The Travel Connection

Though ladakh had been my dream destination, the fact that I would be white water rafting on zanskar made it even better. Now I had  tried my hand in rafting along the kali river and it only made hunger for a higher grade. The guide proclaimed that at a few stretches we would hit grade 3 and the mermaid in me was jumping with joy.  Unlike Kali river where the dress code included sarees, we were given body suits. The temperature on the day we went rafting was about 6 degrees and it was considered a good day to be rafting! After changing into our suit , we were taken along the Zanskar river for 14 kms drive to somewhere on the road to Chilling. I wonder why Zanskar is so brown. Is it because the brown minerals are bleeding into the river? Surrounded by mountains in multiple shades of brown, it all became one only to be framed by the vibrant blue of the sky. We had embarked on a brown water rafting and I couldn't wait! The drive seemed too long as I wanted to be pa...

They say it is all in the journey and not the destination. I totally agree with it. The planning for a holiday is as exciting as being on one. The journey to my destination though a very long one, was mix of sights, smells, dust, excitement and some surprises. Within the first 15 minutes after arrival at Bagdogra, we were pleasantly surprised by this wonderful mall " city center" at Siliguri where we stopped for lunch. We were informed that Siliguri 's proximity to Nepal and Bhutan border made it a shopping hotstop. Interestingly Siliguri has about 7-8 malls. Pardon my  ignorance, i had not even heard of Siliguri before i started planning this trip. To see this small town/city have this architecturally well designed mall with all the brand names impressed me! Though the closest airport to Gangtok is only 124 kms away, the drive from Bagdogra to Gangtok was about 4 hours long. River Teesta kept us company all the way meandering through the mountains. Though s...

Blast from past! My Mom wanted to visit Shirdi for a long time and finally it all fell into place in month of September 2008. My dad suggested we add a few more on the itinerary as we were traveling a distance. That is how Shani shignapur ,Bhimashankar,Trimbakeshwar and Nashik got included in our trip.                                                   Sugarcane juicer- The authentic way! We took an overnight train to Kopargaon. Shirdi is about 14 kms  from the station. This was one of the rare trips where we had not booked a hotel. We just walked into couple of them at walkable distance from the Mandir and narrowed upon one. Shirdi has to be experienced and not just read about. If one has paid attention, Saburi and ...