The Travel Tales of a Travel Addict
“My great-grandfather was a Haji, but, he sent my grandfather to study Buddhism. My grandfather thus became famous as the lama of the Chongzee House in our village. He had studied the scriptures for around 19 years,” narrated the eldest family member of the Chongzee family. The story continued, the lama then asked his father to accept Buddhism. Read more
Warm cozy bed, soft light and mild soothing cold; a perfect setting to make me lazy enough not to move out my bed despite being aware of an interesting village outside, that might be wide awake busy with their daily chores. Gathering all my strength, when I opened the door of my room’s balcony, I was wished a lovely morning by the hazy fog spread over the garden. The smell of the wet mud and misty air were all the more refreshing. And the fresh dewdrops made the red roses in the garden look glittery. And to fulfil the need of the background music to this fanciful scenery, Indian Magpie, sunbirds and Indian Rollers chirped in the sweetest way and reminded me of the imaginary fairyland described in some childhood stories. Read more
Munching on a special bhel near the Lumbini bus stand, I was irked by the strong taste of mustard oil in it and was also preparing myself to travel in a jam-packed bus to Kathmandu. And at the back of my mind, I was praying God to send a lady passenger in the next seat so that I can have a peaceful sleep without much worry. Though, Nepal is quite safe when it comes to solo female travel no matter which country you are from, what you are wearing.
“ I arranged girl sit with girl sit, ok mam?” a person in charge informed us in ‘his’ English and did this without even asking for it ! (God really listens? Hahah) Read more
While devouring the inordinate tranquility in the Buddhist Town of Shravasti, a Srilankan coupled created enough excitement for me to visit Lumbini. I was just a few kilometers away from Nepal border and had no plan of crossing it. But the destiny had different plans. The only train moving to Gorakhpur from Shravasti was delayed by 5 hours and there was no chance I could reach Kushinagar before midnight.
And thus was born an impromptu plan to visit Nepal. Considering that I had no internationally valid ID proof, I was a bit skeptical about the entry. After reaching Nautanwa, I took an auto to reach the border and realised that it wasn’t really a border but looked more like a busy crossroad near Bhindi Bazaar in Mumbai. Read more
The spiritual vibes and the devotion of the people in worshiping the mighty river of Ganga was both astonishing as well as amazing for me. The dark blanket of night was all ready to embrace the dark blue sky, the pundits were all dressed up in saffron, chanting the mantras, offering flowers, garlands and diyas to the flowing Goddess who is the sole beauty amidst the green hills surrounding the valley of Rishikesh. As the aarti started , the flames of hundreds of lamps could be seen spreading the divine charm as the gushing river sparkled in its light as if blessing all her devotees.
The sound of the bells creating a crescendo effect along with the melodious words praising the goddess added to the spiritual aura of Triveni Ghat. But wait, Rishikesh isn’t just about what you think it to be, it is not just a pilgrim, it is a place that leads you to your inner self that might be weeping behind the doors of your mind wrapped around by stress or sadness or an overload of expectations from the society. Read more
Ladakh for a month?
Are you out of your mind? What would you do for a month?
What is there to see for a month?
After hearing this from almost everyone, I was firm to explore the unseen Ladakh with all the more enthusiasm. And I have now ended up planning another visit to this Land of Lamas because a month was certainly not enough to explore the secrets of this fairyland.
Living the life on the road is a dream for many. And when it comes to solo traveling, most of them think it to be insane. But my solo traveling in Ladakh would give you the real picture of what solo traveling actually looks like. Read more
Solo trek is not an adventure in a way, it’s just a simple task of moving out of your comfort zone and testing your limits. As we know, the real life begins out of your comfort zone and I can proudly say my real life solo venture was a beautiful one. Read more
With all hesitation in my mind , somehow I agreed for ‘not my kind of trip’ to the land of tigers – Ranthambore. The moment we reached the station, I was thrilled to see the wall paintings of tigers all over the station walls. It gave the feel of having been entered into their territory. Our hotel drop in an open Jeep just added to the feel. Read more
Since childhood I always believed, in order to swim with the colourful tiny amusing fishes and other creatures of the sea, one has to be either Ariel, the little mermaid of the Disney cartoon series or one of the Discovery channel members like Steve Irvin until I was exposed to a real adventure water sport activity called scuba diving. It is easy to be mesmerized by the dramatic scuba diving experience shown in movies and TV Shows but trying it in real is not a cakewalk. I realised it during my first scuba diving experience at Havelock – Andaman and Nicobar Island. Read more
The island and its people’s courteous and generous behaviour would surely bring the thought of settling down permanently on the islands.
By the end of the trip it would become the land of your dreams where you are sure that you won’t be cheated, looted or deceived by anybody. If you have lost something the person would either come to return it or would simply submit it in the nearby police station. The female solo travelers can roam around anywhere without even 1% of fear. The moment you need help, everyone around would be there for you even leaving their business, guiding you what to do. The moment you go to a police station the duty bound lady officer who proudly handles the whole station alone would come out to ask what problem did you face. Read more