diary of a traveler

          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 hulla...

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

          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...

The month was May & the situation was Mayday - insides were smoldering & outsides were scorching. Afternoon heat burned the skin until late evening. Even early mornings felt like afternoons. In the night, my pillow was getting sweaty in no time. I could have bought an AC but my calculating self argued that the summer is to be over in a month & I will have it well before the next summer starts. Thus the summer luxury was delayed but summer vacation was not to be delayed & Nainital / Corbett National park was the cool interlude I decided to have. Global warming has left no corner of the world untouched but still it was much pleasant & cool atmosphere in Nainital compared to the city. My stay was nice & very peaceful as it was in a deserted area few kms away from the city of Nainital. Only facility I missed was a bar during my stay there. First day was spent in Delhi & I made it memorable by my first Metro ride & a visit to the India Gate. Having nothing el...

          It was sudden & struck me out of nowhere when I was lost in the chase of nifty & bank nifty in the rush hour period. These days the temptation of making some fast money takes over my senses as soon as morning bell sounds on NSE. The day of 28th February was no different as I was making pit stops to monitor market mood on the 7 km rush hour journey to office.          With my mind clouded by market volatility, I missed to check before starting out of a blind zone & collided with a biker rushing on the wrong side. His argument was that I should have blown horn. I already knew it so I accepted my mistake & let him get away while I called my garage & arranged pick up of my Vespa as the front fender was crushed due to heavy impact. He may not have needed to get his vehicle repaired due to minor damage but it cost me my 2 days' salary.            The amount of money lost by me in the...

              The new year 2024 arrived at a new place for me after a surprise transfer to my once favorite city - Ahmedabad. The 5-6 years spent in Ahmedabad were the best of my life & most probably those times won't be replicated again.           So here I was again in the same office where I had started about 17 years back. It does get dull to stay in the office for seven & a half hours but having spent 11 years in the field job, I hope I can spent at least 1 or 2 years in the confined space doing data crunching - both on & off the record. Anyway, the results of this whimsical step remains to be seen in the future.           For now, An outing was due after the Kerala trip in November last year. The need to explore something different every time made me go for Rann Utsav in Kutch - not the official one but a group tour which included Rann Utsav as the main attraction. Actually I...