Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts

Goa short trip - tips

                        

Tip1 :  Divide your trip to 2 parts . South goa ( for quiet time with less folks and attractions ) and North Goa ( for lots of folks, shopping and attractions ) ... 

Tip2 :  Spend a day in south Goa and then take a trip to Palolim beach( see butterfly beach and dolphins etc ) and if possible then have dinner James Cafe and beach hut 

Tip3 :  Go for water sports in north goa local beaches and don't get trapped to other locations otherwise you may waste both time and money

Tip4 : Spend an evening on boat cruise at Mandavi river in Panji 

Tip5 : Spend an evening at Bagha beach for dance,drink and dinner 

                            


My Kashmir Trip....Unforgettable experience

Agar zameen pe kahi jannat hai to yahi haiyahi hai, yahin hai.....emperor JAHANGIR used these words to describe his feelings about Kashmir. I myself had the same feelings when I visited Kashmir for 5 days with my father from 30th August to 3rd September.Before I go further let me share my itinerary : 

Preparation :
- Booked air tickets via yatra.com( they don't accept foreign cards)


- Booked the houseboat Young Bombay via booking.com 

Day1 : Boarded Indigo morning flight from Delhi and arrived at Sheikh-ul-Aalam airport,Srinagar. Well received by the  houseboat owner mr. Noor mohammad and directly driven to gate no. 9,Dal lake. There Mr. mohammad dropped the luggage and himself and asked us to continue for local sight seeing trip.He took our luggage to houseboat.We saw the 
- Sankrasharya mandir ( Lord Shiva mandir , 300 mt above sea level )
- Pari Mahal ( laid out by Dara Shiko)
- Shalimar Gardens( laid out by Jehangir )
- Nishat Bagh 
- Chashma Shah ( laid out by Shah Jehan)

and finished the day by evening tea at Zabarvan park(where we saw the hot air balloon) and live kashmiri music. Music was so enchanting that it captivated our heart for the whole life.
In evening taxi dropped us at the gate no. 9 , from there we took free shikara service to go to our houseboat -Young Bombay. At the houseboat we were formally welcomed by the house boat owner and his son and staff of houseboat.We tasted welcome drink- Kahwa(first time in life) and had general chit-chat about kashmir and houseboat life.
We ordered the Non-veg dinner and took some rest in the meantime in our room. Room was well maintained. Cleanness of bathroom took our attention as well.Bathroom had warm water facility,towels,toilet paper etc 
After Dinner we stayed on outside terrace for a while to enjoy the night at dal lake. In the meantime we saw a barbecue shikara coming to our houseboat. Though we were full but just for taste, we ordered mutton and chicken kababs, It was delicious and unique experience in itself and stylist way to say - Good Night.
Day2 : In Morning , we had light breakfast-milk,omlate,toasts and poha( which was part of our houseboat package) and started for the Pahalgaon with our Taxi. On the way we saw Saffron fields and Avantipur Bat factory. I stopped at one point and enjoyed the white water rafting in Lidder river. Once w e reached the Pahalgam, we had to drop our taxi there and took another taxi for Betab valley and Aru Valley trip.

Day3 : After breakfast we again departed for full day excursion to the Sonmarg via Leh road Journey was beautiful as we enjoyed dense woodlands of firs and silver birches. Same as other parts our Taxi was allowed/(kindly forced) to drop at main Sonamarg and  from there onwards we had 3 options :
- Walk up to Thajiwass 
- Hire another taxi for 2-3 local places
- Hire ponies
I could have taken ponies but as my dad was bit reluctant to try it so we hired the taxi again. Here I want to say that local taxi guys have a syndicate and always try to exploit the tourists.Government rates are so different then waht they charge for.We hired the taxi in 3000 INR for 2-3 places( places were located in area of 15-km). 
Thajiwass Glacier is the biggest attraction ( for somebody who has not seen it earlier) but fact is thatreal glacier is too far to go by taxis or ponies( forget walking to it) so these guys just fool you around.

Day4 : Gulmarg trip
Day5 : Local sightseeing and shopping

Some unknown but exotic Indian tourist destinations

Most of the people want to go on vacation and recharge their body and soul for further hectic life.But in a country like India finding a place where one can relax and enjoy peaceful vacation as well is quite a challenging task. During the vacation time most of the known places are full of people. So I am searching some places which are less crowded and peaceful. There is always a other side of such places and that is- these places do not have good infrastructure and facilities. So if you are ready for such places then find some of the places below :

  • Location : Solang Valley
State    : Himachal Pradesh
Distance : 14 kms from Manali
Attraction : Ski school (winter),Paragliding school(Summer)
How to get there :
- Well-connected roadways from Manali and Shimla make Solang Valley easily accessible.
- All transports will be stopped a few kilometres before the valley. One has to completely rely on terrain vehicles or your own legs to reach the heart of the valley.



Remember: To check out the government-operated(HPTDC) tour operators in the base camp before booking your guides as private operators charge you triple the amount.

  • Location : Valley of Flowers
State : Uttarakhand
District : Chamoli
Distance :  595 kilometers (370 miles) from Delhi
Attraction : The stunning landscape of The Valley of Flowers National Park in northern India's state of Uttarakhand, bordered by Nepal and Tibet, comes alive with the monsoon rain. This high-altitude Himalayan valley has around 300 different varieties of alpine flowers, which appear as a bright carpet of color against a mountainous snow capped background.The Valley of Flowers was “re”-discovered by a British mountaineer (Frank S Smythe) in 1931 by accident when he lost his way while returning from a successful expedition to Mt Kamet, he subsequently wrote a book on it titled “Valley of Flowers”. The park is open only in summer during the months between June and October, and is covered by heavy snow for the rest of the year.
How to get there :
- The nearest airport is in Dehradun, 295 kilometers.
- Nearest railway station : Rishikesh, 276 kilometers (170 miles) away.
- The closest you can get to The Valley of Flowers by road is Govind Ghat. This requires around a 10 hour drive to Joshimath, then another one hour to Govind Ghat. From Govind Ghat it’s a 13 kilometer (8 mile) trek along a steep, narrow, but well defined mountain trail to base camp at Ghangaria. This will take between 4 to 8 hours, depending on your fitness! The start of the main valley, where all the flowers are, is a further 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Ghangaria.



One Itinerary sample from New Delhi :
day1     Start from Delhi and take Mussouri Express to Haridwar
day2     Arrive at Haridwar and onward to Joshimath by bus
day3    Joshimath to GovindGhat by bus and trek to Gangaria (3048m)
day4    Trek from Gangaria to Valley of Flowers (3962m) and back
day5    Trek from Gangaria to Hemkund Sahib (4329m) and back
day6    Trek from Gangaria to GovindGhat and onward to Badrinath by bus
day7    Badrinath to Auli and onward to Birahi by bus
day8    Birahi to Rishikesh by bus and catch train to Delhi
day9    Arrive at Delhi
  • Location : Auroville
State    : Pondicherry
Distance : 6  kms from Pondicherry



Attraction : The Auroville(which means the 'City of Dawn') is an international experimental township. It was inspired by the evolutionary vision of Sri Aurobindo and founded by Mirra Alfassa, known as the Mother. This place is interesting because of the different concept of living adapted by the people of this town. They build community-based housings and the whole township is planned around the Matimandir which is located in the centre of the Auroville.


  • Dhenkanal : 
State : Odisha
This is Odisha's very own hill station about 1600 km from Delhi.It is home to a variety of temples dedicated to Hindu deities with Lord Shiva reigning supreme in worship rituals.Dhenkanal is home to a variety of temples dedicated to Hindu deities with Lord Shiva reigning supreme in worship rituals. At 2239 metres from sea-level, situated at the north east corner of Dhenkanal, the Kapilash temple with its Kalinga style of architecture leaves you spellbound. Believed to be the second 'Kailash', you need to climb a fleet of 1352 stairs to get to the temple. During monsoon,the place is truly a visual treat as the surrounding jungles turn a shade of sapling green withpeacocks dancing.If you wish to be welcomed by the cooing of birds, ticking of woodpeckers, chuckling of chimpanzees, silent yawns of alligators, grunts of elephants and occasional roars of tigers, then Satkosia Gorge is the place to be in. A boat ride in the turbulent Mahanadi River with a cluster of ghariyals on the periphery will bring about a sense of adventure to your otherwise quiet holiday in Dhenkanal. 



Weather : The overall climate is hot, with humidity reaching a peak in April and May. Winters are short and hit the town between December and early January. Sporadic breakout of monsoon keeps the weather breezy and comfortably cool through the year. 
How to reach : By Train- there's no direct train except the Hirakud Express (from Delhi) that runs 3 days a week. By air: Flight to Bhubaneshwar (from Delhi) followed by a couple of hours journey by road to reach Dhenkanal


List will be updated as I get to know more such places .....Keep coming :)



Bianco Rosso Latte at Baresso

MV is fond of coffee and so I am afraid that a ardent tea lover like me is at the verge of changing religion.....We both together ventured out to the nearest Baresso outlet in evening(+6 degree) Today. Initially I thought to just accompany but it turned out a different experience.Though I tried to avoid the opportunity because of calorie conscious week but when she(find her in picture) recommended Bianco Rosso Latte as very different fruit coffee so I thought to respect her recommendation and ordered one for myself. This is grand caffe latte with raspberry and white chocolate(stick). I never heard a coffee with berry so was bit surprised.The Girl at the counter was kind enough to understand my calorie conscious thought and made coffee in skimmed milk.




I was not disappointed ( so it is proved that I need to ...) as it turned out to be a tasty coffee where the last few bites were good enough to remind me the flavor for next 30 minutes......courtesy MV.

Mini Switzerland of India

After visiting the Switzerland , I was thinking that though it is special place but our India has got some places which are similar to it and then I started my journey on internet. Soon I was reading it somewhere :) and got to know about the Khajjiar. It is the place where people can find peace and enjoy the nature and also be happy that their own country is offering the same view as world famous Switzerland.It is 24 km from Dalhousie (famous hill station ) but lies in Chamba district of state of  Himachal Pradess,India.

Khajjiar is among the 160 locations in the world that bear topographical resemblance with Switzerland and that is by one famous swiss it is named - Mini Switzerland of India.

One more place that has caught my attention was Mcleodgunj - Home to His Holiness Dalai Lama.It
is a small town near to Dharamshala, with not much to offer when it comes to number of places to visit. But there will be lot to explore if you want to see the lifestyle and the vibrant atmosphere on the streets.

Unique Norway

Lysebotn Road, Norway
Although most seem to head to Lysebotn for the opportunity to BASE jump, you would hope that they also take time out to experience what looks to be an incredible drive. Winding your way around 29 hairpins as you climb high above the fjord would be hard to beat.


Trollstigen, Norway
The Trollstigen (Troll's Ladder) is a mountain segment of a road in Norway connecting the municipalities of Norddal and Rauma. It's famous for a combination of good reasons - the picturesque location, 9% incline and particularly its proximity to the Stigfossen Waterfall.




 

Preikestolen:
Massive cliff 604 metres (1982 feet) above Lysefjorden, in Forsand, Ryfylke, Norway. The top of the cliff is approximately 25 by 25 metres square, almost flat, and is a famous tourist attraction in Norway.



 

Atlantic road :
The Atlantic Ocean Road is a 8.3-kilometer long section of County Road which runs through an archipelago in Eide and Averøy in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. The fixed link passes by Hustadvika, an unsheltered part of the Norwegian Sea, connecting the island of Averøy with the mainland and Romsdalshalvøya peninsula. The road runs between the villages of KÃ¥rvÃ¥g on Averøy and Vevang in Eida. The road is built on several small islands and skerries, which are connected by several causeways, viaducts and eight bridges—the most prominent being Storseisundet Bridge.
 

Kalu Varti in Riga - there is reason why it is so popular

Yesterday , we visited Kalku Varti (Latvian for Limestone Gate), Restaurant in the historical of Old Town of Riga.This restaurant  is very famous(and expensive) in old time for it's varying and delicious gourmet meal along with traditional latvian dishes.I ordered a bottle of red wine Châteauneuf-du-Pape( as I wanted to have it again) which was quite appreciated by fellow partners.I also tasted some other wines but I think my choice was better enough :). We enjoyed diverse nordic+asian company of each other and wines.Later for main course,My dinner partners made quite adventurous choices but I ordered roasted duck breast with parsley root puree, pearl barley, and carrot sauce and was fully satisfied with my choice.The most surprising part of the dinner was desserts. Every desert we ordered has some kind of speciality as most of them are with exotic berries.but I ordered the dessert of the day 'the tower' which was unique in itself as it has the artistic shape of 1 feet effil tower(kind of) made of sugar( they dipped the warm sugar tower in freezing cold water to have that special shape. It was not possible to eat even 20% of tower so we just enjoyed its cream and few bites of tower.....but al together it was fantastic evening at kalku varti..............Paldias


Link to kalku varti website : www.kalkuvarti.lv

My list of Paris attractions

Following are the attractions that I liked in Paris and think that people like must visit these :

Eiffel Tower
Versailles Palace
Arc de Triomphe
Louvre Museum
Notre Dame Cathedral
Sacré-Coeur
Champs-Elysées
Galeries Lafayette
Food market near to Latin Quarters metro station

Some more markets :
Bastille Market
Saxe-Breteuil market ( 7am to 2:30 pm every Thursday and Saturday morning)


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