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ECUADOR in South America - Volcanos and Bull Fights 2007-11-25 00:59:36
The first time I heard the name ‘Ecuador’ was way back when I was a small child. I don’t really remember in what context it was mentioned, but since then I have known, that on this earth, there exists a place, called ECUADOR. Where it is, I had no idea. Of course as I grew up, I realized it was in SouthAmerica
but it continued to intrigue me as one of my childhood mysteries. Therefore it came as a surprise to me when I heard that I might be visiting this place for a shoot, in connection with the work I was doing. My profession is such that it gives me the opportunity to travel extensively, all around the world. 15th April 2007, was when I was supposed to go there. I started researching on the country, via pamphlets, and the internet of course, and the more I saw the more I wanted to visit.
Read more:Fights
, South America
Timber Trail Heights - Review 2007-11-24 02:44:56
Timber TrailHeights
is a resort/hotel on a hill where you can only reach through a cable car. How to reach Timber Trail, which is at Parwanoo (Himachal Pradesh) is covered in this post.
The official site of this place is here so if you are interested in getting some data, please visit. In this story I would share some pics and some text. I have been to this place on short few hour trips couple of times and last time I stayed their for a night.
You park your vehicle at their hotel on the Delhi-Shimla Road and then take the rail car. Video of Cable Car as its approaching the Timber Trail Heights.
Its quite a way up, so enjoy those deep views while you wait for the car to reach up. Also, dont get panicky if the car stops midway which happens :) when the Power goes off and someone switches on the diesel-generator. There is a Timber guy inside to ask any further stupid questions.
Exploring Shahjahanabad: A walk in Old Delhi 2007-11-22 03:49:29
Its stories, wafting aromas, heritage and architecture; just a few of the reasons for getting lost in the gallis of Shahjahanabad. Amid the worn-out heritage structures of Chandni Chowk, the glare of the yellow ‘M’ signalling a McDonald’s outlet looks out of place, and time. “My grandfather tells me this was a cinema hall before it was converted to a ‘McDee’ outlet,” the INTACH walk leader tells me as we set off to explore Shahjahanabad, the capital city built by Emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658).
The walk, ‘Exploring
Shahjahanabad: A walk in Old Delhi’, starts from the Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, located opposite the Red Fort. Standing in front of the mandir, believed to be the oldest Jain temple in Shahjahanabad, we get a crash course on the old city.
Delhi - Shimla Road Review 2007-11-20 09:00:55
Last weekend, I drove to Kalka, rather Parwanoo, on my way to Timber Trail Heights, its one of those hotels perched on a hill top and the only good way to reach their is through a cable car, good nice clean place and more on that in a later post. This road further takes you to Simla and probably that would have made a better headline, thats why I named this as Delhi-Shimla
review. I have been to Shimla once and few times to Chail, Kasauli, Subathu so would fill from past experience.
Delhi - Shimla drive can be divided into 4 sections.
1. NH1 (Delhi to Ambala) - 200 Odd KMs. 3.5 hours.
2. NH21 (Ambala to Zirakpur) - 30 odd Kms. 1 hour
3. Zirakpur to Kalka - 60 odd Kms. 1.5 hour
4. Kalka to Shimla - 80 odd Kms.3 hours
Get out of Delhi from Azadpur Bypass, more popularly known as just Bypass, this is on ring road which circles Delhi so hop on to Ring Road and go North from Bypass. Now you are on NH1, its one of those dead-long-monotonous stretch of tar on which you can driv
Tawang , Arunachal Pradesh - enclosed by glaciers 2007-11-19 04:28:59
Driving to the remote part of Arunachal Pradesh
in the north east corner of India was an exhilarating experience . Colours change with every curve in the mountains and so does the scenery. bright yellow mustard fields merge ith some brilliant orchids that suddenly morph into dense forests with rivers gliding past them to snow clad mountains and conifers kissed by snow flakes to frozen lakes to a valley of clouds that wrapped mountains…
A visit to the Golden Coast :- Costa Dorada 2007-11-30 02:56:57
The color of gold - soft, warm and sparklingly bright - is prevalent along the shores of the southern part of Catalonia. This beautiful part of the province has rightly been given the name Costa Dorada which means GoldenCoast
. Costa Dorada is in Mainland Spain and the serving airport is Barcelona.It is well connected by airway as well as roadway but the best option will be by a flight to Barcelona.From Barcelona airport you get loads of options for transfer to the main resorts of costa dorada.The main transfer options are Shuttle(Coach/Bus),Taxi transfer(private taxi) & A Car Hire[you can hire a car by showing & submitting documents for a week or more as per your requiment and on your return you have to submit the car back to the hiring companyand get you stuff back (not to mention you have to pay for the service in euros). Holiday Auto’s are one of the renting companies]
Read more:visit
Gods own country - Kumarakom 2007-11-28 06:45:21
We had just set foot in God’s own country, in search of that elusive stuff called peace. It had rained just then. The sheer collage of colors blinded us – a natural mosaic of greens, yellows and browns which merged into a beautiful pattern. Even the muddy roads seemed picturesque. A narrow creek appeared out of nowhere .. We took a small detour and followed the stream , driving through the muddy road , cutting through the foliage, until we saw the board. Tharavadu Heritage Home, Since 1870. We were in Kumarakom, a small island carved out of the backwaters .
First Smoke-Free City of India : Chandigarh 2007-11-26 00:45:03
Welcome to first Smoke
-free City of India
: Chandigarh
. I like the city the because of its cleanness, friendly enviornment & excellenet quality of life. There are lot of good places to see in chandigarh. Here I would share the story through Pics….
Sukhna Lake: Personally, I like this place the most. Its a good place to go in evening & spend some time there… If you are there on Sunday, don’t miss the cultural program by Chandigarh Tourism Dept.
Read more:First
The Liveliest Place On Earth :-SAN ANTONIO 2007-12-07 13:50:33
The Liveliest Place
On Earth
:-SAN ANTONIO
As far as the name is concerned you can find a sense of joy & warmth by pronouncing San Antonio !!!!!!!!!
The place to party and completely changing yourself to a party animal…..
San Antonio is not a place for peace lovers or for a person who is looking for a calm and serene holiday destination.It is a place where you can take out the party or carefree animal out of yourself and serve yourself a great nightlife.
Let’s take an inside look of San Antonio_ Let’s start the journey………….
San Antonio is in Ibiza [Hope this is a known name to everyone(the Vengaboys song-I love to party)].Ibiza is the third largest among the Baleric islands(It’s a Spanian Island).The sea is the Baleric sea(The Balearic Sea is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea, between the east coast of Spain and the Balearic Islands).
The airport for San Antonio is Ibiza airport(
My trip to Garh Mukteshwar 2007-12-06 02:47:10
Hi, I am Shubham Sarcar. I am a student of Delhi Public School. I study in Class IV. I will tell you about my trip to Garhmukteshwar. This was my first trip without my parents and I was very excited. We had to reach school by six-thirty in the morning. I have never reached school so early. There were three teachers handling forty-five of us!
Getting there
The trip was four hours by bus. I sat with my friend Sohum. The time passed chatting and watching the scenery. When the first stop came, I was so glad that we will get down and stretch ourselves and run around. But only the teachers got down for cofee. We were given packed sandwiches and frooti to have in the bus.
Unchagaon
Finally, we had arrived at Unchagaon. We stopped in front of a stable. For a moment I thought this was where we were going to stay. Thankfully they took us to neat and clean rooms. The rooms were quite big. We stayed in room no 16. My roomies were some boys from my section. In that room the
Getting high on new years eve ! 2007-12-05 06:10:41
It was the darkness that first met my gaze. A thick blanket that shrouded everything, including my mind, as I collected my first thoughts of this year .
It took a moment to sink in. 40 feet above ground, suspended between branches of a jamun tree in a dense 300 acre of wild and awakened by a montage of cries that you will probably never hear in the confines of your bedroom. And the only human to share this experience was my husband, sleeping . What a way to welcome the new year !
We are one of those people who like the word different and love to make it a part of our every day’s experience. A human weakness, I would say - to wear our different experience on our sleeve, feel good about it and occasionally pat our back saying that we did something ‘different’. A stereotype that redefines stereotypes.
Trip to Dharamshala and Mcleodganj (Part II) 2007-12-18 00:27:09
Around a month back, I had written an article about the first day of a visit to McLeodganj and Dharamshala. This article is about the second day into the same trip. Given that we had covered McLeodganj on the first day, the objective was to cover the lower parts of the Kangra Valley and Palampur (and eventually there were a fair number of places that we covered, some good, and for some we wondered why they were there on the tourist map). As usual, there was the discussion about the taxi fares, and eventually we settled (when I say settled, it means that we accepted the quoted rate) on a rate of Rs. 1300 for taking us around.
After a quick breakfast, we got into the taxi for what seemed like a long day ahead of us. The journey was through a hilly road, but nothing too steep nor too rough. The drive was through a beautiful environment, given that the rain had made the whole countryside full of greenery. You just have to look at a photograph to appreciate how green a hill a
Las Vegas - Sin City and More (Part 1) 2007-12-16 00:45:01
One of the most exciting places in the world - Las Vegas
… who hasn't heard of the gambling capital of the world. When I was in India, I had heard about this place and Hollywood movies had made it an enchanting place for any movie fan.
When I was in Los Angeles, and was thinking of touring the area, my landlord highly recommended that I visit Vegas at least once. Of course, he didn't need to advise me again.
I travelled alone and didn't want to spend a lot of money on expensive hotels, so I decided to stay at a motel- of course, I wasn't going to be spending much time inside, so I figured why pay so much for a room which is mostly going to be unoccupied.
I booked my flight and hotel tickets through Expedia.com
If you are visiting US for the first time and need good quality but inexpensive tickets and hotel rooms, I would recommend Expedia. It gives you a variety of choices and you can always get something within your budget.
I booked myself for 3 days and 2 n Read more:Las Vegas
, Sin City
Missing Nirvana in Naukuchiyatal 2007-12-21 11:04:31
6th April 2007 - A three-day weekend was coming - perfect opportunity to give fresh air to our lungs. We thought of visiting Jim Corbett National Park and felt that with kid it would be best if we could get a booking in Dhikala. I faxed and, almost daily, called and tracked my request at forest office in RamNagar. My fax was treated with the General algorithm (and not the VIP one) - Fax received -> throw it in the dustbin. This information came very late. We could not get reservation to Kathgodam that is nearest railhead for Naukuchiyatal and were forced to travel to RamNagar.
From RamNagar we wanted to travel to Nainital in State Roadways bus. But in the morning the only option was a private local bus. The state bus transport services of Uttaranchal are in very poor condition. I am not writing that it was non-existent because I believe in GOD. I have not seen GOD still I believe in it - Ditto for Uttaranchal bus transport services.
We reached Nainital in around Read more:Missing
, Nirvana
Jalori Pass 2007-12-20 06:20:20
I first heard of Jalori from Kaushik. Jalori by its sheer steepness was his litmus test for his Yamaha rx100 to be able to conquer Gatta loops and Tanglangla for Leh. He would proudly tell me the pass gains 5000 feet in just 15 kms or was it 7. Anyway, the hype is what caught my attention. And since I keep a Leh drive ambition in my heart as well, I did Jalori twice this time within 6 months. The routine remains the same, start Friday night 2 am, reach by Saturday afternoon. Settle, roam around. Sunday explore adjoining areas, start by 5pm , reach delhi by monday morning 7.Trip hangovers are part of my monday blues. There are two routes for this pass (d’oh), one goes from Shimla kufri fagu theog narkanda ani, the other from Aut (kullu) Bali Banjar jibhi ghiagi shoja. In favour of the first route, you have the hatu hotel and hatu peak at narkanda as a major attraction and later the muddy sutlej as your companion. And also I think the road from this side is steeper.
Motorcycling Nirvana @ 13000 Ft 2007-12-18 05:17:04 We regrouped at the tunnel, where every bike thumped like a thousand guns going off simultaneously. Read more:Nirvana
Wishful Riding… Part 1 2008-03-10 10:38:22
With the avdent of March, the smell of spring and the warmth of the sun feels good… also the weather is just about right to kick start the Black Beauty and head out into the mountains… although the time for the dream ride (Trans Himalayan Expedition) is way too far, I just can’t stop [...] Read more:Riding
Vrindavan – Jai Shri Radhe 2008-03-10 07:58:47
My wife seems to have been smitten by some religious bug. Though I am myself a reasonably religious person (except for after 7 on some days, when the “spirits” of United Breweries, Seagram and Johnnie Walkers of the world, keep on hovering around me and I along with some of my friends or office colleagues [...]
Mahabaleshwar - WHEN no tourist has ever gone before 2008-03-09 06:52:22
We had friends visiting us in Mumbai and it was an opportunity to explore places nearby. Mahabaleshwar was decided on and we headed for it starting early in the morning. It was the month of September. Mahabaleshwar is a hill station that is around six hours drive from Mumbai. After crossing [...] Read more:tourist
Images of Himalayan Peaks 2008-03-13 13:52:52
The temperatures are slowly raising from the lows of the winter, and as the mercury is moving up, I am reminded of the cooler climes of the high mountains. The days are still pleasant where I live, and it is still early to approach the mighty Himalayas, but the dream of these mountains is already [...] Read more:Images
, Himalayan
, Peaks
Wishful Riding… Part 3 2008-03-13 01:40:46
Post the ride till Sangla mentioned here, I crashed for the night and ended that chapter there. This is the 3rd in a series of about 12.
18th June 2008
0700 Hrs
It is that time of the day when Mother Nature wakes you up by ringing its own alarm clock… the birds and the sunshine. Last night [...] Read more:Riding
Wishful Riding… Part 2 2008-03-12 00:57:22
Having written about the previous day’s ride here, and having called it an end for that day, I start with Day 2 of the ride… this is again going to be short and sweet to ensure that every one reads it and keeps on clicking on the more button and push this series into the [...] Read more:Riding
Trip to Dover Castle 2008-03-14 12:42:58
We had gone on a short trip to meet relatives in London, and I had a great urge to see Scotland. I mentioned this to the relatives, and was so politely and decently informed that I must have not done enough research. Scotland is a fair distance from London, and requires some amount of [...] Read more:Dover
, Castle
Panch Kedar series :Chopta-Tungnath-Deoriya tal 2008-03-17 09:15:43
Uttranchal is blessed with pilgrimage destinations which are quite remote and out of bounds during off season for the hurly burly crowd. I feel for such places which don’t have a crowd of their own, so I go there to fill the gap. For remote trekking destinations seekers, Panch Kedar is a sumptuous package [...] Read more:series
In the Lap of Nature - Jim Corbett National Park 2008-03-20 00:01:02
Succumbing to intense pressure from friends to join us on our trips, I have decided to let go of the Wheel and be among friends on our next visit.
The wild always has a special place in my heart; the smell and colours of the forest, music of a rivulet, sights of chirpy birds and wild [...] Read more:National
, National Park
Freshly water colored landscape of Munnar - God’s own art 2008-03-18 20:12:48
Lord Parshuram threw the axe
And the sea gave way to a strip of land
and thus formed the green Kaleidoscopic – God’s own country Kerla. Geographically Kerla is separated from rest of India by the massive Western Ghats and enjoys an extensive coastal line formed by the Arabian Sea. The rugged, steep, wild and forested Western [...] Read more:water
Wishful Riding… Part 4 (Kaza to Keylong) 2008-03-18 04:58:43
Feeling the effects of the high altitude, and having restlessly dozed off on an empty stomach last night, I woke up in the morning to furious activity at the campsite.
Surprisingly & thankfully, the throbbing headaches were gone and I was as hungry as a famished pitbull terrier… Had the morning tea, a couple of biscuits [...] Read more:Riding
A Boat Ride to Elephanta Islands 2008-03-20 19:58:44
Air, earth and water.
Three most important basic necessities that mankind needs to survive. Besides, if in mood, these can give immense pleasure to us. So, after taking you to pleasant journeys through the air (parasailing) and the earth (the metro), now it is turn to turn to waters.
Let me take you to a boat ride [...] Read more:Islands
Canterbury, the Cathedral Town 2008-03-24 04:20:21
On the way to Geneva to visit our daughter who was doing a project there, we planned to include a three day sojourn at London.
After visiting the usual tourist places - Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, “London Eye”, Harrods and Selfridges, on September 30th, the penultimate day of our visit, we started [...] Read more:Cathedral
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