Nature

pink rose

Srinagar’s Scintillating Gardens- A Photolog

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Days flew by and now the trip’s over.We had loads of fun & here in this post I’ll be sharing the best pics of the journey! They are none other than of flowers (tulips, roses etc.) of the very famous gardens of Srinagar i.e. Mughal Gardens, Shalimar Gardens & Chashmashahi etc.

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Chakori To Munsyari via Mighty Birthi Falls

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The break at Nachni gave a lot of calm to cabin crew and the drive thereafter was spent gazing at might Himalayan views, almost a sombre drive with not much of chit-chat followed. Kids found time to catch on some sleep and I quietly moved on from one Himalayan village to another till someone asked on a white line, visible from afar. As we continued to drive, we could witness the Himalayan beauty in full glory, the tall blue mountains, the green carpet of flora and the thick white line. After about 30 minute of drive, it was getting clear that this white line is the famous ‘Birthi Falls’.

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The ghats of Benaras – a place like no other

The ghats of Benaras – a place like no other

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Numerous invaders came, ruled and left. All of them tried, in their own way, to superimpose their own ideas, their beliefs on the land they had conquered. Yet, in the end, they had to retreat, vanquished by a spiritual force that was beyond their comprehension. The all-knowing Ganga, unperturbed by such delusions of grandeur,  gently flows along these blessed ghats as she has been doing since the beginning of time.

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In the last & the highest village of the Baspa Valley – Chitkul…..

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Look closely and you can see the trails of the stars that form the Orion Constellation. No, Just look above the snow capped peak, a bit on the right from the center of the pic and you will see the trails of the three stars that are in the middle of the Orion Constellation. And you can also see a pink colored streak just a little bit on the right of the peak. That is Orion’s Nebula. Didn’t i tell you, i also spotted as much as 9 shooting stars and 1 satellite while capturing the star trails.

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To the last & the highest village in the Baspa Valley – Chitkul…..

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The condition of the road was getting worse by each passing kilometer. The tar road made way to the grainy, rocky road covered by dust. At some of the stretches the water tankers were moving on the road to keep down the dust. Suddenly the roads became never ending and driving getting difficult especially for a lone bike rider all along the way. I kept on driving slowly and crossed Wangtoo, Chooling and reached the Karcham Dam. A right from here would take me off the NH – 22 and put me on the Sangla- Chitkul road. The winds were also picking up and it was getting difficult to stand near the dam. So, i started the bike again to cover the final stretch of the day. The road condition was bad and the way to Sangla was steep and narrow. One slip here and i would have to pay for it with my life. So, with all the concentration on the road and a speed of 10-15 kmph i began the ascent on the hair raising Sangla – Chitkul road.

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“Fall”ing in Love

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One of the many abstract joys of traveling is discovering your fascination for specific things you learn to seek in your journeys. For example, I have an amazing fascination for sunrises and sunsets I never knew of before. I have difficulty waking up for my 9 am classes, but I will have no difficulty waking up at 5 on a cold, wintry morning to take a walk by the sea, hearing the waves roar and the birdies fly by as the sun comes up and says hi. Similarly, I have a fascination for trains.

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Post Monsoon Drive to DHANAULTI – Part-1

Post Monsoon Drive to DHANAULTI – Part-1

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Every year it easily takes about 8hrs to reach there. But this time 5hrs was only possible beacuse of the improved road conditions. After reaching my grandparents place, got freshned for lunch. I was dead tired as I did not sleep the previous night, above this the fever and throat infection and then driving. But still “Itni Door Ghar pe Baithne Ke liye Thoda na aaye Hain”. After all, We are Ghumakkars and Travelling is our main motive.

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The Land of the Thunder Dragon (BHUTAN) – Day 15 and 16

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The FIAT Linea 1.3 MJD proved what a fantastic car it was by giving us once in a life time experience of long distance drive from Coimbatore to Bhutan & back and brought us back safe. The car was extremely good and proved that it really was a long-distance runner. Brand new car, no breakdown, no puncture, no fatigue only pure pleasure of driving it long distance and excellent build.Its suspension was so good that there was no body pain to any one of us through out the journey and my 2 small kids went to school the next day morning & I was back in Office to work. That speaks it all.

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Bamboo Rafting in Tiger Country.

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…Then the trek started in dead earnest, and soon we were walking through some shoulder height elephant grass. The guides showed us some exotic butterflies flitting about in the grass. At one place they pointed out to some Niligiri langurs peering down at us from the high trees. That really made us feel that now we were being stalked and hunted rather than the other way around…

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