Trip to Riyadh: Sunday 12th May 2013 to Friday 17th May 2013 – II

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After asking around, I finally managed to find the entry to the lift that took people to the top floors of the building. There is a charge of SR 35 to go to the Sky bridge that connects the two arms of the top 20 storeys to each other. The Sky bridge is an attraction not many people miss when they visit Riyadh, and it offers glorious views of the entire city of Riyadh. I purchased one ticket. The journey is made in two lifts. The first lift (which has an interior that resembles a starry night) takes you to the 77th floor.

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Badami Delight

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You have started from Bagalkot and your first stop is Badami. You have only one day to see the triple wonders of Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole. It is hot and the area is drought affected. You drive into the dusty town and abruptly turn left into the parking lot. The parking lot seems to be at the foot of this ravine with sandstone hills rising on either side. On the right, the red rocky outcrop rises almost vertically housing the rock-cut temples. On the top of this South Hill sits the Badami Fort. Few yards straight ahead to the parking lot is the lake called Agastya Teertha hemmed in between the two hills. On the left of the lake is the North Hill of Badami. North Hill also has fort ramparts, few temples, guard posts and the ASI Museum. The forts were initially built by Chalukyas & Rashtrakutas and then Tipu Sultan installed cannons and his treasury to the original structures. On the west, the town is threatening to push into the lake with houses built on the edge of the lake. Beware of a snarling dog that apparently dislikes city slickers and is ready to chew your neck. Into the east, you can see the Bhootnath Temple complex built on the edge of the lake with another hill rising behind it. Kids bathe in the cool lake water and women wash laundry spreading it on the steps.

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भाग3 – चोपता से वापस नॉएडा।

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हम लोग होटल से दूसरी और जाकर सड़क से नीचे नदी के पास चले गए। ठन्डे पानी से हाथ-मुह धोकर मज़ा सा आ गया था। मुझे याद नहीं आ रहा पर हम मे से किसी ने स्नान करने की इच्छा जताई थी। वो जो भी था पागल था। बदन पर तो दो-दो जोड़े स्वेटर और ऊपर से जैकेट डाला हुआ था और पानी देख कर स्नान करने का मन हो चला था। भगवान का शुक्र है की पागल ने पागल-पंती नहीं की। हम लोगों ने नदी के पास जाकर कुछ फ़ोटो लिए। यहाँ पर हमारा अच्छा टाइम पास हो रहा था। वरना होटल के अंदर नाश्ते का इंतज़ार मे खली-पीली टाइम ही बर्बाद होता।

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Pahalgam to Sheshnag – Part 5 of Amarnath Yatra

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Pissutop is situated at an elevation of 2500 feet from Chandanwadi and from here there is steep, dangerous about 3 km, zig zag climb on rocky and rough surface. This is the terrific start from here. From our group, Shushil, Swarn and me had already come to this track more than once but for rest of members, it was a new experience. From the bottom, top of Pissutop is not visible. The top which is visible from down is the half way point and most of the Yatris think it as the Pissutop. Pissutop becomes visible only after reaching at the midpoint.

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विराट नगर – पांडव अज्ञातवास का साक्षी, बौद्ध साक्षात्कार का बीजक और एक झांकता मुग़ल कालीन झरोखा

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जयपुर से विराट नगर के लिए सुबह सात बजे वाली बस मैं बैठकर 9 बजे पहुँच गया। विराट नगर जाने का मेरा केवल एक ही उद्देश्य था और वो था बीजक की पहाड़ी पर बना हुआ करीब 2500 हज़ार साल पुराना बोद्ध स्तूप। यह एतिहासिक स्मारक विराट नगर बस स्टैंड से करीब ३ कि .मी की दूरी पर एक ऊंची पहाड़ी के ऊपर बने एक समतल धरातल पर स्थित है। इस पहाड़ी पर तीन समतल धरातल है। सबसे पहले वाले पर एक विशाल शिला प्राकृतिक रूप से विद्यमान है जिसका स्वरूप एक डायनासोर की तरह प्रतीत होता है।

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Ghumakkar Featured Author Interview with sweet and candid Abhee

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Ghum: That was indeed a short one but I think the spurts of travel, this urge to get out, that travel-rush is probably Ghumakkari. Any other travel during this time, you would want to share.
Abhee: If I wanted to mention any worth Ghumakkar trip, then it was at Aurangabad. When morning 0600 we started with a plan to go Ghrishneshwar Jyotirling, which further got extended, and we went to Daulatabad also on the same day. It was like most enjoyable and memorable trip.

Ghum: My guess is that because you lived at so many places, quite far from each other, you would have visited many more cities? Correct?
Abhee: Oh, that’s a good question. It’s a long list, but I must say. I started from Katni (MP), then Lakheri (Rajasthan, near Kota), then Mumbai, then Konkan, Nagpur, Aurangabad, then Kolkata, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Indore and now Canada. Living at so many places has given me vast opportunity to explore places. So if I want to list out places I had visited it would be Katni, Maihar, Bandhakpur, Jabalpur, Kymore, Ujjain, Dewas, Indore, Udaipur, Eklingji, Nathdwara, Kankroli, Neemach, Jahazpur , Bundi, Kota, Lakheri, Indergadh, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Daulatabad, Ghrishneshwar, Mahismal , Jalgaon, Burhanpur, Ajanta, Ellora, Fatehpur (Maharashtra), Pen, Paali, Alibaug, Murud Janjira, Khopoli , Lonavala, Pune, Khandala, Mayapur, Khadakpur, Mysore, Srirangapatnam, Tirupati, Hyderabad, Bhadrachalam, Munnar, Cochin, Rameswaram , Vrindavan, Mathura, Agra, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Manali , Kullu , Manikaran, Mussorie, Dehradun, Nainital, Mukteshwar , Puri, Bhubaneshwar , Amritsar, Jalandhar, Vaishno Devi (Katra),Rameswaram,Pondicheri,Mahabalipuram,Omkareshwar,Maheshwar etc.

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इन्दौर – सैंट्रल म्यूज़ियम और ज़ू दर्शन

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संग्रहालय के मुख्य द्वार से अन्दर घुसा तो देखा कि टिकट खिड़की बन्द है। मुख्य भवन के बाहर भी नाना प्रकार की सैंकड़ों मूर्तियां वहां पर सुसज्जित देख कर मैने कैमरा निकाला और बकौल नन्दन झा, न्रीक्षण-प्रीक्षण शुरु हो गया। एक सज्जन मेरे पास आकर बोले, कैमरे का टिकट ले लीजियेगा, अपना भी। अभी थोड़ी ही देर में टिकट काउंटर खुल जायेगा। मैने पूछा कि तब तक मैं क्या करूं? इंतज़ार करना पड़ेगा? वह बोला, “नहीं, नहीं, आराम से देखिये, जहां भी चाहें, फोटो खींचिये। मेन बिल्डिंग में भी बहुत कुछ है। रास्ता इधर से है।” धन्यवाद कह कर मैं बेधड़क इधर-उधर घूमता फिरता रहा और एक डेढ़ घंटे में पूरा संग्रहालय उलट-पुलट कर देख डाला।

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Udhampur to Nunwan Base Camp (Pahalgam)

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We reached Kud town at around 8 o’clock. Many shops were closed in the market at that time but only a few were open. We purchased 2KG Patisa from Prem sweets which is one of the oldest and famous shops at Kud.
“Kud, a place of extraordinary scenic beauty, is located on the Udhampur Srinagar Highway, Jammu and Kashmir, India. This popular resort is situated on the Jammu-Srinagar highway at an altitude of 1738 meters. It is 95 KM from Jammu and 37 KM from Udhampur city; it is just short of the tourist spot of Patni Top while driving to Patni top from Udhampur. Kud is famous for its sweet shops that make hot and fresh Patisa, which is very popular with the tourists.”

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Trip to Riyadh: Sunday 12th May 2013 to Friday 17th May 2013

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In the afternoon, I visited Herfy. I had a fish sandwich with a coke and a medium pack of French fries – all this for SR 17. The food, the decor and the service all resemble that of McDonald’s. The difference was that the portions were bigger, so my money basically gave me “more bang for the buck”. Taste-wise, it was delicious and similar to the same sandwich I usually have in Mumbai from McD.
In the evening, the Indian service staff at Mersal suites brought me a meal of roti, chicken tandoori, and pasta (which I set aside in the room refrigerator for breakfast on the next day).

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AMARNATH Yatra starts: Ambala to Udhampur

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The Amarnath Yatra was starting on 30th June 2010.We had decided to leave on first week of July and was waiting for opening of online registrations which was due on 5th June. I was preparing but was not sure whether I will be able to go or not because my mother was ill for some period.
Recently she was diagnosed with stones in GB. She was already suffering from heart, asthma and BP. She felt severe pain many times due to stones and her condition was deteriorating day by day.

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