Being Traveler: 2013

Christmas in London

Trafalgar Square

I was lucky to be in London during Christmas season. Enjoying all the festive lights, decorations, delicacies, parties, sales and most important, less work in office.

Instead of coming home after work, I usually wandered in the streets of London carrying my camera to capture amazing memories forever. I hope you cherish them as I do.

Windsor Castle

I have been craving to drive since I have been in London. Missing my car, the feeling of sitting on driver's seat and revving up the engine while holding the steering. This was the time to fulfill my desire and me along with my four friends decided to rent a car and go for a road trip to Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge.

Renting a car was a piece of cake and we booked our car a day in advance to be picked up from the car rental agency at 9am on the Saturday morning. I promised myself to be on time and pick the car at sharp 9am as committed, but I was late again as usual. I smartly blamed my other friends for this though deep down I knew it was my fault. After all the blaming game and paper formalities with the car rental company, we finally left for our road trip at 10:30am with sun shining.

Anoushka Shankar

Despite all the lucrative deals offered by the travel agencies, I have always preferred to celebrate Diwali at home. But this time I am in London, away from my family, missing all the fun, the lights, the sweets, decorated markets, malls and the list goes on.

Tower Bridge

Sometimes, you want to capture a picture exactly as you imagined it. To capture that perfect picture, I was standing again near Tower Bridge, setting my camera, cleaning the lens, treating my digital camera as a costly DSLR.

While I waited for the perfect moment to click tower bridge, I was thinking how I mistook Tower bridge as London bridge for all these years. Well, I was not the only one who thought so. Here's an interesting fact, The City of London sold the original London Bridge to Robert McCulloch of McCulloch Oil and he rebuilt it in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. There is a rumor that Robert McCulloch thought he was getting Tower Bridge instead. Not surprisingly there have been several bridges on the London Bridge site and the present one is just under 40 years old, having been replaced because the previous one was subsiding sideways.

It can be difficult to let history go and even more challenging to preserve it. Battersea Power Station is one fine example for this statement.

The Battersea power station is the largest brick building in Europe and is notable for its original, lavish Art Deco interior fittings. The building was opened up to visitors for the last time look inside their favorite landmark as a part of the Open House project, London, before it undergoes a radical multi-billion pound redevelopment into offices and flats. Do you think I could afford to lose this chance? I used to see this marvelous building everyday on my way to work and back home without even knowing much about it. But today, I finally got the chance to be the part of it's history and experience it's past. No, my name is not going to be written in golden words or anything, but I did manage to mark my presence at the last visit to the premises ever before its redevelopment.

Ever wondered what it would feel like to step into the lab of some great inventor? A place where once a great scientist worked, experimented, failed, succeeded and most important, invented the things which reshaped the world.

Wouldn't it be a breathtaking experience to see his very own table where he must have spent sleepless nights to benefit the world where we live in; his tools which contributed to bring the world's greatest Industrial revolution?

An inventor who developed the concept of horsepower and the SI unit of power, the watt, was named after him. An inventor whose improvements to the steam engine converted it from a prime mover of marginal efficiency into the mechanical workhorse of the Industrial Revolution. If you are still wondering who I am talking about, without much secret, I am talking about James Watt.

Summer holidays in Zante are hot stuff. This glorious Greek island is famed for its beauty and long hot summers, where pristine golden sands and azure seas sparkle under cloudless blue skies, and sunbathers bask in the warmth as they stretch out on sunbeds or splash about in the cool Ionian waters.

Brighton

To capture a perfect British summer day in our memories forever, me and my friend decided to go to Brighton, England. Located at south coast of Great Britain, Brighton is famous amongst the day trippers from London.

To brighten the already bright sunny day, we got on to the train to Brighton. It was a 50 minutes journey from London Victoria to Brighton which I utilized glazing outside the train's window and hearing burps of an old man who was sitting right next to me concentrating on his food. My friend who was sitting in front of me used his earphones to ignore his funny sounds and I was the unfortunate one who had to bear them. The irritating part was, I was feeling hungry now.

Lying on the beach, sun tan, barbecues, long walks along the river Thames, sitting under the sun having a beer or a glass of wine, playing football..... yes, This is British summer.

For a nation with little sunshine, summer is no less than a celebration and sets everyone in a holiday mood. Tourists and other hangout places are usually occupied specially on weekends as everyone wants to get out of their lovely homes to feel the sunshine.

Though sun is not kind every day, there are cold days too which will force you to grab a jacket. On such days even if sun comes out for just a while, people don't want to miss it and get out and to experience the sunshine. I remember when a few days ago the sun came out for just five minutes, my neighbors rushed outside to their lawn to have a glass of wine.

The summer holds something for everyone, be it gardeners, photographers, foodies, travelers as the atmosphere becomes really vibrant and versatile.

What are you waiting for? British summer awaits you. Come, experience it.

Tate Modern - London

I am not a big fan of art but I really appreciate the work done by various artists all over the world with their efforts to make the world little more beautiful with their thoughts and creativity.

The Tate Modern is a modern art gallery which is located in central London and it is the most visited modern art gallery in the world with around 4.7 million visitors per year. This was enough for me to visit the most talked about gallery in town.

I bring you here the ancient dolls depicting the King and the Queen from the Neemrana fort in Neemrana, Rajasthan.

They seem like welcoming the visitors as they are placed just at the entrance gate of the fort. What do you think?

Homes of Jaisalmer (Rajasthan)

Courtyard of a Jaisalmer House

The Golden city of Rajasthan, Jaisalmer is named after its founder Maharawal Jaisal Singh. Jaisalmer means "the hill fort of Jaisal". It is known as the golden city because of yellow sand and yellow sandstone used in the architecture which gives golden-yellow look.

Most of the part of this golden city is part of Thar desert, also known as The Great Indian Desert. The temperature is usually high during the day time and nights are pretty cold. In summers the temperature can go as high as 50 degrees which becomes unbearable for human habitation, yet people continue to live and prosper. They have designed the houses in such a way that they provide cool and soothing effect in summers. Made out of woods and mud, they are the most successful way to beat the heat in summers.

What's best than visiting the symbol of love, the Taj Mahal with the love of your life? Newly developed Yamuna expressway is definitely a boon for people living in Delhi and want to visit The Taj Mahal, Agra. We left in the morning and as soon as we hit the expressway, I thanked God that I will not have to play with trucks anymore and I could almost fly my car. In just 2 hours, we reached Agra, Uttar Pradesh and coudn't wait to go to Taj Mahal. On arrival, we were asked to remove our shoes or we could wear polythene bags on our shoes to avoid the white marble getting dirty. We hired a guide who taught us some interesting facts about the Taj Mahal.

Whenever you plan a trip with friends or office colleagues or with family members, there is always one person who keeps bugging you while you are on your way to the destination by continuously asking "Are we there?". They irritate so much that you feel like saying "yes we are here but, we just love to sit in the car and circle around our destination". Of course we are not there yet.

They will keep poking you with same question again and again at different intervals. Sometimes, you just wish to stop the car and tell them "Yea, here we are" and as soon as they get off the car, drive away and continue to your destination.

As someone wise has said that travel is more than having a destination in mind, more than reaching to a destination. I wish, everyone could think like that and enjoy the joy of traveling. The roads are more fun than the actual destination, music and wheels, the views, the road side restaurants, fresh air... what else do you need? It is a perfect way to discover yourself, to rejuvenate, to lose your tensions.

When you feel tired, just stop aside while driving and relax for a while, watching fresh farms, cool breeze. I am sure you will fall in love with it.

Incredible India! Indeed

Incredible India

While I continue to explore length and breadth of India, I met an interesting man who inspired me to write this post. He helped me to rediscover India with a different perspective, with its great history. He told me few interesting facts which made me dig further to awaken to the below amazing facts about India.

India is world's oldest, largest and continuous civilization.
Number Zero was invented in India by Aryabhatta.
Plastic Surgery was first performed in India by Acharya Sushrut in 600BCE.
Nagarjuna was world's first wizard of Chemical Science which has its roots in 100BCE.
When most of the cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).
Sanskrit is mother of all the European Languages. Matra in Sanskrit becomes mother in English, bhatra becomes brother, trikonamiti becomes trigonometry. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software - a report in Forbes magazine July 1987.
Nalanda university, located in Bihar, India, was one of the world's first residential universities. The great library of Nalanda University was so vast that it is reported to have burned for three months after the invaders set fire to it.
Chess was invented in India.
India has largest pool of scientists, doctors and engineers in the world.
India is largest English speaking nation.
According to Tom Standage of The Economist, India currently has daily newspaper circulation of 110 million copies which get published in 21 different languages.
India is the only country other than US and Japan, who has built a super computer indeigenously.
The Baily Bridge is the greatest elevation in the world. It is is located in the Himalayan mountains, in the Ladakh Valley in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Yoga has its origin in India and is existed for more than 5000 years.
India was one of the richest countries until the British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
Acharya Kanad was the pioneer expounder of realism, law of causation and the atomic theory nearly 2500 years before John Dalton.
Acharya Charak has been crowned as the Father of Medicine
Martial Arts was first originated in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.
Kumbh mela is considered to be world's largest peaceful gathering with over 100 million people visiting in 2013.

Incredible India, isn't it?

A Man and His Motorboat

Lake Taupo

There's nothing better to click than an image during sunset. You can capture different shades of the sun, play with different colors to get your perfect shot. What more a camera needs when sunlight blends with water to generate a soothing effect which relaxes the mind and is a treat for the eyes.

Image taken at Lake Taupo, New Zealand.

Oh! Here Comes the Toll Road

Flickr

No matter where you go, there they are! I can not even remember a single road trip where I have not paid toll tax.

Well, toll roads are common all over the world and the concept is not just few years old. They are privately or publicly built roads for which the user of the road pays a toll tax for the cost of the road construction and the maintenance without burdening non-users of the road.

Did you know that toll roads are 2700 years old? In India, the Arthasastra notes the use of tolls before the 4th century BC. Under the regime of Ashurbanipal, travelers paid toll taxes for using Susa–Babylon highway. Few Germanic tribes used to charge toll from travelers across mountain passes. Tolls were also used in Roman empire in 14th and 15th century.

Here is another interesting fact that toll taxes were also charged for the use of river as well. In 14th century, Castle Loevestein in the Netherlands, was built at a strategic point where two rivers met, and charged toll on the boats sailing along the river.

With all due respect to the history of toll tax, I hope it can be eliminated specially where it leads to long traffic queues to save time and gas.

Did you like this trivia about Toll roads?

That Feeling When You Are About To Jump!

Bungee Jumping

Well, You know that feeling you get when you're standing at a high place with a sudden urge to not jump? It's very easy to say you want to do it, but when you are actually standing there, about to jump, your entire life comes in front of you; specially the moment when you decided to go for bungee jumping. You may want to reconsider your decision or the checklist where you pinned bungee jumping as a must to-do thing. But once you actually do it, I am sure you won't regret it. Face your fear, kill your fear.

Thumbs up!

What's With The Street Food?

[Try our snack, you will remember the taste for hours]

How often do you opt for street food? Does it teases your taste buds? According to a study, more than 2.5 billion people eat street food every day.

Historically, it is believed that street food came into the picture because the poor didn't have kitchens in their homes.

Today, the reasons have changed and so is the taboo associated with it historically. Now a days, people love street food and have various reasons to opt for it.

Ethnic taste;
Readily available and;
Most importantly, it is reasonably priced.

Well, who does not want to grab a quick bite while shopping or if you are in a rush? Being easily available and presented in a tempting way, it makes you drool over it even if you are not so hungry.

Street food is served around the world but varies with the countries and cultures.

In India, people tempt for chaat, dahi-bhalla, faluda, vada-paav and gol gappa which I have seen changing its name to pani puri in Maharashtra and pani patisa in Rajasthan.
In Viet Nam, street food relies heavily on herbs, chili peppers and lime.
Thailand is famous for "fiery" and "pungent with shrimp paste and fish sauce"
New York City's signature street food is the hot dog.

It still remains a fact that they never taste as good when made at home. Be it their spices, their way of preparation or the way they serve.

Street food is turning into a culture in some countries and few like China, India and Nigeria are the fastest growing street food markets that even few companies have captured and branded the street food market too. On the other hand, walking on the street while eating is considered rude in some cultures, such as Japan. Difference in cultures and history have resulted in various aspects and how a street vendors operate all over the world.

I am totally in love with the street food. What about you? Are you a street foodie?

Earth Day

Earth day, celebrated every year since 1970 on April, 22 worldwide in more than 192 countries to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

Save Environment, Save Earth.

Just a "Kos" Away!

Kos kos par badle paani, char kos par vani. I am sure, everyone has heard this famous Hindi maxim. But, do you know how the usage of "Kos" came into the picture? Here is an interesting fact about its evolution. The term Kos slipped into common usage as an abbreviation of "Kos Minars". These were the tall pillars erected as milestones during the Mughal empire in India. The traveling caravans of olden times used them to mark their route and distance. The distance between the two Kos Minars was one Kos. Though it is not used as commonly as kilometers or miles to measure distance, but it is still used as a common indicator of large distances.

I Like My Sky!

As we stopped to admire the beautiful valley on the way from Nainital to Mukteshwar, sun started playing hide and seek behind these beautiful pine wood trees. Managed to capture the sun peeking at me at just a perfect moment.

India's First Highway - The Grand Trunk Road

The Grand Trunk Road

In the 16th century, Sher Shah Suri, the Pashtun emperor of Northern India, built a major road running across the Gangetic plain. It was known as "Sadak-e-Azam" and it served as an administrative link to the remote provinces of his vast empire. Over the centuries, various rulers added to the expanse of this road, till it expanded to Kabul, to Multan and to Bangladesh. Later it was renamed by Britishers as "The Grand Trunk Road". Connecting many cities with various National Highways under the part of Golden Quadrilateral project.

Today, the Grand Trunk Road remains a continuum that covers a distance of over 2,500 kilometers (1,600 mi). From its origin at Chittagong, it traverses to Sonargaon in the Narayanganj District of central Bangladesh, it reaches India, passing through Howrah, Bardhaman, Panagarh , Durgapur, Asansol, Dhanbad, Aurangabad, Dehri-on-sone, Sasaram, Mohania, Mughalsarai, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Kalianpur, Kannauj, Etah, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Delhi, Panipat, Karnal, Ambala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar. Within India, the major portion of the road – the stretch between Howrah to Kanpur is National Highway-2 (NH-2) and Kanpur to Delhi, which is known as National Highway-91 (NH-91), and between Delhi and Wagah, at the border with Pakistan, is known as National Highway-1 (NH-1). From the Pakistan border, the Grand Trunk Road (part of the NH-5) continues north through Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Attock District, Nowshera, Peshawar and Landi Kotal. Then it enters Afghanistan through the Khyber pass and continues west through Jalalabad, Surobi and ends at Kabul, a large part of the Afghan's Grand Trunk Road is today part of the Jalalabad-Kabul Road.

Grand, isn't it?

That artist from Surajkund

An Artist at Surajkund

While my shopaholic friend was busy, this artist who was on his way for his performance at Surajkund Mela, grabbed the attention of my lens and I managed to get my perfect shot, well, almost perfect. Colorful, isn't it?

Read more about Surajkund International Crafts Fair.

7 Adventure Sports You Must Try

Scuba Diving

I would be lying if I say that I have any wish list or things-to-do list. Trust me, I never had one. I like being spontaneous and believe me, it is adventurous too. It is not that I do not plan at all, but I like the other way around. But this time, I really thought about the places and things which I want to do in life. Things that I believe are must to experience at least once in a lifetime. Here’s the list which I am going to follow and achieve (or at least try to achieve).

Lotus Temple

Most people take their own cities for granted and I was no different until few days ago. Born and bred in Delhi and yet was unaware of it's great history. If you are expecting me to tell you the history of Delhi here, you are at the wrong place. This post isn't about the past, it is about the present. It is about the small things that will make you fall in love with Delhi. It is about the people, it is about the experience.

Not so long ago, on a Sunday morning, I was traveling in Metro and I saw a man in his late 30s (not very well dressed) traveling along with his six or seven year old son. He was answering all his son's questions about whatever he could see outside the metro's window. I still remember the joy on that kid's face looking outside. Besides a great transportation mode, I never expected Delhi metro to be beneficial like this and help a dad to bring a smile on his son's face.

I remember when my car broke down in mid way and I was waiting for the car helpline, meanwhile a tempo driver pulled along and helped me to get started and when I tried to pay the driver for his efforts, he refused and left with a smile. Well, I never expected that, at-least not in Delhi. It changed my perspective totally.

A city which is as modern as it is traditional, where beliefs and facts go hand in hand. Where historical monuments stand with pride along with high rise buildings.

A city where so many cultures exists together and all festivals are celebrated with joy and fun. A city which looks lively each day. A city which has accommodated many cities in itself. Well, where else can it happen? Only in Delhi.

Horn OK Please

"Horn OK Please" Did you know that this phrase was not always a mere decorative whim of Indian truck drivers. It originated as a serious cautionary indication during the World war II. Kerosene fueled trucks were used then for movement of troops. Highly unstable in nature, Kerosene would cause the trucks to explode, at the slightest accident, hence it was painted on them, "Horn Please, On Kerosene".

You must have also witnessed another famous phrase "OK TATA BYE BYE". The theory behind this phrase is that as most of the Indian trucks are manufactured by TATA, and the word TATA is also synonym to Bye. Wishing someone Goodbye, one commonly says OK Tata.

However, I still do not know why some quotes are written behind the Indian trucks. In some trucks, they are written in a very colorful and innovative way. Someone told me that they are written to entertain and to relax the stressed drivers. What do you think?

Into the Wild

Well, this post isn't actually something about me going into the wild literally, but given the current lifestyle and hectic schedule where you are worried about presentations and clients, going to a zoological park meant as much as visiting a wild life sanctuary to me. Though I had been there as a kid, but watching all these wild animals now as well really astonished me. I do feel bad as they are kind of stuck in their cages, but they also bring smile on lot of kids faces, but that is no excuse, is it? However, I am sure that authorities are taking good care of them.

I flaunted my Canon digital camera like a costly DSLR and managed to capture some interesting pictures. No matter how bad photographer I am, but I always like my photographs ~~on Facebook~~.

There are two types of people in the world, those who love traveling, those who don't. Planning a trip, scheduling and packing might be difficult for the later ones. Well, there is nothing much we can do to make them fall in love with travel but, there are few things that can make a journey lot smoother.

There are five things that one must avoid while traveling:

Heavy Suitcase/Backpack: Carrying heavy luggage is a strict No. You don't want yourself to be taking care of too much stuff you brought along by just a thought of you might need it. Make sure to carry only those things that are important to you. To make a list of the important items, read this Travel Itinerary.
Heavy Food and Unhygienic Food: No matter how inviting it seems, be strong and avoid eating heavy food and unhygienic food as it might upset your stomach. I am not saying that you should not try other cuisine or street food, but make sure it is hygienic and quality is maintained.
Avoid Keeping All Your Cash Together: It is good to keep your cash at separate locations. This will help you in case of an emergency or theft.
Limit Your Talks with Strangers: This doesn't mean that do not mix up with the locals, but make sure you don't disclose too much about yourself to them. You never know who that person is.
Choose Your Hotel Wisely: There have been too many scams already, so make sure you choose your hotel properly. If you are on a planned vacation, make sure to read about the hotel, research about it before booking. TripAdvisor is the best source available. In case of an unplanned vacation, you have to be aware and must follow your instincts.

Keep exploring, keep traveling!

Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

The latest buzz around is the closing of Google reader. I am pretty sure it will leave us stranded in between as it is a great source for feeds. Well, there is nothing much we can do about it but to look for alternatives. Bloglovin is one platform that I have joined, please follow me there and so shall I.

Keep Blogging!

Surajkund Mela (Faridabad, Haryana) India

Surajkund Mela

Surajkund International Crafts Mela is one of the most popular and oldest fair that showcases finest art, handicrafts, handlooms and rich cuisines from India and from other countries. Various artists from all over the country and neighboring countries display their best crafts work in a rural ambience which will capture your heart. Surajkund is a delight for shopaholics foodies, children and interior designers.

If I have to put myself in any of the above mentioned categories, I will definitely fit best in foodies category. To be honest, that would be the only category I will fit in. As I entered, the first thing I noticed was the food court. If you are thinking I searched for the food court deliberately, let me make myself clear, I did not. I found it as I entered, trust me, it was planted there. Now that I was already in the food court, I tried few cuisines from Rajasthan, Karnataka, Gujarat and Delhi's stalls.

Are you tired of heavy backpacks or heavy suitcases? Believe me, everyone is. Well, there are few ways by which you can minimize your luggage and you can make your trip more enjoyable.

Coordinating Clothes: This will minimize the burden of carrying too many clothes. Shades of white, black, gray, blue are best ones to carry as they will save you from mix and match worries.
Appropriate Shoes: You don't want to carry too many shoes with you, do you? Choose an appropriate pair of shoes according to your destination and types of activities you are planning to indulge in. Just a pair of flip flops are appropriate for a beach vacation or sports shoes for an adventurous vacation.
Avoid Too Many Electronic Gadgets: If you are planning to carry multiple electronic items, you will definitely have to carry their chargers as well which will increase your luggage. Try keeping them as minimal.
Minimize Toiletries Items: The less, the better. In fact you can carry the items which are available in smaller sizes. Keep them together in a packet to avoid any leakages. Also, if you are staying in a hotel or resort, remember, they will provide you these anyhow.

Keep exploring, keep traveling.

Warm regards,

Being Traveler

The Kala Ghoda Art Festival (Mumbai, India)

The Kala Ghoda Art Festival is organised every year during end of January or beginning of February. It is a nine days long festival which is held in Kala ghoda area of South Mumbai, India.

It was first organised in year 1999 and since then it has been attracting various artists, participants and visitors across the country and the world.

The festival is organised by the Kala ghoda association in order to up-bring Kala ghoda as an art district of Mumbai.

Incredible India!

Every place has a tale to tell and it teaches us a lot. I looked at my photography journal and went back to those places virtually. Beautiful pictures of beautiful places and people, I am glad that I captured them in my canon so that I can hold them with me forever. Here is what I realized.

Rajasthan taught me to have a king size big warm heart. It also taught me to fight for our rights, for justice.

Rajasthan

Why I love Traveling?

As I continue to explore new places, I have realized that traveling is more than that, more than exploring places and more than just a journey. It is an amazing experience, it is a journey of self realization, it is a journey of self exploration.

Traveling

Here are some of the best reasons why I love traveling.

Traveling has taught me to be patient. It has taught me that, it is fine to take a back seat sometimes and go with the flow. Everything can not be in your control all the time.
It has changed my attitude towards life and taught me to be calm even at most difficult times.
It has taught me to respect others, I have realized a sense of grounding and looking beyond self.
It has made me realize my strengths, my fears, my anxieties, my weaknesses and taught me how to deal with them.
It has helped me to look at the world from a different perspective and changed my outlook towards life.
It has also made me more confident, easy-going, more tolerant, humble, more flexible and open towards life.
It has evoked a sixth sense in me to judge things little better. It has taught me to differentiate between good and bad.
It has helped me to think on my feet when dealing with certain situations.
It has taught me a good lesson to not to assume things and not to just believe whatever people are saying. It has taught me to analyse better and to believe things as I see.
It has helped me to polish my skills and I continue to improvise in my photography and to control my wife from shopping.

Keep exploring, keep traveling

Warm regards,
Being Traveler

A New Dawn - Gorgeous New Year!

[Beautiful Dawn]

New year begins with a new dawn, new dreams, new hopes, new challenges. For me, I hope it brings in new travel experiences with new places to explore, new people to meet, new things to learn, new cuisines to try, new lessons to learn. More than that, I will travel to explore my inner self , to know myself better, to widen my vistas, as St. Augustine has rightly said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page".

Wish all the travelers a Gorgeous New Year!

Keep Traveling, Keep Exploring!