Kasauli – Of Cobbled Paths and Chestnut Trails

Third time boring, is it? Naah! I managed to sneak up a trip to Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh yet again. And it was lovely. Serene atmosphere, beautiful, chilly weather and loads of places and chestnut trails to explore – what better way to spend a weekend than this!? Read on to find out more – Of Cobbled Paths and Chestnut Trails.

The “Green” Revolution – 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R EXCLUSIVE Track-Test!

I was in Pune, on the behalf of xBhp and invited by Bajaj Auto Ltd., to test the 09′ Kawasaki Ninja 250R, on the Chakan track no less, of Bajaj Auto Ltd. For 4 hours or so, I had the 250R at my disposal, and boy was it worth it or what!

Pune is a beautiful city, but everything came to a stand-still that day. For those 4 hours just flew by, and in those 240 odd minutes, I had some of the greatest time of my life!

For the full track test, read the REVIEW.

Under Wraps – Chandratal

I had always wanted to ride to Chandrataal ever since I had started touring. People yearn to visit the ‘mecca’ – Leh/ Ladakh, but Leh has never been in my itinerary, but Chandrataal has ALWAYS been.

I was supposed to ride to Chandrataal this past Friday (18th September, 2009), but got to know that because of heavy snowfall and subsequent landslides, roads are closed. Ofcourse, they open intermittently, but NO-ONE is sure whether I will be able to reach Chandrataal, or will need to come back from mid-way, which would really be heartbreaking, for me.

It seems, I’ll have to wait for May 2010 now, before riding to Chandrataal, which is really disheartening to even think. Chandrataal HAVE to wait. Attached below are a few pictures, for those, who have never heard of the BEAUTIFUL and TRANQUIL lake called Chandrataal

Chandra Taal (meaning the Lake of the Moon), or Chandra Tal, is situated at an altitude of about 4,300 metres (14,000 ft) in the Himalayas. Mountains of scree overlook the lake on one side, and a magnificent cirque presents a view on the other. The name of the lake originates from its crescent shape. Situated in the Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh (India), Chandra Taal is a popular destination for trekkers and campers. The lake is accessible on foot only for few months in a year, from May to August.

A clear stream of water flows out of the lake. During the day, the lake appears prussian blue in color, and a greenish tinge appears towards the evening. The lake is situated on a plateau (Samudra Tapu) overlooking the Chandra River which originates from a glacier near Bara-lacha-la.

Disclaimer: The pictures below are not clicked by me. They have been picked up from random searches on Google.com, the popular search engine.

The Mothership – 2009 Suzuki Hayabusa, Ridden!

Yup! It is not really related to hardcore travel, but I did manage to take out a 2009 Suzuki Hayabusa Hyperbike for a full day on Delhi’s roads! Now, it sure is travel; may be not in it’s purest sense, but travel I did nonetheless. And hence, it finds space here, on my travel blog.

Read the full article…

At Land’s End – yet again!

Travel starved I was. I just wanted to travel to some-place, and that too really quick as I felt I was really getting “starved”. Hence, I took it to myself to find a few rider buddies, and then finally we rode to Lansdowne this past weekend (25th and 26th July, 2009). It was a wonderful ride, ofcourse, and Lansdowne but ofcourse has a very very special place in my heart. Although, the text is not too much, this time I present host of pictures of Lansdowne and the places surrounding this almost angelic place. Visit the page to read and see more.

Travel Starved!

I have not traveled in almost more than a month now and the signs are beginning to show – boring days, and even more boring nights, thought process is beginning to slow down. And on top of that the tremendous heat of Delhi is killing everything in it’s vicinity, quite literally!

Monsoon was supposed to hit a week back. It did make it’s presence felt for a day or two, and then, it vanished, into thin air. I need to go out, go to the cooler climes where nature almost seems to speak to you, where you need not think twice to venture out into the unknown, where time just seems to have stopped still, and where the views are so beautiful that you feel that you are in your dreams. Yes, a place like this does exist. And I urge you all to get out of your daily schedules, from your humdrum lives and go out and travel, see places, visit some unexplored destination before it’s “too late”. I assure you one day, you would look back and say to yourself – “Wish I would have….”

That, friends, is the worst feeling in this entire world! Phew! Enough of ranting and motivating already. Now, let me get back to what I was doing – looking for my next destination, that solitude, that ‘unexplored’ paradise.

The Pink City of India – Jaipur

For quite sometime now, I wanted to visit Jaipur – the Pink City of India. Although I have visited Jaipur a couple of times, but the city – it’s architecture, the atmosphere, the people, the culture, the heritage always attracts me. So, when I got a chance to visit the place this past weekend, I just could NOT let go off the opportunity. For a full textual log and pictures, read on - Jaipur, The Pink City.

A Day With The R1

If the title does not say it all, then do read through the text, and my experience here – A DAY WITH THE R1. Yes, I was lucky enough to ride a superbike, and a YAMAHA YZF-R1 at that for almost a FULL day in the Delhi streets. I took her to places where people do not generally take their superbikes. I rode her during the time of the day when people generally sit comfortably in their AC rooms/ offices and enjoy a cool drink looking at the outside weather. But, I enjoy doing such stuff, I love riding, I love traveling. And I believe there was some magical aura that day which did not let me feel the heat of the day, but surely the adrenaline was pumping, the ‘heat’ was on. Read on more to find out…

Next is What?

I love travelling. I feel it is in my blood to travel, to explore new places and to discover what, perhaps, not many has an opportunity to discover – pure nirvana. I mean think about it – How many of us can actually take time out specifically to travel to places? If you have some ‘free’ time, you perhaps “waste” it in doing the daily chores of life, or fulfilling some responsibilities that the world has thrown onto you. So, where does that leave the time to travel, to explore, to go to some uncharted territory and still feel at ‘home’?

I don’t know what should I call myself – lucky or pure “fool”, because I love traveling. A few people do call me crazy because of the amount of traveling that I do, but I tell them to go out and do something. Not just pass their life doing office-home-office schedule. Recently, I came back from what I call ‘ the land of Gods’ – Spiti Valley, located in Himachal Pradesh. I have never ever in my entire life up until now seen such a beautiful place. I have absolutely fallen in love with the vistas, with the people, with the atmosphere and ofcourse with the wonderful non-existant roads!

I have ridden to hills enough times now. It’s time, I believe, I started to conquer a few plains. Hence, my next destination should somewhere be in the plains. Now, if we look out of the Delhi/NCR region, we can go to three “sides” – we can take the NH-2 and gun towards Agra, which, incidentally, is called the ‘city of love’, because of the symbol of love – The Taj Mahal. Or I can take the superb NH-1 and head towards Chandigarh/ Panchkula where I can just sip a cold coffee at Gopal’s (at Panchkula), and ride back by the evening itself. Oh, if you haven’t already tasted it, I BEG for you to go and taste the Cold Coffee at Gopal’s at Panchkula. I bet you would forget CCD, for good. My third option is to catch the NH-8 out of Delhi and do Rajasthan.

All these three ‘destinations’ would be burning hot now, as this is the peak summer season, here in the Indian subcontintent. But come what may, I have decided that I need to go out and visit some place, well, worth visiting. Rajasthan is high on my list. I have been there once, but this time I’ll take some time out to explore and more importantly photograph the place which I visit. I am yet to decide the dates, the actual place that I will visit, but one thing which probably I have done deciding is the means with which I will travel – Motorcycle, what else! Unless, I feel the urge to take a train ride or perhaps even take a bus to Rajasthan.

Now, that I have mentioned it, an overnight train journey is not really such a bad idea. I get to meet new faces, click a few photographs perhaps, and ofcourse take in the sights and sounds of what is “real India”

Until then, keep traveling.

Spiti Valley – visited and stunned!

Finally, a dream which I had, a dream which I somehow failed to realize up until now, was realized. I rode my motorcycle, a puny Pulsar-200 to the Sangla Chitkul (Kinnaur valley) and to the Spiti Valley on the 19th of May, 2009. For six days I kept exploring the place, eventually returning to the urban landscape called Delhi, which I incidentally have come to call as ‘home’.

It was a life changing experience for me, an experience unlike any other. The beautiful arid landscapes, the humble Himachali people, the wonderful, old monasteries, the lamas, the food, the atmosphere – everything about Spiti valley is just so mesmerzing, just so charming that words or photographs cannot really begin to even fathom what I experienced. If you really want to feel what Himachal is all about, then go to Spiti Valley, and explore it, feel it all yourself.

For the whole story, including the day-by-day trip log and pictures, please browse through the ‘Spiti – Where Gods Reside’ pages (1 through 6) chronologically to get a clear idea of what I experienced in these 6 days. It was, after all the ride of a lifetime…