tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150958090932645872024-03-18T08:28:55.413+05:30Being TravelerLet there be more stories...Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-15906115845432744552021-08-04T16:23:00.000+05:302021-08-04T16:23:16.304+05:30Goa (India) - Home Away from Home - Chapter 4<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEF1XLVF-GAT4zohuo-TYP-dyZHlgNTxBNiegehIWEnwoPVYw4neMBaWcfA9xiiZ3W5yXFDeGfDcE1r2H9-2mZe3xemG2hCd3y1dMRM8jGiPcSFQavygz5PCOVsITrJvk-8zvCB7MbVuI/s6000/DSC_0062+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Goa, India" border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEF1XLVF-GAT4zohuo-TYP-dyZHlgNTxBNiegehIWEnwoPVYw4neMBaWcfA9xiiZ3W5yXFDeGfDcE1r2H9-2mZe3xemG2hCd3y1dMRM8jGiPcSFQavygz5PCOVsITrJvk-8zvCB7MbVuI/w640-h427/DSC_0062+%25282%2529.JPG" title="Betalbatim Beach, Goa" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>March 2020:</b> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Covid-19, The Virus, Pandemic, India under Lock-down, Oxygen, Masks, Sanitizer, Stay Home.... We got used to hearing all these terms since March 2020 when we witnessed first of its kind pandemic at least for our generation. We were all locked in our homes surfing the news channels to understand what exactly is happening, what the hell is this virus and why is it so dangerous? More information we got, scarier it became. Stepping out felt like a thing of a past and we all adapted to the new normal and started working from home. No excitement for weekends, the only excitement we felt was watching new web series, having zoom calls with friends and trying new recipes at home.</p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Fast forward 10 months: Jan'21</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Things looked like they are starting to get better, low positivity rates, life felt like getting back to normal, people started to step out to meet friends & families and even started to travel. With this, we also started to make plans and the first destination that came to our mind was <b>Goa. </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We started to plan and everyone was excited, although we were still restricting ourselves to step outside unnecessarily, but with the thought of going to Goa made those mundane days exciting. Spent weekends shopping for our Goa trip and started to count days for our vacation. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Feb'21: </b>The day arrived and with the hope of no delays in flight, we left for the airport. The reason I said that is because when we went to Goa in 2019, our flight was cancelled at the last moment due to Boeing 737 max issues (apparently the aircraft had couple of crashes) and ours was also Boeing 737 max. It was different struggle to reach Goa that day. If you want to read about that experience, you can read it <a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2020/03/goa-when-it-started-to-feel-like-home.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Coming back to 2021, our flight was delayed this time too, but just for an hour, maybe the pilot forgot the keys at home. One hour is not bad and it made my wife bit happy as she got additional time for her duty free shopping. Duty Free is the biggest sucker deal in retail. Do you know how much duty is? Its nothing!! (that was Seinfeld reference by the way, if you're a fan).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In no time. we boarded our flight and the excitement level was all time high!! Why wouldn't it be? It was our first vacation after Sep'2019 trip to <a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2020/09/meghalaya-abode-of-clouds.html" target="_blank"><b>Meghalaya</b></a> and that too to our favorite destination, Goa. Finally, we landed in Goa and got on to our cab and reached our favorite resort. We checked into our room and and dozed off for a while. Woke up an hour later and had a cup of coffee before going to <b>THE BEACH</b> (<b>Betalbatim beach</b>). I had been waiting for this moment for so, so, so long. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAS8jKp1jJ-_0k1GWZ2ZJVIhLNvOJIzisWY5Ru5o_I-tPKUOVTEmBtALhSLVDoDHTyeYk4WaiZ06iDB0BYguAhW7qDWYIGCpqDPpGvuCteOQh_GWoqYkADdQun4a-f_IzLZDsJtgxj838/s2048/DSC_0983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Betalbatim Beach, Goa" border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAS8jKp1jJ-_0k1GWZ2ZJVIhLNvOJIzisWY5Ru5o_I-tPKUOVTEmBtALhSLVDoDHTyeYk4WaiZ06iDB0BYguAhW7qDWYIGCpqDPpGvuCteOQh_GWoqYkADdQun4a-f_IzLZDsJtgxj838/w640-h426/DSC_0983.JPG" title="Goa, India" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">It was Sunday evening and there were few locals on the beach, but no international tourists due to restrictions for international flights and tourists. The beach felt different without them to be honest as every time I have been to this beach and resort, I have seen majorly the international tourists thronging everywhere, be it shacks, bar of the resort or swimming at the beach. This time it felt different, the vibe was different, but nevertheless it felt great! We returned back to our resort, had dinner and called it a day.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYnFJYaJVixeJkeqJc1fuYvPvTGCCjhLuVV8TQxDcb3sP45Bf_-472X0k5u2b2YnRIhj2dMroxg0oeHyfoM74QRVX_nrObON3RgqtjyMtpqEpdvpI-zeYa_0t4-fZRXwzKDtVUIFViHk/s6000/DSC_0067+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Crab" border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYnFJYaJVixeJkeqJc1fuYvPvTGCCjhLuVV8TQxDcb3sP45Bf_-472X0k5u2b2YnRIhj2dMroxg0oeHyfoM74QRVX_nrObON3RgqtjyMtpqEpdvpI-zeYa_0t4-fZRXwzKDtVUIFViHk/w640-h426/DSC_0067+-+Copy.JPG" title="Crab in Goa, India" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Next morning, woke up early and went to the beach before sun blasts its true power, enjoyed at the beach and returned back before it became too hot outside. We had breakfast and enjoyed in the swimming pool. My kid always loves playing in the pool and that's what makes it interesting for us. We slept in the noon and woke up in the evening to go to the beach again and watch sunset and have dinner at the shack. 2020 was hectic for all of us and work wise too it was too much. All those working from home hours, managing home chores along those back to back meetings, so this vacation - lazy vacation felt like a breeze of fresh air that we were longing for.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We followed the same ritual every day - early to bed and early to rise made us healthy and wise till the time we were in Goa.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When we decided to visit Goa, we agreed that we will follow Covid protocol and will not visit the touristy places (we had already been to most of them in the past) but will restrict ourselves to the beach next to our resort or maybe will go out just for a day or so. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uBXlGOJnu-QgEpYw2GBQrk2e9zc7Th_sbeRmU1frPTpZNst-grp_2rf_HGlNxK1u4_5gYUjBP-QZ-kmThqPkKKElIqU34clexmYkP9Nmzafag8umQ0DFcOaYN1Aezlow_uZz-J9I4mk/s6000/DSC_0027+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Goa beaches" border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uBXlGOJnu-QgEpYw2GBQrk2e9zc7Th_sbeRmU1frPTpZNst-grp_2rf_HGlNxK1u4_5gYUjBP-QZ-kmThqPkKKElIqU34clexmYkP9Nmzafag8umQ0DFcOaYN1Aezlow_uZz-J9I4mk/w640-h426/DSC_0027+%25282%2529.JPG" title="Couple friendly Goa beaches" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKiB50UNE2JwxVQcWCvlwRVFX46yMVURGEXNQ5q3sSXN7_rYz0_NXr4OZt7ifEG2-bYjp8OnDmT3c-r1ayxvxPMBhnZpTM0b9-TvznQOdeLlXCQq2XR54p_0v5vM2xb2TN78cFRBejLI/s6000/DSC_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Beach Life, Goa" border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKiB50UNE2JwxVQcWCvlwRVFX46yMVURGEXNQ5q3sSXN7_rYz0_NXr4OZt7ifEG2-bYjp8OnDmT3c-r1ayxvxPMBhnZpTM0b9-TvznQOdeLlXCQq2XR54p_0v5vM2xb2TN78cFRBejLI/w640-h426/DSC_0027.JPG" title="Goa Mornings" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The day we decided to go out, we decided to visit Cola beach which was hour and a half drive (~40kms). We tried to book a self drive car, but apparently the bookings were full. We took a scooty on rent and carried on with the plan. The road was beautiful and not at all crowded until the last leg of the beach. The last part to reach Cola beach was horrible - no road at all. It was all dusty, rocky, uneven and zig zag in between the mountains. The scooty struggled a bit, but covered the last 2 kms of the journey slowly. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DYe4tZrCLGRCScr3zMiYRs3GF4Hh3ht8Udkjz1fQ1_AcL3wp-7l6LhAbxxRbtWrdGercZ3oN7rFyl67irtHytBNS6Ti3cvJtMI_jHKfw-JZ5QqWjQf1nM8iG39SwddbchkVcs-hYAeM/s6000/DSC_0770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cola Beach, Goa" border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DYe4tZrCLGRCScr3zMiYRs3GF4Hh3ht8Udkjz1fQ1_AcL3wp-7l6LhAbxxRbtWrdGercZ3oN7rFyl67irtHytBNS6Ti3cvJtMI_jHKfw-JZ5QqWjQf1nM8iG39SwddbchkVcs-hYAeM/w640-h426/DSC_0770.JPG" title="Cola beach, Goa" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirORoN29gboawFVhfGv9wIZxAdWmj59vjkrRmTHTu4pRxJCvaa3oKsSSerAuRiKqOWKxIFhQI_fDaJH0owHDo9RM7V9kCcpKA35bQ22Sk3138oAGfkqHak4Be-5Kk8pg4xc7bhjYk8sN8/s6000/DSC_0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sweet water lake, Cola beach, Goa" border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirORoN29gboawFVhfGv9wIZxAdWmj59vjkrRmTHTu4pRxJCvaa3oKsSSerAuRiKqOWKxIFhQI_fDaJH0owHDo9RM7V9kCcpKA35bQ22Sk3138oAGfkqHak4Be-5Kk8pg4xc7bhjYk8sN8/w640-h426/DSC_0673.JPG" title="Sweet water lake, Cola beach, Goa" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The beach was marvelous and right next to it was sweet water lake (as they call it). My wife tasted the water (don't know why) and didn't find the water sweet at all. People were enjoying in the lake, doing kayaking (not sure why?). We spent some time there and apparently Cola beach has just one shack! We sat there waiting for our turn but the place was so crowded that we gave up and thought to go somewhere else. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We got on our scooty to cross the nightmare 2 kms stretch and then there was bit of an incident, My kid unknowingly accelerated the scooty while we were getting onto the scooty. My hands were off the handle and scooty jumped and then it fell and was dragged for few meters before stopping by hitting a fallen tree at the edge of the road right next to the valley. Had that tree not been there, we might have fallen off the road into the valley. God had a different plan and we were saved by just few inches. My arm was all scratched and bleeding, my son's arm was also scratched and bleeding, my cargos were torn and I broke my phone's camera lens. Nothing major, but we were thankful enough to be saved and now the only thing that we were hoping was scooty to be alright and starts so that we could reach back to our resort. We took some water from a car passing by and cleaned ourselves as much as we could. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Scooty was alright and I was able to start it as well and very carefully we crossed that section of the road (it wasn't a road though). On the way stopped at a medical store to get some ointments and anti-bacterial/anti-septic lotions for our wounds. We reached resort, cleaned ourselves up and called it a day.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Next few days were spent the same way, except we were avoiding swimming pools (didn't want to expose our wounds to pool water). The time we spent in Goa was remarkably good considering ideal lifestyle - waking up early, having meals on time, long walks on the beach, watching sunset everyday and no work related stress. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61HZrfqwfym38nVzjczgPpxoudIyOfETL40IBDM5myc6AAlVyOwfOebTcqARqsEsWoM0zUoZH4OppoCzceUqpLfK_Dgqf90HUJA2uf6yt6gmlG1zYnzWBs70vdkIuxhr5OXnTJa5moOY/s6000/DSC_0505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Goa sunset" border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61HZrfqwfym38nVzjczgPpxoudIyOfETL40IBDM5myc6AAlVyOwfOebTcqARqsEsWoM0zUoZH4OppoCzceUqpLfK_Dgqf90HUJA2uf6yt6gmlG1zYnzWBs70vdkIuxhr5OXnTJa5moOY/w640-h426/DSC_0505.JPG" title="Goa sunset at beach" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">This is what I call a perfect unwinding vacation. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>P.S. This is the smallest blog ever of any any place I have been to, because we didn't go out much. Be safe and take care.</b></p>Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com1Goa, India15.2993265 74.1239959999999917.3875445163909639 65.334932829447737 23.211108483609035 82.913059170552245tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-27625849754200969772021-05-29T15:40:00.006+05:302021-05-29T15:49:09.875+05:30Why 'Mona Lisa' is so Famous?<p><b><br /></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidx1gezJq2WJlVK8K-ViTvArHVhx2LUZwKshaT2yoxyvLsItiyipdEEN1Wxkg2RAGQ30u6GmTlLtS2kCImCgDOyG9DQ_FVQT19eGhq9qpoc70W1Nr_NHg9pzR1cHuTTay1-qD6T2FDWa0/s958/960x0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="958" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidx1gezJq2WJlVK8K-ViTvArHVhx2LUZwKshaT2yoxyvLsItiyipdEEN1Wxkg2RAGQ30u6GmTlLtS2kCImCgDOyG9DQ_FVQT19eGhq9qpoc70W1Nr_NHg9pzR1cHuTTay1-qD6T2FDWa0/w640-h360/960x0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><b>Mona Lisa</b>, one of the most talked about, written about, searched about and most visited painting in the world. What makes it so famous? Well, definitely it is amongst the most beautiful paintings in the world, but is that enough to make it that famous?</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvq30UrJpvhOJ0Hqq2h-cOMFlxu5iIwV5D4JNZx4108EoZQr-sP_ZuRkaMdCQHLzihDr5yFBXXKYBK6mhnh4-MMKjIsXpcWRg5jv2jxcSfgukj9XbtcqqpvLJePLdeVPB7H2o_b-K9MSs/s763/01-leonardo-da-vinci-book-talk.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="636" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvq30UrJpvhOJ0Hqq2h-cOMFlxu5iIwV5D4JNZx4108EoZQr-sP_ZuRkaMdCQHLzihDr5yFBXXKYBK6mhnh4-MMKjIsXpcWRg5jv2jxcSfgukj9XbtcqqpvLJePLdeVPB7H2o_b-K9MSs/w334-h400/01-leonardo-da-vinci-book-talk.jpg" width="334" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leonardo da Vinci</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Let's go back to history to find out more about it. It is believed that the painting was completed in beginning of 15th century by the artist Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. In the year 1517, <b>Leonardo da Vinci </b>went to France at the King’s invitation and took the painting with him. Upon his death on May 2, 1519, in Amboise, France, the artist’s assistant Salaì inherited the work and sold it to France’s <b>King Francis I</b> for 4,000 gold coins.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAi9Yb4nq-gEif6O-R5l3L5Lew177ZuA7t2GaiXgHdah54pVhLRenR-VaJLZsDRWhSjBMf9EqU8mrfObQFHGtlzThVfIhpi0KD6YV5195hEUF0gQA_haCSWjFS5Flsdmc_GDoR5vcWn0s/s2048/Fran%25C3%25A7ois_Ier_Louvre.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1584" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAi9Yb4nq-gEif6O-R5l3L5Lew177ZuA7t2GaiXgHdah54pVhLRenR-VaJLZsDRWhSjBMf9EqU8mrfObQFHGtlzThVfIhpi0KD6YV5195hEUF0gQA_haCSWjFS5Flsdmc_GDoR5vcWn0s/w310-h400/Fran%25C3%25A7ois_Ier_Louvre.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Francis I King of France</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>It was kept it at the Palace at Fontainebleau, where it remained until <b>King Louis XIV</b> moved the painting to the Palace of Versailles. Following the French Revolution it was moved to the Louvre, the museum.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaWWL6v2N3lwz_3USy4CQSp63YX04Emzv_7ttMDoYCZzMuwDbrqX__f0Np4dZEO1kn89bR9oUHQqx20MWZuEbVDgl5vPI2KJO4O3zPHPjev_Bfm6LM4IRyO2WkxHr5VOq7H4dzsBHlKs/s875/Vincenzo_peruggia.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="798" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaWWL6v2N3lwz_3USy4CQSp63YX04Emzv_7ttMDoYCZzMuwDbrqX__f0Np4dZEO1kn89bR9oUHQqx20MWZuEbVDgl5vPI2KJO4O3zPHPjev_Bfm6LM4IRyO2WkxHr5VOq7H4dzsBHlKs/w365-h400/Vincenzo_peruggia.jpg" width="365" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vincenzo Perugia</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1911, the painting from Louvre disappeared and the news of 'Mona Lisa' painting being stolen spread like a wildfire. The news was published in all major publications across the world and brought the museum into a bad light. Pablo Picasso was the prime suspect, but later it was found that one of the museum's employee, <b>Vincenzo Perugia</b> had stolen the painting. Vincenzo believed that since it is an Italian artwork, the painting should reside in Italy. The painting was recovered in 1913, two years later while he was trying to sell it for $10,000 to a gallery in Florence, Italy.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcObz70ndh0LyT4HNWrtsl6GJbPZ1EHrmx6a3yPGyPPQppjSU_ExGyRZxWE0NQYufbla3vjTnMmcyA6DB_078U4Nphvk6K_rkZg8nKCNjPrAclxIi9VfhEyBPitH7LlL1lhtttUl8f-w/s700/mona-lisa-louvre-paris.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcObz70ndh0LyT4HNWrtsl6GJbPZ1EHrmx6a3yPGyPPQppjSU_ExGyRZxWE0NQYufbla3vjTnMmcyA6DB_078U4Nphvk6K_rkZg8nKCNjPrAclxIi9VfhEyBPitH7LlL1lhtttUl8f-w/w640-h320/mona-lisa-louvre-paris.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>The painting was then brought back to France, The Louvre and since then it is protected by many cameras and it is behind 3 layers of bullet proof glass. In 1911, there were just 13 security guards in entire museum and now there are 1300. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHO-6Ki0UZ0OWsPafmOT1LZcuiVznR1oXMvTkgNnsolTgVcRIlnFk2mErhmnNXlSSPyS4kMzjIDkV1F97PnBRPluj4tA53BHBDA8zBRZHUu8OIn3PD3lvsgZ_QudO5or-KzlXdRhwk8Q/s1625/leonard-de-vinci-la-joconde-portrait-de-monna-lisa-detail.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1625" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHO-6Ki0UZ0OWsPafmOT1LZcuiVznR1oXMvTkgNnsolTgVcRIlnFk2mErhmnNXlSSPyS4kMzjIDkV1F97PnBRPluj4tA53BHBDA8zBRZHUu8OIn3PD3lvsgZ_QudO5or-KzlXdRhwk8Q/w640-h394/leonard-de-vinci-la-joconde-portrait-de-monna-lisa-detail.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Many attempts have been made to bring the painting back to Italy, but the French Government officials claim it to be 'too fragile to be moved'.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lMRZZHsDSgGV0_AkBUeEDpzvPXFZF-wD6k7o10qNLPF0Vxukj30JvSMqScdYhzxS0izyZmye7Dmq_FaNo02AS6byQpTZUdZMTQTzh6StT3J1CPJzJKttv1x-352Utc6AhYFQsgz8M1c/s1526/5449.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1526" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lMRZZHsDSgGV0_AkBUeEDpzvPXFZF-wD6k7o10qNLPF0Vxukj30JvSMqScdYhzxS0izyZmye7Dmq_FaNo02AS6byQpTZUdZMTQTzh6StT3J1CPJzJKttv1x-352Utc6AhYFQsgz8M1c/w430-h640/5449.jpg" width="430" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mona Lisa</td></tr></tbody></table>Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-4349714577707883602020-09-26T15:32:00.000+05:302020-09-26T15:32:21.465+05:30Meghalaya - The Abode of Clouds<div style="text-align: justify;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxY0W0gWcH_Gkj9ZjYqTEhPKLw7D_8or4sSQ3Dq_5hjuMY2sPEXQ7fVtAA1Y5mChg_P0QVS2wvHFu12bDV1FnB7CxYg67yvJvDLnY16DT1sEb70Z2W6PtrYuQAaQGSe2WLwoIKUcT6s2U/s2048/DSC_0574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxY0W0gWcH_Gkj9ZjYqTEhPKLw7D_8or4sSQ3Dq_5hjuMY2sPEXQ7fVtAA1Y5mChg_P0QVS2wvHFu12bDV1FnB7CxYg67yvJvDLnY16DT1sEb70Z2W6PtrYuQAaQGSe2WLwoIKUcT6s2U/w640-h424/DSC_0574.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We all have our own bucket list with all the fancy places we want to visit and experience by our own. I also have one, but to be honest, Meghalaya was there but not in my Top 3 destinations. I am more of a beach person who enjoys lazing at the quiet beach holding a beer under the sun looking at the waves. My wife though, wanted to go anywhere other than beach. Meghalaya is one destination we agreed on instantly. One of my friend also decided to join us along with his partner a day later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Booking tickets and hotels didn't take much time, but deciding what all to cover in Meghalaya took lot of time. We had limited time and list of places to visit was huge. We spent lot of days in designing the itinerary and finalizing the places we would be able to cover within the limited time we have and trust me, this was most difficult part. Although we did cover most of the places, but if we had more time, we would have enjoyed a lot more. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, the day came and we left to catch our early morning flight to Guwahati from New Delhi. Guwahati, Assam is also known as Gateway to Northeast and is the most efficient way to reach Meghalaya. From Guwahati, one may hire a taxi to reach Meghalaya. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Day 1</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We took self driven car which we picked up from Guwahati airport - Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport. Also, there are many options available in taxis to reach Shillong, Meghalaya at a reasonable price. As a car enthusiast, I prefer driving and enjoying the road trip. The route to Shillong is beautiful and it started to rain as soon as we crossed Assam border and entered Meghalaya. Road was amazing and all greenery around us made the journey even more beautiful. The radio on the car kept shuffling between Assam's FM and Meghalaya's FM till few miles. The roads were curvy and required full concentration specially hair pin bends which were quite a few. Just stay alert and don't over-speed and you will be fine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mWO7ujlzXxQ2V-URYqBkodUGgwgTrTtiiZfVnxkLduRimW0mecxjzVjD24uCPa623SL-RE5aRds3fmjoIFrMM1hNGjYpks0-bqZmbFODUh_HrWSX3sJFj5GqjqywjOL9kiUjgjkXdb4/s2048/IMG_20200926_141007_241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1073" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mWO7ujlzXxQ2V-URYqBkodUGgwgTrTtiiZfVnxkLduRimW0mecxjzVjD24uCPa623SL-RE5aRds3fmjoIFrMM1hNGjYpks0-bqZmbFODUh_HrWSX3sJFj5GqjqywjOL9kiUjgjkXdb4/s320/IMG_20200926_141007_241.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The journey from Guwahati to Shillong is approximately 3 hours, but it is worth the drive. We stopped in between for some snacks and specially bananas which looked different from what we get in Delhi. They were much smaller in size and tasted more sweeter. In between, you will also come across Umiam lake. The Lake is one of the biggest artificial lakes in Meghalaya that is situated about 15 km from Shillong. It is also known as Bara Pani, and is spread across 220 sq km. The surroundings add to the majesty of this vast lake, which was created when the Umiam river was dammed to store water for hydroelectric power generation. Though it was initially established as a dam or a reservoir, it is now a popular tourist attraction. It is also known for water sports and adventure facilities such as kayaking, water cycling, scooting and boating. When we stopped there, it was drizzling and was cloudy, so we did a quick photo shoot and then left for Shillong. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqvZyao6wLr9GoJq-4A3BoCyxNWtLKOViHjqmaqwTv11nCa45v7IaklNvTnNi27acDNeMu42FYecNpmWYfY8hTGNR8UMLbP-PMBj5URssOCiQB_T-JzwKD0VmqgyZOCF2rmyfcwJJwWA/s2048/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqvZyao6wLr9GoJq-4A3BoCyxNWtLKOViHjqmaqwTv11nCa45v7IaklNvTnNi27acDNeMu42FYecNpmWYfY8hTGNR8UMLbP-PMBj5URssOCiQB_T-JzwKD0VmqgyZOCF2rmyfcwJJwWA/w640-h426/DSC_0007.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxpCmt-ax044zjjzk81bWnQDhcX1_ED08NvMswqYEiQb5RquaJZ5JPNLQUoZ-_vxDQ9Xdylz1lGYS8-PMnbiRrcXbG01mtn9OcsfqS_onEGo-7XvI0swA3e0fFc0yx4abzJqDpNrWgEE/s2048/DSC_0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxpCmt-ax044zjjzk81bWnQDhcX1_ED08NvMswqYEiQb5RquaJZ5JPNLQUoZ-_vxDQ9Xdylz1lGYS8-PMnbiRrcXbG01mtn9OcsfqS_onEGo-7XvI0swA3e0fFc0yx4abzJqDpNrWgEE/w640-h426/DSC_0004.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As we entered Shillong, there was a huge traffic queue which I did't expect. We were moving at the speed of a snail and it was still raining. Passing through narrow lanes, we finally reached our hotel in Shillong around lunch time. After checking in and settling, we stepped out for lunch. The restaurant was right next to the hotel but most of the dishes in the menu were not available due to low in demand or required lot of time to prepare. We ordered Chinese cuisine after taking the recommendation from the restaurant's staff and soon regretted the decision. Apparently, they use chilly in extreme amount. I had to re-order with no chilly at all and it was better the next time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We were tired and with our tummies full, we thought it would be good idea to take a nap. Around 3 in the noon we slept and I woke up with a noise of a car honking (some guest was trying to park his car in the hotel). It was dark outside I thought it must be too late, but then I looked at my watch and it was 6 in the evening. I rubbed my eyes and looked at my cellphone to confirm the time and it was same. I looked outside the window and it was totally dark and very, very limited movement. Sun sets early in the east, and perhaps people sleep early here, I thought.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I stepped out of the hotel to get a sense of life around there in the evening. Most shops were closed or were about to close. Only groceries and restaurants were opened. I checked in with few locals if Police Bazaar (Market) would be open at this time? They said that yes, you can go now. Police Bazaar is the main attraction point of Shillong located at central point with many options to shop and eat. Street food is yummiest there specially if you're fond of non-vegetarian delicacies.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We got ready and took our car to <b>Police Bazaar</b>. By the time it started to drizzle and when we parked we took out our umbrella. It was getting bit cold. There's nothing that can stop a girl from shopping and my wife wasn't different. I looked around as she was on her shopping spree. I was eyeing on street food, roasted chicken, egg rolls and deep fried mutton. As soon as she was done with her shopping, we got our food packed and returned to our hotel and slept after having our delicious meals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75xfTlSvomnT15TOYRvmJvdshrZjI528U6K7T8iuthRPEJayawXNyRzNEIlxWilBs4SHE00TlzjxJllVt3uUJYNFb4_JEJBDBH0FzuzGeS638sAb6M512uhkyTQ5qaGx5jxJcNR8zE_I/s2048/IMG_20200926_144955_940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="2048" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75xfTlSvomnT15TOYRvmJvdshrZjI528U6K7T8iuthRPEJayawXNyRzNEIlxWilBs4SHE00TlzjxJllVt3uUJYNFb4_JEJBDBH0FzuzGeS638sAb6M512uhkyTQ5qaGx5jxJcNR8zE_I/w640-h334/IMG_20200926_144955_940.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> A local movie at a theater at Police Bazaar, Shillong<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Day 2</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next morning was a packed one. Since this was the only full day we had in Shillong, we had lot to cover. We woke up early, had our breakfast and left for <b>Elephant falls</b>, a 3 step waterfall. With lot of stairs, you climb down to get a view of the falls, and further down to get a view of second step and then third step of the falls. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLnj-3ms0E7Lj7-YztrMCA45R7PJKdgFhHb3m3LI78KjRjNQi4EBZaiFe5_5zdfhC3KTdFRi6mmhUqfook6hGNjqAiZYcyJc28Dx9Cl5ZP3nRNw23VdS6At7bgiEeDsHS3B85ELBiTKog/s6000/DSC_0028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLnj-3ms0E7Lj7-YztrMCA45R7PJKdgFhHb3m3LI78KjRjNQi4EBZaiFe5_5zdfhC3KTdFRi6mmhUqfook6hGNjqAiZYcyJc28Dx9Cl5ZP3nRNw23VdS6At7bgiEeDsHS3B85ELBiTKog/w640-h426/DSC_0028.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SeWuiAewAWE_npsz5qTVvF_IKvJ2xVUXW3rMpY79Yv-TjswP-5oIeQZDtZFlOK-WfptPnmFhfFFs8Y7tBjLb7y4i26ikfMqrwu0XQY2uxorZN3LG1LACIRvPiUADZRj_kCgTY8YYlxw/s6000/DSC_0061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SeWuiAewAWE_npsz5qTVvF_IKvJ2xVUXW3rMpY79Yv-TjswP-5oIeQZDtZFlOK-WfptPnmFhfFFs8Y7tBjLb7y4i26ikfMqrwu0XQY2uxorZN3LG1LACIRvPiUADZRj_kCgTY8YYlxw/w640-h426/DSC_0061.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our next stop was <b>Sacred Forest</b>, <b>Khasi village</b> in Shillong. Maintained and taken care by Khasi tribe, it is home to many rare specie of flora and fauna. It is believed that if anyone takes anything out of the forest, even a leaf, misfortune will follow. We were told all this by the guide who offered a tour to this beautiful forest. The tour can be chosen as per your stamina, either you can opt for half track or full track. Its bit of walk, but very, very beautiful. There is a river stream flowing within the forest which you can only see of you opt for full trek. You will see lot of plants which have many medical benefits but again, you can't take anything out of the forest. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcfHuIq8-wC9ATSjKvj7pXHRrYnI3RKhGwArwSSPeoZuEdygofE9q4U-ADpWWFXBKbERDMDrexOajjy-RzqsV5b4pZaVy9AEzLInI6vQKrskbJnWMbhSXSx-pddKjSa_OZP07ExZrum0/s6000/DSC_0185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcfHuIq8-wC9ATSjKvj7pXHRrYnI3RKhGwArwSSPeoZuEdygofE9q4U-ADpWWFXBKbERDMDrexOajjy-RzqsV5b4pZaVy9AEzLInI6vQKrskbJnWMbhSXSx-pddKjSa_OZP07ExZrum0/w640-h426/DSC_0185.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjhfYOCHVvCxRNhi6muTjeCrMBrZWmVBURqiIdg5W81hU9aRwylCGu66QuCyaUe5k3HcSOwUFTDHG5ubyxk0TRt8cJirfpoh2RcZkxpnHM-AP2ylDo-88GcfLNfyi45njpEC67hIxo9c/s6000/DSC_0201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjhfYOCHVvCxRNhi6muTjeCrMBrZWmVBURqiIdg5W81hU9aRwylCGu66QuCyaUe5k3HcSOwUFTDHG5ubyxk0TRt8cJirfpoh2RcZkxpnHM-AP2ylDo-88GcfLNfyi45njpEC67hIxo9c/w640-h426/DSC_0201.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVeytNpdIy-A5J5qisWyeo4Uwe_9T6zxZW-2yg2q9uOVrRaP1fJKKsF0-jgZmVanfZzzC48PTP1rY_LeeX5G-T4r3IMM23TBszOCSgG1OzxnBRHA6s2_lfMs51yfT8ZgTNpjCicChFOmc/s6000/DSC_0208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVeytNpdIy-A5J5qisWyeo4Uwe_9T6zxZW-2yg2q9uOVrRaP1fJKKsF0-jgZmVanfZzzC48PTP1rY_LeeX5G-T4r3IMM23TBszOCSgG1OzxnBRHA6s2_lfMs51yfT8ZgTNpjCicChFOmc/w640-h426/DSC_0208.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmZLwK6oIraFB_RBNdQVK6KDDNDSXWbLnxRiu87kn7fVtxoLmun51SY0QJtaXac_XhKdCjm0EcL3cYPsjhGxdVqkPG4YWNVkypSIRxo9zt_WBb5BT2bALLQ96kf8nVDLKhlJHmBYPzbA/s6000/DSC_0214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmZLwK6oIraFB_RBNdQVK6KDDNDSXWbLnxRiu87kn7fVtxoLmun51SY0QJtaXac_XhKdCjm0EcL3cYPsjhGxdVqkPG4YWNVkypSIRxo9zt_WBb5BT2bALLQ96kf8nVDLKhlJHmBYPzbA/w640-h426/DSC_0214.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It started to rain and we decided to move out of the forest. Despite all the walking, we were so refreshed and charged, could be due to the fresh air. We sat in our car to head back to our hotel. It was an hour's drive and by that time my friend had also arrived and was waiting for us in the hotel. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our second half of the day was reserved for Laitlum Canyons, which is situated 2 hours drive away from Shillong. If you ever want to visit Laitlum Canyons, either reach there by 7am in the morning or in the afternoon by 4pm. Else you will only see clouds and nothing else. We were the unfortunate ones, when we reached there, we couldn't spot anything except clouds. It was 5pm and soon it started to get dark and really really cloudy. We stopped at a cafe nearby and had gorgeous lunch or evening snacks, whatever you want to call it. Dimsums, noodles, fried rice, soup, everything was delicious.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With our tummies full, we drove back to Shillong. We stopped at Police bazaar and again it started to rain. We got our food packed for dinner and bought our favorite drinks for the night. We spent the night at cozy terrace of our hotel which didn't have much guests and also ordered late night pizza from Dominoes, the only restaurant which was taking orders online late at night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Day 3</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next morning, we all got up early - by early I mean 9am. Got ready, had breakfast and took off for Dawki and Cherrapunji - the wettest place on earth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a beautiful sunny morning and we kept our jackets aside to enjoy the sun. One thing I would like to highlight here is that traffic is really really bad in Shillong. So it is advisable you leave earliest in the morning to avoid all that delay. Once we hit the road to and left Shillong behind, roads were clear and the weather started actin up. The black clouds all around and the mountains really made the view astonishing. The roads were in perfect condition despite all the rain that place gets and with beautiful views, we all were enjoying. We stopped at several places on the way just to do photography.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDpOB-zt7L-ZqP8A3S7YbnJXSv5jZH_KQ-xmvS9md6p3swVcKdF6MTd5rFQJ8XOUZ8kc7qmC4o3tLo0wuf34SFsy_RyVgpngaCuR3a22jop-fEsYjtmb8D6drKDePJvidTf4qu3f0NEU/s6000/DSC_0280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDpOB-zt7L-ZqP8A3S7YbnJXSv5jZH_KQ-xmvS9md6p3swVcKdF6MTd5rFQJ8XOUZ8kc7qmC4o3tLo0wuf34SFsy_RyVgpngaCuR3a22jop-fEsYjtmb8D6drKDePJvidTf4qu3f0NEU/w640-h426/DSC_0280.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_x3Y23o1hlBqQBQZqQViFnux2nScar1-q4fRFm7-EXKqMvU_qfgig2SA27SaCxU-9acDLPKjGrlMBCJ9q87AQQo0pIp4lO-0_tkeTwxuGtAXiFbn0FdVNKzuAXZFhbb9AK4CBzlGrDw/s6000/DSC_0303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_x3Y23o1hlBqQBQZqQViFnux2nScar1-q4fRFm7-EXKqMvU_qfgig2SA27SaCxU-9acDLPKjGrlMBCJ9q87AQQo0pIp4lO-0_tkeTwxuGtAXiFbn0FdVNKzuAXZFhbb9AK4CBzlGrDw/w640-h426/DSC_0303.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was almost lunch time and we were about to reach Dawki - The India-Bangladesh border river which is famous for its clear water and boating. But soon, my kid puked on me due to all the curvy roads we were on. Luckily we had our stuffs packed as our next night stop was Cherrapunji. I quickly cleaned him up and then cleaned myself and changed the clothes at the road side and then we were back on the road. Within few minutes we reached <b>Dawki </b>and damn it was beautiful. Water was clear, but we were told that it is even more clearer but it wasn't then due to monsoons, but I still found it pretty much clear. We hired a boat and to take us to the other side where it is India-Bangladesh border and we noticed at Bangladesh's side there were lot. a lot of people and I think we were the only few at Indian side. We met with the army men on duty and he explained about the area and how is life around in this part of the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYvmw1nJ3vdVI4hfviURPgtNeUaeCfCgXaePG3oDEWz8m1UHD-jF8mygLMnbrUE6I1lv0swKY1iHAOEQLdSSf2tBwiQQ6IL1jbC404qM9mMsL-gR3JsBRACWQzyqCO_3zXpcp1RFUR30/s6000/DSC_0329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYvmw1nJ3vdVI4hfviURPgtNeUaeCfCgXaePG3oDEWz8m1UHD-jF8mygLMnbrUE6I1lv0swKY1iHAOEQLdSSf2tBwiQQ6IL1jbC404qM9mMsL-gR3JsBRACWQzyqCO_3zXpcp1RFUR30/w640-h426/DSC_0329.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijM0tmSi1QuMc6J7Q_8DBlCooGTj7DWZJ1WHKVcEQ6d40nBjOjCAJEle88g6qaj5wpXlbQNJrx94mT409DCqXmk9GeJ3zVxEUR-rbsLq4GjiQbttZ2vPcTiQ7sFAy48SUt1QWcPkE3t6A/s6000/DSC_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijM0tmSi1QuMc6J7Q_8DBlCooGTj7DWZJ1WHKVcEQ6d40nBjOjCAJEle88g6qaj5wpXlbQNJrx94mT409DCqXmk9GeJ3zVxEUR-rbsLq4GjiQbttZ2vPcTiQ7sFAy48SUt1QWcPkE3t6A/w640-h426/DSC_0340.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyofBEn0QN3DPiEAJ7BfzVpA-BimfG7pibE56xvNo2CeY6QYz2F4S7OGVuE2vgVA5Kr1CH6osrHbqo6ol2wg8J7iXBfhdhNzM7MwVVNxO5hXlR28t8N03_cXF5hNpw5EKSXr_cG0gfQbw/s6000/DSC_0344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyofBEn0QN3DPiEAJ7BfzVpA-BimfG7pibE56xvNo2CeY6QYz2F4S7OGVuE2vgVA5Kr1CH6osrHbqo6ol2wg8J7iXBfhdhNzM7MwVVNxO5hXlR28t8N03_cXF5hNpw5EKSXr_cG0gfQbw/w640-h426/DSC_0344.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSaCFY8D5RsJqQkUiV-3xjqVWE3DpppdgpXjtqVWzGICkG5dmlLZN6piEDL6h2ZvW3NNLGnnOodhbngl_nWGNE5LDPQSPC5BbVfJ_GQDDcrYy6Biyyqlm66XX0qyNfU60HzvZgK_eN-s/s6000/DSC_0353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSaCFY8D5RsJqQkUiV-3xjqVWE3DpppdgpXjtqVWzGICkG5dmlLZN6piEDL6h2ZvW3NNLGnnOodhbngl_nWGNE5LDPQSPC5BbVfJ_GQDDcrYy6Biyyqlm66XX0qyNfU60HzvZgK_eN-s/w640-h426/DSC_0353.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ70jlHrtO3h2QcUQG-ZQFyJYXIxB5ONQi7GVgTA0Z8ICktX5H5V26kWkgKukGJ62BNPc4WpxHf8nZVB74lTeu18OG35qF3CWubX5btG7gP3pxIT1T1PpAA_qBZFbgIxbJr7XYYtms0Dw/s6000/DSC_0393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ70jlHrtO3h2QcUQG-ZQFyJYXIxB5ONQi7GVgTA0Z8ICktX5H5V26kWkgKukGJ62BNPc4WpxHf8nZVB74lTeu18OG35qF3CWubX5btG7gP3pxIT1T1PpAA_qBZFbgIxbJr7XYYtms0Dw/w640-h426/DSC_0393.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> People at Bangladesh side of Dawki</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After spending some time, we left for <b>Asia's cleanest village Mawlynnong</b>. The drive was bit rough to reach at this village and roads were not that great, but it was totally worth it. The village is so scenic and so clean that all big cities can take the inspiration from it the way it is kept and way people are aware about importance of cleanliness. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To enter Mawlynnong, there's a nominal fee that one has to pay per visitor. Once you enter, you will be amused to see how self sustained that village is. We spent some time there exploring every corner of it. One can also choose to stay at one of the homestays available there. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitEh7-XZSIVsciEDVX_PXFpDbTEMvF2lySxma5hGkgonSi7pQ_Wk43JTUdT42aUrodKJNw3oDcovEJ1lA0o9aiuDhzC_chebzIE1QTI31e7emewGqYDwX9Zp6kxdOJIoV8Nlw2HBJvrJQ/s6000/DSC_0449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitEh7-XZSIVsciEDVX_PXFpDbTEMvF2lySxma5hGkgonSi7pQ_Wk43JTUdT42aUrodKJNw3oDcovEJ1lA0o9aiuDhzC_chebzIE1QTI31e7emewGqYDwX9Zp6kxdOJIoV8Nlw2HBJvrJQ/w640-h426/DSC_0449.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBw6gTCfOPa3bIbr8kT5PltbFokUcirh3_zFRyqf5Ari66yuLOUnPO_NFw27jQkeAMRKwwvKe-hrglFphCZOCVUidUFZqny0MW2Y8D8j2t5uv8yE04R4BGctw5fQLJEyDNG9CwOiEUAo/s6000/DSC_0451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBw6gTCfOPa3bIbr8kT5PltbFokUcirh3_zFRyqf5Ari66yuLOUnPO_NFw27jQkeAMRKwwvKe-hrglFphCZOCVUidUFZqny0MW2Y8D8j2t5uv8yE04R4BGctw5fQLJEyDNG9CwOiEUAo/w640-h426/DSC_0451.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLH7h-g_nrQsBWo2WVy1EQfmEhDQx1S0MBihvvXSR4omLV8gYpjiW8ZCfMh9UICEO5TGh4chmZH3z5VpAQishV7BlxozWcBLD6oeqWr7mU5X10urdQuLHbVWPuImLdQud8ozEXhsCsbU/s6000/DSC_0508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLH7h-g_nrQsBWo2WVy1EQfmEhDQx1S0MBihvvXSR4omLV8gYpjiW8ZCfMh9UICEO5TGh4chmZH3z5VpAQishV7BlxozWcBLD6oeqWr7mU5X10urdQuLHbVWPuImLdQud8ozEXhsCsbU/w640-h426/DSC_0508.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFS_Mp-Xc3VBVC1ulTlfdyIWxjqBbhPt11hvo8Kj4cLhbTfDJFeYqTdvarslGozX7dNp3hV-c7gcT_JzZr8ZMDID6bfDyNi_RYaUakLg2h4xA2zDvKNwx2Wgxi4nvGieQrWLTCX5h8Djc/s6000/DSC_0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFS_Mp-Xc3VBVC1ulTlfdyIWxjqBbhPt11hvo8Kj4cLhbTfDJFeYqTdvarslGozX7dNp3hV-c7gcT_JzZr8ZMDID6bfDyNi_RYaUakLg2h4xA2zDvKNwx2Wgxi4nvGieQrWLTCX5h8Djc/w640-h426/DSC_0521.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Nearby the village (2 minutes drive away), there is a living root bridge - 'Jingmaham' or also known as 'Living Root Bridge, Nohwet'. You have to walk some distance on a bit uneven and climbing and descending path to reach the bridge. You come across a make shift ticket counter. After paying Rs 40/-per person and Rs 20/ - for the camera. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At first sight, you will not be impressed. You go around looking at it from various angles, you read a plaque unveiled on '24 November 2016'. The plaque gives information about those who were mainly responsible for the idea and creation of the bridge. The trees were planted around 1840, that is almost hundred and eighty years back!! Gradually the Bridge, which had not impressed you at first sight now changes your perception completely. You cannot even imagine the enormity of the project and the dedication, hard work, patience and perseverance of the generations who were responsible to take it to completion. Living Root Bridge is a living monument to dedication, hard work and perseverance to Human Spirit and Khasi people of Nohwet village.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhvAaVQsu5lDyvHljeQT1CYpA0wkSPzyfvaWvFlOinbP_BDHB24H_n6VUX5OFuZvFWQNx_87eZmSRFelC-bqhejNWw9Ga6jXoJVobtzTFW34m_QJ4zXwro2J0Hu7kCIH1_1iz-WmzMXw/s6000/DSC_0533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhvAaVQsu5lDyvHljeQT1CYpA0wkSPzyfvaWvFlOinbP_BDHB24H_n6VUX5OFuZvFWQNx_87eZmSRFelC-bqhejNWw9Ga6jXoJVobtzTFW34m_QJ4zXwro2J0Hu7kCIH1_1iz-WmzMXw/w640-h426/DSC_0533.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was quite late in the evening and we were way too hungry by the time. We checked out few places nearby, and then settled at a restaurant in Mawlynnong village itself. The food was very basic and was very spicy but at a very nominal rate. It was pretty dark by then and with our tummies full, we left for Cherrapunji.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The drive was about 4 hours and after the rough road patches as we left Mawlynnong, we were back on the main driveway with the help of GPS. The people are so nice out there that we received a call from our hotel's manager from Cherrapunjee that if we will be arriving or not, I told him that we're on our way and will reach by 10ish.. to which he replied that hotel's restaurant will get closed by 9pm, so he can take our order now and he will have it stored. We gave him the order and continued our drive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Around 10 in the night, we reached the hotel, parked our car and settled in our rooms and post dinner, we called it a day!! A very long day!!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Day 4</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next morning, we woke up late and when we looked outside, we were astonished by the view from the terrace. I could also spot few small waterfalls as well. But we had a bigger task at hand. We were waiting for it for so long. Nohkalikai Falls, the tallest plunge waterfall in India. Its height is 1115 feet (340 metres). Nohkalikai Falls are fed by the rainwater collected on the summit of a comparatively small plateau and decrease in power during the dry season in December - February. Below the falls there is a plunge pool with unusual green colored water.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieePOR7iUTOLyB62cms0ENtFFfXUkYS5cMHEu4IOtBIHdBGFf_CcuZtdgw7A3Q62p2dA-h3TpdpyioPhOcHFRtKvi4Xmb51hHJops4UgXqbhKjr_lQJAxDqsBSR37S6imNm8FwSU2K6T0/s6000/DSC_0578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieePOR7iUTOLyB62cms0ENtFFfXUkYS5cMHEu4IOtBIHdBGFf_CcuZtdgw7A3Q62p2dA-h3TpdpyioPhOcHFRtKvi4Xmb51hHJops4UgXqbhKjr_lQJAxDqsBSR37S6imNm8FwSU2K6T0/w640-h426/DSC_0578.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The waterfall is so beautiful, but has an unfortunate story associated with it. According to legends, in a village called Rangjyrteh, upstream from Nohkalikai Falls, a woman named Likai resided but had to remarry after her husband's death. Ka Likai (Ka is the prefix given for the female gender in Khasi) was left with her infant daughter with no means of income. In order to sustain herself and feed her child she had to become a porter herself. Her work required her to leave her daughter unattended for long intervals and when she would be at home she would spend most of her time taking care of her infant. She realized that raising a child required both parents, so Ka Likai married a second time for the sake of her daughter. However, being a mother to an infant, her daughter needed her constant attention so could not give to her second husband the love he thought he deserved. A fit of jealousy grew in her husband which manifested to hatred towards Likai's daughter. He killed the infant in cold blood and cooked her flesh after throwing away her severed head and bones to hide all trace of the murder. When Ka Likai returned home, she noticed that her house was empty and nobody was home. A meal that had been prepared but she did not find anyone around. She wanted to go look for her daughter but she was too famished from all the labour she had been doing so she ate the meal till she could not eat anymore.</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ka Likai usually had a betel leaf after her meals but she found a severed finger near the place where she usually cut betel nuts and betel leaves. Ka Likai realized what had happened in her absence and went mad with anger and grief and started running as she swung a hatchet in her hand. She ran off the edge of the plateau and jumped to her death as she could no longer bear the thought of cannibalizing on her dead daughter unknowingly. The waterfall where she jumped from was named Nohkalikai Falls as a grim reminder of a tragedy that befell an unfortunate woman.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An unfortunate story associated with such a beautiful place. Also, you've to be lucky to spot the waterfall as clouds cover the place in no time and we were lucky to get a full view of the falls. We continued exploring rest of the waterfalls within Cherrapunji and our last waterfall that we visited that day was Seven Sisters waterfall, but the water wasn't enough, but we did get a great view of Bangladesh from there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuUwRoBTJCLlz_xGOq5oAxwweD1JeQCv1mwV3rWdVkzzmpIxuMDkW8ukvqVgs8MMimKLqONmModruGWiEk_TVq46XBwI0unhSFoKgl82AyxkRAxwPb_HRqZE8cPlMFds2_VPTdKRKlWs/s6000/DSC_0896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuUwRoBTJCLlz_xGOq5oAxwweD1JeQCv1mwV3rWdVkzzmpIxuMDkW8ukvqVgs8MMimKLqONmModruGWiEk_TVq46XBwI0unhSFoKgl82AyxkRAxwPb_HRqZE8cPlMFds2_VPTdKRKlWs/w640-h426/DSC_0896.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While on our way back to hotel, we stopped at naturally formed limestone caves. We boys tried to enter, but given our height we found it pretty challenging, but the girls did went ahead. We meanwhile had coffee snacks while waiting for them to return. After spending some time, we returned back to our hotel and bought some snacks and drinks along from nearby local market. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and chit-chatting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Day 5</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our last day in Meghalaya and we had our flights in the night from Guwahati. We had to cover a long distance. After breakfast, we checked out from our hotel and left for Guwahati. We stopped at Police Bazar as we reached Shillong and again it started to rain heavily. We did some shopping at the mall and soon left the place. We had some time in hand so we also decided to stop in Guwahati main market. It was also the first day of Navratri (9 holy days of Goddessess) and market was pretty full. We didn't want to get stuck in traffic and get late for our flight, so we decided to leave immediately. We were hungry by then so we also started to look for a restaurant. We spotted a live Durga Pooja pandal with some live performances and food stalls. We decided to stop there have some snacks. Without wasting much time, we left for airport, handed over our companion for the trip - our car Innova Crysta, and flew back to Delhi, our home, much much late at night - Thanks to the flight delay! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0j0I2gNzy6naJyq_I3mbKdnKzqbuPm4067BlOVElLBw4XcyaU_Da5D5RFTX7pRgqrfmsEd3PYIuSXx4jgg7YtvPxWuxZkY2F0x3GBiGgA33p58zeHV9B_EMkXYciz82NveSCS6-yMcQ/s6000/DSC_0690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0j0I2gNzy6naJyq_I3mbKdnKzqbuPm4067BlOVElLBw4XcyaU_Da5D5RFTX7pRgqrfmsEd3PYIuSXx4jgg7YtvPxWuxZkY2F0x3GBiGgA33p58zeHV9B_EMkXYciz82NveSCS6-yMcQ/w640-h426/DSC_0690.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com3Meghalaya, India25.4670308 91.366216-2.8432030361788456 56.209965999999994 53.777264636178842 126.522466tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-12548198635892735972020-03-11T00:05:00.000+05:302020-03-11T23:03:30.441+05:30Goa, when it started to feel like Home - Chapter 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcemVwvDxYRQ1nkXd0UEUc13tXv9WXJvbQSxLdu-TvyudPN3xHff_Ms7_3S5WINNdGzFigTJ9xpKpm3dE7d30pmfscLsBlxlHOFP-gqjv6qKNUPiaVZPpaxhP9icaipme2kIaqbGQ89k/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Arambol Beach, Goa" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcemVwvDxYRQ1nkXd0UEUc13tXv9WXJvbQSxLdu-TvyudPN3xHff_Ms7_3S5WINNdGzFigTJ9xpKpm3dE7d30pmfscLsBlxlHOFP-gqjv6qKNUPiaVZPpaxhP9icaipme2kIaqbGQ89k/s640/DSC_0007.JPG" title="Arambol Beach, Goa" width="640" /></a></div>
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My mind keeps telling me to explore other places, new destinations, explore different cuisines, but my heart keeps telling me to go back to Goa. Not that I don’t love exploring, but I don’t know why, when I think about vacation, Goa is the only place that comes to my mind. Goa to me is like a second home where I feel relaxed, comfortable and satisfied. I love beaches, the serenity, the warmth of the sun and the feel of water and sand on my feet.<br />
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I have explored many beach destinations, but the charm Goa has, none of other places could offer that. This time we decided to stay in North Goa, Arambol to be precise. I absolutely hate the crowd but still wanted to experience the stay in Northern part of the city. Arambol was perfect for the kind of vacation I had in mind. Not that it was not crowdy, but still better than most of the North Goa beaches - Baga, Calangute which have maddening rush.</div>
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Coming back to my story, we were on the way to the airport in the taxi and I received a call on my phone. Truecaller showed it was Spicejet (my airlines). Without giving much thought I picked up and it was an automated voice message stating "your flight to Goa scheduled for departure at 11:15am has been cancelled as per the notice received from DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation)". I looked at my wife as she wondered about the call. "All Boeing 737 max aircrafts have been grounded" I told her. Boeing 737 max aircraft had met with two unfortunate accidents the previous month and lot of countries/airlines had grounded all these aircrafts. Little did we know that the flight we were about to board was also the same aircraft and now it has been grounded.</div>
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We were about to reach the airport and I dialed Spicejet's customer care number to get more details. It was a long wait to get to speak to someone. Meanwhile, we reached airport and it was a complete chaos. Everyone (by everyone I mean people whose flights had been cancelled) was after the ground staff and the airlines counter. No one had any answers and they kept saying that money will be reimbursed. No one wanted the money back, it was not about the money, it was about vacation being spoiled. </div>
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My wife, who can be of great use at such situations 😁 kept poking with the ground stuff but apparently, they also had no answers. Meanwhile I got hold of a <strike>lady</strike> angel on the Spicejet's customer care helpline. I explained the whole situation and she was way more than helpful than the ground staff. She offered me three seats for 5pm scheduled flight to Goa via Mumbai, but it had a 6 hours lay over. I explained to her that I have a kid along and it will not be comfortable for me to take such flight with layover. After spending few more minutes with her, she offered three seats in 7:30pm departure flight. As of that moment, the 7.30pm departure flight was still scheduled and she was not sure if that flight will be cancelled or not and this will be confirmed by 3pm. While many passengers were still struggling with the ground staff, few of them booked another flight from different airlines. I was still on the line with the Spicejet as she waited for my confirmation to go ahead and book the flight. </div>
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I was in dilemma and didn't want to spoil my vacation. "Should I take the risk? My resume always had 'Risk Taker' in bold. Should I book a flight with another airlines at a higher, much higher cost?". As the <strike>lady</strike> angel on the phone sounded pretty confident and said that according to her experience there is a good probability that the flight will take off, this gave me some confidence. Risk Taker I am, "please book the 7.30pm flight" I said with fingers crossed. </div>
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It was 10am in the morning and next 9.5 hours were the most difficult. Moreover the thought that one whole day has been wasted by just sitting in the airport with the dilemma in mind that whether I will be able to reach Goa today or not?</div>
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Meanwhile, all other airlines were also full and still many passengers were struggling to book via ground staff. We on the other hand, were bit relaxed but still in dilemma. Finally it was evening and finally were about to board and I still had my fingers crossed. I will now only relax when the flight will take off. Yay, it finally did! Tired, we all slept thinking about how good next few days are going to be.</div>
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Finally, we landed at Dabolim airport at 10:00 in the night. We called the taxi driver from the hotel and waited for few minutes for him to arrive. Soon, we were on our way to our Hotel to Arambol which is two hours drive from the airport. The moment we reached, we crashed onto our beds and slept like babies (one of us was a baby). </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arambol Beach</td></tr>
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Next morning, we all were energized and after breakfast, we left for the beach which was just a minute's walk away. Yes, this is the vacation! We all forgot about the last day's chaos and soon jumped into the waters, made sand castles, lied on the sunbed and cherished beer and fish until it started to get hot. Arambol has lot of Shacks along the beach which offer good food and beer at much reasonable prices. </div>
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We returned to the beach in the evening and sat at one of the shacks. It offered various fishes which were a fresh catch and at very reasonable price. I chose tuna and after 30 minutes, it was presented to us with all veggies and sauces. The fish was so tasty and beer enhanced the taste. We took a stroll along the beach in the night and returned back to our hotel.</div>
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Next day, followed same routine, just the change of shack in the evening. This was more lavish one with all candle lights and lamp ambiance. Felt magical, however food was not as great as last night but still decent. We enjoyed the ambiance here more than the food. </div>
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Night life at Arambol beach is great. Many shacks had live music, performances going on till late night and there is a market nearby to take souvenirs. My son bought a beach buggy which is lying on my study table bit broken as I am writing this blog 😃.</div>
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We followed the same routine almost everyday, except that one day when we hired a scooter. That day we left early to relive few memories. We went back to Fort Aguada (which was closed last to last time we were in Goa), then we were caught by few MBAs who tried to sell us a club's membership and wasted our time. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-XdODf7-hbqZIZ7JlDFV9ePDt_rXqFs4xsUxdmHlACFlPfNjd3jBWdvcsbaDReRtDtSB1SmO-1F3b6GA5mCjSBJFyuHDQ8w9glScIecVkcBfqFs4xn2lwq-DMLvq_wuv2BptQJrB5XKE/s1600/DSC_0289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-XdODf7-hbqZIZ7JlDFV9ePDt_rXqFs4xsUxdmHlACFlPfNjd3jBWdvcsbaDReRtDtSB1SmO-1F3b6GA5mCjSBJFyuHDQ8w9glScIecVkcBfqFs4xn2lwq-DMLvq_wuv2BptQJrB5XKE/s640/DSC_0289.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fort Aguada</td></tr>
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On our way to Chaopra fort, we stopped at a local restaurant to try Goan Thali. Fish curry made in local spices tasted amazing. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chapora Fort</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from other side of Chapora Fort</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Sea</td></tr>
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We wanted to reach Chapora fort to watch the sunset. Little I knew there were so many stairs. Not that I can't climb, but I wished there was a lift D-uh! We climbed and climbed and a dog joined along, he also climbed with us. As we reached at the top, we were surprised to see crowd already sitting at fort's wall overlooking the sun. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Ww4abK647LcdZF7vDLLqOBCM4edDayb1_QvOwYRruq4MsCvK3yYlKcoAX_Fq38aRsSUXUoBnOOqg2EYvpKuhlP86JmUf6ECitpSsNlZYclPOtW-7UW008WIRwmXvOHPVmZ6ubYk4-2s/s1600/DSC_0345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Ww4abK647LcdZF7vDLLqOBCM4edDayb1_QvOwYRruq4MsCvK3yYlKcoAX_Fq38aRsSUXUoBnOOqg2EYvpKuhlP86JmUf6ECitpSsNlZYclPOtW-7UW008WIRwmXvOHPVmZ6ubYk4-2s/s640/DSC_0345.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset from Chapora Fort</td></tr>
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We had to settle for less fortunate seats to view sunset. Anyway, sunset was beautiful and a must do thing in Goa.</div>
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That night we also had our table booked for Thalasa, one of the most happening clubs of Goa. We were dead tired, yet it was worth a visit. The moment we entered and heard the music, we felt energized. We danced, had dinner, couple of beers and soon we were on our way back to the hotel.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thalasa, Goa</td></tr>
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Next day we followed the same old routine, that is why I love Goa, even same old routine is beautiful. That is why we come to Goa, to just relax under the sun, have beers and lie on the sunbed.</div>
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And then came the most depressing day of our vacation, the day we had to head back to our home. None of us wanted to return, but had to. We packed our bags and left for the Airport with promises to return back soon.</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-10608204537053132482019-12-24T20:09:00.002+05:302019-12-24T20:09:53.177+05:30Sariska National Park - The Home of Tigers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLabmlUqsHlx75dI3AaFhfye466SDou4M78eqtVo_VRqYE2njlqW-Ay-1GAEkNYSWnD3cmoZzf27JjkH7Nv856LUaitRxXv7ZQi1OxIGQA49CHwyLmKbYY8n0nPJNuCHkPu8yqGcGFzsM/s1600/DSC_0317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sariska Wild Life" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLabmlUqsHlx75dI3AaFhfye466SDou4M78eqtVo_VRqYE2njlqW-Ay-1GAEkNYSWnD3cmoZzf27JjkH7Nv856LUaitRxXv7ZQi1OxIGQA49CHwyLmKbYY8n0nPJNuCHkPu8yqGcGFzsM/s640/DSC_0317.JPG" title="Sariska Tiger Reserve" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sariska Tiger Reserve</td></tr>
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Not a very long time ago, I was pretty stubborn to view the tiger in its full glory, where it roams wild and free, where it doesn't have to rely on human to be fed, where just his one roar is enough to make every living being turn their heads. With an unsuccessful track record of not spotting a tiger in any of my previous endeavors, to <a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2016/12/jim-corbett-national-park-uttrakhand.html" target="_blank">Jim Corbett</a> National Park and <a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2018/03/ramthambore-national-park.html" target="_blank">Ranthambore</a> National Park, I was pretty keen to give it another try.</div>
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<b>Sariska Tiger Reserve</b>, situated in Alwar district of Rajasthan is well connected via road to Delhi and is just 3 hours drive away, approximately 200 kms. Stretched over an area of 881 sq km, this area was a hunting preserve of Alwar until it was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1955 and as of Oct 2018, it hosts 18 tigers including 5 cubs.</div>
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Just to get a glimpse of the tiger, we a group of 8 colleagues cum friends left for Sariska early in November morning in two cars. Road was not that bad and with just few pit stops for breakfast and snacks, we reached Sariska within few hours, checked in to our hotel and got ready for the adventure trip ahead, The Safari.</div>
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We chose the afternoon safari as I didn't want to take any chance this time and of course previous learning/ lesson of not going for morning safari. I was pretty hopeful that I will spot the tiger this time trying to convince myself that there is no such bad omen. We all hopped on to our two allocated jeeps along with our driver and a guide which we booked online by paying nominal charges on government web portal. With just few formalities and checking at the entry gate, we entered the Sariska Tiger reserve.</div>
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The jungle was serene and calm, at least by the look of it but we knew how wild it can get anytime. The guide helped us spot all flora and fauna and other wild animals like wild boar, nilgai, deer, sambar etc. but the king was no where to be seen. I literally requested the guide to help us locate one and he provided us an assurance that he will do his best. Meanwhile we spotted few forest rangers in the jungle who were trying to track the movement of tiger and then we thought that this is our chance to spot one. We ensured to stay behind them and follow wherever we could (P.S. there are tracks in the jungle restricted for public, but not for forest rangers). Reserve has put GPS device around the necks of few tigers which tracks their movement. One of the forest ranger we found was kind enough to talk to us while he was waiting for the tiger to come out, tiger was just few meters away inside the bushes.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlHdh78nVX-LF_grLcend7P4gjRSJFa6w8B7v8IJzKc6WDXBVPYUrvQXLL6htSkRLsnZL8IXHUZlVlRsoqFr3dyu2e9fwLcp-uUaH9WTvIuTJanXPkoMmpONgmbsyYYGVCZXpAYdYv3c/s1600/DSC_0361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sariska Forest Ranger Tracking Tiger" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlHdh78nVX-LF_grLcend7P4gjRSJFa6w8B7v8IJzKc6WDXBVPYUrvQXLL6htSkRLsnZL8IXHUZlVlRsoqFr3dyu2e9fwLcp-uUaH9WTvIuTJanXPkoMmpONgmbsyYYGVCZXpAYdYv3c/s640/DSC_0361.JPG" title="Forest Ranger Sariska" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forest Ranger Tracking Tiger through GPS</td></tr>
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We chose to wait at that place hoping the tiger would come out, but it was not yielding any results. Meanwhile, our guide received a call from other zone where they spotted a different tiger who came to drink the water from the stream flowing nearby. We left in hurry so that we do not miss the chance to spot this tiger and our enthusiastic driver drove the jeep at 100kmph inside the jungle to reach the tiger spotting site and there our backs screamed due to bad roads/tracks.</div>
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Well, we were unfortunate as we missed that tiger by just few minutes. Our guide suggested that we should return to the previous spot where forest rangers were keeping a watch on another tiger. While we agreed, the other jeep chose to stay and hope they would get lucky.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwb5zsu9xCSsAJvVu1wFKo-V0qn1m5tg3GEJav6QCD4Ec42_zDpjoCGPz2JgrAUKzwge64xL6EhmojvTv3e3y78mHdJhLiHjxHcPNE2NusSYk3kgfrQFPa10AA7gh0GySo96B5vP6vb84/s1600/DSC_0368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jungle Safari" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwb5zsu9xCSsAJvVu1wFKo-V0qn1m5tg3GEJav6QCD4Ec42_zDpjoCGPz2JgrAUKzwge64xL6EhmojvTv3e3y78mHdJhLiHjxHcPNE2NusSYk3kgfrQFPa10AA7gh0GySo96B5vP6vb84/s640/DSC_0368.JPG" title="Jungle Safari" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting to get a glimpse of Tiger</td></tr>
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The scene at the spot was still the same, no sign of tiger coming out of the bushes, only this time it was more crowd as more people got to know about the rangers being present there. There were other jeeps and canters who were waiting for the tiger to come out. We had no option but to stay and wait but we didn't know for how long, or even if we would spot the tiger at all?</div>
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With hope diminishing every moment, we tried to stay positive and were also wondering what if our other jeep would have spotted as they were still waiting near water stream. Suddenly there was sudden rush in the atmosphere and then we heard someone shouting ‘there it is’. We knew the tiger is out now but couple of bushes and a tree was blocking our view. The driver tried to move the jeep forward and back but due to so many other jeeps were already blocking the entire way, it was nearly impossible. We hoped that tiger would move from its current position but it didn't, at least for a long time. The only thing we could hold on to was The Hope.</div>
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One member of our team then noticed a movement in the bushes. With little hope, we looked and there it was!! The tiger finally came out of the bushes. Unfortunately there were 6 jeeps ahead of us and we could only get a glimpse of it for few seconds and it was too less of a time for us to capture it in the camera. But we were glad that at least we got a glimpse of the Tiger for which we were waiting for too long.</div>
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The occupants jeep which was in front of us were kind enough to share the pictures of the tiger that they could get. I won't say its the perfect click, but good enough to for us to save in our memories. Unfortunately, the other jeep with our colleagues who chose to wait on the other side weren't lucky enough and had to return empty hand. Little did they know that we got lucky and once we told them, they were nothing but disappointed. Well, to be fair they chose to stay there and had I been in there shoes, I would have felt the same.</div>
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With dust all over us, we returned back to our hotel. It was November and it started to get chilly so quickly we all went to freshen up. Post that, it was drinks and dinner almost all night long.</div>
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Next morning, we woke up had breakfast and got ready to head back to our place!</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-36054815141438347142019-09-15T23:24:00.000+05:302019-09-17T17:11:49.887+05:30McLeod Ganj - Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After a long time I was visiting any hill station. Usually vacation for me is relaxing at the sun soaked beach with crystal blue water and nothing else to do. For a change, I decided to spend my summer vacation visiting <b>McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala</b>, also known as "Little Lhasa" or "Dhasa" (a short form of Dharamshala used mainly by Tibetans) because of its large population of Tibetans.</div>
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I was visiting this place with family so I wanted the best travel experience for my wife and kid. The best way I could find was direct connect to McLeodGanj via Himachal Pradesh Tourism Volvo from Delhi which had good reviews all over the internet and seemed safe too.</div>
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As usual, my wife did all the packing which she is great at and we left our home to catch our Volvo from one the busiest bus depot of Delhi. Thankfully we reached on time and soon boarded the bus for 6pm which had mostly young crowd with 'Mountains Calling' written all over their faces. As we started the journey, my son looked outside the bus' window and within half an hour he fell asleep in his comfortable seat with blanket on. Seats were really comfortable and cozy for a long ride. The bus staff played 'Bhai's bollywood movie' which we watched for a while until we stopped for dinner on the way at Haveli, Karnal.</div>
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Post dinner, we all tried to sleep but it was on and off while we tried to ignore every distraction that came our way. After a long long night, we reached McLeod Ganj at 5am sharp. It was drizzling and weather was cold enough that we had to take out our jackets.</div>
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"Sir, taxi, taxi?" "Kahan jaoge sir?" were the only voices I could hear as we were leaving the bus stop. I turned on my GPS to see the location of our hotel, it was showing 15 minutes walk. Considering weather was really nice and with all the fresh air around, we decided to walk.</div>
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It was early morning and the streets were empty except few stray dogs who accompanied us as we walked and we could also see few locals doing the morning walk. The views while we walked were majestic with clouds forming up over the mountains and that sun rise we saw was majestic. </div>
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We reached our hotel and got early check-in and laid on the bed to straighten our backs with no intention to sleep, but.... </div>
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We woke up at 11:30am and quickly got ready to explore this little place. As we stepped out of our hotel and reached the mall road and it was super crowded filled with tourists walking, taxis honking and tempos delivering goods which created the jam. I literally felt at that moment that I am back in Delhi, it was kind of shocking!!</div>
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Well, we made our way and looked at all the stuff street vendors had to offer. Most shops were related to women's accessories and clothing which were good enough to draw my wife's attention. But my attention was only on food. Our first stop was <b>Tibet Kitchen</b> which I heard a lot about. Famous for its Fried momos and fried rice, we tried the delicacies as we sat inside this cozy restaurant and looked outside as it started to drizzle. Weather turned to fantastic from good and we stepped outside with our tummy full. We continued to explore the mall road, trying street delicacies, sweet corn etc. Next stop was <b>Dalai Lama Temple</b>.<b> </b>Situated at the end of Mall road, this temple is another attraction which draws lot of tourists. Inside premises is filled with Monks, few meditating, few of them chit-chatting and few answering tourists questions. Well, to my belief, my understanding was that Monks are detached from outside world and all leisure, but to my surprise I saw lot of them using smart phones, tablets. I may be wrong here, but that's what I believed. Any way moving on, we clicked some pictures and met one of the oldest monk in the temple who barely spoke but was kind enough to get clicked and pose for the picture.</div>
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We reached back to our hotel in the evening, sat in the balcony with majestic view of the valley and turned on soothing classical music which complimented the atmosphere. My kid was kind enough to sleep while we enjoyed the view. During the night, we went on a stroll and had dinner at local restaurant and got back to our hotel and slept.</div>
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Next morning, we had lot of plans and lot of places to cover. We quickly (tried) had our breakfast and left for <b>BhagsuNag waterfall</b>. Situated 3 kms away from our hotel, we would have walked, but with kid along, we preferred Taxi which we later realized was a bad idea due to heavy weekend traffic, the road was jammed. It took us 1.5 hours to reach there, had we walked, we could have reached in 45 minutes. Long story short, even that place was also crowded and whole idea to visit McLeod Ganj in summer vacation was turning out to be a nightmare. I don't usually prefer crowed places but here we were with all the crowd so with no choice we tried to find ways to be happy. Well, BhagsuNag Temple is located just before the waterfall and attracts lot of devotees from all over the country. To be honest, my only interest was to witness the waterfall which was uphill climb. The climb had too many stairs but my kid was all excited as the valley looked beautiful and majestic. After <strike>few</strike> many steps, when the we got the clear view of the waterfall and got good shots, we decided to descend. The waterfall was full of crazy people, climbing on the wet rocks, standing in midst of the fall just for the sake of few good clicks and selfies despite the warning signs of not to do so. We decided to head back and on our way had a pit stop at German Bakery and had amazing shakes and cookies (savior of the day).</div>
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Even on the way back, traffic was intense. Since the weather was amazing, we decided to ditch the taxi ride and instead chose to walk back. Traffic was stand still while we surpassed all the cars waiting for the road to get clear. My expectation from the walk was to enjoy the nature as we walked, but more intelligent species didn't like that, they preferred playing loud music while they were stuck in the jam and successfully ruined the quiet walk we intended to have. My piece of advise: Never visit hill station or matter of fact any place during summer vacation moreover on a weekend.</div>
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Any way, we reached hotel and had our lunch and collapsed on the bed. In the evening we woke up and sat in our balcony to enjoy the majestic snow peak mountain. Dinner plan was already sorted as we had shortlisted a place, <b>Jimmy's Italian Kitchen</b>. Famous for its Pizza and Pasta Salad, we ordered our favorites while my kid enjoyed the cake.</div>
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We returned back to our hotel after enjoying the great food and after night talk staring at the lights in the valley, cherishing the little beautiful memories we made at this place, we dozed off.</div>
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Next morning, we woke up at our sweet leisure time and had breakfast, packed our stuff to catch our evening Volvo and head back home...</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com2McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India32.2425758 76.32127809999997232.2157163 76.280937599999973 32.2694353 76.361618599999971tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-79565630341153301532018-07-02T12:01:00.000+05:302018-07-02T12:05:27.298+05:30Pondicherry - French Riviera of the East<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This time, all we were looking for some fresh place, some offbeat destination, far from the usual favorites Goa and Kerala, we finalized to explore Pondicherry (Puducherry). More commonly referred as Pondy, a French colonial settlement in India until 1954 which is now a Union Territory town bounded by Tamil Nadu state. The best part is that French legacy is still preserved in its French Quarters, The White Town which reflects the French Architecture, mustard/orange colored villas, boutiques and French food.</div>
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I was lucky enough to grab a great deal on flight tickets for three of us, my wife, son and myself. Booked tickets Delhi - Chennai to and fro for early February, two months in advance. Days passed in excitement and research of all good places to visit, planning all itinerary. As always, wife did all the packing with her surprising super skills and took care of everything. And no, I didn't forget my camera this time.</div>
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Finally, the day arrived and we booked Uber for our early morning flight to Chennai. It was still dark outside as we boarded our taxi, but three of us were pretty much awake in excitement. Roads were empty and within 20 minutes, we reached the airport. Check-in was smooth and soon we were on-board. Did the usual social check-ins on Facebook and Instagram, posted few pics to make sure others are jealous and soon we were flying high enough. After few minutes, everyone started to doze off until the usual sales promotion begin. Tried to ignore as much, but they ensured everyone listens. Pretty irritating though but Air Hostess was beautiful so made peace with it. After an hour, had Breakfast and soon we landed in Chennai around 10am.</div>
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We already pre-booked a taxi to take us to Pondicherry to cover the distance of 150 kms (3 hrs approx). The guy was late and language barrier was an issue as I kept calling him to get the update of his whereabouts. Finally he showed up after 20 minutes and we were on our way through ECR road (East Coast Road). It was February and damn hot that we even ditched our plan to stop at Mahabalipuram for an hour. We continued our journey to Pondy without much stoppages except for grabbing refreshments.</div>
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We booked two hotels in Pondicherry, two nights within the city and other hotel for two nights as well right outside the city near Paradise beach. Our first stay was in the city hotel, we reached there during lunch time and already tired, we jumped into the Pool as soon as we checked-in to our room. After an hour, we felt refreshed and tired at the same time. Grabbed quick lunch and crashed in our room. </div>
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We woke up around 6pm and got ready to visit the city, look at the architecture. Preferred most trusted Autos to take us around all they suggested were temples and churches. We took their advice and covered two temples and a Church in same evening (I can't even recall when did I visit a temple last time in Delhi). Not that I am an atheist, but temples are not what I came here for. At least we enjoyed looking at their typical South Indian kind of architecture and then we called it off and enjoyed Authentic South Indian dishes in a typical South Indian restaurant and we left only when our stomachs screamed 'Enough'.</div>
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We hired an Auto and reached back to our hotel and crashed while watching Shin Chan in Tamil (my son's favorite), though we didn't understand a word, but at least my son was happy watching it.</div>
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Next morning, we woke up all charged up and had nice Buffet breakfast and then carried on to explore the French Town. We went to Aurbindo Ashram and it was so quiet and peaceful. Our son who is opposite of what the place was, couldn't keep his calmness and led few people towards us who suggested that we should leave. Well, that's what happens when you have a 4 year old kid and moreover, not a wise choice to take him there. Well, at least we grabbed attention of many there and left as soon as we could.</div>
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Our next stop was Promenade, which runs along the Bay of Bengal and passes several statues, including a 4m-high Gandhi Memorial. This is the rocky beach where you just walk along, enjoy the views, the breeze and relax. We did some photoshoot, and left for the White Town. We explored the streets as we walked and clicked around to take those beautiful memories back with us. Tried French cuisine and the wood oven Pizza.</div>
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It was 4 in the evening and we came back to our hotel and relaxed only to wake up at 8 in the night. Still exhausted, we stepped out of the hotel and went to an authentic South Indian Restaurant to get typical experience of South India where we were asked to remove our footwear, were served on a Banana leaf, when we asked for a spoon and people around us looked at us with astonishment, well different kind of experience I must say. We came back to our hotel, watched Shin Chan in Tamil again and went to sleep.</div>
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Next day, the thought of going to an actual Sand beach made us pretty excited. We had our breakfast in the hotel, packed our bags and booked a cab towards our second hotel, which was situated outskirts of Pondicherry and was just 25 minutes away. We reached our second hotel before the check-in time and after keeping our stuff, we headed for the beach which was 2 minutes walk away. Paradise beach is a tourist destination, but our part of the beach was the other side and was untouched and very less tourists. We enjoyed the beach, drenched and soaked our souls until sun went harsh on us. We came back and enjoyed rest of the day in our resort, had dinner in the night and looked at stars in peace before dozing off.</div>
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Morning was refreshing, the breeze from the sea nearby felt rejuvenating. We got ready for our breakfast and my son loved it as he saw 7 different kind of Donuts in kid's zone. He wanted to have all, but gave up after three while we cherished our platters. With our tummies filled, we went to the beach and relaxed, clicked pictures gave best poses for our next DPs. We didn't want to head back to hotel but again the sun decided to be harsh on us and to avoid any sunburns, we came back and enjoyed in hotels' pool for a while. After lunch, we relaxed in the noon while watching a typical bollywood movie and munching snacks.</div>
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Evening was pretty chilly as we walked along the beach and soon the winds made us return to our hotel. We sat in the resort, looked at stars played music and had some deep talks, enjoyed dinner and went to sleep.</div>
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This was the day we had to leave to head back to Delhi, our home. We woke up and packed our stuff, got ready and had Breakfast. We felt low as we didn't want to return and little we knew that there is an adventure waiting for us before our trip ends.</div>
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We had booked our taxi in advance for 12pm to catch our flight at 5pm, but the driver came 45 minutes late and as soon as we started our journey, in next one hour his car broke down and we were stranded on highway with no network, no help as driver left us with his car and went to seek help. We waited for almost 30 minutes and kept calling driver and he kept saying 5 minutes every-time and never turned up. We were positive that we will miss our flight when wife suggested to ask any ongoing cab. I tried to stop few cabs but none of them were ready to go. One cab stopped and tried to assist and he stood along and helped us stop a private car heading towards Chennai. He explained them the situation in his local language and the couple in the car agreed to drop us. That time I realized that there are still good people in this world. They did drop us to Chennai well in time and we were able to catch our flight, thanks to them.</div>
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We reached back to Delhi and rested on our familiar bed, thinking about the adventurous day we had and what a beautiful trip we had.</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com1Puducherry, India11.9415524 79.8082865000000084.0697629000000006 69.4811375 19.8133419 90.135435500000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-68077998992575495982018-03-13T00:24:00.005+05:302018-03-13T00:24:52.070+05:30Ramthambore National Park - The Abode of Tigers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Well, I haven't been lucky to spot a tiger during my last trip to a National Park, <a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2016/12/jim-corbett-national-park-uttrakhand.html" target="_blank">Jim Corbett</a> and this time I decided to make it happen in Ranthambore National Park, famous for its Bengal Tigers and as everyone says, you can spot a tiger easily. Its is situated in the Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan and is one of the best places in India to spot animals in their natural habitat.</div>
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In my quest to spot a tiger, my team and me decided to explore Ranthambore National Park. All bookings were done in advance and all sorts of plans were being made to make this a trip to remember.</div>
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We left around 10pm from our office premises in Gurugram in a Tempo Traveler. It was all boys trip and everyone was excited and was in quite adventurous mood. We continued the journey with music on and few stories from our drunk friends until we encountered fog on our way. It was mid-January and pretty cold out there and the fog not only halted our speed but it even scared a few. Visibility was almost zero but the driver did quite well and followed another vehicle which is usually a smart thing to do in such scenarios.</div>
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Soon, fog disappeared and we were back to the usual speed. While I tried to take a nap, couple of members were feeling hungry. While I was in trance between my dream world and reality, the driver suddenly turned towards a road side Dhaba (restaurant) which was weirdly and aptly named 'Achanak' (meaning Sudden).<br />
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It was 2am as we got off our vehicle and ordered for Paranthas and tea. It was quite cold and the owner lit the fire as we sat in circle around it feeling cozy. Suddenly there was a power cut and we were not amused as the name of the restaurant literally meant 'Sudden'. We hoped not to face any more sudden surprises as we waited for our food order in the dark, not totally dark, of course the fire was still on and the owner kept pouring some weird liquid on it which he called 'Carbon' stating that it will keep fire on for longer time which was not happening at all. The only thing that we felt was smoke coming out of it and nothing more. Anyway, the paranthas and tea arrived and Paranthas were actually good. Soon after satisfying our stomachs, we left the place.</div>
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We encountered fog again as we crossed the stretch nearby Bhangarh (India's most haunted place) and it killed the speed. Slowly we moved and roads were quite bad. As we crossed, it was 4am and suddenly we heard a noise and we stopped. Tyre punctured! Phew! It was super cold and we had to get down while the driver and his assistant tried to change the wheel, but they broke the jack. Now the only option was to ask help from passing by vehicles, but we instead chose to lift the bus while driver disengaged the punctured Tyre and put on the other one. We needed strength in the cold so opened a bottle of Rum, almost everyone took a sip and then we lifted the bus while driver did his job. Hell lot of exercise at 4am. All's well that ends well and we were back on the road not hoping for anymore sudden tragedies.</div>
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At 8am, we finally reached our resort and quickly settled in our cozy rooms. After freshening up, we had breakfast and while few relaxed in the sun, few had energy to play cricket. Around 12pm, we left in a canter to explore Ranthambore Fort. While a friend who was feeling way too adventurous drove the canter while others held their breath praying for their safety. Soon, the driver took over and everyone took a sigh of relief. The weather was nice and sunny, the fresh air we could feel was making us more energized.</div>
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We reached Ranthambore fort where most of the pilgrims visit to pay respects to Lord Ganesha, an ancient temple inside fort's premises, but we had different plan which even we were not aware of. We wandered in the fort clicking pictures, scaring the hell out of each other sometimes and going far beyond fort's walls in jungle where who know what could have been waiting for us. From what we heard from the local guide, leopards, panthers and even tigers often roam in that area. Often you can spot the tiger on the fort's wall during sunset.</div>
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Still, this didn't stop few of us and we continued wandering in the jungle and doing photo sessions (I know, not appropriate). </div>
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We spotted crocodiles lying along across the lake far from us while we stood on the fort's wall. If you walk couple of kilometers more, there is place in fort where Jauhar took place where the queen and her friends did mass suicide to save themselves from Mughal emperor Alauddin Khalji and his army. Finally someone called the shots and we started to head back to toward our canter to reach back to our resort.</div>
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We had lunch and slept for few hours to energize ourselves. In the evening, the resort arranged bonfire and we started with booze, juice and snacks along with get to know more about each other with few weird questions and answers. After dinner, we all had a teen patti competition and again went back to Bonfire with stories we had until 3am. We all went to sleep as we had Safari early morning at 7.</div>
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At 6 in the morning, we all woke up, few willingly and few, we had to drag, yes excessive booze does that. We left for one of the best zones which we booked, Zone 4. I was quite positive that I will spot the tiger today as we heard every guest in our resort was lucky to spot tiger in Zone 4.<br />
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With fully charged camera batteries and holding my zoom camera lens, we entered the zone 4 with high hopes. The driver of our canter must have been ex F1 driver. He was driving the canter at pretty high speed like he was trying to scare animals away. Repeated requests did slow him down a bit for a while but he kept on doing the same thing. I was sitting at the last seat and my back started to scream because of all the abuse by high speed and jungle terrain. At this moment I realized that I should have chose a jeep instead of a canter. Moreover, the guide which was with us was also least interested in helping us spot a tiger. In fact, he was asking for job from other tourists. There goes our luck of spotting a tiger.</div>
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In Ranthambore, the drivers and guides are allocated on the spot and you don't have any control of selecting yours. All we spotted were Deer, Sambar, Crocodiles, Rufous Treepie bird and few other species. We returned back to our hotel and only thing we looked forward was breakfast.<br />
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We had breakfast, packed our bags and started our journey back to our home. My quest to spot a tiger in the wild still on and hopefully one day, I will be lucky, one day fine day perhaps...</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-1932450460378079742018-01-16T23:50:00.000+05:302018-01-16T23:50:35.276+05:30Are You a Beach Person or a Mountain Person?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Yea, yea, yea, as far as it goes and you are into traveling, you must have come across this inevitable question "Are you a beach person or a mountain person?". Well, we always pick a side as our mind wanders through all the timeless memories we may have created during all those vacations we had. We all have our own preference, our own likeliness to certain kind of holiday we look forward to. </div>
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Well, if you are not living under a rock, you must be knowing that it is not just a regular question, the answer to it reflects about person's nature as per the study in the Journal of Research in Personality, extroverts prefer the beach to the mountains, while introverts prefer the opposite. It reflects the personality of a person, instinct of a person. But does it actually?</div>
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I am an introvert at heart (sometimes in a professional life, I have to bring out the traits of an extrovert, it is a competitive world after all) and I somehow do not agree with the findings of any such study. Despite being an introvert, I am a Beach Bum, I Love Beaches and to me word Vacation means me lying on a sunny beach listening to the waves holding a bottle of beer. That is the moment when I disconnect from the real world, life problems and its just me all by myself in a state of Trance (not that beer makes me high).</div>
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On the other hand, I would be lying if I say I don't love mountains. I do love mountains and more I explore, more it unfolds new pages from its book of secrets. I love sitting on a mountain top and gaze for hours admiring the view, thinking about life, people i care. It makes me realize that how tiny we and our problems are. Hand me a cup of hot tea, a good book overlooking sunset and waiving pine tree on top of a mountain, that's what I call a magic wand in nature's hand. </div>
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To be honest, it doesn't matter what kind of person you are from either of the two. All that matters is you have to be a Fun Person to cherish whatever or wherever you are.</div>
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Keep Traveling!</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com1New Delhi, Delhi, India28.6139391 77.20902120000005228.3895196 76.884924700000056 28.8383586 77.533117700000048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-41459266215490743932017-10-07T17:22:00.001+05:302017-10-07T17:22:28.322+05:30Haridwar - The Ancient Holy City by the River Ganges<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Ancient city of Haridwar is an important Hindu Pilgrimage site in Uttarakhand state of India where the river Ganges flows as it exits the Himalayas. The largest of several sacred ghats (bathing steps), Har Ki Pauri hosts a nightly Ganga Aarti (river worshiping ceremony) in which tiny flickering natural lamps are floated off the steps. People often come here to achieve salvation and some just to get amused by the beliefs and vibrancy. Falling more into the second category, I also decided to visit Haridwar to experience the vibrancy of the city and also somewhat to get rid of my sins (I still don't know how that works to be honest).<br />
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Me and my family left around 11am in the morning from Delhi to cover almost 250kms. With so many questions that my 3 year old son and a quick pit stop in between, we reached Haridwar around 4pm and quickly checked into our hotel, kept the stuff, freshened up and left to visit the Har Ki Pauri and witness the famous Ganga Aarti. Thousand of people flock everyday to witness the magical Ganga Aarti which I was about to witness second time in my life.</div>
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Though we were struggling to make our way through the crowd, my son mistook the place as Goa and as soon as he witnessed the river flowing, he wanted to go and take a dip thinking its a beach. Well, not his mistake, I remember how much fun we had in Goa, be it the beach or our stay in the <a href="about:invalid#zClosurez" target="_blank">hotel</a>. Soon, he realized that this is not Goa, but that did not stop him from having fun. All he meant to do was take a dip in the river and have a time of his life. Well, that's how a 3 year old kid does, I wish we could also live in the moment, but sigh!</div>
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Any way, back to the Haridwar from Goa. It was 5.30 in the evening and soon it started to rain, not that it mattered as we were their to take holy bath, but my son started to shiver. Even in summers, the Ganges water is so cold that it takes few minutes to get used to it. With rain along, it felt even colder and we wrapped up quickly after the holy dip in river Ganges and soon the rain stopped. We headed towards the Aarti and paid our respects and sat on the stairs to witness the great. God had a different plan although and soon it started to rain again, heavily this time though. We got up from stairs and took a shelter nearby and witnessed the Aarti from a distance. My son started to shiver badly which made us move from the spot and we started to head towards our hotel.</div>
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We quickly had dinner and while everyone slept, I looked at the pictures I clicked and wished it hadn't rained and we could have spent more time near the river Ganga and I could have clicked more pictures. Well, destiny had it and I also fell asleep in a while with camera still in my hands (luckily I didn't break it).</div>
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Next morning was sunny and hot. We all woke up early and went near river Ganges and had bath for as long as we could remember (I practically washed my future sins also). My son also had best of his time and he refused to leave (still thinking of it as a beach). We were happy that he was enjoying his state of denial. After the holy bath, we had breakfast and the ladies of the family did some shopping, no surprises here. I however, was busy with clicking and capturing the place in my camera. It was so crowded, small lanes of the market,,, shops filled with souvenirs or selling religious stuff, prashad etc. and every shop was full of people buying anything and everything.</div>
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It started getting hotter and hotter and soon, unbearable for us to even think of walking. We came back to the parking and decided to go bit further than Haridwar, towards Mussoorie. Stay tuned for the next chapter.</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-6513757978496229682017-05-04T00:03:00.002+05:302020-06-26T13:48:31.575+05:30Kerala: God's Own Country!! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After many failed attempts and planning, finally the Kerala trip was happening. The joy was visible on my face and every person known to me personally, knew about my excitement. Tickets were booked three months in advance and during these months, due to various reasons, this trip also almost was on verge of getting cancelled, but thank God it didn't. Finally the week arrived and I had all the reasons to cherish and tease others who already had enough with my bragging about what all I am going to do on my trip (for which I am sorry, or not?)</div>
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So the day arrived and we had to catch up our early morning 9:30 am flight (yes, that's early for me). The first thing I kept was my camera that was of utmost importance and then I arranged my luggage in order as we waited for our cab to the airport. Yes, we were running late and as cab arrived, driver was kind enough to load all the stuff in the cab and we started our journey.</div>
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Mid-way to the airport conversation:</div>
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Me: Oh crap, where is my camera?</div>
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Wife: I told you to get up early but you had to attend office party last night which was more important to you.</div>
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Me: Why are you bringing up my office party into this?</div>
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Wife: Because I want to...</div>
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Me: (hoping my wife would have kept camera and now teasing me) Are you sure you didn't keep the camera?</div>
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Wife: No, I have not.</div>
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Me: *Calling Mom* is my camera in the living room?</div>
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Mom: yes, it is (and my heart sunk)</div>
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Me: *Long Silence* I forgot to pick it up!!*Phone disconnected*</div>
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My wife and I, both tried to console each other that technology has advanced so much and phone cameras are not that bad either as we almost reached IGI Domestic Airport, Delhi. The check-in and security check was smooth and I don't remember much of it as I was almost lost and still mourning over my camera and cursing myself. We boarded the plane and my wife took out her phone and clicked our super cool selfies and pictures were actually quite cool and I started feeling little better. My son meanwhile kept staring out of the plane window and kept asking questions which had not so much logic and I kept answering with not much logic either.</div>
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Soon we took off and I will fast forward the flight part… we landed Chatrapati Shivaji Airport, Mumbai where we had to catch a connecting flight to Kochi. While waiting, we had lunch, tea and we started to cherish our memories from our last trip while munching snacks. We were so engrossed in the past that we almost forgot that we had a connecting flight to catch and we rushed towards the entry gate.</div>
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At 3:30 pm, we landed Kochi and the cab to our hotel in Kochi was waiting outside the airport. We wanted to spend a night in Kochi as we had to leave for Munnar early morning. So the hotel we chose was nearby airport and within few minutes, we were inside our hotel's room.</div>
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We were so tired that we all crashed on the bed immediately. In the evening, we explored local area, went to a church, tried Kerala cuisine in local restaurant, all nearby our hotel. After dinner, we returned to our room and watched some TV and slept early as we had to wake up early next morning. I hired a self driven car from Kochi for our entire journey.</div>
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At 8 am, our room's intercom rang and call was from reception that the car is here. I checked out the car and necessary documents along with testing of the car. Glad I chose an automatic car which was smooth and easy to maneuver. After breakfast, we checked out from our Kochi hotel and I turned on the Google maps as we started our drive to Munnar, 107 kms journey at 10 am.</div>
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The drive was scenic and roads were great which made the journey even more beautiful. On the way to Munnar you will see many waterfalls. One such was cheeyappara waterfalls which looked bit touristy. We stopped there for a while and clicked pictures and soon we were back on the road.</div>
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At 2 pm, we reached Munnar and were astonished by the beautiful tea plantations. On the way also you will find many spice plantations which offer you visits and elephant rides. The weather in Munnar is unpredictable and it usually rains. When we reached, it was sunny and hot and in no time it started to rain.</div>
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We checked in to our Munnar hotel which was 10 kms away from the town centre and was located at a calm hill point. My son was not feeling well due to the driving in hilly terrains so we decided to relax in our hotel and took a nap. In the evening the receptionist told us that there is a river stream 5 minutes walk away and has a beautiful view. It was raining, so we carried umbrellas provided by the hotel and went near towards the river stream. It looked so calm despite raining and greenery all around. We even heard a bird singing which was kind of a unique experience for us. It started to get dark so we returned to our hotel. Next morning we had to go to Thekkady, but at dinner, my wife realized that my son has fever. Maybe too much traveling was not a good idea, I thought. So we cancelled Thekkady and Alleppey which was planned for the next to next day and straightaway booked Varkala hotel for two more nights. Night we gave him medicine which we were carrying along.</div>
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Morning, as woke up, he seemed fine and was active as well. After breakfast, we left our Munnar hotel to reach Varkala, 250 kms. Google maps showed three different routes, but we chose a slightly long one which was along the coastal line of Kerala. While my wife kept trying to make my son fell asleep and continued to fail, I concentrated on the drive and map instructions. We stopped for lunch quickly and were back on the road as I wanted to reach Varkala before sunset. The route was indeed beautiful in stretches as we could see beautiful view of Arabian Sea as we drove.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTqDtVmjXkfVeGgHc6ULgrhtwFixeDcaUZGsE8Ghhshya4gidoAFyyvDOz7AMOavDJgRQa9L2G2gYSZ-5ewHNfdVtyzONPSbdfbhqVPe5rbreffKSMYtK6B1COZQL84b_PLXAzh-0OtA/s1600/BeautyPlus_20170320180917_fast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTqDtVmjXkfVeGgHc6ULgrhtwFixeDcaUZGsE8Ghhshya4gidoAFyyvDOz7AMOavDJgRQa9L2G2gYSZ-5ewHNfdVtyzONPSbdfbhqVPe5rbreffKSMYtK6B1COZQL84b_PLXAzh-0OtA/s640/BeautyPlus_20170320180917_fast.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Drive</td></tr>
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At 6pm, we reached Varkala and we were so happy to see the beach and beautiful resort. We checked in and freshen up and soon we were outside sitting in the resort garden, hearing the waves crashing on the rocks. Varkala is the only stretch in the Arabian Sea coastline where you can see the ocean from a cliff. Famous for its beautiful sea view from cliff, Varkala is indeed no less than heaven. We had calm candle light dinner under the stars and hearing waves and that made us sleepy.</div>
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Next morning, we all woke up fresh and were ready to go to the Black beach. We had our breakfast while we looked at fishermen not too far away getting their daily catch. After breakfast, we literally had a sunscreen bath to avoid getting sunburns which we experienced in Goa (I still remember how painful they were). After indecent amount of sunscreen on us, we jumped into the waters and played as much as we could. We returned back to our hotel for a quick nap and in the evening we went to Varkala beach.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRZKXy92_d7xi595S2R1gWqFH2OL3aw1ZP71fJssT8ZISvkWpFNVZdtmKTo80db-81FsstEjZso63RUKPih8hLBzJJyE6OnW4Rp2pflU_qaTLCNRfUP5OSpuiwAPDOGPClWM9Iezs4E8/s1600/IMG_20170322_110713_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Varkala" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRZKXy92_d7xi595S2R1gWqFH2OL3aw1ZP71fJssT8ZISvkWpFNVZdtmKTo80db-81FsstEjZso63RUKPih8hLBzJJyE6OnW4Rp2pflU_qaTLCNRfUP5OSpuiwAPDOGPClWM9Iezs4E8/s640/IMG_20170322_110713_HDR.jpg" title="Varkala Beach" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Varkala Beach</td></tr>
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My son was filled with joy as he loves the beach and it is literally impossible for us to drag him back. We were in Varkala for four days during which we explored Varkala beach, Varkala cliff and our most favorite, black beach which was in proximity to our hotel where we also spotted dolphins.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Intense Yoga at the Beach</td></tr>
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Last day at Varkala, resort was kind enough to allow us for later check out. At 2 pm we left our resort to reach Trivandrum airport (50kms) where we had to catch our flight and also drop off the car. On the way we stopped for lunch and I bought Banana chips and other munchies for family and friends.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41RlBnrKqR8EMxZFfgqCwT2bn_RyPxvavHK4LuXjbTzDJBUp-iopbRyQuBnzXV2b15kTf0AIAjgHBd9I0b-QU7IKs5h-pk5FbYwlInhluYFqIgR6CXJss58JoigH_30NiMpfjhT9tzP8/s1600/IMG_20170322_172254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41RlBnrKqR8EMxZFfgqCwT2bn_RyPxvavHK4LuXjbTzDJBUp-iopbRyQuBnzXV2b15kTf0AIAjgHBd9I0b-QU7IKs5h-pk5FbYwlInhluYFqIgR6CXJss58JoigH_30NiMpfjhT9tzP8/s640/IMG_20170322_172254.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The route was nice and we drove along the coastal line while cherishing all our memories we made in Kerala. Though we cancelled Thekkady and Allepey due to our son's health, but these places will bring us back one day, one fine day maybe.</div>
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At airport we dropped off the car and headed towards the security check to catch our flight back home to Delhi via Chennai.</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-8739104842994360812017-04-15T22:16:00.002+05:302018-03-19T18:42:28.028+05:30The 'World's Smallest Museum' <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Source: SWNS.com </span></td></tr>
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A telephone booth which was not being used anymore has been turned into 'world's smallest museum'. Yes, you read that right, a telephone booth. Located in Warley, Yorkshire, the booth was “adopted” from British Telecommunications (BT) by the town association of Warley and filled with the local historical artifacts. The exhibit includes old photographs, glass etchings, and personal items such as antique fashion pieces and jewelry.<br />
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The initiative came up when BT decided to discontinue its services in 43 such booths given the growing use of cellphones which has rendered the booths obsolete. BT’s research has shown that only 7 per cent of adults use its 65,000 telephone boxes regularly. Yet, the bright little red booths are associated with fond memories in the minds of the British people who voted for it as a top favorite British design.</div>
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No awards for guessing, there’s only room for one person to visit Warley Museum at a time. The museum is believed to replace the artifacts every three months and currently focuses on local history. The phone box can be found outside the Maypole Inn, a restaurant in the heart of the town.</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com2Warley, Brentwood, UK51.606081 0.3016239999999470551.566411 0.22059999999994706 51.645751000000004 0.38264799999994703tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-35366884853599244382017-03-03T01:16:00.001+05:302017-03-03T17:19:15.084+05:30Here is Why Flights take Longer than they did 50 Years ago<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Source: travelocity.com</span></td></tr>
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Do you know that Airlines fly planes slower today than they did in the past, making it longer for you to get to your destination? Yes, despite enhancement in technology and super fine engines, it takes us longer to reach our destination now. In 1973, it took 2 hours and 37 minutes to reach Houston, Texas from NYC and now it takes 3 hours and 50 minutes to cover the same distance.</div>
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Well, the answer is simple, <b><u>Fuel Efficiency</u></b>. Airlines are able to save millions on fuel by flying slower. </div>
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From 2002 to 2012, the price of fuel has gone up from $0.70 per gallon to over $3.</div>
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According to a press release in 2008, JetBlue saved around <b>$13.6 million a year</b> by adding just under 2 minutes additional to each flight. </div>
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Moreover, airlines are trying to make their airplanes lighter to save more on fuel and hence they charge you extra on excess baggage. </div>
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Airlines also follow a practice known as <b>'Block Padding' </b>which means adding extra few minutes to actual arrival time so that they can appear 'Punctual'. So next time if you hear an in-flight announcement that you will be landing ahead of schedule, don't be fooled 😉</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-13236562143204640972016-12-27T23:37:00.002+05:302018-06-13T16:16:00.783+05:30Jim Corbett National Park, Uttrakhand, India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Corbett - PC - Nitesh Ranga - Insta ID - @traveller_mate</td></tr>
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Has it ever happened with you that you plan to visit a certain place but due to some reason or the other, your plans to visit that place don't materialize? Jim Corbett was one such destination in my list. I planned to visit Jim Corbett in 2009, didn't happen; then I planned for it twice in 2010, didn't work out. I didn't give up and planned again in 2012, but as the fate had it, it got cancelled for some reason or the other. I thought to close this loop in 2016 where I had already set goals for myself to visit the places on my list. But now I am happy that finally I made it to Jim Corbett this year.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India and was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park to protect the endangered Bengal tiger. It is located in Nainital district of Uttarakhand and was named after Jim Corbett who played a key role in its establishment. Corbett National Park comprises 520.8 km sq area of hills, riverine belts, marshy depressions, grasslands and a large lake. Given it's close proximity to Delhi, whenever someone asked me that if have I been to Jim Corbett, and I had to say no, not yet; people often raised their eyebrows. I have no clue why they did that and it felt odd as well.<br />
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We, a group of 14 friends cum colleagues, decided to visit Jim Corbett during mid-November. I have heard November is a good season to visit Jim Corbett, plus many zones get opened during this period. The weather is also perfect and the probability is pretty high to spot a tiger as well. The only mistake we made was that we finalized on the dates too late due to which we could not get the entry to the most sought after Dhikala zone as bookings are done pretty well in advance. As they say that beggars can't be choosers so we had to settle with the whatever was available - <b>The Durga Devi Zone</b> which is a hilly terrain and chances of spotting a tiger in a hilly terrain are as good as winning a lottery. With little hope, we blocked our Sunday early morning slot for Durga Devi Zone a week in advance.<br />
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<b><i><u>18th November 2016, Friday</u></i></b><br />
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We were lucky that the night we were supposed to leave, we had an office party the same night. So our dinner and booze were sorted. We partied hard until the place was almost empty and around 11:30pm, we left Gurgaon (Delhi-NCR) for Jim Corbett (265kms journey) in a Tempo Traveller.<br />
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Everyone was tired but no one slept, we sang, laughed, listened to loud music and what not. Around 3am, we stopped for refreshments and had tea/coffee, paranthas etc. and after 30 minutes of break, we were back on the road. Though I pretended to be awake but I took a much needed nap for about an hour. Roads weren't in a great shape and we encountered fog as well in the wee hours. It took us a lot more time to reach our hotel than anticipated.<br />
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<b><i><u>19th November 2016, Saturday</u></i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Groupfie</td></tr>
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We reached our hotel at 9am and checked into our beautiful rooms and had breakfast immediately after. We thought to have rest until lunch time and then planned to explore the areas nearby. After lunch, we left for Corbett falls (waterfall), but by the time we reached, it was closed for public. We tried our best to convince the gatekeeper, but all efforts went to vain. Well, we did what best we could do, i.e. we clicked <strike>some</strike> lot of pictures and decided to go out somewhere else and explore the place on our own.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We met on the way</td></tr>
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We followed the route a friend along knew and continued the beautiful hilly ride. Sun was almost set by that time and we reached the place where we saw the river stream almost crossing the road. To our surprise, we spotted two wild elephants just besides the road. It was almost dark but I managed to click elephant's picture, but the moment elephant noticed the flash, he got angry and he made the noise what we call trumpet, angry trumpet in this case. We asked the tempo traveler driver to accelerate else the elephant might have attacked our vehicle. Well, we left the spot right on time and the whole idea of 'exploration on our own' turned out to be a pleasant surprise.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjavshjB-vPneBcH6Uj42JxnUVaobNt7G0meWmbjT9NN0W2RJ0GuKfVfRTIfCFqalmvNATYcNgf-vusJVny4EcViIa8XZeQWiDkZ8maNG4uFdaokwx8EuXFgbB734qAU_-sEUj2CJqE0/s1600/DSC_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjavshjB-vPneBcH6Uj42JxnUVaobNt7G0meWmbjT9NN0W2RJ0GuKfVfRTIfCFqalmvNATYcNgf-vusJVny4EcViIa8XZeQWiDkZ8maNG4uFdaokwx8EuXFgbB734qAU_-sEUj2CJqE0/s640/DSC_0069.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Angry Elephant</td></tr>
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We got off our tempo traveler few meters away and did photography session near the river stream. It was indeed a refreshing experience and we returned to our hotel where the bonfire was arranged along with tea/coffee and really really spicy pakoras. Since the use of speakers is not allowed in any of the Jim Corbett hotels, we played music on our own mini portable Bluetooth speakers and later played dumb charades.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25EaO3AdRjHFrRZU6Pi7zD9NwfaQRRhdEopyxd2hPDWw4hhDQZNt-oBHgQZKp1OmT_njQJbx1crFdpQGwEs97dvNuJw51xO23bDUJIQ7n2D00w4zMzEbV-zrCszQb0GbjfsXZZUZWPm4/s1600/DSC_0092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25EaO3AdRjHFrRZU6Pi7zD9NwfaQRRhdEopyxd2hPDWw4hhDQZNt-oBHgQZKp1OmT_njQJbx1crFdpQGwEs97dvNuJw51xO23bDUJIQ7n2D00w4zMzEbV-zrCszQb0GbjfsXZZUZWPm4/s640/DSC_0092.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonfire</td></tr>
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After having dinner, we all went to our room and started playing cards/jenga etc. We played until 2am despite knowing that we had to wake up at 4:30am for our early morning Jungle Safari.<br />
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<b><u><i>20th November 2016, Sunday</i></u></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm4bGrp0kXRei7_HFeC2uuNi1rl9NWjwrqvPxkrvIE8KMNI-aoOjX1p6TL3bgWWJdbisGkN28cYHSdxwiJFHKm7tJoUgRkckAQvUIxuG-vEaxqTBfTuuXyLJhDkNt5ktOtssj0LPpdgbU/s1600/DSC_0228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm4bGrp0kXRei7_HFeC2uuNi1rl9NWjwrqvPxkrvIE8KMNI-aoOjX1p6TL3bgWWJdbisGkN28cYHSdxwiJFHKm7tJoUgRkckAQvUIxuG-vEaxqTBfTuuXyLJhDkNt5ktOtssj0LPpdgbU/s640/DSC_0228.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The moon</td></tr>
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My alarm went off at 4am but I was too tired/sleepy to wake up and turned the alarm off and went back to sleep. Few minutes later someone from the group banged on our door which helped us to wake up finally. We quickly got ready and by 5am, everyone was ready to jump on to the three jeeps we had booked but the only problem was that the jeeps were nowhere in the sight. We waited for half an hour and finally the jeeps showed up. It was dark outside and we all covered ourselves pretty well to protect ourselves from the cold winds and jumped on to our open jeeps. To be honest, I did try to act like a hero by standing at the back of the open jeep, but when the chilly strong wind struck on my face, I thought the only good idea is to settle down and sit quietly. On the way we stopped for tea and biscuits to warm up ourselves. It was way too cold that I had imagined and I covered every part of my face too. Durga Devi Zone is the farthest of all the zones and we had to travel 45 minutes to reach that gate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjstsfP6jL1jzh5NB2jcGUOR9Wxmxs64GTaw2I7wRUKp3GWwBsSI90b5g9l8n1RTnDuQ4FN3BSXpeDuW_LxE6m4zg6O8C76a9_18T9eiD9MtdxhyphenhyphenDmqm2zYYA44W9ZF_iDtDvmkQ8rJY4/s1600/DSC_0257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjstsfP6jL1jzh5NB2jcGUOR9Wxmxs64GTaw2I7wRUKp3GWwBsSI90b5g9l8n1RTnDuQ4FN3BSXpeDuW_LxE6m4zg6O8C76a9_18T9eiD9MtdxhyphenhyphenDmqm2zYYA44W9ZF_iDtDvmkQ8rJY4/s640/DSC_0257.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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On arrival at the gate, our ID proofs were checked and we entered Durga Devi Zone. As I mentioned earlier, it is a hilly terrain and chance of spotting a tiger were rarest of the rare. But we did spot Barking deer, Sambar deer, monkey and foot prints of tiger. Well, people often say that those are artificial foot prints just to keep tourists excited, but I am not sure how true is that?<br />
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Though the scenery inside the jungle is indeed beautiful and we enjoyed the views, fresh air and photography of course.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">PC - Nitesh Ranga - Insta ID - @traveller_mate</td></tr>
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The experience was so exhausting and rejuvenating at the same time. Around 10am we returned back to our hotel and relaxed for a while. I was so hungry that I rushed for the breakfast and had almost everything they had to offer in their buffet. It was time for us to leave the beautiful place. We packed our stuff and around 1pm, we left Jim Corbett to come back to our loved ones.<br />
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Though we were not lucky to spot any tiger, but we did enjoy the trip, we enjoyed the company we had, the laughs we had and the bonds we made.<br />
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Hey wait, we did spot the tigers, though only in the painting in our hotel.<br />
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com6Nainital, Uttarakhand, India29.3803039 79.46356579999996929.3246609 79.38254179999997 29.4359469 79.544589799999969tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-82976193187734964552016-09-02T00:18:00.000+05:302016-10-21T13:12:12.447+05:30The Journey of a Traveler<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I often wonder how much time was spent in traveling mere centuries ago when the road of the traveler was hard. No flights, no high speed trains and the most prevalent medium to travel was ships. People spent a fortune and even in some cases, they spent their all earnings to just see what the world looks like. They spent days and weeks in traveling from state to state and even months in reaching from one country to another, some for leisure, some for business and others for just curiosity and amusement, from the stories they heard from people returning from The Great Voyage. In fact, many case, people did not even return from their great journeys, some due to will and others due to illness. Well, that era was different and so were the people. They had patience to travel and that was no less than the adventure for them.<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"></span><br />
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Ibn Battuta is one of the most famous traveler of 13th century, known for his extensive travels, over a period of thirty years. His journeys included trips to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China. Spending years of his life traveling and the fear of not seeing his family ever again did not stop him to explore the world. Here is an extract from his book Rihla (Journey).</div>
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<i>I set out alone, having neither fellow-traveler in whose companionship I might find cheer, nor caravan whose part I might join, but swayed by an overmastering impulse within me and a desire long-cherished in my bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries. So I braced my resolution to quit my dear ones, female and male, and forsook my home as birds forsake their nests. My parents being yet in the bonds of life, it weighed sorely upon me to part from them, and both they and I were afflicted with sorrow at this separation.</i></div>
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Then the time changed, technology evolved and more accessible mediums to travel were available. Railways were introduced and the time span of traveling reduced drastically. Soon, the Wright brothers invented first aircraft which changed everything. Distances of days and months were covered in just few hours. Though, it was still costly to travel by air and it remained popular amongst the rich and affluent of the society. People started traveling more for business and leisure. It was boom in travel industry as people were more willing to spend a fortune just for the experience and explore the unexplored. Everyone wanted to reach the most inaccessible parts of the world within few hours.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">The first aircraft</span></td></tr>
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Come 21st century, the world changed. Evolution of technology led to develop high speed trains, more sophisticated aircrafts which are not only luxurious, but are way cheaper. Airlines like Air Asia are now more reasonable on pockets and can just be booked by click of a button on cell phones. In some cases, price of flights are at par with high speed trains. There is a new boom in travel industry with more and more people opting to travel by air, be it first time fliers or regular fliers. People are not restricting themselves to just travel within the country, but explore the world.<br />
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Well, we can definitely say that the world is changing and evolution is constant.<br />
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-36716421170103726212016-08-06T02:48:00.001+05:302016-08-06T16:05:28.176+05:305 Things to Do Before you Say Bye!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Goodbyes are always hard. No matter how strong you are, there is always an emotional chemical somewhere hidden in the corner of your heart that makes it bit difficult to say Good bye to your favorite place. Even a slightest thought of you not being visiting the place again makes you want to capture every single moment of the vacation which will bring smile on your face later.<br />
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Though handy cameras in phones and digital cameras have enabled us to capture as much pictures as we can but maybe that's not enough.. maybe we need something more....</div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Here are 5 things which we must do before we say Bye to our favorite place!</span></u></b></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Try New Delicacies!</u> </b>Yes, every place has its own specialty and often people mere visit places to try new variety of food, taste and experiment with their taste buds. Well, why not? Life is all about experimenting and until you try new food, how are you going to find out that what lies beyond our usual tried and tested food.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2011/08/jaipur.html" target="_blank">Rajasthan's Delicacy</a> </td></tr>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Get that Souvenir!</u> </b>A souvenir always helps us in staying in touch with our favorite vacation spot. My coffee mug from London, my key chain from Goa, the royal pen stand from Jaipur, the refrigerator magnet from Thailand; they all make me smile and keep reminding me all the good time I had at these places.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMnpMf0m9XCSMLvTq0mNJ5JN2TWmmnUXXIttXRjBwzHeQxQ5c0bkBjzLYlnLfs6m-OgHAgo8X2NA_QHNdLB1TMOv_qySsDpYZpLLuf95jAssnHodSKda9hcqufD71DzlG86ZzyNqV-eA/s1600/IMG_2855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMnpMf0m9XCSMLvTq0mNJ5JN2TWmmnUXXIttXRjBwzHeQxQ5c0bkBjzLYlnLfs6m-OgHAgo8X2NA_QHNdLB1TMOv_qySsDpYZpLLuf95jAssnHodSKda9hcqufD71DzlG86ZzyNqV-eA/s640/IMG_2855.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2012/04/Thailand.html" target="_blank">Thailand</a></td></tr>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Know the History!</u> </b><a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2012/10/traveler-or-tourist.html" target="_blank">Don't just be the tourist</a>! Try to know about the history of the place and its people. Like they say, don't judge a book by its cover. People often make perceptions about a place without knowing its glorious past. Well in some cases that can be true, but not always. The more you know about the place, more will you enjoy your vacation.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2014/08/st-pauls-cathedral-london.html" target="_blank">St Paul Cathedral</a></td></tr>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Act Local!</u> </b>Why only visit the places that are listed on TripAdvisor? There is always more to a city than it is listed on travel websites. Talk to the people, the hotel's receptionist, the local Auto wala's that where do local people hang out? What is their favorite restaurant? These will be the places that will give you a true picture and taste of the city.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2012/10/Udaipur.html" target="_blank">Udaipur</a></td></tr>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Get Clicked!</u> </b>Yes we all know and most of us even do that. But why not get clicked in front of that popular face making weird poses? Normal is so boring and cliche. Imagine how cool it would be when you will look at that picture later in life which will not only bring back your memories but also will make you smile.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2008/06/Gushaini.html" target="_blank">Gushaini</a></td></tr>
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So next time when you are traveling, do try to follow these and create those Happy Memories Forever!</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com4New Delhi, Delhi 110001, India28.6139391 77.20902120000005228.3907261 76.886297700000057 28.8371521 77.531744700000047tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-58312433360316000992016-07-22T00:41:00.000+05:302016-07-28T23:47:53.366+05:30World's Shortest Commercial Flight!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: www.amusingplanet.com </td></tr>
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The world’s shortest commercial flight takes place between the two Orkney Islands, Westray and Papa Westray, north of Scotland, separated by a distance of just 1.7 miles. The flight is operated by Loganair, and its duration is officially two minutes, but under ideal wind condition, it can be completed in only 47 Seconds. The tickets too the flight are priced at about $30 per passenger with obviously no in-flight service and infotainment. About 30 percent of the passengers are associated with the Orkney Islands Council's education services and others are health staff and patients of the Scottish National Health Service. The island of Papa Westray is home to just around 90 people, and is home to 60 archaeological sites.</div>
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Loganair has been operating on this route since the 1960s and in 2011, they introduced a popular flight for tourists. The special flight flies for just couple of days each week in the summer for people who just want to take the flight to and fro and get back to the Orkney Mainland rather than stay out on the islands. Check out the video below.</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com0Papa Westray, Orkney KW17, UK59.3506882 -2.900358299999993559.2859387 -3.0617197999999934 59.4154377 -2.7389967999999936tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-3744275201114964072016-06-10T03:00:00.000+05:302016-12-05T13:54:34.130+05:30Almost Kasauli (Sanawar, Dharampur), Himachal Pradesh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuXFKMyZ-cBqbmo4tEXJ7uf9-pEuxvKkIrPMUaaJevyRiC1aYhUSwXedsRoBzy25fwmtiw_KAdzvJ0FTBZgsIzp4vK7qLYO71bxnc8kci8AAojye5C3NsGum1QC45CHg_EcZvqT1GmE4/s1600/CSC_0211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kasauli hills" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuXFKMyZ-cBqbmo4tEXJ7uf9-pEuxvKkIrPMUaaJevyRiC1aYhUSwXedsRoBzy25fwmtiw_KAdzvJ0FTBZgsIzp4vK7qLYO71bxnc8kci8AAojye5C3NsGum1QC45CHg_EcZvqT1GmE4/s640/CSC_0211.JPG" title="Kasauli hills" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanawar, Kasauli</td></tr>
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In case you are wondering why this article is called Almost Kasauli, it is because we made a plan to visit Kasauli, but instead, landed up in Sanawar, 6 kms away from Kasauli. And the reason we landed in Sanawar was because no hotel in Kasauli was ready to accommodate group of 35 plus members in a short notice and the only place we found suitable and available at that point of time was camping in Sanawar at Sanawar Nature Camp.</div>
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Well, Kasauli or somewhere else, it hardly matters! What matters most is the company of people around you, its never really the destination that's fun, but people around you and this trip proved that. </div>
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This is my blog, this is my story and I can clearly be the Hero of my own story, but I am not, not in this one. The story is about all other members who joined for the trip and acted as heroes, superheroes/superwomen in fact. There were several things that did not go as per the plan, but none of the members cribbed, as a matter of fact they all came together to help/ accommodate, have fun and share as <b>Power of One. </b>More on this later....<br />
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So we all were excited and left for <strike>Kasauli</strike> Sanawar on a Friday evening directly from the office in a rented bus. We were 35 plus members so it was definitely a fun ride all the way. I cannot even recall a single moment when there was silence in the bus. Everyone was in a different zone all together, dancing, singing, drinking and making fun of whoever we could get hold of. We crossed Delhi border and then stopped at Sukhdev, Murthal for a quick break at 8 in the evening where few people grabbed some snacks and famous paranthas with butter. As we moved, the fun continued and the next stop was Dana Pani, Karnal for dinner. We reached there at 10 in the night and after we stuffed our tummies, we left at 11pm for our journey ahead.</div>
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Finally, we reached Sanawar at 3 in the morning. Excitement grew every moment as we entered the camps area but didn't last for long as we got to know how prepared were the camp organizers were for arrival of our group. Even basic amenities were lacking in the camps which were promised to us post so many follow ups with them before and while booking. The beds were dirty, toilet papers were missing and moreover rooms were insufficient to accommodate 35 plus member group. I cursed myself and there was a sudden burst of anger on the camp organizer as I called him! Well, it was my mistake that I trusted on the organizer so much so I had to take the ownership. This is where the superheroes of our story jump in. Almost everyone came to the rescue and acted as a team to get everyone settled. Soon, we all had rooms, bed sheets were changed, mineral water was supplied and were promised best service by the camp organizer, well damage was already done though. I felt bit relaxed as everyone got settled while I still did not have any room for myself. I placed my bags wherever I could find place sat outside waiting with few other members for few colleagues who were coming by their own. </div>
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It was 4:30 in the morning and I tried my hand on night photography and having fun with few other members outside the cottage, what we called "Kutiya (cottage) Number 6". At 5am, the car arrived and colleagues walked in with booze in their hands. We started with Beer and then after few drinks we started playing cricket which did not turn out to be a good decision for few (injuries, body aches etc later).</div>
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It was already 7 in the morning and instead of going to sleep, we went for trekking. Carrying my camera along, I was bit hesitant to climb as I could afford myself falling off, but not the camera. Well, I did climb with all the push from the colleagues along. At the top of the mountain, the view was magnificent. Sunrise and the beauty of greenery all around was really spectacular. After spending few minutes up there and photo shoots, we came down slipping over dry grass while I held on tightly to my precious. </div>
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As we reached back to the camp, it was 8am and the breakfast was still not ready (7am was the agreed time for breakfast with the camp organizer). Me and few other who were awake and never slept throughout, were really hungry so we went to the nearest town, two kilometers down the hill to grab some snacks, pakoras and Paranthas. By the time we were back, breakfast was still not ready, it was 8:30am and by this time, few more people were up after their sleep or naps. </div>
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At 9am, they served us the breakfast and post that I went to sleep while most of the members were up by that time. I slept for half an hour as I got the bed when people woke up. This is the only half an hour where I got to sleep in the whole trip. I woke up as I heard noises of people leaving for rappling (an adventure sport). I woke up and got ready and by that time almost everyone had left. I tried to look out for other members who were in the camp and luckily found few. While we waited for others to return, we had tea and second round of breakfast and Snap-chat photo-shoot.</div>
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The afternoon was spent having beer and relaxing in the shed at the edge of the hill. We had lunch while people started to return from rappling and then much needed coffee to wake ourselves up. </div>
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By his time we had to go for zipping also known as Flying fox. I was damn sleepy but since everyone was interested, glad I went along and yes, it was fun!!</div>
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We returned back to our camp and sat outside one of the cottages, played music and sang along. The sunlight on the face was so relaxing and the wind that blew our hair was really a rejuvenating experience. We were literally doing nothing, yet it was so much fun. Well, good company is all you need to have fun.</div>
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It was 6 in the evening and few members decided to go on trekking. Without sleep, I almost had no energy so instead I went down to Dharampur (2 kms down). I carried my camera and did some photography on the way.<br />
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As everyone returned back to the camp, it was Party time!!! There were snacks, booze and few games. We all started playing Musical chair and then danced and everyone showed their moves. The atmosphere was quite enchanting because of all the people around enjoying and having fun.</div>
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At 10 in the night, dinner was served (while I got it packed for me and a friend as we were not hungry) and people were singing and dancing after having dinner. I don't know whether it was booze talking or they genuinely had energy. Soon after dinner and singing, we went for Night Trekking. We were holding torches and went to the 'not so long trek' which goes up to a cemetery where there are graves of 213 children. We paid respect to the dead and returned back to our camps. Later we had a round table conference where every person was brought in lime light was asked to do something special. People sang, acted told fun stuff about themselves and we got to know their hidden talent as well. I never knew we had a national level shooter, a gold medalist swimmer, a girl who is cricket champion amongst us... Whoa! Respect!</div>
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It was already midnight and we had to leave at 5 in the morning back to our home so most of the people went to sleep. Me with some other members returned back to the cottage and decided not to sleep. Few people took a nap in between while I took bath at 3:30am and got ready for our journey back home.</div>
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By 4:30am, almost everyone was ready and whosoever was not, we dragged them out of their beds so we can leave on time. At last we managed to leave at 5am sharp and as we left, I dozed off and woke up at 8am when we reached Haveli for Breakfast at Karnal. Post breakfast we left and reached Delhi in the afternoon.</div>
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Though it was not a perfect trip, but lot of good stuff happened. Before the trip, I knew everyone, but after the trip, I can definitely say that I made some really good friends! Despite all the hiccups, people had super fun and that what matters and is life all about!</div>
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Salute to all the superheroes/superwomen for making it to the trip and being together as a team throughout!</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com3Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, India30.90129 76.96487530000001730.87404 76.924534800000018 30.928539999999998 77.005215800000016tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-45687546663626283552016-05-18T01:48:00.000+05:302016-05-19T19:27:48.144+05:30Goa - Sun, Sand and Beaches - Chapter 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Well, this vacation meant a lot as we were going together as a family after a long long time. It took us 2 months to finalize the holiday destination. We started planning for Mauritius, Singapore, Kerala, Pondicherry (now Pudducherry) and then we finally agreed on Goa. Though we have been there before but since <a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2011/04/Goa.html" target="_blank">Goa</a> has it's own charm and value proposition, the excitement grew each day as we were nearing our vacation dates.</div>
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Selecting Goa was also a wise decision as we were taking along our 2.5 year old son and we didn't know how will he react to completely new place, that too for 5 nights. We had it in mind even if feel restricted with him on our vacation, it will not be a problem as we have been to Goa before and stayed in the same hotel and I knew what all facilities I was going to get. But all our anticipation was false. He enjoyed a lot and didn't want to return home at the end of our trip. More on this later.</div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="text-align: justify;">So, the date arrived and we did all the packing a day before and kept our tickets and IDs safely with us. In the morning we called Uber and since it was Saturday morning, I hoped there wont be much traffic, but I was wrong, we were already running late and then the traffic! I have mentioned in my previous posts as well that I am jinxed so how can anything go smoothly? Soon, we diverted from our route and switched to a longer route and hoped not to get any traffic on the way. However, another trouble was awaiting us. As we were about to reach airport, my son puked in the cab. We stopped the cab, opened the luggage and changed his clothes and wasted another few minutes. I was suddenly so spiritual, chanting God's name hoping to reach airport on time, which we did (Thank God).</span><br />
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Soon we were done with all the check-in formalities, security checks and we finally boarded our flight. Since I was unable to do any Web check-in due to issue in Air Asia's website, I paid additional premium amount at the time of check-in to ensure we get at least two seats together. When we boarded, guess what? We were given three different seats. Two aisle seats and one behind of the aisle seat. The only question I had in mind at that time was, "Why God why? Why me?" God did listen apparently and a helpful gentleman gave his seat to us and with some juggling, we got all three seats together.</div>
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"Off we go", a kid shouted behind us as the plane took off and we diverted our son's mind by playing with him and offering him candies. Kids usually get scared, but he is the brave kind. Soon, we all took a nap and after good two and half hours, we landed at Dabolim airport Goa.</div>
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Airport has changed drastically in five years and improved a lot. I remember from my last visit that it nowhere looked like an airport. Much better now and spacious as well with many facilities. We had to collect our baggage so we went to the conveyor belt which was already surrounded by all other people from our flight. "Excuse me" I said to the people who were standing in front of the conveyor belt as soon as I spotted our luggage arriving while others were still waiting and gave me looks. With my experience, I can tell you that the joy of getting your luggage earlier than others is one of the best feelings in the world.</div>
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My wife ran towards me with the trolley and my son sitting on it as she spotted me holding the luggage by myself in my Superman Pajamas with T-shirt of course.</div>
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We found our way out of the airport and I quickly searched for my name on the banners which various hotel's staff were holding to welcome their guests. Without much delay, I spotted the driver holding my name banner and offered us to hold the luggage and we walked along towards the car.</div>
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Sagar, our driver, was really nice to talk to and within half hour, we reached our hotel Coconut Grove Beach Resort in South Goa. "Back to my happy place" I said as I stepped in to the reception and was greeted by the welcome drinks. Soon after some formalities, we were allotted our ground floor room. The room looked exactly same as it did on our previous visit.</div>
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It was 4 in the evening and we quickly changed and relaxed for a while. While my son slept, I unpacked everything and got ready to go to the beach. He finally woke up at 6 and we all left as soon as we could.</div>
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Though, we were still tired from our flight, we chose to stay away from water and walk along the beach and watch sunset. We returned back to our hotel and had a warm bath and went for a quiet dinner, It was good to see some old folks there, the bartender also recognized us. We took suggestions for the best dish available and were not disappointed by it. We ordered Fish Tikka and a bowl of rice which was delicious. After the tummy full dinner, we returned back and watched some television and went to sleep.</div>
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Next morning, I was awakened by my wife who was already ready to go to the beach while I still took my good sweet time to get ready. Damn, I just hate mornings. After a kick by my wife, I finally woke up and got ready. We quickly went for breakfast which was again very tasty. We had to run after our son to make him feed and soon all waiter staff also was helping us to feed him. I am still glad the way they went out of their way to play with him. The staff was definitely lovely. After breakfast, we returned to our room and rested for a while. Since it started to get hot outside, we chose not to go to the beach and had fun in hotel's swimming pool. After spending good half hour there, my so also started to enjoy and played a lot with the beach ball in the pool.</div>
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The noon we spent lazing in our room and evening again at the Betalbatim beach, sunset beach and Morjim beach. My son who was bit scared of the water the previous day, now he didn't even want to get out of water. We literally had to drag him out. We spent lovely family time playing at the beach, playing with the sand while we looked at the sunset.</div>
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Next morning, we woke up early to go to the beach. We had quick breakfast and reached the beach. Though the beach is usually secluded, there were just few people in the morning. It was bright and sunny and we all stepped into the water and played as long as we could. We did photo shoots and made castles and didn't even realize it was half past 12. 3 hours at the beach passed so quickly and we didn't even realize. It was getting hot and we reached our room and lied on the bed and ordered few snacks. After sometime, my shoulders started to pain and soon I was unable to move them. Sunburns of course. I didn't even realize until I was in water and this surely was the after effects. Now I was realizing that I should have applied sun protection which I ignored. My shoulders were paining and burning as I touched them. I applied some ice which worked a bit and helped me sleep.</div>
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In the evening we went for a walk while my shoulders were still paining. We went up to Colva, the local picnic beach of South Goa and watched people playing football, enjoying water sports. We did all the water sports in Colva during our last visit so we decided to let pass this time. We returned to our hotel before sunset. Night was awfully painful due to sunburns that the next morning, immediately after breakfast I walked to the nearby market (2 kms away) to get the medication for my sun burns. In the evening I felt much better and we spent that day in our hotel only as my son also complained of itching and pain on his shoulders.</div>
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Next day was our day outing and we hired a bike to visit Agonda beach. Though we were staying in South Goa, this beach was still 1.5 hour away. We started our journey in the afternoon hoping to avoid traffic, but fate had something else in mind, First we had to stop at a railway track and then there was a jam due to some military trucks were crossing. Then we finally took NH 17, the Kochi highway and built some speed. The way was just awesome, with greenery, mountains and very less traffic. After riding an hour on that highway, we took a turn where we saw the sign towards Agonda. We crossed so many small villages but we couldn't locate Agonda. We asked a guy in the village and he mentioned we left it behind as there was a small cut towards the bridge. We were glad we were almost there. Damn you Pulsar, you almost broke my back. We finally reached Agonda and parked the bike. Trust me, this was the most beautiful beach I saw in Goa, we rushed towards the water and had fun, did photography while my wife posed happily for the camera and my son had lot of fun. </div>
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After spending some good quality time there, we decided to return back to our hotel. My back was also feeling little better by now. We left at sunset and again after 1.5 hour, we reached our hotel. My wife was so tired that I had to convince her to have dinner, While she relaxed in the room, I ordered the dinner at the restaurant and enjoyed the meal with my son. After a tiring day, we crashed on the bed.</div>
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Next morning we decided to go North towards Vagator and Anjuna. After breakfast, we left at 10am and soon we reached Panjim and then around 11:30am, we reached at Vagator. Vagator is a nice and lovely beach with some rocky areas. Bit commercial if I compare it with South Goa beaches, but still very neat and clean. Let me just copy and paste (we rushed towards the water and had fun, did photography while my wife posed happily for the camera and my son had lot of fun). </div>
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Next stop was Anjuna, not too far away from Vagator, we reached there in no time. To be honest, I have no idea why people visit this beach? It was too crowdy that we left as soon as we reached. </div>
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The day was getting hotter now so without wasting our time, we left for our hotel. No stoppage on the way, actually we did stop, for petrol and for my back! Never ever take a Pulsar with you on a long ride. Lesson learnt!</div>
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We reached our hotel during lunch but we were so tired that we satisfied ourselves with snacks and crashed on the bed. the evening we spent was quiet at our hotel's betalbatim beach just looking at the sun, the waves and remembering our 2011 visit to this place. This as our last night n Goa and we spent it by spending quality family time and a lovely dinner, </div>
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Next morning, we went to the beach early in the morning and played as much as we could. I don't know about my wife, but for sure I was about to miss Goa. The last day at vacation is usually the hardest day. We promised to return soon and left the beach, had breakfast and packed our bags. After the check out formalities, we took the cab and I watched the beauty of Goa silently through the window and once again I made promise to return to here once again, to cherish all the memories and good times once again!</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com0Goa, India15.2993265 74.12399600000003414.319383499999999 72.833102500000038 16.279269499999998 75.414889500000029tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-7678718758148711092016-03-25T15:19:00.000+05:302016-04-07T17:51:24.332+05:30The Origin of Patiala Peg<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Punjab, India has always fascinated me, be it's history, it's food, love of it's people. Recently I was in Punjab where I visited Chandigarh, Jalandhar and then went ahead to Amritsar Golden Temple. I spent couple of days traveling and interacted with locals listening various stories, some I remember, some I don't. The one story that I will never forget is the story that dates back to the era of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, who ruled the Princely State of Patiala.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was six and a half feet tall, and legend has it that when he rode through his kingdom on his black Arabian horse, he left many ladies dazed and weak in their knees. In his famous Moti Bagh Palace he had a bevy of 365 of the most beautiful women from North India, as his queens. He was one of those who could reach the court of the King Emperor late, and still be received by his Majesty, without the least sign of displeasure. The Maharaja of Patiala had the reputation of being a ‘king of kings’ and was Chancellor of ‘The Chamber of Princes of India’.<br />
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He was also a keen sportsman. He had a Polo team, which was undefeated during his reign. Part of his army consisted of legendary warriors of Punjab. Their favorite pastime was skull pegging. The skulls of their enemies buried half way into the ground, they lifted the skulls by pegging them with their spears as they rode their horses. The civilized version of the game came to be known as ‘Tent Pegging’.<br />
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Maharaja Bhupinder Singh once invited the Irish team “The Viceroy’s Pride” for a match of Tent Pegging. The Maharaja‘s team had never lost a game of Tent Pegging but he was not sure of winning the match against such a formidable opponent. He invited the Irish team for a lavish dinner a night before the match and in a cunning move the Irish team was served with abnormally large Peg of whiskeys. As expected, the next morning the Irish team woke up with a very bad hangover that they couldn’t concentrate on the game and lost the match against the Maharaja’s team. When the Irish team later went to the Maharaja to complain that they were given very large pegs of whiskey before the Dinner the night before, the Maharaja replied “Yes, In Patiala our pegs are larger” and thus was born the “Patiala Peg”.<br />
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Next time, you drink a Patiala Peg, have one more for Maharaja Bhupinder Singh.<br />
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Cheers!<br />
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-26541989369347003662015-12-31T00:34:00.000+05:302016-01-05T23:29:37.533+05:30Mukteshwar, Uttrakhand, India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Mukteshwar]</td></tr>
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<i>"Some destinations leave you spell bound"</i> and Mukteshwar is definitely one of them. Mukteshwar is a town and tourist destination in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand, India. It sits high in the Kumaon Hills at an altitude of 2900meters (7500 feet). My friends and me heard about the beauty of this place so we decided to witness the beauty of this place during late November. It was all boys trip so not much planning was done and we all left from Delhi during Friday mid-night after picking one of our friend from his Gurgaon office. Since we hired a cab, we all were bit relaxed and trusted driver with all directions and continued with all boys talks.</div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="text-align: justify;">Since there was not much traffic and it was night, we hoped that we will reach our destination earlier than anticipated, but destiny had something else in mind. The driver we trusted lost his way and we wasted 2 hours in the wrong direction. Well, we did realize that it is not always good to trust so we took the map in our hands and guided him as politely as we could. </span><br />
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We were four friends and were meeting after a long time so we all continued with all boys stuff but were vigilant enough to lost our way. It was 4 in the morning that we stopped our car for some quick tea and snacks and continued the journey trying to cover up all the lost time. Soon, we had to stop again at 6am due to excessive fog on the way. The only good part was that the place we stopped had awesome Omelettes which I still remember. One after another we had them as much as we could along with multiple cups of tea. After an hour, it appeared that fog cleared a bit so we were back on the road and this time we promised that there won't be any stoppage. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ75bIKzh-R1dHNT4YrOpw0iSuB1JmLOjMha3tGaI2zXNA7KDkiloKT86vMrwH9WAl6aG3IBJYl-L7IbZqnn9hPmg0wTa6uGEnJrwxZcR_pnQDWPflIKHpGC3-jVWz_0XHXcHa-gInVmE/s1600/IMG_0944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Fog on the way to Mukteshwar" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ75bIKzh-R1dHNT4YrOpw0iSuB1JmLOjMha3tGaI2zXNA7KDkiloKT86vMrwH9WAl6aG3IBJYl-L7IbZqnn9hPmg0wTa6uGEnJrwxZcR_pnQDWPflIKHpGC3-jVWz_0XHXcHa-gInVmE/s640/IMG_0944.JPG" title="The Fog on the way to Mukteshwar" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Fog on the way</td></tr>
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Yes, we did stop once again, now because of the views we saw on our way. We were just an hour away from Mukteshwar and the route was so mesmerizing that we could not stop ourselves and did few photo sessions. We also saw many Gum Trees which I never saw in my earlier. After spending good half an hour, we continued and reached Mukteshwar at around 12 in the noon.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpd7VwFet7ZmcVaruXzlKZ_9uHpbcAoY72A1ZsLohDcyQF3hXPmo_b5DevS-jc3hxD-aLmbtaoIjBzxLiFVFVRYwB3qXUQsJ1ZVajVZCxXVnM1AElw0kJ8JJ0CWxf3puh8B5zmozoCrMs/s1600/IMG_0965%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Gum Trees in Mukteshwar" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpd7VwFet7ZmcVaruXzlKZ_9uHpbcAoY72A1ZsLohDcyQF3hXPmo_b5DevS-jc3hxD-aLmbtaoIjBzxLiFVFVRYwB3qXUQsJ1ZVajVZCxXVnM1AElw0kJ8JJ0CWxf3puh8B5zmozoCrMs/s640/IMG_0965%25281%2529.JPG" title="The Gum Trees in Mukteshwar" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gum Trees</td></tr>
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We were all tired but as soon as we stepped out of the car and smelled fresh air, we felt refreshed. Though one of the friend had to be kicked to ensure he is also refreshed. We barely spent few seconds after stepping out of the car that a guide approached us to show us around. He must have been 12 - 13 years old kid and asked for a very nominal fee for his services. He looked so cheerful so we agreed and we talked about his life, his friends, his school and his hobbies to which he replied very happily.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuaAiYoMgbRDvwsvduS2Re8mBjUD87TLG8MQCHLLU_3YcY8trkdYrDw54RQbv8rs9rMlaB_ZHXAa5jRZ14nEBmXMl61TJo0wYgZBLzVPGXGyCbKNqo6b2wU44U80lI7uwtwQws_fnOKs/s1600/IMG_1014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Choli Ki Jaali/Chauli Ki Jaali" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuaAiYoMgbRDvwsvduS2Re8mBjUD87TLG8MQCHLLU_3YcY8trkdYrDw54RQbv8rs9rMlaB_ZHXAa5jRZ14nEBmXMl61TJo0wYgZBLzVPGXGyCbKNqo6b2wU44U80lI7uwtwQws_fnOKs/s640/IMG_1014.JPG" title="Choli Ki Jaali/Chauli Ki Jaali" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Choli Ki Jaali/Chauli Ki Jaali</td></tr>
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We all followed him and he showed some places like Choli Ki Jaali/Chauli Ki Jaali, which is quite famous. Choli Ki Jaali/Chauli Ki Jaali is an extended rock with a hole in between. It is believed that women who can't conceive due to some reason are made to pass through this hole during Maha Shivratri and post that they are able to conceive. A huge fair also takes place during Maha Shivratri at that place. Astonished, we moved ahead through magnificent views along with granite rocks (I believe).<br />
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Along the way, the guide kid took the responsibility of being our photographer to which he did an excellent job. Now, after all the walking, we were hungry again, to which he took us to a small cafe which served pretty expensive Maggi. We had no choice and ate couple of Maggi's and moved on with our tour. He showed us some flora and fauna exclusive to that place and then he took us to a waterfall where we had to walk a lot. Since it was November, we could not enjoy the waterfall completely, so we returned without wasting too much time. On our way back, he took us to a Lord Shiva's Mukteshwar Dham Temple with lot of bells. He mentioned that if you wish something from Lord Shiva and your wish gets fulfilled, you come back next time and tie a bell in the temple. Well, my next visit is due and I will go again as soon as I can. We relaxed outside the temple enjoying the beauty of the valley and peace I felt there is something I never experienced ever. With this, the Guide Kid took his fee and said Goodbye to us.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mukteshwar Dham</td></tr>
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Guess what? We were hungry again. Someone suggested us a good restaurant which has its own farm. We went ahead to try and the woman that ran that restaurant did pluck the vegetables we opted for in Menu, and cooked them right away. The taste of the fresh vegetables is what I still can't forget. </div>
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It was 4pm and we were too tired to think straight, after all we were awake from past more than 20 hours. We needed a bed badly to crash and we had no hotel booking (that what happens when it is all boys gang trip). </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tired Us, Look at Our Faces</td></tr>
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We didn't know if we will get any hotels or not, then someone suggested that we can go to Nainital as well which was around 60 Kms from there. As I said, we were not thinking straight, we agreed to him and instead of searching hotel in Mukteshwar (which any sensible person would do) we left for Nainital. </div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com6Mukteshwar, Uttarakhand, India29.4604149 79.65582419999998429.4051169 79.575143199999985 29.5157129 79.736505199999982tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-58957180502813201132015-12-27T23:58:00.001+05:302015-12-28T13:47:18.777+05:30White Horse, Westbury, England<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sometimes, you come across some marvelous places even when you are not looking for them and sometimes you don't even understand their significance any time soon until you look at your old pictures and then search for that place on internet. </div>
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This is exactly what happened with me when we crossed Westbury, England famous for its White Horse hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain. We were on our way to Stonehenge and while driving witnessed several white horses in farms and then we witnessed this White Horse hill figure while we drove across the road. Though I did not know the significance of it, still there was something amusing about it which caught my attention and I tried to take a click of it while we continued the drive without stopping.</div>
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The origin of the White Horse is still obscure as some believe that it was built to show respect for King Alfred's victory in the battle of Eðandun in 878. </div>
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There have been several instances where the horse has been repaired and repainted to restore its original form and has been illuminated as well which created the effect of it as if the horse was floating in the sky.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGV9ImuoShrxgZrZhyphenhyphenS0aPZXLTSZoki8a58A0p8TI6l4Mr1eIIDlNu3ansV4HVbE1_sZ5oByNC-m1ugRaA8Fd651d3m7mh4lI-vp7ZqciCG1gaOsYmNLODRw3kd-cxmE7TKkblVL7qD4/s1600/IMG_1075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGV9ImuoShrxgZrZhyphenhyphenS0aPZXLTSZoki8a58A0p8TI6l4Mr1eIIDlNu3ansV4HVbE1_sZ5oByNC-m1ugRaA8Fd651d3m7mh4lI-vp7ZqciCG1gaOsYmNLODRw3kd-cxmE7TKkblVL7qD4/s640/IMG_1075.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White Horses at Farm</td></tr>
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It is the oldest of several white horses carved in Wiltshire. The horse is 180 feet tall and 170 feet wide and is a symbol for the town of Westbury, appearing on welcome signs and in the logo for its tourist information centre. It is also considered a symbol for Wiltshire as a whole famous for its white horses.</div>
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I just wish I knew about this when I crossed Westbury and I surely would have stopped to have a closer look, but I am glad I did take a picture and maybe I will visit next time I visit UK.</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-6715008162318637662015-11-01T19:31:00.000+05:302015-11-01T19:31:45.462+05:30The Cholmondeley Ladies - c.1600 - 10<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14P8unckPJrftmC5bl40uYV9osbK8ZGshyphenhyphenPg00zJCEMACTmDdGJfDM9TAb6mbACo7zDtHBgeXSP0c2TyKToz1GVPi0pl26iHzHIVbhlyrj6bOuJsG_CdIbrn1sob3v0okLLLirhdgUkc/s1600/IMG_1589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14P8unckPJrftmC5bl40uYV9osbK8ZGshyphenhyphenPg00zJCEMACTmDdGJfDM9TAb6mbACo7zDtHBgeXSP0c2TyKToz1GVPi0pl26iHzHIVbhlyrj6bOuJsG_CdIbrn1sob3v0okLLLirhdgUkc/s640/IMG_1589.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cholmondeley Ladies</td></tr>
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Few stories get stuck in your head... like forever. I am not a fan of paintings to be honest but some paintings do tell a story, a history which you can't forget. This painting by an anonymous artist which is placed in <a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2014/02/tate-britain.html" target="_blank">Tate Britain</a>, London is one painting I can't forget. The Cholmondeley Ladies, painted oil on wood tells a story of these ladies who were born on the same day, married the same day, and gave birth the same day, according to an inscription. Just a mere coincidence or something far beyond our understanding eh?</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-14477648727879527382015-09-22T02:31:00.001+05:302015-09-22T02:31:58.806+05:30Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat, Haryana<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1d3DygmYOdIu3w5xa-PkoNIaPHy2Nn1QAgQyCDBsT3hvlo9Zn2CDEGQF_Hn2kN8ATaxMIa7eD8h7uidMUjvW5m_dkMzGQyof0FgEK-9YsHTJFkdBf62n1xEa10TxXxuaGUcrJ46yXsY/s1600/DSC_0408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1d3DygmYOdIu3w5xa-PkoNIaPHy2Nn1QAgQyCDBsT3hvlo9Zn2CDEGQF_Hn2kN8ATaxMIa7eD8h7uidMUjvW5m_dkMzGQyof0FgEK-9YsHTJFkdBf62n1xEa10TxXxuaGUcrJ46yXsY/s640/DSC_0408.JPG" title="Man on Rope" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man on Rope</td></tr>
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Craving to spend an evening away from Delhi's Hustle Bustle? An ethnic Rajasthani themed entertainment village is the place you may want to check out. Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat, Haryana, is built on the same concept of Chokhi Dhani, <a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2011/08/jaipur.html" target="_blank">Jaipur, Rajathan</a>, though a bit smaller. Located on NH 1 and couple of hours drive from New Delhi is definitely a fresh welcome for wanderers.</div>
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For similar reasons, my wife and me along with our almost two year old son chose to explore this place on a Saturday evening. To avoid weekend traffic, we left at 4 in the noon, bit early but worth the empty roads. As soon as we touched NH 1, the car was ready to fly and with good music, we didn't even realize how the time went by as we reached Chokhi Dhani in Sonipat. It was 6 in the evening and we parked our car. The parking space is huge enough to cater the mass. As we stepped outside, my wife and son were already taking selfies and the session went on and on until I interrupted and reminded them they are not alone.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHD2bcqoHfpmothCJhxCDOEz1QW0UbHVc8FMVP8AvPEg0HCkTFGFYNqokA3M2QFvsMZV-iIhvX8s33cjZyQbZFRF2rYeCY77GorcayPCvedvdmRAFmMd9dPuAPQMwepk9dT2TtUPqYb4/s1600/DSC_0406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHD2bcqoHfpmothCJhxCDOEz1QW0UbHVc8FMVP8AvPEg0HCkTFGFYNqokA3M2QFvsMZV-iIhvX8s33cjZyQbZFRF2rYeCY77GorcayPCvedvdmRAFmMd9dPuAPQMwepk9dT2TtUPqYb4/s640/DSC_0406.JPG" title="A Mud House" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Mud House</td></tr>
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The place was already crowded as it was weekend and I struggled towards the ticket counter. The ticket includes entry fee and Rajasthani dinner which I was craving for so long. Quick tip: If you are going on a weekend, plan to reach early as they allocate your dinner time as well on first come first serve basis along with the ticket. I was offered to choose from 7:30pm, 9:15pm, 10:30pm dinner slot. 8:15pm dinner slot was already packed. I was glad I had a choice and we chose 9:15pm slot. It was already 6:30pm by then as we got inside and sun was still shining. It felt that we have arrived bit early, but at least we got the right slot for dinner else it would have been too late for us. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUNpYDUekJvBE3XeLzS5UvuxBQTqln8bqNw1RTuW3DA8ebuDwa2Kteojxl6JqeM1XXZwPvJqP3REK3__1lOwYLN0i9B58z4P7RqWmCaY_kisiPn_Lg6K0Rcs18vrh17t1f0fMgcP4Y_Y/s1600/DSC_0281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUNpYDUekJvBE3XeLzS5UvuxBQTqln8bqNw1RTuW3DA8ebuDwa2Kteojxl6JqeM1XXZwPvJqP3REK3__1lOwYLN0i9B58z4P7RqWmCaY_kisiPn_Lg6K0Rcs18vrh17t1f0fMgcP4Y_Y/s640/DSC_0281.JPG" title="Utensils, Hand made Mud Utensils, Hand Crafted/Painted Utensils" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Utensils, Hand Made Mud Utensils, Hand Crafted/Painted Utensils</td></tr>
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Photo session continued as we entered while I kept on experimenting with my new DSLR, my wife and son were more than happy to pose. On entrance we were served water and Jaljeera to freshen you up. Entrance looked classy, village themed mud houses, mud made utensils, shelves, toys, handicrafts, pots, everything was just adding up to the ambiance. Since I have been to Jaipur's Chokhi Dhani, which is much better than this one, but this one is pretty good too.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrdyow-iy5dmGo9iaOD9ZFbbe_QQusVEFlw92hqBo5BRw2N7GC-SodF1o05KEkmSMc4N2J5rdvCOeaGmJpWfw6eMfC-7V50DLKPnUsN6Cwn4bbzxwzde-kg_uce8OS2_GHH5Zmo96UyE/s1600/DSC_0368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrdyow-iy5dmGo9iaOD9ZFbbe_QQusVEFlw92hqBo5BRw2N7GC-SodF1o05KEkmSMc4N2J5rdvCOeaGmJpWfw6eMfC-7V50DLKPnUsN6Cwn4bbzxwzde-kg_uce8OS2_GHH5Zmo96UyE/s640/DSC_0368.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Landscape</td></tr>
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The place offers lot of activity for kids like bullock cart riding, horse riding, camel riding, lot of rides, magic show, puppet show, train ride, tractor ride etc. As we mingled along, I actually felt like I am in the village and felt like a kid as well. We kept on hopping from one stall to another to cover evrything it had to offer. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIXZxU5Gjp3ryZugBhGAXP-ufq6oggcs_XFNhXdEbV3wtCDx3BmI71FTHJXaMeT8y2DdBb68PF06x3UC5AIcbEr-ariBAGastB6w4sb9kp_s2vxC0YkugptNLdCdAuosfLADIMorrlck/s1600/DSC_0356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIXZxU5Gjp3ryZugBhGAXP-ufq6oggcs_XFNhXdEbV3wtCDx3BmI71FTHJXaMeT8y2DdBb68PF06x3UC5AIcbEr-ariBAGastB6w4sb9kp_s2vxC0YkugptNLdCdAuosfLADIMorrlck/s640/DSC_0356.JPG" title="The Puppet Show" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Puppet Show</td></tr>
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For grownups as well, there are cultural dance shows from artists all along Rajasthan presenting their best. I am not a folk dance expert, but at least I was able to make out the difference styles of dance they performed. As I was clicking their pictures, I didn't even realize when my wife went on stage to show her moves and dance along with them. The only thing I could do was whistle and clap as loud as I could. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoTg5bKZfhg26JFP1G6G3FJz09y5g0Y5G9fiTrAbQ6BdyCoZMvmaAPSV40tqomVjZfzy9jJ4Y__JnD-lI6FeXtDQcROb_8ff-lwAjzLjQBJ1cDZRT_g5X5IdT4OwT657B8L3rKL3qFBUU/s1600/DSC_0378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoTg5bKZfhg26JFP1G6G3FJz09y5g0Y5G9fiTrAbQ6BdyCoZMvmaAPSV40tqomVjZfzy9jJ4Y__JnD-lI6FeXtDQcROb_8ff-lwAjzLjQBJ1cDZRT_g5X5IdT4OwT657B8L3rKL3qFBUU/s640/DSC_0378.JPG" title="An Artist" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Artist</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5mcYKKPMv6C8GVzjUaY4Z-XMMzyQXwOO3MVNogGpCe2D5XM_C1uHaEzK4_VHJvZm-QpsOpuyvetDKP1ad9bWCiwmiBi2AP4zE_kZ_JzF9nuADrvBSsXWvk_yZYKuT0g13Fx7gPJV5tc/s1600/DSC_0429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5mcYKKPMv6C8GVzjUaY4Z-XMMzyQXwOO3MVNogGpCe2D5XM_C1uHaEzK4_VHJvZm-QpsOpuyvetDKP1ad9bWCiwmiBi2AP4zE_kZ_JzF9nuADrvBSsXWvk_yZYKuT0g13Fx7gPJV5tc/s640/DSC_0429.JPG" title="Folk Dance" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Folk Dance</td></tr>
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Post Sunset, the atmosphere felt alive with bulbs turning on and cultural music playing everywhere. It was already 8:00pm by then and we started feeling hungry. We ordered Bhel Puri and Pop Corn while we sat and enjoyed the folk dance. After few minutes, my son went crazy as he saw the giant Ferris wheel. He went along with my wife while I chose to do some photography. It was first time I was using my DSLR outside so tried experimenting various themes and lighting shots. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCp57ZaRclffwniunr5fCx4ASbkj7wJTGHxHYGrHeHp97DJzs7n4k2vpvAn70kl5r3iMTh3NLBiOHFcLqPBs1kwIJBEjG1I-jE_q_0XEpQM96Hx90K_pg_6aTT4iRHwE1KJLPI5veY1Q/s1600/DSC_0390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCp57ZaRclffwniunr5fCx4ASbkj7wJTGHxHYGrHeHp97DJzs7n4k2vpvAn70kl5r3iMTh3NLBiOHFcLqPBs1kwIJBEjG1I-jE_q_0XEpQM96Hx90K_pg_6aTT4iRHwE1KJLPI5veY1Q/s640/DSC_0390.JPG" title="Ferris Wheel" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ferris Wheel</td></tr>
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I was damn hungry and as clock struck 9:00pm, we went for our dinner in typical Rajasthani style. We removed our shoes and went inside the Air-conditioned hall where they asked us to sit in traditional style and served food with utmost love and dedication. The food served is authentic Rajasthani and is delicious. The best thing is the way they serve the guests in most generous way and force you to try every delicacy they have to offer. Amazing Hospitality!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qRFNrTcfGwjt3dNQf6wkkoEcaWuevot1e_jkSV4-Ozj-JQ8pPDLDs7z_jtStnNY1UEmkedaYIK6N2EHxYV5_DBtiOg81baN9nvbevIk8LsWDH5U5G5jQt91syFPd2bo7oN8FUg-06yU/s1600/DSC_0517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qRFNrTcfGwjt3dNQf6wkkoEcaWuevot1e_jkSV4-Ozj-JQ8pPDLDs7z_jtStnNY1UEmkedaYIK6N2EHxYV5_DBtiOg81baN9nvbevIk8LsWDH5U5G5jQt91syFPd2bo7oN8FUg-06yU/s640/DSC_0517.JPG" title="Rajasthani Thali" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rajasthani Thali</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgag1dwig9SBHJOohUUPxhk52xee9RasHagLajhGAI1a0wU2t29uJb36uS2l9P2MYoQpcRUBs-1Z13gZ_o2Qo7rx9zGznbvB-o8Tm5Sjh1g779ib13fymnYP14qHYp38_7MPN5XhnrG04A/s1600/DSC_0512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chokhi Dhani, Sonipat" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgag1dwig9SBHJOohUUPxhk52xee9RasHagLajhGAI1a0wU2t29uJb36uS2l9P2MYoQpcRUBs-1Z13gZ_o2Qo7rx9zGznbvB-o8Tm5Sjh1g779ib13fymnYP14qHYp38_7MPN5XhnrG04A/s640/DSC_0512.JPG" title="Dining Area" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hospitality, The Dining Area</td></tr>
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My stomach was about to burst as we left the dining area. It was already 10:00pm and we decided to leave and come back to the reality, to Delhi. </div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com10Sonipat, Haryana, India28.9287735 77.09128099999998128.706459499999998 76.768557499999986 29.1510875 77.414004499999976tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215095809093264587.post-33272671637632051092015-07-06T01:12:00.001+05:302019-04-19T23:10:37.729+05:30The Last Supper<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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How often does it happen that you are just walking by some place and then you discover something really amazing? Rarely, right? I was just going through my photo library on my laptop and saw "The Picture" I clicked of "The Last Supper" by Franz De Cleyn, an artist who was the court painter to King James I. </div>
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While, my friends and I were waiting in the long long queue to enter <a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2013/12/windsor-castle-england.html" target="_blank">Windsor Palace,</a> Windsor, Berkshire, UK, I thought to step out of the queue to explore the surroundings of this small beautiful vibrant town. As I crossed the Windsor Parish Church of St John The Baptist, I read the board it had outside which mentioned "Do not miss the following items in the Church" and at number 1 it said "The painting of The Last Supper by Franz De Cleyn, court painter to King James I. I remember reading about it in the history books, how can I miss the opportunity to see it in real?<br />
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I stepped in the Church amidst some fancy ceremony with people dressed their best and I entered acting coolly in my T-shirt and jeans which didn't stop me. I looked around and tried to explore every painting hanging up on the walls of the Church, but could not locate the painting which led me to the Church. I wondered if I have read it correct and to double check I stepped out of the Church and read the board once again. I was definitely not hallucinating and stepped inside again. Still no sign of the painting. I checked with a lovely looking lady who was assisting in the ceremony and then she pointed up towards the wall where it was hanging. No wonder I could not locate it as it was hanging their at a height above all. I wish I were carrying a DSLR to capture it, but tried my best to capture it via my digital camera. It was at a height and the light wasn't too good either. </div>
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The painting has been restored several times and it was restored last in 2009. The painting represents the scene of The Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples when Jesus announced that one of them would betray him.<br />
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The Last Supper is the final meal that, in the Gospel accounts, Jesus shared with his Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion.</div>
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As I stood there for a while, looking at the painting, I felt connected to the history but soon I realized that I have to explore <a href="http://www.beingtraveler.com/2013/12/windsor-castle-england.html" target="_blank">Windsor Castle</a> too and rushed towards the queue.</div>
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Being Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689860439081759706noreply@blogger.com4Windsor, Windsor, Windsor and Maidenhead SL4, UK51.4817279 -0.6135759999999663751.442169400000004 -0.69425699999996637 51.5212864 -0.53289499999996637