It has been a long gap from the blog, for almost twenty days owing to a dream trip on my loving bike to some dream destinations of Lahaul & Spiti. Whatever one may say, it is one trip that for most of the travellers will rank quite high above any other in terms of sheer thrill and adventure. And so was it for me. So, basic motive of the trip was to attend the Naropa 2016 but than it was always just a pretext. Biking to Leh was the implicit story. And, first highlight of the journey was indeed the Chandratal Lake. It was a dream fulfilled. Just the image below can tell it why. Isn't it. Located in Himachal Pradesh at an altitude of 4270 metres, this is one of the most popular and visited high altitude lake in India. Its captivating beauty has made Chandratal a popular destinatio...
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Kee (Key, Kye or Ki) monastery or gompa commands one of the most iconic views associated with Spiti valley. It is considered to be the biggest monastery in Spiti valley. It is one of the highlights for anybody and must-visit place for any adventurer or tourist coming to Kaza. Kee gompa is one of the top monasteries in the region which include Tabo, Nako, Dhankar and Kungri (in the Pin valley) to name a few. Kee monastery is ahead of Kaza. Once you move pass the Kaza town along the spiti river, after couple of kilometres or so comes a diversion. There is a bridge across the river that takes to Loser and Kunjom pass. Loser is 56 kms from this point and Kunjom top is 78 kms. One has to move ahead on the right side of the river towards Kibber and Kee. The view is spectacular and the...
Read MoreEvery city has some hidden gems that normal tourists are unaware of. Every city also has a fabulous history whose all aspects are not known to us. What you need to do is to travel like a local and let yourself soak in the atmosphere. Many a times, while travelling to some secluded, not so popular places, you might not find tourists around you, at least not as much as you would find at popular tourist destinations. But that would be a good chance to know about the insights of culture and history of a place. That’s what happened to us in Colombo. Sri Lanka or erstwhile Ceylon shares a lot with India, in terms of culture and history. Britishers, after controlling whole of India, also occupied Ceylon in early 19th century. They controlled the whole Indian sub-continent as a single territory.
Read MoreBali is know for its culture and beaches. But it is also a hot spot for adventure. A classic two hour visually spectacular rafting trip on the Ayung river in Ubud region of Bali is a mix of excitement, fun & breathtaking views. Carving through some of Bali's most fantastic landscape, Class II & III rapids wind through deep valleys, cascading waterfalls, dense tropical rainforest and towering cliffs. An adventure worth an experience while in Bali. There are a few rafting operators in and around Ubud and Sobek is one of them which was our operator for the trip. Rafting is a thrill and it helps when the instructors are lively and engaging. The base is just a few kilometres from Ubud town in the forest area. Rafters get into gear at the base and then trek downhill amidst deep fo...
Read MoreJust 48 kms before Kaza is Tabo. Tabo village houses one of the biggest and rare monasteries in Spiti. It is also considered to be one of the holiest. Tabo is right on the left banks of the Spiti river. It is a big valley down there and so much so that you tend to forget that you are at an altitude of 3280 metres and already deep inside the cold desert of Spiti. Tabo is just before Kaza. So adventure drivers and riders going to Kaza are often in hurry to reach Kaza as it is the final destination in the Spiti. They are also tired of long journey during the day. That prevents them from spending ample time at Tabo. The other problem is that there travel itinerary is so prepared that they mostly move towards Kunjam Pass and Manali on way back or spend a day at Kaza visiting Ki (Kye or K...
Read MoreThe launch of Asus Zenfone2 series was for mass and Zenfone3 series was launched for class. The difference was quite striking- in the phones of the new series as well as the launch event. Exactly an year ago launch event for the Zenfone2 series was in Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the event though hi-tech looked like a mass event. But Zenfone3 was launched in India on Wednesday in a Delhi 5* hotel for a select audience in a fashion show type atmosphere. There was a different feeling altogether for the event, and that applied to the new series as well. (See at the bottom a exclusive video of the event.) ASUS CEO Jerry Shen was there to announce the launch and marking the availability of the latest ZenFone 3 range of smartphones during the Zenvolution event, making India one o
Read MoreKonkan region is one of the best places in India to enjoy monsoon. Ancient temple town of Gokarna comes into this region and it is a perfect place for soaking into some quiet, relaxing moments. While talking about Gokarna, I am talking about not just Gokarna, but also about some nearby beaches, which largely fall into Gokarna as a destination. Gokarna is a temple town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka and is very close to Goa. Gokarna is a small and remote holy town, with four of India's most secluded and pristine beaches nestled nearby. It draws both pious pilgrims and hedonistic holiday makers with equal enthusiasm. There are many temples in this town and main one among them is the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Gokarna town has its own beach, but that's not as tempting as ...
Read MoreWe said some time back that it would be Japanese Kacho-Fugetsu & Koi at Brussels Flower Carpet this year. So the time has finally come and its Japan all over the Brussels Grand Place, and with beautiful flowers. This year's Flower carpet is now open for the visitors today. The Brussels Flower Carpet is one of the most amazing flower shows in the world and also one of the most awaited ones. Hence here it comes. A look at the this years's carpet- After two years of preparation, the 20th Flower Carpet is finally on show in the Grand Place at Brussels for visitors to admire over the next three days. This year’s carpet at the Belgium capital celebrates 150 years of Belgo-Japanese relations and features a Japanese design in honour of the occasion. Flower carpet making is a very
Read MoreThere were many revelations for us in Bali - an island of Hindu culture in Islamic Indonesia. And many of them came to us in the Bali Art Centre. I will be talking about the Bali Art Centre in a later post, but this is about something we witnessed there. Pre-wedding photo-shoots are not uncommon world over. Even Bali is famous globally as a wedding and honeymoon destination. But here I am talking about pre-wedding photo-shoots of local Hindu Balinese couples. Its grown into a tradition now and is extremely popular. Its quite unlike hindu traditions in India where to be bride and groom are not supposed to meet openly before the marriage and a planned, open and detailed photo-shoot is out of question. But here, to be couples get the photo-shoot at all type of exotic, traditional, hist...
Read MoreHaving talked about Borobudur Temple in Indonesia earlier, Prambanan temple can't be left far behind. We have seen some sunset photos of the Prambanan Temple earlier, its now time to talk in some detail about it. Prambanan temple is in central Java and close to city of Yogyakarta. It is largest hindu temple in Indonesia located in area which is termed as Prambanan plains. It is also one of the biggest in South East Asia. Prambanan temple is dedicated to tridev- Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva). There are six main temples- Shiva in the centre, Brahma to his right and Vishnu to his left. And right opposite to temples of these three deities are the three temples of their respective vahanas- Nandi in front of Shiva, Garuda in front of Vishnu and Hamsa (swan) in front of Brahma. All t
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