Year 2007 is coming to an end. Yet another new year celebration is on the corner. This reminds me to write that special note to wrap up the year. 2007 was full of travel tales and masti for me.

There were hundreds of special moments this year.Here are some of them Read the rest of this entry »

I am all set. My iPod has been refreshed with latest music, batteries are fully charged, my new big back pack is fully loaded. I am leaving to Rajastan on 16th. I will be on ten day vacation to Rajastan visiting Jaisalmer , Pushkar ( Yup Pushkar Fair), Ajmir and Jaipur. I am sure going to get hundreds of pictures and lot of videos from Pushkar and Jaisalmer. This will be my first visit to Thar deserts. I am all charged up.

Jaisalmer, the “Golden City”, is located on the westernmost frontier of Indian subcontinent in the state of Rajasthan. Close to the border with Pakistan, the city is known for its proximity to the Thar Desert. Desert Safari in the sand dunes of Jaisalmer is an unforgettable experience.

Like my previous stories from North East India; I am going to post series of stories from Rajastan this time. I will try to live blog from the fair. I heard food along the train journey is awesome. So for sure there will be some posts on food. I am planning to post everyday. Follow me on Twitter or blog not to miss any post. You can get the posts directly to your inbox too.

About Pushkar Fair - Every November, the sleepy little township of Pushkar in Rajasthan, India comes alive with a riot of colors and a frenzied burst of activity. The occasion: PUSHKAR FAIR. Very few, if at all any, fairs in the world can match the liveliness of Pushkar. Most people associate the Pushkar Fair with the world’s largest camel fair. But it is much more than that.

Here is the plan as of now
Day 1, Day 2 : Travel by train and bus
Day 3, Day 4: Jaisalmer
Day 4, Day5, Day6: Ajmir and Pushkar
Day 7, Day8: Jaipur
Day 9: Fly back to Bangalore

This story is a part of my travel stories from Rajastan called StoriesFromRajastan. The places covered are Ajmir, Jaisalmer, Pushkar and Jaipur.

Kid Hosted on Zooomr

Kids Hosted on Zooomr

Cricket Hosted on Zooomr

This story is a part of my travel stories from North East India called storiesfromnortheastindia. The places covered are Kolkatta, Darjeeling, Gangtok and many other in Sikkim.

When we reached Darjeeling it was already evening. The jeep drive was tiring. But the whole drive was amazing as I had the window seat. The beautiful curvy road, river along the side and the whole drive as such was great. The best seat would be of that of driver. But he did not seem to be that exited. May just another day at work.

We didn’t have to search for the hotel as we had booked the hotel from Siliguri. The hotel was decent for the cost. We had a good dinner and watched Govind & Akshay comedy at Multiplex. Night was more chiller than I thought.

Matty wanted to go in the train. He had planned to go to Ghoom in Train. But he was lazy to go to railway station to buy tickets. So it was me and MK who had too. But it turned out to be very interesting. The booking counter was not yet open and I needed a smoke (only when it was cold). As it is not legal to smoke in public area we moved out.There we saw the queen getting ready for the day. Myself and MK could not resist. As we entered I was scared as to what would guards tell. But they were very friendly and allowed to take pictures with her. Of course my mobile played a major role.

Queen of hills needs warming up for the journey. According to the driver she needs an hour or more to reach the required pressure. So they will start filling her say around 5 am.

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What saves a soldier in this cold? Is it the Old Monk, photos, magazines or GOD? Its the faith that they have in super power. Baba mandir is one such place where both civilians and service personnel arrive for faith. Baba Mandir is at 13000 ft on the way to Nathula pass. The road constructed by border roads organization is very good. In fact I would like to drive on that road one day.

All of a sudden in between the white and brownish mountains you will see colours like green, yellow and saffron.Thats Baba Mandir driver informs us and warns us not to far from Mandir ” there is a chance to get lost or caught”. Its biting cold but everybody gets into the samadhi bare footed. The crowd becomes silent. Not sure if they are praying or they are just shoked to see this wonder amidst the barren land. I just think its a place where you go to respect your soldiers who laid their life for us.

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