siteseeing. We tried calling for cabs but to no avail. Then after a 45mins trek back we managed to hitchhike our way back. This is again something i have never done before and doing it in a foreign country seems like an achievement to me :). Once we got back to Glasgow, we caught a train to Edinburgh.
Edinburgh like Glasgow is an old city, with old Victorian architecture. It was fascinating to walk along the Royal mile and see all the old buildings and the underground closes. Even the Scottish accent is very different from those of the British, it sort of mesmerizes you. After a tour of the grand Edinburgh castle, i took a tour of Mary King's Close, and underground close that was inhabited by slaves in the time of the great plague. Its eerie and claustrophobic down there and makes you sick to know how the slaves were treated back then. We walked back to our hostel late evening and made ourselves hot steaming noodles and had a good night sleep. Next morning, i made my way back to Lancaster.
After the 2 week stay at Lancaster, we moved to England, my classmates and I. A night partying out with them at London and I moved to my Tejasvi's place at Ealing. It is rightly said, there is always something to do in London; u can never get bored. And hence all my 7 days in London were occupied with something to do. I went to see all the major attaractions, Piccadilly circus, Trafalgar square, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, London eye and ofcourse Buckhingham Palace. London Bridge and Greenwich are also places that are not supposed to be missed, and the best way to get there is to take the ferry. And who can forget shopping at Oxford street and Portobello market. Then there is South hall - the biggest Indian community settled in London, that will make you forget that you are actually in London and not Chandni Chowk of Delhi.
It was tough to say goodbye to London and get back to India. Really hoping that i will be going there soon :)
June: I returned back from UK on the 1st week of June after which the rest of the month was pretty uneventful except my severe allergic reaction to bed bug bites and my cousin sister's wedding towards the end of the month.
Weddings in my family are nothing but a reason for a get together. It feels really good when your entire extended family is staying under one roof, eating, chatting, smiling, laughing and having fun together. I always look forward to such gatherings. Unfortunately the next one id gonna be when its my chance to get married *shudder*.
July: Again nothing exciting except for working hard to finish my dissertation. Went for the first monsoon trek of the season. Around 15 of us, some known some unknown and yet we had an awesome time as it kept pouring all through the day.
August: Went to Delhi for the project submission. Towards the end of the month went for my toughest trek of this season - Rajmachi from Karjat side. I could not walk for 3days after it :P. But is was all in all a nice trek. Again it kept pouring all day and we were soaked to the bone, which was the best part about this trek.
September: Beginning of september went for another monsoon trek to Nakhind. We wanted to pool in as many treks before the monsoons got over. This was another nice trek wid non-stop rains all day and a hell of a ride back to mumbai on one of the worst roads i've ever seen.
October: Entire october i was bored to death. Then end of october i.e. 30th and 31st i made a camping trip with Moiz and Sunanda to Lonavala. It was a great adventure as we first went to Pune to pick up Sunanda, then went to pick up the tent, then met a friend of Moiz, then got stuck in traffic, then the car started smoking and we started to panic a bit, then hunt for the Maruti service center, getting the car checked, then finally leaving for lonavala, reaching lonavals and packing food and drinks, leaving for Korigad fort, darkest roads with no street lights, lone car on the road, reaching the fort base at 11pm and deciding to camp at the base. The night was fun with the yummy food and the beer, although i started panicking at 4am, being jumpy at every little sound. Next morning was reserved for photosessions. By 8am we were ready to head back.
November: Hmmm... nothing interesting has happened yet except for a quite diwali at home... waiting for my next adventure.
Watch this place for updates on November and December :)
January: My New year's eve and new year was spent in Dalhousie - a beautiful hill station nestled in the picturesque mountains of Himachal Pradesh. I started this new year with a nice trek around the region with a group of 50 people. Witnessed glorious sunsets, stunning sunrises, the first snowfall, the chills and colds, the mists and the fogs and everything that makes you believe that you are in a dream. The 6hr long treks each day for 4days tested my limits and yet provided a huge sense of satisfaction when you reach that summit and view that sunset. Hoping that my 2011 starts with an offbeat trip/trek too. :)
The weekend of 26th Jan saw me visiting Gangtok and Darjeeling. This trip holds many sweet memories as this was my 1st duet trip with another female. Just the two of us, reaching Siliguri at different times and trying to find the Bagdogra AF stn, where we had stayed for the 1st night. Next morning we left for Gangtok where we stayed for 2 nights and explored the city on foot, the lonely planet way. I must say it should either be the lonely planet way or no way. :) We ate authentic North Eastern cuisine, hogging on pork & beef, drank the live mullet beer (which i must say i didn't like one bit) and shopped for curios. 4th day we left for Darjeeling. Must mention that Darjeeling is very filthy for a hill station, although it provides a mind blowing view of the Kanchen Zonga. The beauty of the endless tea gardens also keeps you mesmerized. The next morning took us to see the famous sunrise on the horizon from Tiger hill, and back to Siliguri in the World Heritage Site established, narrow guage, steam engine train. In the end it was one of my most memorable trips although getting back to Delhi from Siliguri had turned out to be a real pain in the a**.
February: This month remained mostly uneventful except for the huge burden of assignments that college had weighed us with.
March: March dragged in another impromptu, duple trip to Rajhasthan. After the grueling month full of exams, re-exams and assignments. This trip to Rajhasthan was a welcome break. We went from Delhi to Jaipur in a over night bus by managing to get the get the last tickets and hence seats at the back of the bus. Whole day was spent site seeing the famous monuments, namely the Hawa mahal, Jaipur fort, Jantar Mantar and Raj mandir and a little bit of shopping. The evening we spent at the beautiful and picturesque village of Choki Dhani. Dancing with the colorful dancers, watching tight-rope walking performances, knowing your future by palm readings, getting palms tattooed by mehandi designs and stuffing ourselves with authentic rajhasthani food was the theme of the evening (although we were loo ridden later that night :P ).
Next day was planned for Ajmer and Pushkar. Pushkar being the only place in this world where Lord Brahma is worshipped. Pushkar is a quaint and colorful town full of temples on the banks of the lake. We rode through its narrow streets in our Activa to get a feel of the town. After visiting a few temples we made our way back to Ajmer where we visited the Jain temple and the Durgah. We hurried back to Jaipur later in the evening to catch a train to the next destination - Jaisalmer.
Jaisalmer is rightly named the Golden city for every thing here is in the colors of gold. The Jaisalmer fort itself looks like a Golden sand castle rising out of the earth. The beautiful Havelis and the quaint town take you back through time into a era where the princes ruled. A trip to Jaisalmer is incomplete without a trip to the sand dunes and a camel safari. Sleeping under the stars on the sand dunes with the camels to keep you company is an experience of a lifetime, and even more so if you can go to a more private place where there aren't hordes of other travelers to trouble you.
May: The May trip has been my most memorable one this year as i went international. This was my 1st trip out of India and i went to the UK. Two weeks at my mother college in Lancaster, a weekend in Scotland and a week in London. UK is a beautiful place, not too crowded and inhabited with a polite bunch of people. i know many will not agree to this, what with they ruling over us for over 300yrs, but they are. Good manners, civic sense and politeness is what i noticed in everyone that i interacted with. I even had a bus driver stop the bus in the middle of his route just to give me proper direction as i was standing all alone and seemingly lost in Morecambe. :) I will always remember this guy :) . As they so rightly say "A little kindness goes a long way".
The weekend in Scotland was the best part about my UK trip. This was again a duple trip covering Glasgow, a small to Loch Lomond on the west highlandway and Edinburgh. Glasgow was my solo trip until my friend arrived. I roamed the streets alone, sightseeing, walked by the waterfront and also checked out the various malls. After my friend arrived we had lunch and left for our trek. It was an 8mile hike from Belmaha to Loch Lomond. Although extremely tiring and with blisters in our feet, this trek was highly satisfying, considering the view we got to see in the end and the location of our youth hostel. This quaint little cottage that served as the youth hostel is located right at the shore of the Loch and the view is breathtaking. We cooked dinner for ourselves at the self catering kitchen and then went to bed. The next morning showered the area with rains and a beautiful foggy mist. The view cannot be explained in words only captured in the mind. After a few photo sessions and breakfast of hot steaming instant noodles, we decided to move towards belmaha and then to Edinburgh. But we were in no condition to trek back and didn't even have the time as we had to reach Edinburgh for siteseeing. We tried calling for cabs but to no avail. Then after a 45mins trek back we managed to hitchhike our way back. This is again something i have never done before and doing it in a foreign country seems like an achievement to me :). Once we got back to Glasgow, we caught a train to Edinburgh.
Edinburgh like Glasgow is an old city, with old Victorian architecture. It was fascinating to walk along the Royal mile and see all the old buildings and the underground closes. Even the Scottish accent is very different from those of the British, it sort of mesmerizes you. After a tour of the grand Edinburgh castle, i took a tour of Mary King's Close, and underground close that was inhabited by slaves in the time of the great plague. Its eerie and claustrophobic down there and makes you sick to know how the slaves were treated back then. We walked back to our hostel late evening and made ourselves hot steaming noodles and had a good night sleep. Next morning, i made my way back to Lancaster.
After the 2 week stay at Lancaster, we moved to England, my classmates and I. A night partying out with them at London and I moved to my Tejasvi's place at Ealing. It is rightly said, there is always something to do in London; u can never get bored. And hence all my 7 days in London were occupied with something to do. I went to see all the major attaractions, Piccadilly circus, Trafalgar square, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, London eye and ofcourse Buckhingham Palace. London Bridge and Greenwich are also places that are not supposed to be missed, and the best way to get there is to take the ferry. And who can forget shopping at Oxford street and Portobello market. Then there is South hall - the biggest Indian community settled in London, that will make you forget that you are actually in London and not Chandni Chowk of Delhi.
It was tough to say goodbye to London and get back to India. Really hoping that i will be going there soon :)
June: I returned back from UK on the 1st week of June after which the rest of the month was pretty uneventful except my severe allergic reaction to bed bug bites and my cousin sister's wedding towards the end of the month.
Weddings in my family are nothing but a reason for a get together. It feels really good when your entire extended family is staying under one roof, eating, chatting, smiling, laughing and having fun together. I always look forward to such gatherings. Unfortunately the next one id gonna be when its my chance to get married *shudder*.
July: Again nothing exciting except for working hard to finish my dissertation. Went for the first monsoon trek of the season. Around 15 of us, some known some unknown and yet we had an awesome time as it kept pouring all through the day.
August: Went to Delhi for the project submission. Towards the end of the month went for my toughest trek of this season - Rajmachi from Karjat side. I could not walk for 3days after it :P. But is was all in all a nice trek. Again it kept pouring all day and we were soaked to the bone, which was the best part about this trek.
October: Entire october i was bored to death. Then end of october i.e. 30th and 31st i made a camping trip with Moiz and Sunanda to Lonavala. It was a great adventure as we first went to Pune to pick up Sunanda, then went to pick up the tent, then met a friend of Moiz, then got stuck in traffic, then the car started smoking and we started to panic a bit, then hunt for the Maruti service center, getting the car checked, then finally leaving for lonavala, reaching lonavals and packing food and drinks, leaving for Korigad fort, darkest roads with no street lights, lone car on the road, reaching the fort base at 11pm and deciding to camp at the base. The night was fun with the yummy food and the beer, although i started panicking at 4am, being jumpy at every little sound. Next morning was reserved for photosessions. By 8am we were ready to head back.
November: Hmmm... nothing interesting has happened yet except for a quite diwali at home... waiting for my next adventure.
Watch this place for updates on November and December :)
