Tag Archives: India

Kalipokhari – Land of the Black Lake

So, as soon as we set off for Tumling, we actually entered mainstream Nepal. Tumling was still on the borderland but as soon as I received a Vodafone SMS letting me know they gobbled up 99 bucks for International Roaming, I was sure about the fact that we had entered Nepal. Anyways, my phone would be obsolete soon as the network and battery was going to desert me soon. Having said that, it was not even something I should have bothered about.

One of the best things about these treks is the fun of disconnecting yourself completely to the world and hibernating in a true sense. With great landscapes, beautiful view of mountains and valleys on both sides, what more do you want? So, one of the things I was waiting for was the Jaobari Monastery. It was a monastery in one of the villages in Nepal. Having said that, there was an interesting story I’d like to share here…

: Lakhpa – One who’s born on a Wednesday

After an hour or so, we managed to reach Jaobari… where I happened to meet this cute kid, called Lakhpa… I asked someone later what Lakhpa meant? I got to know that a lot of Nepalese folks, name their kids after the day that they are born on. Which would mean, there would be a whole bunch of Lakhpas and Pembas (One who’s born on a Saturday) and many such names, which I don’t remember all that much now… But why this guy was interesting, was cause of his insatiable smile and his spirited greetings to us when we entered the Tea shop. He had a fire as well as heartwarming gracious look in his eye. Another thing, I’m also born on a Wednesday… So if I was Nepalese, I’d probably be a Lakhpa. 😉

: Jaobari Village

A beautiful view of the remote Jaobari Village in Nepal….

: Jaobari Monastery

So here’s a little bit of the story I encountered in the Jaobari Monastery… While this monastery is a very quiet one on the corner of the village, something I learnt and something I’ll never forget that day. As I walked across the place, I found a few kids with books on Buddhism, which they were reading with great joy! As I entered the monastery I was greeted by it’s caretaker and the monk who taught the kids.

: Shange Norbu from Jaobari Monastery

Shange Norbu… Shange means Buddha as he told me with a bit of pride and subtle smile on his face. One that denoted the passion he shared towards the religion he followed. He gave me a short tour of the monastery inside. Showed me a picture of his master / teacher a certain Pemba Norbu… Said he’s learnt a lot from him and he also showed me a picture of His Holiness Dalai Lama…

He asked me if I knew who he was? Smiling politely I said, of course I know who he is… “He’s the guy who hosted a Google+ hangout recently and I’m following him on twitter.” 😛 as I sheepishly thought in my head…

Being a traveller that I am, besides anything, boundaries and horizons always fascinate me. Distances and roads and maps and calculations are always on my mind when it comes to my travel… Just an impulse sometimes… Sometimes a bit too much this trait, that it makes me realize how travel is and should never be about these trivial pursuits or these kinds of funny meaningless achievements…

So I was thinking in my head (I’m in a Nepalese monastery… Just admiring the fact in my head, that I’m at an international location, since I havent ventured outside India yet)

“Is this monastery in Nepal?” I asked him.

“There is no Nepal no India… It’s all the same” he replied smilingly…

I was speechless for a moment… I thought I’d explain to him that I didn’t mean it that way, but I realized, I got my answer… And that was quite a profound moment for me… I just smiled and shook his hands as I walked away…

: Sherpa Kid

After trekking for 4-5 hours, when we reached a pit-stop, we decided to stop over at a small place, which served amazing food and great mint tea… While I’m not a big fan of mint tea or tea as much, I decided to try out the Nepalese instant noodles… This was their answer to Maggi. Rum Pum as it’s called.

: Those are instant nepalese Noodles

That was our last stop before we actually reached the Black Lake a.k.a Kalapokhri or Kalipokhri… It is believed that Nepalese villagers worship the black lake and no one is allowed to take a swim or a dip in this lake.

: Kalipokhri Lake

The temperature was freezing and it was already evening as we approached this village. We were waiting for the camp leader at the camp and he was waiting for us… Once we settled down, we sat by the fire inside the kitchen and started mingling with the locals… So much so, that we even had a chance to listen to Nepalese radio channel. Koshi FM… Some bollywood songs, and some Nepalese… The hard part or at least the first half of the hard part of this trek was taken care of…

Now the most trivial and the most exciting journey awaited us as we were about to move on to Sandakphu…

Tumling – A hint of Nepal

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Yes, Nepal, that’s right… After a great exploration of Darjeeling it was time for our group to head towards our 6 day trek. Our journey was definitely going through Nepal and back to India. In the literal sense, there were a couple of villages that we were going to stop-over in this 6 day trek which were part of Nepal. So it was quite an exciting experience for me, especially since, technically, I’ve never been out of the country. With high hopes of visiting the North Eastern Himalayan region, I had my eyes set for Sandakhpu. We were told that we will get an up close and personal look at

1. Kanchenjunga Peak

2. Mt. Everest too…

It was only time that would decide whether we would actually get to see it or not. With misty mountains and foggy altitude, we weren’t really sure how the weather was going to play. With a couple of days in hand, we decided to keep our fingers crossed and hoped for the best. We were going to cover over 50 kms of high altitude trek at 14000 feet above the sea level and with dropping tempratures, we expected the minimum to go below 0 degrees centigrade especially when we were going to be in Sandakhpu.

So here was our route Map

Darjeeling – Dhotrey(Bus) – Tumling (Nepal) – Kalapokhri(Nepal) – Gurdum – Rimbick (Final basecamp) and back to Darjeeling.

With great excitement we reached Dhotrey and got off our bus. It was about 8.00 AM in the morning that we started trekking towards Tumling. First day was quite an easy hike across scenic locations to go on top of India, cross a border outpost and head into Tumling (Nepal) But the most amazing experience on this trip was the beautiful trees and birds chirping, while we overlooked the clear blue skies. The true beauty of this experience was our feeling of being in a different country and trekking to it… A few moments of our journey as we went across:

Walking the silent road across the woods

Leading all the way..

That’s our group leader Mr. ChandraShekhar Padalkar (61 years old) taking a rest on the way… Besides being a really amazing story teller, trekker, leader… he’s truly an awesome singer!

That's one long walk towards Tumling

Land Rover

That’s one mean machine made for roads as tough as these mountains…This is the ultimate savior for locals to transport their basic needs and mostly used for logistical transportation purposes in these terrains.

When we reached Tumling & Nepal 🙂

This was one location I was waiting for and the first thing I did was got myself clicked. Though not mainstream Nepal, this region was quite a charm when it came to serenity and the most amazing food they served here. The evening was quite chilly and fog set in even as we reached there in the evening. But that did not deter us from going out for a short walk and exploring a bit of Tumling. Once we did that, we had amazing dinner prepared by Neela Di, the camp leader, an glorious entrepreneur who ran the camp lodge all by herself. This is a common sight you get to see in North East, Himalayas and Nepal regions. Most of the setups are managed very efficiently by the women of the house while husbands are either homemakers or Sherpas… After dinner, we were joined by a couple of guides one of whom was really good at playing the guitar and he played some amazing songs while we hummed along…

The next day we woke up as early as 5.30 AM, to see if we got a glimpse of some Sunrise… Tried as hard as we could, this is all we could manage…

Sunrise at 5.30 AM

While the sun rises to glory, the moon sleeps tight...

While we had quite a relaxed Day 1 of the trek, our Day 2 was going to be quite challenging, with steep climbs and 14 kms towards Kalapokhri (The Black Lake) we estimated at least 6 hours of trekking… Just as we set out to scale further heights, this picture just made our day… A pair of Goat kids playing along with each other… Made for a really amazing snap.

There was more in store for us.. While these diaries continue, I hoped to see some more sun and less of mist or rain even, was just praying for more of sunshine, since Mt. Everest is not something we could see everyday… I guess all that would follow with my next post. Until then, I hope you enjoyed reading this blog. Do let me know what you think?

Amritsar – Punjabi delights…

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The State of Punjab has been on my mind for quite a while… I mean who wouldn’t want to go there hah? Makke di Roti and Sarso Da Saag!!! Oye hoye!!! Truly something that Punjab is known for. Besides just their truly amazing food that one would cherish… the warm and hospitable culture that most Punjabis are known for is something really remarkable. One of the most dildaar, or generous, helpful and loving people of this beautiful country. Where if a boy is born in a traditional family, the mother is proud because she knows that her son would be the one who would be able to go across the border and be a part of the country’s security force and military. Numerous tales of their patriotism and their war heroics have been portrayed in stories, movies and real life.

One can’t just miss the beauty of this state and one can’t especially if you are anywhere near by. If nothing else, I had to visit Amritsar as it was on my mind. Not just for it’s amazing Paratha and Lassi… But of course The Golden Temple, The Wagah Border and of course, the Jallianwalla Baug. Something I have in common with the Jallianwala Baug is the date 13th April… Yes, unfortunately, that date is my birthdate, nonetheless, I realize despite being one of the most brutal massacares in our country’s history, this significant place and date is still remembered in our long fight for freedom struggle. Something that gives us a reality check of not to take this ‘freedom’ of ours for granted.

Which is exactly why I made it a point I go visit this one as I was in Delhi for work and had time to fly to Amritsar over the weekend and then move on to my other tasks.

It was a Friday evening. After I finished my work, I headed to the Airport and boarded a flight to Amritsar from the Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi. I reached Amritsar late at night and decided to

While I had a cab that took me in the city, I noticed something really interesting. Lot’s cycle rickshaw drivers are still a very popular in the city and that is one of the easiest mode of transport available especially if you are taking a train. The next day was going to be a really exciting day as loads of sight seeing, food and yes, a visit to the Wagah Border was on the cards. I made sure I made the most of my visit in Amritsar.

Cheese Nan, Dal Makhni & Mango Lassi @ Brother's Dhaba

Before I went anywhere, my first order of the day was to stuff myself with something… something really Punjabi… That’s when I dropped by the Brother’s Dhaba, courtesy my Auto driver… Said, this is one of the best food joints in that area… And truly, he didn’t dissapoint.

Durgiani Temple - Amritsar

Next up was a temple nearby. The Durgiani Temple. Very peaceful especially with the pond that surrounded it. Inside the temple were a group of musicians and worshipers who were singing and playing songs to delight their spiritual side. One wonders how much devotion they had and how beautifully they execute it out.

Jallianwalla Baug

Despite the pain associated with this place, you have to actually go inside and feel the actual realm of what possibilities that day might have brought upon us. This is something you can’t easily forget and if you are a true Indian, then this place is a stark reminder of the trials and tribulations gone by, for our freedom that exists today.

Golden Temple - Amritsar

One thing you must do after visiting the temple is sit outside, listening to the melodious kirtan, songs that are played at the Gurudwara… I literally went into a state of trance and felt so close to myself meditating while sitting outside on the carpet…

India-Pakistan Wagah Border

One of the surreal feelings that hit you is when you see the Pakistani flag flying across the border and the people sitting and watching us from there… Although Paksitanis being less in numbers, you still get to realize, there isn’t any difference between them and yourselves and wonder, perhaps, as to why this whole meaningless borders exist in the first place?

Defense Personnel posted at the Border

The Indian Tricolour Soars High!

The whole experience at the border is completely something that you will never forget. The cheering of the people, the dancing to patriotic songs before the parade happens is something you shouldn’t miss. The parade itself is quite a spectacle. The salute to the tricolour, the opening of the gates at the border and soldiers o each side showcasing their best presentation skills as far as their military techniques are concerned. This is something that everybody is charged up about. People waving at each other, looking at each other’s nations flag flying past and at the end of the session synchronously being un-hoisted and kept aside… This shows true peace and harmony that exists and can very well continue to exist especially with loads of love around us.

This was certainly an experience I enjoyed and something that made me feel really alive! True Punjabi Spirit is what I call it…

Flights to Amritsar

Valley of Flowers – Yet another SriniOnTour…

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: Valley of Flowers – Backpacking Begins…

So, I’m all set with my backpack and with a lot of hopes from this trip. This journey has long been on my bucket list and I’ve been working quite hard to make it happen. Finally, this is part of my first ventures as a part time travel writer, and beginning my career into a whole new dimension. Yes, there are a lot of ifs and buts still, as far as my whole plan goes, but that’s the best part about it…

As far as this trip is concerned… I’m sure there isn’t any doubt, that this is going to be another #SriniOnTour that will rock. This time around, I may not be able to blog on the go, due to connectivity and rains, I’ve decided to avoid carrying my laptop… besides my backpack is already about 10 kgs… which we would carry all the way up to the West Himalayas. So I’ve decided, I’d upload a lot of photos on twitter and facebook and showcase my journey as a live photo-blog.

http://facebook.com/srinistuff

http://twitpic.com/photos/srinistuff

Also joining me on this trip are a some of my close friends with whom i regularly go on trips/treks.. Swapnil, his wife, Mangesh and his friend…

From the twitterverse, my new found friends @irohan and @_vishalg would be part of this trip.

This journey is also inspired by my conversation time and again with Chris Collins – (http://nicolaskumar.com/) Author of (Valley of Flowers) – Chris, thanks for all your advice and help… As soon as I’m back from this trip, the first thing on the agenda is to get the book and read it… That way, I’d be able to relate to everything in it much better. 🙂

So here’s the plan (Some details might be helpful for others who plan to travel here)

Leave for Haridwar via Dehradun Express tonight…

Reach on the 31st July, just in time for the Maha Aarti.. Which is a beautiful and a spectacular sight and something that we should not miss… Hari-Ki-Pauri as it’s popularly known…

Haridwar

1st August

A few more locations in Haridwar, mainly…

Maya Devi Mandir , located on upper road. This temple is one of the 51 “shakti peeths” and its the presiding deity of Haridwar. It is from this temple Haridwar derives its other name Mayapur.

Bharat Mata Mandir, 5 km north of the center. Dedicated to Mother India, this is half temple, half nation building exercise, with seven floors stacked with deities, saints, and secular heroes of all Indian faiths. Some signage in English.

Bharat Mata Mandir

Bilkeshwar Mahadev Mandir , Shiva temple located on a hill.

Depending on how much time we have on our hands, we’d plan to see these places.

2nd August

Rishikesh

We take an early morning train to Rishikesh. Hemkunt Express – Leaves Haridwar at 6.50 AM and reaches Rishikesh by 8.00 AM. That’s the only train available in the morning. Else we might have to take Vikrams/Rickshaws costs (Rs.60-70) max per rick.

I checked out info for white-water rafting and most places say the season is September-November and March-April-May ideal for rafting. But we can get to know once we are there….My friend Swapnil has also got a few contacts, who say they might be able to arrange for the rafting.

White Water Rafting

Let’s see how it goes. Besides River Rafting we can visit these places on the 2nd at Rishikesh…

Lakshman Jhula, Trayambakeshwar Temple, Lakshman Jhula. is 13 stories high, with different deities throughout. edit

Lakshman Jhula

Triveni Ghat, This is a bathing ghat. Daily in the morning and evening there are thousands who take bath here and enjoy the Maha Aarti being performed. It very soothing to sit on the banks of the river and enjoy the cool breeze from the river.

3rd August onwards we report to YHAI Basecamp and follow their itinerary…

4th August – We take a bus from Rishikesh – Joshimath

Enroute Joshimath

5th August – Orientation walk / Visit to Auli and Tapovan

6th August – Joshimath to Govindghat by Bus…

Joshimath to Govindghat by Bus

6th August – Govindghat – Ghangaria Ghat (A trek of 13kms) This one’s going to be the real test as the place that we would trek would have rain, and there are some really slants that we have to overcome carrying at least 10kgs of backpack is certainly going to be a challenge. While we have trekked over 20-30 kms in a day, this 13km trek would be with full supply backpack and the altitude would be quite challenging, add to that the cold and rain… Should be fun at the same time.

Govindghat to Ghangaria Ghat

7th August – Ghangaria Ghat to Valley of Flowers… Now this is the most beautiful place that we hope would really make the 13km trek the previous day, worth it’s while… It’s about 8kms to and fro. This should be easier as our backpack would be at the camp and the trek is much lighter. But the beauty of the park and the flowers in the valley… would really be amazing.. The photos will tell you for sure 🙂 Stay tuned… In the meantime you can also read my poem about the Valley of Flowers here

Valley of Flowers

8th August – Ghangaria Ghat to Hemkund Saheb – This is another amazing place, a worshipping shrine for Sikhs, this place is divine and much more beautiful in terms of the scenic locations and I hope to get a glimpse of some glacier / Ice as well…

Hemkund Saheb

9th August – We trek back to Govindghat.. The 13km trek.. This should be easier as it’s downhill…

10th August – Govindghat to Badrinath is around 25 kms and this would be a bus journey. Some rest to our ailing legs 😛

Badrinath Temple

11th August – Badrinath – Vasudhara falls around 16km trek to and fro. This is a beauty… In the cold and the rain, it’s quite a pretty sight I’ve heard.

Vasudhara Falls

12th August – Badrinath to Rishikesh and check out after breakfast…

Post that, since it’s a long weekend and we have a couple of days on our hand we may just chill in Rishikesh and then head back to Delhi on 13th or 14th August, from where we catch a train and reach Mumbai by 15th August and celebrate Independence Day at home 🙂

All this ordeal would be quite an experience and certainly a journey worth sharing… For now, I’d be updating pictures at

http://facebook.com/srinistuff

http://twitpic.com/photos/srinistuff

So stay tuned and hope you enjoy the updates.

#SriniOnTour – South India Trip 2010 – A blogumentary

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So this is what my #SriniOnTour looks like as of now… It’s certainly a different kind of vacation that I have ever taken. Yes, I have certainly blogged about most of my long weekend, on the spur of the moment type of trips. Certainly have always wanted opportunities like these to glorify my travelogue and make sure that I let loose the wild traveller within me. This journey however has much more significance than just one of those blogs or travelogues.

What I truly want to do with this blogumentary is to achieve some true respite and get my travel writing skills up one notch. We all have such vacations and in fact one of the reasons why I chose this vacation was to make sure that I expand my travel portfolio… I know of a lot of enthu, photographers, travel buffs reaching out to people with their creative art form and expressing a truly meaningful self…

What I wish to attain through this blogumentary is to document not just geographic locations, but also the true emotions behind every single photo I take, every single temple I visit. Document the theme that India down south represents. Something that we all know and have already discovered. But to me it’s more than just that. I need to really rediscover some of the elements that a lot of us forget many times. Every minute details of the trip will help me understand a lot of things that are really help make me who I am…

With every blog that I post, I hope to tell a story that will build and develop itself. A story that will mean a lot more than what it seems. A story that we all hope for and expect to really make some sort of a difference to our lives.

My presentation on Slideshare got featured in the travel section by the editorial team of Slideshare. Now, it also has over 1000 views. I will be live blogging, tweeting, and updating my experience here. So do stay tuned. Also would love to hear feedback and tips from all of you guys about the trip. Tips, places of interest, expert comments are more than welcome 🙂

You may want to stay tuned to these links below as well Hope you find this interesting too.

http://facebook.com/srinistuff (Photo Journal)

http://bit.ly/sriniontoursouthindia (My Tour map for this trip)

http://everlater.com/srinistuff (My travel planner)

http://bit.ly/SriniOnTour (My Travel Map so far)

http://twitpic.com/photos/srinistuff (Travel Photos On the Go)

Coorg – Scotland of India…here I come

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They say this place is also known as the ‘Scotland of India’ Well it, certainly looks like! I’m all geared up. After a very good quarter at work, meeting almost all my targets, before I start off with the next quarter, I thought to myself, why not take this short trip and club it with the Intel App Lab that I would be attending in Bangalore! I hope to thoroughly enjoy this awesome hill station with some beauty that awaits me on this awesome short trip.

They say there are times when you got to let yourself go. Coorg is one such place where you will indeed experience those moments of letting yourself go and be one with yourself and nature. There are definitely many places which will rejuvenate your stressful self and help you back afresh with all the tasks. Am I ready to go there or what? One of my another on the spur of the moment trips, here is what I think I’d be doing. Hope to get to these places provided there isn’t too much of rain (heavy) considering the rain has caught up already with this part of the country.

Raja’s Seat:

Raja’s Seat in the town of Madikeri is where the kings would sit and watch the sunsets with their consorts. This is considered one of South India’s most scenic locations. The view from Raja’s Seat is breathtaking as you gaze upon the green valleys and towering hills. This is the perfect place to sit with a glass of wine and watch cars curving up the road to Mangalore that lies in the valley like a flowing ribbon. The government has set up a garden all around Raja’s Seat. This is the ideal place to go for a morning stroll.

Omkareshwara Temple

The Omkareshwara Temple was established in 1820 by Lingarajendra II with Mumammadan style architecture, which featured a center dome and four corners with turrets. According to legend, the king put a pious Brahmin to death unjustly and built the temple to appease the Brahmin’s spirit. The Omkareshwara Temple is like a Muslim dargah and has a Linga near the door of the entrance. The history of the temple was inscribed by the king on a plate made of copper that is hanging at the frame of the door to the temple entrance.

Madikeri Fort:

Mercara Fort can be found on elevated ground atop Madikeri. The fort was originally made out of mud and rebuilt by Tipu Sultan with stone, only to be wrested back by the Coorg King in 1791.There are two mortar elephants, built life-size to catch the visitors’ eyes as they enter the fort. Inside the fort, the British took out the temple of Virabhadra in 1855 and replaced it with the gothic-style Anglican Church, which has since been converted to a museum.

The Madikeri Palace is inside of the Madikeri Fort and is home to the office of the Deputy Commissioner. The Palace was established by Lingarajendra Wodeyar II in 1814. The two-story structure was renovated by the British two times and a clock tower and portico for the commissioner’s car was added in 1933.

Abbi Falls:

Coorg’s most popular waterfall is a 8 km drive from the main town.

TalaCauvery:

Every year, at a predetermined time, water gushes out from a small pond at Talacauvery, the birthplace of river Cauvery. Talacauvery is located 44 km from Madikeri, on the slopes of Brahmagiri Hill. Besides being a pilgrimage center, Talacauvery is known for its natural beauty.

Images & Tips – Courtesy: http://www.coorg.com

Agra November 2009

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Tag Archives: India

Kalipokhari – Land of the Black Lake

Tumling – A hint of Nepal

Amritsar – Punjabi delights…

Valley of Flowers – Yet another SriniOnTour…

#SriniOnTour – South India Trip 2010 – A blogumentary

Coorg – Scotland of India…here I come

Agra November 2009

Rajasthan November 2009

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