Traveling is good
read it somewhere on a board “Darling I want you but not so fast” so we gripped our nerves & maintained a decent pace. As we started early & wanted to enjoy this particular stretch (Sarchu – Leh) of our ride to the maximum, we took frequent small breaks, enjoyed that heavenly feeling, and experienced the scent in the whistling air. We literally lived those moments, discussing about our bikes, tough terrains & beautiful valleys around.
Read More
The scene was just marvelous and my thought was …. YE KAHAN AA GAYE HUM….. We see pictures of the lake in the news papers or sometimes in television but can not gauge the extent of this lake from those visuals, this is what I think as the mighty DAL which was in front of me had rows and rows of houseboats parked in it . THE HOUSEBOATS WITH EXOTIC NAMES APPEARED TO BE LIFELINE OF THIS LAKE. (Char Chinar, Dreamland, Kashmiri beauty, Gulistan, Gul Gulshan Gulfam and numerous other names ….).
Read More
This time on the first day of Remembering Rukmini Devi festival we watched drama based on Devi Meenakshi. The dance drama name was “Meenakshi Vijayam”. I was very well aware that photography was not allowed inside the auditorium, but I couldn’t resist myself and just for sharing picture of such a wonderful place I clicked one picture only for the sake of sharing at Ghumakkar.
Read More
Next morning I was up @ 05:30 Hrs & dived out of bed to see some positive signs of relief but the scene was frustrating & heart breaking. The conditions were totally overcast with little rain. Few Peaks were not even visible & were fully covered under the mist. On the other side of Bhaga River some mountain tops received fresh snowfall in the night.
Read More
The magical sight of the alluring waterfall spraying its way across made our efforts worthwhile. Leaving the less adventurous ones with the children to take snaps and shoot us as we climb up the rocks to a certain height, a few of us attempted the last leg of the adventure. We crawled, pawed and dragged ourselves to the overhanging ledge closer to the source of the fall. The water was cold and refreshing. It was already pretty cold outside with temperatures dipping as dusk was thickening. We climbed down and decided to stand under the fall and take an ultimate refreshing bath. But the experience was unexpectedly out of the world. The force with which the water tumbled down on the head and shoulders was tremendous. It seemed like you are being beaten with a pound of grounded sack of rice.
Read More
इधर पिछ्ले कई सालों से मेरी पत्नी मेरे साथ अमरनाथ यात्रा पर जाने के लिये कह रही थी लेकिन बच्चे छोटे होने के कारण कभी जा नहीं पाई थी। बच्चे तो अभी भी छोटे ही थे और मेरी छोटी बिटिया उस समय सिर्फ़ चार साल की ही थी। मेरी पत्नी मुझे इस वर्ष अकेला जाते देख मेरे साथ चलने की जिद्द करने लगी, लेकिन मेरी पत्नी के मेरे साथ अमरनाथ यात्रा पर जाने में कुछ दिक्कतें थी। पहली, आज तक बच्चे कभी भी,कहीं भी मेरी पत्नी से अलग, अकेले नहीं रुके थे और दुसरी, हमारा उनके स्कूल खुलने से पहले लौटना भी जरुरी था। इसके अलावा एक दिक़्क़त मुझे थी्।
Read More
This temple is considered in a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was built in 7th century. It is one of the oldest South Indian temples built in Dravidian style. The complex spreads out over a square platform, and comprises three temples, of which two are east and west facing Shiva temples, and the third a Vishnu shrine in the center. The temple has vast open are at the western side. Rows of Nandi form the perimeter wall for this temple. The Shore temple is the lone survivor out of seven such temples , the rest having fallen to the ravages of sea.
Read More
It really gives you a feeling of heaven. We got into the line, but this time, the line was hardly moving, reason, all educated with lot of common sense people were keep on getting into the line. Anyhow, this happens in almost all holy places in India. Anyhow, we were able to complete the darshan by 11:30 am. We came back to hotel, had good breakfast/lunch. We started for the final lap around 12:30 pm. The plan was simple, I will drive as much as possible, and wherever I feel tired, we will stop. As per my calculation, Rishikesh was around 300 kms away, and since the roads were good, we should reach there by 10 pm (if I can maintain 30 km/hr speed). We also planned not to take any break (until required or until the sun goes down). On the way down, somewhere near Chamoli, on one turn, we were stopped by cops and they put a fine of Rs. 300/- for over speed. I was driving around 30-32 km/hr and the limit was 25 km/hr. He also advised me to go slow on ghats as you never know what comes on the next turn, and I jokingly asked that are there more cops waiting somewhere. But anyhow I followed his advice for next 15-20 kms, maintaining about 25 km/hr speed, watching others overtaking me and vanishing after some time. We crossed Rudraprayag by 5:30pm. Rudraprayag, you have a new bypass (I guess) which was a pain, with lot of traffic from both side and too many turns.
Read More
With green mountains on one side and the beautiful Beas on the other side, we crossed beautiful places like Bhunter, Aut and Pandoh. We halted for sometime at the very beautiful Pandoh Dam on the river Beas. This is basically the end of Beas river with us and it diverts towards Punjab. From there on we reached Mandi in another 1 and half hours. Mandi is a plane area and is not very cold. The sun was really on its peak, but then it’s a lovely small town. There are numerous Dhabas enroute and in one such Dhaba we had our lunch.
Another 30 minutes and we reached Sundernagar. At Sundernagar, we took the Shimla Highway and dropped the excellent Manali Delhi Highway. Sundernagar is also a good small town. Around 4 PM, we had already entered the Shimla District. And again we started climbing up. The roads in Shimla off course not to explain are awesome. It was drizzling slightly and the fog was dense. That was one adventurous journey through the hills.
Read More
We started from Shahbad @ around 14:30 Hrs & reached Chandigarh soon without any further break. It was 4:00 in the afternoon & we passed through lot of “Thekas” (Liquor Shops) on the Chandigarh bypass road. Finally, we succumbed to the temptation & stopped at a decent place. Deepak & I happily ordered chilled Beer while Surya, a bit apprehensive for beer-n-ride, was having fun with his chilled Limca. We dozed ourselves quickly & without wasting much time we soon crossed Ropar, Kiratpur Sahib & reached Swarghat. On the way we negotiated well with the heavy traffic spilling out diesel fumes & with all the dust & pollution on our bodies we reached Bilaspur @ 18:30 Hrs. The sun was about to set & we took a small room in the Hotel “LakeView” at Bilaspur. It was time to cheers for successfully completing the 1st day of our ride. Without wasting much time we took out our B.P bumper & sat in the balcony with the lake view. We had good round of discussion & comments on the riding styles & also planned for our next day’s target – Manali.
It was drizzling in the morning & we were keeping our fingers crossed for those high passes on our way. We got up early, dressed ourselves & without having any morning tea or breakfast, which was a regular routine for all of us, we started journey @ 07:00 Hrs.
On our way crossed Bilaspur city & NTPC Koldam site on river Sutlej. By 08:30 Hrs we were dying from hunger & we finally took a halt near a road side dhaba “Evergreen Hotel” for breakfast. We had the best of the possible breakfast available on this route “Gobhi/Aaloo Parantha + lot of Butter with hot tea”. We tanked up our stomachs & thanked the owner for making such tasty fresh “Paranthas” & promised him to come back on our return journey. On the way we crossed some recognized towns like Sundar Nagar, Mandi.
Read More
Chattru at a height of around 13000 ft, around 17 KM from Gramphu, 32 KM from Rohtang top, and we started around 4:30 from there. Next was Gramphu on way and because of the pebbled roads another 1 hour to reach Gramphu. And lots of small as well as big waterfalls. And lots of nullahs. As we approach towards Rohtang top, greenery starts to appear and the dryness starts to disappear. Lovely view of small waterfalls in distant mountains on the opposite side, makes the journey lovely. In one such waterfall, Lekhram stopped the cab and washed it, while we enjoyed the view of the waterfall, the chilled water and the amazing view.
Once Gramphu is crossed, then starts the steep rise to Rohtang Pass. And oh man, the view is something one can never forget. Just before getting up, there is a route that joins the route we were into. This route is coming directly from Ladakh, the well know Leh-Manali highway. As one rise up, there may be numerous landslide clearances. And stoppages and long traffic snarls can eat up few hours. But all these clearances are very enjoyable.
Read More
This temple is a very old temple of 8th century. It is famous for its Pallavan Architecture. According to legend, the temple is located on the spot where Brahma, one of the Hindu trinities, installed a Shiva lingam. It is said that the creator or the Hindu Trinity Brahma , originally had five heads, one of which Lord Shiva cut off to arrest his pride. Following which Lord Brahma installed a Shiva lingam to do penance and that is where the temple stands today. This Shiva lingam is known as Kapaleeshwar and is the main nucleus of the temple.
Read More