Another Hell of a trip - Pune

Here I am signing in again to write about my Pune trip. Despite the hectic work of March(Financial Year End), the excitement of visiting Pune had made me more cheerful all along march.

I always have the habit of reading travelogues. That too when I am visiting a new place, I don’t want to miss the best of the place. While reading one such blogs, I happened to read about Tandem Paragliding in Khamset, Pune. 

Ever since I did river rafting and cliff jumping in Rishikesh, I started to fall in love with adventures. The thrill of living on edges can never be explained.

Pune trip is always close to my heart for lot of reasons. One reason being it made me feel so independent. And another reason being I was able to strike down a few from my bucket list.

All my friends had already started to Pune. As I had got some work, I started two days after them. I booked an early morning(5:00 am) flight from Chennai.  I was feeling really excited that I would be witnessing the Sun Rise from top of the world. My flight landed around 6:30 am in the morning. My hotel car driver had already reached and was waiting for me. 

Local sightseeing in Pune
After refreshing, we started around 9:00 am to Shaniwar wada fort, a fort which was built during 18^th century. It is considered to be a haunted fort. After Shaniwar wada, we started to Agha khan palace. 

Agha Khan Palace

Agha Khan Palace is a national monument of Indian Freedom Movement. After the demise of Kasturba, Gandhi had expressed his wish that this palace should be used for the empowerment of Women. As per Gandhi’s wish, the palace was later donated in memory of Kasturba.

That night while dining with my friends, I was telling them about Tandem Paragliding in Khamshet, Pune. I was surprised to see two of my friends were interested to join me for paragliding. 

This is how it all started

Since others were not interested, we decided that all of us could go on a day trip to South Mumbai. We were a gang of ten. We booked a temporary traveller from Pune to Mumbai. We started early in the morning to avoid traffic.

Off to Mumbai

Mumbai-Pune Expressway -Google source

The road tripping on Mumbai-Pune Expressway was awesome. It carved through the scenic Sahyadri mountain ranges with lots of passes and tunnels. One such pass is shown in the picture. We reached Mumbai around 10 am.

We started our Mumbai trip with“Sithi Vinayagar Temple–Well known ancient Ganesha temple (1801).” 

From there, we had decided to go to “Hajji Ali Dhargh.” Dhargha, which is located in the middle of the sea and a path connecting it with mainland. The gushing tides from both sides of the path offered an awesome welcome. Mumbai skyline looked splendid from Hajji Ali Dhargha.

Hajji Ali Dhargha - Heaven on earth

From Dhargha, we headed to a Mount Mary’s church in Bandra. The main reason for choosing this church was to ride on Bandra-worli sea link, a civil engineering marvel. The sea link had been built to connect Worli to Bandra. I wished I could have got a chance to see the Bandra-Worli sea link when it is fully lit in the night.

Bandra Worli Sea Link

After being a Secular citizen covering three main religion's temple on a single day, we felt it’s time to answer the stomach’s call. After enquiring a mumbaikar, we got to know that Briyani will be good in Shalimar restaurant. We headed from Church to Shalimar restaurant. The biryani served at the restaurant was exceptionally good and also very different from south indian briyani. Apart from biryani, Kabab served was another feather to its crown.

We headed from restaurant to Mumbai Gateway after a scrumptious lunch. We had already booked for a Yatch ride in Gateway sailing club. I have convinced my friends to join me for Yatch ride. The cost per head was Rs.600.

Gateway Sailing Club - Yatch Ride

We had chosen the slot in such a way that we were able to witness the sunset from sea. Mumbai Skyline with the backdrop of Sunset was splendid. One hour ride in yatch was really a memorable experience. After Yatch ride, we went for little shopping in Colaba. After a jam packed day in south Mumbai, we started back to pune by 10:30 pm.

Sunset and the Mumbai Skyline

Paragliding in Khamset, Pune
Let me go back to my dream of flying. Yes Tandem paragliding in Khamshet. I was not able to stop the fire of flying in air. So I have checked up with few agencies for booking. I got to know that the tandem paragliding for the weekends have already been booked. Slot was available only on Monday. Two of my friends who were interested to join me, would have already started to their place by that time. So I was left with myself. 

I had two options. Either to sit up all day in my room or to paraglide alone. After lot of thinking, I had booked for tandem paragliding on Monday (06.04.15) 3:00 pm. I was successful in convincing two of my friends to join me to click some pictures. All the way from Pune to Khamshet, my friends were teasing me. The only time where I did shut my mouth for three long hours could be that Pune to Khamshet journey. I was completely nervous but still I really wanted to take that thrill.

We reached the paragliding spot by 2:55. But we couldn’t even see anyone there. After I called and enquired, I got to know that agency people were yet to reach the destination. At around 3:15, the agency people had come to flying site. They gave basic instructions regarding paragliding. 

Trekking to a small hilltop

Then we started to trek to the small hilltop from where the kickoff of paragliding started. My colleague was teasing me that he wanted a take a final picture of me. With the mixture of nervousness and excitement, I trekked to the hilltop to take-off.

All set for Paragliding

I always wanted to do risky things first before others try it. I wanted to experience it all myself before somebody could share their experiences. Too much right? 

Much to the pilot’s surprise, I blurted out that I would like to take the first flight. He gave me the jacket to be put on. All things were set for paragliding.

The tandem pilot had asked me to try running against the wind. Since the wind made me loose control, I wasn’t able to run against the wind. Then two co-instructors had to run along with me pulling my glider against the wind to soar up to the sky.

Soar up to the Sky

Take-off was the best part in Paragliding. I might not be able to do justice by putting it in words. So I will leave to the feel of every individual.

“Flying in air was always a dream..

 Finally that dream came to reality in Khamshet, Pune.”


My blue gliders started flying over the meadows of Khamshet. I was awestruck by the view it offered. I wondered how on earth these people would have learnt this skill. It’s just a pull of string(Lines in paragliding terms) which make the glider plane to dance according to the pilot’s wish.

Yeyyyy!!! Finally Flying in air!!!

When my pilot asked whether it’s thrilling, I said take off was pretty good. But Gliding seemed usual and I didn’t get much of a feeling of flying.

After that, my pilot smiled mischievously and told “Chalo. Lets see now”. Then using his speed bars and lines, he turned the glider hither and thither in a fast speed. I started shouting “Bussss… Bussss…(Enough.. Enough..), I then regretted for telling the pilot that it wasn't thrilling in the first place. 

The final best part was landing. When the wind pulls you in different direction, the pilot’s art of landing had to be appreciated. 
As I said earlier, Pune trip was one hell of a trip. And I loved every bit of it.

Month of Trip     - April'15
No of days of trip - 3 Days

Gokarna - On a Full moon night

“Waking up to the same routine day in and day out, my life seemed to pass me by.”

I didn’t want my birthday to pass just like an another day of my life. 

It started with a 12 hours journey in sleeper bus from Bangalore. Bus reached Gokarna by 8:00 am. Buzzing autos were there to take people to different beaches. Before starting my own experience, let me give a glimpse about Gokarna.

Gokarna is a small temple town in the coastline of North Karnataka. People also call it “Goa of Karanataka”.  It has got four main beaches.

1)      Om Beach

2)      Kudle Beach

3)      Half moon Beach

4)      Paradise Beach

Our plan was to stay in Om beach and trek to Kudle Beach, Half moon Beach, Paradise Beach. After half an hour drive in hill, auto reached Namaste café in Om beach. After reaching Namaste café only, we got to know that Half Moon beach and Paradise beach were prohibited due to monsoon. With little disappointment, we occupied our room. Room was neat and the location was just awesome.

Mesmerizing view from top of the cliff

After a lazy breakfast in Namaste café restaurant facing sea, we started trekking to Kudle beach. To reach kudle beach, we had to trek and cross a rocky cliff. While trekking, you will find lot of good view points. One such is shown on right. Lush green trek trails and mesmerizing view from top of the cliff was blissful.

"Its the journey that matters not the destination"
After taking a short break enjoying the view, we continued our trek to Kudle. I swore it was such an awesome experience to trek through jungles to reach another beach. As I heard from my friend that Half-moon beach trek trail was tougher than Kudle beach's. I felt like coming back to Gokarna again just to experience the Halfmoon beach trek.

Relishing the childhood in me

Kudle beach - What a pristine beach!!! Hardly people were there. I felt as if I have my very own private beach. The sparkling sea water washed my feet. I had literally gone back to my childhood.

As it started to drizzle, we went to a beach shack to have some drink. After an hour, we started to trek back to our stay. Again while trekking back too, we stopped at those view points to enjoy those captivating views.

We decided to go to Om beach during sun set, so that we could have some good sleep. At around 5:30, we went to Om beach.

Om Beach named for its shape

Om beach is named for its shape, as you could see from the pic. We spent a lazy evening walking along the shore and sitting in the small rocks near the shore.

Haven't I told you earlier about Half moon beach trek trails? Half moon beach is in the other side of the cliff shown in the pic.  


“At the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy, your eyes sparkling, your heart filled with content and your mind filled with best stories - The Traveller”

Source - Google

After a tasty dinner in Namaste cafe, we started watching movie in our room. 

In the night around 10 pm, I felt like going out and having some time directly under stars. When we went to Om beach, Namaste café was on the verge of closing. Few couples were having photo shoot on a rock together. Few guys were savoring the last bit of their marijuana rolled cigarette.

We were sitting in the small rock near shore at 11’o clock, watching the serene beauty of sea, waves washing my feet, high tides hitting the cliff, calmness all around except for the rushing waves. I was lost in thought looking at the never ending sea and mind blowing moon. It was a full moon night!

Just sitting and gazing at the endless end gave me so much warmth on my birthday. Moon peeping out of the clouds to wish me a Big day on my birthday. It was a dream come true moment to have been in a beach on a full moon night.

I was really happy to have chosen Gokarna on an off season. As deep in heart, all I wanted was a secluded place away from people. Gokarna gave me the best birthday.

My birthday can never get better. It is one of such birthday well spent.

“I was thinking that travel is all about seeing lot of places and having lot of activities to do. This Gokarna trip has changed that mindset. Travel can get better even with just getting lost somewhere where you can all be yourself and live just for yourself.”

Month of Trip       - Aug'15
No of days of trip - 2 days

Sikkim & Darjeeling - The Trip that kindled the traveller in me

Pre tour activities

My long wait had come to an end as I met an excited and enthusiastic person like me. (For this passage, I am referring her as “Partner” as we are Shuttle Badminton Doubles Partners).

First Day of Planning

We had planned to visit Kashmir this summer and almost finalized the package with private agencies too in the morning. 

Suddenly in the evening while browsing, we got to know that election was scheduled on those days. We were not in a state to drop the plan of Kashmir. Of course our ultimate target for the summer is to see "SNOW". The first day of our plan ended with a reluctant feel (Say No to Kashmir!).

Nevertheless the fire within us didn’t let us divert from going on a tour. My partner had come up with the idea of “NORTH EAST”. My very first question was “Will there be snow in North East?” She said like “Himalayan Ranges, Kanchenchenga, blah blah blah, so for sure there will be snow”.(And ofcourse she wasn’t confident about snow at that time but she convinced me as though she was confident). 

And finally I said “Ok lets plan”. Next day morning we started our navigation to North East in Google to see what all we can include in our itinerary. We have contacted two to three agencies for their price to North East trip.

Finally our plan was 6D and 7N Trip(09.05.14 to 16.05.14) to Gangtok, Pelling and Darjeeling. Instead of pelling, we had actually planned for Lachung where we can see “Yumthang Valley” and “Nathula pass(Indo-Chinese Border)”. Since Nathula Pass seemed to be on a higher cost and the probability of seeing the pass also depended on political and weather conditions. We had chosen Pelling over Lachung. (But All the way down the trip, we regretted for not choosing Lachung.)

I didn’t mean to say Pelling wasn’t a good experience. But the thing was Lachung would have been an adventurous one when compared to Pelling. As we were with my partner’s mom and the different experience we had on our first day of our trip(Which I would be referring in the next couple of paragraphs), Lachung wouldn’t have been a better idea.

Parents permission first

When I first told my mom about tour plans, she said ok. When she asked about the cost and place, she started to brainwash me saying so many reasons from safety to family functions. But of course she knew about me from childhood. If I wanted to do something in my life, nobody could stop me except me. 

Then came my father's turn. He was saying like “Is it necessary at this point of time?” I convinced my father saying I really needed a break from my hectic work and asked him to let me go. As my happiness is the first thing to him, he asked me to proceed with the plans. Of course I lied a little to my father to assure him about my safety. I am planning to share this blog to my father too (See how true I am).

Next turn was my friends. So they all started with the same dialogue “Safety First, Everything Next”. I was explaining back to them saying “I will be safe by myself. And there are girls who are going abroad and living on their own. It is our India. I will take care of myself blah blah”. As soon as they got to know that I had already made up my mind to go there, they had given me advices so that I would be safe out there.

It takes only a small step to cross the imaginary boundaries which we had for years. 

I really enjoyed my trip. There was never a moment I felt lorn. If I had missed this trip, I would have felt for my life time.

My Sister’s Engagement

I was flying in air when my parents were planning my sister's engagement. Suddenly I gulped for air when they dragged the engagement to May 1^st week. I was reminded of the travel agency saying “No refund of advance or postponement of Dates”. OMG!!!!  My Hard Earned Money!!!! 

Finally they fixed my Sister’s Engagement on 27.04.14. Relieved… 

Next problem was getting leave from office. With all the commitments I had for the next couple of months, I can’t ask leave from my bosses for going on a tour. Again I started to think of a perfect lie to tell. I ended up with an idea of pilgrimage tour to Thirupati related to my sister’s wedding. Of course they can’t deny leave for this.

The 'D' Day of our Tour

We were waiting at our station for our train to bangalore. My heart was beating fast as if I was eloping with someone. Next day early morning we started to Bangalore airport. Boarded our flight for a 5 hours journey to Bagdogra. 

I would never forget the flight journey with aunty. As it was the first time for her, she was little nervous from the beginning. Her nervousness got worse when the air turbulence was really bad. She started to tell “Kantha Shrishti Kavasam”(Devotional song which we sing in India to endure fear). We both started laughing at her. As we were already aware that the flight food wouldn’t be tasty, we have got cup noodles in our backpack. When we asked for the second cup of hot water, the look the airhostess gave was really funny. But we managed to control our laughter. We had nothing but songs to kill our time.

“Ifs and Buts”

Finally we landed at Bagdogra airport after four and an half hour journey. Our travel agency people were waiting to receive us. We were taken to a hotel in Bagdogra for having our lunch. After our lunch, our tour guide started to explain us about the tour itinerary. “If u are lucky, you will be able to see snow. If there is not much cloud, you will be able to see sunrise. If there is no landslide, you will be taken to Tshangu Lake”. We almost got tired of the “Ifs and Buts” the tour guide used.

The Roller - Coaster Ride

We started with nothing but hope. Climate was not so chill in Bagdogra. Of course you can’t expect West Bengal to be as chill as Gangtok. Roads were hardly there in the mountains as these areas were much prone to landslides. Chill weather filled our hearts with joy at a certain height. The splendid River Teesta welcomed us with its magnificent flow. The distant houses glowed like cluster of stars tied together. We couldn’t take our eyes off from the splendid view. Though the roads were like roller coaster, we really enjoyed the ride. Finally we reached our hotel Himalayan Summit after 5 hours journey.

Road not taken

We were ready early in the morning to start to Tshangu Lake, which was at a height of 12400 ft. It was an amazing start for a week journey. Initially we saw distant snow at the hilltop. We were having a whale of time to watch the snow clad mountains. My head was hardly inside car. I was peeping out all the time. 

From there we were taken to old Baba Mandir which was at a height of 14000 ft(Not part of our package!).

At a height of 14000 ft.. Whoah:):)

Tire marks which showed our path:)

As we started to descend down in our car, cute little snow pellets started to precipitate. We were on cloud nine with the pleasant surprise the nature gave. The bare roads on which we climbed up were now fully covered with snow except for the tire marks which showed us the further path. 

I was taking videos of the road we travelled all along. The driver mentioned that he had never seen a person as crazy as I am. At a height of 10000 ft, suddenly we were struck up for an hour.

In the traditional dress of Sikkim:)

Three ladies missing 

After it got cleared, we felt like we would be reaching Gangtok safely. But as we descended down, at a height of 7000 ft, we could see a parade of cars lined up in a queue. Our driver was asking us to buy some snacks from the nearby inn. We were puzzled at first. Then he informed us that a landslide had happened and that was why the cars were lined up. We were astonished. We were simply blinking at each other. 

2 hours had gone, there seemed no improvement. We started to lose our temper. Our driver himself went down to the landslide spot to check the progress. We were eagerly waiting for his news in car. We called him so many times but the signal was so poor that we couldn’t hear anything. We were really unnerved at that time, as we were only three ladies sitting in car. 

One passerby driver had seen that we were only three ladies inside and enquired us the whereabouts of our driver. We explained where he had gone. Then the passerby driver called our driver and asked him to come as soon as possible. He gave us company till our driver arrived. 

I was reinstated by the statement which everybody said “North east India is not at all safe”. I was thinking how silly they were. North east people were really helpful. I couldn’t explain the fear which we had as three ladies sitting in a car at some 7000 feet height and 2000 km away from our home. 
Since our agency couldn’t connect to us over phone (No BSNL signal at all), they declared it in our hotel that “Three ladies Missing”

Owe a lot to Indian Army

After five hours struggle by our Indian Army, landslide area had been cleared. And all the cars started to move. Without the help of army people, we wouldn’t have reached safe.

Flower Show at the eleventh hour
Next day we were having local sightseeing only. We were taken to Rumtek monastery, which is the largest monastery in Sikkim. We saw cute little monks there

After that we were taken to Do-drul Chorten and Tibetology. Since our biological clock was alarming, we stopped at one hotel to have our lunch.


As it was 3pm already, they closed the kitchen. So we had to wait for nearly an hour. When we returned to our car, our driver told like “Cottage industry and Flower show” would have been closed by now. We asked him to give it a try. Luckily the flower show was open but on the verge of closing. We entered and stood love stung at the beauty of all the flowers.

Flower Show:)

En route to Pelling (South Sikkim)
Next day morning at around 9 am, we started to Pelling. The best thing about this journey was the company of tour guide, Deepan. He was like a knowledge bank for us as he was able to answer all the questions which we enquired about North East. Another best thing was that he knew to speak in English. We went to Samdruptse hill at Namchi(Sky High). Samdruptse literally means “Wish fullfilling” in bhutia language.

Samdruptse Hill 

Guru Padmasambava was installed atop Samdruptse hill which was the highest statue of Guru Padmasambava. En route we had stopped for a small photo session in a tea garden.

Then we headed to “Char Dam”. That is where we met lot of Tamilians. The entire complex is divided into four main elements namely

           i) Shiva Statue with 12 Jyotirlingas

          ii)  Four Dhams

         iii)  Sai Baba Temple

         iv)  Kirateshwar Statue besides Nandi Bull

In order to attain Moksha, the Hindu belief is to perform pilgrimage to all the four Dhams. Thereby replicas of these four dhams were constructed namely Badrinath, Jaganath and Dwarka(Dedicated to Lord Vishnu) and Rameshwar(Dedicated to Lord Shiva). We reached Pelling by 6 pm. Hotel we stayed had a wonderful view of mighty Kanchenjunga. We had an awesome experience for the day.

Pelling
In the morning, we started so eagerly to see the beauty of Pelling. When our driver asked us to get down, we were simply wondering why we were getting down. As we knew as per our itinerary, we were supposed to be at a waterfall. Then our driver pointed at a small stream of water as Rimbi Waterfalls.

Rimbi River - Marathoning Streams 

But our disappointment vanished as soon as we spotted the mind blowing river Rimbi. We relaxed there watching the streams marathoning. Then we were taken to Khecheopari lake which was considered one of the most sacred lakes of Sikkim. 

The lake remained veiled under rich forest cover. It is also believed that the birds don’t let even a single leaf to float on the lake surface. This belief makes the lake much more interesting. This lake is also known as “Wish fullfilling Lake”. 

Look at the serene beauty of the lake at its purest form. From there, we started to Darjeeling in car.
Sun Rise at Tiger Hill
We reached our hotel in Darjeeling by 5 pm. Next day early morning 4:00 am, we started from hotel to enjoy the magnificent Sun rise from Tiger Hill, as it is the highest point in Darjeeling. 

As the sun slowly peeped out of the clouds, we were really mesmerized at the splendid beauty of the sun rays falling on the Kanchenjunga peak. It was indeed a spellbound moment for us.

Engineering Marvel
After that, we went to Ghoom Monastery, the holiest Buddha monastery in Darjeeling.

Then we went to Batasia Loop, a war memorial and an engineering marvel of Himalayan Railways where the toy train makes a 360 degree loop. This loop was built to offset the speed of trains in the hills. In Batasia loop, we all tried the traditional dress of Darjeeling people.

Batasia Loop

Further we were taken to Japanese Peace Pagoda, a Buddhist temple which stands as a symbol of harmony. 

Next day morning, we started to Bagdogra with beautiful memories to board our flight.

Month of Trip      - May'14

No of days of trip - 6 Days
Trip cost               - INR 33000

Bucket List

Adventure 

Road trip(Bike) to Leh Ladakh, Camping near pangong lake

Road trip in Konkan coast.

Sky diving

Tandem Paragliding in Khamshet, Pune

Waterfall rapelling in vihigaon (Thane)

Zip-Lining in Kikkar, Chandigarh

Cycling in Nilgris

Scuba diving & Snorkelling

Camping and Dune Bashing in Rajastan

Jog Falls, Camping in Sharavathi Island

Camping - Rann of kutch/Gujarat – Full Moon Night

Camping, Mountain Climbing, River rafting, Cliff Jumping in Ganges

Night trek and camping

Dudhsagar trek

Himalayan trek

Sar Pass Trek

Roopkund Trek

Kudremukh Trek, Karantaka

Elephant ride in thekkady

Kayaking

Sailing in Yatch during Sun Set–-Mumbai 

Shikara ride in Dal lake

Boat ride in the backwaters of Sunderbans

Boat ride in loktak lake(Floating lake, Manipur)

Bheemeshwari

To Visit

French Colony in Pondi

Mysore,Coorg

Nandi Hills

Dandeli

North Goa

South Goa

Gokarna, Netrani

Chikmagalur

Drive through Bandipur Forest

Wayanad

Allepey, Kumarakom

Rajamundry(Godavari)

Ramujji Flim City

Konkan coast train journey

Kaas Valley - Pune

Lonavla, Matheran train journey

Hajji Ali Dargha, Worli Sea link, Gateway in Mumbai

Howrah Bridge in night

Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Jamma Masjid

Taj Mahal on a full moon night

Jaipur

Wagah Border, Golden Temple in Amristar

Kempty falls, Mussouri

Rishikesh

Valley of flowers, UP

Corbett National Park

Sikkim

Sunrise in Darjeeling

Living root bridge & Cherapunji, Meghalaya

Tree house stay

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Minicoy Island – Lakshadweep – Helicopter ride from Agatti to Kavaretti

Festivals of India

Kite festival in Jaipur – Jan month, Palace, Jal mahal

Kutch Festival(Gujarat) - Rann Utsav 

Navrang Navarathri(Gujarat) - Dandiya

Durga Pooja Celebrations in Kolkatta

Bihu Festival in Assam(April)

Versova Koli Seafood festival(Jan), Mumbai

Lantern Festival(Hyderabad)

Snake boat race in Kerala

Holi at vrindavan 

Pushkar Festival

Mewar festival in Udaipur

Ladakh Festival 

Kochi-Muziris Biennale

P.S : Bucket list will be growing continuously.