Conked Laptop and Computer means very little blogging

Both my coumputer systems at home have conked as of now. They are under repair. And at office I am drowned in work. Let me see when can I blog regularly again. It may take two to three days or even more.

Hadsar (Himanchal Pradesh): The Best Room in the Town

A Picture from Hadsar, Himanchal Pradesh

We visited Bharmour in the December 2005. We had no definite 'to do' plans for the trip and after reaching there and resting for a day, we decided to walk 12/13 kilometers to Hadsar (even though jeeps ply on this road in plentiful) and spend a day or two out there. The good folks at the Rajdhani Hotel recommended us the Shanti Guesthouse at Hadsar.

As I dragged myself for the last couple of kilometers toward Hadsar, the signboard proclaiming the Shanti Guesthouse was such a welcome sight. We were the only guests staying there in the cold December. The off season room rate was Rs. 150 and this was suppose to be the best and most expensive place to stay.

The most apt word to describe the room is damp. We were carrying our own sleeping bags and I would put the quilt provided on top of it to keep the cold away. Sesha managed to convince me that drinking some rum neat is a better way to keep the cold away. I do not like the taste of alcohol but I dislike cold even more. So, I gave it a shot and realized that it really worked. I wish I was brave enough to post my photograph online where I am sipping rum, I make such ugly faces!

But what the room lacked, the peace and quiet all around and the views made up amply for it.

Tagged Again: 8 Travel Things about Me?

I have got a nasty cold, and from the last two days I could not upload a picture to my blog, so I was not writing what I had planned. Today, I am quite down and out and yet I wanted to write something. So when Cuckoo tagged me, I decided to take it up for today’s post.

Rules of this Tag:

1. Name the person who tagged you.
2. 8 things about you.
3. Tag 6 people.

1. Name of the Person who Tagged Me.

I told you the name already but I will tell it to you once again, Cuckoo tagged me and she has a very cute profile picture.

2. 8 Things About me!

Now this is difficult from any angle I look at it. I will probably convert most of the things to travel stuff. But let me try.

1. Recently, at a party a very charming lady (who has worked on cruise ship and seen almost half of the world) asked me about my most memorable trip. I had to think for just for a fraction of a second but my most memorable trip has to be Ladakh in 2005. There are many reasons for it. Of course, Ladakh is magical and oh! so beautiful (I have to go back sometime soon). But I am very fond of the place because I somehow feel it proved to be a turning point in my life, in more ways than one. We as usual tried to trek there, and had to abandon it mid way as I fell ill. Still, it makes no difference to me and I consider it the most special trip I ever had.

2. Seven more to go? I am already struggling. OK, here is another one. We are hard core budget travelers and our trip is never complete till we have stayed in at least one uncomfortable hotel (with mice around, of which I am scared to death. My philosophy is that women marry just to have someone to deal with the mice) or braved a battered bus journey. I crib a lot when it happens (and Sesha bears it all with a huge grin) and swear that I will never put up with it again but somehow I always agree for more of the same the next time around.

Pangong Lake in Ladakh

3. My second most memorable trip has been to Goa where the four of us trekked together. We are a family of five, my husband, my two teenaged naughty nephews and my father, we all live together in a chaotic home. My father has not come with us on any of the treks so 4 is about as perfect we are ever going to have it. We tell our nephews that trekking ‘builds character’ (a straight lift from Calvin and Hobbes) and maybe this June the four of us will trek together again somewhere in Lahul and Spiti. My elder nephew is already in college and stays in a hostel.

4. I don’t really know what others think about me but I think I take sometime before I start talking to people. But to the few people I really talk to, I think they silently pray for me to stop talking. Otherwise, I think people consider me a reserved person, somewhat unapproachable. I am really more comfortable listening to stories that others have to tell. I happily tell my stories on this blog.

5.I brag about one thing and that is my game of table tennis. At my previous workplace I used to thrash all my colleagues (and I mean all, gentlemen included) and my students too (60:40 in my favor with the college number one and two among boys). I will not talk about my present workplace scores (one can never be sure who may land up here accidentally :) But I have been beaten soundly each and every time by a certain gentlemen. Hmm, he told me in the very end that he had represented Sweden for a certain age group!

6. OK, three more to go. I once interviewed with Indian Express for sports journalism (right after my Ph.D.) but when they asked me why I want to do it, I goofed up big time by saying “because I need a break from academics.” Well, of course they were not willing to sponsor my break and I think I enjoy academics immensely though sometimes (just sometimes) I seriously think I had enough of 18 year olds for a lifetime.

7. During my Ph.D. days if someone had to find me out in the evenings, they would check out the basketball or the badminton court! And the first time my husband (then my friend) played TT with me he managed a grand score of 3.

8. But to sum it up, I really enjoy academics and cannot see myself doing anything else.

I tag:

1. Deepak

2. Ajeya

3. Steve

4. Gulnaz

5. Tarun

6. Prashanth

and I will make it 7 too.

7. Ms. N

Blogbharti

Want to look at another linkfest site? Well, here is Blogbharti for you.

About

Blogbharti (the word is a pun) is an aggregator that brings to you the best of the Indian blogosphere.

Our current contributors are Krish, Shivam, Apurva, Kufr, Bhupinder, Arun and Mridula.

You can see I have vested interest in the site. I linked to Rich's post there who has now reached China (after cycing through parts of India and Pakistan) and is stuck there in bad weather.

Deepawali Thoughts!

May there be light! And may we all travel more!

Two Wonderful Articles on GoNomad: Antarctica and Israel

I read a very inspiring article by Chole Jon Paul on Gonomad. She writes "

“After life in the vastness of a vacant continent, civilization seemed disappointingly narrow, cramped, superficial, and empty.”

- Frank Hurley, photographer on Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endeavor

Those words certainly ring true for me. As an older woman traveling alone to such a distant place, I knew that I would have to start planning well in advance and explore all my options before booking passage.

And where did she go? She went to Antarctica! Now that is something!

Also, I read a lot of Gonomad blog (naturally as my blog is also hosted by them) more so when the good folks started providing the update status from the main GoNomad page.

I have been reading Be Our Guest by Kent E. St. John and I was so surprised to see that he was a guest of the president of Israel (though now in news for all the wrong reasons). He has an interesting account of his trip to Israel.

Ahh! When will December come? Only then I get to travel once again.

Tag Time: What Does Blogging Mean to Me!

1. Are you happy/ satisfied with your blog, with its content and look?

Happy yes, I derive happiness from many small things but satisfied no! It takes a lot for me to get satisfied with anything, most of all me and my efforts.

2. Does your family know about your blog?

Yes, they do. My sis and brother-in-law, both blog. And they started much before me. If fact it is because of them and my miserable previous jobs that I started to blog.

My husband, father and nephews are aware of my blog. They do not read it much but are happy for me when I share something and they do read whatever links I fwd to them.

3. Do u feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?

Not friends but I am not sure how to react when a few of my students say they know about my blog!

4. Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?

My blog was the main source of inspiration during the lean phase in my professional life. It has brought me many good things, more focus, more pleasure in my travels (if that is possible) and definitely a keener interest in photography.

5. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?

This semester has been pretty tough on me, and I have barely managed to keep in touch with those who have been kind enough to leave comments but whenever I have time, I do love to search on Technorati and Blogger about the topics that interest me and discover new (to me) bloggers.

6. What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?

I love feedback, comments more than visitor counters, but visitors counter too gives me important feedback.

7. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?

I am anyway not very imaginative but I have seen photographs of many and a few I have met in person :)

8. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?

Do you think all those Fortune 500 companies would be blogging if there was not? But what I like more is that Blogs have given a voice to an ordinary person and to me this is very important.

9. Do you think that bloggers’ society is isolated from real world or interacts with events?

I have seen much more grounded travel writings on blogs than in Outlook Traveller.

10. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it’s a normal thing?

I think I have grown up enormously on this front. I can take criticism more easily now and I am just a bit more gentle when handing criticism :) But I was not always like this.

11. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them?

No.

12. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?

Information is something that repressive regims have always feared. No, it does not shock me that people get arreste over their blogs in some countries. I am fully convinced about the power of the blogs.

13. Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?

I hope someone in my family would put a post on my blog that I would be blogging no more, at least from side of the earth :)

14. What do you like to hear? What’s the song you might like to put a link to in your blog?

Has to be an old Hindi song (maybe a love song :) OK, current favorite 'suhani chadni raaten hume soone nahin deten' But my songs change :)

Another all time favortie is, 'musafir hun yaaro ...' particulalrly this line.

Thousand thanks to Bellur for tagging me. Me, I will leave the tag open for everyone.

Flying from Delhi to Bangalore with Air Sahara

Recently, I was in Bangalore for a short Holiday made possible due to the availability of low cost air tickets. I remember the time when air travel was too expensive for us and by train it took almost more than 40 hours to reach to Bangalore from Delhi. Short trips were just not possible then.

When we do air tickets, we solely go by the lowest price. For two and a half hour flight everything else can wait. This time we booked our tickets through Makemytrip.com. They got us Air Sahara round trip tickets for Rupees 7500 per person. I have traveled with Air Sahara before they tried to get a merger with Jet Airways (and failed). That experience was good (they had excellent meals back then) though the ticket cost was more than twice too. I was a bit apprehensive how it would be this time but all in all, it was not a bad trip.

The Check-in at Delhi: Nightmare is the word to describe it. I was dog tired, coming straight from work (after teaching 18 year olds!) and the Air Sahara counters were overflowing with people. And overflowing people mean chaos and frequent attempts to break the queue (we Indians just can’t stand in a queue!). Sesha and I stood in different lines, maximizing our chances that at least one line may move. Both moved at a snail’s pace and I asked at least three people (politely) not to break the queue (and got ugly glances in return but I can live with it). A few people (and one well dressed young girl, actually she started that unofficial line) tried directly to go to the back of the counter to bypass the queue but thankfully she (and everyone else) was told to join us mortals for the check-in. My line moved faster and Sesha got out of his. But when I handed the lady our tickets and photo identity cards, she started talking to her colleague and complained loudly about her supervisor not giving any attention to the legitimate demands and got out of her seat! Not very confidence inspiring but thankfully she handed our tickets to another person and I finally got the boarding passes.

We immediately attacked a snack bar and crashed in the waiting area, I reading a book (Silas Marner, still unfinished and I am reading O. Henry now) and Sesha chatting on the phone.

The Flight: I will forgive the lady who got up in quest of her supervisor because her coworker gave us exit row seats! My mood immediately improved. I also got instruction on how to open the door in case of an emergency.

The flight was uneventful (except for the fact that Sesha hates flying and always cribs inside a plane). I still love to watch the Delhi night lights during the take-offs and landings. The meal served was from Taj-SATS but it was a typical flight meal, pretty unappealing. Still, at the price of the ticket I paid for, it was a plus that they were serving a meal! The flight started late from Delhi and arrived late at Bangalore.

The Return Flight: I was traveling alone from Bangalore to Delhi as Sesha was coming later. And can you believe it? I got the exit row seat again. And next to me were a bunch of giggling, cackling teenage girls going to Delhi for some school competition (don’t know which school they studied in!) but thankfully they feel asleep halfway through the flight. The breakfast again was very average but the flight was on time.

On both the flights their cabin crew was polite and professional. On our return flight the flight captain was a lady but I could not catch her name on the announcement system properly. If Air Sahara manages to give me such good prices, I will have no problem flying with them again.

London Anyone?

No, I am not going to London and this photograph has been taken by my husband when he was there last. In fact I have never been to London. So why am I writing this?

Well, I got a mail from Londonhotels4u.com with a request if I may give a link to them from my blog. Till date, I have never declined.

They promise me a good hotel deal if I ever head to London, well chances are absolutely slim, zilch I must say, but it is fun to get such requests.

Venice: Local People are Leaving says BBC

I have been to Venice once and though I was alone there, I was still enchanted with it. So I read this BBC report with a lot of curosity that the local people find the city unaffordable.

Many of the families who lived in Venice for generations are moving out.

House prices are impossibly high - empty apartments and buildings have been snapped up by wealthy hoteliers - and young people can no longer afford the cost of living.

"Almost half my friends have disappeared," said Mattia. "This is now one of the only ways to earn a living in Venice.

The easiest thing to do here is to run a guesthouse. If you want a profession or a career you have to move away."

Over the past 50 years, thousands have taken part in this collective disappearing act.

The population of the historic centre of Venice has fallen from 171,000 residents in 1951 to fewer than 62,000.

Officials say the exodus shows no signs of abating - another 8,000 are predicted to follow in the next 10 years.

But as Venetians leave, the tourists continue to arrive. Eighteen million tourists come to Venice every year.

Should Everest be Closed? Asks The Guardian

I have hopes of trekking to the Everest Base Camp in the near future. We thought of going there in 2005 but the unrest in Nepal and the cost of the trip made us hesitate and we went to Ladakh instead. But I am not so sure if it is a good idea to go there.

I read this article in The Guardian that how tourism explosion is damaging the region. It made me pause and think. I usually never associate any negatives with traveling but that may not be true.

It has been described as the highest junkyard in the world. Covered in discarded mountaineering detritus and suffering under thousands of tourists' boots every year, environmental groups are to launch a push for a radical solution - the temporary closure of the world's highest mountain.

Warnings that an ecological disaster is imminent in the area around the mountain have largely been ignored amid years of turmoil in Nepal. But conservationists think that growing political stability in the Himalayan kingdom means that the time has come and that the damage caused every year by thousands of climbers and tourists can no longer be ignored.

My Rajaji National Park Article on Oktatabyebye.com

So what if I did not win there contest, my article about Rajaji National Park is now featuring on Oktatabyebye.com's website.

The good thing is that I also got a check from them for writing it :)

I am not sure about their author contribution policy but I love the sites that pay you to write about travel!

Ayudha Pooja in Bangalore

I was in Bangalore just before the Dusshera festival. On the 9th (or is it the 8th day?) I saw many vehicles decorated with banana leaves and flowers.

Vehicles get Decorated for Ayudh Pooja in Bangalore

I was quite surprised as I have not seen something on this scale in North India. I was told this is called Ayudha Pooja where people worship their means of living. I found the way of celebration quite interesting.

Vehicles in jainagar at Ayudha Pooja, Bangalore

Then the other day we were going to a place through quite narrow by lanes, when we came across this procession. My brother-in-law was driving the car and we had to pull aside. I immediately got down and started clicking pictures.

From the Bylanes of Bangalore

I had been discussing my plans for buying a new camera all around and my brother-in-law said "if you are this crazy, you should buy a digital SLR!" Amen to that.

Colorful Flowers and a Partial Rainbow from Bangalore!

I have been in Bangalore for past few days (Sesha belongs to Bangalore) and I never thought I would take a break from blogging. In this IT city our home was (actually Sesha's parent's home) without a net connection as soon as we landed. Only today we got it back. So here I am showing you some stuff that I photographed.

Flowers from Streets of Bangalore

I love the colors of the flowers I see on the streets, it is not so colorful in Delhi. On the flip side, CNG has made Delhi a lot more liveable, here it is getting too crowded for the size of the roads it has.

Such a Riot of Colorful Flowers

I requested all the ladies selling flowers to let me take a photograph, and they gladly did but I could not gather the nerve to ask if I could include them in the pictures too.

Shades of Oragne: Flowers from Streetside, Bangalore, India

White Flowers

What striking colors! Don't you agree?

A Partial Rainbow in Bangalore

Finally, there was a rainbow (OK, so what even if it was partial?) and I had a camera. I know the surroundings are bleak but the rainbow does not give a damn and neither do I. There were two occasssions when the rainbow had come out in Gurgaon and once I did not had the camera. The next time I didn't notice it at all. And later people told me that there was a rainbow only after it had vanished.

Finally everything worked. I had the camera, there was a rainbow and we were in the car going somewhere. We stopped for petrol and I immediately came out and took pictures and here they are!