Why is jaipur known as the pink city - cause all houses there are colored pink. I had the opportunity of visiting jaipur this on 7th & 8th of this month (March 2009). We started early from New Delhi (Indirapuram to be specific) - around 6 am. We had thought that we will start at 5 but we got delayed. If we had started earlier, we might have got lesser traffic and lesser trucks.
The NH8 passing through gurgaon is great. It is a very smooth road and very wide. You can easily drive at 150 kmph. The only problem is that there are two-wheelers (which are not allowed - but in india who cares). And they drive at the middle of the highway at 40kmph. So, you got to be careful of them.
We had breakfast at The jungle Babble at Dharuhera. The breakfast was terrible. It used to be a nice resturant earlier, but now it seems that it has lost its charm. There are around 4 toll gates between delhi and jaipur and tons of slow moving trucks. Lots of impatient people driving their wagonrs at 120 kmph.
We reached jaipur at 12 pm. The jaipur city is a very small and crowded city. Very confusing - if you are there for the first time. You will find it very difficult to drive if you have a long car. Majority of the people are in rickshaws and in cycles. And the city was hot.
It took us an hour to find our hotel Umaid Bhawan- which we had reserved from yatra.com. It is a very small and nice hotel. We found it to be worth our money. The food was costly - as we had expected. But the rooms were very nice. It is worth a visit - for low budget accommodation. It is in a residential colony and is very quiet.
It is advisable to get a taxi/cab for moving around jaipur. If you drive your own car, you are bound to get lost and fined by the cops who are always on the lookout for non-local people for their "under table" income. But again dont get a cab from the hotel. Do some research and have some contact of cab drivers before going to jaipur. A cab from the hotel would cost you twice the original rate. We did the mistake of getting a cab from the hotel itself and we got an ambassador - whose top speed was 40 kmph. We drove in style.
The best shopping place in jaipur is near the hawa mahal. But that market is very costly. If you cross the crossroad near to the hawa mahal and go to markets behind the front shops, you would land in the whole sale market of cloth and other stuff. Get your stuff from there. It is cheap and nice.
The only things of historical importance/worship places worth looking in jaipur is "birla temple", "hawa mahal", "jal mahal" and "amber fort". Amber fort is huge. If you cannot climb to the top of the fort, you can take your car up to a parking place behind the fort and enter the fort from there. You can also hire an elephant to take you up. But it is better to go by foot and enjoy the view. There are lots of restoration work going on in amber fort. But the fort is huge and really worth looking. Dont forget the visit the underground surang near the exit from the fort.
Another place worth visiting is the "chowki dhani". You might have heard a lot about it. Jaipur without chowki dhani is half the trip. Well, chwoki dhani is around 20 kms from the main city - it is outside the main city. Better take a cab, because parking is a major problem. It is a type of village mela in the night with beautiful lighting and lots of village stuff like elephant ride, boat ride, camel ride, astrology, magicians, dances, puppet shows etc etc. The entry fee is 300/- per person which includes the diner. There are lots of stalls for eating chat/gol-gappa and they charge 10-20 rs. Rides also charge the same. There are some huts where you can sit and feel the atmosphere of a village hut. Enjoy the food cooked on the fire inside the hut - village style.
Diner is all veg but there are two options. Either you sit down on the ground and have it village style. Or you sit on a chair and have it. It is better if you go for the later option. Sitting down on the ground is something that we indians used to do long time ago. If you are not in the habit of sitting on the floor for long duration, you might find it tiring and uncomfortable. You might not be able to enjoy their food if you sit down. Better sit on table-chair system and enjoy the food.
Chowki dhani is also a resort and offers stay. But it is preferable that you do not stay there cause, then, going and coming from city would be a pain. And secondly their service is not that of a 5 star (though they claim that they are a 5 star).
While returning you should be leaving jaipur by 12 pm. That ways you would avoid the evening rush and traffic jams. We got stuck in a traffic jam near behror and it cost us an hour to get out of it. Better leave at 12 and have lunch on the way and reach delhi by 5 or 6 pm.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Friday, March 13, 2009
Monday, January 14, 2008
Auli
Another dream comes true...
I dreamed that one day i would wake up and open the window and see the whole world covered in snow. And lo, it just came true...
Yes, i am talking about auli.
Auli is around 500-550 kms from New delhi. The way is from delhi to rishikesh via NH58, and from there to rudraprayag and to joshimath and from there to Auli. The way from delhi to rishikesh is around 200 kms and is plains - and the way ahead of rishikesh is all mountains.
We were 5 people in an innova and the driver was good at driving in hills. so we took around 12-14 hours for the drive. We started around 10 in the night on friday after diner. Actually we wanted to start early around 6, but we got the information that at 8 pm, the road ahead of rishikesh is closed and it is opened at around 5 am. Since the way from here to rishikesh is around 5-6 hours, we decided to start late and reach the road block at rishikesh at around 4 am. We had a halt at devprayag, half way from delhi to joshimath. But it was not required. Well, joshimath is a good place - small town with beautiful rivers flowing. It is the point of origin of The Ganga. Two rivers alaknanda and bhagirathi meet there and The Ganga is born. A very small town in the valley.
From devprayag around 2 hrs ahead is shrinagar a beautiful valley between all the hills. And before shrinagar is a very nice hotel to stay in - riverside. It is around 1 km from devprayag. We spent some time over there and moved ahead. By 7 in the evening, we reached joshimath the road from rudraprayag to joshimath is very bad - terrible seems a better word.
We spent the night in joshimath. And next morning we went to auli via cable car. The first cable car goes as early as 9:30 am. And if you miss it, you will have to wait untill there are atleast 15 person to travel in the cable car. Well, we missed the cable car and had to wait. You could hire gum boots from the same place at 50Rs/day.
The ride in the cable car was terrible. It was very crowded. I had the notion that since the requirement is minimum 15 people, it would be big, but it is a tiny place and if you have luggage - be prepared for some shoving and scolding. The cable car charges 400/- per person for to and fro. You can also take the road and it would be a better option if it is not snowing.
If you are travelling in cable-car, you would need to get down at tower no 8. And from there, you can either trek down or catch the chair car to gmvnl guest house. There are only 2 places to stay in auli, the gmvnl and the clifftop hotel. Clifftop is costly and the service is not that great. gmvnl is very good. Cheap and affordable. A ride in chair car is 200/- per person to and fro.
Clifftop hotel is very near to the tower no 8 of cable car. GMVNL has ski courses which is a 7 day course. And people from over the world come over here to learn to ski. Food was great. Avoid non-veg. They take too much time to cook non-veg and it is not that great - just ok. We used to be terribly hungry - maybe due to the cold and we used to eat a lot.
The cottages at gmvnl are either huts of deluxe cottages. Huts are very small and do not have central heating. Whereas the deluxe cottages are too good with central heating and all.
The good thing that happened is that it was snowing heavily when we reached Auli. For the first time in my life we saw snow.
All we did over there was play in the snow. It became terribly cold in the night. Even after central heating it was 7-8 degrees inside the room. Outside the temperature must have been -5 degrees or so.
Next morning was bright and clear. We enjoyed the sun and the snow and the clear skies. The people over there would try to make you ski - telling you that it is easy and you would learn in an hour. But dont fall for that. They would charge 200-300 rs/day for the ski and equipment. And you would say - thats great for 300 i can ski for the whole day.
But it is not possible to learn to ski in just 2-3 hours. You would need atleast 2 day practice to start skiing. And the ski equipment is very heavy. You would get tired in 1 hour max.
Return was ok. We felt we should have stayed for a day more. The driver drove at 60-70 kmph on the mountains and we were back in delhi at 2:30 in the morning.
Check out the pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/jayant7k/AuliJan08
I dreamed that one day i would wake up and open the window and see the whole world covered in snow. And lo, it just came true...
Yes, i am talking about auli.
Auli is around 500-550 kms from New delhi. The way is from delhi to rishikesh via NH58, and from there to rudraprayag and to joshimath and from there to Auli. The way from delhi to rishikesh is around 200 kms and is plains - and the way ahead of rishikesh is all mountains.
We were 5 people in an innova and the driver was good at driving in hills. so we took around 12-14 hours for the drive. We started around 10 in the night on friday after diner. Actually we wanted to start early around 6, but we got the information that at 8 pm, the road ahead of rishikesh is closed and it is opened at around 5 am. Since the way from here to rishikesh is around 5-6 hours, we decided to start late and reach the road block at rishikesh at around 4 am. We had a halt at devprayag, half way from delhi to joshimath. But it was not required. Well, joshimath is a good place - small town with beautiful rivers flowing. It is the point of origin of The Ganga. Two rivers alaknanda and bhagirathi meet there and The Ganga is born. A very small town in the valley.
From devprayag around 2 hrs ahead is shrinagar a beautiful valley between all the hills. And before shrinagar is a very nice hotel to stay in - riverside. It is around 1 km from devprayag. We spent some time over there and moved ahead. By 7 in the evening, we reached joshimath the road from rudraprayag to joshimath is very bad - terrible seems a better word.
We spent the night in joshimath. And next morning we went to auli via cable car. The first cable car goes as early as 9:30 am. And if you miss it, you will have to wait untill there are atleast 15 person to travel in the cable car. Well, we missed the cable car and had to wait. You could hire gum boots from the same place at 50Rs/day.
The ride in the cable car was terrible. It was very crowded. I had the notion that since the requirement is minimum 15 people, it would be big, but it is a tiny place and if you have luggage - be prepared for some shoving and scolding. The cable car charges 400/- per person for to and fro. You can also take the road and it would be a better option if it is not snowing.
If you are travelling in cable-car, you would need to get down at tower no 8. And from there, you can either trek down or catch the chair car to gmvnl guest house. There are only 2 places to stay in auli, the gmvnl and the clifftop hotel. Clifftop is costly and the service is not that great. gmvnl is very good. Cheap and affordable. A ride in chair car is 200/- per person to and fro.
Clifftop hotel is very near to the tower no 8 of cable car. GMVNL has ski courses which is a 7 day course. And people from over the world come over here to learn to ski. Food was great. Avoid non-veg. They take too much time to cook non-veg and it is not that great - just ok. We used to be terribly hungry - maybe due to the cold and we used to eat a lot.
The cottages at gmvnl are either huts of deluxe cottages. Huts are very small and do not have central heating. Whereas the deluxe cottages are too good with central heating and all.
The good thing that happened is that it was snowing heavily when we reached Auli. For the first time in my life we saw snow.
All we did over there was play in the snow. It became terribly cold in the night. Even after central heating it was 7-8 degrees inside the room. Outside the temperature must have been -5 degrees or so.
Next morning was bright and clear. We enjoyed the sun and the snow and the clear skies. The people over there would try to make you ski - telling you that it is easy and you would learn in an hour. But dont fall for that. They would charge 200-300 rs/day for the ski and equipment. And you would say - thats great for 300 i can ski for the whole day.
But it is not possible to learn to ski in just 2-3 hours. You would need atleast 2 day practice to start skiing. And the ski equipment is very heavy. You would get tired in 1 hour max.
Return was ok. We felt we should have stayed for a day more. The driver drove at 60-70 kmph on the mountains and we were back in delhi at 2:30 in the morning.
Check out the pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/jayant7k/AuliJan08
Saturday, March 03, 2007
ilaka triund dharamshala trip
That is a trip we went for during 26 jan 2007. I am terribly sorry for the delay in writing this post. I got a bit lazy. But now since i have nothing else to do, i might as well write the post. This is one of best trips i had ever had.
So, it starts on the very fine evening of 24th. We hire a qualis which is supposed to arrive at 7 pm. All our bags are packed and ready. And as per IST(Indian Stretchable Timings) we get a travera which arrives at 9:30 pm. And to top it up, the travera does not have a place to put our bags (no overhead luggage carrier). Though our luggage was minimal, we all 6 people being guys (gals generally tend to carry more luggage). So we push bags under the seats, keep some on the back seat and finally get packed in the travera. And we start our journey.
Within half an hour the sardarji, our driver reaches the bypass, and starts sleeping. Well not actually sleeping comfortably, but taking small naps during driving. And then we come to realize that the sardarji has not slept in 36 hours. Too bad. Well, so we offered him rest and one of us takes the wheels. We drove for about 5 hours. And then the sardarji takes the wheels again.
Cool, so around 4 in the morning we reach this place - a petrol pump from where we are supposed to start climbing uphill. And the sardarji just drives to the side of the road, pulls a sheet over him and without any word, just goes to sleep. And we all are looking at him with our eyes wide open. Well, we sleep for about 2 hours, and then continue our drive. We pass dharamshala and reach mclaudganj around 10 in the morning.
Here we took 2 rooms and got fresh and had breakfast, and then we start our climb uphill around 1 pm. The trek was good, and we took lots of snaps on the way. We saw a forest fire on the way. And by 5:30-6 pm we are almost on the top of the hill. We start seeing snow on our way. Snow which is still melting. Someway in middle we stopped and sat down and we could hear all the snow around the hill melting with a distinct sound. There was no other sound - except for the snow melting. Too good.
And around 6:30 we reach the top of the hill. It is a nice pleatu. With a population of us 6 people, 4 helpers, 6 horses, 1 caretaker of a guest house (There is a guest house on top of the hill and a caretaker to take care of it), and a dog. That was the population of triund when we reached there. On both sides we have deep valleys. One valley leading to the city. And other valley leading to hills covered with snow. You can have a look at the video below to get an idea of the beauty of the place. I dont have words to describe it.
So we had our diner that day and slept in sleeping bags in a tent on top of the hill. At first, i was a bit afraid that the tent might not be able to protect us from the cold. But the sleeping bags and tent were sufficient to protect us from the cold. Next morning we saw the sunrise from behind the snow covered mountains.
And around 11 started our trek to ilaka (snow line) where we were supposed to see pure snow. The path was very dangerous. We came across small paths covered with snow and slippery and had to trek through that. We were so terrified we were going to go back. But then the guide helped us out. The trek was such that one wrong foot/ one slip and we would have been at the bottom of the valley.
We reached the snow line and had a gala of a time. We played in snow and made snow man. The snow used to melt and get through our clothes. Our fingers were numb. The snow used to get though our shoes and make our feet cold.
We had our lunch on the top of the hill and in middle of snow. We relaxed a little after lunch. Enjoyed the sun and the cool breeze and the quietness. And we saw snowfall on our way back from ilaka.
In the evening after we reached, we saw that one of the shops (there are 3 shops in triund - the local people carry stuff uphill for tourists and sell it at huge profit margins) was open and had coffee there. In the night just before diner, we shouted with our hearts out. Our guide played flute and we made a small camp fire (though campfire is not allowed there).
You should hear this, it might be the best sound album created till date...
And we slept that night. Next morning we had breakfast and treked back from a different and more dangerous route. The route was very steep and at some times we were unable to find the path. The wind was wonderful.
After reaching the city, we tried some tibetian food and some shopping. But we were so tired and exhausted that we found nothing interesting. Anyways, in the end we again packed ourselves in the travera and drove back. Hoping that our adventure was over. But we were wrong. Our sardarji driver was again falling asleep on the way back and so he stopped at some place on the highway - we dont know where and took some drugs (afeem, i think) so that he stays awake throughout the night.
Well man that was the best drive i ever had. The guy was a super hero after he took the drugs. He drove through blinding fog at 80 kmph and then at an average of 110. We covered 220 kms in 2 hours.
At 4 in the morning, we reached home and slept....
So, it starts on the very fine evening of 24th. We hire a qualis which is supposed to arrive at 7 pm. All our bags are packed and ready. And as per IST(Indian Stretchable Timings) we get a travera which arrives at 9:30 pm. And to top it up, the travera does not have a place to put our bags (no overhead luggage carrier). Though our luggage was minimal, we all 6 people being guys (gals generally tend to carry more luggage). So we push bags under the seats, keep some on the back seat and finally get packed in the travera. And we start our journey.
Within half an hour the sardarji, our driver reaches the bypass, and starts sleeping. Well not actually sleeping comfortably, but taking small naps during driving. And then we come to realize that the sardarji has not slept in 36 hours. Too bad. Well, so we offered him rest and one of us takes the wheels. We drove for about 5 hours. And then the sardarji takes the wheels again.
Cool, so around 4 in the morning we reach this place - a petrol pump from where we are supposed to start climbing uphill. And the sardarji just drives to the side of the road, pulls a sheet over him and without any word, just goes to sleep. And we all are looking at him with our eyes wide open. Well, we sleep for about 2 hours, and then continue our drive. We pass dharamshala and reach mclaudganj around 10 in the morning.
Here we took 2 rooms and got fresh and had breakfast, and then we start our climb uphill around 1 pm. The trek was good, and we took lots of snaps on the way. We saw a forest fire on the way. And by 5:30-6 pm we are almost on the top of the hill. We start seeing snow on our way. Snow which is still melting. Someway in middle we stopped and sat down and we could hear all the snow around the hill melting with a distinct sound. There was no other sound - except for the snow melting. Too good.
And around 6:30 we reach the top of the hill. It is a nice pleatu. With a population of us 6 people, 4 helpers, 6 horses, 1 caretaker of a guest house (There is a guest house on top of the hill and a caretaker to take care of it), and a dog. That was the population of triund when we reached there. On both sides we have deep valleys. One valley leading to the city. And other valley leading to hills covered with snow. You can have a look at the video below to get an idea of the beauty of the place. I dont have words to describe it.
So we had our diner that day and slept in sleeping bags in a tent on top of the hill. At first, i was a bit afraid that the tent might not be able to protect us from the cold. But the sleeping bags and tent were sufficient to protect us from the cold. Next morning we saw the sunrise from behind the snow covered mountains.
And around 11 started our trek to ilaka (snow line) where we were supposed to see pure snow. The path was very dangerous. We came across small paths covered with snow and slippery and had to trek through that. We were so terrified we were going to go back. But then the guide helped us out. The trek was such that one wrong foot/ one slip and we would have been at the bottom of the valley.
We reached the snow line and had a gala of a time. We played in snow and made snow man. The snow used to melt and get through our clothes. Our fingers were numb. The snow used to get though our shoes and make our feet cold.
We had our lunch on the top of the hill and in middle of snow. We relaxed a little after lunch. Enjoyed the sun and the cool breeze and the quietness. And we saw snowfall on our way back from ilaka.
In the evening after we reached, we saw that one of the shops (there are 3 shops in triund - the local people carry stuff uphill for tourists and sell it at huge profit margins) was open and had coffee there. In the night just before diner, we shouted with our hearts out. Our guide played flute and we made a small camp fire (though campfire is not allowed there).
You should hear this, it might be the best sound album created till date...
And we slept that night. Next morning we had breakfast and treked back from a different and more dangerous route. The route was very steep and at some times we were unable to find the path. The wind was wonderful.
After reaching the city, we tried some tibetian food and some shopping. But we were so tired and exhausted that we found nothing interesting. Anyways, in the end we again packed ourselves in the travera and drove back. Hoping that our adventure was over. But we were wrong. Our sardarji driver was again falling asleep on the way back and so he stopped at some place on the highway - we dont know where and took some drugs (afeem, i think) so that he stays awake throughout the night.
Well man that was the best drive i ever had. The guy was a super hero after he took the drugs. He drove through blinding fog at 80 kmph and then at an average of 110. We covered 220 kms in 2 hours.
At 4 in the morning, we reached home and slept....
Monday, September 25, 2006
where have i been??
Oh dear, one whole month gone, and there is just 1 blog - my contribution to the world of bloggers... Too bad "jayant"... Where have you been?? What have you been doing?? The world is moving on and you are still at the same place. Doing nothing, not even writing blogs...
My dear friends, actually there has been certain changes in my life... And i think, i had been a bit busy in these. Waise the start of this month was very eventful. We had a trip to agra. And for the first time in my life, i saw "Taj Mahal". You would say - "well buddy, whats there in a taj mahal. It is one of the wonders of the world, but still, it is just a monument made out of white marble. Isnt it?" And i would say, "yes yes, it is, it is. But you cannot guess the beauty of the monument just by looking at the images. You have to go and look at the monument to enjoy its beauty"....
To cut the long story short. The trip to agra was gud. We took our own cars and drove down to agra and came back in the same day. Went to see the "Taj Mahal" first thing in the morning and then saw the "Agra Fort". Then went to see the Fort at "Fatehpur Sikri". The Taj was gud, no doubt. Made out of white marbel and there are precious stones embedded in the marble. There are carvings and design patterns on the marble created using precious stones of red, orange, green and other colors. A lot of real hard work must have gone in creating the monument. Also take into account the fact that at the time when the taj was built, sophesticated instruments were not available . And the workers took around 22 years to build up the "Taj" - A monument of love created by the mughal emperor "Shah Jahan" for his beloved wife "Mumtaj Mahal" after her death.
Ok ok, so agreed, you were a bit busy in the starting of this month - around 3rd due to your trip to agra. What happened to the rest of the month buddy. Today is 26th. That is 23 days, without a blog. Hmmmmm, Hmmmmm, Aaaaaa, i have nothing to say. Ummm, i have a friend in orkut who keeps on writing lots of scraps and i had to reply her back. So it also took some of my precious time - you know..
Yes, of course!!! i know. And i had to plan my trip home. And ofcourse, another important thing - should i write.... umm maybe... Well, i have been getting lots of calls lately - lots of job offers... Though i keep on telling them that "i am not interested", but these companies and consultants dont leave me alone. And specially Yahoo!!! God, they have been after my life. But, for the time being i will continue with my current organization.
And ofcourse there were certain deadlines to meet in september. And we had some meetings over that and things were finalized. So, i got a bit engaged in those things. Still, saturdays and sundays - you had a bit of those free. You could have written something then.
Umm, yes, but i got busy... Hang on buddy, i will let you know everything after i come back from home. Oh, i will be going home on the 29th of september. And i am not getting 30th off, so i will be forced to take 1st and 2nd as leave increasing the count of leaves taken from 2 to 5. A loss of 3 days.
And i promice, will write a lot of details once i am back from home....
Till then....Just hang on...
My dear friends, actually there has been certain changes in my life... And i think, i had been a bit busy in these. Waise the start of this month was very eventful. We had a trip to agra. And for the first time in my life, i saw "Taj Mahal". You would say - "well buddy, whats there in a taj mahal. It is one of the wonders of the world, but still, it is just a monument made out of white marble. Isnt it?" And i would say, "yes yes, it is, it is. But you cannot guess the beauty of the monument just by looking at the images. You have to go and look at the monument to enjoy its beauty"....
To cut the long story short. The trip to agra was gud. We took our own cars and drove down to agra and came back in the same day. Went to see the "Taj Mahal" first thing in the morning and then saw the "Agra Fort". Then went to see the Fort at "Fatehpur Sikri". The Taj was gud, no doubt. Made out of white marbel and there are precious stones embedded in the marble. There are carvings and design patterns on the marble created using precious stones of red, orange, green and other colors. A lot of real hard work must have gone in creating the monument. Also take into account the fact that at the time when the taj was built, sophesticated instruments were not available . And the workers took around 22 years to build up the "Taj" - A monument of love created by the mughal emperor "Shah Jahan" for his beloved wife "Mumtaj Mahal" after her death.
Ok ok, so agreed, you were a bit busy in the starting of this month - around 3rd due to your trip to agra. What happened to the rest of the month buddy. Today is 26th. That is 23 days, without a blog. Hmmmmm, Hmmmmm, Aaaaaa, i have nothing to say. Ummm, i have a friend in orkut who keeps on writing lots of scraps and i had to reply her back. So it also took some of my precious time - you know..
Yes, of course!!! i know. And i had to plan my trip home. And ofcourse, another important thing - should i write.... umm maybe... Well, i have been getting lots of calls lately - lots of job offers... Though i keep on telling them that "i am not interested", but these companies and consultants dont leave me alone. And specially Yahoo!!! God, they have been after my life. But, for the time being i will continue with my current organization.
And ofcourse there were certain deadlines to meet in september. And we had some meetings over that and things were finalized. So, i got a bit engaged in those things. Still, saturdays and sundays - you had a bit of those free. You could have written something then.
Umm, yes, but i got busy... Hang on buddy, i will let you know everything after i come back from home. Oh, i will be going home on the 29th of september. And i am not getting 30th off, so i will be forced to take 1st and 2nd as leave increasing the count of leaves taken from 2 to 5. A loss of 3 days.
And i promice, will write a lot of details once i am back from home....
Till then....Just hang on...
Monday, August 21, 2006
trip to kasauli + chail
I have been a bit busy and the blogger was really missing me... anyways, had gone for a trip to kasauli & chail (both are near to Shimla).
Well, initially we were planning to go to jaipur, but we found that due to rains the santuaries would be closed. Moreover, there might be lots of heat in jaipur. And we were planning to go on our bikes. Me on my bullet. So, this got dropped. Next we decided to go to some nearby hillstation. After a lot of research, we decided to visit kasauli and chail. Both are near to each other.
Again the plan of going there on bikes was unsuccessful because one of our group members had a leg injury and it was difficult for him to drive for that long on his bike. It was supposed to be a 6-7 hours/300 kms drive.
Kasauli is around 300 kms from delhi and all we have to do is catch the NH1 to chandigarh and from there to panchkula and then to kasauli/shimla/chail. There is a single road to shimla, on taking a left you reach kasauli and on taking a right you reach chail.
Chail is around 60 kms from kasauli. You have to go down to a small river and then there is a very steep climb up a hill via a narrow road surrounded by greenery and trees. Lovely place to drive through.
We left at around 3 in the morning, gathered at a friends house and then moved on from there in his car. We were able to get on the highway by around 5:30 after filling air and petrol in the car. The highway was good and the drive was great. After a very long time i was able to see the sun rise and we also saw 2 rainbows one above the another on the way.
We reached kasauli around 12 in the afternoon. And we were shocked to see the rates of hotels. We were unable to find anything below 700 for a two bed and nothing below 800 for a 4 bed set. Anyways after lots of research we finalized to stay at R Maidens' some nice hotel with a 4 bed big and decent room. Then had something to eat and went to sleep. Roamed about a bit in the evening and relaxed at night.
Well, the next day we left at around 11 am for chail. Had parathas on the way and enjoyed the hills and the cool and clean air. I was able to see lots of people on bikes and really missed my bullet. At chail, the two things that we visited were - worlds highest cricket pitch and a temple. All the time we were in the clouds. The temple was very peaceful. And the drive wonderful. We came back in the evening and then relaxed.
Next day we went to manki point at kasauli. It was the best place we visited. It is situated inside a military layout, so you could not take any electronic items to that place, neither click photos of the place. We had to leave everything including the our cells, cameras and locking keypad of car inside the car. Had to climb for about 500 meters on a 75 degree slope. On top of th e place, there is a helipad and near that there is a temple. It is a very small place. After reaching the top we were inside the clouds. All we could see was clouds above and below us.
The monkeys over there are very aggressive. During our climb downhill, one of the monkeys took all prasad that we had. Anyways, the visit was good. And the place was worth all the effort.
Later that day, we did some shopping and then relaxed. Next day we left kasauli around 12 pm and were in delhi at around 6:30 pm. Back to the city, heat, pollution and our everyday busy lives.
Well, initially we were planning to go to jaipur, but we found that due to rains the santuaries would be closed. Moreover, there might be lots of heat in jaipur. And we were planning to go on our bikes. Me on my bullet. So, this got dropped. Next we decided to go to some nearby hillstation. After a lot of research, we decided to visit kasauli and chail. Both are near to each other.
Again the plan of going there on bikes was unsuccessful because one of our group members had a leg injury and it was difficult for him to drive for that long on his bike. It was supposed to be a 6-7 hours/300 kms drive.
Kasauli is around 300 kms from delhi and all we have to do is catch the NH1 to chandigarh and from there to panchkula and then to kasauli/shimla/chail. There is a single road to shimla, on taking a left you reach kasauli and on taking a right you reach chail.
Chail is around 60 kms from kasauli. You have to go down to a small river and then there is a very steep climb up a hill via a narrow road surrounded by greenery and trees. Lovely place to drive through.
We left at around 3 in the morning, gathered at a friends house and then moved on from there in his car. We were able to get on the highway by around 5:30 after filling air and petrol in the car. The highway was good and the drive was great. After a very long time i was able to see the sun rise and we also saw 2 rainbows one above the another on the way.
We reached kasauli around 12 in the afternoon. And we were shocked to see the rates of hotels. We were unable to find anything below 700 for a two bed and nothing below 800 for a 4 bed set. Anyways after lots of research we finalized to stay at R Maidens' some nice hotel with a 4 bed big and decent room. Then had something to eat and went to sleep. Roamed about a bit in the evening and relaxed at night.
Well, the next day we left at around 11 am for chail. Had parathas on the way and enjoyed the hills and the cool and clean air. I was able to see lots of people on bikes and really missed my bullet. At chail, the two things that we visited were - worlds highest cricket pitch and a temple. All the time we were in the clouds. The temple was very peaceful. And the drive wonderful. We came back in the evening and then relaxed.
Next day we went to manki point at kasauli. It was the best place we visited. It is situated inside a military layout, so you could not take any electronic items to that place, neither click photos of the place. We had to leave everything including the our cells, cameras and locking keypad of car inside the car. Had to climb for about 500 meters on a 75 degree slope. On top of th e place, there is a helipad and near that there is a temple. It is a very small place. After reaching the top we were inside the clouds. All we could see was clouds above and below us.
The monkeys over there are very aggressive. During our climb downhill, one of the monkeys took all prasad that we had. Anyways, the visit was good. And the place was worth all the effort.
Later that day, we did some shopping and then relaxed. Next day we left kasauli around 12 pm and were in delhi at around 6:30 pm. Back to the city, heat, pollution and our everyday busy lives.
Monday, June 19, 2006
life as usual...
Have not been able to write anything for a long time...Well, i had been a bit buzy with unwanted work...
Had to go home last weekend on an urgent work. Was unable to get any reservations in the Indian Railways, and so had to take a flight - "go-air" home. The interesting thing that happened is that the flight was priced at 2000/- for Delhi-Ahmedabad and 800/- for Ahmedabad-Delhi. And the next day when i was about to purchase the ticket, it costed me 3000/- for Delhi-Ahmedabad and 2000/- for the return. :-(
I landed at ahmedabad and then took an auto to the ST bus depo and from there went to baroda on the bus. Total cost came to be around 6000/- for flight(with taxes + fuel surcharge) and 400/- for the auto+bus travel from and to baroda.
Thennnn, i have been a bit buzy with the work at office. RESDEX, "my product" went live on saturday - 17th june. Though i almost dont do anything in it now, but still in case of emergency, i am supposed to do a bit of fire fighting.
And on sunday, i went to the railway reservation counter to cancel some of my train tickets. Well, after standing in queue, i realized that i had forgotten to bring the tickets which needed to be canclled. So... did nothing.
Currently reading a novel "Bag of Bones" By "Stephen King"...
Am planning to write an article about the amount of tax an indian pays, but i need to do some thinking on this and am not getting time :-( ... Well hope to write it by this weekend...
Had to go home last weekend on an urgent work. Was unable to get any reservations in the Indian Railways, and so had to take a flight - "go-air" home. The interesting thing that happened is that the flight was priced at 2000/- for Delhi-Ahmedabad and 800/- for Ahmedabad-Delhi. And the next day when i was about to purchase the ticket, it costed me 3000/- for Delhi-Ahmedabad and 2000/- for the return. :-(
I landed at ahmedabad and then took an auto to the ST bus depo and from there went to baroda on the bus. Total cost came to be around 6000/- for flight(with taxes + fuel surcharge) and 400/- for the auto+bus travel from and to baroda.
Thennnn, i have been a bit buzy with the work at office. RESDEX, "my product" went live on saturday - 17th june. Though i almost dont do anything in it now, but still in case of emergency, i am supposed to do a bit of fire fighting.
And on sunday, i went to the railway reservation counter to cancel some of my train tickets. Well, after standing in queue, i realized that i had forgotten to bring the tickets which needed to be canclled. So... did nothing.
Currently reading a novel "Bag of Bones" By "Stephen King"...
Am planning to write an article about the amount of tax an indian pays, but i need to do some thinking on this and am not getting time :-( ... Well hope to write it by this weekend...
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Missing posts...
There are a few posts i have missed. Lots have happened in the mean time...
Have been to home and to my collegues marriage on 14th of may to bhopal. Had a wonderful day on 15th of may at the famous lake of Bhopal. Had lunch at a four-star, did boating, hung around in odd clothes... In all had great fun. Below are some pics from the same...
The clothes were bought specially for the occassion. We had people enquiring "Where have we come from?". Hope we would have created some waves...
Secondly last sunday, me and one of my collegues - ankit went down for a ride on the delhi-jaipur highway. Something around 150 kms from the starting point. Started at around 5:30 in the morning and reached the place - dharuwera -> jungle babbler (a restro on the highway) around 9. The ride was very pleasant. Will post pics of the same some time later. Saw some great valleys and greenery on the way. We were back by 11:30 am and by that time the sun was up and hot...
Lastly, yesterday we celebrated color day in the office and we were supposed to wear red shirts and blue pants/jeans. Saw "Da-Vinci-Code" at Waves-Noida. Nice movie for the people who have not read the book. But since i had read the book, i found lots of stuff missing. Well... i agree to the fact that it is difficult to show almost all sequences of a book in a movie. But still, some thrills were lacking.
Also, me and my other room-mate shifted to another residence in noida - sector 19. Very close to sector 18 and our office...
Anyways, thats 2 great weeks behind... And in the mean time, i have been working on benchmarking lucene, mysql-fulltext search and sphinx. Will try to provide the benchmark nos as soon as they are out...
Have been to home and to my collegues marriage on 14th of may to bhopal. Had a wonderful day on 15th of may at the famous lake of Bhopal. Had lunch at a four-star, did boating, hung around in odd clothes... In all had great fun. Below are some pics from the same...
The clothes were bought specially for the occassion. We had people enquiring "Where have we come from?". Hope we would have created some waves...
Secondly last sunday, me and one of my collegues - ankit went down for a ride on the delhi-jaipur highway. Something around 150 kms from the starting point. Started at around 5:30 in the morning and reached the place - dharuwera -> jungle babbler (a restro on the highway) around 9. The ride was very pleasant. Will post pics of the same some time later. Saw some great valleys and greenery on the way. We were back by 11:30 am and by that time the sun was up and hot...
Lastly, yesterday we celebrated color day in the office and we were supposed to wear red shirts and blue pants/jeans. Saw "Da-Vinci-Code" at Waves-Noida. Nice movie for the people who have not read the book. But since i had read the book, i found lots of stuff missing. Well... i agree to the fact that it is difficult to show almost all sequences of a book in a movie. But still, some thrills were lacking.
Also, me and my other room-mate shifted to another residence in noida - sector 19. Very close to sector 18 and our office...
Anyways, thats 2 great weeks behind... And in the mean time, i have been working on benchmarking lucene, mysql-fulltext search and sphinx. Will try to provide the benchmark nos as soon as they are out...
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