Oktatabyebye- Remember that Air Ticket?

Remember that Oktatabyebye Photo Contest? I got to hear from them about the air ticket. I can fly from anywhere to anywhere in India. I am wondering where should I go? The pity is that it is for one person (and I have to pay the taxes), so either Sesha decides to come anyway or I go alone. Now if I go alone, I will really have to think where to go. There is always a nagging doubt about traveling solo in India. Oh, maybe Sikkim again? That was quite safe. Or visit a friend?

Now that is one thing I like about many countries abroad. You don't have to think twice about traveling alone.

This and That
These days Sesha is sitting in UK. Out of the three cameras guess how many he took? None!

I hate grading copies. The exercise leaves me depressed and slightly crazy, hence this disjoint post.

I may be ( in fact I would be, and no this is not the Oktatabyebye one) traveling next week, yippee!

The place where I play TT, painting and other work is going on in the building. The workers have put their beds in a corner in the Hall. How little people survive on. Don't know why, but adds to a lot of guilt about having a lot of luxuries.

Yippe! I Made it to Top Ten in One Category at the Oktatabyebye Contest

The Photo to the Air Ticket!

Finally, the results for the Oktatabyebye are out. Check out the lovely pictures by the people who won here. I made it to the top 10 in portraits.

That made me check the prizes and I almost can't believe my eyes. I mean, I really want that fare paid air tickets vouchers NOW!! I wonder what are the destination valid on this air ticket voucher. That means I can go somewhere again maybe just over the weekend.

(Link to the row)

Top 10 (per Category)

All the above

+ Fare Paid Air ticket Vouchers

+ Personalised Photo Print n' frame from Epson

Oktatabyebye Freeze Frame Contest- Final Round

The final round is now on at Oktatabyebye. I made it to the final on the editor mention in portraits and landscape category! I was also wondering how do they ensure that I own the copyright of what I submit. I really do wonder how do online competitions manage the copyright issue in this era of millions of photographs online. Anyway, here is the mail from the Oktatabyebye team-

To ensure that only deserving and genuine entries get declared bonafide winners in the Oktatabyebye Freeze Frame Travel Photography Contest, all Category Finalists would have to submit raw files of their entries along with the proof of ownership, if they declared winners. A declaration stating that these pictures/videos are your own and you are the original copyright holder for these particular photo(s)/video(s) is also mandatory.

Now I do not shoot in RAW format (but I guess they are not asking for RAW files but just files to the pics?) and I don't think I am going to win anything but I can definitely vouch that the pictures are taken by me.

Oktatatabyebye Freeze Frame Contest- Round 2

Two of my entires made it Round 2 in the Oktatabyebye Freeze frame Contest. If you are looking for ways to kill time and won't mind the torture of registering for the site, here is where you will find my pictures to vote for and give a rating. Sounds so simple, right :) If you simply want to look at the pictures that got shortlisted, they are the ones below.

Now I have to say, I like both of them a lot.

The lady in Veil

I clicked the picture above at Best Western resort in Manesar, near Gurgaon. I am not very fond of resorts and all, but sometimes they do give good opportunities for taking a good picture.

Dhankar Lake

This one is from my June 2007 trip to the magnificent Spiti region. The Dhankar lake is 1 hour walk (at our moderate pace) walk from village Dhankar and there was no one around apart from us when we went there. I know I have to write in detail about this trip, one of these days soon.

Oktatabyebye.Com- Taking Second Chances

Yak at Changu Lake, Sikkim, One of my Entries

Remember Oktatabyebye.com? Well, they are holding a photography contest this time. I know, I know, I am a hopeless photographer (who have managed to visit some beautiful places) and people with better skills would do wonder to the places I have been. But I decided to take a second chance with them. Here are all my entries for the contest.

Well, they have a complected judging system this time, but there is a well defined process in place. The only hitch is that you have to be registered to vote. And anyway, as I said, I am a hopeless photographer, so after finishing this post I am going to forget this contest. And I don't need much help. The classes start next week and I teach three days a week. And no, I am not complaining, I have seen much worse.

Remember the 1000 Rupees Challenge?

Remember that Sathish and his team is hosting the bigrace challenge where you have to travel a lot on 1000 rupees?

Also do you remember Oktatabyebye.com? Well, they are also getting active again. I met Partha in the past semester and he was full of fun sounding ideas.

So, when Sathish asked if I could suggest some sponsors I could only think of Partha.

And now Sathish tells me this-

"Thanks for the contact, oktatabyebye.com is sponsoring ... It would be gr8 if you could make a mention of this sponsorship in your blog. Thanks to you."

Seems like good news all around! Now I only wish this contest was happening near home.

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!

I am Waiting!

Update: The final word is in. So head over folks and hail Apurv.

Thanks a lot for keeping your fingers crossed for me. We can safely uncross them now!

Oktatabyebye team, you said Tuesday and I checked sharp at 12.00 midnight. No results, nothing, now are you all trying to give me high BP?

Whatever may be the final verdict, I think this contest is another turning point for my blogging, the first one being linked at the BBC.

I came from a vacation just one week back. When I went, I was not even sure I would be around to participate. We completed the trek early and I got back just in time for the second round, thank god they tweaked the dates just a little bit. So, I can't really complain if they delay the final verdict by a day or two.

Now that I am waiting for the last word, I realize how much the idea of taking another trip excites me! For me, the anticipation is not so much about winning (that would be a real plus but it is not in my hands completely) but traveling again. And if that is the case, I told myself, what is stopping me from taking another short vacation (which is completely in my hands)? I can't afford 15 days otherwise but a shorter one is definitely possible. And I am thankful to the Oktatabye contest for making me realize this. Otherwise, once I am back from a vacation, I very quickly get back to my routine, thinking that another one is possible only after a few months.

I only hope, we have not to keep our fingers crossed for much longer now?

One Last Time: Just Keep Your Fingers Crossed

I met the Oktatabyebye.com team at 'The Days of the Raj.' When I got the phone call yesterday, I had no clue where the place was but thanks to my colleague Shibu, I had excellent directions when I started.

I wonder if I have said this before on my blog, but in cities I can get lost even in a telephone booth if it has two exits. In the hills the matter is different because there is just one road, very clearly either going up or down! And on treks we never venture out without a guide. So, after taking all the wrong turns possible (I think took three and one led me back to the same place from where I started) and calling Shibu once from the road, I decided to park my car near the last landmark and hunt for the exact location on foot. I am just not a car person.

After struggling for a while, I finally located the place and gave a call to them from outside the restaurant. Deepak came out and I requested him to give me some more time (I was already late) so that I could get my car from where I had left it and park it properly nearby or it may get towed. So much for an introduction to the team as a traveler!

Shibu had told me (and he has a hotel background, he was a professional chef in one of the five star properties and I can vouch for it, he makes the most excellent apple pies) that the place is nice and he is absolutely right. The food was good, the conversation wonderful. There were four of us and I think I chattered a lot (what to do, we were talking about travel). For me, the time went off quickly.

While talking about trekking toNidhi and Devika, I hope I didn't alarm them. My view is that if one is not used to walking long distances it is important to choose an easy trek for the first time. Otherwise chances of getting sick increases. I think Youth Hostel of India treks are excellent in this regard. They plan it such that a person with bare minimum fittness can do it with some amount of stretch. And YHAI has this knack of picking up the most fabulous routes.

The ambiance, food and the company (but not in that order) were excellent and I really had a good time.

In spite of having such a good time, I can't resist to point it out (and I know one can't help it in the cities) but this was the view from the window of the restaurant.

Where as just 10 days back this was the view from my tent/window. So, for one last time just keep your fingers crossed that at least for another 15 days the view from my window may be like this once again.

And a big 'THANKS' to all of you for your support till now.

Just Keep Your Fingers Crossed

So, I am meeting the Oktatabyebye team tomorrow at 1.30. I know you will keep your fingers crossed for me :) I never had any intention but this line has almost become a mantra for me now.

The blogger in me was quite tempted to reply to all the comments at the contest profile page itself but then I am not sure if I am supposed to do that. And I do not want to do anything that will get me disqualified.

But this is my own place and here I go.

Max, thanks a lot for showing your faith in me. It has been great interacting with you and your team at GoNomad. In fact, the promptness that you people show in responding to your contributors is turly amazing. I was so gald to get a reply from an editor within eight hours, even though it was a reject the first time.

Chetan is known for writing longest comments in the blogsphere and even here I think he has the longest comment :) Thanks a lot for your support Chetan.

Steve belongs to the fantasitc team of GoNomad and has supported and beared my 'enthusiam' (Oktatabyebye team will probably understand what I am saying) through publishing my two travel stories at GoNomad about Goa and Ladakh. Thanks once again Steve.

Thanks a lot Krishna for liking my pictures and specially the ropeway one.

Srinath (a fellow academician) and I started interacting after I ranted about something at Desipundit. I am so thankful for your support.

Shaswat, thanks a lot for your wishes.

Ranjit, thanks.

Professor Umashankar is our dean. And if he says fantasitc, that means if need be, my leave is assured. *Huge Grin* Thank you so much, Sir.

Kirti is my colleague and when drop in her office it is very encouraging to see one of my photos serving as the wallpaper on her computer screen. Thanks a lot for supporting me Kirti.

Wasted Psuede I did not understand your comment, still thanks for showing up.

Prashanth has introduced me to the concept of mid year resolutions and I will be ever grateful to him. Thanks a lot for your support Prashanth. In fact I was quite hesitant about the contest because that would mean asking for leave again at my work place. But thanks to Prashanth, I made some mid year resolutions too and decided to take a chance :)

Divya is my fellow contestant, Hi Divya. Do you have just a little bit of butterflies in your stomach like me? I wonder.

If Shruthi would have participated in this contest she would have give all of us a run for our money, thankfully her interests are too many to concentrate just on travel. Though she enjoys taking a ride in a Volvo bus.

Nilesh is my most special commenter, he gives me no way to contact him, he drops in when he pleases and cannot be bothered rest of the time :) Nilesh I am so thankful for your support and I really appreciate your comments.

Easwer was our group leader at the YHAI Har-Ki-Doon (HKD) trek and we have met later too whenever he has been in Delhi. HKD was a time when we had a very lousy camera. Whereas Easwar had a digital camera even then. On the last day, when the most fab views were in sight our camera jammed and this guy gave us his camera to use for the rest of the duration. Can you believe it? That is as generous as anyone can get. All those cool pics from HKD have been possible due to his generosity.

Pooja is a fellow travel enthusiast and I think we have been interacting alomst since my first few posts.Thanks Pooja, your support counts for a lot.

Lily and Tom are two people whom I have met even though they live in the US. And she is another person with whom I have been interacting since our first few posts. The amazing thing is when she came to India she had so little time in Delhi, yet she and Tom came all the way to Gurgaon to have dinner with me. I hope she gets to do a trek in India on her next visit. Lily many thanks.

Update 1
If Stephen had a blog he would have a huge following of fans for his book and movie reviews. Instead he writes on Epinions.

A, I have more than 150 posts on my blog and all are not about trekking, but how I wish they were. You might have noticed most of the people I have talked about here, write on their own blogs/websites/consumer review site/(are owner)editor of travel websites. I have given enough links. Do you think I know them in my real life? I met them through my blog (sometimes in person too, like Lily) or other websites. Yes, I interact with a lot of people through my blog but I thought that is what blogging is about.

I am blogging about this contest with permission from Oktatabyebye team. If my blog friends and other friends who have seen how travel mad we are come out in my support, I can't help it. And you left out my colleagues, even they support me, because I drive them crazy with my travel anecdotes. All I can count on is support of friends, after all George W Bush is not going to support me :)

Though absolutely no problems with not having your vote. You can't win them all. I hope 'A' we can have a conversation here about your views and my reply, that is after all what blogging is all about. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for the candidate you want to win.

Radha, thanks.

Priyatham is another blog friend who has turned into Maverick! Thanks a lot for your support and do keep your fingers crossed.

Tr, thanks for your kind words.

Modigili is yet another blog friend from the US A. Thanks a lot for your support Momo.

Emma just did her first trek and is thrilled by her experience. But she writes about much more. Thanks Emma.

Update 2

Though, I am allowed to reply at the contest website itself, I will continue updating this post too, after all I can make the hyperlink here only.

Sathish is another travel enthusiast who blogs. Thanks for your support. Seshadri you can say that :) Karishma, have fun tomorrow. Apurv, thanks for your kind words but after looking at your pictures I know how very faaaaaaaaaaar I have to go.

Mridula

Radha, thanks. Priyatham is another blog friend who has turned into Maverick! Thanks a lot for your support and do keep your fingers crossed. Tr, thanks for your kind words. Vj, you know where I am putting all my money. Vihari, the good thing about such contests is that you get to know so much about self! Thanks Anil (if I am gusseing it right who you are) it is your pictures and accounts that should have been on the net, but with the kind of workload you have (or even otherwise), I think I can never persuade you to blog and that is a pity. Harshad, that is the spirit, may the best person win. DD, thanks a lot. And till the contest is over, just keep your fingers crossed for me, please. s a lot for your comment. Alka, that is the way to go, just keep your fingers crossed. Amrit, when I see plastic left behind by trekkers (all the fancy stuff that cannot be left by the locals) it makes me so sad. Someone who takes so much effort to be with nature, how can they do this? .

Remember Oktatabyebye Travel Contest? Just Keep Your Fingers Crossed for Me!

The first lot of finalists are in at Oktatabyebye.com.

Have a look and do keep your fingers crossed for me, please! I am so excited! It would be a dream come true to take two vacations (Shhh... don't tell my employer's just yet, after all I may not need to tell them at all!) so close to each-other but that is if only I can cross the final hurdle.

They are planning a get together both in Delhi and Mumbai over the weekend, and then will decide the winner. How to handle this one? All suggestions are most welcome, in fact they are awaited fervently.

OK Tata Bye Bye!

No, No, I am not going anywhere, this is the name of a website: Oktatabyebye.com and they are running a cool contest for people with travel bug. They will give the winner of the contest a laptop, a digital camera and 50000 rupees to travel for 15 days and blog live about it as you travel. For more details and entering the contest check out their site.