11 Nov

Kolkata sightseeing and Gangasagar

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We enjoyed a lot during our stay in IIM JOKA. After having yummy dinner in JOKA mess we explored the JOKA campus on foot. It was lush green area all. Campus is having 7 Lakes which symbolize seven of the most legendary professors of the institute.

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Ethereal North East: Trip to Guwahati, Shillong and Cherrapunji

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We woke up early next morning as per our itinerary with excitement to experience some of the grandest waterfalls of the region. We started by witnessing the famous Elephant Falls in Shillong, The falls which is locally called “Kshaid Lai Pateng Khohsiew” or three step falls, was coined “Elephant falls” by the British due to the rock on the left side that resembled an elephant.

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Deep-winter Trek to Mt. Kedarkantha

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From far, we might resemble a black sinuous snake creeping on the white snows of Mt. Kedarkantha. A few meters from the peak, the sun breaks out of the Gangothri ranges painting the climbers face with morning light. Exhaustion and fear gives way to relief and when you sit down on the slabs of rocks that form the summit there’s even elation. We have done it! We have scaled a peak!

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Experiencing the temple town of Puri, Oddisha

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Then panda took us to Anand Bazar area of temple and went away to collect Mahaprasad for us. It was offered to each of us on pattals i.e banana leaves. A huge variety was there but I think children will not like this as it consists of rice, daal and several other items most of which is not liked by children. At last we were offered Rabri, which was very tasty indeed and satisfied our taste buds.

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C2C – Chennai to Canada (from 30ºC to -5ºC)

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We then stood in a custom queue for Visitors. There were two lines one for Permanent Residence and another for Visitors. Custom officer checked our passport and Visa and guided us to another hall. Inside the hall, it was a long queue. When our turn came lady officer asked us to sit at the waiting area inside hall. She has started checking our documents. She took almost an hour to check our documents. We then proceeded to baggage claim area. As soon as we entered in baggage claim area, we saw  number of porters standing with trollies.4 Bags 10$, above 4 bags, each bag 3$.We came in baggage claim area and none of the conveyor was displaying our flight number. We rushed to BA counter, but there was no staff at the counter. We were unable to find any co passengers also at the airport. We were searching bags all over the baggage claim area. Near one belt conveyor we found few bags. When we went there we saw our bags. We quickly started collecting our bags. One from one corner,   second from another corner, third from some other place etc. While collecting we thought definitely the other  2 handbags which we had deposited afterwards   must be missing , but luckily we found those two bags. Now counting started 1, 2,3….One bag is missing. To our surprise the bag which had all Kitchen items specially (Rolling pin and board for Chapati) and groceries was missing. We were then searching  BA staff  so that we can inform about our missing bag. There was no BA staff at the airport. Then we saw a lady coming towards baggage area and she was BA staff. We informed her. She asked us to fill up the form about missing baggage and ensured that they will search the bag and will let us know the status within 24 hrs. We then decided to hire porter as it was not easy for us to carry 10 bags in 2 trollies.

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Udaipur Diaries – The City of Lakes

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We left our home at around 11.20 p.m. and our first stop was “Mardeshwar Temple” , Palikhanda, a place  located adjacent to high way itself. We decided to take blessings of “Lord Shiva” to start the journey. It was around 1.15 pm we left for our next planned stop “Shamlaji Temple”. We were at “Shamlaji” around 2.50 pm. After having darshan in the temple, we took a bit longer break here for some refreshment. I am avoiding writing historical details of this two temples as authentic information is easily available on web and there is no point writing it again. We left shamlaji at around 3.30 curiously waiting to reach our final destination.

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अन्नू भाई चला चकराता – पम्म पम्म पम्म – लाखामंडल

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कभी गाडी से इधर झांक, कभी उधर झांक | देखते के कुछ समझ आ जाए , क्यूंकि आगे तो हम लगातार देखे ही रहें थे आख्ने फाड़ें ,    हा हा हा …वहां गाड़ी की हेड लाइट की रोशनी में जो कुछ एक दो मीटर तक दिख रहा था बस समझो उस समय वही हमारी दुनिया थी बाकी तो कुछ दिख ही नहीं रहा था,थोड़ी देर बाद हमें खुद मालुम नहीं की कब कहाँ दो चार मकानो के बीच से होकर हमारी वो पथरीली सड़क गुजर रही थी (अँधेरा होने के कारण ) तब गाड़ी रोकी … वहीँ एक दो आदमी मिले। एक सज्जन से परिचय होने पर उन्होने बताया के वो रहने वाले तो बड़ोत (UP) के ही हैं।   यहाँ उनकी  पुरानी जमींन है, सो यहाँ भी रहते हैं।  वहीँ एक घर में भी बनी छोटी सी दूकान से दर्जनों  “पारले जी ” की बिस्कुट के पैकेट खरीद अन्नू और प्रवीण बाबू तो बिजी हो गए …..मै  वैसे भी भी बिस्कुट नहीं खाता और गाडी भी चला रहा था।  सो उन साहब से बातचीत कर आगे का हाल चाल और रास्ते का ब्यौरा ले चल पड़ा।

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Palakkad: the gateway to Kerala from Mainland

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Palakkad is a land of palm trees and paddy fields. It is known to be rich in flora and fauna. Etymologically Palakkad is derived from the words Pala and Kadu. Pala is a tree with sweet scented flowers and Kadu meaning forest. Pala tree’s fine smell goes beyond 500 meters.

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हम चले अमृतसर की सैर को

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प्रोग्राम  अमृतसर जाने का तय हुआ, आरक्षण  कराया गया.४ नवम्बर की रात का स्वर्णमंदिर एक्सप्रेस (फ्रोंटिएर मेल) का जाने का तय हुआ, वापसी ६ नवम्बर को छत्तीसगढ़ एक्स्प. से थी. रेलवे स्टेशन पर जल्दी पहुँच कर, वंहा पर बैठ कर चाय वाय पीने का आनंद ही कुछ और होता हैं.

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Exploring the beauty of Jammu

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Then we thought to roam around the hotel, so we asked our taxi driver to take on a small ride around here and there. There was a small market with some J & K government cottages beside that market. Those cottages are for those who don’t want to stay inside the hotel. These cottages have their own kitchen where a family can stay and cook their food on own and can enjoy in the midst of nature.

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Yuksom – a peaceful abode in the laps of Eastern Himalayas

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Yuksom is still regarded as the base camp of Kanchenjungha, although ascent from Sikkim side has stopped over a decade ago. The mountains are revered as God by localites and stepping foot on the sacred slopes amounts to desecration of the divine forces. Kanchenjungha is abode of the Gods. We came across camps of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. Their basic and advanced mountaineering courses are conducted at Rathong Glacier, the starting point of which also happens to be Yuksom.

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