River Rafting, Rishikesh

• Camping next to Ganges has been stopped by NGT now. Still there are camping options nearby.
•  It is better to book the entire package with camping like food, rafting etc.
• Rishikesh is not walking distance, it makes sense to cover the city on return leg.

It was the first long drive from my car. I was excited. Piyush and Animesh agreed to share the risk and hence we started on the weekend of the Christmas of 2008. Disaster struck within 2 hours of our departure. Thanks to low visibility, my car was hit by a Santro and all of us were down - the fun was supposedly gone.

Sad me with first dent in my car

We reached Rishikesh by 1 and realized that the damage was not much. That somehow lifted our spirit. We booked for a riverside camp and ate our lunch there. By 4 we were flowing on a raft in the Ganges. 

Camp next to Ganges @ Shivpuri

There were several rapids and most of them were able to push us flat on the floor of the raft however we tried to balance ourselves. That was hair-raising fun.

Rafting team

We came back by 7 and dried ourselves in our respective camps. A bonfire was prepared at the centre of the camp and delicious snacks were being served. That it was a cold December made the arrangement perfect. Later we had a tasty dinner far superior to our expectations. We slept hard as the day was exhausting.

Morning view of Ganges, Shivpuri

Next morning we woke up in the middle of hills and a river. We left the camp by 8 and reached the Rishikesh city for breakfast by 9 AM. it was planned at the famous Chotiwala. The servings were average. We tried Gita Bhavan for some sweets and became instant admirers of the place. 

Ram Jhula

Post some photo-shoots on Ram Jhula we started back for Delhi and were back to our respective homes by 5 in the evening.

Shimla

Trip: Delhi > Chandigarh > Kasauli > Shimla > Delhi

My cousins from UK were in India - Naveen, Seema and Rishi. We decided to visit Shimla. Its close to Delhi and thanks to its capital status its accessible through a highway. We booked an Innova and decided to drive overnight to the hill station. It was a mistake.

View from the Lift Shaft @ Shimla

Pithoragarh

Trip: Delhi > Nainital > Pithoragarh > Delhi

I call it the mother of all trips. So many incidents happened during this three day trip that it is worth a novella only that nobody will buy it. We started on a breezy night of July. The moment we crossed Haldwani, it started raining while visibility deteriorated to few meters. We had to stop the car and decided to sleep for few hours before dawn.

The land of Bugyals, thats where we were going. Pithoragarh is a small town 90 kilometers from Almora. It should take at most 14 hours of drive to reach this place from Delhi. It took us 22 hours. As it happened, our driver fell asleep while driving and we hit the hill side. Fortunately it was only the two side tyres that got punctured. On the other side of the road was a river flowing deep. We reached Almora for breakfast after repairs and then moved forward for Pithoragarh  The driver was told not to hurry up and hence we were able to reach our destination by 5 in the evening.

Piyush had asked for arrangements at cantonment area and we were treated like royals. The subsequent drinks & dinner settled us for a good sleep. In the morning we left for Chandak. It is the highest point in Pithoragarh.  The view from top is unimaginably beautiful. Its surreal in real sense.

We left Pithoragarh after a brief breakfast for Patal Bhubaneshwar. I had heard a lot about it from my friends. Yet what we were going to see cannot be described. We were guided to a slit shaped opening at Patal Bhubaneshwar temple. The slit took us down for some 60 feets before it opened up into a large cave. Stalectite formations were visible on the ceiling. We moved from one part of the cave to another. At the last cave there was a huge head-shaped structure shimmering in the low lighting of the cave. Water was trickling from thread-like structures coming out. We kept looking at it for a while.

As we came out it started raining. We had to move quickly so as to reach Almora before dark. The next morning was planned for a short stay at Nainital before I would separate from Piyush and Prateek to attend the wedding of Yagesh Da. The best thing about the trip was that we survived seven tyre punctures and every time  the driver stopped for repairs, there always was a beautiful surrounding to engage us.

Alappuzha

Trip: Kodaikanal > Munnar > Periyar > Alappuzha > Kovalam

We reached Alappuzha by afternoon through a road which flaunted large green fields on both sides. Alappuzha or Alleppey is famous for backwaters. As a city that runs on tourism, Alappuzha is a decent place to stay for a couple of days. We stayed in. The evening was dedicated to a boat-ride to the lovely backwaters. The boat spends some 2-3 hours completing a round. The houseboats were extremely costly, priced at close to 10k per night, as December was the peak tourist season.

Backwaters Ride, Alleppey

Munnar

Trip: Kodaikanal > Munnar > Periyar > Alappuzha > Kovalam

We moved to Munnar after a day stay in Kodaikanal. To reach Munnar in itself is an unforgettable experience. Atleast 20 Km before the place, large estates of tea, coffee and cardamom are visible and as the road meanders through these lush gardens, one has a feeling of sailing in an endless green sea. We stayed in Munnar for three days.

Tea Estates @ Munnar

Kodaikanal

• Best time to visit is March with exams ensuring little crowd. Coaker's Park is the place around which most of the attractions exist.
• You will need a vehicle to cover the distant points like three pillar rock, silent valley and Guna caves. Lake is in the middle of city and readily available.
• Try hand made chocolates and coffee for which Kodaikanal is famous. Relax. You can go for the Elephant Valley nearby which is famous for a gorgeous ravine view and elephants.

Trip: Kodaikanal > Munnar > Periyar > Alappuzha > Kovalam

Kerala trip was a bit more than what the three of us had expected from it. Manish and Vikash were with me. We started with  Kodaikanal which is in Tamil Nadu by taking Tuticorin Express from Bangalore to  Kodaikanal Road. There we took a bus and in another couple of hours we were inside the hill station. Thanks to online hotel booking on www.cleartrip.com, we quickly settled in our hotel which was just in front of the bus stand.

Coaker's Park, Kodaikanal

Mukteshwar

• Mukteshwar is less than 30 miles from Nainital through a scenic route full with roadside dhabas. They can  be easily coupled over a weekend stay.
• Chali ki jali is the only place worth a visit around Mukteshwar. It is behind Mukteshwar Mata Mandir and has a cliff worth climbing.
• People come to Mukteshwar for the calm weather and aloof atmosphere. It's good enough to bring the most creative in you.

I was picked up from my home late at night for the trip. We were seven of us. The plan was to hit Mukteshwar as early as possible so that we may rest in the first half. We were able to reach Jeeves' uncles hill house by 9 AM only. It was a sunny morning of August and the surroundings were beautiful. We ate our lunch and relaxed for the evening.

Valley View, Mukteshwar

Goa

The outbound trip, sponsored by the company, was full of fun. We made planned visits to various locations and the 200 strong team had sweet memories. As the trip was professionally organized we had little to bother but enjoy every moment of our stay at The Leela.

Hotel Leela Palace @ Goa

Bangalore

How to explore a city that boasts of being listed in the English Dictionary. Being 'bangalored' means getting outsourced literally now. The consequence is an amalgamation of traditional Kannadigas with tech savvy crop of new IT professionals.

Water Tank, IIM Bangalore

Delhi

Delhi is the heart and capital of India. The royal facades of Lal Quila and ruins of Tughlakabad Fort are enough evidences of the legacy of this ancient city which has now tranformed into a modern cosmopolitan megacity. Humayun's tomb and Qutab Minar are the kind of landmarks on the busy roadside that very few cities can boast of.

Qutab Minar@6 AM

Delhi is, most importantly, the gateway to north India. There are five exits from Delhi for a traveler as numbered from 1 to 5 in the map below.