A memorable sojourn( Travel Tales)

From New Delhi To Bangkok via NH 27 and India Myanmar Friendship Road Pack your floral shirts and duffel bags your sunglasses and cameras and head towards the beautiful country Thailand Via Myanmar. The splendid journey will give you goosebumps as you are heading towards the Jade plains and hills of Myanmar. The joy of traveling cross country will be a lifetime experience . It becomes more adventurous with the cool breeze of Mandalay . Route to be taken: Delhi- Imphal-Moreh-Kale-Bagan-Inle-Lake-Yangon-Maesot-Tak-Bangkok Distance covered 4171 km Days required: 19 So this journey is not easy as it sounds! Its challenging, expensive yet worth doing in lifetime. who wants to go in flights when one can have a beyond awesome Road Trip From India to Thailand. Requirements for the road trip 1.  200% carnet fees  - carnet is a document which is like the passport of your car . It is required to exit and re-enter India. It is a refundable security deposit which i...

Certainly, travel is more than seeing of sights it is a change that goes on deep and permanent in the ideas of living. Being a keen traveler I always like to know about the community , the food and lifestyle  of a place where I am sojourning. The traveler see what he has to see ,the tourist sees what he has come to see . Homestays gives a rich and delightful  experience of sharing and caring with the locals. Ideally If I have to summaries Homestay in a sentence it would be "Home away from home" . The host welcomes with  open arms and also tells you about the beauty and culture of the place. The best part of these homestays  is the food that is shared with the host family which is cooked in grandma's style . one can also improvise one's culinary skills by helping in the kitchen. Helping the family in their daily chores , spending time with the old men or women in the house will bring out the joy in you. Homestays are definitely a very good option if one is tra...

Backpack with me!! Fellow readers Go Backpacking and live the moment. Backpacking is a low cost independent travel where you carry the backpacks on your back which is well equipped with the things needed for traveling. Backpackers generally use public transport and stay in youth hostels or tents. Backpacking is considered to be a wilderness adventure. The best part about backpacking is that you make your own rules, but you need to hit a few checkpoint first. You need to pick the country where you are going to visit and how you are going there. Backpacking offers a richer,more rewarding appreciation of natural beauty. If you are ready to give backpacking a try, follow these steps 1.Find a backpacking partner 2.choose an easy beginning route 3.Gear up backpacking with kids is an eye opening experience  As a child I have traveled a lot by train and  always use to see many foreign tourist carrying heavy backpacks on their back. There was always a curiosity to k...

We discussed, we planned  and we executed our maiden long distance travel to Panjim . so it was all decided that we are going to delight ourselves with a train journey from New Delhi to Madgaon .I started counting the days when I'll be with my soul on a sojourn that was going to be captured in my mind and thoughts forever and ever.  I still remember the date 24 Jan '05 , we were suppose to catch the Rajdhani express from New Delhi . Trains always fascinated me since childhood . Many train memories are still crisp in my mind, especially when the whole family travelled together for summer holidays. From playing cards,ludo and antakshari to eating snacks at different railway stations all reminds me of the happy and content life we use to live  our adventure began at Rajdhani Express one of the finest trains of India. I never expected that travelling with a soul friend can leave a deep impact in my life. Our talks were never ending. Maybe coz we liked each other a lot a...

so I am driving at a speed of 100 km an hr on the national Highway, feeling the thrill of long drives and empty roads at 6 am in the morning ,rejoicing my heart and mind with the beats of Beatles. The scenic beauty is mesmerizing and enchanting  . The sun , the birds , the clean road, the green pasture , grazing cattle, a group of women with pitcher on there heads walking on a straight path  which  are all coming along my way. we were rolling in euphoria when our bellies started feeling hungry. To beat the traffic we left early and didn't pack food for the journey  as we were aware that many Dhabas would come along our way." Alas! where is the Dhaba  " said my 10 year old daughter. Finally we stopped at a decent dhaba to fill our HUNGRY BELLIES.  These dhabas are actually the lifeline of bus and truck drivers and also some crazy people like us who love to travel by road. mainly basic cuisine is cooked here like Dal(pulses) , rice , breads(chapati an...

Heena adorns the hand & music add life to celebration Bright , colourful, vibrant  are the names with which you can  associate Jaipur . one can easily spot  beautifully dressed men and women in there traditional attires. Since my childhood I have always known Jaipur as a place of palaces and Forts . My long desire was to know Jaipur apart from these tourist destinations. Jaipur is a live example of rich heritage and culture that we owe from our "once upon a time" rulers. The city touched my heart when I came across communities who are singers since ages. Even the little member of the house sings and enjoys. All kinds of musical instruments are found here. Jaipur specializes in Harmonium and Tabla. Music lovers from far off places come here to learn music and dance. Till date we hunt for Rajasthani mehndi(Heena) artist to apply mehndi on the hands of bride . This is another community in Jaipur who  survives on age ol...

A walk in the Valley Some Walks are meant to be taken alone... I was at sangla on August of 2009.sangla is a  valley which is surrounded by snow capped mountains  and picturesque pine forest. It was a chilly morning that day . My sojourn for couple of days was a guest house near the Baspa river. I was all set and geared up with my camera  for the walk near river. As I went down the river I noticed beautiful tiny houses and people sipping there cupa chai ( Tea) in there lilliputian portico. They seem to be calm and relaxed with smile on there face.These merry men ,women and children who were coming along my way were so unlike the community which I have seen in the course of my life. Maybe the scenic beauty had cast a magic spell on them. The long walk was looking for answers about soul . Pondering of thoughts lead me to the river . I washed my face , looked at my self into the water and thought what a lonely walk it was!! The Bank of the river is so enchanting t...