The Travel Connection

What caught my attention other than the birds of kolkata, was the array of transport systems across the city. The journey into the world of automobile started with the antique ambassador at the airport. The mighty old ambi is very much a survivor in the city as much as everything else. The fresh coat of yellow paint for a minute misleads you into believing that the ride would be comfortable but as you become a part of good old car, you are taken aback on your seat and you can only hope that you reach the destination safely.   As a tourist, the ride in and around is made interesting by the driver who takes you through the heart of city with its narrow roads and bustling life around those who call these roads their home. Almost all the cab drivers refused to go with the meter and chose to take the shortest and maybe the slowest routes to the destinations. But it gave us a chance to experience Kolkata like we never imagined.   The mode of transport that i was most excited to e

Red breasted Parakeet Common Myna Rose Ringed Parakeet Asian Pied Starling Cattle Egret and common crow Yellow footed Pigeon  and Parakeet Blue Throated Barbet   My recent trip to kolkata left me with few unexpected surprises. The stark contrast of the day to day life out there from the one out in Bangalore was expected but to see friends of the feathered kind galore amidst of the harsh life in a metropolitan city left me in a state of amazement. The first morning in this city was the best i had in a long time. Though we were staying in the heart of the city, we were woken to chirps of hundreds of sparrows. It was a bitter sweet moment as i was enjoying the wake up call, i also recalled that the sparrows of Bangalore have almost completely disappeared. I wish sparrows would come back to Bangalore and feel at home like they do in Kolkata The second morning in Kolkata just got better. We decided to visit Victoria memorial gardens.

Gangtok  at a height of 4700 ft is on lower Himalayan ranges. It's a dense town with small roads and 5 storey concrete boxes packed next to each other. The hub of the town for tourism is the M G road. It is traffic free in the evenings and has its souvenir shops, cafes and the other tourist nick nacks. It is an eco friendly city as plastic is banned.The city is doing its best to promote local tourism by having a flower show and handicrafts museum and view points in and around the town.                                                                                                                        The place of interest that I would recommend is the Do Drul Chorten where I finally turned the prayer wheels which was a long time wish. The stupa is close to museum of tibetology which has some interesting items on display. Rumtek monastery about 25 kms from the city is also a good place to dive into med

Lachung natives i was told were hostile towards tourists about 10 years ago. I can totally understand their sentiments. For every sensitive nature respecting tourist, you will find one whose idea of holiday is to make merry with food/ drink, litter around, play music, talk loudly in the serene surroundings and leave their mark around by vandalizing. Maybe such tourists would be more comfortable in the city environment rather than out in wilderness. But if they do want to be one with nature, i request them to respect  and treat it with TLC. Maybe then the indigenous people will not be against tourism. Over the years, North Sikkimese have realized the potential of tourism and have welcomed us to their home. Lachung now has about 120 hotels averaging 20-25 rooms each. But it is still unspoilt and not touched by commercialism like the popular hill stations.There are no view points or  lakes that you can go boating. There is no manicured  garden where you can take a leisurely strol

A grey morning greeted us on the third day. I was looking forward to this day as i wanted to see the kanchenjunga ranges. But the chances of that happening was minimal. Hey, the glass is always half full as the day turned out to be a blessing in disguise. By the third day, it was certain that our driver Prem's daily chant was rock star songs. Even though i had given him a bunch of Cds on the first day, he continued to play songs from rock star morning in and evening out. Initially i didn't think the songs were hummable but it grew on me. Believe it or not , i am so tempted to go pick a CD now so that i can follow in Prem's footsteps. Prem who had kept to himself the first two days turned stones when we started our journey towards North Sikkim. We were passing through isolated stretches of North Sikkim highway and he started on his fascinating story. It was difficult to understand his Hindi with a nepali/ pahadi accent. The first round , I assumed that I