
Following Yamuna to its Source – A Road Trip….Part 4
03 July 2011 After all the prayers were done, we came out of the temple and stood near the stream of mighty Yamuna, while…
Read More03 July 2011 After all the prayers were done, we came out of the temple and stood near the stream of mighty Yamuna, while…
Read More02 July 2011 After giving a lot of thought and upon discussion with the shopkeeper we decided to hire horses and move all the…
Read MoreHad it not been for the book, Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP), Naggar would not have happened. Books are still much much superior as compared to host of blogs and websites. Online forums, at best, are good for an “occasional tip” and that too happens cause people speak about the content which is quite recent. Books need to re-published. The Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP) which I referred to was published in 2008 and two years down the line nothing much had changed….
Read MoreThen we ate the worlds best “maggie noodles”. Nowhere, repeat nowhere can there be a better display of Indian ingenuity… nowhere…
Read MoreThe Planning for this phase underwent many refinements. Golden Temple was a must and a absolute central to this part of the trip. However,…
Read MoreThis was the best part of the trip. THE COMPLETE FREEDOM to go anywhere, anytime. I felt like a true ghumakkar OR had my ghumakkar ahaa moment!!
I confess. I did pat on my back for having made the road trip plan, in my car, and not tied it up via air / rail transports.
The “car-driving-bone” was predominantly present, had tickled at will and left it’s mark on a number of occasions…….
Read MoreA brief business trip to Agra culminated in my seizing an opportunity to visit the most magnificent structure built on earth in the name…
Read More06 Oct 2011 Travel to the place Where we spread love, Freedom to serve And land to move. 06.00 a.m. The sound of the…
Read MoreThe fuel cost is about INR 100/- per litre which varies slightly depending on the country, location (ones nearer the airport are costlier than others), etc. Most of the petrol stations are self service types – you park the car, fill up the tank and then go to the counter to make the payment.
Now, some other issues about driving. Honking is uncivilised, so it’s best avoided, except in emergencies. Similarly, it is illegal to flash/ beam headlight either frontally or from behind, onto another car. German rule considers flashing of headlight on other vehicle a coercive act. Driving on the right lane, keeping the left ones free for overtaking, is followed as a rule. After overtaking, the car promptly shifts rightwards. Overtaking from the wrong side, irrespective of how many empty lanes are there, is a strict no-no.
Overtaking – there are defined portions on the road, where this act can be performed. For starters, the continuous yellow/ white line dividing a two-way road is not be crossed over randomly.
Read MoreThe rule says that Schengen Visa should be sought from the country which you visit for the main business. Rule of thumb is, the country where you plan to stay for maximum period of time should be the one to issue you the Schengen. Maximum number of days rule, however, may not hold good in some cases, e.g. if you intent to spend max time in the country which is not of your main business.
In our case, we approached Czech Embassy for the visa, since we were to spend maximum period (about 6 days) there.
Schengen Visa regime has also altered the procedure for entry into EU zone. For instance, since we took a FINNAIR flight, we changed flight at Helsinki. Now, after landing at Helsinki Airport, we shifted into ‘EU Zone’ part of the terminal. So, it was here in Helsinki that we underwent immigration/custom checks. Thereafter, once in EU part, all flights within EU were like domestic flights, despite flying from one country to the next.
Read MoreThis 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.
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