I wanted to pay a visit to Pandukeshwar and Tapovan. I reached the taxi stand at 7:30 AM—very early by the standards of the hill. The taxi stands for both these places are located on either sides of the road that ascends to Auli from the eastern side of Joshimath. I waited for two hours … [Read more…]
Last night, while I was on phone with Mogit, I felt the building shake. I thought it might have been some heavy vehicle passing in front of the hotel. I found no traces of any vehicle in the darkness outside my room’s balcony. It wasn’t until today morning that I got to know that an earthquake of … [Read more…]
I must admit that the cold made me a lot lazier. I didn’t feel like waking up before 7:30 AM. Hotel Heaven felt further from its namesake with its rooms and room service. I had to wake up the caretaker for some hot water so that I could make some tea. What I was given was lukewarm water, … [Read more…]
Until last night, I had not decided my next destination. After a brief chat with one of the guys at Bunk Stay, I decided to venture out towards Joshimath. He mentioned that it took only five or six hours to reach Joshimath from Rishikesh. Either he used a different clock or he had never travelled … [Read more…]
A hike to Neer Garh waterfall Three more people came to fill the void left by the German lady and the South African guy. If there wasn’t anything interesting or something obstructing my voyage, I knew that it would be my last day in Rishikesh. I am not a religious person and find very little … [Read more…]
Towards Haridwar I woke up quite late—9:00 AM to be precise. Although I was done with my sleep at 5:30 in the morning, I found my quilt to be of greater comfort than the darkness accompanied by chilly winds outside. I wouldn’t lie, but the views at that point of time, just when the Sun … [Read more…]
Commotion of Bangalore to the Silence of Jolly Grant One of the toughest things to do is to actually escape Bangalore on any day that is not a Sunday or a public holiday—something that I have experienced innumerable times and have become well accustomed to. After a few failed attempts at booking an airport taxi, … [Read more…]
I was invited by my bandmates Korak and Shounak to join their gang from IISc for this trek. An upcoming trip of mine demands considerable fitness. I took up this opportunity to prepare a bit for the trip and test out few of my gears. Other than Korak and Shounak, I had the company of … [Read more…]
There was nothing else to do in Udupi. In order to utilise the entire day, I had asked our hotel to arrange for a cab at 8:00 in the morning. However, the cab wasn’t ready until 9:00. We decided to finish our breakfast in Udupi before checking-out and leaving. A nice Udupi style breakfast joint … [Read more…]
From Mangalore to Udupi The Saturday following Diwali was Bhai-Duj. My sister was ecstatic — it has been about ten years that I haven’t been with her on this occasion. We did the usual ritual in our hotel room at Mangalore. Custom dictates that we both eat something sweet afterwards. To our dismay, even at … [Read more…]
