Blogs from Uttarakhand, India, Asia - page 65

I am more of a restless traveller. Always trying to explore more and more places away from the beaten track. But in the pursuit of the unknown and something exhilarating, I always listened to my inner instincts which have never betrayed me till now. Whenever I travel to a place , I never take the same route back which helps me to see some new places and saves me from getting bored by the same landscapes and places. On my way back from Choukri I just took the less travelled route to Almora. It passes through Berinag , Barechina and chotechina. So when I was driving I noticed a kilometre post with Patal Bhubaneswar 13 kilometres. The name ( Patal means Hell ) itself made me quite inquisitive and on inquring in the roadside tea stall ... read more

Took the auto-rickshaw to the Forest Research Institute Museum, set in a 500 hectare park and is housed in a very grand Raj era building - according to Lonely planet its bigger than Buckingham Palace, stat’o. It was a fabulous building and the grounds were beautiful, lots of trees and monkeys. Museum was interesting but it had seen better days. Took a vickram (shared autorickshaw) back to the hotel. Dropped off at the clock tower. A young Indian man introduced himself as I was walking to the hotel and asked if he could spend the day with me. He said he liked to spend time with foreigners. Couldn’t really say no so we went for tea, talked politics. Strolled around the park and an old man lectured us on literature and philosophy, he wrote a quote ... read more

Took the bus to Dehra Doon, squeezed right in. Met an American couple who live in an Ashram. The man used to be a software engineer, he had a huge 'Unix nerd turned spiritual seeker beard', geezer. Dehra Doon is the capital of Uttaranchal, it’s noisy and polluted. Stayed at Motel Himshri, very nice. Brought a beautiful guitar, case and strings for £27.00, bargain. Played that all night. Had Aloo Gobi (potato curry) - very tasty, my Israeli friend recommend it. ... read more

17th/18th Illness. It was the salad sandwich at the waterfall, bastards. ... read more

Walked to Red-Chilly adventures and asked advice on a local trek. Decided to head for the waterfall. It was a 4/6/km walk. Stopped off at a Chai shop on the way and ate and drank tea with a group of Indian students. They were very polite. We exchanged emails and took pictures. The shorter walk through the forest to the waterfall was beautiful. Many species of butterfly and the water was very clear. Met a group of Israeli lads, exchanged stories about our travels. Decided to walk higher to see the source of the waterfall. Eventually we spotted a cave where several Hindu Holly men were living, walked through the cave and we found the main waterfall, it was amazing. Walked through the waters, several slips and sat around for half and hour or so. Great ... read more