Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Jan 30, 2014

Birthday weekend in Mcloedgunj

The first Travel tale on Thursday is here :) There will be two travel tales each month. Memories, accidents, hilarious episodes, reviews of a place, wish list – it all will be part of these Thursday tales. Excited? Read on.

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My parents are pretty cool people. I found my freedom at quite an early age and have been living independently for a long time now. If ever one thing that freaks them out, it is my travel plans with friends. My permission fiasco was daringly shared as a guest post on Richa’s profile a while ago. (Read it here at http://subzeroricha.blogspot.in/2013/11/mom-actually-there-is-trip.html)

Okay, not to exaggerate it. All that freaking out is thing of past and my parents now happily accept my travel plan announcements.

So it was my Birthday in 2012 and it fell on a Saturday. Adding cherry to the cake, Friday was a holiday. Thus, there I was with a long Birthday weekend and a near perfect weather of August.

It was an impromptu plan and before we knew it we were on our way to Mcloedgunj. Mcloedgunj is a small town in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. It is approx. 500 kms from Delhi and it is a near smooth 8 hour journey. Mcloedgunj is famous for Dalai Lama’s residence in exile, due to which the city has a lot of Buddhist and Tibetan influences.

We chose to drive down to Dharamshala via Chandigarh. We started early morning and stopped on a highway dhaba (dhaba is a hindi word for roadside restaurant) for Breakfast. Another stop to have some tea and enjoy monsoon rains, and we were in Kangra valley without any hitch.

Only when we reached Mcloedgunj, we realized how big a tourist attraction the place was. Being a small town, we expected the place to be a quiet one but the town was bustling with activities.






The town has several small hotels and inns and in summers, all are full almost every weekend. (Lesson – if it is a long weekend, make sure you have booked a room for yourself in advance). However, after two hours of inquiring in some 20 different hotels, we found two rooms and thus, began our time in McLoedgunj.

Being a tourist attraction, town boasts of several eateries serving global cuisine. Although not close in authenticity, one can enjoy an Indianised global food in the town.

McLoedgunj has several Buddhist monasteries and a very famous Dalai Lama office. While the office is not accessible, monasteries are must visit. We began the next day with visiting a couple of monasteries.

A small water fall which then runs as a stream for few kilometers before it meets Beas in Kangra valley is one of the popular tourist attractions. Crystal clear, rapid flowing water is ultimate solace when a Delhite travels to beat scorching Delhi summers. As a result, small tea shops, serving Maggie and tea open up during peak season along the stream. We spent quite some time hopping on rocks and playing with water in the stream.

For shopaholics like us, there are many shops selling keep-sakes and souvenirs. There are also specialties of Tibet to shop like shawl and bone jewellery.

Since, I am a foodie, I come back to food. One can find some authentic tibetian food in this town (remember momos and thukpa?) We relished these for dinner at a popular restaurant.

Weekend that it was, it had to end in just two days. The next day, Sunday began our long journey back home, which we completed with more than five stops on the way including Bhakra Nangal Dam.


A birthday that wasn’t like every other year was certainly one of the best Birthday celebrations I ever had.
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Dec 12, 2013

My unforgettable travel memories

I have lived most of my life away from my family. Although I haven’t travelled much in the literal sense, there have been numerous journeys between my parent’s home and my several bases. I often laugh that I can write a book on memoirs of my journeys.

If you have ever travelled by Indian Railway as much as I have, I am sure you will have a memory bank of your own. This write tribe prompt gave me an excellent opportunity to recall a few of them.

1. It was May, 2009. I had to come back to college during summer breaks on a short notice, and no matter what I couldn’t have missed it. I managed to get a ticket in one of the worst trains. Since a friend was supposed to join me after a station, I was okay. The journey started uneventful. As the train slowed down on the next station, I could see my friend standing. However, she stood long before the actual compartment location. In one minute of stoppage, she managed to get herself onto the right compartment but her luggage was left behind and had to be thrown in some general compartment.
In her luggage she had her bag, wallet, laptop and the only set of formals that she were to wear next day. Desperate to get the bag, we ended up pulling the chain and walking up and down all general compartments of the train until we found the bag. We had to ultimately pay a penalty of Rs.1000.

2. For one of journeys, we had our tickets in the waiting list. Since it was WL1 & 2, we were sure that it will get confirmed. Only after we sat in the train without confirming and train left the town, we got to know that our tickets were not confirmed. 200 kms later we were asked to get off and we had to complete the remaining 500km standing in a general compartment of a local train.
What is interesting to note is I had a cramp in my ankle and had crepe bandage on for the entire journey.  

3. This is what I call as Jab we met moment. The train had stopped at a station and I stepped out to buy cold drinks. I was aware that train stopped here for 20 minutes, but since it was running late, I was a bit apprehensive. While the shopkeeper was collecting cash for the glasses he had just delivered, he suddenly looked up and said “Sorry”. It was all so confusing until I turned back and saw that the train was moving. Unwilling to part with my cold drinks for which I had paid, I ran towards my coach with two glasses. A helpful man tried to help me get through and as I got in with his help, I dropped the entire glass on his white shirt.
What made the entire episode hilarious was when we realized that the train had stopped moving by the time I reached my seat.


I guess recalling seven memories would be too long, therefore am breaking the tradition and ending it here. Do you have a memory that makes you double up with laughter when you recall.


Linking it to NaBloPoMo -



Sep 9, 2013

Friends and Italy- my happy traveller wishlist

I have always been an elaborate planner. Especially when it comes to travelling, one of my favorite pas-time is to plan holidays. I sit for hours in front of my laptop, searching for fare prices, reading travelogues, contemplating over finances and making a list of dream destinations.

I recently listed seven places I really want to go to. But when for Indiblogger competition "Creating Happy Travellers" by http://www.yatra.com I had to pick one that will be happiest – I’ll pick Italy.

Few years ago, with release of Eat Pray Love, Rome became a famous destination. But if you are as big a Mario Puzo fan as I am, your love for Italy is as much as your own nation.

Sep 2, 2013

Seven places I want to travel to.

This is going to be a tough post. I mean my list of must visit places is so long that it seems impossible to list down top seven. Most of these places, I have been planning forever now. I once read in one of the cards that I should include my travel plans in my prayers and I will get means to fulfill my dreams. So here is an attempt to list down top seven.