Travelling – Page 6 – TRAVELOGUES AND TREASURES

TTL: Jaisalmer – Fort and Bada Baagh

From Jaipur to Jaisalmer, it takes approximately 12hrs by train. The journey was eventful, in the sense that the external scenery shifted from a greenish Jaipur to a semi arid Jaisalmer. It is also referred to as the Golden City, owing to the color of the stones, which are golden in colour. Also amazing is the Jaisalmer Fort, which is one of the few forts, which are inhabited by people who are not of the royal family.

Jaisalmer, being close to the desert, and being in a semi arid region, is hotter and dryer than Jaipur and the other cities. Keep drinking loads of water, and you shall be fine.

DSC_6399-23 — View from the Fort of the City

DSC_6392-21 — The rooftops are often converted to tourist friendly cafes

Near the fort are some havelis, old palatial homes, built by erstwhile businessmen. Worth a visit, for the display of exquisite rock cut and marble carvings on the homes.

DSC_6361-10 — Elephant door at Nathmal Ki Haveli

On the outskirts of the town are hamlets or villages. Famous of them is one called Bada Baagh. It houses cenotaphs of the royal family of Jaisalmer.

Next up, are two more attractions of Jaisalmer, the Kuldhara village and the Sam sand dunes. Stay tuned 🙂

Cheers!!

June 20, 2015June 20, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: Bada Baagh, Cenotaph, Golden City, Haveli, jaisalmer, Jaisalmer Fort, Nathmal Ki Haveli, Patwa Haveli, Travelling 2 Comments

TTL: Jaipur

Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, was the next stop for me. An early morning train took me from the Old Delhi (DLI) station to Jaipur (JP). I had been forewarned that Rajasthan would be hot. That too, in the summers and that it was the “Off Season” for a reason. Call it fate, call it luck, every single day I spent in the state, it was cloudy and overcast sky. I was happy.

Rajasthan, has an immensely rich cultural heritage, lots of forts and palaces to roam about, but the famous ones, are pictured here.

I begin with the City Palace. Centrally located within the city, this is the palace of the monarch. Its a nice place to take a tour around. Observe the intricately carved gates and the richly decorated archways. It puts you right in the middle of a rich, bygone era.

DSC_6177-Edit-58 — Panorama view from the Hawa Mahal

Nearby, are two more beautiful buildings, the Hawa Mahal, and the Jantar Mantar.
The Hawa Mahal is an impressive bit of architecture and from the top storey, offers a panoramic view of the Pink City. But, the most iconic and prettiest view of the building is not from within, rather from the adjoining street. Have a look.

DSC_6065-3 — Iconic view of the Hawa Mahal

The Jantar Mantar at Jaipur houses the biggest sundial of the planet. Here is a view of the observation deck viewed from the base.

The next place to visit, are two of the most famous forts, the Amer Fort and the Jaigarh Fort.
Before you take on these forts, its advisable to eat something and hydrate yourself properly. The climb is long and steep too. But the views, are totally worth it.

DSC_6193-34 — Jaigarh on left background, Amer Fort on right foreground

DSC_6233-47 — Fortified route from Amer fort to Jaigarh

DSC_6247-53 — View from the Jaigarh Fort.

The last stop for the day was the Jal Mahal. The palace is located within the lake. As of June, 2015, visitors are not permitted to go to the palace.

With this, my Jaipur trip came to an end, and on the same night, I boarded a train to Jaisalmer, the golden city. Up next, stay tuned and follow me.

Cheers!!

June 18, 2015June 18, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: Amer Fort, City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur, Jaivana Cannon, Jal Mahal, Jantar Mantar, Pink City, Travelling 5 Comments

TTL: Delhi II

Day 1 ended on a sad note, that I cracked my phone. But, Day 2 was happier, because, my replacement phone would reach me in some time. With a happy thought in heart, we left in the morning for Red Fort and Jama Masjid and other places like Lotus Temple and all. Except, it was Monday and all the monuments were closed. A little disheartened, we went directly to the Jama Masjid, which was open, thankfully.

DSC_5904-6 — Jama Masjid from the courtyard

Post Jama Masjid tour, we returned to the hostel, to find my phone waiting there already. Happy, the next outing was to the corridors of powers of the Indian govt. namely the Parliament complex and India Gate.

The India Gate has special place in the Indian hearts, as it houses the tomb of the unknown soldier and pays respect to all those who have been lost in battle. The eternal flame, Amar Jawan Jyoti can be seen blazing.

With this, my Delhi trip came to an end. Next stop being Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Cheers!!

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: Amar Jawan Jyoti, Clouds, Delhi, India Gate, Jama Masjid, Parliament, Silhouette, Sunset, Travelling 2 Comments

TTL: Delhi I

Hi there all,

Am back from my solo trip from Delhi and Rajasthan, and let me begin by saying, it was simply amazing. I met some exceptionally awesome people from all corners of the world and different fields of work and upbringing. The common factor that gelled us together, wanderlust. For everyone reading this, go backpacking. If you havent done it yet, please do it. Pack a bag, set a destination, and just set off. Leave your worries, issues, emotional baggages, all behind, and just go!

My trip began at Delhi. I was scheduled to meet up with an old friend of mine at the Qutb Minar complex.

Off course I did a photo shoot of my friend and guide, Miss Mitra here, I wasnt going to give up such a nice opportunity at all. For the ones who plan a trip to this place, be advised, there are lots of photoshoot locations in the complex. You shall be happy.
During the shoot, a little over enthusiasm and extreme carelessness on my part rendered my phone’s screen cracked to pieces and hence useless. This saddened me enough that I lost interest in the Qutb, and we came back for the day.

Day 2, more photos, and some more tidbits, coming up soon. Stay tuned.

June 16, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: Backpacking, Delhi, Photoshoot, Qutb Minar, Travelling, Zostel 2 Comments

Glimpse of Jaisalmer

More when I return home, in a week
Cheers

June 12, 2015June 15, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: Golden City, Golden Fort, jaisalmer, MotoE2, Panorama, Rajasthan, Travelling 5 Comments

TTL: Shankarpur II

By the time you read this, I shall be far away from my hometown, with a backpack and my camera gear, somewhere in Rajasthan for a week long trip. Long live scheduling of posts in the blog. Now, enough hype about the upcoming Delhi-Rajasthan trip, Shankarpur photos galore!

DSC_5768-10 — Waves break at the Digha Sea Wall

DSC_5531-7 — The Shankarpur Sea Wall at Night

Keep shooting, have fun! Cheers!!

June 9, 2015June 16, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: Black and white, Digha, Long Exposure, Paws, Reflection, Sea wall, shankarpur, Symmetry, Travelling 1 Comment

TTL: Shankarpur I

Its not everyday that we travel to the hills of the North East India and to the beaches of Bay of Bengal within a span of 15 days, but then, when the opportunity came knocking, I wasnt going to turn it down.

So here I was, at Shankarpur. It is still a relatively peaceful and calm beach on the east coast of India, facing the Bay of Bengal. It is situated about 20 kms away from Digha, but is immensely more calm, and also cheaper. Nearby are a couple of virgin beaches, Tajpur and Mandarmoni. Ideal destinations for couples, friends, families, who crave some quite time listening to the waves crashing and watch the moon rise and take early morning strolls.
Well, enough with the descriptions, have a look here 🙂

DSC_5618-22 — Just a regular morning on the beach

Follow this post for the part II. Coming up soon 🙂

Cheers!!

June 6, 2015June 6, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: bay of bengal, beach, East Coast, Full Moon, India, moonrise, Morning, Sea, shankarpur, Travelling 14 Comments

Moonrise!

For sunrise is just too common and moonrise is equally beautiful but much more serene!

Sea beaches, clouds and then some more, coming up soon 🙂
Cheers!

June 4, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: bay of bengal, beach, moon, moonrise, shankarpur, Travelling Leave a comment

TTL: Kamakhya and Suwalkuchi

On the last phase of the trip, the second last day that is, we were in Guwahati. We went to Kamakhya and Suwalkuchi.
Kamakhya temple is a considered to be one of the most revered of Indian Temples and the deity, goddess Durga, and here, in the temple, the presence is felt, quite heavily. The spiritual souls, will be mesmerized. A quick wiki look up helps, read here.

From the temple, we made our way towards Suwalkuchi. Its a small town on the other bank the Brahmaputra, which is famous for handlooms.

By the noon, we headed back to our hotel and we were tired . That evening was spent lazying in the hotel and arranging stuffs we had with us. Next day, we were on our way back. And since it was the similar view on the trip back, I calmly dozed off.

This concluded the Assam and Meghalaya trip for me. Next up…Delhi and Rajasthan. I leave in 5 days from now, but this time, its a solo backpacking trip. I ll have a rucksack, some clothes, the laptop and charger, the camera and lens, and my tripod. Next post might take some time.
Till then,
Cheers!!

June 2, 2015June 1, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: Assam, Brahmaputra, Guwahati, Kamakhya, Sati, Suwalkuchi, Travelling Leave a comment

TTL: Kaziranga and Pobitora

Continuing from Shillong, next stop was the Rhino country, Kaziranga.

DSC_4714-4 — Swans at Ward’s Lake: Shillong

Now, the Kaziranga and Pobitora National Parks, both closed down by the 14th of May, and we were arriving a week too late. Expectations of getting to see the rhinos were low.

We enjoyed the road, for it was really very beautiful. And then, we came across these cute ones, ambling down the road.

A few photos hence, the journey continued. After some time, we came across a patch of land, and stared into the wilderness.

Rhinos Galore!

We stood there ogling at the rhinos, and they couldn’t be any less bothered. Soon, we got bored too, and continued towards the rest house.

Next day, while going back towards Guwahati, we detoured via Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. That too was closed, but some rhinos were kind enough to give us a peek.

Satisfied with our Rhino sightings, we headed back towards Guwahati.

Next day, scheduled trip being the Kamakhya temple and a local handloom hub, Suwalkuchi. Coming soon 🙂

Cheers!!

May 31, 2015May 30, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: Assam, Elephants, Kaziranga, Meghalaya, Pobitora, Rhino, Rhinoceros, Swan, Travelling, Weaver Bird 2 Comments

TTL: Cherrapunji (Sohra)

From Shillong city, we went to the Shillong viewpoint, which is located within the Air Force Base. The route was dense with fog, and the visibility was rather limited. From the view point, only a few pine trees and their cones were visible.

As we came to lower altitude, the weather cleared and we got an amazing view of green fields, dark mountains and blue sky specked with clouds.

Before turning towards Elephant Falls, our driver, made one last detour. This time, into a pine forest.

Next stop, was the Elephant falls. I ll be honest, this was just the way I had thought it would be, and was prepared. I had lugged my tripod, for just this kind of a shot, and I got it.

There are 3 stages of this falls, rest two were pretty, but this one, the stage 1, was the best, by me!

Next, we turned towards the once wettest place on earth, Cherrapunji or as locally known as, Sohra.

The route is nothing short of majestic and in every turn, you feel like stopping for a shot.

At Cherrapunji, we met up with more dense fog and by the time we went to the tallest plunge waterfall of India, the Nokalikhai Falls, the cliff was blanketed in fog, and nothing, absolutely nothing was visible. We turned back, a little disappointed that we missed the view.

But then, we were excited too. We were off to Kaziranga the next day! Rhinos…coming up shortly 🙂

Cheers!!

May 28, 2015May 28, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: Black and white, Cherrapunji, Elephant Falls, Meghalaya, Shillong, Travelling 2 Comments

TTL: Shillong

Hi all,

Continuing now. From GAU, we went on our way to Shillong. The maps had shown twisty turny roads, what it didnt mention was the quality. For most of the route, it was 4 lane wide and pretty gentle. And the views all around, simply marvelous.

On the way to Shillong, we came across the Umium Lake, rightly called Barapani, meaning, big lake, in Hindi.

Some HDR and stitched photos of the lake are under process, hopefully, I ll have them up soon.

At Shillong, the first place we went was the Don Bosco Museum. I ll be honest, I didnt pay much attention to the artifacts within, and almost ran up to the top and went to the sky walk, for a panoramic view of Shillong, and it was superb.

From here, we went to our hotel, and were tired. Next day, was towards Sohra, or as more commonly known, Cherrapunji. Coming up, soon 🙂

Cheers!!

May 25, 2015May 25, 2015 by SenK Categories: TravellingTags: Barapani, Don Bosco Museum, Shillong, Travelling, Tricolour, Umium Lake 4 Comments

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