08 Aug

हरिद्वार एक दिन एक रात

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दिल्ली से हरिद्वार एक दिन और एक रात , एक एक्सप्रेस प्रोग्राम था घूमने का। जिसमे हर की पौड़ी ,मनसा देवी और चंडी देवी के दर्शन सम्भव हो पाये ।

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Rediscovering Mussoorie

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Being the nature lover’s that we are, we first went for a walk on Camel’s Back road. Camel’s Back road is a long winding road frequented by nature lovers who visit this place for their morning and evening walks. Unlike the Mall road, this was a much better place. It was calm and the views of the Himalayas were breathtaking. As the skies were clear, the snow-capped peaks could be seen clearly. Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are some of the peaks that are visible from Camel’s Back road.

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AN ANNUAL DATE WITH OOTY

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We stuck to our usual route of  Tiruppur-Mettupalayam-Kotagiri route for the onward journey to Ooty  and the Ooty-Coonoor-Mettupalayam-Tiruppur route for the return journey. The Kotagiri route has very little traffic, even in peak season and hence a much more enjoyable drive.

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From Kolkata to Mandarmoni Beach (December 2009) – Road Review and Trip Report

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Kolkata has a lot of places within the proximity of 4-5 hours that could be considered as ideal places, for thoroughly enjoying weekends with total peace of mind far away from the hustle and bustle of the crowded city. One of them is the Mandarmoni beach which is around 180 KM from Howrah and is arguably the longest drivable beach in India. Located very near (within 30 KM) to the famous Digha beach, Mandarmoni is very easily accessible and reachable from Kolkata.

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Ghumakkar inspired trip to Renukaji

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Darkness soon settled in as the lake waters caught the last rays of the fading sunrays and it was time to get back to the hotel. We pedalled to the shore and receded to our hotel and anchored ourselves on the terrace. Darkness coupled with the sounds of the forest was mesmerizing. We had a warm interaction with another group also chilling out on the terrace and junior had an awesome time playing with the big friendly pet dog of theirs. Relaxing was the ‘mahamantra’ of the tour – our mantra materialized into genuine tranquillity.

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Lebanon – Baalbek & blue river

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So there was Baal Temple, there was Jupiter, Fire, Moon, Mars and other temples which were there before Romans and before pheonician re-built them ! I was thinking was it some distorted form of Shakta tradition of Sanatan Dharam, which was followed here, because in Shakta tradition, Fire and other planets were worshipped and sacrifices of animals or even humans were present then.

Our guide was a Syrian and he explained so beautifully in perfect English, all the aspects of Baalbeck, quite patiently and in details.

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Lebanon – Paradise lost !!

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Once upon a time… there was Lebanon which was called “Paris of Middle East”…and then something happened and the Paris and Pearl of the Middle East.. changed from heaven to hell…. Let us have a look and see what Lebanon has to offer now for Ghumakkars !

It was 2004 and I boarded Air India flight from New Delhi to Dubai for my journey to Lebanon.

The coastal plain of Lebanon is the historic home of a string of coastal trading cities of Semitic culture, which the Greeks termed Phoenicia, whose maritime culture flourished there for more than 5000 years. Ancient ruins in Byblos, Berytus (Beirut), Sidon, Sarepta(Sarafand), and Tyre show a civilized nation, with urban centres and sophisticated arts. Present-day Lebanon was a cosmopolitan centre for many nations and cultures. Its people roamed the Mediterranean seas, skilled in trade and in art, and founded trading colonies. They were also the creators of the oldest known 24-letter alphabet, a shortening of earlier 30-letter alphabets such as Proto-Sinaitic and Ugaritic.

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Portsmouth & Spinnaker Tower – Day 15

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Today was our 15th and second-last day in England. Our plan for the day was to be at the beach in the morning, then go to see the Spinnaker Tower in Gunwharf Quay in the afternoon, and finally take our Coach back to London (we’re in Portsmouth, remember?)

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