Blogs from Chandigarh, Punjab, India, Asia

We ended up staying in Srinagar for a few days longer than we planned when we got back from the trek, partly because we were tired and partly because we were dreading the 12 hour jeep journey back to Jammu. If it was 12 hours of driving it wouldn't be so bad, but most of the time you're sat still in traffic. Which again wouldn't be so bad if there was a reason for the traffic, other than Indians not being able to drive. The road is a windy one, through the mountains, at sections it's a few hundred metres drop from the side of the road to the river below, and people think that overtaking is acceptable. There's enough traffic on this road to fill a motorway back home, lined up on both sides of ... read more

After spending a while at the lake, we made our way back to the village. It was seven in the evening by the time we got to our homestay. We were famished and exhausted. Dinner was served in our guide’s snug little living room where mattresses were laid out on the floor for one to sit on. Interestingly, the main stove was not located in the kitchen but in the living room. This arrangement kept the room warm as a locally modified tin chimney kept the smoke away. Their staple meal consists of Rice, Dal and Chapatis. To my surprise, the women served us Rajma Chawal (my favourite), referred to as Dal. I gorged like a pig like there was no tomorrow. After a good nights sleep, we woke up to another beautiful morning. The next ... read more

After a few hours of burning the road down from Manali, we made our way through the popular tourist attraction Rohtang Pass (surprisingly, this time around it had a lot of snow). That was followed with a quick stop for a light breakfast at a dhaba. Soon thereafter, we continued driving through the lush green mountains and as we drove deeper into the valley, these mountains transformed into a barren and rocky landscape. The roads got narrower and dirtier with water streams meandering through. Up until now, my friend and I were busy tripping on music, clicking photographs here and there, making conversations with our driver and sitting as comfortably as it could get when we were caught off-guard. Our senses came alive and we peeped our heads out of the window and stared at the ... read more

We made it out of Shimla on Tuesday morning. We hired a private car to take us down the mountain to Chandigarh. Total cost for the new Toyota Elios and a very good driver was $49 US. The ride took 3 hours and with every kilometer we breathed easier due to the increase in oxygen and the knowledge that we were a kilometer closer to leaving India. We came to like, if not love, Shimla. It is a beautiful locale and in the end we met some very kind and helpful people but not enough to offset the tremendous hassle of traveling in this most vexing of lands. I would like to return someday to hike the Kashmir area but only with another person capable of taking care of themselves. Somebody like Noah, Greg, Reed, Montgomery, ... read more

first day of the tour. The flight was leaving at 12:50 from Bangalore airport. It is atleast an hour's drive from home. We planned to leave around 10 am. Madhu had to go to work today. We woke up at 6:45 and had coffee and breakfast early. I tried the masala oats in the morning. It was good but quite spicy for a morning breakfast. We showered and were ready by 9:45 am. It was an uneventful ride to the airport. The new airport is in one corner of the city. Atleast half the section of the roads to airport was under construction. Certain sections of the road near the airport looked very good and professionally done. Check-in went smooth as well. Lots of folks check you and your bags repeatedly. A seal on the tag ... read more