Blogs from India, Asia

Gujarat state in western India is geographically and culturally divided in to at least four regions: Saurashtra, Kutchh, North Gujarat and South Gujarat (with Central Gujarat in between). I have lived in Saurashtra for 36 years and North Gujarat for 27 years. Interest in re-(re)-visiting some parts of Saurashtra is therefore natural. I have copied some information (mostly legends) from sources available on internet (not necessarily authentic – I have used them only because I liked the contents). I have also given links to these sources. You may use hyperlinks to read more about the place. I have not re-written the description wherever good source is available. Saurashtra (also known as Kathiawad) is further divided into different areas (which are more relevant historically): Halar (present day Jamnagar), Sorath (Jun... read more

Leh - Ladakh: 23/8/21 to 29/8/21 There are three mis-matched regions of “Jammu & Kashmir” state: (1) Hindu dominated ‘Jammu’ region, (2) Buddhist ‘Ladakh’ and (3) predominantly muslim - ‘Kashmir’. This is not a political commentary on why and how they came together, but now some sense is being brought in by separating ‘Ladakh’ as a Union Territory with Leh as its capital. Leh-Ladakh has many strange ‘world-records’ to its credit. It is in fact a (world’s highest) desert (rain-shadow area) in the Himalayas. Technically this region opened for tourists sometime in the 1970s but has developed as a major destination in the last two decades only. I will arbitrarily divide Himalayas in to six regions (for tourism purpose only) - (1) Snow clad mountains of Kashmir, (2) Deserted mountains of Ladakh and Kargil, (3) Green ... read more

Day-3: 25-08-2021 - Leh Palace, Hemis, Thicksey, Rancho, Shey: Leh Palace. A lot of renovation has been carried out to make it possible for tourists to visit. There are 9 levels (stories). Tourists are allowed up to 5. Palace conveys the simplicity (or lack of wealth) of erstwhile rulers. Moving on the Leh-Manali road we went up to Hemis monastery first (last point of our itinerary for the day). From Hemis, the road bifurcates to go to Pangong. Those who go to Pangong, Hemis side can be covered on the way, however, you need 3-4 hours to visit all these spots. Hemis monastery has students of Buddhism. We also saw a banner announcing ‘convocation’. There is a very good museum on Buddhism. It has many idols of Buddha collected from different parts of the word, belonging ... read more

Day-4: 26-08-2021 - Leh to Nubra Valley: One of the most exciting parts of the Ladakh tour is - crossing the world's highest motorable pass - Khardung la (La = Pass) at 18350 ft - to enter the Nubra valley. Apart from Leh, its surroundings (Sham valley and Hemis), two most frequented places are the Nubra valley and Pangong Lake. Few tourists also go to Tso moriri. Leh - Nubra - Pangong makes a triangle. Leh to Nubra via Khardung La takes about 4 hrs. Nubra to Pangong takes about 7 hours and Pangong to Leh via world’s second highest motorable pass - Chang La takes about 5 ½ to 6 hrs. In Nubra valley, attractions are Diskit monastery in Diskit village (~120 km from Leh), 6 km further is Hunder village famous for sand dunes ... read more

"If there is a Heaven on Earth, it is in Kashmir." I realised the age-old proverb after completing the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek. When I was young, my dream was to be a wanderlust and travelling to Himalayas. Like many Bengalis I was influenced by the epic travelogue written by Parimal Dey and Umaprasad, the legendary travel-writers of Bengal. But now I am 60 plus and around six months back, when our family friend Mr Basu offered for participation in the Himalayan Trek of “Kashmir Great Lakes”, I did not take it seriously, at least initially. He was a seasoned trekker and participated in many trekking tours at different parts of Himalayas. Age creates physical disabilities. We became slow, our muscle and limbs do not function as it should be. My fear was I should not ... read more