Wet lands & Warm Vibes..

Lost in the labyrinth of the equity derivatives, I forgot to plan the Diwali vacation this year & got infinitely bored in the Diwali week.

Anyway, it was over somehow & it was time to plan the Winter vacation. Being in my forties, these days I worry more about time than about bank balance. So a new tour operator & a new corner of India was selected for the winter vacation.

Overnight journey by connecting flights was a terrible decision & the night spent at the airport has been stored in my memory for use whenever I may need to act miserable. The sleepless night was too slow to step aside & let us begin our journey to Kaziranga national park.

Day 1 - Kaziranga Jeep Safari

Kaziranga Jeep Safari

Meghalaya literally means 'abode of clouds' & the clouds were ready to welcome us on the very first outing of the trip. There was no sign of rains on our journey to Kaziranga & so my raincoat stayed in the hotel just like the animals stayed away in their homes leaving the tourists alone to enjoy the natural beauty of the Jungle.

Thankfully, the rain was not heavy or continuous & we were lucky to have a glimpse of the main attraction of the Jungle - One horned Rhino - who was out for breakfast.

Smiling because the Rhinos behind me are not real

Further ahead, we found Wild Buffaloes roaming around freely around the Jungle.

Very few animals were spotted during the Safari but the natural beauty of the Jungle was enjoyed by the tourists with plenty of selfies & reels.

The wonderful feeling of getting up close with the mother nature ended soon & we left the Park with pleasant memories.

So it was time to leave Assam & move towards Meghalaya - Shilong after a very late breakfast at noon. Only task remaining for the day was to enjoy night stay in the beautiful hotel in Shilong.

El Dorado Hotel, Shilong

Day 2 - Cherrapunji Sightseeing

The first stop was the stunning three-tiered Elephant Falls. This was the winner of the photography spot of the day. People exploited the surreal background with lots of selfies & portraits. 

Falls & Caves were the calling of the day - the most memorable was the Elephant falls & the one to forget about was the Seven Sisters' fall with no water at all. The caves were not at all terrifying as I had anticipated except a very short scary passage in the Mawsmai Caves. Another caves - Arwah caves -  with ancient marine life fossilized in limestone walls didn't interest our group. 

Then comes the tallest plunge waterfall of India - Nohkalikai falls - accompanied by a fascinating panoramic view of the valley.

Nohkalikai falls

Early Sunrise, Early Sunsets & long evenings were not mentioned as experiences in the package but it felt special for sure. So it was Sunset before you realize & we were on the way to the beautiful Rhododendron lodge in a secluded location in Cherrapunji.

Rhododendron Lodge - at Night

Rhododendron Lodge - Early Morning

A bonfire was enjoyed after dinner & there I talked a lot about personal life - especially about my chat Girlfriends - with the group members including girls. But afterwards, I blamed the extra chattiness on the old monk I had consumed before the bonfire.

Being in the countryside area, the atmosphere was so chilled at the lodge, I started shivering after the bonfire & it felt like I was going to die of cold tonight. But it was a false alarm & I started feeling hot inside the blanket & had to remove the extra t-shirt & jacket I had worn to fight the death.

Double Decker Living Root Bridge - Nongriat

Going down about 3600 steps & to view the double decker living root bridge was the topmost experience of the trip if you forget about the extremely tiring & never ending journey up those same steps.

Double Decker Living Root Bridge

Valley of the Gods via Queen of the hills

May the month of May never come again is the wish we make every year & yet it does come back with seemingly more power. The power we know we can only hide from - behind walls cooled by ACs/coolers or inside airconditioned cars. Staying out becomes bare minimum to save our skin but there comes a point when we miss the feel of the outside world & that makes an excellent excuse for a trip to a cool hill station.

The wanderlust in me has become so overpowering that having no savings at all couldn't stop me from planning a summer escape away from the scorching heat.

After the dull group tour of White desert, costly disappointment of Nainital-Corbett solo tour & distressing Jaisalmer group tour, I was extra cautious to avoid any fiasco this year. So the professional help & doubling of the budget was the right decision after all as the trip turned out to be a memorable one.

May 7-9, 2025

Mock drills were the talk of the town all day & it was obviously the day one of regretting the plan of north India trip in such circumstances. Just like everyone around me, all over India & also our neighboring country, I saw the war coming in a few days. And few days was all I needed to enjoy my summer vacation.

The regret turned into shock the next morning as the attack happened in the night & the war which seemed some distance away, suddenly knocked at our doors. The tour operator was ready to go anyway so it was up to me to decide whether to risk it for 40 thousand Rupees or not.

Now having lost almost all savings for the love of options, I was in no position to cancel the trip & lose money again.  Now almost everyone around me thought it was foolish to go out but Shimla-Manali were safe in the tour manager's view & so the trip was on.

Day 1 - Delhi to Shimla

First day was marked for a long road trip starting from busy Delhi roads ending in the cool hilly city of Shimla. The journey & the day both ended at the same time & the only activity remaining was to enjoy sleeping in the chilled atmosphere of once the summer capital of India. 

The very first sign that this trip was going to be a good one came in the form of the cease fire declaration . Now we were going to reach the hotel well past the dinner & drinks time so the vodka was enjoyed in the running car.

Day 2 - Shimla sightseeing

The early morning walk was very refreshing & almost compensated the need of the usual cup of tea. There being no other customer at the breakfast table, I felt like a royalty with all of the hotel staff making breakfast or serving me.

New Kufri

Kufri is the main sightseeing attraction in Shimla & also the only one where you can spend some good money.  A thrilling Jeep ride on the dangerous hilly roads & the breathtaking views at New Kufri are very much if not completely worth the money. There was nothing for me at Old Kufri so I had a nice cup of coffee & moved on.

Next was the Rashtrapati Niwas at Mashorba - the official summer retreat of the President of India - surrounded by nature & completely at peace. The serenity of that atmosphere will stay with me for a long time.

Rashtrapati Niwas, Mashorba

After saving the delightful memories of President's retreat, I retreated to my humble hotel room.

Town hall

Shimla

The very famous Mall road of Shimla was visited in the evening. Sadly, I wasn't feeling very well so I couldn't shop or even enjoy it much. Anyway, I did manage to capture some picturesque places.

Day 3 - Shimla to Manali

Another day of long drive but this one not so boring as there are activities on the way. I chose to go for river rafting in the Bias river. I was charged a little extra - which I later on realized - but still rafting along the beautiful Bias river with the sublime background of Himalayas was an experience that gets you thrilled whenever you recall it. The thrilling day ended at the beautiful stay at Manali.

Bias ride

Day 4 - Skiing lessons

The mistake of staying away from the main town was repeated in Manali as the hotel was few kilometers away from the town. But the loss was more than compensated here as my gallery offered a breathtaking view of the mountains & Manali town.

View from Gallery

The day was pleasant & the views on the road to Koksar was the apt climax of the trip. The journey through the mountains & the activities in snow are the experiences are the essence of the Manali trip.

Diwali in the Desert

          The Diwali atmosphere my generation used to experience is nowhere to be found in the current times & so everyone has his/her own unique plans to spend these holidays. The time slows down due to overall festival feel in the air and a not so social person like me tries to run away from the awkwardness of being the odd man out in the Indian society.

          The Diwali 2024 was approaching, I started visualizing the boring days both at home & at office & to avoid the lonely scenario booked a group tour to Jaisalmer.

       So the dawn of the Hindu new year arrived on the NH-68 to Jaisalmer & I liked the welcome change of not having to wait for breakfast till reaching Jaisalmer. Although the tea was bad & the bread had little butter on it, the opportunity to relax my bowels was enough to rejoice.  

Tiger's breakfast - Poha & bread butter

The journey lacked the hullaballoo of trekking tours I had done in the past for this was a group of families & not of youngsters without parents. Finally we reached the hotel but the comfort was still far away as the lengthy process of room allotment was going to take about an hour. Anyway low cost group tours  always carry its own inconveniences & so it was not surprising at all except the shock I got when I was offered a staff room & common bathroom as there was no other single male to share a room with me.

I haven't changed drastically as a person in all these years but still my tolerance levels have definitely improved & so I did get the room I had paid for.

Anyway the best this day had to offer was rest before another long journey to Longewala on the next day. I skipped the boat ride in Ghadisar lake & instead took a ride down the vodka road.

Golden T in Golden city

Next day marked my second visit to the Bada baug & Tanot mata temple on the way to Longewala war memorial. Only difference from the previous trip was that this time I went inside the temple as far as it was allowed to go wearing shoes.

The sightseeing in Jaisalmer is meaningless unless you have a guide & that's where this trip had an upper hand compared to previous one.

The 2 hours given for Bada baug exploration were too much for many but somehow they discovered joy in making reels inside the Cenotaphs & created Instagram memories.

Finally came the cultural night to lift the spirits of the remaining tourists & although music & dance was not up to the mark for my taste, the company of old monk did it for me.

The last day brought the most exciting moments of the Jeep Safari in the Sam desert. For those whose thirst of thrill couldn't be quenched by complimentary Jeep & Camel Safaris, costly Quad biking was ready to go. Thus making the last morning a success. 

The Beach Vacation

Holiday thoughts have now become a quarterly phenomenon that clouds my mind every 3 months & makes me go somewhere, anywhere, away from the routine.

Beach vacation in a low cost group tour was the idea I finalized for a week away from home. Vacation it was but not a fun-filled one as the group never materialized making it a sad, solo trip.

Anyway it certainly was a break from the routine for a full week & that more or less settled the score as it wasn't a costly trip to begin with. After riding around north Goa on 2-wheeler in the summer of 2023, this was a monsoon trip & hopefully I will celebrate the new year party in Goa someday.

Some fond memories of this beach vacation....

Dinner Cruise

Bom Jesus Basilica

I dreamt of Madonna

Dona Paula beach

Dona Paula for Bollywood

Sleeping Beauty

Sinquerim beach

Around the Capital in a single day

          This should be the epilogue of the Nainital tour but as it has much more to offer than a usual epilogue, its a new blog.

          A visit to the Taj Mahal was the original plan for the spare day before my flight to Ahmedabad but as it had happened on each day of the Nainital trip, this day also had its dose of misfortune - the fact I didn't know that Taj Mahal remains closed for visitors on Fridays.

              Anyway the stock market was on to engage me mentally & for the physical activity I decided to experiment the Delhi Darshan bus tour.

Birla Mandir

This was both the pickup point & first place to visit. Here you have to deposit your mobile outside but as the dance of Nif
ty & Bank Nifty had just begun & I didn't want to lose the thrills, I opted to skip going inside.

The Parliament

Here our guide cum photographer captured beautiful photos of all withe the background of old & new Parliament buildings.

Sansad Bhavan

India gate

A second visit of India gate within a week & this time I got clicked by another photographer.

Indira Gandhi Memorial

Kutub Minar

Lotus temple

Raj Ghat

I did capture a selfie at the resting place of Gandhiji - Rajghat - but later on found it inappropriate. So here I will post a thoughtful quote I found there.

Red Fort

Last fort to conquer in the May heat of Delhi was the vast & picturesque Red Fort. The bus left me at the back side of the fort as evening was approaching & I could complete my evening walk on the way to capture the face of the Red fort.

Chandni Chowk

Right next to the Red fort lies the next attraction of Delhi, made world famous by Bollywood, Chandni chowk.

Sad to say that I kept walking for around 15 minutes around the area but didn't get the same feel as in the movies  - maybe because I was a little early in the evening - & so nothing was clicked there. Anyway here's a selfie from DLF mall to fill the space.

After facing the hottest afternoon of my life, a cool metro ride from New Delhi to Airport marked the end of my week long tour.