Ghumakkar's Diary

Kalavnatin in clouds, as we looked at it from Prabalgad I have been to Prabalgad twice, but for some reasons (reasonable/non-reasonable!) I couldn't write about it.  So, going easy way - I am re-posting a very comprehensive post written by my fellow trekker Kranti . Also, I will update the post soon with trekking route for Prabalgad, which you can use with your Navigation app to "easily" navigate to the Top, else "getting lost and finding the way" is still the Best Way :) Prabalgad - A beautiful Day Trek in Monsoons :  “Pahad chadne ki kya Jarurat hai?” – Mom “Tumhara beta pagal ho gaya hai” – Dad “Mama/Uncle you are damn cool, man” -  Nephews/Nieces “Gaadi se jaana, bike se nahi” – Loved ones “Pahad chadna mere liye sirf ek trek nahi balki ek nasha hai, meditation hai” – Me #filmy Okay, so with all of these above, finally started our much-awaited Trek to Prabalgad/Kalavantin. We have been planning for this trek for more than a week n...

Known as the Knowledge city of Assam – Jorhat is a small town in the NorthEast India with a unique distinction of sheltering India’s only population of Apes – the Gibbons . Hoolangapar Gibbon Sanctuary spreads across an area of about 21 km sq and is named after Hoolock Gibbons . Not just the Gibbons, it also houses 7 species of monkeys out of total 15 species that are found in India, varied species of birds, spiders and squirrels. A morning walk inside the Hoolangapar Gibbon Sanctuary Gibbons are the Apes and are differentiated on smaller size, lower sexual dimorphism, no nesting habits from the Greater Apes. Hoolock gibbons are the second largest of the gibbons and spread from NE India to Myanmar, with smaller populations in Bangladesh and China. Hoolangapar Sanctuary provides an unparalleled opportunity to meet these gibbons in their natural habitat. Also, the sanctuary has India’s only population of nocturnal primates – the Slow Loris . With distinctive large eyes, every...

Julley! Second word that best describes me is procrastinator. You don’t need to ask me why, check the last date I posted something or in fact the fact that I am posting The Year it was on the fourth day of New Year tells it well. And, now when you ask what’s the first word, I promise I will write on it someday soon ( God promise it is :p) This year had really something I wish to have every year – lots and lots of travelling. It all started with solo Kutch ride and ended with a drive to Murudeshwar, I changed job – travelling played a big role in that too, I met someone and realized that there still can be a life (met momentarily, realized - well, perhaps on real terms), I almost touched all the corners of the country – chronologically Kutch in West, Leh (finally) in North, Imphal (yippy) in East and Murudeshwar in South. Only thing that I regret about the year was less of riding, though travelling did compensate it to a good extent. Also, that I couldn’t write, not that I ...

Finally, planned - postponed - planned - unplanned...series of Yes and No...year after years...finally a plan that took a shape to be executed...and finally it collapsed! Fourth year of Planning a Ride to the Top of the World( ly senses ), and it Flopped when the guy who planned it - booked a bed in Hospital for some unknown disease that turned out to 'fresh water worms' but killed his plan! When it starts to feel like cliche (like my life), I get to the point...I am leaving for Leh tomorrow morning! This time - NO PLANS! All I have got is a ticket to Jammu and a return ticket from Leh. What I will miss most on my ride is ofcourse you don't know and I won't tell, but Achtung!  will for sure be missed a lot; but it's his fault - he didn't start the day he was scheduled to be packed and leave for Jammu; perhaps he didn't want to start it alone! Epic ride it is! (Btw, to those who don't know, Achtung!  is my Bull - an RE TBTS 350. What next? I don...

(It's a second post on Havelock in the series of posts on Andaman . For the teaser, click here .) Havelock is a beautiful small island situated at about 57 km North East of the Capital town of Port Blair in Andaman Sea. Named after Maj General Henry Havelock, it is the largest among the Ritchie’s Archiepelago islands spread across an area of about 114 sq km. En Route Havelock, On the government ferry - Under the Heavenly Sky This post is all about How to reach, When is the Best time and Where to stay in the Havelock. HOW? The Havelock Island can be reached by ferry or seaplane from Port Blair. Reaching Port Blair by Air There are direct flights to Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair from Chennai, and Kolkata by Air India, JetLite, Jet Airways and Spice Jet. To get sweet deals, book the tickets at least two months in advance else booking tickets for Bangkok would be cheaper ;) Reaching Port Blair by Ships

India is an exotic subcontinent with almost everything to offer to its tourists – right from lofty mountains, mysterious jungles to tranquil seas and colorful cities. Being a history enthusiast, I decided to opt for the capital city of India, which is popular for its wide array of historical monuments as well as interesting heritage. New Delhi is a beautiful combination of the modern and the ancient and I was amazed at every step by the kind of diversity it offers. The one day I spent in New Delhi was memorable in every sense of the word. A look at the lofty Qutab Minar I decided to start off with this well known historical landmark in South Delhi. Touted as the tallest brick minaret in the world, the Qutab Minar has five stories, each of which is covered with beautiful carvings of the scriptures from the Koran. There are various other monuments in the same site – some intact and some degenerated. I also saw the famous Ashokan pillar here – the wrought iron marvel. There are ma...

What I like most about the cities we live in is the places we generally not aware about. Like the case of one of its own kind Butterfly Park of Thane, which is at stone throw distance from my place and I came to knew about it a few months back only. Then there is this Pagoda – another one of its own kind – world renowned and still not known to many city dwellers. We visited this place to take pictures and let me confirm it, we were stoned by the colors and the mystical sky (check out the Photo Story at the bottom of the post) Located at Northern most corner of the Megacity of Mumbai, across the Gorai creek, Global Vipassana Pagoda is a meditation hall built out of gratitude to the Buddha, his teaching and the community of monks practicing his teaching ( Wikipedia ).  The Global   Vipassana Pagoda - HDR The Pagoda is also known for being built on the world's largest stone dome without any supporting pillars, at height of ~29 metres and external diameter 94.82-9...

(It's a teaser post on my recent trip to Andamans (Portblair and Havelock), written mainly for LonelyPlanet Escape Express, you may also read and vote for it here . A series of Detailed posts on the Islands, Beaches, Places and Diving will be published soon) Yes, it was strange for me. The love for Road and Trekking was overpowered this time by the love of Beaches and actually - the Underwater adventure! Beaches have always attracted me, so a road leading to beach has always been what I would ever love to do. No thoughts, no  ifs-and-buts  just take a road that leads to Waters - and its ought to be a Real Lovely trip! But, this time it was different. Just the Water and only Water called me. This time after a long wait, and believe me the wait was well paid, I finally happen to take flight down to the heavenly Havelock Island of the Andamans for Scuba Diving! And what I met there, the waters, the atmospheric bars, nitrogen releasing from body, easing pressure by squee...

" What will you like to have on your birthday? A book!  Few months back I got this reply from my 10 years old niece. I gifted her Alice and Wonderland much to annoy her younger sister. It hasn’t got any pictures! Who reads these many words,   was her reaction to one of the Best children book ever written. Now this story had everything, a cute girl, an   out-of-this-world   set, extra ordinary league of characters – complete wow and awe factor! But, where it failed my younger ( 6yrs old ) niece? Definitely, problem wasn’t with the story, but the book – it was all just words, negligible cartoons and no color ( except the cover page ). This tells the story that though the kids like and devour those stories which have creative characters that may bring a wow affect in the story – it’s not worth reading if it’s just words! Not so sanely, but yes it could be analogues to the fact that kids tend to eat a sandwich or a trendy   roti-roll   stuffed w...

Goa is a place with innumerable offerings. So, handpicking the few best things is tough. Still, I would take the risk and offer my silly little tips (which, by the way, are not at all silly). So, here are my top 10 things to do in Goa ( I mean these are the things I would be doing there, provided my father-in-law finances my trip): i.                     Parasailing: Parasailing is a sport which is in my bucket list! You may have heard of it too and it won’t be a bad idea to try it out in one of Goa’s popular beaches . It is an aerial sport where you are propelled to midair via a makeshift parachute-kind-of-a-thing! It will cost you somewhere around Rs 800-1500! Parasailing at Baga Beach ii.                   Checking out bikini-clad girls: Yes, if you thought that you cannot check out bikini...

Photo A Day Experiment (PADE) Day1: Alone What can be a better start to an Event than a picture from Varanasi .  This picture I shot few years back in Varanasi, in November - when it'd just started getting colder. Winter was at doors with a pleasant not-so-cold not-so-warm weather. This is the time, birds from colder regions of World, Siberia, Russia, migrate to relatively warmer places. Shot on Nikon D5000-55mm, this picture is one of my favorite as it portrays a fight against the society ( buildings on ghats in background ) that needs to be fought alone ( the bird ). Fight is always Alone when against the Society and its norms This picture post is an Entry to PADE-2013, a month long Photo-blog event. To know more and participate, click here or here . Check themes here .

I have been to Jaisalmer an era ago, when travelling was more about getting pampered by parents, buying or at least wish to get one or the other thing, taste each and every street food, and then to share the stories of rail-journey, hotel room, bus-guided tours when back to school. Except for that we, a group of boys and girls from my railway colony , had camel ride on some dune, saw where the movie Border was shot and also witnessed shooting of a Rajasthani movie ( where a dude from our group pissed off the actor calling him Uncle ), I don’t remember much. So, this ride to Jaisalmer was just not another ride but also a journey down the memory lane. Nostalgia was of different sort when the city recalled me how that childhood tripping which had a girl from my class annoyed another girl for the obvious reasons :) Longewala to Tanot - a Must do Road Khuri Dunes Khuri sand dunes (also Khoohdi or Kuhri) are not that famous as are the Saam or Sam Sand Dunes , but we have bee...

If it  wouldn't  been Highway, I would have been High another Way ~ Ghumakkar Only thing that I don’t like attaching my rides is the ‘ reasons ’, and satirically it has been ‘ those reasons ’ that inspired me to get on some of my best rides of the short Life I have lived till date. One such ride was the last week’s  month's Mumbai-Jaisalmer. Rides to Nagpur and Jaisalmer have been on my itinerary since a long time, owing to my Geologists friends being posted there. Though, Nagpur is still to be done, I went to Jaisalmer on just a week’s planning. A message to my broken-ride-hearts Watsapp Group ‘ Decide & Ride ’, two friends agreed for the trip and finally one of them got along. Ride This is was the first ride in many a sense. I was lonely, though not solo; no smartphone with me, no deliberate routing/mapping done, and a very limited blog-survey over the roads and places. Target was to ride those ~1100 km in 2days, Day 1 from Mumbai to Mehsana and Day ...

We have been planning to visit the winter guests of Mumbai for last few years. This year finally we could! Thanks to a bulleteer mate – Vikram Pai aka Untamed. We planned it on Whatsapp and visited Sewri Mudflats for a rendezvous with the guest birds – Flamingos. Walking Flamingos at Sewri Mudflats Scientifically, these are Lesser Flamingos or Phoenicopterusminor , the smallest species of flamingo. It mainly occurs in Sub-Saharan deserts and Runn of Kutch. Annually, thousands of Flamingos fly in to the warmer mudflats of Sewri, Mumbai to avoid the harsh winters of their breeding habitat in Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. A lot is still to be done to study the main reasons (winter, food-few of them) and their possible routes. Their general stay at Mumbai ( Sewri mudflats, Thane/Airoli/Vashi creeks ) spans October-March, though it depends on the arrival of winters in Kutch and also on the ability of baby-flamingos to fly. Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and few other NGOs are...

This post is in continuation of Series of posts on my recent Zanskar trip. For the first part on Srinagar, Click here . Dal Lake Famous as " Jewel in the crown of Kashmir " or " Srinagar's Jewel ”, Dal Lake is the second largest lake of the state with a shoreline of about 15kilometers and covering 18 sq km area. While, Houseboats and Shikara (small boats or gondolas) bejewel the Lake, Mughal era gardens decorate its periphery. During winter season, the temperature sometimes dives sub-zero and freezes the lake. Sunset at Dal Lake Spread over 18 square kilometres, this Lake is essentially a part of a natural wetland which covers 21.1 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi), including floating gardens that are actually fenced and tied to wooden logs. These floating gardens are known as "Rad" in Kashmiri. The wetland is divided by into four basins; Gagribal, Lokut Dal, Bod Dal and Nagin. Lokut-dal and Bod-dal each have an island in the centre, known a...

Talked and planned over mails and phone-calls, I reached Srinagar a day before Dheeraj and company. I was expecting a VIP welcome at airport by a drive holding a ply card for me, as a friend has got booked a government rest house for me. But there was none, mobile network was down and there was no public booth near airport. All thanks to sh*thead insane  Nakoula Basseley   who directed a sheer nonsense movie to hurt public sentiments, and to control any outrage in the protest-affected Srinagar, all the mobile networks were jammed. After spending about an hour there waiting for the guy, I took a taxi and planned to book a hotel at Lal Chowk, one of the few places I know well about the town. As I saw the Heaven from the Sky As we moved through the streets, I could easily see what I read before in a    Curfewed Night . Streets were mostly empty or dotted by a few people here and there. It was a sunny day with a pleasant atmosphere but without charm . Shops were c...