2009 – A Snapshot – Part 1

I have travelled a lot in 2009 which started from the first day of 2009. Its said that whatever you do on the first day of the year, you will continue doing it the whole year.

Incidentally, I will be travelling on Jan 1st 2010 and plan to have a wonderful time being happy, taking pictures and travelling. Hopefully, the above will be true and I will be travelling, be happy and take pictures for the whole year.

This year, I have managed a trip for 9 out of 12 months. More than 60% of the post were of my travel stories. A look back at some memorable ones

January 2009

The magnificent Golden Temple in Amritsar

Jalianwala Baug in Amritsar – A symbol of sacrifice of Indian Freedom Struggle

Panchpula – Dalhousie

A view from Kalatop – Himachal Pradesh

Khajjiar – The Switzerland of India in Himachal Pradesh

A walk to Chamba, the 1000 year old town in Himachal Pradesh

The 1000 year old town of Chamba

Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh

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February 2009

Malavli, Near Lonavla, Maharahstra

Bhaja Caves – Near Lonavla, Maharahstra

Lohagadh, Maharahstra

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Jungle Jamboree – 12

Gun Point is almost the highest point of Mussoorie and provides a bird’s eye view of the whole of Mussoorie. In addition it has many artifact shops, a small temple and some eateries.

Gun Point Information. The information leaves a lot to be desired. It has to be much better than shown above.

A view of the city of Mussoorie as seen from Gun Point

The Parvati Mandir at Gun Point

View from the top

The hills have lots of beautiful flowers blooming

The cable car for Gun Point

Competition for Google

Except the view from the top, Gun Point offered little attraction. Finally we came back to see the rest of Mussoorie

 

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Its been a Long Journey

More than 2 Months of planning

3352 Kilometers journey by Train

More than 500 Kilometers by road

11 grumpy people because of less sleep.

10 days of travelling.

A max of 40 degree in Delhi and a low of maybe 10 degree in Kausani

Delhi, Mussoorie, Ramnagar,  Nainital, Kausani, Ranikhet, Almora and everything in between

Jim Corbett National Park, countless spotted deer, a few wild hens and no tiger

More than 4500 photographs collectively between 11 people

More than 2700 photographs clicked by me

Walking, travelling, sitting in a cramped jeep, running from one city to another,

At the end of it all, I guess

We enjoyed!

Coming next! A long long series of posts of the whole trip!!!

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Gangotri 15 – Laxman Jhula

When we left Uttarkashi, I had asked Vijay to see the Laxman Jhula. I had heard so much about the Laxman Jhula that it was one of the most famous bridge in India.

Laxman Jhula is an Iron suspended bridge in Rishikesh. Built in 1939, its used to cross the River Ganga. A twin bridge called Ram Jhula was built some years back.

However we took a wrong turn again and and we had to come back all the way again to see the Laxman Jhula. Laxman Jhula is huge and for a foot-over bridge, its certainly huge. Its 450 Feet long and would take awesome time to cross it. So that’s why we didn’t cross it.

A monkey sitting on the bridge high above

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Gangotri 14 – Uttarkashi to Delhi 2

It was a long journey from Uttarkashi to Delhi and till Haridwar it was through Mountains. Once we reached Haridwar, the journey was much faster. Till then we saw mountains and more mountains

Village women resting after a day’s work

A bright orange road roller makes its way on the mountains

Finally Haridwar

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Gangotri 9 – Gangotri to Chirbasa 3

The water gushed from small-medium streams before joining the river Ganga below. The water in the streams is much clear that the main river which carries a lot of mud from the mountains

The path somewhere had barricades which had probably seen better days. Now there are just poles and a steep fall down.

The steep fall down into the river below

I was totally exhausted. The thought of walking more than 9 kilometers was taking a toll on me. It was scenes like above which was the only inspiration to walk forward.

As we kept walking, we had finished our water and for the last 1-2 kilometers, we had no water. It was difficult to believe, but 7000 meters above sea level, I was sweating and thirsty.

Vijay and Raju were walking ahead of Mathew and I. Finally they had to stop to let us catch up. I was totally exhausted but not ready to go yet. I had never came back from a trek even though I had huffed and puffed. This time it was different. I was out of breath and I had a terrible headache which was slowing us completely.

Vijay looked at me and he knew that I had big problem going ahead. He just wouldn’t allow me to carry on and convinced me to go back. I had to be eventually shouted at to go back. I had to admit I was terribly disappointed. We waited as people were moving ahead and some were returning back to Gangotri.

With much reluctance, we walked back. Even coming down took more close to three hours. Coming down all tired up, it really looked like a good decision abandoning the trek rather than be a hero

 

The roofed road to Chirbasa

The dusty and green road!!!

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Gangotri 7 – Gangotri to Chirbasa

We reached Gangotri at around 9:00 AM. Being a very important pilgrimage center and one of the 4 dhams important to Hinduism, the facilities leave much to be desired. There was a traffic jam in the morning and it took us time to find a parking place there.

There was no designated parking place but cars were parked on the edge of the road. As Vijay and Raju sat in the car, Mathew and I went looking for breakfast. We selected one of the many hotels to have some hot alu parathas. We packed some for Vijay and Raju.

After we found a place to park our car, we decide to start right away. I was carrying lots of luggage with me. I was in for an overnight stay but Vijay convinced me to give up most of it. Finally I was carrying only some biscuits and my camera accessories. That was a wise decision because I was still considering the walk like any other treks in Sayadris in Maharahstra.

Gaumukh is inside the Gangotri National Park. Everybody had unrestricted access to the region and people were allowed to roam everywhere and people started abusing the freedom. People started dumping waste on the mountains and the government had to intervene. Now only 150 people are allowed inside the Gangotri National Park. Special permit has to be applied for.

Bags are strictly checked for plastic. Each plastic article has to be accounted for on return. Even a wrapper of the eatables are to be accounted for or you will be fined.

The board said 18 Kilometers to Gaumukh

We saw the river Bhagirathi flowing down as we walked toward the gates of Gangotri National Park

The entrance to Gangotri National Park. Guards on this road check your permit, belongings. Plastic is banned in the park and every plastic item in your belonging should be accounted for. The gate is actually almost 1 kilometers from Gangotri town. The real trek starts from this gate

Bhagirathi rushes down the Himalayas around stones the size of 1-storied buildings

The grand peaks along the way to Chirbasa, the first major stop toward Gaumukh

The path is a continuous uphill climb and uneven making it difficult to walk if you do not have practice of such treks

Most of the route is open with little or no cover and then you have this natural covers formed by rocks.

Bhagirathi/Ganga has a place of worship in Hindu Mythology. We found this person sitting near the banks praying.

The river is not only made from melting snow from glaciers in Gaumukh but also these small streams that flow down various mountains. The river caries lots of mud from the glaciers but these streams have clear water and very tasty too.

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Road to 800 – 797 – Waiting for Monsoon

More than 5 years now and almost close to 800 posts, its been a long time. Now close to 800 posts, I try to continue with the tradition of inviting guest writers for charity. The response hasn’t been as expected but still some of them did respond.

Presenting a break from my travel blogs and something different

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Abhijit writes about the magic of  monsoon and incidentally its raining cats and dogs in Mumbai.

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It’s 9th July and I am still waiting for proper monsoon here [here-Hyderabad]. I just hope by the time this blog is posted, there is plenty of rain all over India. Today central government declared drought in Madhya Pradesh. That’s bad and makes me more worried about coming days. There is Marathi movie releasing soon named "Gabhricha Paus" [the damned rain], which talks about farmer suicides in Vidharbha, lack of sufficient rainfall is one of the reason for such suicides.

It hardly rains in Hyderabad during daytime, and even at nights it’s mostly lots of lightning and drizzles. I really pity for school kids here, they hardly get any holiday due to heavy rains. That is what I like about Mumbai rain and makes me more nostalgic. I often sing a song during monsoon season "Meri 2 takiyedi naukari mein, mera lakhon ka sawan jaye!!"

There is nothing rosy and romantic about Mumbai rain in fact it makes city filthier, still I love ‘Mumbai Rain’. Mostly it is untimely and creates lots of havoc but the best thing and (what I m missing most) are the monsoon treks and monsoon weekend trips (fondly called as Varsha-sahals). Maharashtra truly blessed with some of bestest forts in the world and equally gifted with the people who know how to enjoy it.

In Hyderabad when you ask for a trip in Rain they often reply (and reject) saying "No yaar, tabhi to barish hogi."

Go for a long drive on Mumbai-Pune Highway in rainy season it’s an awesome view, Rain can make any place beautiful if you don’t believe me check out "Sawaan barse tarase dil" song. It has been shot on roads of Mumbai in rain, two lovers dying to meet each other but rain playing spoil spot. But even rain can not stop the true lover "Barkha mein bhi dil pyasa hain, yeh pyar nahi to kya hain?" that’s my most favorite song for rain.

I heard that Tansen’s singing was so magical that his raags used to make rain but I believe that rain itself is magical. C’mmon, we all start humming our favorite song when we are sitting on our couch with cup of hot tea and there is rain outside. Yes, rain is magic. Alas! The only synonym for rain in English is ‘precipitation’ (Gosh! this language is so incomplete.)  Mohd Rafi and Hariharan are the best companions for rain. You can pull out any Rafi-Dev Anand or Rafi-Shammi combo and have best rain of your life. Or rely on Hariharan and rest is assured. Surprisingly he has some of the best rain songs ever "Tu Hi Re", "Nahi Samne- Taal" and "Sawan Barse" , Hariharan you are my Taansen.

Bollywood delivered really good movies on Rain but surprisingly both new Barsaat (Bobby Deol featured in both the movies) has nothing related to rain. On the other hand ‘Lagaan’ brought the killing monsoon wait and agony on silver screen. “Baarish ho na ho, baarish ka intezaar toh hona chahiye” the dialogue from my favorite movie "Thoda sa roomani ho jaye" sum up the spirit of our Indians.

If we are talking about rain, 2 people have to be mentioned. Duckworth and Lewis, you love them, you hate them but you just can’t ignore them. Whenever there is rain in cricket. You will find these 2 guys just around the corner. Rain can be really annoying ask Roger Federer, he has been through 2008 final. It can be devastating ask every Mumbaikar who has been through 26th July. Rain can be real fun; we all enjoyed those paper boats don’t we?

But rain should be there. Global Warming, Green House effect or what ever it is. Ultimately we are the one at receiving end. Just wanted to end this post saying

"Bijli ki talwaar nahi,

boondon ke baan chalayo

kale megha kale megha

Pani to barsao"

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Gangotri 4 – Ring Tehri 2

The wrong right turn took us to a round trip around Tehri dam. As we went on the wrong road, we realized that the boards to Gangotri have vanished. It meant that we were on the wrong path. Driving on the same path, we finally decided to ask somebody.

The locals suggested that we go ahead on the same route and cross over from a bridge to the other side of the Tehri. We could have chosen to just go back but thought it was a shortcut to Uttarkashi. We had to drive 80 Kms more and face a 2 hour delay. We should have asked the best possible way.

As we advanced on the road, we were searching for the bridge to cross on the other side. We could see a bridge far away over the valley but from far away it looked like a foot over bridge. But if that was the foot over bridge then where was the bridge we needed to cross over? We kept going on till we reached the bridge we had been seeing from the distance. We asked the police constable “where was the bridge to cross the valley?” and he pointed to the same bridge.

We came from the road seen above

From above the bridge looked shaky and small. But the constable assured us “407 jaati hai ji” (Tata 407 is a small truck from Tata Motors).

We had our doubts but going back the same way would waste another hour. We decided to cross over. When we crossed over and looked back, it was a deep fall down there and the bridge was supported on both the side of the valley with nothing to support the middle. It looks like a frame structure without any solid firm ground.

Its a long way down there

We crossed on the other side to find a dusty, narrow road which was the start of our long treacherous journey to Uttarkashi.

The road from then went just uphill. A narrow dusty road filled with potholes and a view of Tehri dam. We were looking at a deep valley from the car and the car almost touched the edge of the road. The locals who operated the tourist vehicles drove with almost no fear or regards to safety. We stopped many times to give way for a fast moving car. The distance was such that only two cars would pass almost touching each other but we had trucks on the road.

Vijay and me were sitting at the passenger seat on the left and we had the maximum look at the valley below. The valley was a 90 degree drops below and one wrong move would leave us with no chance at all. 

The narrow road and the almost 90 degrees mountain. Tehri lake in the background

The Tehri lake view from the road

The long winding road on the mountains. No matter how much we drove, “road khatam he nahi hounda”

 

The locals could not resist overtaking in the narrow road. The Tata Sumo behind the truck is trying to overtake the truck on a road where the truck is taking all the space. Talk about optimism.

A traffic jam in the mountains where little space created a road block on its own.

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The Other End of the Route – 1

Back in 2004, a lot of things were changing. I was on my first major trip outside India. I had never stayed away from home for so long so I was just enjoying my loneliness and my freedom. Also I was getting adjusted to my life in quiet Amstelveen (Pronounced as Amstelfeen). From busy every minute life in Mumbai to rarely working life, Netherlands was a huge break to my fast life.

Amstelveen is a quite town just next to Amsterdam. It more of a suburb than a town and mostly consist of upper class and upper middle class people. A quiet town compared to Amsterdam, it was far away from the hustle bustle of the big city even though being close to the big city.

The big ticket to fame for Amstelveen was the India-Pakistan Cricket match on a neutral ground was played in Amsterdamse BOS. It was a time when India-Pakistan rivalry was a high-tension match. It was the time when Pakistan was a better team and India had lost the match. I remember visiting Amsterdam Centraal that day and while coming back saw the dejected faces of Indian fans. I never knew we had so many Indians in Amsterdam.

Anyways I am digressing here.

I stayed at a place called Sportslaan. The reason it was called Sportslaan was because of a huge sports club in the area which was very near to where I stayed. Everyday, I would travel to my work place to Diemen Zuid  (pronounced Zoud meaning South). Evening I would start from my workplace at around 4:30 PM and would be home by 5:00 PM. I would get down at Sportslaan and then walk for almost 15 minutes to my home. The metro station was far away from where I lived.

Although far away from the station, I loved that house. It was spacious and aloof even though it was on the 1st floor of a 4 storey apartment. It had a spacious kitchen, a big bathroom with a bath tub, two big bedroom and a big hall that housed our only entertainment source, the TV.

It was the house where I learnt to live alone. I had roomies on and off so most of the time I was alone in the house. It was not until I moved to Vijay’s house 4 months later that I became used to seeing people again in the house.

I am digressing again

I had almost 10 Indians in my project and most of them were there for the first time. An onsite stint gave us the opportunity to make a lot of saving. So it was no surprise that many of my colleagues preferred to stay at home on weekend than move out. The gloomy unpredictable climate of Netherlands was another reason to stay indoors.

My first roomy in that house, Hari did not believe in the above just like me. We wanted to make full use of the opportunity and explored the city and the country to the fullest.

I went for my first digital camera with him. It was a Sony Cybershot P73. Those three months, I took a lot of pictures with that camera and that was the only time I took that camera was used. When I came to India on a short trip, I gave that camera to my brother and when I came back 3 years later, it didn’t work.

I am digressing again

So, when Hari left after a month, I was left alone in the house. Although the weekdays were spent in the office and cooking experiments, weekends were boring. My other colleagues were still not ready to move out giving reasons like cold weather. The next week, I put the camera in the bag and was out on the streets of Amsterdam. I roamed the streets alone, tiring myself. After two weeks, I knew almost all the roads in Amsterdam Centraal and knew most shops there.

I took the city, the country and the culture in me.

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I was way off the topic I wanted to write but memories are a funny thing. Once you find a path, you realize a lot many roads from there.

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