ghumakkar.com

There was some work to be done at Dehardun, the capital city of Uttranchal and it could be done over a weekend. I had an opportunity to take a chopper ride in the morning so morning was gone in any case. Doon is not too far (5-6 hours from Delhi) away so we decided to make use of afternoon by driving and probably get some more time at Dehradun. We planned to be there before it gets too dark. We took NH1 and went till Karnal, took a right turn at ‘Liberty Chowk’ towards Yamunanagar and after crossing Saharanpur, Chhutmalpur, we were at Doon by 8ish. We had booked ourselves at ‘Hotel Ajanta’ and did nothing much that evening.

Dhanauti Rocky Mountain High
(more…)

My intention behind writing road-reviews have been to provide necessary information to fellow travelers (read drivers) who wish to undertake that journey. With that thought, probably Delhi-Patna doesn’t make the cut, since not many would be traveling (read driving) such a long stretch. Patna is not a hot tourist place and neither its close enough to let people choose the tar instead of routine rail or expensive air. So the only real reason I think would be then to use this is to get and feel high, since I did it, just the last week. I drove all the way to Darbhanga (200 Km further to Patna) from Delhi. May be 10 years down the line when I read this again, I would feel young (and stupid), so here it is.

Delhi - Patna can be divided into following stretches.
Distance - 1050 - 1100 KMs , Time - 32 hours with a 12 hour night stop at Allahabad or Banaras. 20-22 hours non-stop with 2 meal breaks and 2 tea breaks.

1. Delhi - Agra - Etawah
2. Etawah - Kanpur
3. Kanpur - Allahabad
4. Allahabad - Banaras
5. Banaras - Patna

View Larger Map
(more…)

Thats a long name for a hotel, especially the one which is worthy enough to write a review. And if I tell you that its not correct name then I fear that you wont care to read. But thats what the real world is. The correct name is ‘Holiday Regency’ but if you search for a hotel at Moradabad with that name then the only place where you would find this is on internet. No one in physical vicinity would relate with this name. ‘Om Sons’ is the name to go with if you want to find this hotel locally since they are the owners/promoters and ‘Best Western’ is the chain with which it is affiliated (and the reason for writing this review). Since I promised a quick review, lets move ahead and not worry too much about the name.

Chandelier in the lobby
(more…)

Not many people would plan a trip to a place called ‘Lakhimpur’ which is more popularly known as ‘Lakhimpur Khiri’ so when an opportunity came, I started scouting for information on what can be done there besides the main business, the one for which you get paid to visit such a place. Well, it was not hard to discover that Lakhimpur is the town connection to U.P.’s only National Park, called ‘Dudhwa Tiger Reserve’. The rest was routine, getting maps, asking people for a decent hotel, requesting a friend to get us a booking at a forest rest house and so on.

I know by now I am sounding very very drab, as someone who only gets to travel for business and fill this website of the accidental sojourns he is able to do. Whether it was ‘Getting Lost in Sambhar’ or ‘By the Lanes of Aminabad’, infact some of the alert and regular readers would have probably guessed it since I wrote a road review about a week back. While the bets are being won on this, let me take you to the journey which we undertook in the last week of May.
(more…)