Heritage Walk – Chandni Chowk.

It was my first heritage walk organised by Travel correspondents / Bloggers Group (TCBG) under the guidance of experts “ Madhulika Liddle” and “Swapna Liddle”.

 

Madhulika Liddle :-A writer by profession, has written a series on “Muzaffar Jung’s mystery” other than that she has written a  variety of short stories , travel articles , humours articles and novels. 

Swapna Liddle :- She is an eminent historian and has been conducting Heritage walk in Delhi for more than a decade now. She has written a book  “Delhi 14 Heritage walks”.

Basai Wetland - Less travelled Bird watching site

Dear Readers wish you all a very happy, prosperous, glorious and travelful 2016 !

Trip Organised by	Travel correspondents / bloggers (TCBG)
Bird watcher expert	Mr. K.B. Singh
Photographer	Abhinav Singh
Writer	Mahesh Semwal

Our Group with expert

Jim corbett - Day-2

 Jim Corbett 

                     * Jim Corbett - Day 1 
                     * Jim Corbett - Day 2 
We got up at 5.00 AM and got ready for our safari ,two jeep reached before 6.00 AM. By the time we  all came down ,clicked some pics before leaving for Safari. Around 6.15 AM we left our hotel for Safari.

Jim Corbett - Day 1

Jim Corbett 

                     * Jim Corbett - Day 1 
                     * Jim Corbett - Day 2 

Ghumakkars always look for long weekends. Every year we  try to make the ideal use of Dushera  holidays as Schools  are also closed during this  time so we plan for family trip. This time we planned to visit Amritsar but due to some disturbance in the city we changed our plan.To change the program & decide a place in the last moment is always challenging  with a big family and so we finally decided to visit “Jim Corbett”.

Family Pic

Tungnath - Third and highest temple of Lord Shiva.

Contants - Deoria Tal / Tungnath 

                         On the way to Deoria tal

                         Deoria  Tal

                         Tungnath

In continuation to my last post on Deoria tal ……..

Next day morning we woke up at 5.30 AM in the hope of watching the reflection of Chaukhamba Range in the Devaria Taal but got disappointed to see that it was cloudy and we could manage to see only the orange tip of the peaks of Chaukhamba Range in the lake. We waited there till 7.00 AM in this hope that weather would be clearer and at least we would get to watch the reflection of the entire range in the lake but I think we were not destined to see it this time. 

 

Deoria Tal

 Contants - Deoria Tal / Tungnath 

                         On the way to Deoria tal

                         Deoria  Tal

                         Tungnath

We started our trekking from Village Sari around 3.30 PM .Deoria Tal is at an altitude of 2,438 Mtrs and famous for its mesmerizing reflections of Chaukhamba Range in the crystal clear water of Tal.

The distance between Village Sari and Deoria Tal is around 2.30 Kms but the entire trek is steep and trekking  would be actually too tough for the non-regular trekker. 

On the way to Deoria tal

Contants - Deoria Tal / Tungnath 

                         On the way to Deoria tal

                         Deoria  Tal

                         Tungnath

Since long time I was planning to visit Valley of flower and Hemkund Sahib and this time I blocked the dates for last week of Aug  but  the news of cloud burst in that area in which 2-3 bridges washed away  had forced me to cancel my program.

In September during a long week end  as Eid was falling on Friday (Sep. 25^th), I  hurriedly made a plan to visit Deoria tal & Tungnath by Bus.When somehow this plan was disclosed to few  of my colleagues  and they also showed a keen  interest for the trip and finally we decided to go by our own car so that we could save our time.

Khatauli

Pratapgarh Farm- Unlimited Fun and food

One day my sister in law and her family had a visit at my place. We all were exploring the idea of having a day out get together as we had weekend ahead and children were really after us to take them out,so we thought of visiting any nearby place. We didn’t want to visit a far off place and  should not be too far also from NCR  where we along with our children can enjoy in group.  When I suggested “Pratapgarh Farm” everybody accepted and date was finalised for the trip.

Tanah lot temple - Bali

Bali

Bali - Intro
Uluwatu temple - Bali 
Mt. Batur - Bali
Batuan Temple - Bali
Goa Gajah - Bali
Taman Ayun Temple - Bali




Our next and final destination was Tanah lot temple, Bali visit is incomplete without visiting this temple. It is located about 20 kms from Denpasar.

Tanah lot temple

Taman Ayun temple - Bali

Bali

Bali - Intro
Uluwatu temple - Bali 
Mt. Batur - Bali
Batuan Temple - Bali
Goa Gajah - Bali
Tanah lot Temple - Bali
 

After exploring the Goa Gajah temple we left for our next desination “Taman   Ayun temple”. 

Taman  Ayun temple

Goa Gajah - Bali

Bali

Bali - Intro
Uluwatu temple - Bali 
Mt. Batur - Bali
Batuan Temple - Bali
Taman Ayun Temple - Bali
Tanah lot Temple - Bali
 


Our next destination was Goa Gajah  which is located at village Bedulu . It is an ancient temple .Goa Gajah means “elephant cave” and the name is derived from lord Ganesha. This temple is dedicated to lord Shiva.

Goa Gajah

Batuan Temple - Bali

Bali

Bali - Intro
Uluwatu temple - Bali 
Mt. Batur - Bali
Goa Gajah - Bali
Taman Ayun Temple - Bali
Tanah lot Temple - Bali
 

Today was the last day of my visit in Bali. In morning we had our breakfast & checked out our hotel leaving our luggage in the hotel only & left for the sightseeing. 

Mt. Batur - Bali

Bali

Bali - Intro
Uluwatu temple - Bali 
Batuan Temple - Bali
Goa Gajah - Bali
Taman Ayun Temple - Bali
Tanah lot Temple - Bali
 

Two days of the meeting got over and now it’s time to roam around the beautiful city – Bali. We planned to visit Mt. Batur which is almost in everyone’s wish list. Mt Batur is famous for its sunrise & active volcanoes.

Generally it is suggested to trek early in the pleasant morning and enjoy the mesmerising view of sunrise. So after the hectic schedule of meeting we went to bed early so that we could gear up for trekking.

Uluwatu Temple - BALI ( Part -II)

Bali

Bali - Intro
Mt. Batur - Bali
Batuan Temple - Bali
Goa Gajah - Bali
Taman Ayun Temple - Bali
Tanah lot Temple - Bali
 

On reaching the Hotel we were welcomed by refreshing local drink of Bali which was awesome. 

After check in & lunch we left for sightseeing. We hired a taxi for half day which costed us Rupiah .275000 but don’t get shocked as theirs local currency is equivalent to 1600 INR.  (1 Ruphiah = 170 (approx. INR).

We headed to the famous temple of Bali “Uluwatu Temple” where Kreak dance ( Ramayana)  is performed  when the sun is about to set in an open theatre.

Bali- Island of Beaches,Volcanoes,temples & Rice fields

Bali


Uluwatu temple - Bali 
Mt. Batur - Bali
Batuan Temple - Bali
Goa Gajah - Bali
Taman Ayun Temple - Bali
Tanah lot Temple - Bali
 

After a long time I got an opportunity to visit some Asian country to attend an official meeting. 

I was to visit Bali – Indonesia. As there was no direct flight for BALI from India, we got the ticket booked with “Malaysian Airlines” from Delhi to KL & then KL to BALI.

Our journey started on March, 2014 at 11.00 PM from Delhi Airport. We reached  KL at  7.00  AM as per Malaysian time. There is approx. 2 hrs gap between the connecting flight for Bali. 

We reached Ngurah Rai International Airport- Bali  also known as  Denpasar International Airport 12.30  PM as per Indonesian Time. There is a facility of on arrival visa which can be obtained @25 USD and it does not take much time to get it made. The formalities required to get the visa is also hassle-free.One needs to show his Passport , return ticket , hotel booking proof , one form to be filled & no photo is required. 

The Hidden Places of Uttrakhand – CHAKRATA & LAKHAMANDAL (Day -3)

Next day morning again I got up at 5.00 am to watch the sun rise but the weather was too bad , worst than the previous day. We got ready by 7.30am as we planned but soon it started raining but we didn’t have any choice , none of us want to leave Chakrata without seeing Tiger fall which is the main attraction of Chakrata. We waited for one hour, now rain was not too heavy so our driver said that due to heavy rain in night & morning the mud must be washed off the road hence he suggested to start our journey towards Tiger fall . It was still drizzling. We left it over god and started our journey , by the time we reached close to tiger fall rain stopped.After 20 kms of drive we had to trek for 2 kms downhill. 

Tiger Fall - CHAKRATA

The Hidden Places of Uttrakhand – CHAKRATA & LAKHAMANDAL (Day -2)

Next day we got up at 5.00 am to see the Sun rise but unfortunately we were not able to see it because of the cloudy weather. After having our Breakfast we started our journey for our next destination “Kanasar”. The road was good as compared to Deoban. Kanasar is located on Tuni highway at a distance of 30 kms from Chakrata. On the way we passed through the Apple / Pulam garden.

On the way to Kanasar 

The Hidden Places of Uttrakhand – CHAKRATA & LAKHAMANDAL (Day -I)

Since my childhood , I have been hearing about Chakrata from my father who spent his considerable time there because my grand father was working with forest Department & posted in Chakrata.

CHAKRATA

Spending a Day on Mehrauli (Delhi) – Gurgaon Road

We planned to visit the nearby areas of Mehrauli – Gurgaon road. So we covered Qutub Minar , Ahinsa Sthal & Chattarpur Mandir on the same day. These spots can be visited within a day as they lie on the same path. Visiting these spots is a good time spend for whole of the day.

Qutub Minar

A Day in Lalbagh Botanical Garden – Bangalore

Once I was on official trip to South, I reached Bangalore from Chennai by Shatabdi Express. On reaching Bangalore I came to know that due to some local festival all the offices were closed. I checked in Hotel Empire, Koramangala. I took some rest , had my lunch & I left to visit Lal Bagh Botanical Garden.