Its time to PARTY!!!

Its 30th of December of year 2008... and the hottest topic of discussion is, "Where are you going for the New Year Eve Party?" For all those like me who have not yet gone on year end vacation, its little difficult to choose from zillions of options available (not literally, of course). I went to a party on Saturday, 27th Dec and it was THE topic of every small talk.

Well, lets consider the options available.... going with friends or attend a do at any restaurant/ hotel. Even among friends, which groups of friends?

Hope to sort the dilemma over dinner with Adesh, else we will end up in front of the dear TV!

Run for India

There is a running group in Gurgaon, Running and Living. They organize runs on every first Sunday of the month. This month, on 7th Dec, they had the 5km run called 'Run for India', in the wake of unfortunate events in Mumbai. They had tied up with Red FM, Gatorade, Reebok. The Gurgaon Half Marathon of 21km was also on the same day.

It is always a fun to be part of such events and this time it was for a cause. It seemed that the entire Gurgaon has landed up there. There were school kids, old people, house wives, corporate honchos. People who had never run so much before were also giving it their best shot. There were placards with messages like, "I will not give bribes". In all, a very well organized event and definitely something to look forward to.

Travelogue: Lansdowne and Rishikesh-II

After two days of rejuvenation in the calm and serene town of Lansdowne, we started for Rishikesh. We drove downhill to Kotdwar and then through Najibabad and the Rajaji National Park to reach Hardwar. From there we took the road to Badrinath, crossed the Rishikesh city and an uphill drive of 30 kms later, we reached our destination- Camp 5 Elements. It took us around 4 hrs to reach.

It is a camp on the beach of Ganges. From the road it looked so tiny. We had to trek down the hill to reach our camp. There was a suspension bridge over the river, and this swings when the wind blows! Our friends, Priyanka and Raghav were already there. This was my first time in any camp and the idea of living in a tent was very exciting. I must say that the camp staff was very friendly and hospitable. As soon as we reached, we hit the sand. Played volleyball, tried rock climbing and rappelling. Then just sat on the rocks with feet dangling in water. We even had a pebble throwing competition. This was like being back to childhood! There was another group of 5 people there who joined us for bon-fire and we exchanged anecdotes.

The most amusing part of the camp stay was the toilets. Each tent had shower and bathing place inside, but the dry toilets were all separate. They are all sand pits and the idea was quite repulsive. Anyways, next day we were gonna move out for rafting. The most exciting part of the entire trip.

We started next day after breakfast. There was a base camp for rafter around 5 minutes drive from our camp. We all had adrenaline running high. All strapped up in life jackets and after safety instructions we started our journey on the mighty Ganges. This was FUN!!! We crossed three rapids- Three Blind Mice, Black Money and Wall. We did body surfing which was akin to taking a holy dip in the holy Ganges. The professionals with us were encouraging all of us to jump in the water. They gave loads of instructions at all points of time, so that we enjoyed and we were safe. In all, a fun filled adventure, which we already planned to re-do next year.

After a tiring watery session we changed and headed towards Hardwar. The camp people had sent our car through a driver to our finish point. We stopped over at Hardwar for lunch. And then on the Sunday afternoon, we were headed back home via Rishikesh, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Ghaziabad to reach Delhi. The stretch of the road from Meerut to Ghaziabad was very bad and it took us very long to cover the short distance. We dropped Priyanka and Raghav at their home and headed for our abode in Gurgaon.

A fun filled trip of 4 days and 3 nights came to end. A lot of memories etched in our hearts. I recommend rafting in Rishikesh to everyone. It is a MUST-DO in your lifetime. By far, our best vacation. And, here I am already planning for the next one...

Travelogue: Lansdowne and Rishikesh-I

We went for a weekend trip to Lansdowne and Rishikesh. It was a four day trip from 2nd to 5th Oct. Lansdowne is the closest hill station from Delhi (250km approx). So, here is a brief account of our trip- Travelogue on Lansdowne and Rishikesh. This is the first part on Lansdowne.

We started on 2nd Oct morning at around 7.45am from Gurgaon. We crossed Delhi and hit Ghaziabad by 9.00 am. From there we took the road to Hardwar, we were supposed to go via Meerut but somehow took a wrong turn and hit Hapur. So, it was a detour of around 30km to Meerut. It was Id-ul Fitr and we could see a lot of men and young boys in white kurta- pyjama and skull caps going to Idgah and mosques. It was a holiday and we were able to avoid the morning traffic of school and office goers. From Meerut we took the road to Mawana (town famous for sugar). The National Highway 119 was in a pathetic condition, and in saying pathetic I am being very generous. There is a stretch of around 25-30km which is just stones and dirt. even a village road is betterthan this NH. Anyways, from Mawana we reached an upmarket dhaba- Monty Millions. This is the only decent eating place en- route Bijnor from Meerut. We reached there at around 11.30am. After having our Aloo Paranthas and Cold Coffee, we started our drive again. We crossed Bijnor, Najibabad and reached Kotdwar. Kotdwar is the entrance or dwar to the Garhwal region of the Himalayas. The view of the mountains from the city was so refreshing and encouraging. As soon as we hit the mountain area, the weather became so cool and refreshing. We stopped on the way for posing and clicking. There was tea stall in a hutment where the chaiwallah still cooks in coal fed stove.

We reached Lansdowne at around 3.00pm. It is atop a hill. The view from the hotel balcony (Blue Pine Resort) was awesome. Clouds floating outside, and then again sunny...

Lansdowne is a small, beautiful, picturesque hill station nestled in the Himalayas. It is in Garhwal region and home to Garhwal Rifles. Lansdowne is mostly Army area and is the regimental HQ for Garhwal Rifles. Everywhere you see jawans going up and down the roads. There are so many tracks in the hills for the ones with an adventurous spirit. We took the off-road path and trekked up for 3.5kms to reach the market place, through the Lansdowne Golf Course. After a tiring trek we had pakoras and tikki at Mayur Hotel. Diet plan gone for a toss!

The places to visit in Lansdowne are Army Museum, Bhulla Lake, Tiffin Top, St Mary's Church, St John's Church and the market place. There is a Shiv Mandir, around 35 kms from Lansdowne on another hill, Tarakeshwar Dham. The drive is very bumpy but its worth it. For the last 5 kms there was no road! But, by far the best place I have ever visited. So calm, serene, in the lap of nature with trees all around. It seemed like a scene out of a picture book. A must visit for everyone. Another interesting fact about Lansdowne is that there is no petrol pump. You have to drive downhill 45km to get petrol. So, we were mostly on foot. There are local taxis available for local sightseeing and they cost around Rs 400/-.

Our hotel, Blue Pine Resort, is supposedly the best out of three decent accommodations available. Though the food was not as we had expected, but still it was reasonable, considering that was our best option. After spending two nights at Lansdowne we started of towards Rishikesh. More of it in the next post.

Click here for photos

Paani Paani Re...

Thats what I was humming as I was driving to office. Its been raining cats and dogs every morning for the last few days. And the result, is more pot holes on much perforated roads. Plus the water logging. Aah, My Delhi!!! Though I am using Gulzar's song from Maachis in an entirely different context, but these were the first words that came to my mind when I saw the rain from the balcony. Leave aside the pot holes and water logging, I am just enjoying the weather. Oh , it so lovely! And, what a respite from the sweltering heat that had camped in Delhi. The weather man says it will continue only for a few more days and the heat will be back. But, for the moment Its raining...

Live Punjabi, Play Punjabi...

This is the anthem of Kings XI Punjab team. Whenever I hear this, I just start dancing. I am just so on to this song. And over the days I have realised, I support the team of my janambhoomi more than the Daredevils of my karambhoomi.

I just hope that Kings XI Punjab wins this season's IPL. And as Yuvraj says, Aaja Baee...

"My Delhi, I Care"

I really like this slogan of Delhi Government. It was coined to foster the involvement of people staying in Delhi with the Delhi city (or state). CM Shiela Dixit talks about this in a story which can be checked here.

Red FM has also stated a similar initiative, anchored by their RJ Nitin (my favorite!). He talks a lot about this in his morning show. Be it safety of women, bad roads and the recent one is the cleanliness drive. He has started going personally to clean the kurha-karkat in Delhi.

I think other states can learn a thing or two from the city. I have been in Mumbai, stayed there for almost an year. Never felt that anyone cares for the city, everyone cares for him/herself. The litter in the trains, along the roads, pathetic condition on roads are just few examples.

I, sometimes, consider myself as a confused Delhite. I hail from Punjab, studied in Delhi, worked here, moved out, returned back, got married and now working in Delhi but staying in Gurgaon. For an outsider I may still be staying in Dilli, as for them entire NCR is Dilli. But this does not mean I care less for Delhi. I have heard a few people say that it doesn't matter to them because they stay in Noida or Gurgaon or Faridabad, so they just don't care. Their place of stay is all they care, and just their society or colony or street. Is it a justified excuse? Definitely NO! Because I drive on Delhi roads, eat in Delhi restaurants, shop in Delhi markets, visit friends who stay in houses in Delhi, I feel responsible for the place. And, I damn very well care.

Trip to Corbett Tiger Reserve

We had been to Corbett over the Holi weekend. Corbett Tiger Reserve falls in Distt Nainital and is nestled in the hills with rivers criss-crossing the jungle.

We had made reservations a couple of months in advance, with Tiger Camp. We started Friday morning from Gurgaon, at 8.00 am, planning to reach by 3.00pm. But destiny had something else in store!

The road till Hapur, NH 24, is damn good. Post that, till Moradabad, it is OK. Around 15 kms before Garh Mukteshwar, there was an enormous traffic jam. We had started off towards the jungle to get away from the hustle-bustle of the metro, including traffic jams, but it would just not leave us. We managed to cover 13km in 2hrs. I guess, it summarises our situation.

Apparently, it was purnima and near Ganga ghat there was some pooja. This led to congestion on the river bridge. And hence, the jam. By this hour it was already 2.00pm. So much for our planning. On the way, we stopped at A1 Plaza at Reliance Petrol Pump. It was something out of loyalty to my ex-employer and Adesh's present employer. We hit Moradabad in another hour and a half. Discovered the local market in our effort to buy a memory card for the digicam. Last minute shopping... Finally after another 2 hrs, we reached our destination.

En route, we discovered a local village market dealing in cattle. Also, a lot of mango orchards. Weather was cool at Corbett. The moment I stepped into the resort, I was spellbound. It was WOW!!! So green, so cool and so relaxing... And, we had an entire cottage to ourselves! No TV, No Newspaper and Low mobile network. It would be interesting. That very evening we went down to the Kosi river (which flows next to Tiger Camp) and walked along the bank. We also watched a couple of wildlife documentaries.

Next day, early morning we went to discover jungle, riding an elephant. Ours was a female elephant named Padma. It was 6.00am and sun had not risen yet. We carried our cameras, hoping to spot a tiger, which we could not. We did spot some herds of Cheetal and Sambhar. Also lots and lots of langoors. The ride was fun. We saw a lot of different kinds of birds. The elephant would just wander in the forest on its own. She would stray away from the path and enter the bush. It was some adventure, though it left me with bad scratches on hands and arms.

We came back at around 8.30 and savaged the breakfast. It was holi and we played with colours. The reserve was closed, so we just chilled out and relaxed in the resort. The next day, after spending few hours in the reserve and driving around, we started the return journey.

It was a refreshing break from the monotonous schedule that both of us follow. We returned recharged and rejuvenated and full of fond memories. The vacation was awesome and memories are still fresh. A must visit for all nature lovers.

Festivities are here...

Its the best time of the year for me, the season I love the most. With winters just around the corner and the weather become a little chilly... I like it!

First it was Eid. Then Dussehra, the festival celebrating the victory of Good over Evil was celebrated on Sunday. It was preceeded by Navratras. Hey it is the Festival Season... I had colleagues fasting for nine days and then the Dandiya nights.

Well well well Delhi is already celebrating. Malls lit up. Markets decorated. Gurgaon has swanky office buildings also decorated. Its a good feeling. And shopping in the midst of all... Wow!!!!!

Will post some pictures of the decorated city soon.

I am just waiting for Diwali to come...