Nature

वाटरटन नेशनल पार्क और यु.एस. बोर्डर (भाग २)

By

पार्क की सुबह बहुत खूबसूरत थी. हिरण जैसे दो प्राणी घूम रहे थे. सुबह उठ कर एक चक्कर गांव का लगाता हूँ. एक दुकान खुली देख कर अंदर काफी लेने जाता हूँ, साथ ही खाने के लिए एक पेस्ट्री ले लेता हूँ. यह दुकान वाला बहुत सामान बेच रहा था. काफी, ब्रेड चोकलेट, और बहुत सा सामान. पेट्रोल पम्प भी इस दुकान वाले का ही था. साथ में साइकल भी किराये पर दे रहा था. एक साइकल का एक घंटे का किराया १० डॉलर, और हेल्मट के १० डॉलर अलग से. साथ में मोटर बाइक भी किराये के लिए थे.

Read More

Mesmerizing Canadian Rockies

By

Relentless rain and flash-flooding kept us pretty much house-arrested for the first couple of days, after which, the sun shone. And, all of a sudden the wide ranges of Canadian Rockies appeared at the west horizon of the city of Calgary. The gloomy city is all set for a bright and warm weekend. We set out for Banff in my sisters’ car on Saturday morning.

Read More

Motorcycle Diaries. Road to Ladakh…at Tso Kar

By

As we entered the mountainous terrain, I observed the colour of the flowing river on our left – so different than the rivers we were used to see during this ride!
Out first break of the day was at Rumtse, the same hamlet where we stopped on our way to Leh a few days ago.
As I sat down here, I observed an acute silence amongst riders, as if all excitement had gone missing, as if we left it at Leh. There weren’t banters flowing around, no one was pushing each other, no laughter; only a passive wait…till this Ladakhi kid showed up.

Read More

Nainital and Mukteshwar- Kumaoni Paradise

By

We enjoyed our horse ride to Tiffin Top. The scenic beauty was simply breath taking. Gorgeous Kumaoni range came in front of us with almost every turns of the narrow road. Shera, my horse was very much obedient and being the local resident, it knew the better than anyone, I guess.

Read More

वाटरटन नेशनल पार्क और यु.एस. बोर्डर (भाग १)

By

वाटरटन नेशनल पार्क यु.एस. के मोंटाना प्रान्त और कैनेडा के अलबर्टा प्रान्त के बोर्डर पर स्थित है. लाखों लोग यु.एस. और कैनेडा से हर साल नेशनल पार्क घूमने आते हैं. फोर्ट सस्केच्वन से वाटर टन पार्क की दूरी ६०० की. मी. है.

कैलगरी शहर के बाद सबवे पर लंच के लिए रुकते हैं. सबवे की संसार में 37,207 से ज्यादा लोकेशन हैं. भारत में 282 लोकेशन हैं. सबवे सेक्टर 15 फरीदाबाद में भी है. विदेश में शाकाहारी भोजन के लिए सबवे अच्छा आप्शन हैं. मेनू में पहले सफ़ेद या ब्राउन ब्रेड, उसके के बाद सौस, खीरा, टमाटर प्याज, शिमला मिर्च, (कच्ची कटी हुई) आदि डाल कर सब त्यार कर दिया जाता है.  भारत में यह ८० रूपये से शुरू होता है, विदेश  में ४ से ६ डॉलर का है.

Read More

Summer Vacation – A trip to Bakkhali, the Delta of Ganges & my childhood place

By

After a full 3 hours in the sea and breakfast, we went to visit Henry’s island (2 km) – a must visit place. During 1980s, the West Bengal Fisheries Department took the initiative of turning Henry’s Island into a tourist spot. More than 50 ponds were dug under pisciculture project, occupying over 25 bigha on 100-hectare of land. Fresh fish and shrimps straight out the ponds are a must try for the visitors. Trees such as gora, kankru, palm, naturally growing sundari and hetal have been planted.

Read More

One Day Trip to Ooty-Coonoor

By

I explored the hill-sides along the road looking at flowers, trees and occasionally the habitations along the road,perched diligently on the sloping terrain.The panoramic views of the valley below enamoured me, though no Tourist Department had christened them with clichéd names.

Read More

Rewalsar – A sacred confluence of multi religions

By

When you come to Rewalsar, you cannot be untouched by the spiritual vibrations being reflected in every activity in this sacred land, be it the chirpings of the birds, soulful chantings from the monastery or temple or Gurubani from the Gurudwara, people feeding hungry souls in the lake, pondering monkeys over the trees, Buddhist prayer flags swirling in the air, swimming ducks in the lake, meditating and contemplating holy people on bank of the lake, the green and serene water of the lake, monks running the prayer-wheels, beautiful surrounding hills, finely ornated colourful monasteries with young monks playing around, burning oil lamps, ringing bells, cows and dogs resting near the lake, swaying trees, smiling flowers etc, whatever passes through your eyes gives you a sort of positive vibrations.

Read More

Self-Drive trip across Thailand (7 days, 2000 kms) : Part 5 – Bang Saen to Kampaeng Phet

By

We had plans of visiting heritage sites and local night market, but lassitude takes over as soon as we arrive. After strolling around the neighbourhood, spying on local shops and outlets, we are back to the guest house.
There are number of cosy sit-outs within the house. In the evening, guests have gathered here to relax and chat-up. Soon I connect up with Bill, an Austrian from Vienna and Shoo, a Thai traveller. Yes, they tell, they are also travelling across Thailand. While exchanging notes I discover that both of them (though travelling separately) are very special Ghumakkars. Bill (actually Bills, a couple) has arrived here Cycling all the way from AUSTRIA! Well, the story goes like this. They are avid cyclists. They have covered large parts of the globe cycling. Bill roughly cycles for an year in one go! By end of the year long loop, he is back in Vienna to earn his livelihood. After earning for about 6-8 months, he is again out for the next trip. He tells us that he does not own a car and has a very small house in Vienna. He works just to make enough money for the next trip. Same is the story of his partner. She is from the same place and they share the same passion. They are 6 months into the current trip and plan to cycle north to China and then through Kazakhstan and Eastern Europe to Vienna. Their belongings, typical for cyclists, comprise of two rucksacks (strapped to either side of the carrier) and a sleeping bag cum tenting equipment.

Read More

Motorcycle Diaries. Road to Ladakh (Bidding adieu to Leh)

By

While returning from this point, I took a brief stop at the Magnetic Hill. This has always been a site of amusement for me. This hill is located on NH1, at around 45kms from Leh, at a height of 11,000 feet above sea level. Rumour has it that this hill has magnetic properties! In fact, BRO has put a signboard too, which lends considerable credibility to this rumor, at least for the first timers! There is also a square box-area painted on the road where the signboard requests drivers to park the four-wheelers in the neutral gear. According to the prevalent myth, the magnetic properties of the hill are strong enough to pull cars uphill! In reality, the effect is at best an optical illusion and there is no magnetic property in the area. I have experience this twice now. Yet this place is a crowd-puller and is now a popular stop for travelers to Leh. I am publishing an image I took last year!

Read More

Motorcycle Diaries. Road to Ladakh (Leh to Hunder)

By

While descending, I saw the River Shyok flowing at a distance. As I rode further, I came across the road widening into sandy plains long-drawn-out between the rows of mountains. I stopped and filled in the changing views – the river, the mountains, barren sandy plains on which the roads look like thin, dark lines drawn till horizon. Hereinafter came several small villages, where kids would waved at me, tempting me to given them a Hi-five! The mountains around me were full of gravel, which threatened to come down anytime! This was indeed one of the most unusual places on the planet!

Read More

सिल्वन लेक और कैनेडा डे

By

जुलाई 1 को कैनेडा डे मनाया जाता है और यह सार्वजनिक अवकाश होता है. मैं इस दिन सिल्वन लेक जाने का प्रोग्राम बना लेता हूँ. विशाल भी मेरे साथ था. सिल्वन लेक फोर्ट सस्केच्वन से 200 किमी है. सुबह जल्दी चल कर नाश्ते के लिए टिम होरटन पहुँच जाते हैं. टिम होरटन कैनेडा में बहुत मश्हुर है. यह कैनेडीअन का है, इस लिए अमेरिकन रेस्तराँ से ज्यादा लोकप्रिय है. फोटो में SUV ( गाड़ी ) ड्राइव थरु पर जा रही है. आप जो दो बॉक्स देख् रहें हैं, उसमें माइक और स्पीकर लगा हुआ है. चालक अपना ऑर्डर माइक पर बता देगा, जैसे ही वह खिड़की पर पहुँचेगा, उसका ऑर्डर त्यार होगा. पैसे चुका कर वह गाड़ी ड्राइव करते हुए अपना ब्रेकफास्ट एन्जॉय करेगा. पर मैं आप को काउंटर पर ले कर चलता हूँ.

Read More