India

Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi Distance covered 157 kms Time taken – 2pm – 6:15pm Room at (Karni Palace, Kelwara some 8-10kms from Kumbalgarh fort) – INR 1000, initially quoted at INR 1200. Basic clean rooms, a little over priced owing to the demand. Sight Seeing – Kumbalgarh Fort, Light and Sound Show in evening. Team aimed to see the light and sound show at Kumbalgarh Fort at 6:15pm. The lack of a proper map led us into the countryside and we saw some very pretty villages enroute to Kumbalgarh. We missed the first 10 minutes, rest of the show was fabulous. A simple yet artistic way to learn the history of the rulers who built the fort. The people who work as helpers duringthis show work as guides during the day and have memorized all the information by heart. Verdict – Not to be missed, contrary to the information online, the show starts at 18:15 and not 18:45. Sight Seeing – Our Guide was very informative yet boring. Went with the second best guide, as the most popular one called Salim was busy. Fort is very bland to be a part of such a rich royal lineage, some theories say it is so because the royals did not have a lot of money at the money the time, fort was being built. The vast jungles surrounding the fort add to the beauty of it. Surprising part was the Janana Mehal, where the rooms for the Raja’s wives have paintings of Fighting Elephants for decoration. We concluded that the pictures of fighting elephants were put there so that the wives would look at these paintings while they were conceiving future Princes. Expenses (all in INR) Food – Dinner , Breakfast – 750 …

4 friends (2 couples) went on a 8 day Road Trip to Rajasthan from Delhi. ROUTE Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi EXPENSES They spent about about INR 38,000 for the entire trip. You can download detailed excel sheet here You can view parts of the Road Trip by clicking on the Links or Pictures below  Delhi – Pushkar Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh Smartest Monkeys in Town, They won’t eat nuts from the lady selling them but will eat them out of your hand with some etiquette  Chittor – Kumbalgarh Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur Udaipur – Bundi Bundi – Jaipur

Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittor Distance covered 220 kms. Time taken – 3pm – 8pm Room at Padmini Palace – INR 1000 that was initially quoted as INR 2400. It wasn’t easy, and took us about 30minutes but we did it. It was fun. To be honest the right price should have been INR 700 but in India, accommodation prices are hitting the roof. Food Items tried – Imarti, Kesar doodh, Daal Baati Churma,kadhi kachori with heeng ka paani, mirchi k pakode. Sight Seeing – Ajmer Durgah, Chittorgarh Fort. Ajmer Durgah – For its religious importance, drive up the hill and view of Ajmer city Chittorgarh – Lazy Man’s fort as you can move inside the fortified area in a car from one site to another. 20,000people reside inside the campus and you will be welcome by hoards of guides at the ticket counter. Fort is Scenic and well preserved. Hire a guide as it saves you time in Navigating from one point of interest to the other. Information quotient of the guides are not very high. Places of interest inside the fort – Kalika Mata Temple, Vijay Stambh, Kirti Stambh, Rana Kumbha’s Palace and Rani Padmini’s Palace. The legend goes that Alauddin Khilji was enamoured by the beauty of Rani Padmini. When he defated her husband in the battlefield, she committed Jauhar along with other ladies of the fort to avoid abduction and dishonor at the hands of Alauddin. A temple dedicated to Meera Bai is located inside the fort. Our Verdict – Chittorgarh fort should be part of your itinerary and can be easily made a part of the Delhi – Jaipur – Agra Circuit. The Heeng ka paani after …

Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi Distance covered (405 kms) Time taken : 10:30am – 6:30pm Sight Seeing – Brahma Temple, Various Ghats at Pushkar Food items tried – Kadhi Kachori, Malpuaa, Papad Pyaaz Ki Sabzi, Gatte ki Sabzi. The team started from Delhi with an aim to halt in Jaipur, but made it all the way to Pushkar. Room search for 45 min left us with a room for INR 700 with stunning views of the Brahma Kund. Team hung out at cafes catering to foreign crowds in a hidden alley and tried out a mix of Israeli and Italian dishes for Dinner. 5-6 hrs of wandering around the Kund, trying out many delicacies and visit to the only Brahma Temple in India. Our Verdict – Best Kadhi Kachori and Malpuaa in Rajasthan. Papad Pyaaz ki sabzi is a must eat, not easily found in other parts of Rajasthan. Pushkar is must visit on your trip to Rajasthan and can be coupled with Ajmer which is 15kms away. Expense Summary – Dinner – 572 Breakfast, Lunch – 880 Tolls on highway – 500 Snacks etc on the road – 300 Fuel Expenses will come at the end of all the posts.    

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It was at 3,800 meters out in the open where not another sign of life could be seen that we were camping at for the night. Our companions, our guide and helper, who made our adventure possible for us were running around while we were sitting cosy in the sunlight. Even, the blades of grass in the distance were all covered in snow. We had reached at the top of Sunderdhunga at 12:30 in the afternoon while the sun was still shining. But, a few hours later, the fog and mist came down. It was in this mist that we spent the rest of the day…watching the sunset? No way! The mist wouldn’t budge and fog wouldn’t lift. But as soon as the sun set, the mist cleared and we sat down on a stone wall, put together by the past trekkers for a small kitchen area, watching the moon rise and shine. We were all huddled around the fire where our evening khichri was boiling. We knew that tomorrow morning, when the sun would rise from behind the mountains that would light up the 6000+ meter peaks that were surrounding us, it would be spectacular and all this hardship would make sense. After dinner when the fire outside was doused, we all snuggled up inside the tent. Even though, it was warm inside, we could still not get our feet to be warm enough. Vikram and I covered ourselves with all the warm clothes we had brought. All our thermals, mufflers, gloves were stuffed at the bottom of our sleeping bag but we still woke up from time to time with cold feet. When even to snuggle, be inside the tent  and sleeping was challenge, the nature called. To attend the call of the nature in this ass freezing cold …

When was the last time someone didn’t care about who you were but simply welcomed you in their home? When was the last time someone gave you your space in his own physical space? When was the last time someone said, “Tell me more” and got all excited about your new idea? When was the last time someone said everyone is invited and actually meant it? Seed Snehal If you haven’t experienced any of this in a long time, you haven’t met Snehal yet. Snehal is a man who identifies himself with dreams, his or others that’s why he calls his abode – ‘Sapney farm’. A breathing ground for dreams that the world claims it doesn’t need his farm is the oasis of freshness, an asylum to protect the ‘new’, in a world where the usual and the obvious have banished the new and unusual. But of course, I wasn’t aware of this. All I remembered about Snehal was a man who is the owner of the Kofibar in Auroville. There is something unacceptably commercial about ventures claiming to be non-commercial and for the good of all that keeps me away from them therefore, the idea of staying in a commune on a permaculture farm with people from “who knows where” for a week somehow did not appeal to me. We arrived in Auroville after 10 days of Vipassana in Chennai. We headed straight for our favourite glass of cold coffee at Kofi Bar and met with Snehal and his friends there. The evening ran into night and as we returned after a late dinner, it was already pitch dark at the farm. Unable to see a thing, we held each other’s hand and were led to our hut. The two level bamboo hut was a dream come true. It was the first …

We started our walk from Connaught Place at the legendary Wengers where we dug into a yummy strawberry pastry and drank up Keventer’s iconic milk shake as we waited for everybody to join. If Connaught  Place was this crowded, then Old Delhi was something to brace yourself for, we realized. Then we threw ourselves in a crowded Metro carriage and stepped out at Chandani Chownk station where our walk started. Below are our three stops on the food walk. To view the food album click here. 1. Paranthe Wali Gali – Not difficult to get to, anyone in Old Delhi can guide you to Paranthe Wali gali. Make your way through the saree selling shops and fancy lehenga displays to arrive on a narrow alley with rows parantha selling shops. The only catch is that paranthas are like deep fried stuffed puris. My Past experience with these paranthas left me with unpalatable taste but Mansi had tasted more than one paranthas in this gali and took us straight to  Pt. Gaya Prasad’s. We tasted everything from Okra stuffed paranthas to Rabri Paranthas. Nimbu parantha emerged clear winner but I still can’t get the taste of Mawa parantha off my mind. Thanks Mansi, this was the best food find ever. Expense: 7 paranthas amongst four people Rs. 4oo. If you keep walking straight ahead zig zagging through tiny lanes you come across halwaai operating for generations and the Kachori Wala who has his own website. Talk about old meets new. We had appetite to save for kebabs and korma. But Mansi was more than tad bit hurt by the absence of regular Daulat chaat hawkers around the area. It took time for sulking Mansi to return to her spirits but soon she was leading us around another web of tiny streets …

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(Click on any image to view the album and navigate) We were greeted by an unexpected spray of snow in late March on our morning ride to Yumthang valley in North Sikkim. Everything was dusted with white sparkles that shone bright against the azure skies. These are some of the most spectacular photographs we have ever taken. Check them and fall in love with this beautiful valley at 3560 meters above sea level. We don’t believe in bucket lists, but if you have one, this place should be on it. [epa-album id=”1797″ show_title=”false” display=”full”]