05 May

अनजान सफ़र :  गंगोत्री – श्रीनगर – पौड़ी – यात्रा का समापन

अनजान सफ़र : गंगोत्री – श्रीनगर – पौड़ी – यात्रा का समापन

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“मंदिर का निर्माण एक पवित्र शिला पर हुआ है जहां परंपरागत रूप से राजा भागीरथ, महादेव की पूजा किया करते थे। यह वर्गाकार एवं छोटा भवन 12 फीट ऊंचा है जो शीर्ष पर गोलाकार है जैसा कि पहाड़ियों के मंदिरों में सामान्यतः रहता है। यह बिल्कुल समतल, लाल धुमाव के साथ सफेद रंग का है जिसके ऊपर खरबूजे की शक्ल का एक तुर्की टोपी की तरह शीखर रखा है।

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अनजान सफ़र : उत्तरकाशी – गंगोत्री – गौमुख

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गंगोत्री हिंदुओं के पावन चार धामों मे से एक है इसका धार्मिक और सांस्कृतिक महत्व सभी को आलौकिक करता है धार्मिक संदर्भ के अनुसार राजा सगर ने देवलोक पर विजय प्राप्त करने के लिये एक यज्ञ किया यज्ञ का घोडा़ इंद्र ने चुरा लिया राजा सगर के सारे पुत्र घोड़े की खोज में निकल पडे.

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Road trip to Naukuchiatal and Mukteshwar

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We  explored the property the first day and was happy to see that apart from a TT table and carrom board, the resort has a gym and two pool tables. My husband and son  played a few games of TT and carrom, while i enjoyed the hammock in the garden with my book.  Then as the sun set, it was mystical seeing the colour of the waters change. The next morning we decided to take a boat ride. Then, following a good breakfast we decided to take a walk around the lake and explore the small hamlet. The walk is around 3.5 km and will take barely an hour at a slow pace. You will meet smiling locals and few tourists, especially if you take this walk before 10am. The tourists generally don’t stay at Naukuchiatal but make a day trip and descend on the sleepy hamlet after 11 and move out by 5.

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Paradise regained : Day 7, 8 & 9

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It was 4.30 AM and hot tea was waiting for us. By the time we left Pahalgam it was 5.30 AM. Katra is a good 280 KMs away. We stopped around 8.30 AM for breakfast. A warm welcome was given to the hot paranthas. It is a shame that we did not get to taste the popular local “Rajma Chawal” during our trip.

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Kashmir- Paradise regained : Day 5 & 6

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We had a fantastic morning in store for us. We assembled at a small pier. At Rs. 300 per head many of us had a go at water surfing. We have to stand atop a small plank which is tied to a pair of ropes. This will be pulled by a motor boat taking us for a spin around the lake. With no safety gear it was a risk… but that’s the fun part.

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Everest Base Camp & Kalapatthar Expedition

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Many mountains like Thamsekru, Ama Dablam now accompanying is for next 4 -5 days. After lunch again it’s a tough climb till Tengobche. Huffing and puffing are part of life but have only one aim to reach EBC. As we reach Tengobche snowfall starts, kindly note at this height there would always be snowfall no rainfall. Tengboche have a world highest Buddhism monastery in the world. Good palce it was. Now feel some mild headache means altitude plays there game from here.

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अनजान सफ़र : दिल्ली – यमुनोत्री – उत्तरकाशी

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जानकारी मिली की पहले यमनोत्री जाओ फिर गंगोत्री फिर बद्रीनाथ और केदारनाथ. श्याम को वो सज्जन भी आ गए जो मसूरी से पैसे लाये थे, अच्छा ये बता दूँ की उत्तराखंड मे बसे तडके निकाल पड़ती है कियु की रूट लम्बा होता है, पता चला की सुबह ३.३० बजे की  बस है यमनोत्री की, और अभी टिकिट खिड़की बंद हो गयी है और सुबहे ३.०० बजे खुलेगी, अब रात काटने के लिए एक होटल मे १५० रूपए  मे कमरा लिया और सुबहे २.३० बजे सो कर उठा, फटाफट मुह हाथ धो कर सीधे बस अड्डे पंहुचा, यात्रा का समय होने के कारण बहुत भीड़ थी पता चला की यमनोत्री की बस पूरी फुल है पैर रखने की भी जगह नहीं है, तो सोच मे पड़ गया की क्या करू अगर ये बस छूट गयी तो फिर टाइम से यमनोत्री नहीं पहुच पाउँगा  (आप को ये बताना जरूरी है की मैं गढ़वाल से तो हूँ पर पौड़ी गढ़वाल से, और मुझे टिहरी और चमोली गढ़वाल के बारे मे कुछ भी नहीं पता नहीं है.)

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Paradise Regained: Day 1 & 2

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Some of us decided to pursue air route while some others took a more adventurous route of going by train and road to reach Srinagar. While waiting to board the flight at Delhi for Srinagar we heard “choice” words being used against Air India. Looked like some others had tasted the same medicine I had! I found out that they were also taking the tour through Sachin and were part of our larger group. I joined the group to vent out my feelings against AI. Ahh… felt good … Now I was ready for the “Paradise on Earth”.

As the plane made its descent in Srinagar, green carpeted land embraced by the beautiful Himalayas greeted us. As the plane made its final descent little cottages and the dotted cattle idly grazing on nature’s carpet came to focus. The snow on the hills was literally the icing! If my camera had “emotion feature” built-in it could have probably done justice to the scenery. I was yanked back to reality by the “ooohs” and the “ahhs”, excited voices of the children and the swaying of the necks of the passengers from one side of the plane to the other.

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Alluring Amsterdam – Part 3

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Since the weather wasn’t too favorable for cycling, we decided to opt for the guided tour. A 6 hour round trip with a visit to the cheese and clog factory plus walk tour in the fishing village of Amsterdam – cant get any better, can it?

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A Whiff of Paris

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We skipped the conventional and recommended “Lido” show and “The Moulin Rouge” on our trip to Paris. These were highly recommended night shows, presented aesthetically and were a huge crowd puller at Paris. We had to skip the energetic and spirited adventure bus. Our priority was to keep the young ones engaged, interested, while keeping our expectation about their energy levels strongly grounded. So we did take the hop in hop off bus to tour the grand city (Sacre Coeur, Champs Elysees etc) but planned on a 3 days stay at Disney World Paris.

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Nainital

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Twilight is dancing on the lake water. All the myriad reflections of life are alive. The sun is receding behind the mountains.  There are no more clouds in the sky. I wish for a starry night. Soon the last boatmen will oar his way back; his mind will be occupied by his earnings of the day. How much is sufficient, how much is luxury? In the end, we’ll all be Capitol Cinema – alone, old, dead.

My favorite bench near the band house is unoccupied. I scurry my way to it. The gurudwara, the oaks and the local salesmen stand tall. They have lived lives here, they are living lives here…

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Motorcycle Diaries. Road to Badrinath…

Motorcycle Diaries. Road to Badrinath…

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Some details on Joshimath. It is a popular hill station and a famous center for pilgrimage at a height of 1,890 meters above sea level in Chamoli district of Garhwal division in Uttarakhand. It is the base for trekking to the famous Valley of Flowers. It is connected with a 4km cable car up to Auli, a hill-station famous for ice skiing sports, making it the longest and highest trolley of Asia. Joshimath is the also the home of the oldest tree of India, Kalpavriksha, which stands here from the time of Adi Guru Shri Shankaracharya, who established this town as one of the four maths or monasteries, in the 8th century.

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