well, now since i have a lot of time on my hands, beacuse of the injury lay off, the only thing that's keeping me going is arrested development, books and the my pet project, my travel blog. the most delicious feeling in the world is looking at those photographs and reminiscing and reliving the entire experience. more importantly reliving the entire experience when my mobility knew no bounds. sigh. well, heres are some of my notes and observations on travelling through north india. i lost all my notes at the Kashmir airport, as previously mentioned. but i managed to remember a few.
>>>> there are three classes on a plane in india. the business class, the economy class and those with seats near the toilet.
>>>> travel to the north during summer only if you are a sadomasochistic fool.
>>>> Delhi indulges in its tombs.
>>>> why would you travel in a bus called "Panicker"?
>>>> gult crowd fighting with punju bus driver, in hindi, ( over kaput A/C) is the funniest thing ever.
>>>> never support a gult crowd fighting with a punju bus driver, in hindi.
>>>> the aforementioned punju bus driver has the power to put you on another bus (with A/C) when the A/C fails just to spite the aforementioned gult crowd.
>>>> beware of taxidrivers with streaked hair, they might take you for an another ride altogether.
>>>> Bhakra Nangal damn makes your chest swell with patriotic pride, till you read that the Brits initiated the project and us guys only "completed" it.
>>>> where there is water, there are hippies.
>>>> where there are hippies, theres no point shopping.
>>>> don't venture eating israeli food in a place called "Hotel Parampara"
>>>> fields of lavender anyday.
>>>> mountain air these days consists of diesel fumes, smell of roasted bhutta and wails of a petulant two year olds.
>>>> statutory warning that should be present on all touristy snow capped mountains : Beware of Horse shit.
>>>> avoid public hotsprings, unless you're into flabby nude people.
>>>> 15 hour bus journey in treacherous terrain on a bus with no suspension can bring about a spiritual change
>>>> there is a coffe day 4km into the climb to vaishno devi. (???????)
>>>> a 3 sec darshan after a 12 km climb. someone doesn't like you.
>>>> border road organisation rocks!!!!. favourite signs include, "Be gentle on my curves" and
" If you are married to speed, divorce her!".
>>>> what is "100% pure vegetarian" food?.
>>>> kashmir is beautiful, but don't follow an army convoy, chances are, it will get blown up.
>>>> and if it does get blown up, nobody cares.
>>>> kashmiri pulao will make you want to have "100% pure vegetarian" food.
>>>> snow fights are fun!!!!
>>>> they grope you a LOT at kashmir airport and its all legal.
>>>> Sahara is the worst airline, and Kingfisher air serves chocolate mousse.
>>>> if you ever ask a mumbai cop for "Sundance restuarant" chances are he'll point you to a nearby toilet.
>>>> colaba cause way is a riot of colours.
>>>> i love mumbai.
and since pictures speak louder than words, heres my travel blog. i've yet to blog about vaishno devi, kashmir and mumbai. i'll do that soon. and if anybody wants any information about travel in these cities, feel free to contact me.
lonely planet, here i come.
10 comments:
Hey Ash,
Cute little travel blog..enjoyed the photos but after reading your to-dos and not-to-dos, I'm not sure if I'd leve the comfy environs of my Apt and embark on a sadomasochistic endeavour.
What say you (he he)??
Raki
raki: only in summer, otherwise its all good, and exciting and fun, i assure you
Hey Ash,
Few quick queries/comments.....
1. Saw that you liked My Cousin Vinny...he he he...that movie is *so* freakin' hilarious...one of my all time favourites...I've seen it so many times...wonder when I'm gonna get bored watching it for the n + 1th time.
2. You have remained mysteriously silent in UTPT and its lack of efforts to update what happened this year. Trust all went well there.
3. To Kill A Mockingbird -- was checking a DVD when I was abroad...if you haven't seen the movie, just see for one more reason -- Gregory Peck. That guy is something. In the special features section, Greg Peck went on to explain a scene in which he and his daughter (what's her name, Scar or something?) are walking past the house of that crazy old neighbour of theirs. Apparently after that shot was taken, Harper Lee actually was lughing very fondly and told Peck (& I paraphrase) -- "Oh Mr Peck...you look so much like my Daddy, coz you have a little paunch just like my Daddy had a little paunch"....Harper Lee(is still alive, btw) is a very non-public figure...and for her to be carried away by Greg Peck's paraphernalia (notice the old-tim watch that hangs from his inside coat) is pretty cool...I thought.
4. You made a comment on "when will I go abroad" kinda thingie -- hey, trust me, things ain't as hunky dory as they appear to be from sitting here...don't set your impressions of abroad based on popular cultural forces...India is extremely cool in many respects...trust me.
5. Hey, I also watched Roman Holiday on the big screen when I was abroad (some film festival was going on)...it was sooooo cooool...Greg Peck (unfortunately) did not get the kind of applause from the audience that Ms Hepburn got (understandab;e so, most of the people in the audience were women in the 40+ age group) that evening. Do you know, the guy who played the bearded photographer(?) -- I believe Eddie Albert was his name -- just passed away few weeks back. He was in his 90's, I believe.
Raki
hey raki stop addressing me as "ash" i don't like it too much, besides any comments you make is obviously addressed to me. :)
anyhow about UTPT 2005, the 3rd years were mainly involved, us foourth years had very lil involvement. they are ones who have all the questions and since they are busy with their placements, they haven't put the questions. if you can contact anucheth, he'll be able to help.
i do like my cousin vinny, but i think pulp fiction is one of the funniest brilliant movies ever, you should watch it.
Hey queen-of-this-blog,
If you wanna check out some good movies, here are three recos : American Splendor (The actor, Paul Giamatti is among my all-time favorites), Election and Sideways (if you love wine, you''ll love this movie, if you don't love wine, you'll begin to love it -- Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh are just not pretty broads in this -- they are *good*. My favorite though is Thomas Hayden Church. Really cool -- same director, Alexander Payne).
Raki
raki : damn straight i'm queen :P
and well oddly, enough, i saw sideways a week back, and its soo delectable. i really want to visit the california wine country, after seeing it.:)
No clue, haven't read it as yet. Gowda... or was it Konga... told me that it's fabulous.
Hey Rani-neene-Maharani-of-this-blog,
A very close buddy of mine had been to the Calif wine country this Mar/April. I believe he had been to Sonoma county and its neighbouring county that has all the wineries. He also told me that many family-owned vineyards have their own distilleries (or whatever thos eplaces are called where they sttore those huge casks). For a nominal fee, you can tour the vineyards, participate in wine-tasting sessions, etc. Is that cool or what? Actually, I've heard anecdotal evidence where Pinor Noir sales had gone up in the US and Merlot sales had taken a minor hit, thanks to Sideways. Is that cool or what? BTW, the director, Alexander Payne divorced Sandra Oh, his wife, sometime this year. I thought the Virginia Madsen scene was cool -- when she explains to Miles (Giammati's character) as to why she loves wine (that scene was soooo nice). Hey, I'm telling you...the older I get, my turns-on as far as women are concerned are evolving too...no Madonna or Demi Moore for me anymore...give me a real woman...a Virginia Madsen type (intelligent, confident, beautiful, good communicator...yummmy).
You seem to be a bit of a travel freak....if you ever go to the US, I've been told that San Francisco is extremely beautiful -- friendly and progressive people, superb trams, hilly lanes and avenues, sunlight, romance....the downer is that its too goddman expensive(grrrrr). I was always on the East Cost ...never had a chance to travel to the West COast...right now...I'm chillin' on my hillock in Borivli....glad that I'm not suffering like so many people in other parts of Mumbai..you know what there is a God somewhere...I was cussing this city so badly on your blog...should learn to control myself. My only fear...we *MAY* have anarchy-like conditions here (not good...). Hey, say a small prayer for all those folks affected by Terrible Tuesday...
Raki
raki : you have so much to say, you should really set up a blog. :P
i love to travel. i'm a nomad at heart. and i'm quite glad that you're safe in borivili. and don't cuss mumbai so much, hopefully you'll learn to love that city like i do.:)
hey ashanka, this was damn hillarious and informative
the "sundance restaurant":)))
nice to see lotta activities and visitors
and good luck in hyd and as raki said beware of the andhrawalas ;)
Post a Comment