I was fascinated to visit Agrasen Ki Baoli ever since I watched the movie PK. Remember Agrasen Ki Baoli was Amir Khan’s abode in the movie. I had made many plans for it but all went for a toss for some or the other reason. Recently I went to Chandani Chowk for a photo walk and while returning I decided to pay a visit to this place. It was an instantenous plan and I went with the flow.
The first look of Agrasen Ki Bauli
I have recently been to Mcleodganj and have had a delightful experience. Mcleodganj is a suburb area of Dharamshala in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Since the time I have come back from the trip I wanted to write this post but time couldn’t permit. I am going to mention 10 reasons why you should definitely visit Mcleodganj this winters.
The yellow tree
This was huge. A very important spot in Langkawi Tourism.
Day 1 went as per my plan. The idea was to keep Day 1 hectic so that Day 2 can be taken lightly as by end of Day 2 we had to catch our flight back to Kuala Lumpur. I didn’t want to rush into anything on Day 2. Things planned for Day 2 were:
Now here is a little trivia about the Eagle Square and its profound significance. I did a little googling and found this
“Langkawi means island of the reddish-brown eagle in colloquial Malay. The Malay word for eagle is helang – which is shortened to “lang”, while kawi is the name of a red stone used as a chalk to mark goods. This interpretation was used to create the landmark sculpture of an eagle as the symbol of Langkawi at Dataran Lang (Eagle Square) in Kuah, Langkawi.” ~ Source google.com.
I had allocated two complete days for the Langkawi visit. I aimed for not wasting even an hour in traveling in those forty eight hours. We arrived at Langkawi airport at 6:00 PM. We headed straight to the hotel. By that time it was quite dark and late. We took a stroll in the hotel, had dinner and dozed off.
Day one started quite early. I had already figured out the places to be visited on the day one. I had convinced the same taxi driver who dropped us from the airport for taking us to our first destination. So the destination lined up for day one were
We finished our breakfast at the hotel and left for the Mangrove Tour. The taxi driver settled for 20 RM for taking us to the Mangrove Tour spot from the hotel. Now the catch is if I will let this taxi drop off and go, I might not get another taxi for my next destination as majority of the tourist take the taxi for the whole day which I didn’t as the charges were way too high. I was scared what If I didn’t get any taxi after finishing the tour. The tour was for complete two hours. I discussed the same with the taxi driver and he agreed to wait for us for charging 10 RM extra. I thought it was a fair deal and I asked him to stay back. I didn’t pay him for dropping till the Mangrove spot as I thought he might leave if he gets another lucrative offer. He also agreed to it.
1. Mangrove Tour
The Mangrove spot would look more like a deck of a ship which is full of people roaming around in their live jackets. I enquired about the packages and they had different prices based on the number of spots you visit during the tour. I went for the standard package as I didn’t want to miss anything. I spent 300 RM for the Mangrove Tour. So the concept is you will get a private boat and a driver. The driver will then take you to all the listed spots as per your chosen package. The boat was big enough to accommodate ten people but we were just three so it went a little out of budget for me. Following spots were covered in the package that I took:
I was in Malaysia for almost ten months and I tried to visit all the nearby attractions. I kept Langkawi reserved for a family trip with my ma and papa. They had come down to Malaysia in the month of December 2013. I had planned a complete two day trip to Langkawi well in advance. My parents were not apprised of the same. They were in the notion that they will roam around in Malaysia and then return to India but I had different plans.
They arrived on 3rd December and we had to leave for Langkawi on 5th December. My father was ecstatic to hear that. So basically on 4th December I did all the planning of the trip. Many of my friends had already visited so I took a lot of inputs from them and drafted every possible detail of the trip. It was a new destination for my parents as well as for me and I didn’t want to look like a fool in front of my parents. I wanted to look all wise and responsible. Wide grin :-D.
My management went pretty well and I didn’t mess up anything. I am going to present a broad picture of my planning and points which should not be ignored.
Details of our stay.
I belong to Lucknow. Thats where I have spent most of my childhood. I did my school and college from Lucknow. I stepped out of Lucknow to persue my career in technology. When I joined work there were people from all over India. After a badinage you often end up asking the other person “Where are you from ?” I have faced this question too and I have had a variety of responses to my answer which is “Lucknow”.
Things you hear when you tell someone you are from Lucknow:
If you are from Lucknow I am sure you must have heard at least one of the above from your friends or colleagues. Say yay if you have. I am sure you must have smiled reading this post. Do comment if I have missed anything which is worth mentioning here. Would love to hear your views on this, so drop your comments below.
Note: The photos are taken from Google and I am giving the due credit to the photographers.
In continuation to my previous blog about Mcleodganj which you can read here, I am writing this one as promised in one of the sections.
This blog focuses on facts which I found very fascinating. While entering the Dalai Lama Temple I saw a hoarding bearing information about a child missing since May 17, 1995. I could not help but stepped back and clicked a picture of it. Below is the picture of the missing child who is apparently called a Panchen Lema.
Mcleodganj is a suburb area of Dharamshala in Kangra district ofHimachal Pradesh. Mcleodganj has recently gain a lot of popularity among tourists from all over the country. In no time it has become a sought after place for all the travelers. I recently has a trip to Mcleodganj and here is a little that I would like to share with you all. A little guide which would help you in case you are planning a trip to Mcleodganj soon.
How to reach :- If you live in NCR then this place is quite close for you. You can reach here via train, bus or your car. If you are planning to visit by train then you will have to get down at Pathankot or Chakki Bank from there you will have to take another bus or taxi to Mcleodganj. There are many AC, non-AC buses and volves which run to and fro Mcleodganj everyday. It takes around 12 hours to reach Mcleodganj by bus. If you aren’t located in the Northern part of India then train would be the most suitable mode of commutation for you. However you can also take a flight to Gaggal which is a small town near Mcleodganj from there you can reach Mcleodganj very easily.
Country roads take me home, the first line that comes to my mind with the word vacation. I have been on various trips and vacations with friends and colleagues but the ones with the family is always special and close to heart. One more thing that has always made me more excited about the vacations are my two little nieces. They both are my first cousin’s daughter and I along with my sister like to pamper them too much.
Most of the vacations that I had with them were to our village and we always chose the road trips for that. Taking a train would shrink down the travel time and the fun. We start our journey with a different perspective and their would be entirely different. I remember last winters when we all left for our village they both were the most excited ones. Some of us were complaining that we had to take leave from work, postpone the important meeting and blah blah but these two angles were on some other joy ride.
We were going there for some important paper work regarding the property which required the presence of everyone. So it was a mix of work and vacation for us. Okay I haven’t told their names yet the older one is Aayushi and the younger devil is Manvi. No trip is complete until we all play their favorite “Antakshri”(a game related to bollywood songs). It changes the mood upside down and everyone starts singing on the top of their lungs. While the elders keep a constant watch on time so that we reach in the stipulated time, these two girls will make sure that we stop at their favorite dhabas and spend some time there. They have their ways of stopping us the popular ones are the nature call, motion sickness and feeling of puke.
The last trip was also full of their drama and mischief. On our way they notice the bright yellow mustard field and the next thing that we know is they want to get into the field to click some pictures. Normally we would have passed those fields without even noticing but these kids they really tell us how to find happiness in even the smallest of things. We got down and had such a nice time, the below pictures would confirm my statement.
Travelling with kids is always fun filled and exciting. There is always something new in their store to surprise you. They let you come out of your monotonous corporate life and live life there is no tomorrow. The fun banter, the stubbornness to buy roadside things, the frequent pee breaks and even their choice of song in the car all these things take me to my childhood. So even for a day or two I relive my childhood days and act carefree and wild just like them.
While traveling with kids is fun it is a big responsibility as well. There has to be an eye continuously on them to watch their actions. A slightest of the distractions can land them in trouble. May it be crossing the roads, waving their hands outside the window and for the matter of fact their health while traveling. We always ensure that there is enough supply of all the relevant medicines and water with us so as to avoid any trouble with them. My nieces are my bundle of joy and I just love the energy they ooze out every time we go out on such trips.
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This post is written as a part of Teddy Travelogues by Indibloggers.
Needless to say we are a social entity and we live in a society which is rich in multiple cultures, languages and religions. Even if we don’t wish to then also we have to abide by these social regulations unlike nomads who have everything by themselves. Every single person is a victim of these rules and regulations may it be an infant or an adult.
One of my recent experiences while travelling in the Delhi metro is the reason behind this blog.
I was travelling in metro from Rajouri Garden stop to Noida City Center, Rajiv Chauk is known for its boisterous atmosphere. The moment the train stopped people gushed in and everyone started looking for a seat. Needless to mention I was sitting in the women’s compartment and a very ordinary looking girl who was already on phone sat by my side. I continued with what I was doing, after some time I could hear sobbing and then I saw she was crying. She wasn’t howling but I could see tears rolling down her cheeks. I didn’t know what to do and out of concern I offered her water and all I said was ” You wanna talk about it”. I have never done that before I don’t know what made me say that. And like they say one thing begets another and she started pouring her heart out.
She started with I don’t know you, so I know one thing is for sure that I will not be judged. I just nodded in affirmation and then there was no stopping.
“I am a grown up adult and I am forced to do things that I don’t wish to, and now you would say that the easiest way out would be if you don’t like it then don’t lump it just don’t do it but again to the square one I don’t want to hurt important people in my life. I want to do things but I can’t because of some or the other reason. I want to travel alone, I cannot do that because it’s not safe in India for a female to travel alone and even thinking of doing that in NCR is a sin. I don’t want to get married now, but still I have to consider it because apparently my father is very much worried about what my neighbor Sharma Uncle would say. I want to quit my current job and want to do something creative, but I cannot do that because I don’t have enough capital to support my business plan and trust me it is shit when you just need a vision and plan for a venture, you need money good and handsome amount of money. I don’t want to meet a random guy and just spend the rest of my life with him, I want to fall in love and then get married but I cannot do that because again there isn’t any timeline for it and I have timelines for everything. She mentioned many more things which were pity enough not to mention here but significant enough that she couldn’t do it. If I revolt then my mother cries her heart out and my father regrets sending me out for studying and working, my heart aches and I don’t wish them to think this way.
At times in between I nodded to what she said and at times I also said what I thought about certain issues. She got down at Sector 18 metro station while I continued my journey and I couldn’t help but just think about what all she said to me.
Everyday we come across very heavy and philosophical adage which are definitely a good read but after this incident, I am not sure how practical they are. Can one still follow his or her heart despite of all these boundaries and responsibilities ?
Life and Its Experiments 