That moment when you can’t stop singing !!!

……. And I feel soooooo romantic 🙂 🙂 🙂

Spotted!!! No-Name? Really.

A “No Name” Cafe, isn’t the name intriguing !!!

We spotted a ‘No Name’ cafe at Bhagsunath Falls, located right besides the Bhagsunath Temple.There are two interesting things about this cafe. Firstly as I mentioned ‘No Name’, may be to make it make more catchy and appealing the owner decided not to name it atall!!! Secondly, you will also observe a symbol of “Om”, (majestically Indian). Most Indians strongly believe that mentioning name of the God before everything or any work(whether it’s opening a shop or writing an exam) brings success. So you will find lot of people, shops named after the Lord.

Bhagsu Waterfall is located close to McLeodganj, Himachal Pradesh, India.

What’s in a Name ? @ Bhagsu Waterfall, McLeodganj, India

Adventure Ride to Dainkund Peak

Things to know, before you go on a bike ride to Dainkund Peak

Our fondness for backpacking has taken us on lots of road trips in past five years and maximum of them have been to some location in Himachal Pradesh. Himachal is like assorted bouquet of exotic flowers, you just can’t have enough and can’t get over it, the more you explore, the hungrier you become 🙂

This Road Trip was part of our 3-days tour to Himachal Pradesh, India covering Mcleodganj-Dalhousie-Dainkund Peak and back. Time was certainly of essence as we had 4 days including travel from Delhi to the destination. We boarded HPTDC Volvo from Delhi to Dharamshala, then took a cab till Mcleodganj (the distance is ~9kms) and continued our journey on bike from there. We experienced incredible moments of wonder, adrenaline rush, excitement and peace and experiences shall always be shared, so here we are! There are certain things one needs to evaluate before taking a road trip by Motor Bike, particularly on this route.

• Fitness is Critical: ‘Healthy body and healthy mind are keys to blissful life’. This applies to road trips as well. Being fit has really helped us during traveling, we have been able to explore & test our limits on most of our trips – be it Srinagar, Rajasthan or Himachal etc. It gives you so much of confidence and mental strength.We follow a fitness regimen to the maximum extent possible & have tried to inculcate a routine in our lifestyle and that really helps to continue our grueling tours.

 

• Right Time of the Year: The climatic conditions are likely to impact your travel plans always. We planned this trip in April as the season from March – May bears pleasant climate & moderate changes in hill stations. Definitely a road trip has to be avoided in monsoons to hill stations as there is an impending danger of landslides & during extreme winters also it’s not conducive. It always helps to keep track of the meteorology of a particular place before your visit.

The beautiful views that you’ll witness will fill your heart with wonder 🙂

And the Sun went down the Hills…

That Sunset in Lonavla…..

We settled in New Delhi, India post wedding while my parents continued to stay in Mumbai. For me visiting my parents has always been an overwhelming experience. (Anyways In India, a girl’s visit to her parents home after marriage is more of a ceremonial event).

I’m emotionally extremely attached to ma & pa, after all have been sharing every little event and issues with them since childhood & they have been such staunch supporters throughout. I remember how I used to sob when I first started staying at the hostel.

This story is from those days when I had a small vacation in Mumbai after my wedding. I have stayed in Mumbai for over 8 years; I could never develop fondness for the city as it’s over crowded and rough on eyes, I mean everywhere you go, you will only find people, chawls, filth barring few areas (remember the movie – Slumdog Millionaire!!!) .

This was really a brief visit & hence we had to zero in on a location that had to be covered within a day. After extremely involving discussion spanning over at least an hour we decided to go for a long drive to Lonavla.

Lonavla is insanely popular hill-station on the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

When The Travel Bug Caught Us!!!

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

Such a profound thought 🙂

‘A soothing wave touching the soul, a sigh of relief amidst all dissonance.’ That’s how I would like to define Travel.

There could actually be so many reasons as to why one travels? The most obvious ones being vacation, work and education but here I’m hinting on something beyond the ordinary.

I believe one travels for the inspiration, experience, touch more souls, make an impact, for adrenaline rush, to find oneself, allot time to retrospect, do bizarre crazy things, plan your future in solace or might be simply to take a break from the chores.

A cuppa of story from Kashmir, India

The long lasting Aroma of Kashmiri Chai – ‘The Pink Tea’

It’s almost 7 in the morning, you still struggling to believe it’s the time to wake-up as you won’t give anything for the cozy warmth of the blanket on chilly winter morning in Kashmir.

A mother taking her kids to school on a boat. This is a usual sight in Srinagar, Kashmir. The houses are built on the Lake, popularly known as Houseboats. The boat is the most common medium of transport. Kashmir is one of the most revered tourist destinations in India.

You take a quick peek at the window & it’s snowing, the whole porch is covered with fresh & soft snow. Here enters the ‘Noon Chai’, the aroma of the piping hot tea gives a good reason to leave the blanket, enjoying your cuppa right besides the window witnessing snowfall is a heavenly treat & makes a perfect morning!!!