The title of the contest ‘My Trip of a Lifetime’ made me think hard. I kept musing over, which one is my trip of a lifetime? Then I decided that either it has not happened yet or I do not think about trips in this way. I really tried but I could not declare any one trip as my trip of a lifetime. I ended up with memories from various trips, all quite precious to me. So, that is what I am going to write about, my travel memories of a lifetime. After all what is a contest where you do not try to bend a few rules!

Ruined by Bullet Points and Lists
In my day job (I will not bore you with the details) I make a lot of use of bullet points or numbered lists. So I am going to take another liberty and going to share with you the top five memories that have stayed with me.

When I saw Snow for the First Time
When my husband and I started visiting the mountains together, I used to break into a song and dance about any snow capped peak I could spot far far away. Sesha, who had trekked before would tease me and always brag about his experiences of actually walking on snow. Finally, in the year 2002 we trekked through Saar Paas in Himanchal Pradesh.

On day four of the trek, I spotted a brown dirty patch of snow for the first in my life. It was a bit off the route, but I took pains to go near it and touch it. And I broke into a song and dance about it. But even in my wildest dreams I could never imagine the sight that waited for me a few hours later, when we reached our campsite at Nagaru. As far as the eye could see, there was snow everywhere, even beneath my feet. And that posed a problem. I was not wearing proper trekking shoes, and for that day and the next, I slipped and slipped like anything. Still, it is one of the most cherished memories of my life.

Red Red Red
I am quite fond of wandering around even though my sense of direction leaves a lot to be desired. People who know me say I can get lost even in a telephone booth if it has two exits. In 2002 I went to, or rather I had a stopover, at Amsterdam. I wandered along in a straight line from the exit of the Central Train Station. I was tempted to cross a bridge and venture a little off the straight line but the shop sings were a little queer and people were also giving me a few glances. So, I kept on waking in the straight line, reached the Dam Square and turned back and took my train to Groningen.

Fast forward to my day in Amsterdam after coming from Groningen. I turn up for a bus trap (err tour) near the central station. The guide explained that in front of us were the post office and the station. She added, “And on the right side ladies and gentlemen, is the famous red light district” and then she went on to explain other things! So it was just because of the signs on the shop I was saved a shock. I never knew the famous Red Light District was located so conveniently next to the central station! Now I have told you where it is. It gives no indication from the outside as to what it is, so it is possible just to stumble there. Anyone who would like to walk around in cities unfamiliar can end up there! Did I finally gather my courage and took a stroll? You bet I did.

The Bakri Wala (The Goats Herdsman)
We went to Ladakh in June 2005. The plan was to trek through the Markha Valley. We completed the first day’s trek up to Jhinchan successfully but then the trouble began. I developed a thoroughly upset stomach. We continued for small distances for the next two days, and camped at Rumbak and then Ganda-La base. But the stomach showed no sign of improving. On the third day we decided to ditch the trek as I was not getting any better. Actually, it was Sesha who insisted that we have to turn back.

On our way back, there was a tricky spot. We had to cross a river. The flow of the river was a lot and we were wondering what to do? Our ponyman told us to follow a particular gravel track and he went ahead. It must have been a stretch of not more than 800 meters. Part of the way was quite fine and we had no trouble. Then the gravel became quite loose and I started slipping. It was not at all dangerous as I would have gradually gone to the bank of the river but at the moment I was somewhat dazed. To prevent slipping any more I just sat down, wondering what to do next!

Suddenly out of nowhere came a Bakri wala, smiled at me and asked “aap ka haath pakad kar nikal dun?”(Shall I take your hand and get you across?) And that is what we exactly did. He got me safely across and then went his way. I still remember the incident so clearly and whenever I think about it I marvel at the timing of his appearance. You guessed it right, like fools we were trekking without a guide, a thing we never ever did again.

All Abroad the Choo Choo Train but not Inside the Tunnel
I visited Barog in 2009 (a small station on the Kalka Shimla World Heritage Toy Train Route) along with my two nephews whom we call Brat 1 and Brat Barog is a picturesque railway station with cutlets that taste great. The Barog Tunnel is also the longest tunnel on the route.

Around 10.00 am on the second day (Saturday) we were chatting with someone on the station. He said there were no trains coming till 11:00 am. Dilip and I (Sunil was still asleep) decided to walk through the tunnel. It was dark inside after a while and I switched on my cell phone’s light. I could see the faint outline of the tracks. We had reached what felt like the middle of the tunnel. Suddenly Dilip called out, “Bua (aunt) there is a train coming, I can hear it.” I moved the light around and saw a shelter (one of the many hollow arches within the tunnel where one can stand safely) right next to where we were.

We happily went inside it and the railcar passed by. Dilip staunchly refused to go any further. We walked back and headed straight for the tea stall. Three tourists staying at the Barog Station came along and asked me, “Ma’am what happened inside the tunnel when the Railcar came?” I told them about the shelter and they replied, “The station master was quite worried about an accident and was scolding everyone around because they let you go inside!”

Then they asked the tea shop proprietor what would happen if we could not find a shelter? The proprietor thought that chances of an accident were very high. Another person thought that there is sufficient space for a train to pass if we just stood flat against the wall. We, of course, wish to believe the second version, but we are in no hurry to check out which one is true. The group of three gentlemen told us, “You should party tonight. It was a narrow escape.”

I can only say I do not wish to repeat this experience ever again. But then the smallest of the kids around Barog have crossed that tunnel …

There is Something about Oxford
I have been lucky to visit Oxford thrice in 2007, 2008 and 2009. I really cannot pick up one isolated event that makes me like the place so much. The history, the architecture, the walks, the museums, the food, the university town, every little thing makes it a very special place for me. OK maybe one event does stand out. I love walking (can’t say that enough), and a professor told me once, “you don’t just walk, you walk with a vengeance!”

Imagine walking serenely on a path with the Thames on one side and open fields (sometimes full of yellow mustard flowers) on the other. You will meet people strolling, cycling or running from time to time. There are flowers to be clicked and admired, in that order. The weather is mild (gave me a mild sunburn later as I was not using any lotion) and all is at peace in the world! Right? Wrong.

It is them doggies. In the countryside, people let their dogs off the leash. And that is a source of unmitigated terror to me! I am really truly afraid of dogs, even the tiny miny ones. So, on this walk when I faltered for the first time, predictably it was when I saw a huge dog let of the leash (Labrador, I deep down know they are harmless). The dog owner could probably sense my tension and told me they were going for a dip in the river. The dog of course was running towards water without even sparing me a glance and that is the best thing he could do.

The day after I did the Oxford-Sandford walk, as my original plan was to do nothing. That means walking around aimlessly around the accommodation in my lexicon. I walked ahead for quite some time and met no dogs. That gave me courage on my way back to venture into a forest like area to my left. I was desperately trying to remember the way full of mild turns. After a few turns I decided if I got lost my colleagues would have no sympathy for me. I turned back and there he was. It had a crooked front leg and a dirty color. The collar round the neck gave me some confidence, I put my shoulder bag trick in front of me but this one took offense. It started howling furiously at me from a safe distance. Heart thudding in mouth, I negotiated my way. He kept barking after my shadow and finally decided I am way too far away to do any more bag tricks. Them doggies! In spite of them I remember Oxford quite fondly.

When you mange to click a ton of flowers, what do you do? Well you go ahead, pick up the best and share it. I clicked all these pictures in a span of three days at one place, Naldehra in Himachal Pradesh. And I was told by my hotel owners that July was not the best flowering season, I should have come a little earlier. I would start with this white magnolia. But don’t expect that I will know the names of all the flowers.

The most unusual thing about this trip was that there was almost always an insect around to be clicked along with the flowers. I was invited by a local elderly couple to there house for lunch after we met casually walking around one evening. This fuchsia and the bee are from their garden.Their cottage had a view to die for, or maybe to live for!

These white rain lilies are also from their garden, they had a lovely garden.

Then I was walking on day two after the breakfast and found a field full of these purple flowers. I think it was a vegetable field but I have no clue what these are. The leaves looked liked potato plants but then I am guessing wildly. When i look at these flowwers now I wish I had taken a better picture!

On the same walk I met a few ladybugs and managed to click a few but surprisingly none of them have turned out well. If I ever have enough money and time (there I go!) I would like to go back to a big university to do a course on photography.

I can show you a Cosmos Orange (that is the name of the flower) with a Fly.

Or if have preferences, here is another Cosmos Orange with a Bee!

And then there were these white daises in the wild with a fly and another small insect for company.

Then following the same pattern there was this small insect on these white flowers, once again growing in the wild

Then there was this white rose, that was attracting the butter fly, the ants and the photographer as well! And you know what? I have still enough flowers left for another photo session but probably another day!

Naldehra is a peaceful little place 29 km away from Shimla. The nearest railway station is Kalka. For some the biggest attraction would be the golf course which has been constructed by the orders of Lord Curzon. But I am no golfer and yet I enjoyed my stay. I am told it costs Rs 200 to play a round of golf at Naldehra, I am not sure if this is true as I did not seek this information first hand but if it is then it is probably one of the cheapest places in India to play gold at?

Quite close to the golf course is a small temple, as you can only find in the hills. I reached there after walking around the golf course. To enter the course there is a small fee of 10 or 20 rupees, try as I might I can’t remember which is the correct amount. People usually go around the route on horses but it is quite a beautiful walk. Apart from the locals I was the only person walking around. In July there were rains as well as mist. That meant some slush on the path. Still, it was quite manageable and a beautiful walk. When I went in I was the only person at the temple.

If you like to venture out you could walk out in any direction and find something to admire.

July being the rainy season every nook and corner of the forest walks were full of some form of life waiting to be clicked and admired in that order. There were mushrooms of different colors I clicked white, pink and purple. I do not what the wild berries are but they did make a pretty picture.

The place was quite green due to the rains and there were photo opportunities every where. If you walk for a kilometer or two you would reach the village of Durgapur. I walked as far as the small market in the evening.

There was a patch full of small pebbles and for a moment my feet lost contact with the ground, but luckily after being air borne for a moment I landed on my feet once again. Living in the city, the vast open spaces have such a special appeal to me.

When all this left me tired I had the recourse to the restaurant and the fine food thats available here. If you are afraid of gaining weight go for a long walk after that! Gazing at flowers and insects on the walks, it starts approaching the idea of a perfect holiday.

If you wish to try out the local cuisine, there is a dhaba near the golf course where you could try Sidu, a Himachali dish. It is a steamed dish made of flour and a heavenly filling (don’t ask me for the ingridients, I do not know, I only know it tastes great!) but it is served with ghee! There goes your diet plan once again.

To cap off everything the sunsets are glorious, I am told you usually get to see two rainbows at the sunset but I was not that lucky. Even then they make a breathtaking picture, an ideal time to laze around with a book and then to look forward to a hearty dinner and sleep.

Jaipur is so close to Delhi that we completely take it for granted. I mean we always treat it as a place that can be visited anytime. I have been to Jaipur many times but somehow never explored it properly. In November 2008 I went to Jaipur again with my 18 year old, over six feet tall nephew. We had planned it as a weekend trip. We took the Ajmer Shatabdi up to Jaipur on a Saturday morning and took it back on Sunday evening from Jaipur.

Pic : Mridula D

Our plan was to hire an autorickshaw (because of this recommendation by Arun) with Gopi as our guide. I called Arun and asked for Gopi’s number and got in touch with him. Gopi assured us that he would be at the Jaipur station to pick us up. I got a call from Gopi as the Shatabdi was nearing Jaipur and that was quite reassuring. However, it took us quite some effort to figure out who was who once we got down at Jaipur. Once we met each-other, the first task was to find a hotel.

For our budget hotel we went with Raju (00 91 9829900473) and his friend Gopi’s (00 91 9352540301) recommendation and stayed in Hotel Banipark Palace which is a clean place. We promised Raju and Gopi that we would come out in 15 minutes and go for sightseeing and that is what we did.

Pic : Mridula D

Gopi told me then that he had an accident with his autorickshaw so his friend would show us around this time. When I asked him for a quote for the autorickshaw for the day, I was told I can pay whatever I wanted, as I was there guest. Try as I may, they would not give us a quote.

It was past eleven and Sunil and I wanted to have a brunch first. I wanted to eat Dal Bati Churma and Sunil normal Indian stuff. So Gopi took us to place (near railway station) where we got both. I feasted on Dal Bati Churma and would recommend it highly to all of you.

Pic : Mridula D

Then it was time to head out for sightseeing and Gopi took us to Jaigarh Fort first. The first thing that hit us was the vastness of the fort, I mean we are so used to cramped city life that open spaces tend to take the breath away. Within the premises is the biggest canon on the wheels and there are lot of things to explore. Puppet shows are held within the premises and there are a lot of monkeys to keep you company.

The next stop for us was the Amber Fort and I have been there many times before. There was a lot of restoration work going on at the Fort. Still, the gardens, the palaces within the fort and Sheesh Mahal particularly were the highlights of the day. On our way back Gopi stopped the auto for a while near Hawa Mahal but both of us were so tired by now that we clicked a photo from inside the auto and refused to get out! We did spend quite some time near Jal Mahal though.

Pic : Mridula D

After that we had dinner at Chit Chat (not too great for Indian food but they had very interesting room rates and quite popular with foreign tourists) and then I simply crashed. The kid kept watching for an hour or so but I was so tired that I was asleep within 10 minutes.

On day two, we explored bits of Jaipur that I had not seen before (and all popular places too, imagine how badly planned my previous trips were). Our first stop was Gaitore ki Chattriyan, which was very peaceful when we went there. Our next stop was City Palace which I thought was the highlight of our trip. The palace is really beautiful and worth spending a lot of time with. Audio guides are also available at Jaipur now.

Pic : Mridula D

Unfortunately we tried it only at one place in Jaipur, at Albert Hall Museum and that too Sunil’s insistence! After a little shopping (I love Lac jewelry) and a visit to Birla Mandir, very soon it was 4.00 in the evening and time to head back to the Railway Station to take the Shatabdi Express train back to Delhi. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and we paid Gopi Rs. 500 per day for his services.

Pic : Mridula D

We travel to Bangalore almost once a year if not more. Up to the last year we always thought it was a great idea to catch a low cost flight and reach there in two and a half hours flat. However with the economy being what it is, this time we had to rethink. We usually do our tickets for this trip in advance (after all you can’t just turn up and catch a bus to Bangalore from New Delhi, like we keep doing when we go to the hills). So, around September 2008 when we looked (for a December 2008 trip) the fuel and hence the air ticket prices were quite high.

Entering Bhusawal Station on the way to Delhi, the Karnataka Express Train behind my coach

We decided to book our tickets in Rajdhani Express and brave it out for 36 hours. Don’t get me wrong, I love to travel on a train, it is only that the last time we took a Rajdhani it was so late (fog in the North and rains in the South) that we had cancelled our return tickets and booked a low cost flight instead. Our return tickets this time were in Karnataka Express, AC III both ways. Mercifully there was no side middle berth (which we saw on Mangalore Express) on any of these trains.

So what is your guess? The journey must have been comparable, right? I don’t think so.

The biggest advantage of traveling by the Rajdhani Express to Bangalore, is the time saved (though I wonder what we do with the amount of time we try to keep saving, sometimes it feels it is better to spend that time on rain, rather than in my mundane activities). It takes 36 hours to reach Bangalore by Rajdhani and 42 by Karnataka Express. The tickets of the Rajdhani Express are a bit more expensive but then they serve you meals throughout and that is included in the ticket price.

Now before you read any further (I teach college kids, that is my day job. You can imagine a very teacher like voice saying these lines) it would make a lot of sense to listen to the video first. Listen because there is not much of a video there, the still photograph of the train is all you will see. My elder nephew did all these tricks so that I could upload the MP3 on Youtube which I am told is otherwise not possible. In the video after two minutes you can listen to a small sample of the tunes they keep playing on the public address system of the train.

How do you find the welcome after boarding the Rajdhani Express train? That cacophony continues for a good ten minutes when you board the train and it can send small children into a crying frenzy! They wake you up between 6.00 and 7.00 am in the morning to drink tea! Don’t get me wrong, I live on tea but at 6.00 am I like only one thing and that is sleep!

The sample song that you listened to (what? you have not listen to the soundtrack of the video even now?) they play it at all the hours of day and night. One of the things I am looking forward on a 36 hour journey is to catch up on sleep! It is impossible with the music blaring at all hours at a volume over which I have no control. It might have made sense to play music (for a limited period) in an era when music players were not in every device you could think of! Now if I wish to listen to a song I can with my mobile phone and so can almost everyone that is the target market of the Rajdhani Express. Then they have been playing the same songs since last 20 years or so it feels. We realized this time that there is a person in the pantry whose job is to play the songs. You can request him to play it down but whether he will comply and for how long is any body’s guess.

The sound system is pathetic. It just drives you nuts with the repetitive music in screeching tones at all hours. I wonder if there is someone who likes to listen to it, but then I am sure the Indian Railway is not going to conduct a customer satisfaction survey anytime soon. When I posted a shorter version of this post on my blog one of our friends (yes we know Ranjit) suggested that there is a knob at the side of the speakers through which you can turn the music down. Let me know if you could do this on the train.

Also Rajdhani being an important train the number of ‘official’ looking people is much higher on it than Karnataka Express. So, this time when I tried traveling on the doors* of Rajdhani Express (a first for me) quite promptly I was told that due to the open doors the coach becomes heated as hot air would go in every time someone came out of the AC section. Now had he told me that it was risky to travel at the door I could have got into an argument but what do I do if someone tells me that my foolishness would interfere with others’ comfort? I closed the door and so did another person hanging on the other side. But as soon as those ‘official’ people went ahead, he opened the gate again. So did I but not for long, as I was in no mood to play this game again and again. No such hassles on the Karnataka Express, much less ‘official’ looking people and much more acceptance of traveling at the door.

Now would you blame me if I wish to avoid the Rajdhani Express train the next time around even though if it means sitting for longer in the Karnataka Express but mercifully without a public address system?

However, when I posted my experience of Rajdhani at Indiamike, not too many people seem to mind the music. On the other hand, people have done more outlandish things than just traveling on the door of a train.

*Traveling at the door is very common on Indian train but by no means encouraged by the railway staff.

It all started with a picture I saw of Prashar Lake on the web. I was completely bowled over! I wrote to the website owner Avnish Katoch and he put me in touch with the photographer Yash Raj. Gradually, I learned that to reach Prashar Lake one can take the famous Delhi-Manali route up to Mandi. From Mandi, one can hire a jeep up to Prashar Lake or one can take a bus from Mandi to Bagi (and not Baggi, which is in the opposite direction) and then trek the rest of the way.

Pic : Mridula

Both Sesha and I have motion sickness on the mountain roads and never drive in the hills. But I know of people who have taken their own vehicle up to Prashar Lake from Delhi (for basic driving information explore the Indiamike link at the end of this post). We are also very fond of walking. So, for us it was a bus to Bagi and then trekking up to Prashar Lake. At Bagi, there is one Dhaba where we had bread omelet and tea for breakfast. The young lad running the place told me it took him 1.5 hours to reach Prashar Lake. It took us five hours to cover that distance and let me warn you the way is all uphill.

Pic : Mridula

There is only one place to stay there, the forest department guest house that has to be pre-booked. After walking for five hours the people running the guest house were not very keen to believe us about our reservation. I simply told them that they have to give us the room as I was so tired after walking, I would not go away anywhere else. That worked.

The cook at the forest department guest house has to use wood to make food. So, you get either rice and dal or Chapattis with vegetables. There are two canteens at the lake where you can get tea and Maggi and basic food too if there are enough people at the lake.

Pic : Mridula

If by now you have started questioning why anyone in their right minds would head to such a place, then the answer is the because of the peace and tranquility and the uniqueness of the scenery. The lake on weekends is visited only by a few locals. During the weekdays you can have it entirely to yourself. And take a look at the picture, who would not be tempted to have such a place all to oneself, even if for a few hours!

Pic : Mridula

However, when it was our turn to come back, we refused to contemplate the steep trek route even though this time the walk would have been downhill. We managed to arrange a ride back with a jeep that had come to deliver supplies to one of the canteens.

If you wish to go, here are some useful resources-

A discussion on Indiamike, which I started to gather information before the trip and updates after the trip

My earlier article on Gonomad.com about the Prashar Lake.

Some stunning pictures of the Prashar Lake taken in December by a colleague